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Record of the Week: Fairytale: Shooting Star LP

Fairytale: Shooting Star 12” (Toxic State Records) Here at Sorry State we were huge fans of Fairytale’s previous EP on Desolate Records, and the New York City d-beat band builds on that record’s strengths with Shooting Star, creating something even more distinctive, powerful, and exciting. I can’t believe how much room Fairytale finds for innovation in their sound without compromising the ferocity and brutality. If you merely appreciate Fairytale on that level, there’s plenty to love, and they’re certainly in the same league with flat-out ragers of recent vintage like Salvaje Punk, Destruct, and Electric Chair. However, there’s so much more happening than raw intensity, as Shooting Star is filled with unique and innovative touches at nearly every level. The first time I listened to the record, the unexpectedly melodic chorus of “Possible to Grow” was the standout moment, and playing this record into the ground for the past few weeks hasn’t dulled my enthusiasm for it one bit. However, there are subtler moments that are just exciting, though they take a little more close listening to extract from the din. “Life Plateau,” the first mid-paced song on the record, might seem like a standard homage to “A Look at Tomorrow” on the surface, but the manic drumbeat with an unexpected hi-hat pattern gives the song a uniquely suffocating level of tension. “Fairytale” is another standout, borrowing the hypnotic quality of Disclose’s “Wardead,” but rather than riding the “psychedelic d-beat” wave in any kind of expected way, the outro hangs on the song’s main riff for what seems like ages. Eventually a solo emerges, but just as it starts to pick up steam, the rhythm section drops out while the guitarist continues to noodle away, ending the record’s first side in an evocative moment of deflation. Even when Fairytale is in straightforward bashing mode, Lulu’s unique vocal cadences provide compelling rhythmic counterpoints, and moments like chorus to “Bluer Skies” and the snotty verses in “Wrap It Up and Buy It” prove the infectious chorus in “Possible to Grow” is no fluke. Fusing subtlety and brutality is no easy feat, but Shooting Star pulls it off ably, resulting a record that will peel your hair back on the first listen, but continue to reveal something new with every subsequent spin.

Record of the Week: Die Letzten Ecken: Talisman LP

Die Letzten Ecken: Talisman 12" (Static Age Musik) There’s nothing like being knocked out by an album you didn’t know you needed in your life, and that’s what happened when I listened to Talisman, the new LP from Germany’s Die Letzten Ecken. The track that hooked me first was “Rasender Stillstand,” a hard and fast synth-punk banger of the highest order, a Mussolini Headkick that knocks you out and drags you by the collar to an undisclosed location. Think Nervous Gender, the Normal, Metal Urbain… the jagged and paranoid stuff that is punk as fuck with nary a stringed instrument in sight. An album full of tracks like this would have been just fine by me, but over the course of Talisman, Die Letzten Ecken wheels out a host of Sprockets-adjacent moves. “Der Ritter” is more industrial, pulling from the darkest and heaviest corners of the Wax Trax catalog, Throbbing Gristle, and Einsturzende Neubauten, while “Brennender Kummer” and “Talisman” have a more of a balanced approach to sweet and salty, combining pulsing, dance floor-ready low end with a more delicate sense of melody from the synths. Those tracks have a similar vibe to Fatamorgana, and they work well as moments of melodic respite peppered amongst the harsher sounds on the rest of the album. Each song has its own character, and the masterful sequencing makes Talisman a gripping front-to-back listen; it feels like a strong album in a way few records do these days. While Talisman is great in and of itself, its sound and style feel fresh and suited to the moment. I’m smitten with Talisman, and if your tastes also span punk and underground electronic music, I encourage you to check it out.

Record of the Week: Tàrrega 91’: Fill De La Merda 7"

Tàrrega 91’: Fill De La Merda 7" (La Vida Es Un Mus) Well, this rips. Tàrrega 91’s debut sounds like a lost artifact from the early 80s, capturing not just the sound of the initial worldwide hardcore explosion, but also the crackling energy and excitement. LVEUM’s description mentions Discharge’s first few EPs, and something about Fill De La Merda makes me think of the Decontrol EP, the way it’s raw and vicious, but the energy takes precedence over the heaviness. Today’s Discharge-influenced hardcore bands tend to draw more from the denser, more layered sound on Why? and Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, but Tàrrega 91’ is comparatively barebones, the production recalling the vérité recordings that made early 80s punk records from Finland, Sweden, Washington, DC, Italy, and so many other places so great. There’s so much I love about this EP, but it’s hard to pin down what elevates it above the pack. The great recording, simple but elegantly crafted songs, and intense and energetic performances are all part of it, but ultimately it’s something ineffable, some unseen hand that has reached down from the heavens (or perhaps up from the depths) and blessed this recording with the true spirit of hardcore punk. Play this record as loud as you can and tell me you don’t hear it.

Record of the Week: Electric Chair: The Beat Sessions cassette

Electric Chair: The Beat Sessions cassette (Shout Recordings) As someone whose idea of perfect production is the low-budget, quickly but professionally engineered records that came from the underworld of recording hubs like London and Los Angeles in the late 70s and early 80s, the Beat Sessions series is a dream come true. Like Peel Sessions, Beat Sessions capture bands clearly and powerfully, but force them to work quickly and lean on their strengths as players. And as anyone who has seen Electric Chair live knows, they’re a blistering unit, perhaps the single best hardcore punk band in the world right now. Recorded in a single day, this cassette features a selection of tracks that pulls evenly from the band’s three EPs and recent LP. Electric Chair is ferocious here, the clear and powerful recording showcasing both how insanely fast and precise their playing is and how hooky their songs are. It’s exhilarating in the same way Pick Your King is, and just like Pick Your King, as soon as it’s over, I want to listen to it again right away. The tracks from Act of Aggression sound great here, and I think many people will prefer this recording’s dynamics over the more punishing, full-scale-assault sound of the album. And the tracks from their first two EPs blow away those other versions… the band has gotten so much more ripping since they made those early records. It all adds up to a killer tape, and one of 2023’s most essential hardcore punk releases.

Record of the Week: Display Homes: What If You’re Right And They’re Wrong? LP

Display Homes: What If You’re Right And They’re Wrong? 12” (Erste Theke Tonträger) As you might expect given how immersed I am in the world of music, I’m pretty much always playing something. While I treasure the time I get to listen attentively, often music is playing in the background while I do other tasks. Every once in a while—though not very often—something I have playing in the background is so interesting or exciting that I have to stop what I’m doing and give it my full attention. That’s what happened with this debut LP from Australia’s Display Homes. I was sitting at my desk, half my brain replying to emails or some other rote task while the other half (realistically, less than half) was checking out the latest releases on the German label Erste Theke Tonträger so I could put together an order. When I first started listening to What If You’re Right And They’re Wrong?, I thought I knew what I was in for. Display Homes’ music is upbeat and punky, with a bubbly bass high in the mix, scratchy guitars, and kind of yelp-y vocals… they reminded me a lot of Spread Joy, or maybe a less hardcore version of Warm Bodies or a less arty version of Lithics or Suburban Lawns. All this comparing and categorizing was happening almost subconsciously as I listened, but when Display Homes dropped into the instrumental chorus to “Nitty Picky,” my ears perked up and the music demanded my full attention. What a beautiful melody! Now that I’ve listened to this several times, I’m struck by what a masterpiece of a pop song “Nitty Picky” is. I love the way the song takes a strong left turn during the chorus, moving from the angular rhythms of the verses (which are cool in their own right) to the almost syrupy melody in the chorus. I also love that the chorus doesn’t have any vocals… the band recognized that the guitar hook was so strong that the singer’s best option is to lie back for a moment and let it shine. That stark contrast between the verses and the choruses strikes me as a Pixies-esque move (though Display Homes sounds nothing like the Pixies), and while having the chorus part depart so dramatically from the verses is a risk, when it pays off it pays off big. All that happens on the first track, but the rest of the record also brims with subtle and brilliant pop chops. “Proof Read” is a mid-album highlight, its tense and moody verses featuring vocal melodies strong enough for mainstream radio, but with a chorus pared down to dramatic stabs that are pure punk rock. Another highlight is the closing track “Aufrutschen,” whose shimmering guitars and brilliant bass line make me think of Jawbreaker circa 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. While What If You’re Right And They’re Wrong? has all the hallmarks of a cool underground punk record, and will appeal to people who follow labels like Feel It and Anti Fade, Display Homes has a knack for pop songcraft that’s something special.

Record of the Week: Global Thermonuclear War: Seeking Mastery cassette

Global Thermonuclear War: Seeking Mastery cassette (Dogs of Altamont) Shite, bassist for Rigorous Institution, runs the new label Dogs of Altamont, and their second release is this cassette from Global Thermonuclear War, a recording project that teams up Shite himself with Kyle, the drummer from Suck Lords and Crucified Class. Rigorous Institution and Suck Lords are among my favorite bands of recent years and Crucified Class is excellent too, so this pairing had me excited from the get-go. And fuck does it rule! Seeking Mastery sounds like something that might have come out of the late 80s UK, which makes when you think about it. Shite’s other band sounds a lot like Amebix, and bands like Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror adopted the metal-punk approach of bands like Amebix and Deviated Instinct, combining them with a Siege-inspired, blastbeat-heavy drumming—something Kyle showed his facility with in his other band—to creative an exciting new sound. I hear a lot of E.N.T. in particular in Global Nuclear War’s sound, partly because there aren’t metal guitar leads and partly because the music is just so gnarly and ugly… it sounds like crawling on your knees across a bed of broken glass. And as with both Rigorous and Suck Lords’ music, Global Thermonuclear War’s songs are free of the obvious and the cliche. That’s true of Shite’s lyrics, which focus on the most fucked up aspects of today’s world: factory farming, economic “migration,” the bloody imperialist games of nation-states… the lyrics are as direct and uncompromising (though not as succinct) as Discharge, and have the plain-spoken wisdom of someone gifted with the ability to see straight through bullshit. Seeking Mastery is just a great tape, urgent, exciting, fresh, and punk as fuck.

Record of the Week: Destruct: Cries the Mocking Mother Nature LP

Destruct: Cries the Mocking Mother Nature 12” (Grave Mistake Records) Cries the Mocking Mother Nature is the long-percolating second album from Richmond’s Destruct. It’s no secret we’re enamored of Destruct here at Sorry State. A big part of that is that we get to see them live all the time, and Destruct is a punishing live band. Both live and on their records, Destruct live is an all-out assault whose fury, like the M.C. Escher staircase, seems to ascend infinitely. Destruct is just so fucking powerful, striving for and often attaining the same intensity that marked the Japanese hardcore punk bands that have shaped their sound. I’ve always heard four key ingredients in Destruct’s stew: Bastard, Disclose, Gauze, and Crow. They don’t emulate those bands so much as synthesize them, similar to how those bands synthesized—maybe even purified—their own influences. Also like those Japanese bands, Destruct is exacting in their execution. Everything about them is considered and calculated… it’s like they’ve combed through every aspect of their songs, their aesthetic, and their very existence as a band and maximized its power and intensity. Cries the Mocking Mother Nature is the result, and it’s one of the most coherent, powerful, and unrelenting statements of hardcore punk 2023 has to offer.

Record of the Week: Flower: Hardly a Dream LP

Flower: Hardly a Dream 12” (Profane Existence Records) Flower released the digital version of Hardly a Dream in December 2022 and it immediately took over my playlist. I was surprised how quickly and thoroughly I fell for the record because it’s pretty far outside my wheelhouse. Everyone talks about how Flower sounds like Nausea, but I haven’t spent much time with Nausea’s music, so that connection doesn’t mean much to me. I hear a lot of 80s UK crust in Flower’s sound, and while I like a lot of that stuff, it’s not like I’m going to love a band just because they do a good job of evoking that aesthetic. There’s also a slight undercurrent of New York hardcore bounce to Flower’s sound, and that’s a style that really doesn’t do much for me. On the plus side, though, I’m a big fan of the other bands Flower’s members play in; their guitarist Willow also plays in Scalpel, whose LP we put out on Sorry State, and their bassist Jack also plays in Fuckin’ Lovers and People’s Temple. Music influenced by UK crust and stenchcore is also having a bit of a moment… the style seems appropriate to this day and age that can feel grindingly bleak, and some of my favorite current bands like Rigorous Institution and Subdued also draw a lot from that sound. One thing that Flower does that might sound bad on paper is build most of their songs around similar grooves and tempos. However, rather than sounding boring, it’s hypnotic in a way that sucks me in. Hardly a Dream is one of those records that just consumes me when I put it on. While those are the elements of Hardly a Dream I responded to while I spent the winter driving around with it on repeat, now that the vinyl is here, there’s even more to love. It’s a pleasure to sit down with the thoughtful lyrics, which come at you so quickly and in such volume that it’s hard to parse without the lyric sheet’s help. Like Flower’s music, Danny’s lyrics have a lot in common with 80s UK punk, but they’re not an homage to those influences… they’re made for today. And then there’s Willow’s incredible artwork on the fold-out poster sleeve, taking cues from Nick Blinko, but also evoking the hypnotic quality of Flower’s music with its dense, meticulously inked textures. Hardly a Dream is the total package, a vital and fully realized statement that feels tailor made for the world in 2023.

Record of the Week: Poison Ruin: Härvest LP

Poison Ruin: Härvest 12” (Relapse Records) From the first time I dropped the needle on Härvest, Poison Ruin’s third record and their first for Relapse, I was smitten. How can you not fall in love with a record that starts with a song as great as “Pinnacle of Ecstasy?” It’s a tour de force, moving from a guitar hook that could have powered an artyfact from the Nuggets era to an equally brilliant main riff to an anthemic chorus and into a heroic lead guitar freakout, moving from part to part with a poise and confidence that runs counter to Poison Ruin’s lo-fi production values. Speaking of which, if you thought moving to Relapse would water down Poison Ruin’s aesthetic, you are mistaken… if anything, Härvest leans on tones that are nastier and gnarlier than their previous records, but the production feels richer and more dynamic than on those releases. A big part of Poison Ruin’s appeal is their sound, a distinctive, cooked-down concoction of anarcho punk, oi!, and classic heavy metal, but even with such a heavy vibe, Härvest’s songs shine. This record takes everything that was so striking about Poison Ruin’s earlier records and just slams the gas pedal to the floor. The hooks are bigger, the riffs more distinctive and memorable, the performances crackle with even more energy, and the lyrical concept and execution is next-level by DIY punk standards. Poison Ruin doesn’t invite easy comparisons, but a good point of reference might be Subhumans. Like Subhumans, Poison Ruin has an identifiable sound and aesthetic and they craft ambitious songs that would lean toward prog’s pretensions if they weren’t so steeped in punk energy and venom. And in that context, Härvest is like Poison Ruin’s The Day the Country Died, where all the elements come together with a rush of excitement as intoxicating as your first drink. I could go into why I love each track on this record, but it’s enough to sayHärvest is a non-stop parade of hits, the work of a brilliant band at the height of their powers. Viva Poison Ruin!

Record of the Week: Why Bother?: A City of Unsolved Miseries LP

Why Bother?: A City of Unsolved Miseries 12” (Feel It Records) Feel It Records brings us the third full-length in as many years by this Iowa band (they’ve also released a few EPs in there too!). Given their prolific release schedule, lo-fi recordings, and home base in the Midwest, I wouldn't doubt Why Bother? gets a lot of comparisons to Guided by Voices. While that comparison isn’t off-base—I’m sure a GBV fan would find a lot to like in Why Bother?’s music—the band that springs to mind when I listen to A City of Unsolved Mysteries is Hüsker Dü. The singer sounds kind of like Bob Mould, the guitar sounds tend toward the tinny, and my favorite songs feature big, melancholic pop hooks that wouldn’t have been out of place on Zen Arcade or New Day Rising. “Get Used to It” is the best example of this, but even sunnier-sounding tracks like the surveillance anthem “Eyes Everywhere” and the synth-forward “She’s a Vamp” bring to mind the ‘Dü, though perhaps Grant Hart’s songs more than Bob’s. There’s also a killer cover of the Alice Bag Band’s “Prowlers in the Night,” a song you’ll remember from The Decline of Western Civilization. Throughout the record, the songwriting is top-notch, the energy level high, the lo-fi textures innovative and surprising… A City of Unsolved Miseries is a quiet masterpiece, its understated sleeve and modest 300-copy pressing barely hinting at the brilliance in its grooves. If you have a place in your heart for the best late 80s and early 90s indie, give this a listen… if you’re anything like me, it might not blow your mind on the first note, but you’ll think, “that was a fantastic song,” after pretty much every track.

Record of the Week: Salvaje Punk: S/T LP

Salvaje Punk: S/T 12” (Toxic State Records) The 2020 demo tape from New York’s Salvaje Punk came and went through the distro way too quickly… I’m not sure I even had time to listen to it, much less digest it, but this debut full-length is not one to miss. This record knocked me on my ass from the second I put it on, and I love it so much that I’ve had trouble making time to listen to much else since it arrived. It’s obvious from the first few seconds what a powerful and fully realized record this is, but despite playing it a ton, I’ve been having trouble figuring out why I love it so much, and I worry I won’t be able to articulate my feelings here. Part of it may be that Salvaje Punk’s style feels fresh. The label’s description calls them “the missing link between No Security and Parabellum,” and me not knowing either of those bands’ records well could contribute to why this feels so fresh for me. The comparison sounds on the money, as Salvaje Punk ground their sound in the rawest and fastest mängel, but while some of those Swedish bands can sound so proficient as to be slightly cold, Salvaje Punk leans on the chaotic and unhinged sound of South American punk and metal for the other big element of their sound. It’s a fine line to walk, but Salvaje Punk has their shit dialed in. It helps that, despite the raw and dirty presentation, the members are top-notch musicians who have the technique and chops to maintain that high level of intensity through an entire full-length. A lot of maximalist hardcore releases like this can be so intense as to be exhausting, wearing on the ear by the end of the record, but Salvaje Punk knows when to shake things up with some wild lead guitar (“Salvaje”) or a punishing death metal breakdown that sounds like it was swiped from Sepultura’s Morbid Visions (“Desconchinflo Global”). And, of course, since it’s a Toxic State release, the packaging is beautiful, handmade, and packed with sick illustrations that look punk as fuck. This record bleeds the urgency, energy, and intensity that I want from punk, and for me it’s one of 2023’s essential releases.

Record of the Week: Sial: Sangkar 7"

Sial: Sangkar 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) The last record from Singapore’s Sial, 2021’s Zaman Edan, was a bit of a departure for the band, a two-song single that foregrounded the experimental and psychedelic elements that had bubbled under the surface of their earlier material. Even the artwork was a little different, swapping the paintings by drummer Izzad Radzali Shah that had adorned earlier releases for a black-and-white photograph. On Sangkar, Sial returns to shorter songs, but the experimental tendencies are still there, resulting in a scorching six-song EP that has it all. As with their earlier material, the riffs are excellent, catchy yet brutal in the mode of Destestation-era G.I.S.M., and the rhythms pummeling, particularly when they drop into those S.H.I.T.-style heavy pogo beats. One thing that seems unique to Sial, though, is how they can hit the pause button on the relentless forward motion and drop into these weightless-feeling drone parts for just a moment. It’s like they splice a few bars of Neu! into their hardcore song, and even though they only do this for short stretches on Sangkar, those parts still feel as hypnotic as the best psychedelia, particularly when Sial brings in some auxiliary percussion, as they do to great effect on “Tali,” “Sia-Sia,” and “Mana.” Thanks to this ability, Sial has a unique take on the cycle of tension and release that so many hardcore bands lean on. All this comes together on the brilliant first track, “Tali.” There’s this middle section where the band goes into one of those hypnotic parts (augmented with what sounds like hand bells), building the tension until they drop back into the song’s brilliant main riff, swapping out the verses’ brisk rhythms with a pulverizing mosh beat. For me, that moment is as good as hardcore gets. Sial was a standout band from the jump, but on Sangkar it feels like they’ve found their own voice.