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What’s up Sorry State readers and Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and a good start to the new year. I can’t believe it’s already 2024. I feel like the last half of this past year really just flew by, but I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that way. 2023 was a great year of music for me between a ton of amazing live shows, new releases, and some great reissues too. I don’t think I’ve ever consumed more music in any year than I did in 2023. Here’s hoping there’s even more in 2024! Today, I’d like to highlight some titles that came out last year that I really enjoyed, some brand new and like I mentioned earlier, some reissues of older material. In no particular order, here are some of my favorites from 2023:

Delco MF’s - 100% Complete and Total Motherfuckers 12"
This record is a collection of the first year of material from Delco MF’s and what a great year it was. Every track on here is ripping, but what really solidified this as a favorite of mine was seeing them destroy their set at the Sorry State 10th Anniversary fest. No beer can was safe. If you haven’t already checked this one out, do yourself a favor and hop on it.

Tožibabe - Discography 1984-1986 12”
As you may gather from the title, this record compiles material released by the band between the years ‘84 -’86 as well as some recordings of live performances that honestly sound pretty good for what they are. This is a prime example of why I feel so lucky to have a job where I get to learn about so much different music and branch out. Without working at Sorry State, I probably never would have discovered an 80s all-female hardcore band from Yugoslavia on my own. I love this record though and I find myself wanting to run it back from the top whenever it’s finished.

Ida E Os Voltas - Demo 1986 12”
Another 80s banger, this one comes out of Brazil this time. This record features the only recordings of the short-lived post punk band on vinyl for the first time. This record is just so catchy and fun to listen to the whole way through. Warning: These songs will get stuck in your head.

Haunted Mansion - S/T 7”
Okay, how about something that actually came out this year. This thing is short, sweet and to the point at four songs. Favorite track on here is Your House is Mine. Not for the faint of heart if the sounds of a spooky haunted house and witches cackling scare you.

People’s Temple - I’m With The People’s Temple 7"
I am fully with the People’s Temple out of Brooklyn. There’s some seriously catchy guitar riffs all throughout the jam-packed eight track 7”. I’ve enjoyed revisiting this one throughout the year, as it came out in February. Only you can decide which side you stand on with this band. Hopefully you don’t share the same sentiments as the gentleman at the beginning of the track Nuclear War Obsession.

Frantix - My Dad’s A Fuckin’ Alcoholic 7”
Disclaimer: My dad isn’t a fuckin alcoholic but I’ve been around enough alcoholic dads to enjoy this one. Sometimes music can just be dumb and fun and forty years after this originally came out, it’s still just as fun to listen to. Plus, how can you not like that cover art?

Legal Weapon - Death Of Innocence 12”
I’m looking at this now and I actually think this reissue came out in ‘22 and not ‘23. Maybe it came out closer to the end of ‘22? Regardless, it’s close enough, and I listened to it a lot this year, so we’re gonna roll with it. Pretty sure everyone here at Sorry State is a big fan of this record, so I’m sure anyone reading this is familiar. There’s really nothing not to love about this one.

Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels - The Last Roundup (Live From The Bijou Café In Philadelphia, 3/16/73) 12"
I just wrote about this one for my last staff pick so I don’t have too much else to say about it that I didn’t already say there. Of course, I had to sneak this into my end of the year list amongst a sea of punk. If you get the chance to, listen to this incredible live show. It just might save your soul punk.

Various - Screaming Death 12"
Holy smokes! What more can you ask for than four ripping bands kickin ass all over twelve inches? Always one of my go-to’s when someone comes into the store saying they wanna listen to some new shit. Maybe I’m biased cause the always-gnarly Scarecrow is featured on here with four pummeling tracks, but don’t get it twisted, every other band on here (Destruct, Rat Cage, Dissekerad) brings their A-game, which culminates in one incredible project from start to finish.

Meat House - S/T 12”
I had to get one Sorry State release in here, and I’m sure it’s one you all know and love. Hardcore noise to melt your face, delivered to you at blistering speeds. If you don’t like it, keep it to yourself, nerd.

What’s up Sorry State readers, It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these so I may be a little rusty. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and has been enjoying the holiday season. I’ll be road tripping to Memphis this coming week, which is about a twelve hour drive. I’ve never really minded long drives. Honestly, I kinda enjoy them, plus I’ll be picking up my brother in Asheville and my other brother in Nashville along the way, so I’ll have some company to keep things interesting. If you’re travelling somewhere this year, and whichever way you get there, I hope everyone has safe travels. As everyone knows, Record Store Day happened last month and there were some cool titles that came out. One that I was really excited about (and the only one I got) was this Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels record that contains a live show from 3/16/73 at the Bijou Café in Philadelphia, also featuring Emmylou Harris on vocals. This soundboard recording was recently uncovered after the pedal steel player, Neil Flanz, brought it to light after being in possession of the tape for 40 years, which was then acquired by Amoeba music and forgotten about in their vault for another 10 years. For a recording from a 50 year old tape, this thing sounds amazing. It feels like you’re really sitting there in that small café and listening to this intimate show. As I’ve mentioned time and time before, I love listening to a live show, especially with all the banter and everything in between songs. It’s what gives the performance character and makes it unique. The show starts off with the band intros and a ripping cover of Flint Hill Special, a Flatt & Scruggs bluegrass staple. I love Emmylou’s voice so much. I feel she’s very underrated when people talk about female voices in country music. Which is why I really enjoyed the cover of Hank Williams’ Jambalaya on here where she takes the reins for the song and really belts it out. You can tell listening to this that they’re having a great time up there and the band was really meshing well that night. Other favorites on here include Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man, Streets of Baltimore, Sin City and the unexpected five-sog rock n’ roll medley that caps this show off. I know I would’ve been in the Bijou Café hootin and hollerin that night if I was there. But that was 26 years before I was born, so until time machines exist, this record will do me just fine.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. I’m still thinking about the 10th anniversary fest, so I figured I’d write about a record by a band that I was really excited about seeing that weekend, 100% Complete and Total Motherfuckers by Delco MF’s. This 12” is a collection of the first two 7”s released by the band over the past year and it totally rips. I was kicking myself because I remember getting the 7”s into the store and never listening to them really, and then when I heard they would be playing that weekend, I went back and checked them out and was blown away. By that point, though, we had been long sold out of both of them. Luckily for me though, they dropped this very convenient 12” record compiling both of them. With 11 songs clocking in at 11 minutes, this thing is non-stop ripping from start to finish. After listening to this a bunch, I was excited to see them live and they did not disappoint, delivering an amazing set at the late show at the Pour House. No beer can was safe from being launched through the air during this performance. The record does a great job of capturing the same energy they had during a live performance, and it’s one you find yourself flipping back to side A when it’s over to do it all again. Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already. Favorite track is March Of The MF’s.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a nice Halloween and month of October. Mine seemed to fly by, but it was a good one between the Sorry State fest, the fair, IBMA, Halloween, and watching way too many old horror movies. Speaking of Sorry State fest, I know it happened over two weeks ago now, but I’m still reeling over how much fun it was. Every single band killed it and it was a blast getting to pop around to the different venues and see everyone there. It definitely was a weekend I’ll remember for a long time. We just had as close to a perfect week of weather as you can get here in Raleigh. It was like seven straight days of perfect fall weather and all the leaves had changed. It was the kind of week that makes you really appreciate the seasons here in North Carolina. In true NC fashion, though, it changed overnight, and it feels more like winter now. I’m still in fall mode though as it feels like it just arrived, so I’m gonna keep the feeling going with my record this week, Songs The Lord Taught Us by The Cramps. I picked this bad boy up from our Halloween drop (I guess getting a Cramps record from this drop is a yearly tradition for me now) and I’m really happy to add it to my collection. Everyone has probably already heard this album that’s reading this, so I’m not gonna talk about something you already know, but damn I love this record. Not a skip on here and my favorite song is always changing. It’s the perfect music for this time of year. I can happily keep the creepy spirit of October rolling along thru the winter by keeping this slab on the record player.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. The official signifier of fall (for me) has finally arrived here in Raleigh, the State Fair. I know lots of people have mixed feelings about the fair. Some love it, some hate it, and some just like going for the food or people watching. I happen to be one of the people who loves the fair, the rides, exhibits, carnies and all. It just has such a distinct feel to it that’s never really changed to me, and I have a blast every year. That doesn’t really have anything to do with the record I’m writing about today; I’m just excited for the fair, man. Anyway, I sometimes seem to obsessively dive into things I get into, especially music, movies, etc., and go down a rabbit hole. Today I would like to talk about the Gram Parsons rabbit hole I’ve been going down this year. It all started back in March when I went to a Billy Strings show (shocker) in Charleston, South Carolina. He did a cover of the song Hickory Wind, which was unknown to me at the time, and I remember hearing it and being like, “man this is a really good song.” The next morning, while in the cheap, sketchy, smoker friendly motel room we had gotten, I thought of the song again and looked it up to see who it was by and was surprised when The Byrds popped up. I was confused. “The Byrds made this country song? I thought they were a rock band?” I returned to work and regaled Dominic with stories from my trip. The song came up, and I told him how much I liked it but was confused it was a Byrds song. That’s when Dominic introduced me to the wonderful world of Gram Parsons. The fact this guy just joined this rock band and was like, “nah fuck this, we’re making country music now” was so cool to me. Especially cause I feel like the end result could be so horrible, but it ended up sounding so amazing and authentic. I started listening to Sweetheart of the Rodeo a bunch and it quickly became a favorite album of mine. What really solidified this interest in Gram was when Billy came here in June and played a couple shows, he did a cover of Sin City, also unknown to me at the time, and I had the exact same thought of, “man this is an amazing song.” After the show I look it up and what do you know, it’s a Flying Burrito Brothers song. I started learning more about Gram Parsons’ story and realized what an incredibly interesting, badass, impactful, and tragic life this man had. It blows my mind this was just a dude who was my age doing all this stuff. Sweetheart of the Rodeo is just about a perfect album to me. Amazing original songs and very thoughtful and timeless covers of country and folk classics. This album just has it all for me, even a murder ballad! My favorite tracks on here are You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, I Am a Pilgrim, Hickory Wind, and Pretty Polly. Music is like a map and if you look in the right direction and start following it, you can be led down a path of incredible discoveries you might not have found otherwise.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. We’re chugging along here at Sorry State. I feel like there’s a bunch going on right now with the 10th anniversary festival coming up in just a couple weeks. I’ve been kinda struggling to come up with something to write about cause I feel like I’ve listened to a bunch of different stuff this week, so it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. I was going thru some records I have here at the store and I came across this GÜIÑA: Que Justicia 7" I had back there and realized I had never written about it. GÜIÑA is a band from Santiago, Chile that released this 7” after a tour around Europe with PIÑEN. That’s about as much info as I can find about them. I did learn that a guiña is a cool ass cat that lives primarily in central and southern Chile. I hadn’t listened to it in a minute, so I threw it on and it was just as good as I remembered. I really liked this one off the bat. I think we got it in a couple months ago and just the artwork alone was enough to grab my interest. This thing rips from top to bottom and flies by at four tracks. I like the vocals a lot on here too, even if I don’t know what they’re saying. It sounds loud and angry tho. We still have some copies available at the time of writing, so snag one if you wanna hear some good fast shit.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has been enjoying the first week of fall. Here in Raleigh, it’s IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Awards) week, so there’s a ton of great (and free) pickin going on all over the city. It’s an awesome event and I’m hoping to make it over to a few shows over the course of it. Last night I was able to catch a show at the Pour House and saw this 13-year-old kid named Wyatt Ellis absolutely shred on the mandolin. This is the second time I’ve seen him perform. When I went to the Billy Strings show in Winston Salem this past March, Billy brought him out as a special guest and played a couple songs with him. He’s definitely the real deal and played the hell out of some Bill Monroe songs last night. I figured this would be a good week to write about a bluegrass record (even though it’s always a good week to do that). What better to write about with a bunch of live music going all around town this week than a live album recorded by two bluegrass legends, Flatt and Scruggs At Carnegie Hall, recorded in the fall of 1962 at the peak of the folk music revival. It’s a great show, and it starts off with a favorite of mine, Salty Dog Blues, followed by a ripping fiddle tune, Durham’s Reel. Me and Dom always talk about how we enjoy the banter and jokes and everything going on between the songs on these live bluegrass albums. It’s what separates a great show from a good show to me. Especially back then, having a funny and charismatic personality was almost as important as the music as far as a performance is concerned. I like the track Mama Blues on here, where Earl Scruggs is having a conversation with his guitar about it missing its mama. It’s a fun track on here and is exactly what I was just writing about. I love bluegrass but more specifically, I love live bluegrass. Even though by the time this comes out the festival will be over, I hope if you’re in Raleigh you got to make it so some of the shows going on for IBMA.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. We’ve had some great weather here in Raleigh and it’s kinda been feeling like fall a little bit. Especially in the morning, with that nice, crisp air. Of course, we’ll probably be hit with another heatwave here soon before fall really rolls around. Here at Sorry State, Dominic has set off for a month-long visit to his home across the pond in England. I’m happy my buddy gets to go home and visit his family and friends, but I’ll miss having him around for our shifts together at the store so he can show me my new favorite album or cut up to some bluegrass records. He’s left me with enough great music to listen to tho in his absence, including this Lush album, Spooky. I honestly had never heard of Lush till the other week when we got in a few of their albums at the store. Dominic saw them and was like, “oh shit” and told me about them and that I’d probably like them a lot. Of course he was right. I think we ended up listening to all three that had come in and I was introduced to the serenading sounds of Lush. I really enjoyed all of them, but out of the bunch I’d have to say my favorite was Spooky, their 1992 album. The whole album just flows so nicely, some of the vocals on here kinda remind me of Julee Cruise too on some of the slower songs. My favorite two tracks on here are Tiny Smiles and Laura, the latter which has this part in the middle of the song that just sounds so fuckin cool. I guess it’s an effect on the guitar or something, but it sounds like an underwater UFO. If you listen to the song, I feel like it’s pretty clear what part I’m talking about despite my lack of accurate description. Without fail, each time I play this record in the shop someone always asks “who is this?” which I usually see as the mark of a good record. Get some luscious Lush in your life today.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice last two weeks. There are big things brewing here in Raleigh with the announcement of the full lineup and schedule for the Sorry State 10 Year Anniversary fest and I can’t fucking wait. It’s gonna be such a fun weekend. I’m excited to see all the bands but particularly, I’m looking forward to the midnight show at the Pour House on Friday night with Delco MF’s, The Hell, and G.U.N. all performing. It’s gonna be a wild show. I missed last week’s newsletter as I was out visiting my dad in Seattle with one of my buddies and my brother. Man, I love Washington so much. It is the most naturally beautiful place I’ve ever been to. It feels like being in a whole other country sometimes. There’s so much to do out there, especially if you like being out in nature and camping and stuff. We went out to the Hoh National Rainforest and camped out there for a night and woke up to some elk eating leaves off the branches around our campsite. We also went up to Mount Baker and had an awesome campsite right on the river and stayed up too late sippin cold ones before getting up the next morning and going for an eight-mile hike on the mountain. It was fucking awesome. I love just going on a big hike around dramatic snow-capped mountains. It feels like those scenes in Lord of the Rings when they’re just running around middle earth. If you’ve never been out towards the Pacific Northwest, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s amazing out there. Anyway, back to music now. One night while we were in the city we went out for dinner and had about a 45 minute wait. The restaurant happened to be right next to a record store (shout out to Daybreak Records) though so naturally, that’s where I killed my time. I honestly don’t really like buying records if I have to fly back, cause flying with records is one of the most stressful things. I happened to be flipping thru the bargain bin though and came across this Bob Willis 2xLP box. At $2 I couldn’t pass it up. If something happened, not a big loss but also the box it’s in is really solid, so I figured it would be fine. It was kinda a full circle moment too, cause my dad first introduced me to Bob Wills’s music a year ago when I was visiting him out there and then we came across this on this trip. This particular record is Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys For The Last Time, which, if you couldn’t tell by the name, is the last recording of Bob Wills and his original Texas Playboys and honorary Playboys (like Merle Haggard). By this point in his life, Bob had suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed, which affected his speech and bound him to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, on December 3rd and 4th, 1973, Bob led his Playboys through all of his classic tunes as he had so many times before. You can tell through the recordings how much fun they were having during these final sessions with the king of western swing. It’s nice to hear some of these songs in such clear quality as a lot of his stuff was recorded in the ‘30s and ‘40s so the recordings can be a little shoddy. Bob would go on to pass away less than two years after this session, so this stands as a monumental recording. There’s a reason why there’s a Waylon Jennings song called Bob Wills is Still the King. If you don’t know, now ya know, so go get some swing in your life.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. Sometimes you just wanna listen to some loud, fast and fun punk and Fuck Music City by Schizos delivers that. This 7” arrived in our most recent package from Goodbye Boozy Records (which was full of other great titles) and it's a certified shredder in my book. I can’t lie, I was originally drawn to this record when I saw the back cover, which is a picture of two dudes taking a dump and pissing on the Nashville skyline. Dominic and I gave it a spin and I was immediately a fan on the first listen. The A-side definitely has a Memphis garage sound, which if you know me, is right up my alley. Pull It was the standout track on this side with its catchy and memorable lyrics. The B-side of this record surprised me though, with it being a three and a half minute rock song. It fucking rules though. You could tell me this was some 80’s rager and I’d totally believe you. All I can think when listening to this record is how sick it would be to hear this band live. This is your next soundtrack for when your slammin cold ones.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has been enjoying the end of summer. I also hope if you’re reading this that you were able to catch one of the shows from the Scarecrow / Vidro tour that just wrapped up. I caught the one here in Raleigh and it was a killer show as always and it was awesome to get to see Vidro live. They were amazing. Anyway, this week I’m writing about a record that I immediately fell in love with, which is always a great feeling, the 1986 Demo from the Brazilian post punk band Ida & Os Voltas. When Dom and I first opened up the package that had these in there he pulled it out and was like “Man they really nailed the ‘80s aesthetic with this cover” till we turned it around and realized this band actually was from the ‘80s. As far as I know, these are the only studio recordings from this band, but they sound amazing. I was instantly hooked from the first listen and clocking in at just around 15 minutes, this mini-LP is one you just wanna run back as soon as it’s over. My favorite track on here is Samambaias Voadora; it just sounds so fucking cool. The guitar has this like surfy sound to it and the riffs are just so catchy and get stuck in your head. I’ve been listening to this nonstop since discovering it when we got copies in the store and I still haven’t gotten tired of it. I can’t recommend this album any more, definitely a great addition to any collection.

What’s up Sorry State readers? It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done one of these. I hope everyone has been having a nice summer. It’s been real hot down here in North Carolina, but I’ve been trying to make the most of the season this year and go to the beach or river or just anywhere outdoors on my days off. We’re so lucky here in North Carolina to be able to go to the beach for the day or drive over to the mountains, so I’ve been trying to take advantage of it. Billy Strings came down the road to Cary for a three-night run and it was a blast. It was so fun getting to go to the shows with a bunch of different friends and seeing familiar faces around. Dom even came out to the first night! It was awesome to get to go to a show with him and hear a bunch of old bluegrass tunes we love listening to at the store together by some of our favorite artists like David Grisman, Flatt and Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers, to name a few. One of my favorite memories of the weekend was for the encore of the first night, Billy played a cover of Ruby, in honor of Bobby Osborne, who just recently passed away, and Dom and I were out there cuttin a rug. Anyway it’s been a fun summer, but there’s been so much good music coming out it’s hard to keep up with. This week I was checking out some of the new stuff that had come in and came across this Haunted Mansion 7”. I decided to throw it on and was greeted with the sounds of quite literally, a spooky haunted mansion, only to be then hit by an onslaught of loud and raw hardcore punk for the next five minutes. All killer, no filler, straight to the point. It’s just right up my alley and I’ve had it on repeat since I picked up my copy. I highly recommend snagging this one. At the time of writing this I think we still have a couple copies left so grab it while you can!