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Another week, another pick! This week’s pick will definitely have to be The Mall’s Time Vehicle Earth. I picked this record up and played it when we got it in based solely on the artwork by Indonesian artist Ibayarifin alone. The art depicts a vast, dystopian future and what looks to be time machines coming from or flying to this planet that one can only imagine from the music is open fields that go on for miles and miles.

At moments, you can close your eyes and imagine you are in a movie set in this futuristic timeline. The Mall’s music is dark, bass heavy and minimalist electronic music. On the title track, “Time Vehicle Earth,” you can tell this album would make for a perfect soundtrack for a dystopian nightmare fueled movie. Just add in some killer fight scenes with aliens or a car chase like in Mad Max and this would track would fit perfectly.

With tracks like “Nostalgia,” you can imagine that you are in a dark and grimy Berlin nightclub. Every one in the club dancing, drenched in sweat and pounding their fist in the air to the beat. This is by far my favorite track in the album. The hard thumping bass is reminiscent of hard techno in Europe and those influences really show through in this track.

My relation and love of dance music comes from when I was first introduced to it in my years living in Greenville at its house show/underground music peak. There was house party or show almost every night of the week. One of my fondest memories of underground dance music would have to be at a very popular show/party house called the 9th Street House. This place had shows often. One in particular was when a guy named OCDJ performed. The dance floor (or if you lived there, the living room) was packed full of people dancing, drinking and having a great time. The floor was bowing in from the sheer amount of people and the constant state of it being wet from beer being spilled.

The music was so loud it felt like your brain was being rattled from the bass. People were just dancing and not giving a shit about anything or anyone around them. This is the freedom I felt through punk music and this was the same feeling I was getting through electronic music. This is when I really opened my mind to what punk really could be, and how expansive it could be.

If you want something different and really good check out this record. You will not be disappointed. Mark Plant’s work on this album is something special. It’s darkwave dance music with a punk rock ethos.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a good Record Store Day! I picked up a cool new release I wasn’t aware of till I saw it: Sun Ra’s Pink Elephants on Parade. This is a compilation of live recordings from Sun Ra and The Arkestra performing songs from old Disney movies (Dumbo, Snow White, etc.) but jazzed up in that special Sun Ra fashion. These are the type of releases I love for RSD: weird shit you never knew you needed. I also love all the live album releases, but I know some people feel differently about that. These recordings are from different shows, but you can tell the energy at all of them was just fun and loose. You can hear laughter in the voices of The Arkestra while they’re singing. My favorite track on here is Whistle While You Work. It has a real upbeat swing to it and I can’t help but whistle along to it and have it stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Me and Dom were listening to it at the store the other day and were moving around there like the seven dwarves. Anyways, I hope everyone scored whatever they wanted and enjoyed a nice Saturday at their favorite Record Store!

Hi Sorry State fam! How is everyone? I hope you had a successful RSD if you participated! The last few days have been kind of shit. Wow, that was a harsh segue. I will sum it up by saying that life can be so draining. But for some reason, I woke up on Sunday in a pretty good mood, and I had a really nice day. I even went to the grocery store, and not once did I want to ram my cart into someone just for being in the same aisle I was in. Trust me, that was a major turning point. Anyway, it’s a new day, new week, and a new temperature outside, so let’s get started.

My pick this week is the 15 Minute City EP by Hygeine, brought to us by Static Shock Records. Fun fact: this EP marks the 15th anniversary of the band and the record label. DIY UK post-punk at its finest. I’m even reminded of Wire when I listen to it, particularly the second track (L.T.N.). In my opinion, this may be their best material!

The song 15 minute city is a whopping (almost) three minutes. It’s got a dry and arty post-punk sound that is layered with a fun, anthemic chorus, and a noisy, chaotic bridge. This is a song you will surely want to hear more than once. The next two tracks play off one another really nicely. L.T.N. is perfectly sandwiched in between 15 Minute City and Petrol, as it’s much shorter and more straightforward. It’s very tight with a stop and start style, and no nonsense approach. The faster and more urgent style is the kind of post-punk I typically gravitate toward. On the other end of the spectrum, the closing track (Petrol) is lighter and more sing-songy. All three songs just work really well together.

The music talks about the struggles of city life and labor operating in a society where big companies have more power than big government. Delivered with a heaping dose of sarcasm and disdain. And that’s what punk is for, right? It certainly helps anyway. I think you will really like this one. Give it a try! Thank you for reading! Until next time!

-Angela

Greetings Sorry Staters. Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter and for all your support. Whether that’s from reading this, using our webstore or visiting us in person. It means a lot. You guys treat us so well. One of you even calls on each of our birthdays to wish us the best. How nice is that? Talking of birthdays, one of the gang, Seth, celebrated the other day (soz I couldn’t come out) and had people over. He took the opportunity to give Daniel this totally amazing diorama of the Sorry State store that is so f’in cool. Like a fantastic, detailed doll’s house but full of miniature punk and metal records instead. We’re still figuring a way to display it at the store, but will post pictures once we have it installed properly. Nice one Seth.

Another busy week for us at the store made especially so by Record Store Day, which will have happened by the time you are reading this, but right now it’s Thursday for me writing and we still have several boxes of RSD titles to be delivered. This year the day falls on 4/20, which should make it fun if you live in a part of the country where enjoying the herb won’t land you in jail. For those of you reading outside of the United States, I understand how confusing it is to look at America and figure out how life and citizens’ rights can change drastically depending on which state or even county one lives in. Trust me, it’s a major head fuck for many of us and now with the attack on women’s rights going on it’s just getting worse. Please dear God can the voters make all this Maga shit go away in November? Please.

Back to Record Store Day. Without getting into a big debate about the pros and cons of it, I still feel there is cool stuff getting released. As a music lover first and foremost, and someone who’s preferred listening format is vinyl records, I appreciate when an unreleased piece of music is made available or when a super rare and hard to find record gets repressed. If they do it right and keep the price accessible, then what’s not to like? Anyway, did you find something cool for yourself? I’ve got my beady eye on one or two things, so we’ll see whether I’m able to snag something once the day is done. It does seem that there are a few things we ordered where we didn’t get as many copies as we wanted. Such is the case with more and more stores getting in the game. No big deal.

In other store news, we recently acquired a decent cassette tape collection. Jeff teased with a glimpse of some last week. Lots of cool Metal, Indie, Alternative and hip-hop titles and covering the 90s era where vinyl versions of some of these either don’t exist or were pressed in small quantities and can be tough to find. Tapes, although having their own shortcomings, can sound great and for the most part are a cheaper way to collect music than vinyl records. We’ll be putting these guys out on the floor as space permits over the next week or so. Local tape heads come through and check them out. I snagged one by female rapper Antoinette that I didn’t know about from 1989 called Who’s The Boss? I liked it. Good funk sample-based stuff similar to Salt ‘N’ Pepper and MC Lyte. Recommended. There were also a ton of cassette singles which I am still trying to match covers with tapes. I found a Public Enemy Fight The Power taken from the Do The Right Thing soundtrack. Cool ‘cos it has the extended version on it.

Vinyl wise, we got a bunch of cool stuff in this week. Obviously, the latest Taylor Swift was top of everyone’s want list, but in addition to that I can highly recommend the Montaña record. These guys are from Spain, and you can read all about them in Jeff’s staff pick elsewhere in this newsletter if you haven’t already. Cool post-punk stuff.

My pick for you though is the reissue of the Aspirations album by Australian punkers X. A killer record that will fit right in with your Saints, Radio Birdman and Victims LPs. We just got in a repress of this record from the good folks at Dirt Cult Records.

X were from Sydney and formed in 1977, recording their debut in late 1979 for a 1980 release. Original pressings have been tough to score over the years, but several labels have kept it in print, so finding one isn’t too tough, but due to the quality of the music any version has become desirable, hence this most recent pressing being made available to satisfy the marketplace. I don’t own an original,but have a repress from the early 00s. To be honest, I only discovered the band for myself in the 90s from hearing the single I Don’t Want To Go Out on a compilation. My radar was already tuned to the Australian scene, although my preferences were for the 60s groups in the main. However, anything like Radio Birdman and The Saints from the punk era hit the spot too.

X chose their name at the same time that the Los Angeles X were forming and both bands were unaware of each other. The Australian X was formed by bass player Ian Rilen, who left Rose Tattoo (he would rejoin them later in the 80s), and guitarist and vocalist Steve Lucas, guitarist Ian Krahe and drummer Steve Cafiero. The band played the Sydney scene and quickly became popular with those clued up on the punk music coming from the UK and USA. Krahe became known for his guitar playing style whereby he didn’t use a pick and would bloody his hands thrashing away. He would sadly pass away before the band recorded Aspirations. So as a three piece and with Lobby Loyde of Rose Tattoo producing, they recorded their debut, apparently in five hours. Loyde would end up in the producer’s chair for X’s second and third albums later in the 80s. Most people seem to agree that their second LP At Home With You from 1985 is their strongest record, but there is something about the raw, short and sharp impact of their debut that appeals. It is short too, just over a half hour but in the world of punk that almost seems like a double album opus. My favorite track is I Don’t Want To Out, which has a great funky bass line and a funny vocal chorus. That cut was selected for a single release and good luck trying to find one of those. There are a lot more good songs on the album: opener Suck Suck followed by Present and then Simulated Lovers are all worth the price of admission. They even make like The Jam and throw in a cover of the Batman theme for good measure.

If you dig this period of the band and like good Aussie pub rock/punk, then definitely check out Live At The Civic ’79, which was released by Dropkick Records 2004. It’s a good quality recording done for radio at the time. In addition, Dirt Cult have put out a 7” E.P. called Hate City that has tracks recorded as early as 1977 and are the only ones to feature the original four-piece line-up. We have a few available along with the current repress of the Aspirations album. Check ‘em out. My only complaint with the current reissue of the album is the changed artwork and the lack of any insert with band and track information. Not that you need a full bio necessarily with the internet, but some details and some photos might have been nice. Still, the music is what counts, and Aspirations is a great punk record worthy of any collection and this version will deliver the sounds to you if nothing else. The artwork change was apparently sanctioned by only surviving member, Steve Lucas, so it is with reason and not bad, but I prefer the original.

Okay, I must stop here and get this in before deadline. Thanks for reading.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

By the time this newsletter comes out, the Shaved Ape/Meat House/Starving Bomb benefit gig for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund will be behind us already. Weird to write this preemptively. I really hope that show goes well. I’m fuggin stoked for it and hope the punks and freaks come rage and support the cause. Also, the day this newsletter comes out will be the same night as the mighty Deletär’s infiltration of Raleigh! So pumped for that gig.

Man, my staff pick this week caught me off guard. Sometimes, we stock records here at the store of which I have no prior knowledge or point of reference. Then, upon first listen, the record knocks my socks off. Okay, here’s the kicker though: especially a few years back, the genre descriptor of “gothy post-punk” really was the kiss of death, wasn’t it? I remember a period where contemporary DIY punk was way too oversaturated with bands that tried to do their best Joy Division impression. We’d stock record after record like that at Sorry State, and after a while I just remember finding all those bands exhausting. If your objective is to sound like 80s goth band “X”, I think the difficulty is whether you can actually write a good song or not. You can decorate the gothic castle of your dreams with all the correct sonic gargoyle statues and spooky drapery you want. Dark, moody vibe? Check. Chorus and delay on the guitars? Check. Wailing, low-pitch, budget Ian Curtis vocals? Check. Anybody else yawning yet?

This new LP by Montaña is antithetical to all of these negative trappings of post-punk I’m describing above. I played this record, and within 10 seconds I was already hooked. Hailing from Seville in Spain, Montaña has many sonic identifiers that tempt me to draw comparisons to other bands. But whatever, this record is just really GOOD. I think the strength of the band is that they know how to write hooky, catchy, and intelligently constructed songs. For my money, this band’s take on mining familiar sounds of post-punk/new wave/whatever stands head and shoulders above hack imitators. For one, I love that even with an incorporeal feeling of melancholy moodiness detectable, Montaña exchange the typical drudging broodiness for uplifting, frenetic energy in their songwriting. The opening track “6:45” is a perfect example, where the frenzied, relentlessly moving bassline meets a vibrant, hooky guitar melody. Funny enough, the herky jerky, unyielding bass and rhythm section kinda remind of Gang Of Four, and they have that song “5:45”… Coincidence? But they knock the musicianship out of the park. Brilliant counterpoint occurs between the propulsive basslines and the often syncopated, ethereal guitars. The second track “Negro Calor” opens with a bass part that immediately has a catchy guitar line that comes in with an unexpected, angular rhythm that rubs against the pulse of the bass. Moments of complex rhythmic intensity seamlessly transition into euphoric, spaced-out dreamy releases of tension.

Gah-DEYUM I love what the guitar player is doing on this record. It’s like total ear candy. While it is drenched with effects, I don’t gather that the guitar player is just trying to squeeze a bunch of pedals on his pedalboard unnecessarily like an obnoxious, nerdy guitar store employee. The variety of textures feels deliberate and heightens certain passages in the songs. The role of the guitar functions less like a vehicle to lead the listener’s ear for chord changes, and more like another layer of melodic complexity against the vocals. It’s like an additional dressing… that special sauce, baby. It’s funny, the guitar player every now and then will hit these chord accents with a particular delay cadence that sounds so much like “I Ran” by Flock of Seagulls. I don’t mean that as a diss at all. I really like Flock of Seagulls haha.

Speaking of the guitarwork against the vocals, the woman singing is the pot of gold under the rainbow obscured by the clouds. Another remarkable element within an already excellent backing band. All the lyrics are sung in Spanish of course, which for whatever reason is a bonus for me. Whether it’s Paralis Permanente or whoever, I think Spanish singing, even just sonically, sounds at home and rad over this style of music. Her voice and approach to the singing just oozes charisma and personality. She’ll do these explosive high-pitched squawks that (I hate to even go there) remind of Siouxsie on tracks like “Head Cut.” I guess a more contemporary comparison I could make is Violeta from Rata Negra—more just as a reference point for lively, talented singers in a similar vein. And that’s not to take anything away from the singer of Montaña—she’s got her own thing going on of course.

I think 8 songs is the perfect length for a record like this. All the songs are around 3 minutes in length and jam-packed with hooks and interesting, clever song structures. The record doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it also leaves the listener wanting more. The recording is also incredible. Crisp, clear, punchy and all the players in the band shine. It sounds professional, which is a funny word to use I suppose. Not slick exactly, but just expertly executed. The record comes housed in this unassuming brown cardboard jacket. The feel of the record is very DIY, with silkscreened minimal, graphic-designy looking artwork. I think this record is also a pressing of only 300 copies or something like that. I think the record is so damn good that it feels like it should be on a bigger indie label for some reason. But the fact that it’s not on a bigger label, and maintains a real deal DIY punk sensibility only adds to the record’s allure in my book. Maybe I wouldn’t have even listened to Montaña if they were on Sacred Bones or whatever haha.

It’s funny, the band is called Montaña, which I assume means “mountain” in Spanish. But here in North Cakalaky, I keep forgetting about the tilde on the “ñ” and keep jokingly calling the band Montana. The best post-punk to ever emerge from the hills of Missoula. This record is great. If any of the references or comparisons I made tickle your fancy, then I highly recommend checking it out.

That’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

The Undertones: Hypnotised LP (Sire, 1980)

After my foray into the literary for last week’s staff pick, let’s swing way in the other direction and talk about a classic punk record everyone should know. Saturday was Record Store Day, and as I usually do on Record Store Day, once things calmed down in the shop I went out to buy lunch for the staff. I suggested this spot I like called Vegan Community Kitchen, whose food I love but rarely get to eat because they’re way out in the burbs, completely on the other side of Raleigh from where I live. I figured it would be a good treat for Record Store Day, and that their hearty food—their specialty is vegan kebab—would be satisfying after an intense day of work. The weather on Saturday was great in Raleigh. It had been almost 90 degrees on Friday, but Saturday was cooler, and while the sun wasn’t out, it felt like a relief after the premature heat of the past few days. So as I hit the highway to pick up lunch, I rolled the windows down and dialed up an old favorite to listen to.

I’m sure I don’t have you tell you how great the Undertones are. Everyone knows “Teenage Kicks,” but if you know little beyond that, I strongly urge you to check out their first two albums and all the surrounding singles and b-sides. I’ve always had a particular fondness for Hypnotised, their second album. While the Undertones’ first album has a unique youthful charm that makes it many people’s favorite, I love the slightly more mature version of the Undertones you get on Hypnotised. The band members are still very young, but they play with such confidence and power here, the excellent recording accentuating how precise yet alive their playing is. They were just a great fucking band at this point, and while I’m sure they could have pulled off more complex music, they kept things pretty straightforward. Never ones to show off, the songs on Hypnotised are still the unpretentious pop the Undertones had been writing up to that point, but the Undertones weren’t rubes. The opening track, “More Songs About Chocolate and Girls,” is totally self-aware about where the band was in their career. The chorus articulates exactly why so many bands struggle with their second album: the songs need “a lot less time but a lot more care.” The Undertones crammed Hypnotised full of hits… the title track with its all-time classic chorus, the brilliant slice of life of “My Perfect Cousin,” the gentle psychedelic pop of “Wednesday Week.” Aside from the cover of “Under the Boardwalk,” which I always skip, it’s pretty much nothing but bangers.

That the Undertones become such seasoned and capable musicians feels like a validation of punk’s promise that anyone could do it. Aside from their natural talent, the Undertones didn’t appear to have anything going for them. They were really young, not particularly attractive (apologies to them), and about as far from the cultural center of the British isles as you could be, in a city beset by poverty and brutal political violence. But they made great fucking music, and it took them far. And while fame exposes cracks in many bands, success only seemed to hone the Undertones’ songwriting and performance chops. The band would move away from punk on their third and fourth albums, but Hypnotised captures them at this perfect moment when they were still a punk band, but also just a great band full stop. In that respect, Hypnotised reminds me of the Ruts’ The Crack and the Stranglers’ No More Heroes, smart and aggressive punk records made by bands with big-league playing chops captured in good studios with major label recording budgets.

So yeah, if it’s springtime where you live, break out your copy of Hypnotised, take a big breath of fresh air, and blast it as loud as you can.

Bato: Human Cancer 12” (Not for the Weak Records) The wider world last heard from Bato on their 2019 7” Ravages of Time, but those of us who have seen the band live in the intervening five years knew they were brewing up something special for their long-planned debut LP. Now Human Cancer is out, and it’s ready to melt faces. Arriving via Norfolk’s prolific Not for the Weak Records, Bato shares a member with their label-mates Reckoning Force, and fans of that band will recognize guitarist Jordan Greenough’s lightning-fast, ultra-precise riffing right away. Also like Reckoning Force, Bato boasts a member of Socialcide (Bato has Socialcide’s drummer, while Reckoning Force features their bassist). If you’re one of the smart folks who has been snapping up every Not for the Weak Records release as it comes out, you’re going to love Bato, as the ultra-fast, musically dense hardcore punk that is that label’s trademark forms the foundation of their sound. Human Cancer can feel relentless on the first listen, riffs coming at you with overwhelming speed and ferocity, one right after the other, but the energy never drags. While Bato rides riffs just long enough to set the hook, they always have a tempo change or a cool little trade-off between instruments to keep the song moving. The songs are well-written, even subtle, feeling cooked down to where they’re as lean as they can be, all flavor and no filler. That sense of density combined with Bato’s consistently manic tempos makes Human Cancer a demanding yet exhilarating listen.

Another week, another record that I think kicks ass. Gel’s Only Constant is a punishing, angry and unforgiving record. The riffs and drumming are simple but effective and vocals are like a screeching car coming at you. I have been listening to this band since their self-titled demo came out. If you want stripped down fast and feisty, this album is for you! Favorite song - Dicey. Hardcore for the fucking freaks!

I love how we associate music to seasons or weather and how everyone’s option of what they listen to when it’s cold or hot really interests me. For me, I associate spring and summer with my teenage days playing in shitty bands with my friends and what we were listening to during that time. We would blast Screeching Weasel’s Boogadaboogadaboogada or whatever Fat Wreck or Epitaph Records band was popular that summer. Fall and winter bring out the more jazz and ambient side of me. I love playing a record like Brian Eno’s Music for Airports in the morning when it’s cold outside.

Thanks again for checking out my little blurb on this newsletter, until next week!

Whats up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a good weekend. Last Sunday, I travelled back to Nashville for a quick trip to go to a Billy Strings show (no shocker there). Believe it or not though, this one was different. He was playing a one-off show with Bryan Sutton at the American Legion Post 82 in Nashville, essentially a tiny dive bar, and tickets were sold in a raffle system and to be picked up at will call with a matching ID to prevent any chance of reselling. For once, I was lucky enough to win the raffle and score two tickets to the show (for reference, I heard around 15,000 people entered the raffle and only about 200 tickets were sold, take that info with a grain of salt.) This show was only announced two weeks before it happened and emails sent out if you got tickets a week before. I signed up as a Hail Mary and said I’d say what the hell and make the drive to Nashville if I got em and lo and behold. I hit up my brother who lives in Nashville and asked if I could stay with him and if he wanted my extra ticket to go to the show, which he was happy to oblige. Road tripping by yourself is pretty fun cause you can do all the stupid detours no one else would wanna do, like cruise down the Andy Griffith Parkway and visit Mayberry. I was a couple hours outside of Nashville and my brother called me up and informed me the venue the show was at was around the corner a block away from his apartment. Everything was falling into place. He planned to go pick up some beers and pizza for my arrival before the show. I got in about 6PM, doors were at 7 and the show was at 8, so we hung out for about an hour and we decided since I’d come so far for a show we might as well get there early at the doors. A quick cut through the Cookout and Popeyes parking lot and we were at the show. We had to go through about three separate sets of people with a list and show our IDs. We get inside and pass thru the bar to a back room where we’re greeted by a tiny stage with a few rows of foldout chairs mere feet from the stage. Holy shit. I’m used to seeing Billy in arenas full of thousands of people, so to be in a tiny back room of a dive bar sitting probably about 10 feet away from my favorite musician just pickin on the guitar felt like a fever dream. My brother turned to me and I could tell he realized the absurdity of this historical show we were about to witness. Since we got there early, we had some time before the show, so I went over to the bar to grab us some beers. Getting asked to start a tab while at a Billy show also felt otherworldly, since I’m used to getting hawked for $16 beers at arenas. Everyone who was there was so happy to be there. I kept hearing people saying they couldn’t believe they were actually there. A lady I talked to was a school teacher who said she started crying in the middle of class when she got the email that she won the tickets and her students had to ask what was wrong. She was telling me she brought her dad with her and I told her I brought my brother with me and another guy chimed in and said he brought his brother with him as well, It just felt like a real family affair and everyone had a smile from ear to ear. I sat back down and shortly after, Billy and Bryan came walking in thru the side door, right thru the crowd basically and walked right on to that tiny stage and took a seat and we were off to the races. This show was completely made up of just timeless bluegrass and folk staples which, if you know me, is my ideal set list. I got to hear more Doc Watson tunes than you could shake a stick at, including my favorite song of all time, Shady Grove. I loved every single song. It was just classic after classic after classic. I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing. Like I said, I could only compare the feeling to being in a fever dream.

Getting to hear/be a part of the banter in between the songs felt like I was placed smack dab into one of my old live bluegrass records from the 60s that I’m always writing about. One of my favorite songs from the evening is when they played the Norman Blake song Randall Collins. I wasn’t familiar with it before, but I sure as hell am now. It was an instant earworm, and I probably listened to it about 20 times on my drive home. Just a cool as hell song. After probably what were two of the greatest hours I’ve spent on this earth, they closed the show with Let the Cocaine Be, a song I’d wanted to hear live since I first got sucked down the bluegrass rabbit hole. After the show, Billy just took a step down off the stage and took the time to say hello and take a picture and talk to everyone that was lucky enough to be in attendance, a real class act. I’m terrible in these situations and never know what to say, but I shook his hand and told him thanks for all the music and everything, and also gave him a copy of that cassette I wrote about months ago, Who’s This Living in My Soul?, a compilation of old rare folk and gospel songs from across the south. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll get to hear Billy play a cover from that? Afterwards, me and my brother went to Dino’s to end the evening with some fries and a few more cold ones. While sitting there, there was only one word we could come up with to sum up the night: legendary. Getting to experience this intimate performance made me realize how thankful for music I am and how powerful it can be. I know this is a memory I’ll get to carry on for the rest of my life of seeing my favorite artist with my brother in the backroom of a bar in Nashville and for that I’d like to say, thank you Bill, it’s been a thrill.

Hi Sorry State fam! How’s it going? Things are pretty tame on my end. Although I’m still suffering with air conditioning problems so I’m sweating my ass off! And I missed last week’s staff pick, so I’m a week behind in formally welcoming Danny to the Sorry State team. So a big welcome to Danny! And with that, it’s time to rewind the clock over 40 years and get excited about records!

Recently my esteemed colleagues and I were discussing our top five 7” records, whether it be singles or EPs. A daunting task indeed. And somehow, I completely forgot about one of my favorite and most important 45’s. Important not only for the music itself and its contribution to punk, but as a physical record in my collection.

It’s Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown EP. Released in 1979, the title is easily in my top 10 favorite punk tracks, and still gets me going to this day. What a song. I like that the band put only that song on the first side and the other three on the second. The track is a show stealer that you should sit with and digest for a few more seconds. And it’s also almost as long as the whole second side!

This is one of those records that is overwhelming to talk about because all the words have been said, all the adjectives have been used, and it’s more than clear how lauded and important this release was for punk. The year 1979 was a pretty big one for punk music. From the Clash to the Buzzcocks, to post-punk trailblazers like Joy Division. And on the west coast, in LA, a band called Black Flag would drop this five minute record that brought a new style and sound to the punk genre. It was a grittier, messier, and more manic breed of punk music.

Keith’s vocals play a large part in characterizing Black Flag’s unique sound on this EP. He sounds angry, sarcastic, helpless, frustrated, and completely unhinged. I’m a big fan of frantic, unpredictable vocals. It’s not all about how he sings, but the unique tone of his voice that grabs me. The title track really sets the tone for the second side and gives it a flexible foundation. They could express themselves however they wanted and it probably wouldn’t sound like too much of a departure from Nervous Breakdown.

This record as a piece of physical media has always been a little confusing but interesting to me, with the multiple different covers and jackets and labels. By the way, if I get any facts wrong, they’re probably just typos. Anyway, they started out with about 2,000 copies of the first pressing, and they quickly pressed another thousand copies, known as V2. The second version is distinguished by its blue versus the original black artwork. Version 3 (this one) is nearly identical to V2 but with a red cover. Although we don’t know for sure, they printed no more than a thousand for V3, and the remaining copies (est. at 2,000) would be used for V4. They used red artwork for V3 and V4, but starting with V4, they changed the shape of the outer cover.

The first three versions have an arc like shape at the top, said to be for easier access. Version 4 and subsequent reissues would use the standard outer cover cut straight across. It doesn’t stop there. Between 1980 and 1989, SST released six versions, each distinguished by aesthetic changes but no changes to the music or the recording. Actually, it is very easy to tell which version you have, as the Discogs notes section describes the differences very well. At the same time, this is the kind of stuff that makes record collecting exciting, and super fun to talk about.

Ok I’m gonna wrap this up and wish everyone a great week! Thanks for reading and nerding out with me. Until next time!

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I will write about the recent LEGION OF PARASITES reissue on General Speech. This record was released forty years ago, and this is the first time it has ever been reissued! It was originally released by Fight Back in 1984. If you don’t know, Fight Back was a side label of Mortarhate Records. I’m not sure what the intention behind the sub-label was, but I know Mortarhate was operated by members of CONFLICT. Somewhere along the way, Cherry Red picked up the rights to this record, cos I can see this pressing is licensed from them. I think the actual record sounds excellent, and the packaging is nice and proper. The photos were printed perfectly on the back, and often photos print fucked up unless the person doing the formatting/layout knows exactly what they are doing. This pressing was slightly enhanced by including an insert, as the original did not come with on (...at least that is what I thought until I just checked Discogs, fuck.) Someone recently uploaded a picture of an insert and they said you could get it by writing the band. I have never seen a copy with one, damn. While the insert inside this reissue is a bit different than the one I saw in Discogs, it does still include lyrics. When listening to political bands I think it’s especially important to get a lyrics insert. I feel a bit silly saying political bands, but you know what I mean? I mean those bands who really take the time to write thought provoking lyrics and use their music as a weapon. Not like those bands whose lyrics are about petty things like social ridicule. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for criticizing your peers, but more often than not, I don’t find those lyrics very entertaining. (The perfect exception to what I’ve just said is SHAVED APE.)

Anyway, LEGION OF PARASITES certainly has elements of that early anarcho sound, but there is a bit more to it than the traditional Crass Records formula. On this EP specifically, they kind of remind me of SUBHUMANS actually, but overall they have more of an aggressive sound. They really lean into that on their LP that followed the year after. Overall, they really remind of ANTI-SYSTEM (one of my favorite English bands.) Funny enough, ANTI-SYSTEM also started out with more of a traditional anarcho sound and evolved into a pummeling monster on their LP.

Alongside General Speech’s recent reissues, we also got some other releases he is handling distribution for in the US. I didn’t know this band existed until I saw these LPs. DEAD ENDS was from the Philippines, and it’s safe to say this is the first band I have ever heard from there. They pumped out three cassettes from 1985 to 1987 and this is the first time they have ever been reissued. Naturally, this really increased my interest, and after checking them each out just once, I grabbed a copy of them all for myself. I haven’t spent much time at all with them outside of work, so I have only been able to take the music in. After a brief look at them, the packaging seems nice. Each includes a sticker and double-sided insert filled with text. I will have to spend some time outside work to really explore the releases, but I think I already favor their third LP the most, Damned Nation. Coming from an uncultured noob, I am guessing the opinion is probably not common, haha. That one stuck out to me the most though, but probably cos it sounds the most hardcore.

I can’t leave without mentioning that the KRIEGSHOG LP is back in print! I realize that there are probably a whole crop of younger kids who may not be familiar with the band since they disappeared for a long time. I know they had peppered out those EPs way after the first few 7"s and LP, and I remember one being a posthumous release? Maybe I am totally mistaken. LVEUM has put the LP back in print, and it’s coming alongside a brand new LP I have a lot of anticipation for. If you haven’t heard them before, immediately check out their debut LP that is now back in print. I think it is safe to say this is a modern masterpiece, and a copy belongs in every single record collection. Alright that’s all I got for today. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for your support.