News

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Another week, another newsletter, amirite? Only this time, a few of us are certainly trying to squeeze this thing in real quick before leaving the country. By the time this newsletter is available for your viewing pleasure, I’ll be in Sweden along with Daniel and Usman. Crazy talk. I can’t wait for Scarecrow to embark on our journey along with our friends in Vidro. Seeing the beautiful Scandinavian countryside once again. I’ll also be going to Finland for the first time!! So stoked. K-Town is gonna be sick. And my homies in Invertebrates will be there too? LFG.

Speaking of Invertebrates… I know their LP was “Record of the Week” last week. I know Usman wrote about the record in his staff pick as well. But I think it would be a glaring misstep—a DAMN shame I say!—if I didn’t take the opportunity to also share some love for the new Invertebrates record. Considering my last staff pick was all about how I was feeling ill, SICK to Survive would have been a perfect theme for last week. Yet another missed opportunity. Oh well.

Let me start by saying that Invertebrates made the hardcore record that I feel like I’ve been waiting to hear, but that no other band was making. I think it’s one of the best executed hardcore punk records I’ve heard in years. 10 songs in under 14 minutes and a crushing blow. I remember hearing the Invertebrates demo tape a few years back. Particularly the first track “Down Under,” to me it sounded like the songwriting was leaning toward other contemporary bands not unlike Bootlicker: that kind of restrained, bouncy fast-paced UK82 style a la The Partisans. I think Sick To Survive is a different beast altogether. To the point where people who loved the demo might be taken aback. In a good way. Sure, I have an inherent bias because I’m also in a band with 3 out of 5 active members in Invertebrates. Call it nepotism. Whatever, sue me. I love watching my friends do cool shit. Now by comparison, Public Acid likes the heavy stuff. I feel like we incorporate some metal influences. But to me, Invertebrates is devoid of any of the trappings I find with modern hardcore, whether bands are d-beat/crust/grind… whatever. Invertebrates got no crust. They got no metal. They got no spines? Haha.

I remember Will (who plays guitar in Invertebrates) telling me that he was listening to a ton of Career Suicide when writing the songs he contributed to this record. I can totally hear that. Especially just the urgency with which a song like “Lost Illusion” starts with. Immediately ripping. I’m just like: “YES!!! HARDCORE!!!” But I think the grander idea of what I’m getting at, and what this LP really electrifies in my brain synapses is the same feeling I got when I would listen to bands that I associate with the initial 80s hardcore punk revival of the early 2000’s. A special time, if you ask me. And I gotta say, as much as I love watching my boi Chubb play that Discharge beat style, I just love his drumming on this LP. The stylistic approach just seems right up his alley. My man is on FIRE. The speed and ferocity is outta control, but dialed and focused simultaneously. In the pocket. And this record is FAST. The band is hitting some really intricate rhythms that most degenerate punks I’m sure would find difficulty playing. Just listen to the intro of the title track “Sick To Survive,” with its blistering snare rolls back to back, but then everyone drops out into this quick hiccup-like pause that makes your heart feel like it skips a beat. Clean guitars are played fast furious, no “buh-nah-nuh” bullshit. If you know what I mean, then you know. Real deal non-stop right hand exercise. But also some left field, spaced out psychedelic sounding leads on a song like “Bated Breath.” The band also launch into some unexpected, quirky chromatic parts like the intro to “Shit Pit”. Super cool. As much as this record is dead serious in its commitment to total rippage, there are moments of levity. Straight rage and super fun. What a concept.

I don’t know man, there’s something special about this record. And it seems like the punk community at large agrees with me, because it’s already selling really well. At risk of sounding cheesy, I think this record embodies a spirit. Invertebrates is the truth. From the heart, pure and genuine HARDCORE. Now, as I mentioned, I play in a band with 3 of the people in Invertebrates and consider them close friends. Merm, who absolutely tears it up on the bass, is also an old friend seeing as I’ve known him since his North Carolina days. Max the singer I’ve only gotten to know in the last several years. He’s even travelled with Public Acid overseas. Max is a talented artist, a good friend to most everyone who knows him, and a fixture of the Richmond punk scene. One of the few mofos I know who is actually FROM Richmond. The kinda dude who you think to yourself, “You know what? Max should really sing for a band.” Might as well be the best band. Man, okay, so a song like “Humid Crypt” on this record has this long, building crescendo that breaks into this crushing mid-tempo part that ends the song. Dare I say “breakdown?” It’s one of my favorite riffs and moments on the entire record. And there’s something about it where, sure, it is no doubt mosh-inducing. But the thing is, it doesn’t come across like bone-headed dumb tough guy hardcore. It really reminds me of authentic Richmond area hardcore, that blend of ripping fast with hardass dance parts that still feels totally punk. I hear a little Direct Control, even a little Wasted Time maybe? But even more than that, I hear like Unseen Force. So, watching a bunch of Richmond local punks tear it up at the gig, dancing hard as fuck when that riff in “Humid Crypt” drops, all while Max is beckoning the crowd while wearing a Direct Control shirt? That’s what I’m fucking talking ‘bout. Real HCPMF shit.

Anyway, I’ll quit gushing like a dork. Buy this record. I’m sure you probably have already.

‘Til I’m not sure when?

-Jeff

Scream: Still Screaming 12” (Dischord, 1983)

This week I’ve been jamming Scream’s 1983 debut album, Still Screaming. The ninth release on Dischord Records, Still Screaming was the first full-length by a single group on Dischord (the compilation Flex Your Head and the Faith / Void split had both come out a year earlier in 1982). It makes sense that this distinction would go to Scream, as they had a somewhat more diverse sound than most of their label-mates at the time. Even Minor Threat’s Out of Step was only a 12” EP, and I can see how the label might have been trepidatious about how a straightforward hardcore band would execute a full-length. Punctuating their hardcore with segues into reggae, though, along with their knack for crafting big singalong choruses, made Scream a good candidate to test whether a 15+ song hardcore punk album should be a thing or not.

Still Screaming bursts out of the gate with two of its best songs, “Came Without a Warning” and “Bedlam.” “Came Without a Warning” might be Scream’s best-known track, and it’s certainly a punk classic. My old band Logic Problem used to play this song… we liked to learn covers for specific shows, and since we went up to DC for gigs often, we ended up learning a handful of songs by DC bands. “Came Without a Warning,” while undeniably memorable, is a pretty simple song, but I think “Bedlam” really shows off what makes Scream so special. In particular, the chorus melody is more complex than on the first track, and Pete Stahl sells the fuck out of it too, filling his vocal line with so much expression and passion. I’m sure the song would have been strong if it had been stripped down to a barking UK82 style, but Pete just makes it come alive.

Revisiting Still Screaming for the first time in many years this week, I was also struck by how much of it is just straight-up blistering hardcore. I guess moments like the reggae and funk tinges from “American Justice” and “Hygiene” just loom large in my memory, because most of this record blazes. Maybe the melody in tracks like “Killer” and “Cry Wolf” gets obscured by the speed, but I’m glad these tracks are there. I may not be able to remember the song titles as well as the hits, but these songs keep the energy level high, and tracks like “Fight” meld strong melodies to pretty straightforward hardcore songwriting. Like I said, the more diverse tracks tend to loom large in my memory, making me think Still Screaming is more diverse than it is, but it’s a hardcore album through and through.

Still Screaming does, though, hint at how the hardcore sound was already expanding and evolving by 1983. “Solidarity” sounds to me like the blueprint for early Avail and Trial-era Verbal Assault, whereas the jangly, REM-ish guitars in “Laissez-Faire” presage the Revolution Summer that would happen two years later in DC in 1985. Scream was particularly ahead of the game when it came to vocal performance and arrangement, with Pete Stahl’s big melodies carrying so much of the record and lots of background and gang vocals (most of them featuring a clearly audible Ian Mackaye, who also produced the record) giving these songs more push and pull than your typical sparsely produced hardcore punk fare.

So yeah, that’s what I’ve been listening to… I don’t have anything earth-shattering to say about Still Screaming, but maybe my ramblings will prompt you to pull this classic off the shelf. Oh, and I should also note that I was lucky to see the original lineup play many of these songs when the band did some reunion shows back in 2011. The show they played here in North Carolina was pretty notorious. This was when the Animosity lineup of Corrosion of Conformity got back together and played some shows. They had already played several times by the time they played with Scream at the Cat’s Cradle, but at this gig Eric Eycke (CoC’s singer on Eye for an Eye) jumped on stage unannounced, and Mike Dean from CoC started fighting him in the middle of their set. My old band Devour opened that gig and it ended up being the last time we ever played. Weird energy in the air that night, but I’m glad I got to see Scream crush it.

Hello Fellow Sorry Staters! This week has been another whirlwind of ups and downs, but here I am on the up and up! I haven’t really had time to listen to new stuff, but one record that has been on my radar is American Culture’s Hey Brother, It’s Been Awhile. Before I get into my review of their record I just want to point out how on point Convulse Records has been. They definitely have an ear for some really great music, from Militarie Gun, MsPaint and Gel. Honestly, I could list their whole roster and every band would rip for sure. I will always blind buy a Convulse Records release and will always be happy with it. Now on to my thoughts about the new American Culture record!

The write up on the Convulse records site describes this record as punk psychedelia and I could not agree more. The album is oozing with influences from The Stone Roses and Oasis, while adding this twist of sonically inducing soundscapes in the background and it’s just a perfect record. I like to think of times or places to listen to a record when I am going through my first listen. Do you have a long road trip to go on? Are you walking alone in an empty airport on a layover at 3am? Are you laying in a field with your significant other or a group of friends smoking a joint? This is how I envision listening to this album.

Lyrically this album was written as a true story of the loss of a friend and wondering how they are and what they are doing. In the song “Two Coyotes” Chris Adolf writes, “Hey man, where are you sleeping tonight? Hang man, what you keeping inside?” You can tell that he is worried about his friend and how he is doing while Michael Stein, who went homeless and missing for 3 months, writes in the song “Survive,” “My friends aren’t angry—I just think they got tired—They talk about me in the past tense, but I don’t mind.” In the actual record, there is a full story about what happened and the struggles both faced.

In the end, lyrically this album is heavy and sonically beautiful. You will not regret listening to this record. Pull out the lyric sheet and read along to two friends’ story of homelessness, addiction and missing your friend.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. To everyone’s dismay, today I’ll be writing about the good ol Grateful Dead. This cool looking bootleg titled Cowboy’s Dead! came into the store and I had to check it out cause I had never seen it before. I’ve always been a fan and really respected the art of bootlegging, whether it be media, clothing or any medium, especially when it’s a real fan of the source material putting a lot of love into it. It’s cool to see people be such a fan of something that they take it upon themselves to get it out to the public. In true bootleg fashion, this record includes some minor errors such as incorrect tracks listed, like Deep River Blues being listed instead of Deep Elem Blues (a pretty honest mistake to be fair) and incorrect lyrics printed on the back, but I feel stuff like that only adds more character and charm. This recording comes to us from a show at Harpur College on 5/2/70, one of my favorite eras for the band. The first side features the aforementioned Deep Elem Blues, followed by Candyman which leads right into a very nice version of Cumberland Blues and ends with Cosmic Charlie. The second side is really what sells me on this record, with a ripping That’s It For The Other One that’s sure to melt the faces of any fans of 60s Dead, clocking in around 25 minutes. I’m just happy the universe dropped this one right in front of me cause if it wasn’t for that, I would have no idea this release existed.

Hi Sorry State fam! As always, I hope everyone is doing well and feeling good. Sorry State has unfortunately been hit upside the head a few times with some shit this week. Sickness, soreness, and a car accident. Not my story to tell, and so glad she is ok, but that is a traumatic event. So, much love and hope for a speedy recovery to Daniel’s wife, Jet.

And Jeff was/is still sick! Not sure yet if he’s doing better. But glad to hear he partied his ass off and had a lot of fun on tour beforehand. I feel like I shouldn’t even complain. But I will. So I dropped an 8 lb. dumbbell on my foot Wednesday. It was “only” a two foot drop or so, but I collapsed in total shock by this unfamiliar type of pain. I was certain it was broken or fractured, but it wasn’t. The pain went away kinda fast and even after standing on it at work all day, it was fine. I wasn’t prepared to be fine, because I’ve heard you can break or fracture your foot if you drop a roll of toilet paper on it, let alone a weight. Ok moving on. Too much talk about feet can invite some weirdness, haha.

Changing gears. So, I was instantly hooked on the Remote Control S/T EP released by Under Heat Records and Under the Gun Records. You guessed it, another Melbourne gem. Perhaps you’ve heard of Ishka Edmeades? A Sydney artist known for his many projects, including Set-Top Box, Satanic Togas, G.T.R.R.C, Gee Tee, and Research Reactor Corp. He also recorded the smash hit, The Worst of… Itchy and the Nits LP. I ate that shit up and so did many of you. Come to find out he’s added Remote Control S/T to the resume.

Four songs in five minutes. A whirlwind of fast, noisy, gritty, manic, bold, and abrasive garage punk, but without burying the melody and catchy beats. A gritty blast of frenzied maniacal hardcore is unleashed immediately before you can catch your breath and untangle it, let alone explain it. Riffs from the left, riffs from the right. Everywhere a riff riff. They come at you like swords, and almost as sharp!

The vocals are garage in style, but snarling and relentless, which is how every instrument is approached. It’s a funnel cloud of cutting riffs, spacey and abrasive synth, with lots of electronic experimentation. The EP is fast-tempo start to finish with no real shifts aside from fast to faster to fast to faster. I lied. There is a slower track called Everyone Sucks??? That’s not a question, but the name of the song. And there’s a weird closing track I can’t really explain. We’ll call it experimental, when in doubt. My favorite is the second track, Everyone is the Same. It totally knocks my socks off. And the catchy riffs and straightforward beat on The Stain is something I typically gravitate toward. Such a good one.

Grab this one if you like your chaos, catchy! Thanks for reading and have a great long weekend! Until next time.

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. There are a ton of great records in stock at Sorry State this week and it’s hard to keep up! We’ve restocked that masterpiece debut LP from KRIEGSHOG, and we’ve actually got a small amount of limited color available as well!! Recently we stocked this Svart reissue of NAUSEA’s 1991 and 1992 7”s. I didn’t realize these records were getting hard to find, but I think NAUSEA deserves the Svart treatment regardless. While I strongly prefer the band’s earlier material, I still enjoy the line-up and material that most know NAUSEA for. I haven’t had any time to check one of these out yet, but I plan to. Knowing Svart, they have done these NYC crust legends justice with a deluxe booklet with trivia, photos, and flyers; but I did just check, and the shrink-wrapped jacket doesn’t feel so bulky. I will report back once I’ve cracked one open. I also wanted to mention Mono Records has just reissued this amazing 12" from L.A.’s LEGAL WEAPON. I learned about LEGAL WEAPON sometime after the pandemic, and I think No Sorrow specifically is just too damn good. This reissue is really well done. The jackets are printed really nice. They kinda have the feel of an older record, but they’ve added some subtle changes to the layout. Shit, the center labels even look super classic with their paper choice, haha. They’ve also added in a booklet with tons of photos and flyers. They also added on two unreleased tracks that were recorded live. This record has never been reissued, and I think these well sell super fast - don’t sleep!

This week the almighty Beach Impediment just dropped three new releases! One of them is a 7" from Stockholm’s VIDRO. There was a European press that was released a short while ago, and I have been jamming this EP since. The sound leans way more into their groovy side. There are four tracks, and I think they do a great job at capturing what VIDRO is like live. They groove super hard, like they truly make you want to dance. VIDRO also has this almost like trancey or hypnotic aspect. The drums will groove endlessly while the guitar riffs, but there are subtle changes in the riffs that introduce another element of percussion. Sometimes Vendela really lays into a phrase, and she repeats it a lot. This also adds another layer of percussion to their sound. I think the combination of all of this is why it’s easy to get lost and just groove with VIDRO. I love it. These four dynamic songs are over before I know it. We will tour around Ktown with VIDRO soon and I look forward to it. They are a lot of fun to hang out with and I think they are absolutely excellent live.

Another band who is also playing Ktown who has also just dropped a record on Beach Impediment is Richmond’s INVERTEBRATES. It’s hard to know where to start with this record, cos I have a lot to say about it. I think this 12" is a chart-topper. It’s just so damn good. It seems to be on a ton of people’s radar cos we’ve been selling a ton of copies at Sorry State, and I’ve seen a lot of good things about it online. I thought it was funny INVERTEBRATES was announced for Ktown, cos at that time they only had a demo cassette released, haha. Well actually they had an additional promo cassette as well... Anyway, I know some of the Ktown crew had caught INVERTEBRATES live before, so they knew INVERTEBRATES are certified rippers. Aside from their debut record being all killer riffs and absolutely no filler, I think the packaging is so damn sick. The vocalist, Max, did all the artwork. There is a touch of red on the jacket and the center labels, and it really sets it off. Besides an insert, there is also a huge newsprint poster. The layout is so sick for both the jacket and poster. It appears the layout of the jacket is paying a heavy homage to BROKEN BONES with their Trader In Death 12". That record fucking rules. If you didn’t know, it originally had two different types of jackets: a standard one, and one of those pocket-sleeve jackets without a spine. The ones that are essentially an over-sized 7" sleeve, haha. I’m not sure what those are actually called? Funny enough, INVERTEBRATES also did a limited version of the pressing in these same spine-less jackets. There’s a lot of layers going on here, seeing that invertebrates don’t have spines either...

INVERTEBRATES originally started as a Covid project, with bassist Merm and drummer Chubb (PUBLIC ACID). Merm wrote some songs, but Chubb wrote the majority. Marty (PUBLIC ACID) recorded their demo cassette, with Chubb doing guitar and drums. (Fun fact, Marty also recorded SCARECROW’s demo.) Like I said, this was like a Covid project, so at one point Merm started to write lyrics with the intention of laying down some vocals. But sometime after, Will was recruited on guitar. Will is also in PUBLIC ACID, but on bass. I think Will laid down his guitar track next to Chubbs, and then Max joined after. Maybe I’m wrong about the exact timing, but I know Max joined after Will, and then the band was fuckin’ set. They released that demo at the very end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022. It ended up coming out before their first gig, cos the gig they were supposed to play in conjunction with their demo release was cancelled. In summer 2022, they released another cassette recorded by Marty. This one was a promo for their debut LP, Sick To Survive. By this point in the band, I think Will was contributing pretty heavily to the songwriting, cos he wrote a good number on the 12". I can’t find my copy of the promo tape, but if I remember right one side had a handful of new songs, and the backside had their demo tracks again. (All the songs newer songs plus one demo song were recorded again for this LP.) I think soon after that tape came out, Kai joined the band on guitar. She was a monstrous addition to the mix, and yet another member of PUBLIC ACID to join, haha. Originally, she actually was just intended to tour with the band to Skullfest on second guitar, but in time she evolved into a permanent member.

Alright, that history of the band was probably totally unnecessary, but I find things like this super interesting, especially when it’s my friends’ bands. Maybe you appreciated the bit of history… if not I am sorry for wasting your time, haha. Like, maybe some people would be interested to know that we literally tried out several vocalists for SCARECROW before we were lucky enough to land on Red? We jammed for like two years before we became a real band or released anything. We actually have an unreleased version of the demo somewhere as well. It’s an earlier recording than the one we released, and it’s got Jeff on vocals!(!!!) Anyway, thanks for reading everyone. I think when I write again, we will have just gotten back from our Swedish/Finnish tour. I am so excited. Cheers.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

It feels a bit surreal for me to be sitting down writing for the newsletter again. Not only because of my last couple weeks of traveling, but also because of the hazy fever dream state that is my current existence. The other Scarecrows and I returned from our excursion to LA, arriving at the Raleigh airport late on Sunday evening (for context, this would be the previous week on May 19th). And what did I decide was a good idea? To return straight to work at the record store that Monday, barely a few hours later. To say that I felt fried beyond belief at work on Monday would be an understatement. At first, I assumed that I must just be feeling fatigued after all the travel, but I only felt worse as the day went on. I come home to find out that I’m running a fever of 102 and that night when I went to sleep, I would not be able to stop coughing. Whoops! It’s almost as if when the adrenaline of partying on tour wore off, I immediately got sick. Who woulda thought?

I had a blast on this trip I just returned from. Public Acid began our journey in New York. We played 2 shows: the first at TV Eye, a proper club; the 2nd at more of a DIY venue. We billed the 2nd gig as “Public Acid & Friends,” where we commissioned people to play extra instrumentation along with us. Sasha from 80HD (among other bands) played dual drums in unison with our own Eric Chubb. Hearing both of those monster drummers in synchronicity was an amazing thing to witness. Dual drums? Why not dual bass? We also got Mateo from Warthog to throw down some additional booty to the mix. Also, Margaret from Pharmakon added some additional layers of harsh noise. Insane. Goofy even. But a super fun and special moment, nonetheless.

Then we ventured to the west coast, starting in Seattle. I got to reunite with some old friends in Portland, which was amazing. Of course, the gigs we played were great. Mainly though, I feel like the memories of just hanging out and goofing off will stick with me more: lifting weights with Electric Chair in the driveway at their house, jamming Freestyle singles with B in Oakland, eating chilaquiles with Kevin in Santa Ana, jamming Spanish new wave records with Baño at his apartment, gawking at sea lions literally a few feet away from me at La Jolla cove, walking through a forest of redwoods at Muir Woods, eating burritos the length of my forearm… I could go on and on. I grabbed a few records along the way as well. Lie Detector was definitely fun, and I was stoked to be in LA with my good friends and bandmates in both Scarecrow and Public Acid. Anyway, that’s enough of my tour diary. Funny to think I’ll probably have just as much to blab about later, seeing as I’ll be in Sweden in less than 2 weeks (holy shit).

Alright, time to talk about records. Like I said, I’ve been out on my ass with a fever for the last few days, just wasting hours dozing in and out. It sucks. I hate being sick, especially if I feel like I’m watching days just pass me by. I will say that nothing has been a better antidote for my feelings of despair than this new Kristiina LP. Seeing as this record is my current obsession, I obviously would’ve written about it regardless. But why not redirect its healing power to my current physical and mental state? Simply billed as “Kristiina” on the cover, this album Palavan Rakkauden Aika is a project led by Finnish singer-songwriter Kristiina Tuhkanen. According to the limited information I can pull off the internets, it looks like Kristiina has played in several bands and previous projects. But for all intents and purposes, this is her first solo effort—albeit with a kickass backing band.

Being the HardcorePunkMetalFreak that I am, I have spent a good chunk of years obsessing and trying to devour anything in the world of Finnish hardcore that I could get my hands on. Distracted by hardcore perhaps, I would say that hyper-melodic, (perhaps) punk-adjacent Finnish power-pop is a genre of which I am far less knowledgeable. I don’t even want to go there, but I do detect something about the sound from that region of the world, a darker take on melodic punk with indie or rock’n’roll sensibilities not unlike Masshysteri or the like. But I KNOW, Sweden and Finland are very different.

In fact, I think Finnish melodic punk, or really just straight up pop music, is finally finding its way onto my radar. A while back, I remember a friend turning me onto this Finnish guitar player and songwriter called Joni Ekman. I remember him from playing in a more raw garage punk band called The Achtungs. But on Joni’s solo records, he evolved into much more melody-based pop songwriting, and these records were also a showcase for his brilliant lead guitar work, often with notably harmonized guitar leads. Now being much much later, I’m listening to this new Kristiina album and it suspiciously also has killer harmonized guitar parts all over it… Now in my mind, I’m thinking, is this like a hallmark of the Finnish power-pop genre? And what have I been missing??? So now hearing this Kristiina record… it’s got well-executed songwriting, sweet lead vocals, and is toppled with Thin Lizzy-esque guitar solos? I’m like “What is not to like?” But OF COURSE, now I have the physical copy of the Kristiina album in my hands. I’m reading the liner notes, and guess who plays guitar on it? Joni Ekman. DUH. I should have known, I suppose. And before I get more into this Kristiina record, I really think Joni Ekman is a mad genius. And while I honestly don’t love his vocals on everything I’ve heard of his own material, I think his playing mixed with Kristiina’s voice is like a chemical explosion.

I don’t know why I find myself loving this record so much. I like that I don’t know too much about it and I’ve been blindly digesting it without outside influence. Maybe I find the mystery alluring. Whatever. Looking at the visual aesthetic of this album, the cover photo of our lady in question, along with that font… “it’s giving vintage,” as the kids might say. The production sounds sonically pristine with layered, lush instrumentation. Tons of ear candy to experience. Twelve string guitars, synthesizers, you name it. But nothing about the production feels bombastic or ridiculous. But I also don’t think the record sounding “lo-fi” is the intention either. To me, this record sounds beautifully recorded if not for having vintagey, almost boxy sounds at certain moments. Maybe if it were a Fleetwood Mac record from 1977, the layers of instrumentation on this album would seem ambitious and heavily produced. But in Kristiina’s case, the record feels restrained and understated in a way that is very intentional. This might be a weird way to describe it, but there’s almost like a toy playhouse quality, almost like this record is an adult conjuring of a child’s music box or something.

Kristiina’s voice is of course the focal point of the whole record. Her singing can be sharp with attention-gripping, rock’n’roll charisma at one moment, but she will then sound sweet, ethereal and wistful at another—like on the song “Liisa,” one of the more stripped-down numbers on the record. I think that’s what I find frustrating about many singers from punk-adjacent backgrounds making pop records. Granted, the crafting of good pop songwriting is tough. Kristiina’s songs also read as genuine, intimate, and put on display with vulnerability. It’s not that the feeling derived from the sound of this record elicits nostalgia—it’s more like it conjures a mystifying, dream-like sense of longing. Even though the melodic structure of most of these are in a major key, there’s still an intangible moodiness and melancholy.

Probably my favorite track on the album is “Aloe Vera” (which, I don’t speak Finnish, but is this song about soothing gel?). The track opens immediately with an infectious synth riff bouncing over a propulsive, up-tempo drumbeat. Kristiina’s vocal weaves this pointed, concise and syncopated pattern that gets stuck in my head… even though I unfortunately don’t know anything about what she’s saying besides the aforementioned anti-inflammatory plant. The synth part reaches crescendo after the second chorus, blooming into this dense explosion of sound that gives me goosebumps. Makes me feel a pit in my stomach, like I could be having a breakthrough tripping on mushrooms while looking at the stars… or a disco ball… Either seems fitting, really.

I love pretty much every song on this record. The last song “Hai” has gotta be another favorite. Beginning with mainly acoustic guitars, this song is a bit slower, mellower, but has a perfect, earworm chorus. Later, the song is dressed with some Wire-esque choral “oooooh” background vocals and a hypnotic, whirlwind-like repeating refrain that slowly fades to close out the record. Only 8 songs is a bit cruel. Leaves me wanting more. I guess that’s the point, right?

So yeah, I really dig this record. Maybe my strong feelings for it are currently being heightened by the gross and sad disposition I’m currently living in. Hopefully I’ll be feeling well by the time this newsletter comes out, and I’ll feel embarrassed reading this back. I think the copies we got of this Kristiina record are already sold out from Sorry State. The tracks are on bandcamp. I think the record is still available from the label. Give it a listen and tell me if my description makes sense, or if it just reads like I’m high on cough medicine.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading.

‘Til who knows when?

-Jeff

Various: Hell Comes to Your House LP (originally Bemisbrain Records, 1981; this edition Riot State Records, 1982)

Since I’ve been reading Welly Artcore’s new book Nefarious Artists, I’ve been spending a lot of time with compilations. As I noted in my write-up on the book, I’ve added a ton of compilations to my want list, and I’ve also been revisiting my favorite compilations in my collection. And, as happens when I spend time in one part of my collection, I’ve noticed gaps and started filling them. Luckily comps don’t tend to be very expensive, and when I dropped by Radiation Records in Anaheim while I was in LA last weekend, there were plenty of comps I needed in their bins. I’m sure I’ll write about some others in the future, but today I’m focusing on Hell Comes to Your House, the 1981 compilation on Bemisbrain Records (though my copy is a 1982 UK repress on Riot State Records).

When I read Welly’s write-up on Hell Comes to Your House it made me want to listen to it, but when I went through my comp section, I couldn’t find it. It’s funny how that happens... there are so many records I could swear I have, but when I go to play them, they aren’t there. But after spending some time with it this week, it seems entirely possible that I never actually owned it, as I’m not that familiar with any of the material. I knew what was on it—exclusive tracks from the early SoCal punk scene, with several bands leaning toward the emerging death rock sound—but this album isn’t baked into my bones how American Youth Report or Party or Go Home or Welcome to 1984 are.

A couple of things really distinguish Hell Comes to Your House as far as early American punk/hardcore comps go. The first is that it’s quite early. Originally released in 1981, the comp featured very early material from Social Distortion, Red Cross (though my 2nd pressing copy sadly omits their track), Legal Weapon, 45 Grave, Christian Death, and Super Heroines. The first four bands released their earliest stand-alone records in 1981, and while I’m not sure if Hell Comes to Your House came earlier than those records, if it was later, it was only by months. Rhino 39 and Modern Warfare were the veteran bands on the compilation, having released their first singles in 1979 and 1980 respectively, though 100 Flowers also qualify as scene elders, having only recently changed their name from the Urinals. While there are some sprightly tempos on the record, Hell Comes to Your House captures a moment just as hardcore was coalescing as a style, with all the bands having one foot still firmly in punk. Social Distortion and Legal Weapon tilt toward the more melodic, song-oriented side of that equation while Modern Warfare, Outer Circle, and 100 Flowers lean more experimental / post-punk.

The other important thing to know about Hell Comes to Your House is that nearly all the material here is exclusive. Social Distortion’s “Lude Boy” wasn’t even comped on their collection of early material Mainliner: Wreckage from the Past, though “Telling Them” got re-recorded for Mommy’s Little Monster. I think Legal Weapon’s song is a different take than the version on Death of Innocence, and the 45 Grave tracks are also exclusive, earlier (and superior, I think) versions of “Evil” and “45 Grave” from their first LP, with “Concerned Citizen” exclusive to this record. Christian Death re-recorded “Dogs” way down the road on their 1984 LP Deathwish, but this is the version you want. And Super Heroines sound like a completely different band to their first LP, much more aggressive and basically hardcore on their two tracks. If you’re a big fan of those bands, you’ll want Hell Comes to Your House for the exclusive tracks, but the sound here is similar enough from band to band that if you like one band, you’ll probably like almost all of them.

Indeed, Hell Comes to Your House is a solid listen all the way through. A lot of times with comps—particularly ones like this with exclusive material—the quality and style can vary from track to track. Often established bands bring their b-material, and sometimes the lesser-known bands blow their wad on their one shot at the big leagues. The playing field for Hell Comes to Your House, though, is pretty level. A year or two later, getting exclusive tracks from Social Distortion, Christian Death, and 45 Grave would have been a coup, but this comp catches them so early in their careers that their fame hasn’t leaped ahead of the lesser known groups. The consistent recording quality (cheap but competent, like so many of my favorite early SoCal records) also helps tie things together and ensure a consistent listening experience.

After doing some research, I might need to get a Bemisbrain copy in my collection besides this UK pressing because, while most of the track listing is the same, there are some differences. As I mentioned, Red Cross doesn’t appear on my pressing, and Modern Warfare’s two songs on the Bemisbrain pressing are swapped out here for a completely different third track. A totally new band, Outer Circle, is added to the UK track listing, and I like their song “Blind Venetians” a lot, an artier synth-punk track that reminds me of Nervous Gender. A quick look tells me this track comes from their 1982 12" EP on Bemisbrain, so I’ll have to check that out and see if the whole EP is as good as this song.

So there you go. I think anyone deeply into early SoCal punk and hardcore should enjoy this LP. Like a lot of compilations, the original pressing isn’t nearly as expensive as these bands’ contemporaneous stand-alone releases, but it might be tough to find as, barring a hard to find 1997 repress on Time Bomb Records, it hasn’t been in print since 1985. If you come across Hell Comes to Your House, though, it’s well worth a grip.

Another week, another pick! I have been out of commission the past couple of newsletters because I was sick, but I am back and ready to go! Who would have thought that a medication you take for one thing can make you even more sick? Being a pharmacy technician in my past life, I should have known this, but I guess it didn’t click in the cold medicine haze I found myself in. One good thing about being home sick: I was able to check out some new music and just live in my collection for a week. This week’s pick is a Finnish synth pop duo called Modem and their new album Megalomania.

I have a thing for danceable synth pop. As a kid, I remember going to Holland to visit my Mom’s side of the family and one of the first groups they showed us was Ace of Base and right after that, Eiffel 65. After that I was hooked on pop synth dance music. After getting older, I have found myself loving not just synth pop but a lot of subgenres such as dark wave and synth driven post punk—bands like Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and New Order.

Megalomania fits into that 80s pop phenomenon that folks craved in that time period. Very bass heavy tones and lead guitar riffs galore. When you hear this record, you would have no idea that it actually came out in 2024. On the track Goodbye Horses 2004, they sample the beginning guitar solo in Prince’s song “When Doves Cry.” This album will have you dancing or at the very least tapping your feet. From start to finish it’s a synth pop dream. At times, the vocals can feel very dark and this shifts with the music as well. It can go very basic thick bass synth that was well known in the 80s to a slowed down very goth type of feel.

Pick this record up and throw it on the turntable, put on a leather jacket, sunglasses and beret and dance the night away.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. This week, I’m writing about another RSD release I picked up a couple weeks ago, 300% Dynamite, a compilation of Ska, Soul, Funk & Dub from Jamaica put out by Soul Jazz Records. I’m pretty sure I’ve stated this many times before, but any time Dom recommends a comp to me, I always pick it up. This one is perfect for spring and rapidly approaching summertime. I’ve got my record player set up in my room that connects to my back porch so I can hang out outside while making the whole neighborhood listen to whatever I’m listening to, but I don’t think anyone would have a problem with this. I honestly don’t have much to say about this other than every song on here is a banger. If I had to pick one track that’s stuck out as my favorite at the moment, it would probably be Coconut Woman by The Freddie Munnings Orchestra. An absolute ear worm, so many of the lyrics on this song are so quotable. Other favorites would be Uptown Top Ranking (Althea and Donna), Step Softly (Bobby Ellis), Jungle Lion (Lee Perry and The Upsetters) and Let’s Dub It Up (Dee Sharp) but honestly I could make a case to just list every song on here. Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already.

Hi Sorry State fam! Hope everyone had a good weekend, and that all mothers and mother figures felt the love from their families. Well, maybe not all mothers. Some moms straight up suck. But I’m a mom and I think I’m pretty good, and my family made sure I had a really nice day with cards and gifts and dinner. Anyway, let’s get on with it.

So my staff pick this week relates to an artist who is I respect very much, who has been a big part of my music life for well over half my life, and who unfortunately passed away last week: Steve Albini. I gotta say I’m not that affected when many “famous people” die. But this one hurt. The last one was probably Robin Williams.

I’m gonna cut straight to the music because otherwise we would be here for a while. So this past week I have been listening to several albums produced by Steve Albini. I never realized how many I had in my collection. He had such a distinct style and produced so many incredible sounding albums. The ones that really stand out from a production perspective include the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, Breeders’ Pod, PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, and Nirvana’s In Utero. Holy drums. No one recorded drums like Albini. That damn PJ Harvey record may just be the finest in the bunch. So raw and powerful. Like the band is right there in the room with you.

I’ve also been listening to a lot of Shellac. Which brings me to my staff pick this week! At Action Park by Shellac. Self-described as a minimalist trio, and described by others as noise rock or math rock. I still don’t know what the hell math rock means. But to me they are quite possibly the best and most interesting noise rock band ever. Dark, punishing, arty, noisy, experimental, yet minimalist. Minimalist yet with great storytelling and dark humor. Minimalist yet still very colorful. Especially in the way the lead guitar is utilized. As if they threw away the directions to the instrument before ever seeing a guitar before. It wasn’t about the riffs but about the texture the lead guitar added to the music.

Something interesting about Shellac is how melody takes a backseat to the rhythm section’s more brutal, cyclical, grooves. Kind of repetitive but never boring. The tempo shifts are extreme and sudden. And the vocals are distant but abrasive and magnetic. Even a little creepy. Song of the Minerals embodies these adjectives the best. Definitely my favorite song on the album. Albini had a fascination with the darker parts of humanity, which you hear in his prior works as well as Shellac. But the way these themes are expressed and how they substantiate the music is more creatively mature and interesting than Big Black (in my opinion). While Big Black is hard to top in the Abini discography, I think Shellac does it with this album. And they definitely do it with 1000 Hurts (2000). Shellac’s sound is not as much a departure as it is a progression or expansion of Big Black. Their sound is more unhinged and less domesticated than other post-hardcore/post-rock bands like the Jesus Lizard, but if you like the Jesus Lizard or Slint and you missed out on Shellac, definitely give them a listen. Personally, the Jesus Lizard and I never really clicked, and not for lack of trying.

At Action Park is just what 1994 needed, and it was met with high praise. It feels like it could be the soundtrack to doomsday when only a handful of people are left and they are all really cool. Picture it. The song Pull the Cup feels like a perfect doomsday track. It’s the type of song where you kind of wait in anticipation. Will it brighten up? Stay the course? Go darker? No. But there is a curious intensity to it. The first few times I heard it, it made me feel a little anxious. I think that’s a good thing.

I’ve always loved the packaging of this record. It’s a folded hand pressed sleeve and what’s known as a uni-pak style album jacket. On one side of the sleeve is a fictional map of Action Park and on the other side the medical text, Resuscitation from apparent death by electric shock. I guess the text came from one of their old electronics textbooks. “Smoking is as natural as breathing. They’ve been doing it since before I was born... ... which is a shame, because I could have invented it. - Todd Stanford Trainer 1994” is etched on both sides of the vinyl. Perfectly fucking weird. Just like Shellac.

I don’t think Shellac is recognized and credited as much as they should be. I’m so glad they recorded a new album before Albini passed. Their first album in ten years, To All Trains, comes out Friday. And I cannot wait to hear it! Thanks as always for reading. Until next time..

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. I think the week before last I mentioned a handful of bootlegs we had just got in stock. It appears the 7"s are sold out now, but we still have a few copies of the East Punks compilation. It seems like the same person had made all three boots, but I don’t really know that for sure and I probably shouldn’t try too hard to figure it out, haha. I haven’t written about a boot in a while, and I don’t buy them often. Usually, I don’t think much of them cos more times than not an official reissue follows. I think the last boot I wrote about was the BLACK UNIFORMS Faces of Death 12". It was nicely done. It seemed just like the original. But if it’s unofficial and looks seemingly identical to the OG, I think that is a bit whack. I felt super inclined to pick up a copy of each of these Japanese boots cos I had never heard of a single band except GASMASK. This 7" split with GASMASK and BARRICADE seems like total fan club shit, haha. The idea of creating your own split for a bootleg, I mean. I will talk more about that split in a minute, as it is my actual staff pick this week. But first, the PISS 7" I know nothing about. At first, I wondered if it was this same PISS from this compilation. I had never heard of this compilation either, but it’s pretty sick. It’s also sick that all the bands are comprised of only women! Luckily, a friend informed me the PISS on the boot are from Kyushu, the same city as CONFUSE, and this recording is somewhere between 1982 and 1985. Cos of the GASMASK split 7", I thought the East Punks 12" was also a fanclub kinda layout cos I could find nothing about an original release online. I managed to find a demo of one of these bands on YouTube, ZAMZA, and it fuckin rips. But luckily again, the same friend informed me that this compilation was originally released on cassette, and it features bands from Shizuoka. The sound quality ain’t amazing, but I think it still sounds good for what it is. Who knows how good it even sounded originally. And obviously whoever made the boot sourced it from their original mega-hyper-rare cassette. The A side starts off strong as hell with this raw ass-beater shit called WILD BONVERS. The sound quality is probably best for them and ZAMZA. Regardless of the sound kinda being all over the place, it’s safe to say each band fucking rips.

Getting into the GASMASK split with BARRICADE, the GASMASK tracks were unreleased until now—what the fuck?! How did they do that? Fuck. Maybe these recordings have been passed around in some tight Japanese nerd circles, and some are not impressed. But for someone like me, I find this incredible! Haha oh shit, but now I am thinking about how Crust War previously reissued GASMASK, so maybe permission could have been granted. I think this is where I say something like ‘but I digress.’ The GASMASK tracks on this split are so damn good. I’ve just been listening on repeat. It sounds pretty much nothing like their one and only EP. Ah shit that’s a lie. On that GASMASK/COWARD split reissue Crust War did, they featured a good amount of bonus songs. One of them is an unreleased GASMASK track from 1987. That must be from the same session as the tracks on this boot 7". The sound and the style are the same. They play much faster on the material after their EP. They still have their noisy characteristics, but it comes out in a different, more chaotic fashion. Their catchy aspects evolved more into a metallic, anthemic sound. I absolutely love the evolution. I don’t think there is any relation to BARRICADE with GASMASK. I don’t think they share members, and I am pretty positive they weren’t from the same city. The BARRICADE stuff on this split is from 1983 as well. See what I mean when I said this is some total fanclub shit? Haha. Two bands from different cities, and a handful of years apart. Maybe I am just not knowledgeable enough to recognize the relation. I learned the BARRICADE stuff had been previously released on a super obscure compilation called Rock’n Roll Boogie ‘83 Now Hits. It seems they stand out unbelievably by being the only band on the LP playing hardcore punk. It’s interesting they are the only band who’s got more than one song on there too. If you hadn’t heard this shit like me, you can check a song here. Alright, I should get going actually. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. Cheers!