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Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! The rain is pouring here in Raleigh. I just got a flash flood alert on my phone and Jeff is wearing socks in his staff pick photo this week because his shoes got soaked walking to work. It’s supposed to let up later in the afternoon, but it’s one of those days when you want to curl up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee and a stack of records. Maybe this new Chain Whip 12” isn’t so great for a lazy day like today, but if you need to get yourself hyped, it’s the most energetic thing I’ve heard in a while. Maybe the Church Group tape we write about in the Featured Releases section would be a better choice? As usual, we try to cover all of our bases here in the SSR newsletter, so examine your local forecast and choose accordingly.
September 9 2021
"It’s rare to find a band that can both write songs this great and perform them with this level of precision and energy, but Chain Whip sounds like a flawless machine on this record." Read more about it...
Zorn has come gigs coming up in September. If you’re in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Philadelphia, go see them, but even if you aren’t, you need to check out the sick little promo video they put together for the gigs.
Later this month (we don’t want to get too specific given the current disarray in the vinyl manufacturing world), Sorry State will release Skillful Butchers, the new LP from New York City punks Scalple. The first preview track, “Lying Through Your Teeth,” is streaming on Sorry State’s BandCamp and our website. Skillful Butchers finds Scalple changing up their style from their first LP on Roach Leg, moving toward a UK thrash style inspired by bands like Heresy and Concrete Sox. Watch for a preorder link soon!
Hey west coast, Hüstler is coming your way! Check the image for the dates, which they’ll be playing with fellow New Yorkers Blu Anxxiety. I hear Hüstler might make some new copies of their out of print cassette on Sorry State for the tour. We’ll also have word soon on Hüstler’s debut vinyl on Sorry State!
My pick from Sorry State’s Discogs listings this week is some vintage North Carolina power-pop from the Sneakers! The Sneakers featured Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter, two of the biggest names in 80s college rock and power pop, both of whom got their start in the small North Carolina city of Winston-Salem.
Remember, you can always combine your order from Sorry State’s Discogs site with your order from our webstore and save on shipping!
Usman brings us to Finland once again for this week’s edition of HC Knockouts. I just got word that Svart is doing a double LP discography for Pyhäkoulu and I’m going to order a big ‘ol stack for Sorry State. Watch for that in a few months!
Cast your vote in the next edition of Hardcore Knockouts on our Instagram stories next Tuesday!
Meathouse Records graced us with both 7" reissues from the legendary punk band the Hated!
We got in some hot slabs of Australian punk by way of Polaks Records!
NC's own Marv put out a new record of analog synth-y goodness.
We got in some critical reissues, including this Spiritualized LP.
This new Flux LP came in with some other great titles from Trujaca Fala.
Neon Taste didn't stop at Chain Whip, we have their two new HOT releases in stock!
New issue of Celluloid Lunch featuring a flexi from Bubblegum Army.
New cassette from this Iowa City band!