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RIP 2021 finally. This year has been long with everything going on. I did a bootcamp for web development in addition to my full-time job for most of this year and I’m freakin tired y’all.

I missed a lot of music being holed up in my little computer world. These aren’t in any kind of order, just the order they came to my brain. Also I still have a LOT of stuff to listen to from this year. So this list isn’t exactly the “best stuff released.” It’s things I have gotten around to listening to multiple times and enjoyed.

1) Chain Whip: Two Step To Hell

I feel like there has been no better soundtrack to 2021 than this album. I’ve been pretty isolated this year due to the pandemic, the fact that I have worked from home for several years now and doing a coding bootcamp on top of my 40 hour work week. So this has often been the needed kick in the teeth that I need to motivate me to actually do anything. My life has been pretty sedentary, so I’ve gravitated towards some of the more aggressive releases this year. Full of energy and emotion, this record just rips. Music gets weird sometimes. The releases are endless and time is finite, so things fall to the wayside pretty easily. That being said though, this is an album that I feel like will hold up in another 10 years as just a prime example of hardcore in the 20s.

Seth’s Top Track - Fresh Paint and Philanthropy

2) Bootlicker: S/T

This album is just solid as they come, like a freakin brick wall. These songs don’t feel super fancy and over thought out. They are straight and to the point. That being said, there’s still lots of melody packed in these songs. They’re all barn burners while still being extremely catchy songs. There’s something about the twangyness of the one guitar mixed with the overall fuzziness of everything (almost like everything was clipping when recorded, but it works so well). Definitely an ear full of noises to discover in the depths of everything.

Seth’s Top Track - Another Body

3) Slant: 1집

Insert all of the expletives here. I skipped Slant’s earlier releases, much to my dismay. I guess I assumed it would more so be capital h hardcore. Talk about egg on my face. As I mentioned, these are more so the things that made it under my very large rock I live under that I was intrigued enough to listen to multiple times. I have jammed this album endlessly. It is just a complete rager. If I still drank, this would make me want to shotgun a beer while throwing half of it on all of the people around me. Every song is just sharp and scathing, like being drenched in boiling water. The guitars have a very Minor Threat on speed feel to them. This album just doesn’t relent though and god I freakin love it. All Killer No Filler. Like I keep trying to come up with smart sounding things to say about this (I’ll leave that up to Daniel and Rich) but in my head just keep thinking “Damn this rules”. I feel like if this isn’t on your top ten of the year then I might not trust your taste (I mean jk, but maybe not?)

Seth’s Top Track - Violent Minds

4) Kohti Tuhoa: Vakivaltaa

I’ve never really listened to this band. I think the artwork always made me assume they sounded like Dystopia or something. I’m an idiot. So artwork aside (don’t get me wrong, the artwork of their albums is always super cool and reminds me of older sci-fi novels (which I love), it just always led me to wrong assumptions musically) this record is great and all of my friends are bad friends for not correcting my action earlier. It was on a big playlist of stuff that came out this year that I made and the second Juokse Kovempaa came on I HAD TO HEAR MORE. I was instantly hooked. This band does just such a fantastic job of mixing in some of that reverbed out post-punky sound along with their very Comes-like brand of hardcore. The guitars aren’t super heavy and crunchy but still do a lot of the heavy lifting along with the drums, while the vocals feel like an endless stream coming at you super quick, backed with fury and power. Every time I get to the end I am just left wanting more, but luckily due to my short-sightedness I have a whole lot of material from them to comb through and enjoy.

Seth’s Top Track - Juokse Kovempaa

5) Imploders: S/T

Yo, do you like Minor Threat but want something cooler and modern? Then get this 7". So maybe it’s just that first song kind of reminds me of Minor Threat. Still, this record is fantastic. Truly gritty and riffy with lots of interesting ear catching vocal chord shredding. Like I could go in depth about how it mixes some of that DC flavor with some of the grit and melody of the west coast or some dumb thing like that, but if you like hardcore and punk then you can’t go wrong with this record. It gets me hyped up and makes me feel like a teen again every time I put it on.

Seth’s Top Track - Keeping A Close Eye

6) Rata Negra: Una Vida Vulgar

I mean I’ll never be one to hide that I love things that pop and bop and are super melodic. I have liked all of Rata Negra’s releases and most everything these people have been involved with. That being said, the opening track, Venid A Ver, might be one of my most listened to songs this year. It’s just such a sonically interesting song to me. It has turned into like an addiction to hear it at least once a week or something. The rest of the album is up to par as for Rata Negra songs (I really enjoy the video for El Escarmiento), but for some reason that specific song has just been turning around in my brain since this came out. I feel like everyone’s had enough time to decide on if they dig what Rata Negra’s selling. I don’t think this album is going to be the gamechanger if you haven’t dug their last two albums. For the uninitiated, Rata Negra plays catchy punk that is very poppy and jam packed full of melody. On top of that is a weird darkness/somberness that seems to cover the whole thing. It’s hard to explain but always feels to be there. It’s one of those things that as soon as a song of theirs comes on, it’s unmistakably a Rata Negra song. While they definitely have “their sound” they 100% take the time to explore what they can do within that.

Seth’s Top Track- Venid A Ver

7) Morbo: A Quien Le Echamos la Culpa

I really haven’t spent enough time with this record to write in depth about it. This band has been on my periphery for a long time (I’ve definitely seen the band name and logo before) but I’ve never checked them out. This is 100% a Seth Record though. It has a very 70s sound mixed with a bit of grit and grime. The vocals remind me of something very specific but on the tip of my tongue (maybe a bit of Los Saicos in how grating the vocals are in comparison to the bouncy/trebly/very ‘77 guitars). This is my most anticipated record to sit and listen to closely though. I’ve had it on in the background a lot but haven’t sat and given it the attention I feel it needs. I almost didn’t write about this, but it is just so up my alley that I’d feel remiss to not make everyone else to listen to it. This one will more than likely be a big hit of 2022.

Seth’s Top Track - En El Cubil

8) Electric Chair: Social Capital

I’m sure everyone is writing about this. I mean it flat out rules. Every time I put it on I panic thinking it’s at the wrong speed because it’s so fast. I don’t know if I’m going to have any gleaming, original revelation past “this rules” so yeah.

Seth’s Top Track - Social Capital

9) Mujeres Podridas: Muerte En Paraiso

So this record made it on like some bandcamp list of top Psychedelic records of 2021 or something. I assumed it was simply because of the cover art. My mind went down some weird rabbit hole somehow ending at a very young me listening to Black Flag for the first time. My brain couldn’t comprehend it as music. It was just so alien and different from everything I had heard until that point. So then I listened more closely and realized how kind of alien and out there this record is compared to anything accessible to the masses. There’s a lot in these songs to unwrap. Overall, though, it drips with something cool and unidentifiable. All I can think about is coming into this album as an entry into developing your own tastes and as an outsider to music aside from what’s on the radio and how freaking cool and different it is. So yeah, that was a long rant that ended nowhere close to explaining how this sounds. All I can say is give this album a try,, it’s really good and like one of those albums I kind of want to show every weird misfit kid I run into now.

Seth’s Top Track - El Chico En La Discoteca

10) Illiterates: S/T

This reminds me of the best parts of the 00s, which are now so long gone. Like it sounds rough and tough with no silly machismo added in like some NYHC macho, I lift weights and eat only protein powder music, I don’t know. I had several albums for this last spot to pick from, but this album just does it for me. It just takes me back through the past 20+ years of suffocating in sweaty basements and some of the life choices I’ve made. Definitely hardcore for those that love hardcore. It just brings a dumb grin across my face.

Seth’s Top Track - Justin’s Song

Things I need to check out more:

Cochone

Spread Joy (I’ve really enjoyed what I heard)

Alien Nosejob

Scalple

Taqbir (that was this year right?)

like millions of demos etc.

Check out a Spotify playlist of Seth’s top tracks here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L6bFBi7twdcUoOFANXfy4?si=baa9117680ac4112

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Well, here we are at the end of another fucked up year. Everyone say goodbye to the year 2021. Prepare for a year-end wrap up with lots of over-indulgent ramblings:

It’s kind of a trip to think about how we’re all now living in the year 2022. That doesn’t even seem like an actual year that humans should be living in. That sounds like a made up year in the plot of a science fiction movie where people time travel to the future. So weird. Every year, when we get close to New Years Eve, all of us folks who work at the good ol’ Sorry State start thinking about our Top 10s for the whole shebang. I went back and read my “year in review” from our newsletter this time last year, and boy, was it depressing to read. I guess what I wrote just reflects the frame of mind I was living with at the time. As I’m writing this, rather than simply thinking about 2021 as its own series of unique events, I can’t help but compare this past year to how gnarly 2020 felt. In some ways, 2021 was a lot better, but it still had this lingering feeling of an alternate reality.

One of the major joyful differences is that once we got to the summer of 2021, punk happened again. At first, all gigs took place outside, which was fine by me. At that point, I’d take what I could get. I remember discussions where people were rightfully hesitant, like, “Is this a good idea?” The first show back in Richmond was under a bridge right underneath an I-95 overpass, and there were easily a few hundred people there. I remember feeling overwhelmed but so exhilarated. The feeling in the air was that everyone had busted out of isolation, just waiting for this moment where they could explode with energy. That was a gratifying moment. With both Scarecrow and Public Acid, I even got to travel a bit to go and play shows. But now, at the end of this year, new covid variants have slowed things down once again. I’m hopeful there will still be energy around making cool punk stuff happen in 2022.

Before I ramble too much, I’ll go ahead and get to records that I enjoyed this year. In all honesty, SO MANY great records came out in 2021. While I’ll surely be leaving out some key releases that I jammed this year, the records I chose for my Top 10 all feel like total no brainers. I decided to not include any Sorry State releases, but Golpe surely would’ve been in my top 10. I’m gonna keep my little explanations about each record super brief. Also, I’ve numbered these, but they are not ranked in any particular order. Heavy on the hardcore. Would you expect any less? Here we go:

1. Electric Chair: Social Capital 7” - Easily one of my favorite records to come out this year, or really, in the last 10 years. This feels like the band that is preserving and flying the flag for true hardcore punk. When Public Acid was in LA, I saw Electric Chair 3 nights in a row and it was so energetic and powerful every single time. This band rules. End of story.
2. Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi 7" - I remember when Daniel first sent us the link to this band’s new EP. Instantly, this thing blew my, Usman’s, and every other punk freak’s socks off. A new crop of Finnish hardcore at its finest.
3. Personal Damage: Demo 7" flexi - Another USHC-fueled punk banger that totally caught me off guard this year. Taking cues from some of my favorite classic California hardcore like Wasted Youth (among others), these dudes play snotty but super catchy hardcore perfectly. We stayed at a house in LA where Bungee the guitar player/singer lives. Out of his room, he was just blasting Gang Green super loud. I was like, it all makes sense now. “Mwah,” chef’s kiss.
4. Quarantine: Agony 12” – One of the most mind-blowing records I had heard in a long time. These Philly rippers get to the meat of the issue with their hardcore, but also incorporate some inventive and surprising moments on this record. Electronic dance mixes and all. The band was kind enough to invite Scarecrow to play their record release gig for this LP. I remember watching Quarantine play and just thinking that these dudes were like machines. It sounded exactly like the record.
5. Nervous SS / Rat Cage: Split 12" - Sometimes, I just get sick of everyone talking about Discharge all the time. Don’t get me wrong, they’re maybe the best punk band ever. Still, for all the d-beat or whatever you wanna call it out there, there’s just something so special about that Swedish flavor of hardcore. This LP contains two bands that crush this style, and neither is even from Sweden! Macedonia vs UK. Who wins? There’s no telling. Such a ripper that got many spins this year. If you want ripping käng/mängel (kängel? Imagine LL Cool J raging to Swedish hardcore), then look no further.
6. Alambrada: Muerte Preventiva 7" - What a vicious record. After first hearing Muro, and then losing my shit to this Alambrada 7” when it came out, it’s clear that Bogota has an amazing hardcore scene. Alambrada is so fast, nasty and mean. One of my favorites this year for sure.
7. Psico Galera: Le Stanze Della Mente 12" - Definitely the most unique sounding record I have on my list. For lack of a better term, Psico Galera has that type of “weirdo” or “spooky” hardcore sound that is right up my alley. In my mind, the sound falls somewhere between the dissonance of Die Kreuzen (or maybe more accurately Wretched) and the fuming rage of Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. This thing just kicks ass.
8. Fairytale: S/T 7” - A record from early on in 2021 that has really stuck with me. NY’s Fairytale really stood out to me with this record because they take that Swedish käng hardcore, but mix it with these psychedelic, out of control guitar freak outs. It’s insane. I also think the singer Lulu’s vocals totally make the record. Ripping.
9. Tower 7: Peace On Earth? 12" - Now here’s a record that squeezed into the running right at the end of 2021. I think that it would be criminal to not include in this list. If you paid any attention to our distro in December, you’re probably aware that Sorry State sold out of our copies in like an hour. Pretty wild. People might crucify me for this, but I think I might still prefer Tower 7’s demo over this LP. Just by a hair. And that’s not to say this LP isn’t amazing -- it’s like a total evolution of their sound. I just love how the demo sounds like a gnarly, unhinged hardcore record. This LP so clearly takes more influence from metal, which is totally cool. It’s like an Eye For An Eye vs. Animosity kinda situation. Personally, I’m happy to have both.
10. Morbo: ¿A Quién Le Echamos La Culpa? 12" - My final pick on this list is the least hardcore-related of the bunch. Somehow, I’ve managed to evade having any awareness of this band, which is crazy, because Lima, Peru’s Morbo has been active since 2001. This LP is an amazing collection of tuneful punk songs, and was first released on cassette a couple years back. The songs are so good that, for my money, it definitely deserved a proper LP release. The packaging instantly stood out with the recycled paper jackets and super cartoony, punk as fuck artwork. When listening to this, it feels too classic to be a brand new punk record coming out in this fucked up time. Check this out if you slept on it.

There’s also a ton of reissues that I spent a lot of time with this year. I guess I was a little Duff McKagan obsessed because I was listening to the Living: 1984 12” and the Vains: You May Not Believe… 7” constantly. I jammed that Assault and Battery 12” on Alona’s Dream a whole bunch. Can’t forget the Meathouse camp’s killer reissues this year like the Nog Watt 7” and the Artistic Decline 7”, but most importantly, all those Hated 7” reissues.

Another top 10 list of stuff that happened in 2021…

1. Best food. In California, I ate so much Mexican food it was ridiculous. But honestly, my fondest memories are of this one burrito spot right down the street from where we stayed. We went to Sam’s Tacos so many times. While it wasn’t the “fanciest” spot, it’s open 24 hours, and the food was so good. Local folks just cranking out burritos all day. If you wanted no meat or cheese like me, you’d have a hard time ordering if your Spanish speaking is weak. Part of what made it so awesome is just rolling up with our big homie Irfaun who lived at the house we stayed at. Our first late-night visit based purely on his recommendation.
2. Best record score. I don’t think any year will top 2020 as far as my cleaning up on killer records. Still, I got some pretty cool records in 2021. There’s several I could mention, but my big score this year was a copy of Minor Threat: In My Eyes 7”. It’s a 2nd press with yellow labels. I’d love to have a red vinyl copy one day, but the likelihood of that seems less and less all the time. This copy will do me just fine I think. I worked out the deal for this a couple days before New Year’s Eve, and it only arrived this past Wednesday, but I’m still counting it haha. Shout out to my dude Alejandro. I’m stoked. I’m sure I’ll be posting about all my other record scores on social media like a total dork in the next day or so.
3. New band. One of the biggest things that happened this year is that I joined Public Acid. I’ve been friends with everyone in the band for years, and I feel so lucky to play in a sick band with my homies. In the short time I’ve been playing with Acid, we’ve already done some really exciting things. Look forward to playing guitar on a new Public Acid record in the near future.
4. Bunker Punk stuff. As much as it’s been difficult to stay active with music projects with the current state of the world, Usman and I have continued to work and plan stuff for our label. I was very excited to release the Fatal cassette this year, a project that Usman and I played on with Kevin Mertens singing. Would be rad if Fatal turned from a recording project into a band that actually played shows. Also, Scarecrow released a few songs for upcoming and long-awaited 2nd EP. It’s been over a year since we recorded the songs for the EP, so hopefully Bunker Punks will finally release it in early 2022.
5. Traveling. Both Public Acid and Scarecrow played killer gigs in Philly. Public Acid got to go play in New York and LA, which is nuts. The notion of visiting anywhere but my bedroom in the year 2020 would not even have occurred to me. Even still living in a pandemic in 2021, I was on an airplane for the first time since I was a teenager. Kinda crazy. I really feel like it was good for my headspace and mental health to get away and take a break from my normal routine.
6. Moving. I’m not sure how much I’ve talked about this in our newsletter, but after we were forced to move out of our old punk house (The Bunker) in 2020, I ended up crashing with my mom for a few months. Earlier in 2021, I finally moved into my own apartment. Adjusting to living alone has been pretty weird, but I think I like it. I hope when shows get super active again that some young punks will get another show house going. Then I won’t have to be the one hounding drunk people for money!
7. This might sound kinda funny, but I think a big thing for me this year was actually SEEING PEOPLE. I distinctly remember a period last year where I felt super isolated. Spending time in person with homies really feels like a major change -- especially visiting people that live in other cities! The fact that I got to chill hard with Amy and Jim from Dark Thoughts multiple times, not only in Philly but also out in LA, is so rad. Also, through my travels playing gigs, I got to meet so many cool people. Sasha in NY was so cool to let us Acid dummies crash on the floor of her studio. I had a blast in Santa Ana meeting Kevin and Corrina, drinking in parking lots and nerding out about Bad Religion. Planning on having more rad times spent with homies in 2022.
8. Uuuuhhh, I changed my hair a bunch? I was Vince Neil blonde for a while, and now I’m full Agnew. No one cares. Why am I putting this in here? haha
9. Call it a New Year’s resolution if you want, but while I was quarantining I decided to take a break from drinking. Also, I’ve been veg for a while, but I’m going to actively try to eat a cleaner diet, eating more fresh food and less processed junk. I gotta keep this vessel lean and mean. I already feel so much better so far.
10. Getting covid and isolating during Christmas! Just kidding, that SUCKED.

Alright ya filthy animals, that’s all I’ve got. Here’s hoping 2022 is a good one. As always, thanks for reading, especially this odyssey of a “staff pick.”

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Another year is in the books and it’s time to engage in that long-standing music nerd tradition of the “best of” list. While the list format seems to imply there is some sort of science or coherent method, I shot from the hip. I flipped through the records I bought this year and if it felt right, I added the title to my (eventually very long) short list. Then I took that short list and narrowed it down to 10 titles that felt the most important to me. The 10 records below are the ones I spent the most time listening to, but it feels like there’s something else to it. This collection of records seems to speak to this historical moment. I’m struck by the fact that, while I like to think I have a pretty broad palette for music, noisy punk and hardcore dominates this list. Obviously, that’s a style I gravitate toward, but that music also feels important right now because we’re living in such fucked up times. The Tower 7, Horrendous 3D, and Fairytale records are the sound of the giant machine we all live within grinding its gears, teetering on the edge of breakdown. I can’t bear to listen to anything that sounds slick to me in these times because it feels like a farce… how can you live on that surface level when we are surrounded by so much death, sickness, and pain? Not that there isn’t beauty too, but the records that felt the most beautiful were fashioned from rougher, bleaker material.

Top Records

Tower 7: Peace on Earth 12” (Roach Leg)

If I had to pick one record from 2021 as my favorite, it would either be the Tower 7 or the Morbo LP. Tower 7’s gritty, gnarly hardcore was the perfect music for this year. Yes, the record is currently hard to get, but that isn’t because they’re some kind of record collector hype band… it’s just because this is the music that everyone wants and needs to hear right now.

Morbo: ¿A Quién Le Echamos La Culpa? 12” (Cintas Pepe)

When you listen to Tower 7, you wander into the shit. When you listen to Morbo, you crack open a beer while sitting atop the rubble. While it’s gritty as fuck, it’s the one record on this list that gives me something like pure joy.

Horrendous 3D: The Gov. And Corps. Are Using Psycho​-​Electronic Weaponry To Manipulate You And Me​... 7” (Whisper in Darkness)

Fast and fucked will always be cool, but slightly less fast and extremely fucked sounded great to me this year. No one did it better than Horrendous 3D.

Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi 7” (Open Up and Bleed Recordings)

Like Morbo, Finland’s Yleiset Syyt has a classic sound that makes me feel like I’m young again, taking my first plunges into the depths of 80s hardcore.

Quarantine: Agony 12” (Damage United)

A record that hits you like a 300-pound linebacker.

Electric Chair: Social Capital 7” (Iron Lung Records)

Electric Chair rules so fucking much. Very stoked I got to see them live a couple of times too, because as good as their records are, you gotta see them in person to get the full experience.

Illiterates: S/T 12” (Kill Enemy Records)

This young band from Pittsburgh came out of nowhere and dropped this catchy, punky take on 80s hardcore.

Amyl & the Sniffers: Comfort to Me 12” (ATO Records)

This record is the outlier on my list, but I listened to it so much I had to include it. I’ve loved Amyl & the Sniffers since I first heard them, and I remain befuddled by how many people hate on them. Perhaps Comfort to Me clicked with me because the Sniffers have essentially turned into a hardcore band without losing any of the swagger or catchiness of their earlier records.

Fairytale: S/T 7” (Desolate Records)

Like a lot of the bands on this list, Fairytale plays noisy hardcore, but their music has this ethereal mystery about it I can’t get enough of.

Nervous SS / Ratcage: Skopje Vs Sheffield 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus)

This is an ideal situations where a split is greater than the sum of its two sides. I always start with Nervous SS’s assault of intricate, explosive riffs, for which Ratcage’s equally ferocious but more anthemic songs provide the perfect chaser.

Notable Reissues

As always, I bought a lot of reissues this year. Here are the ones I enjoyed the most. Many of them are as notable for their packaging as for the music (Neos, Neon Christ, the Worst, Partisans), some of them are pretty straightforward repros that arrived at the perfect time to take over my turntable (English Dogs, the Clean, Burning Image), while others introduced me to bands I never would have known about otherwise (Karma Sutra, Burning Image, Glitter Symphony).

• Spike in Vain: Death Drives a Cadillac 12” (Scat)
• Neos: Three Teens Hellbent on Speed 12” (Supreme Echo)
• Karma Sutra: Be Cruel With Your Past And All Who Seek To Keep You There 12” (Sealed Records)
• Hated: 4 Song EP / Pressure 7”s (Meathouse Productions)
• Nog Watt: Fear 7” (Final Doomsday Records)
• English Dogs: To the Ends of the Earth 12” (Bomb All Records)
• Neon Christ: 1984 12” (Southern Lord)
• Assault & Battery: The Complete Session, May 1981 12” (Alonas Dream)
• Burning Image: The Final Conflict 7” (Going Underground)
• The Clean: Tally Ho 7” / Boodle Boodle Boodle 12” (Merge)
• The Worst: The Worst of the Worst 12” (Radio Raheem)
• Glitter Symphony / Sizon: In Green Furs 12” (Meat House Productions)
• Artistic Decline: 4 Song EP 7” (Meat House Productions)
• The Partisans: Anarchy in Alkatraz / No Future Demos 80 82 12” (Sealed Records)
• Pyhäkoulu: In Retrospect 12” (Svart Records)

Favorite Zines

Make a zine! This list should be longer.

General Speech

Maggot Brain

Razorblades & Aspirin

My War

The “Short List”

Here is my “short list” of artists whose work I enjoyed this year. I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting and this list is already way too long, but here it is anyway:

Straw Man Army, Urin, Vivisected Numbskulls, Hologram, Algara, Suffocating Madness, Chain Whip, Mujeres Podridas, Sial, Psico Galera, Knowso, Slant, Smirk, Imploders, Gauze, Erik Nervous, 80HD, Canal Irreal, Headcheese, Reek Minds, Children with Dog Feet, SQK Fromme, Prision Postumo, Spread Joy, New Vogue, Collate, CDG, Reckoning Force, Personal Damage, GG King

Final Flex

I usually think of buying expensive old records as a source of shame rather than pride, but since everyone else is doing it, here are some items I acquired in 2021 that I think were pretty cool:

Elvis side:

Jesus side:

This week I don’t have a conventional staff pick for you. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been struggling with depression and burnout. To top it off, today is a rainy, gloomy day here in Raleigh, and I’m not having much success generating the level of enthusiasm I like to have for a staff pick. So let’s moan for a minute, shall we?

There shouldn’t even be a Sorry State newsletter this week, because I’m supposed to be on tour right now with Scarecrow. However, the week before Christmas the world once again seemed to collapse as the omicron variant of COVID spread like wildfire over the country. Loads of my friends and family contracted covid in the middle of December. I ended up even having to cancel visiting my family for Christmas, since my mom was feeling sick on Christmas Eve and there was nowhere to get tested to see if she had COVID or not. I enjoyed the low-key Christmas with my partner Jet, but the entire thing was depressing, especially since the Scarecrow / Scalple tour seemed less and less likely with each passing day.

This all felt like an unfortunate rerun of March 2020. Scarecrow’s first real tour was supposed to start the last week of that month, but the first wave of COVID infections caused everything to shut down. That experience felt so surreal that it was, strangely, easier to take. This time it feels more like a direct kick to the stomach, which is exacerbated because government guidance around COVID has somehow gotten even murkier. When our March 2020 was canceled, it was obvious there was no way we could go out. This time around, it’s a total hodgepodge. Until yesterday, I was worried that canceling the tour wasn’t the right decision and people would think we were paranoid or something for pulling out. While I see some shows and events are going ahead, it seems like most things are canceled. And it does not escape me that this is the second time we’ve had to cancel a tour, and I worry people will think we’re flakes. Of course, this is just one example of how, the way the entire COVID situation is being handled, it feels like all the bad stuff falls on each of us individually, even though individually we are all powerless to make any substantive change.

Sorry State has had a busy holiday season, and while I am thankful for that, it also meant that the disappointment of the tour being cancelled arrived when I was feeling exhausted, and the disappointment and exhaustion combined to make me feel depressed. I spent the few days surrounding Christmas moping around the house, not listening to music or doing much that I enjoyed. I just slept, read escapist books, and fought the urge to look at my phone, at which I mostly failed. This week work demanded that I kick myself back into gear, so I’ve made a point to eat better, exercise, and meditate, which has allowed me to get some work done, including the newsletter you’re reading right now. But it’s been a struggle, and at the end of each day it’s tough to find the energy to enjoy the things I love, like music. So even though I have a big stack of records I acquired over the past few weeks, they feel inert, like dead weight rather than the spiritually rich totems that I usually see them as.

So, that’s where I’m at. Tough times, everyone. Take care of yourselves.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

It feels like it’s been a long time since I sat down to write one of these. Public Acid got back from our trip to Cali over 2 weeks ago, and that time in between just seems like a blur. The trip was amazing. I can’t express enough how much everyone’s hospitality meant to us Acid Headz. While I was there, I ate around 30 burritos in 5 days, met some really cool freaks, saw some killer bands including seeing Electric Chair 3 nights in a row… so not much to complain about there! Oh yeah, except for that I got covid… womp womp. It was pretty shitty timing with me catching it right around the holidays. It does seem like I’m hearing about a whole bunch of people getting covid again, like even those that are vaccinated and boosted. Things are rough to the point where Scarecrow had to cancel our East Coast tour with Scalple. I’m pretty bummed about that. Oh well. I was out of commission and restricted from contact with the outside world for a while, but now I’m back at the good ol’ Sorry State to nerd out about records.

Has everyone heard this Nisemono tape already? Even with me being isolated and glued to my phone for 2 weeks, I still somehow managed to miss this thing coming out. I only heard it for the first time just the other day and was so pissed when I learned that Toxic State had already sold out. But thanks to our master commander Lord Daniel, Sorry State did manage to reserve a handful of copies for our distro. Nisemono is a new band out of New York that sings all in Japanese. This shit is fucking devastating. The gnarly, tight, complex and constantly moving riffing actually reminds me a lot of Infernöh. The recording is perfect I think. It’s yet another Sasha production, who seems to be the in-house engineer for the NY scene these days. It’s one of my favorite recordings that Sasha has done so far. It sounds clear and powerful but still gritty and raw. The double-tracked vocals really grab your attention. I could be totally wrong, but the cadence and the fact that the lyrics are in Japanese lead me to believe that this is the same person who sang for Nomad. I hadn’t revisited those Nomad recordings in a minute, but they still rage. That said, I think Nisemono might be even better. And of course, with this tape being a Toxic State release, the packaging looks beautiful.

At the time I’m writing this, the tapes are not yet up on the webstore. I plan on getting them posted and available for sale today (which is Thursday). If the tapes are still available and you haven’t heard about this band yet, do yourself a favor and lock one down quick! They will surely sell out.

That’s all from me this week. Glad to be back.

‘Til next… year ;)

-Jeff

Greetings one and all and thanks for clicking on the SSR Newsletter. I hope that your holiday was a good one regardless of how and whether you celebrate. We are almost at the end of the year, and you may well be reading this in 2022. Either way please allow me to wish all of you a happy new year. It’s hard to believe we’ve crossed out another one. Another year for the books, for sure. Who could forget when a mob of crazed cultists tried to stage a coup last January? Or those few weeks during the spring where we thought the Covid-19 pandemic was behind us? Along with so much more. It seems like we lost so many great humans this year. As I write this, I learned of the death on Christmas Day of DJ Janice Long, a legend in Liverpool and in the broadcasting world. She’ll be spinning records with John Peel on heaven’s best radio station now. I bet they pick a great Festive Fifty this year. I can’t tell you how big a part of my young life growing up these two were, hearing them on the radio or seeing them on TV each week. They are both heroes and loved by so many. May they and all the departed rest in peace.

These last couple of weeks have found me listening to a good amount of Christmas music it has to be said. Having an outlet to play records now that I am part of The Face Radio family has been great, as there haven’t been many actual DJ gigs to spin at. I had fun selecting holiday themed music for our shows. At the store, there literally isn’t enough time to listen to all the great records, old and new, that come through. In my apartment there are records everywhere and so many stacks of must listen to next records. My time at home when not asleep is usually sound tracked by something playing on the stereo. It’s mostly from my own records, but I listen to a lot of the other radio shows and selected mixes and podcasts. There’s hardly time to fit in my footie games and the odd movie although other than when watching Liverpool play, I often watch games with the sound muted and music playing. Occasionally you can get those Wizard Of Oz / Dark Side Of The Moon moments when on screen action synchs with the music.

Typically, most mornings I listen to jazz music. I prefer instrumental music a lot of the time. Lyrics can often restrict your thoughts and take you to a specific place (which is fine when you want to go there) whereas instrumental music allows your mind more freedom. I feel anyway.

This past Boxing Day morning I needed something pretty mellow and soothing to play first thing as the previous evening’s imbibing had given me a slight hangover and so happening on an Ahmad Jamal record needing to be filed, I threw it on. It hit the spot and it might work for some of you if piano led jazz is your bag.

The album is called Tranquility and was released in 1968 on ABC Records. It was his first for the label after mostly being with Chess/Argo and began a great four-year run with the remaining albums being released on Impulse, ABC being that label’s parent company. On all these records, Jamal plays piano and is backed on bass by Jamil Nasser and on drums by Frank Gant. Nasser had been with Jamal since 1964 and Gant from 1966 and both would continue recording with Jamal through the late 1970s. Nasser is sometimes credited as Jamal Sulieman.

The sound on Tranquility is Soul Jazz and all acoustic. Not dissimilar to records made by Ramsey Lewis and his trio. But where Ramsey’s often unashamedly mine the pop vein, Jamal’s recordings tend to be deeper and more introspective. That being said, on Tranquility the record starts with two Bacharach and David tunes which for 1968 couldn’t be more pop. There are more covers too on the record with Jamal only penning two of the songs. The title track Tranquility is his, along with one called Manhattan Reflections and these originals are the standouts, in my opinion. They both appear on side two with a tune called Free Again sandwiched in-between. Tranquility has a great trademark Jamal descending chord riff that will earworm you after a couple of listens. It’s simple music that hits you deep if you allow it. I realize that jazz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but for those that it is and for lovers of piano and keyboards then you should investigate Ahmad Jamal and his music further.

One of my favorites by him is The Awakening album, which was one of the trio albums he recorded for Impulse with the same musicians. That one came out two years later in 1970. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear where DJ Premier and Pete Rock found samples. The title track again has a memorable hook not unlike the one used in Tranquility. Because of the samples and quality of this record, it is in demand and original copies tend to sell high. There are reissues though, although they are getting harder to find cheaply. Many of his earlier records for Chess and Argo are cheaper and easier to find. It’s the Impulse ones that are more collectable as folks generally regard anything on that label as being top shelf, similar to how Blue Note records are regarded.

Perhaps some of you will find yourselves nursing a sore head this coming New Year’s Day morning and in need of soothing. Dial up either of these albums or both and give them a spin. They should do the job. Of course, not just for hangovers, but any time you need quality instrumental jazz music. Thanks for reading and being lovers of music just like we are here at SSR. Happy New Year. See you next time.

Cheers - Dom

Hi,

I’m guessing everyone has heard about this already, yeah? I’ve been seeing a lot of people talk about it online. Don’t fuck up and pass it over cos you think it is too hype. All the talk is well deserved, if you ask me. I have been eagerly awaiting the Sorry State copies since November 18th haha. If you read my Staff Picks, you probably saw I dropped the link a few times since it was released on bandcamp. The debut cassette from TOWER 7 did not catch my ears so much. Daniel loved it, though. A lot. When he shared the link to the LP, he was clearly super excited, so I checked it out. And, almost immediately, I understood why he liked it so much. Or I knew why I did at least. The tone is gross, just disgusting. It makes my teeth grind, and occasionally I have to punch the air while listening. The drums are very clear, locked in like a fucking metronome with quick fills peppered into the the parade of pummeling. The vocals fit in the mix perfectly, similar to the guitar tone in their harsh and dense sound. Naturally, I came back to the cassette cos I couldn’t stop playing the LP. While the songwriting is in the same vein, I think the LP unbelievably outshines their debut on cassette. I hope that is not rude to say. I mean, that is to be expected to some degree when comparing a tape to a record... Everything on the cassette has been pushed to the next level, far beyond the next level. The sounds of each instrument are really brought forward but still complement each other rather than drowning each other out. While the guitars are blaring in the mix, the vocals are still audible. Which makes me really happy cos I enjoy the vocals a lot. I was looking for an adjective to describe the way they sound to me, and I think the appropriate word is “cruel.” They really are the icing on the cake. You can hear the disdain and conviction in the vocalist’s words. The mix is pretty dry on the vocals, which make me like em even more. The vocalist doesn’t need to hide behind any effects. Don’t even get me started on the lyrics… they are exactly the kinds of things I want to read. They are thought-provoking, making you feel something deep inside the core of your being. At least that’s what happens to me when I read them... haha. I guess you could call them “misanthropic” lyrics, but I would just call them honest and realistic. I’m glad they put the lyrics on bandcamp, cos I’ve been reading along as I’ve waited for my physical copy. I don’t know anyone in this band cos I would feel super cheesy for liking it so much probably. I have met the guitarist Shiva once or twice, however. I was kind of obsessed with a band from some years ago that Shiva also played guitar in called DEFORMITY. If you never heard it, check it out. This band had like a rock’n’roll-y sound, but what drew me in was how harsh the production was. It was a killer combination. Anyway, TOWER 7 sounds nothing like DEFORMITY. TOWER 7 is pretty much a crust band. I feel weird saying that, but I am not sure why… I guess crust is a kind of broad description. I dunno, I guess they remind me a bit of HELLBASTARD. No, they don’t sound like them a whole lot, but to me they have similarities in their song structures. Maybe it’s the palm-muting too, haha. Don’t get the wrong idea and think it’s boring cos the songs are long or drawn out, like the seven minute HELLBASTARD track. Yeah, the songs are longer than your typical hardcore tracks, but they are so damn well written. They never drag, instead I welcome the transitions into new passages cos I simply cannot get enough of this shit. TOWER 7 delivers an intensity that can’t be matched by many bands. Unfortunately, I have only been able to play a physical copy once this week, and I have not taken any time to dive into the packaging. One thing I can always expect from a release on Roach Leg is a good aesthetic, which this album certainly has. It’s got several inserts and a fold-out poster!!! I can’t wait to check it all out. This is usually where I would say something like, this record belongs in every single collection blah blah and drop a link to grab a copy, but unfortunately we sold out lightning fast when we got our copies in. Luckily, there is a repress that should be ready (fingers crossed) in January. Until then, jam it up on bandcamp if you weren’t one of the lucky ones. Thank you for reading, and thanks loads to everyone for the support! I think the volume of our mail order is hitting a new standard... very grateful for the work. Alright til next time... peace!

Last weekend I flew out to Los Angeles for the inaugural Lie Detector fest. I had a great time doing the things you do at punk fests… reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, hitting up record shops, trying to find killer food, and of course watching lots of bands. One nice thing about not knowing as many people on the west coast is that I never found myself in that conundrum where you’re talking with someone you want to hang out with, but a band is starting inside or in another room and you can’t decide whether the hang or the set is more important. I got in plenty of hanging, but I also watched every single band at Lie Detector and at the show I went to in Orange County on Sunday. I’m still in my post-isolation state of mind where I can’t get enough live music, so I soaked it all in. It helped that pretty much every single band was killer.

At one point I thought to myself that maybe I should post pics and vids to the Sorry State social media accounts, but I don’t want to go down that road. I spent years taking photographs at nearly every gig I went to. I had no training in photography and crappy equipment, but I still got a few decent shots over the years. However, once smartphones came out, looking at a sea of phones in the air at gigs got me out of photographing shows. Fortunately, there were some very skilled photographers at this weekend’s shows. Rob Coons has already posted some insane photos, and legendary punk photographer Alison Braun was at Friday’s gigs. I’m sure you can find tons of photos and videos on social media too. As for me, I’m thankful for being able to point your attention toward these skilled artists and experience shows without that sense of dissonance that comes from thinking about how the world in front of me should be framed and presented.

As I said, I didn’t see any poor sets this weekend, but my favorites were from Reek Minds, Public Acid, Fuga, Blazing Eye, and End Result. Electric Chair was also incredible every time. I think they’re a very special band with both great songs and a larger-than-life personality that puts them head and shoulders above pretty much every other current hardcore band. My favorite set of the weekend, though, was Prision Postumo. I’d heard Prision Postumo’s records and I liked their singalong punk style already, but live the band crackled with a different energy. As I was watching them, Minor Threat kept popping into my mind… like Minor Threat, Prision Postumo is anthemic but tough-sounding, and they have a charismatic frontperson you can’t take your eyes off of. I hope I get to see them again sometime.

Another band whose energy felt very different live than on record was Reek Minds. As with Prision Postumo, I liked Reek Minds’ records a lot already. They have an ultra-fast style in that Septic Death / Siege / Deep Wound territory with lots of whiplash changes in tempo and rhythm. I’ve seen a lot of fast bands like this in my life, and they’re usually way sloppier live than on record, the live sets typically getting by on noise, volume, and chaos rather than precision. Not so with Reek Minds. Their execution was razor-sharp despite their songs’ intricacy, and the beefy sound at the venue made them seem even heavier than their records. As much as I love their records, what came across live was a little different, and I hope they can capture some of that magic on their upcoming 12” on Iron Lung.

All of this reflecting on bands’ live sets versus their records makes me jealous of the people who get to see these bands all the time. When I fall for a band, I try to see them as often as I can. Records, at best, capture one moment in time, and there are so many bands that have had better moments. As great as Government Warning or Direct Control or Wasted Time or Double Negative’s records are, I saw sets by all those bands that were so much more special, and I know the people who only experienced those bands’ records don’t have the full picture. It makes me jealous of the people who get to fill out their picture of bands like Prision Postumo and Reek Minds, as well as thankful that I got at least a little peek at what I’m missing.

Hi Sorry State gang, how was your week? It’s fast approaching Christmas and New Year and I am sure you are asking yourselves where the hell did this year go? Time waits for no one. Anyway, I wish you a great holiday season no matter how you chose to celebrate (or not).

Unfortunately, this past week saw the passing of more legends from the music world. I am sure you have been reading the obituaries and tributes that have been on social media regarding the deaths of Steve Bronski, Mike Nesmith, Robbie Shakespeare and Joe Simon, and perhaps are fans of their music. I know I was and so for my picks this week I hope you will join me in remembering these gentlemen by listening to some of their work.

Firstly, Steve Bronski. He was the co-founder and keyboard player for the 1980s pop group Bronski Beat. They had a huge hit with the song Small Town Boy and brought the subject of queer rights into the pop charts. Lead singer Jimmy Sommerville later formed the also successful Communards., although Bronski Beat continued and had further hits, including the smash Hit That Perfect Beat, a personal favorite and mentioned before in these pages I believe. The group’s debut album Age Of Consent contained the song Why? which dealt with anti-gay prejudice and a great reworking of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. Check them out if you are not aware and need some positive pop music in your life. Sadly, it appears Steve died in a fire from smoke inhalation. He had suffered a stroke previously and could not escape the building he lived in when it caught fire.

Michael Nesmith should need no introduction and for several generations of fans his iconic knitted cap he wore during his Monkees years is as recognizable as Michael Jackson’s jeweled single glove. I absolutely loved The Monkees. Growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s the reruns of their TV show were a staple of kids’ Saturday morning television. I was moving from my 1950s rock ‘n roll stage to full on 1960s obsession and so watching anything that had music and action from that period in clear glorious color was always going to be on my radar. What was not to like about The Monkees? Who gives a shit about how they were formed and why and who played on those early records? They are great pop songs. The band could play and could write their own songs, and Nesmith has more than enough songwriting credits to prove that. After his tenure with The Monkees, he formed the First National Band and helped pioneer the burgeoning country rock scene. His song, Different Drum, was a huge hit for The Stone Poneys and a young Linda Ronstadt. I always liked the tune Circle Sky from the Head album and movie that The Monkees made, and it was one of his tunes. Thank you, Mike. We love you and will miss you.

Robbie Shakespeare’s passing was a huge loss for the music world. The reggae bass player’s influence on not just reggae music, but rock and pop cannot be overstated. His playing is a cornerstone of so much great music that it is almost impossible to list all the artists that he has played with and all the amazing records he has played on. He is, of course, best remembered for his partnership with drummer Sly Dunbar. As Sly & Robbie they became the go to rhythm section for not only reggae production but for the pop world too. Grace Jones and Bob Dylan, among plenty others all benefited from their rock-solid playing.

Growing up in the 1970s, I fell in love with reggae music and became fascinated with Jamaica. Some years later, in the late 1980s and 1990s, I was fortunate enough to visit the island many times and have many happy memories of adventures there. Some are a little hazy—you know, because of Jah cure. Lol. I would never claim to be an expert on reggae music, but I have a decent section in my collection and perhaps not stocked with expensive originals, but there is still plenty of killer stuff. I wish I hadn’t had to part with a lot of my reggae CDs because I had some rare stuff on them, but I still have plenty of tunes on wax to keep me going. Lots of records featuring Sly & Robbie as either themselves, as part of The Revolutionaries, in Black Uhuru, on other artists’ records or as the production team on their own Taxi Records. One record I play a lot by them and that we have had come through Sorry State since I have worked here is their Disco Dub album from 1979 on the Gorgon label. The cover for it is fantastic for one, but the music is pure unadulterated drum and bass reggae and a perfect example of how the two musicians worked together so well. You really hear Robbie’s bass lines at the fore. Awesome stuff. It’s not an expensive record and there are reissues available too. Check out these two cuts for your listening pleasure; Side Walk Doctor and Mickie Mouse.

Lastly, Joe Simon, a great soul singer who had hits in the 1960s and 1970s, left us this week. I have some good funky 45s by him and he might be best remembered for his hit The Chokin’ Kind and for singing the theme song to the movie Cleopatra Jones from 1973. That’s a cool blaxploitation style film and worth checking out. One single of his that I have and like is called Moon Walk, not a nod to MJ and his famous dance steps but one made in the year of the actual moon landing. I’m a sucker for anything moon related or space and stars. Lol. Some nice keyboard work on that song and some tight drumming too. Does have some sax though, so not for you Jeff. Lol.

May all their souls rest in peace and hopefully they are jamming and playing with the heavenly chorus now. Their legacy will continue to influence and entertain generations of music fans to come. As a final piece of somewhat self-promotion, on the radio show I do, Worldy, Matt and I played some Nesmith and Sly & Robbie tunes along with some seasonal holiday records this past week. If you have the inclination and want to check it out, click the link. I thought we had a good show and hopefully you will be entertained for a couple of hours.

Hey, thanks for reading folks. Have a great weekend and holiday if we don’t speak to you before then. Triangle locals, get your asses down to the store. We are full of great records. Perfect gifts for the music lovers in your house.

Cheers, peace and love - Dom

I don’t get excited about all reissues. Sometimes it’s painfully obvious to see how little planning went into them. Sometimes they are made in a reproductive fashion, but end up feeling more like a cheap knockoff rather than an homage to the original. The NOG WATT 7” reissue that Final Doomsday brought us this year had me excited as hell, like Christmas-style excited (just kidding I don’t celebrate Christmas you dick). The sound was simply amazing, and the reproductive sleeve was top notch. I feel lucky it was a U.S. label that reissued that EP. That record has needed a reissue for a long time if you ask me. I’m pretty sure I have a few copies still, so if you missed out feel free to hit me up (in.decay@yahoo.com). One thing that really gets me drooling is when the label goes all out and does it up with a booklet. The booklet that came with the MOLDE PUNX 12" compilation was amazing. That was some next-level archival nerd shit. Another great one that immediately comes to mind was the booklet with THE PARTISANS 12" on Sealed Records that came out earlier this year. We have some of those in stock actually, if you missed it the first time. And I can’t forget, the booklet in the UNITED MUTATION 12" on Radio Raheem was excellent!!! The recent POISON IDEA 12" has a a pretty fucking sick booklet inside. If you missed that one as well, there are copies here. While the booklet is all photos, they are fucking badass photos that were mostly unreleased as far as I know. Anyway, what I am really writing about today is PYHÄKOULU. Remember how I mentioned being excited about reissues earlier? I can’t express how bad I needed this one in my life haha. I’m sure me not having their 12” and split 7" really added to that equation, though. I feel like this is a common theme… but I first heard this band on the Killed By Finnish Hardcore 12" compilation. I don’t want to spoil the fun of exploration for anyone, but there are a few things I’d like to mention from inside the booklet. Well, first, I should point out that I think this is the sickest booklet I have ever held in my hand from a reissue record. The vocalist Saku kept an archival notebook through the band’s lifespan, and we get to dive deep into that in this nearly 50-page booklet! I am just a fan of the band, but it’s honestly kind of emotional to explore it. Maybe I’m just a nerd, though... The last chunk of the booklet is all in Finnish; it appears to be cut-outs from interview appearances. The beginning of the booklet is all in English though and I am very grateful for that. While I already knew the band was started by Saku with a mission to have a band with all women (which unfortunately was not the outcome), I had no idea the band had this many line-up changes. It is sad to read about the band’s history. While there are a lot of cool things that are mentioned, there is still an underlying sadness, with two members passing away while the band was active. The booklet is loaded up with cool stuff, though. Aside from having the opportunity to read the recent words of the voice behind PYHÄKOULU, we get to see loads of sick flyers and photos of the band. Saku even kept a log of every show they played, and that is also in there, haha. The booklet also provides a nice breakdown of each release with recording info, track-listing, members, and scans of the covers/inserts. And of course, we get all the lyrics to every single song that is on here. I did not know Saku took such great care with her words. They talk about how she brought her notebook to every show and would even bring it on stage to sing along with. Knowing how much this notebook went through, and how much it meant to Saku, it feels crazy to hold this Svart reproduction in my hand. I know the booklet’s contents are far from identical and this is just a reproduction, but the sentiment is a very powerful one. Surprise, I haven’t even mentioned what this band sound is like, if that’s what you're looking for. I feel like I never actually give a solid “music” write-up haha. Which will be the case here as well... I’ve only ever heard downloads of the 12" and split 7". I wish I had the bootleg 7" at least, but I don’t. Being able to hear these songs like this was amazing. They sound so good, way more dynamic than I could’ve imagined after hearing all the shit downloads. I used to think Sankari EP was my favorite, but now that I have this compilation I don’t think that’s the case by any means. The split songs are excellent, and while they are sloppy at times, they still got what I am looking for. Saku talks about this recording session a bit in the booklet. It was fun to read about the “variables” involved haha... One of these songs is on the Killed By Finnish Hardcore 12" compilation, which is where I first heard PYHÄKOULU. On the B-side we get their self-titled 12". Since I have gotten this compilation, side B has been my fucking jam. You can hear how they grew in many elements since recording for the 7" but the sound hadn’t changed a lot like the way it did on the Sankari EP. The Sankari EP is on the A-side after their split tracks. Side C is a live set by PYHÄKOULU! No, this isn’t some amazing sound board recording, but I think it’s great. You get to really hear the intensity of Saku performing live. Side D is all unreleased stuff, and its sound is kind of all over the place. But that’s not surprising knowing their Post Mortem 12". I haven’t listened to that in a long time but it was always my least favorite haha, I’ll have to come back and check it out. Alright, I need to get back to work. Grab this reissue. You will not regret it. It’s sold out from Svart already and our stock is dwindling. Thanks for reading. Peace.

Short one this week because I’m focusing super hard on my end-of-year list! I started at Sorry State last October so I couldn’t really contribute to any ‘best of’ lists, but now I can!! Queue me furiously digging through my collection for the past two days.

On Tuesday I went to my first show since January 2020! I hate crowds to begin with, but after over a year of not being in close proximity to people… I was nervous but rallied for Primitive Man and Blood Incantation. And holy shit, it felt so good to be back. I’ve wanted to see Primitive Man for many, many years so it was especially a treat to be welcomed back to live music with them. The lineup was fucking stacked; I only knew about Primitive Man and Blood Incantation, since they’re big names, so I thought I’d use this week to share some links to the other acts I got to see.

Jarhead Fertilizer

I think I’m late to the game with this one because this band has some members from Full of Hell. But holy shit, totally different vibe. I saw FOH back in college and it was an intense experience, of course, but Jarhead Fertilizer was a wall of sound in another sense. They were deeper, stonier (is that a word? It is now), and much more of a ‘stand there and bang your head’ set than a ‘run around into other people’ type set like Full of Hell shows are.

Sissy Spacek

Literally two days after I bought tickets for the show, a few Sissy Spacek records landed in the store. Having never heard them, but now with plans to see them, I put them on to see what I was in for. Listening to the records made me way more excited for live music, but I still wasn’t prepared for their set. The drummer brought out a fucking bucket at one point. Great band to listen to, but an absolute must see if you ever get the chance.

Primitive Man

I’m hoping, even though y’all are a bunch of punks, I’m speaking into an echo chamber about my love for Primitive Man. Somehow, they exceeded all of my expectations. The band was so tight; you could tell they play together often and have a great time doing it. The sound was on point. Everything about it points to one of the best shows I’ve been to in recent years, pandemic or not!

English Dogs: Forward Into Battle 12” (L.M. Records, 1985)

At the time I picked up the S.I.B. album I wrote about last week, I also snagged this release on the same label: the original Italian pressing of the English Dogs’ second album, Forward Into Battle. It was still sealed, only cost a few bucks, and I didn’t own Forward Into Battle already, so I threw it in my cart to make the European shipping sting a little less. The most notable thing about this pressing is the atrocious cover art. I’m not sure what designer Bosi Maddalena was thinking, but I don’t think you could get any further from the English Dogs’ vibe if you tried. The colors, the typefaces, the silhouettes of people dancing like they’re at a hippie drum circle… really, WTF?

The cover art is a curiosity, but thankfully the music in the grooves is the same as other pressings. I’ve fallen hard for English Dogs—well, this era of the band anyway—over the past year. I know I’ve owned at least one English Dogs record before that (Mad Punx and English Dogs, which was lost to a purge long ago), but they never clicked with me until earlier this year when Bomb-All Records reissued their 1984 EP To the Ends of the Earth. Usman and Jeff were excited about that reissue when it came in, so I took it home and was totally blown away.

On both To the Ends of the Earth and Forward Into Battle, English Dogs are the perfect amalgamation of metal and punk. The songs barrel forward with the energy of my favorite UK82 punk, but the riffs are more thrash metal than punk. Those riffs are always inventive and memorable, the shredding lead guitars are flashy and melodic without being wanky, and the vocals are mean as hell yet build to explosive chant-along choruses, particularly on tracks like “To the Ends of the Earth” and “Wall of Steel.” I didn’t know it until I was doing research to write this piece, but the vocalist on this album is Ade Bailey, who joined the English Dogs after his previous band, Ultra Violent, split up. The Ultra Violent single is one of the best punk records ever, and the venomous vocal hooks on these records seem less surprising knowing of Bailey’s involvement.

My reading about the English Dogs also gave me more of a handle on their lineup changes. It turns out that after their first album, Invasion of the Porky Men, English Dogs retooled their lineup, adding Bailey on vocals alongside Destructors guitarist Graham Butt, who brought those tasty metal licks I love so much. This lineup continued for the Metalmorphosis EP and Where Legend Began album in 1986. I have Where Legend Began and, while it has its moments, it’s not as good as To the Ends of the Earth or Forward Into Battle. Those records remind me of Kill ‘em All era Metallica because of their explosive energy, anthemic songwriting, and dense, excitement-filled arrangements, but Where Legend Began ventures further into the more bloated and less energetic ends of thrash metal.

That’s where I’m at on my English Dogs journey so far. If anyone has thoughts on the records I haven’t explored yet, please let me know! Often records that underwhelm on the first listen become favorites when I hear them through the ears of someone who loves them.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll already be on a flight to the City of Angels. Pretty wild. I’m stoked for Lie Detector fest and all the antics the other Acid Headz and I will be getting into. I won’t be back until Tuesday, so much appreciation for Rachel, Dom and Usman for holding down the fort.

I’m sure you’re all aware by now, but NYC punk maniacs Vivisected Numbskulls finally made the jump to the vinyl format. Fuck yeah! Chaotic Uprising’s smattering of releases always have a definitive vibe with the sound and presentation of their releases, and Vivisected Numbskulls feels like the flagship band for the label. The stark, black & white, photocopied a million times aesthetic has continued to grab my attention. I loved both of the band’s tapes, and now I’m stoked to spin this slab. Underneath the wall of filthy distortion and pounding UK82 pogo punk song arrangements, the band always incorporates strange, eerie and ethereal layers of noise and sound samples. On this new EP Swine In Chains, I think the band has really found the perfect balance. Sure, you can categorize this band’s fist-clenching brand of hardcore for what it is: crude and gruesome. But contrary the band self-proclaiming as an “awful racket,” I feel like the end product is creative, captivating and so well-executed. Sorry State got a big ol’ stack of these EPs, so don’t sleep on this rager.

That’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading. See ya on the left coast.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hey there, Sorry State Gang. It’s good to be back writing in these pages after missing last week’s newsletter. I had my Covid-19 booster along with a flu shot and it knocked me out for the best part of a day and a half. Feeling much better now and not looking forward to getting the next booster. Can we be done with this damn thing already?

The week before was Thanksgiving week and of course the dreaded Black Friday sales weekend. The perceived wisdom is that there wasn’t too much to get excited over on the Record Store Day releases, but I don’t know; I thought there were some good titles worth grabbing. The Jimi Hendrix Experience live in Paris was cool. The Wailing Souls album with bonus 12” also very cool. I thought the compilation of dark and heavy psychedelic soul from Now & Again had some good stuff on it. There were some other things too that interested me, but with a hold pile building up and an empty pantry at home, my funds were and are needed elsewhere. LOL.

As we approach the holidays and gift buying season, we have been doing our best to stuff the bins at the store with as many good records as we can. We have been buying collections and processing them like nobody’s business and have so many awesome records for our in-store customers. Get yourself down here if you can.

One collection that Daniel bought has certainly put me in a lot of trouble. It contained among other things a lot of good 1970s UK Jazz and Prog albums and I wish I could have bought most of them. I pulled out a couple of tasty biscuits for myself, which once they officially become mine, I’ll feel good about talking about and will feature in a future staff pick, perhaps.

One that I have bought and is mine now was a copy of Inside Out by Eddie Henderson on Capricorn Records from 1974. It’s a nice jazz fusion LP and his second album as a band leader. As I have some of his other records in my collection already and like them a lot, it seems like talking about him here in the newsletter would be a good idea as I am sure there are plenty of you out there who like your jazz as well as your punk.

Eddie Henderson plays trumpet and flugelhorn and made a string of great records in the 1970s that all have their merits. His career certainly didn’t end there as he continued making records well into the 2000s and garnering critical praise as he went along. It is those records from the 70s that are considered his prime years by most and have become quite collectable.

Before getting into talking about those records, it is worth noting what an amazing and accomplished human being Eddie Henderson is. His biography is quite outstanding.

Born in New York City in 1940 to show business parents, Dad was a singer in popular group The Charioteers and Mum was a dancer in the original Cotton Club. Exposed to music at a young age, he famously received a lesson from Louis Armstrong aged nine. At fourteen, his family moved to San Francisco where later he studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

However, music wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Henderson went on to study medicine. His step-father was a doctor who had several jazz legends as patients, including John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. Miles was a friend of the family and stayed over on his west coast trips and mentored Eddie on his musical studies. Davis certainly had a huge influence on Henderson. His fusion of jazz styles with other music fascinated the young Henderson and years later he would make very similar records to that of his mentor.

Henderson’s medical schooling began after his three-year stint in the Air Force ended in 1961 at the University of California, Berkeley, although not before he also competed as a figure skater, becoming the first African American to compete for a national title. He left Berkeley with a B.S. in Zoology and continued at Howard University, Washington D.C., graduating in 1968. Whilst at Howard he made regular trips to New York to watch and play with the musicians there. He was friends with both Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan and took tips from both.

Intending to carry on his career as a doctor with emphasis on psychiatry, he returned to San Fran for an internship and residency, during which he scored a weeklong gig playing with Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band. This led to him joining the band and playing on three Herbie Hancock records over the next three years beginning with Mwandishi from 1971, then Crossings in 1972 (both on Warner Brothers Records), and finally Sextant on Columbia from 1973. It was with these same Mwandishi musicians that Henderson recorded his first two albums as leader. The first came in 1973 with Realization released on Capricorn Records and the second the following year, which is the Inside Out album I snagged. If you are a fan of those Herbie records and enjoy that style of electronic Jazz-Fusion, then there is lots to love with the Henderson albums. As I mentioned before, Miles Davis was a huge influence on Henderson, and you wouldn’t be wrong thinking you were listening to a Bitches Brew session or another of Miles’ great late 1960s and early 1970s recordings. They really are that good and with the pedigree of Herbie Hancock and his musicians playing on them, how can they not be?

In 1975 Henderson switched labels and released the album Sunburst on Blue Note, again using many of the musicians from the Herbie Hancock bands and also with George Duke playing a variety of keys and synths. The following year, he released the album Heritage also on Blue Note. That record has Patrice Rushen playing on it and the Headhunters rhythm section. Patrice Rushen would provide vocals and appear on his later Capitol albums also. These two Blue Note records are excellent also but have a slightly different sound to the earlier two on Capricorn. Things are getting funky with more accessible melodies. For these albums, the obvious comparison would be to records made by Donald Byrd during this period, a Blue Note label mate, as opposed to the Hancock/Davis influence of the first two.

From 1977 through 1979 Henderson cut three records for Capitol, starting with Comin’ Through, then Mahal and finally one called Runnin’ To Your Love. Capitol wasn’t exactly famous for their jazz roster and these records have more of a disco funk vibe than jazz. At the time, this wasn’t received particularly favorably by the critics, who thought them too mainstream. However, the listening public thought differently, particularly in the U.K., where the tracks Say You Will from Comin’ Through and Prance On from 1978’s Mahal were club hits. The sounds from these records would influence future hip-hop producers and acid-jazz musicians in the years to come.

A special mention also must be given to the man who produced, engineered and mixed most, if not all, of these great records and his name is Skip Drinkwater. In addition to the Eddie Henderson records, he worked on albums by Norman Connors and Alphonse Mouzon and discovered the group Catalyst, another jazz funk group. Interestingly, he also produced the all-black Heavy Metal group Sound Barrier.

It’s funny because many, many years ago I wouldn’t have like these records much. I thought proper jazz came from the 1950s and 60s and didn’t much care for jazz fusion or jazz funk. For those of you familiar with the comedy show The Mighty Boosh, you might remember Noel Fielding’s character Vince Noir hating jazz-funk in a very funny bit. I thought I was more like him then, but now seem to be more like Julian Barratt’s character Howard Moon. Yes sir, me sir, you are correct sir. Here at Sorry State, it feels like an episode from that show sometimes with me trying to turn Jeff on to jazz. LMAO.

Alright, we have an early deadline this week so that will have to do for now. Go check out Eddie Henderson, the Jazz Funk Surgeon and discover what a total bad ass he is and listen to his beautiful spacey, dark, spiritual, groovy and darn funky music. See you next time.

Cheers - Dom

Greetings,

Is TOTALITÄR a band the needs an introduction in 2021? We just got these babies in stock from Prank Records. If for some strange, fucked up reason you don’t own this LP you can grab a copy here, right now. Now, do you really want to read me talk about TOTALITÄR? Even if you don’t know me, you probably already know from my previous Staff Picks I believe TOTALITÄR is the greatest hardcore band ever. And if you know me, then you’ve probably heard me nerd out about them more than once or twice. So, it’s a given I would write about them then, yeah? I first heard TOTALITÄR via their split with DROPDEAD, 15 years after their first release. I was late to the party, but lucky for me every single release they did is excellent. (Unlike other bands who released records over decades like DISCHARGE.) TOTALITÄR blew my mind. The drumming was fast, still groovy as fuck and super locked-in. The riffs were catchy in the most memorable of ways, yet still played with this pummeling hardcore aggression. The vocals weren’t drenched in effects; he doesn’t need that shit. He sounds raw as fuck, just like the production of the recordings. I had no idea a band could sound this good. So naturally after I heard this EP I bought any of their records any chance I could get. After their split with DROPDEAD, the next one I picked up was their split with TRAGEDY. After picking up that split, I discovered their first EP cos those recordings are re-recordings of a few tracks from their 1986 demo. Sin Egen Motståndare was the first TOTALITÄR full-length I heard. I remember being a bit caught off guard by the full-on, rocked-the-fuck-out intro song, alongside the (at-first) seemingly dull production in comparison to the 2000s EPs I had previously heard. I feel like it is a whole-ass conversation to compare the CD and LP... and then of course there is adding the sound of the new Prank pressings into the mix. The reason I even bring this up is cos the dude who recorded and mixed (and mastered?) the session doesn’t like the way the CD sounds - you can see him commenting on a youtube video haha. Aright do you want to hear my breakdown of this album’s sound? I do not think it’s a matter of comparing the CD to the LP like the aforementioned was questioning. Like I said above, it starts off seemingly dull at first. When I say “at first,” I don’t mean the sound grew on me as the album progressed or my ears changed, but that the sound actually changed throughout the recording. It is subtle but noticeable. When the second to last song on the B side, Slagen Av Sanning, kicks in, I swear I can hear a different guitar tone. Maybe a microphone was nudged, a knob slightly shifted, or maybe it’s just a bit different sound from a different day of the recording. I think the guitar really starts to ‘shine’ a lot more in the recording about halfway through the tracks. The overall production has more of a “wall of sound” and I can hear more attack on the snare drum. I always notice how compressed the snare sounds when this LP begins with the intro track, but later I never notice it. But I’m not getting used to the sound… it’s cos the sound changes like I said haha. The recording maintains this excellent punishing tone throughout the B side of the record, aside from the song Slit Ner Hälsan. That song sounds like the tracks on the beginning of the A side. (I am not including the last two tracks of the album in this evaluation cos they are just bonus tracks that are from different sessions.) I bet you think I am fucking nuts... I dunno, I’ve listened to this album so many times. Skip around and the record and see if you can hear what I mean. Especially if you compare the beginning of the A side to the end of A side, the guitar is like fucking blasting your face off on the last two tracks, Slagen Av Sanning and Tvingad In I Livet. Alright that’s all for the nerdery today haha. Thanks for reading. Peace!

Okay, so I was trying to avoid this, but I’ve been having a rough bout of writer’s block when it comes to these SSR picks. My more recent acquisitions have been from thrift stores and flea markets, so there’s not much to dive into. But what I’ve REALLY been listening to lately? Embarrassing throwback emo music from my childhood. Not sure if anyone reading this was also in the sweet spot of being 11-12 years old in 2005, but I was the exact demographic the ‘emo phase’ hit. Right off the bat, I’ll admit like 90% of that era did not age well but I’ve gravitated towards it anyway. Maybe it’s because record labels are capitalizing on my generation’s nostalgia by repressing stuff on vinyl? I know I’ve shelled out money for the represses, haha! All that being said, besides the mighty My Chemical Romance, the main band that has stayed with me throughout the years is System of a Down. Judging by my old tweets and Facebook posts, I go through a bout every few years where I ONLY listen to System of a Down for a few weeks… and I feel that starting up again.

I sold my CD collection slowly throughout college and am kicking myself for it!! I’m slowly buying back what I remember having via Discogs and my favorite record stores that carry CDs. What started this hunt for CDs is my copy of Toxicity by SOAD. It’s one of the first CDs I remember owning and it is now at the point where every track skips… I can’t even find the jewel case or inserts anymore. I have a vivid memory of buying Toxicity on vinyl, where else but Sorry State, years ago. But there’s just something about screaming along to the lyrics as you drive that is making me dive back into CDs.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about WHY System of a Down is one of my mainstays and I think it has to do a lot with the lyrics. They are odd and political; they are the reason I became political when I was too young to fully understand things like the industrial prison complex and war crimes. The sad thing is they are still relatable today—sort of like what I was talking about with my last staff pick—not enough has changed to make old political shit irrelevant. But more than that is how damn original System of a Down continues to be. No, they haven’t put out new music in well over 10 years, but I have yet to hear any band come close to the style SOAD has. I guess they are technically a nü metal band, but no other band in that genre quite sounds like SOAD. Their chaotic songwriting and absolutely epic (for lack of a better word) song structures put them light years ahead of anyone else in the game when the music was new. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but no one has come close to them since.

S.I.B.: Third World War 12” (LM Records, 1981)

This week I have another pick for which I have little historical or background information. I first heard of Italy’s S.I.B. in kind of a weird way. I was in a band called No Love, and sometime early in our run, someone (I can’t remember who) told me we reminded them of S.I.B. I checked out the band and could hear the similarities, but more to the point I liked what I heard from S.I.B. and added their LP to my want list. It took at least five years to come across a copy for a price I could live with, but that moment eventually arrived.

It’s funny, when this record showed up and I first listened to it at home, my partner said “is this Elizabeth from No Love?” Tracy Crazy really sounds so much like Elizabeth. I know there are a few No Love fans out there, so if you like Elizabeth’s vocals, check this out. The music, though, is pretty different. While half of the record is anthemic punk, about half of Third World War features reggae elements. When I first heard the record, I thought the reggae songs were skippers, but since I got the vinyl, I’ve been enjoying these tracks a lot. I think S.I.B. had a talent for reggae, and their songs in that vein are powerful and memorable.

I only found a few mentions of S.I.B. online, and most of the info people have comes from the bio on their Discogs page, which seems like it was created by one of the band members. S.I.B. was from a small town in Italy, and the band was an alliance between some members who were more into punk and others who were more into new wave, and according to the bio, there was tension between these two factions which led the band to break up. That split is even clear in the two bands S.I.B. names as their chief influences: the Sex Pistols and the Police. While S.I.B. doesn’t sound like the Pistols (who does?), you can hear similarities to groups who took cues from them like the Avengers (who share a powerful, anthemic vocal sound) and the UK Subs (the closest sound-alike to S.I.B.’s punk tracks). Aside from the general reggae vibes, you can hear the Police influence on “The Hero,” whose main riff is a cool arpeggiated guitar line that one could imagine coming from Andy Summers.

While it’s tempting to sort out the punk numbers from the reggae-influenced ones, one of the things I like most about Third World War is that all the songs differ from one another. “Nuclear Spy” is an obvious standout with its big chorus, but it also shares some of the Specials’ quirky exuberance. Album closer “No Moon Out Tonight” is a menacing track that rides its sinister two chords for a full five minutes, while “Boys” has a quirky new wave / ska sound that might remind you of early XTC, Kleenex, or even the B-52’s. Whoever wrote the bio on the band’s Discogs page complains Third World War has a weak sound compared S.I.B.’s punkier live performances, but I think S.I.B.’s powerful playing carries through the remarkable range of styles on the record.

Surprisingly, given the band’s obscurity, Third World War is available on streaming services. So if I’ve piqued your curiosity, dial it up and see what you think!

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I don’t know why I always feel so busy when time comes around to write one of these. This time next week, I’ll be on a plane flying to LA to play a fest with Public Acid. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. It’s gonna be sick tho.

I’m not really sure what music to write about. I’m not sure if it’s because the weather is getting colder and I just want music that feels comfortable, but I’ve barely been listening to hardcore at all. For whatever reason, I’m feeling drawn to a lot of new wave, post-punk and early melodic punk singles. I always get into a funk where I don’t wanna feel challenged when listening to music. I only wanna hear hits and bangers. Last night, I was playing a bunch of singles. Between wearing out the Buzzcocks and The Sound to death, I feel like I haven’t been exploring newer records as much as I should. Funny enough, Sorry State just got in a batch of UK singles that totally scratches this exact itch. There’s a bunch of stuff we’ll be putting out in-store for the holidays like Siouxsie, The Adverts, Bauhaus, and a bunch more. The one single that I might have to liberate for myself is the Requiem single by Killing Joke. I’ve got the first LP which opens with “Requiem” already, but of course I need the single too, right? Definitely one of my favorite Killing Joke tracks. The song is really just a repeating pattern, but the riff is so otherworldly and attention-grabbing. Such a huge vocal hook. I wish I had more energy to go into detail about it, but I’m sure all you readers who love Killing Joke already know. I still have many other Killing Joke records to cross off my want list. If someone reading this has a copy of Turn To Red they’re willing to part ways with then hit me up. Are you receiving?

Not really a proper staff pick per se, but y’all should go listen to some new wave. For me? As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week (or actually maybe the week after?),

-Jeff

Greetings,

I wanted to mention these two EPs we just got in from Hohnie Records. I had wrote about em a while ago here but it’s not worth re-reading. The HYVINKÄÄ compilation EP is excellent and you should certainly pick it up if you like Finnish HC. The LASTA EP is also really cool. I would pick up a copy as well if you’re able to grab both. It features popular bands like BASTARDS, TERVEET KÄDET, KANSAN UUTISET, alongside some lesser known bands. One of my favorites of those ‘lesser know bands’ is HIC SYSTEEMI. I mentioned their LP in a previous Staff Pick where I talked about Hohnie and the Finnish Hardcore label, just like today actually... The MASSACRE cassette that the Finnish Hardcore label recently released is excellent. It’s not the best sound quality, parts are legit good, but for what it is it’s a great release. This label continuously brings us the opportunity to hear rare and unreleased tracks from killer Finnish bands. Their attention to detail is spot-on, and each release is clearly made by a true fan with a great deal of care. I can’t wait to see what rare Finnish tracks see the light of day yet again. Alright, thanks for reading, peace!

Maya Angelou: The Poetry Of

The other day, Dominic and I were talking about Thanksgiving—about what I was taught in school, versus what I now know. Like most people, I had to unlearn a lot about what I was taught and seek out things from a different perspective. Winners write history, after all, and I feel like it hasn’t been until I was finished with school that there has been a big push to change that perspective. I graduated high school in 2012, college in 2016, so I haven’t been out of school for super long but it seems like a lot is different in just this short time. And in this time, I’ve done a lot more unlearning, not just when it comes to Thanksgiving. Whitewashed history is insidious and really impacts our views of the past (and in turn, present) in ways we don’t understand until we’re confronted with it.

All that being said, almost right after this conversation the next record up in rotation was this Maya Angelou poetry album. I’m not super familiar with her work, but I do remember reading some of her more well-known poems in school. This album is an amazing collection and was really enlightening to me, as someone who isn’t big on poetry. It got me thinking about the few things I learned about her in school and I think I learned more over the course of this record, haha! Her work was glossed over in literature classes and never mentioned in history class as we covered the 20th century. This might be a silly thing to admit on a platform we send out to a ton of people, but I just didn’t realize how politically charged and topical Maya Angelou’s poetry is! There’s a big difference between being told about activism through her poetry and then listening to it.

Partially a testament to her skill, and partially due to the sad truth that not enough has changed, the content of Maya Angelou’s poetry is incredibly relevant today. I’m sure I would’ve been struck by this record no matter when I listened to it, but I think because I was already thinking about how my perspective has changed post-school, this album really stood out. The music accompanying the words is an absolute treat, and this record is very worth a listen, I’m really glad someone put it on YouTube:

Kohu-63: Valtaa Ei Loistoa 12” (Poko Rekords, 1982)

Unfortunately, I don’t have much historical background information on Finland’s Kohu-63 to share with you. Their first 7” came out in 1981 on the legendary Finnish label Poko Rekords, who also released a subsequent 12” EP and LP from Kohu-63 in 1982. The only other info I have about the band (this is from the Svart Records website) is that in 1983, shortly after the release of their first LP, their vocalist Lättä went to prison for manslaughter, which forced the band into an extended hiatus. They came back in the later part of the 80s and have continued releasing music ever since.

I first heard Finland’s Kohu-63 in the mid-00s, around when Sorry State first started. I used to do a lot more trading with labels back then, and I remember doing a big trade with Germany’s Höhnie Records. Höhnie is still reissuing great hardcore, including lots of Finnish stuff from the 80s (and Sorry State still carries their releases!). They were already deep into that game by the time Sorry State started, and trading with them is where I got introduced to many classic Finnish hardcore bands. While Kaaos, Bastards, and Appendix caught my ear immediately, I didn’t latch onto Kohu-63 right away. I think that’s because of the format of Sotaa 81/82, which compiles the EP I’m writing about today along with the band’s first EP from 1981 and their first LP, which also came out in 1982. That’s a lot of hardcore for one sitting, and while it’s all great, it’s tough for the ear to parse, particularly when it’s arriving in a giant box from Germany that’s also packed with a bunch of other classic records.

Kohu-63 had been filed away in my brain as a second-tier band until I came across this copy of Valtaa Ei Loistoa. I had the opportunity to buy a small stack of Finnish originals from the early 80s, and I threw in Valtaa Ei Loistoa because it was priced attractively. However, since that package arrived, Valtaa Ei Loistoa is the record I’ve listened to the most.

The common link between so many of my Finnish favorites (like Lama and Appendix) is the way they inject a hint of melody into their hardcore. You can tell the bands have listened to a ton of Discharge, GBH, and Exploited and they’re determined to match those bands’ intensity, but rather than Discharge’s over-arching sense of dissonance and doom, the aforementioned Finnish bands’ songs coalesce around brighter-sounding major keys and subtly melodic vocal lines. I wonder if that’s something that comes from Finnish popular or traditional music, because it feels like a trait that’s unique to Finnish punk.

Of my most-loved Finnish groups, Valtaa Ei Loistoa reminds me the most of Lama. Like Lama, Kohu-63 has a firm command of their instruments and plays with a level of precision that matches just about anyone in the worldwide punk scene. Also like Lama, Kohu-63’s songs here feel fleshed-out, not just sequences of bad-ass riffs, but effective compositions that pull the listener through them and keep them interested the whole time. Besides those Finnish classics, Valtaa Ei Loistoa also makes me think of great California hardcore records like Legal Weapon’s Death of Innocence, Bad Religion’s How Could Hell Be Any Worse, or Circle One’s Patterns of Force. I fucking love inept teenage thrash more than most people, but Kohu-63 is something different, bringing that sense of abandon to music that’s more sophisticated and composed.

I’m gonna keep my eyes peeled for more of Kohu-63’s original releases, but I’m not holding my breath. Svart Records did nice repro editions of this and Kohu-63’s first LP, Lisää Verta Historiaan, and while they are tough to find from stateside sellers, they shouldn’t cost you too much if you come across them. The reissue of Lisää Verta Historiaan even comes with the rare stencil insert! Oh, and anyone know what’s up with the last track on the record, where the band chants “Hanoi Rocks Barmy Army” to the tune of “Exploited Barmy Army?” I’m curious whether it’s an homage or mockery. I have no idea how Finnish punks viewed Hanoi Rocks at the time.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

It seems like every week when I sit down to write one of these things, I’m always still recovering from the previous weekend. But hey, I ain’t complaining! Becoming more active with playing music, particularly killer outta town gigs, is totally worth being tired over. This past weekend, Scarecrow rolled up to Philly to play Quarantine’s record release gig. Funny enough, 3 out of 4 members of Scarecrow account for a big chunk of Sorry State’s staff, so thanks to Dom and Rachel for holding down the fort. The show in Philly was a fuckin’ blast. Quarantine absolutely destroyed. Was so rad to go rip it up and chill with friends up there. This weekend, NC is finally having a local punk gig at our favorite venue, the Nightlight. Scarecrow is playing along with 2 brand new bands, each playing their first show! Definitely come out if you’re in the area.

Just the other day, we stocked some new titles from Finland. There’s a part of me that just wants to gush about how fucking killer this Yleiset Syyt 7” is, but I’m sure the rest of the SSR crew will have that covered. Instead, I wanna talk about this Pyhat Nuket reissue! A few months back, I wrote about the Michael Monroe solo record. Monroe of course is the frontman for Finnish glam legends Hanoi Rocks. I think I briefly touched on this in that previous newsletter… I think because Hanoi Rocks became one of Finland’s most notable musical exports in the 80s, they had a huge impact on the Finnish punk scene. When the mid-80s came around, Finnish hardcore legends Riistetyt morphed into a decidedly different direction under the name Holy Dolls. Holy Dolls functioned as an alias for the band as they would transition into becoming Pyhat Nuket.

Hanoi Rocks at their core were a traditional rock’n’roll band with punk attitude, taking clear influence from Johnny Thunders and the like. And even though they made great records, I think the band’s outrageous image and sense of fashion made just as big of an impact as their music. Hanoi Rocks’ record covers always had group photos of the band dressed to the nines with huge hair, looking cool as fuck. I’d be lying if I said Michael Monroe’s teased frenzy of a mop didn’t affect the way I do my stupid hair. Well you know, I’m somewhere between him and GBH or something. All this to say that when you look at the cover of Holy Dolls or Pyhat Nuket records, it’s clear they probably took a few style cues from the Hanoi boiz. Svart just reissued Pyhat Nuket’s first full-length Kuoleman Sotatanssi. It had been a while since I’ve jammed this LP. What struck me immediately is how much death rock and post-punk influences are incorporated into the band’s sound. Spooky vibes and chorus guitar, baby. The vocal stylings are definitely familiar from all the great Riistetyt records. The singer really makes good use of his echoed-out chicken squawks and banshee calls. There are a few songs that sound like the glammy influence is creeping its way in, but with extra Velveeta cheese-drenched synthesizers. On their records following this debut, Pyhat Nuket leans even harder into 80s-era production with electronic drums and more bad reverb. And of course, always increasing the amount of blush, lipstick and leopard print clothing.

To me, it’s really cool to hear a band rooted in hardcore punk, but then thinking about their drive to totally reinvent themselves and play different music. As much as I love Riistetyt records like Skitsofrenia or Nightmare In Darkness, I’m sure becoming Pyhat Nuket felt like a fresh dose of energy introduced into the band. I really think Kuoleman Sotatanssi is a cool record with some great songwriting, and still holds up even with some admittedly dated production sounds. If you’re looking for the glammed-out, gothy contingent of Finnish punk, then definitely give Pyhat Nuket a listen.

That’s all I’ve got. I’ve gotta go do my hair. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hey there everybody in Sorry State Newsletter land. I hope you all had a great week and are doing well. Here at Sorry State towers, we are busy preparing for Black Friday and the holiday season by having as many killer records available as possible for you our good friends. We hinted at a couple of great collections that we bought, and we are still out there buying more. There really is a lot of brilliant music that will hit the floor over the upcoming weeks. We are also still working our way through the Veola McClean estate collection, so tons of great Jazz, Soul, Blues and other curios from that are making their way to the store each week. The huge Indie-Rock collection we hauled up from Florida still has plenty of gems in it. Besides all the top tier titles, each collection usually ends up giving us a lot of great cheap and cheerful records for our bargain bins. So make sure when visiting the shop in person to bend a knee and look down because there is gold in those bins that won’t set you back more than a few bucks. We try to only put decent clean copies of records in our bargain bin, so you don’t have to think too hard. Clean copy, only $3, done deal. Of course, sometimes we’ll put out records that in better shape would fetch more but are perhaps compromised and that is a good way for you to get an expensive record at a good price if you can live with a less than perfect copy. And what is perfect? Is life perfect? Is it free of dirt and wear? Like the late John Peel once said, “life is full of pops and crackles”. Learn to embrace them and you’ll probably live a happier life. Having grown up only knowing records to listen to music I have become accustomed to hearing some crackle and the occasional pop. It doesn’t bother me unless the record skips or sticks or the surface noise is above the actual music. There are limits, of course. But the quest for a perfect copy has not necessarily been one that I feel the need to go on for every record I own. It’s funny listening to the recent generation who are getting into records and hearing them bitch and moan about pressings and stuff, but it makes sense if all you have been exposed to up to this point are digital copies of music that are clean and perfect. Rachel made us laugh the other day by sharing some comments from T. Swift fans who bought her latest and didn’t realize the record was pressed at 45 RPM and were wondering why they were hearing a man’s voice sing. Lol. That is too funny, but they just have not grown up with records and don’t know about speeds, etc. Some modern record buyers are not even getting a record for the music but just to collect the object. Hence all the variety of fancy color pressings that come out these days to appeal to the stamp collectors and completists out there. For me, it has always been about the music first and foremost and I’ll put up with wear and patina because I just want to hear the music. My collection is well cared for, but I have a good number of used records that are not in mint condition.

As anyone out there knows who has worked in a good record store, escaping with your paycheck intact is a difficult task. Contrary to popular myth, all the good stuff does not go to the employees. Now naturally we get first dibs, but you got to have some perks, right? A huge part of the joy of working here at Sorry State is being surrounded by so many great records and getting to hear things without having to own them. Sometimes you can scratch an itch or satisfy your curiosity and save yourself a few bucks. I also love that on those days when you might feel low, and shit is getting you down, often a record will just appear in view and be the right choice in that moment and be able to lift you in a way not much else can do. Case in point, I came to work in a bad mood today with the weight of life on my shoulders and just hearing the first two tracks from The Impressions’ Keep On Pushing album of which we have a pristine 1964 stereo copy of, made me feel much better and readjusted my attitude to a much more positive one. Thank you Curtis, Sam and Fred.

Perhaps the best perk of all for me is curating the bargain bins here at Sorry State and helping to keep them as full as possible with good, interesting titles that won’t cost you a fortune. I’ll admit a big chunk of my spending here goes on the cheap stuff I snag. This week I found two records which are good examples of the type of stuff that hits our floor. In truth, one was a record and the other just a cover for a record I had, but with a badly damaged cover. The cover was for an album by The Mirettes called Whirlpool that came out on Uni in 1969. They were a female soul trio who were originally Ikettes with Ike & Tina Turner. This was their second LP, and it’s a great Sister Soul-Funk album. A nice mix of up-tempo numbers and slower ballads, including a cover of Stand By Your Man. Standout tracks are the title Whirlpool and the lead cut Sister Watch Yourself. I found a copy that had decent vinyl but a very badly damaged cover some years back. The album is well known and sought after, and a nice copy could set you back $40-$50. I found the cover whilst processing a box of Miss Veola McClean records. It had a beaten up B.B. King record inside. So that was cool to pair it up with my record and now have a nice copy.

The second record I pulled was a gently used copy of a Three Degrees self-titled LP on Philadelphia International from 1973. Another female soul trio and this album was their breakthrough containing the international hit When Will I See You Again. They had been putting out singles since the early 1960s and had a full length on Roulette called Maybe that is great. That album has them doing a great cover of the song Collage by Joe Walsh. It’s been a good DJ track for me for ages. On this self-titled LP, along with the big hit there are plenty of nice examples of the very much in-vogue Philly Soul Sound, recorded at the famous Sigma Sound Studio and produced by Gamble & Huff. It sports a great fold open gatefold cover that shows the girls in some awesome disco outfits on the inside. You’ll have to look out for a copy because we might not be able to show the photo here. My favorite track is A Woman Needs A Good Man. Worth paying $3 for this track and the cover art alone.

So, there you go. Not really a staff pick but a couple of good examples of female soul by trios that if you love this type of music, I would highly recommend you seeking out, especially the Mirettes LP. Thanks for reading and keep on digging and supporting your local record stores. We appreciate you. Peace and love - Dom

The end of the year is upon us. In the nerd world, I feel like this is the best time to release a record. Why? The release is fresh in the minds of ‘critics’ so it increases your chances of ending up on a Top 10 list for the year. I feel like it’s always hard to remember what releases came out during the first few months of a year, unless you literally take notes (or don’t smoke weed?). I am trying to remember my favorites of the year this week, and it’s hard… I’ll have to go back through my Staff Picks really, as I have done all the work already haha. Anyway, what I am getting at is that I think this record from YLEISET SYYT is one of the best records that has come out this year! Nicky Rat (What up!!!) wrote me some time ago to see if we would like a few copies of the EP. With what I heard on the first song, I knew we could move more than just a few copies. I passed it on to Daniel, and of course his conclusion was the same as mine! We ended up getting copies from the Finnish label Open Up and Bleed Records. Nicky Rat’s label did a smaller UK pressing as well. It is legit upsetting that I did not know this band sooner. Unfortunately, I did not know this band until Nicky Rat dropped me the link.

YLEISET SYYT is from Finland. 80s Finnish punk/HC is probably my favorite shit on this Earth. I didn’t realize this for a long time… then one day I realized most of my records are from Finnish bands, and most of my favorite Japanese bands are playing Finnish worship. Of course I love Swedish hardcore, while English punk/HC is the foundation of it all for me (aside from the few USHC bands I got into early on). Anyway, this EP fucking hits the spot cos it sounds classic as hell and it grooves hard as fuck with memorable riffs. After I heard this EP, I excitedly checked out their previous EP that was also on Open Up and Bleed Records. Oh my god. It is so good. The sound is excellent. The bass is growly, but not like the sound of an enormous door slamming in the depths of hell. The guitars are kinda twangy, with lots of overdrive. It doesn’t sound digital like most modern distortions. The the kick drum is super punchy; you feel it instead of hearing it. The snare is fucking perfect, seriously. The drumming so good too. It’s incredibly locked-in, while occasionally breaking it up with some accented bits. This is a great EP with great song writing. Comparing this previous EP to the new one, the new one almost comes off ‘metal’ at times. With the drums punching and pummeling behind the guitarist occasionally playing some metallic/melodic leads, it comes off with this metal edge. Haha, don’t get me wrong though, this is not a metal band or release by any means!

Continuing reverse chronologically in the bands discography, I was very pleased to find out they have a 2017 full-length release. Going backwards in a band’s discography is always interesting. (I recently did the same thing for another ripping Finnish band, KOHTI TUHOA.) Hearing this full-length release was fucking awesome. Every song is interesting, and every song is good. I go on and on about how I like recordings to sound classic and shit, but this recording is quite obvious that it’s a modern recording. But I don’t care, the band sounds great. Honestly, hearing it was kind of refreshing after hearing the more fuzzy recordings they did after. I could hear everything clearly on its own, but still locked-in with the rest of the instruments. The band is just so damn good, and riffs keep my attention constantly. The drumming is fucking non-stop with cool and clever punches and catches. It’s funny just last week Jeff mentioned RATSIA covering BUZZCOCKS, but in their native Finnish language. Well, YLEISET SYYT lays a fucking Finnish-sung ANTIDOTE cover onto us on their full-length!! Fucking sick.

Alright on another quick Finnish note, PYHÄT NUKET’s debut LP has been re-issued on Svart! I wish I was at home, so I could give you a good nerding on the members of this band. Personally, I would not pick up this LP if it weren’t for the relationship to RIISTETYT. You know the Raped Future LP? The one that says HOLY DOLLS on it underneath RIISTEYT? If you don’t already know, PYHÄT NUKET translates to HOLY DOLLS, and this LP is an extension of just that. I don’t know the details of this full blown incarnation of the band, but I know for sure it’s the vocalist of RIISTETYT. I think it might be the guitarist as well? The band is not hardcore, so I would definitely check it out before you grab it if you haven’t heard this band or that RIISTETYT LP. Alright, thanks for reading.

Also, oh my god did you hear this yet? https://d4mtlabsinc.bandcamp.com/album/peace-on-earth

‘Til next week, peace!

Flux of Pink Indians: Strive to Survive Causing the Least Suffering Possible 12” (Spiderleg Records, 1982)

A few weeks ago, I noticed a gap in my Flux of Pink Indians collection. I’ve had Neu Smell and The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks for years, but I guess I’d never come across a copy of Strive to Survive in the wild, so I didn’t have it on vinyl. I knew the songs thanks to CD releases—Not So Brave (which compiled various demo recordings) and the disc that combined Strive to Survive and Neu Smell—but sitting with this LP as it was originally released has been enlightening.

Everyone knows “Tube Disasters,” a song beloved by algorithms across the world. (Seriously, Spotify and YouTube serve it up to me so constantly that I’ve gotten a little sick of it.) However, Strive to Survive reminds me that “Tube Disasters” wasn’t Flux’s only anthem. In particular, the one-two punch that begins side 2, “Progress” and “They Lie We Die,” is one for the ages… two songs exploding with energy that demand to be sang along with. The entire album is great though. While Flux had a similar manic, impassioned energy to Crass, their music is more straightforward and played tighter (maybe those two things are related?), giving Strive to Survive a propulsive forward motion that helps it stand toe to toe with the emerging US hardcore scene.

My copy doesn’t have any inserts, but the artwork is haunting and beautiful (and unique!). While I would like to read the other inserts, the inside of the gatefold tells the long story of the band creating the photographs for the record, and it’s an interesting read. Their idea was to photograph the backdrop banners from their stage shows at a nuclear site, which brings them into contact (and conflict) with the police and government.

Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything insightful to say about Strive to Survive. It’s a killer album, catching the band at the peak of their talent for writing anarcho punk anthems. By the time they released their next album, the sprawling double LP The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks, two years later, they were a much tougher listen. Still a great listen, but a more demanding one for sure.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I had a great time with my homies in Public Acid this past weekend. I got back from my weekend outing and immediately got boosted. Not unlike the 2nd Moderna I got several months back, this shot knocked me the fuuuuck out. I’m feeling better now as I’m writing this, but I’m still a little exhausted. Gotta suck it up though, because this Friday Scarecrow is rolling up to Philly to rip it up with Quarantine for their record release. I will be functioning on pure stoke.

Now onto talking about records and nerd shit I guess. I’m not sure if I’m putting Daniel’s recent record haul on blast, but he recently acquired a bunch of killer Finnish punk records. At our warehouse location while we were both working yesterday, he was playing the Ratsia LP. On this LP, the band does a rendition of the Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?”, but translate all the lyrics into Finnish. It sounds killer reworked in their native language. As we kept listening, we were asking each other, “Are there more covers on this LP?” So many of the songs sounded familiar, but weren’t always instantly recognizable. I think it’s so cool when punk bands of yesteryear take early bangers of the era and translate them into a different language. One of my favorite examples of this is “Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra” by Vulpess, which is a cover of “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” This Basque Country/Spain-based all non-male punk band released this track as a single in 1983, and their version is KILLER. It’s funny, I’ve brought this track up to friends in the past and some of them had their mind blown learning that Vulpess’s big single is a cover. I even had to prove it to someone once by pointing out that one of the songwriting credits is “J. Osterberg,” which as we all know is the birth name of Iggy Pop ;) To be fair, Vulpess totally reinvents the song. Especially if you don’t speak Spanish, if you were to listen to this song and not focus on recognizing the chord changes or the arrangement, then it’s easy to see why the song would breeze past like an original. Compared to the Stooges’ version, Vulpess push the speed and morph it from a sludging, circular drone into a driving ripper of a track. Plus, the vocals are injected with so much venom and sassy, snotty attitude. The best part is that little turn around part, a section which has no vocals in the original, becomes this sick refrain where gang vocals sing “YA-YA-YA-YA-YA!” It’s so catchy. I haven’t translated all of the lyrics, but clearly some of them are reworked. The meaning of the hook seems to be changed purposefully. “Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra” basically translates to “I like being a bitch,” which flips the intention of the song and makes it mean as fuck. Vulpess were a bunch of badasses.

If you’ve never heard this track before, check it out. There’s even a cool live footage music video to go along with it.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hello loyal Sorry State followers and thank you for clicking on our newsletter. We appreciate you spending time with us. This week we are publishing the newsletter on November 11th, which is of course Veterans Day here in America and Remembrance Day in the UK. Before I go any further, let’s honor and remember those that served, fought and died for their countries and our freedoms. No need to add any additional political opinion here although I am sure those veterans that fought against Imperial oppression and fascist ideology and died for it are spinning in their graves at the sight of our now domestic terrorists and the disgusting behavior of the right wing. And I said no politics. Damn. Oh well, still fuck you to all Trumpers, Republicans, crazy Christians and science deniers. You all shame the memory of our vets.

Okay, moving on. Shall we talk about music and records instead? This week I don’t have a “staff pick” per se but wanted to indulge myself to sing the praises of one of my all-time favorite singers and artists, the late, great Miss Sarah Vaughan. The divine one to her world of fans, “Sassy” to those that knew and played with her. Hopefully I don’t need to go into too much detail about her and her career, do I? You know who she is right? She’s a jazz legend whose career lasted close to fifty years, beginning when she won a talent contest in 1942 at the famed Apollo Theatre aged 18. On the back of that winning performance, she was invited back that same year to open for Ella Fitzgerald and never looked back. She worked with almost every notable jazz icon there was, putting her time in as a big band singer and playing all the jazz spots in New York and other major cities across the country. By the late 1940s and going into the 1950s, she was a bona fide star and scoring hit records. Her discography is huge. She recorded for over a dozen labels including Atlantic, Columbia, EmArcy, Mainstream, Mercury, Roulette and Pablo. Her repertoire ranged from swinging big band numbers to intimate jazz trio material. She sang with a full orchestra on some records and rock bands on others and tried her hand at many different styles but always keeping her identity and staying classy and sassy. You can hit this link here to visit her Wikipedia page for a fuller career run down.

There is a very good reason for me personally as to why I love her so much. You see, I was fortunate to have met her not long before her passing in 1991. I had just begun my years working on cruise ships. It was early 1989 and Miss Vaughan was taking a cruise on the ship I was working on. I was assigned to be her server for the week. She ate mostly alone, but was joined by her assistant occasionally. She wasn’t performing on the ship, although even then she was still performing. Sadly, however, at this time she was becoming sick and later that same year was diagnosed with lung cancer whilst working a series of dates at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club. Those dates were to be her final performances.

At the time I was her server, I was just 20 years old and although I had heard her name, I admit to not knowing her music that well. My appreciation for jazz was already in place then, but I hadn’t got much into the vocalists at that point. Meeting her changed that. Whilst attending to her I didn’t get too many long conversations with her, but I did ask her some questions about music and her career. I think I asked her what her favorite album was, and she laughed and said there were too many to include, but I remember her saying that she liked the live ones the most and that performing before an audience was where the real magic happened. That next stop in port, I visited the music store and bought a bunch of her albums on CD. One was a live album recorded at Mr. Kelly’s, a jazz club in Chicago in 1957. That Japanese import CD has stayed with me ever since, although I own the vinyl record now. The CD includes twenty songs recorded over the three nights of recording in August 1957, whereas the LP came out with just nine songs. I must have listened to this album hundreds of times. It’s so good. Sarah Vaughan backed by a trio in an intimate club. The band consisted of Jimmy Jones on piano, Richard Davis on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. Those musicians and Sarah were in their absolute prime then, and the performance is sublime. The audience then and us after the fact are treated to pure class and even a little comedy as Sarah messes up the words to Willow Weep For Me and ad-libs the lyrics admitting her mistake. There is also a moment when a mic or music stand falls over. It all adds to the “live” aspect of the recording and only increases the charm and makes the listener feel they are right there in the club. She does a nice version of How High The Moon also with comedy ad-libs that I did dig and scats like Ella on it. That the original release was only nine tracks, I can’t help feeling the world was cheated somehow. It would have made an awesome double album. Thankfully all the performances are on the digital format.

After the news of her death in 1991, I felt especially privileged to have been in her presence and to have had those moments with her. As the years went on my love for her went from strength to strength as too did my appreciation for her jazz peers like Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Whenever I see one of her records I don’t have, I pick it up. Honestly, for years they weren’t hard to find or expensive although nowadays you may have to spend a bit more for nice original copies. Still, there are plenty out there and you should just dive in. Any opportunity to hear a real vocalist at work is never a lost one. Forget all the pop rubbish that passes for singing these days and check out the real deal. Amy Winehouse knew.

I like the albums she cut in the late sixties on Mainstream and Roulette too. There are some good funky moments on them. The ones she did on Pablo in the seventies are good also, again some funky and groovy moments on them and particularly a Brazilian influence. Just like lots of other singers, she was blessed to work with Quincy Jones and the combination of their two talents makes for some good listening on several albums they cut together.

One other album that I visit frequently by her is called, aptly, The Divine One that came out in 1961 on the Roulette label. That’s a great one and if you see it, pick it up. It’s a great example of her style and is arranged by Jimmy Jones who played piano on the Mr. Kelly’s recordings. The tune Trouble Is A Man from that set is a fine performance.

I could go on highlighting other great performances but should finish up here. Perhaps you have your own favorites, and if you are just discovering her, then I am sure you will find some. On Worldy this week Matt and I did an autumn show and kicked things off with Sarah Vaughan doing a song called Trees from a 1960 album called Dreamy, also on Roulette. It fitted the theme and vibe of the show so well and I was thrilled to play a tune of hers on the show. Hit the link for the full show if you are interested.

Alright, that’s my time. Thanks for reading. Go listen to music and we’ll see you next time.

Peace and love- Dom.

I wrote about NIGHTFEEDER when we got the demo tapes at Sorry State back in September of last year. I think the EP was supposed to be out a bit ago, but of course everything is delayed in vinyl production right now. The wait for this release has had my anticipation growing each week! If you missed out on the demo, you can give it a listen here. Good luck trying to find a physical copy though… the band sold so many copies that they repressed the cassette, and I can confidently say all those tapes have happy homes. The EP starts with the same track as the demo (but a different recording), Exploited Partisans. Is it cheesy to do that? I don’t care. The song is so good… the intro is like a fucking avalanche. After this track, the A-side finishes with a song called 1491. I am guessing this song is about the first colonizers who landed on what is now the United States. Some people write lyrics about how they hate their peers, ex-partner, or other dumb shit that I do not give a fuck about. I really appreciate this man’s ability to write lyrics about historical events that shaped the world as we know it today. It reminds you of the past, and not to forget it. Or, it brings events to one’s attention that may have been unknown prior. It is empowering. The B-side starts with a track called Havin’ A Hard Time. The feel to this song differs from the rest. It sticks out with its more ‘rocked out’ riffs. Hearing them cover MISSBRUKARNA on the demo tape, this song makes sense to me though. The songs sound nothing alike, but both songs stuck out from the rest on the releases they appear on. It’s a nice change-up from the ‘crust’ sound regardless. The EP ends with the title track from their demo, Rotten. This is a great song to end on. It brings everything back in, and the EP ends on a powerful note. I think this EP is killer, and you should check it out. However, I am writing a review more or less, so I need to provide you with my other feelings on the EP. I would have been more excited during my listen if I got to experience some new jams. I think the demo cassette sounded fucking excellent, so I am not sure why they choose to re-record two of the songs for the EP. I can understand wanting to have those songs pressed on vinyl though, cos they fucking rip. The other thing is, the artwork does not do it for me. I suck at art, so I will not criticize the artist’s ability haha. It’s not even that I think the art is bad. It’s just the feel of the cover I don’t like so much. It doesn’t represent the band’s vibe ‘accurately’ to me. But seriously, who the fuck cares anyway? Last time I wrote about NIGHTFEEDER I had mentioned (unrelated to the band) how it does not matter what your band name is or what the art looks like if your band is excellent. I can’t wait to hear what they do next. Maybe one day I can catch them live and get my fuckin mind blown. Thanks for reading, peace y’all.

Every week when it’s time to put together my staff pick, I think about what media I have consumed lately. This week, there’s no question about what dominated my listening: the Bandsplain podcast on Spotify. I’m reluctant to recommend something only available on Spotify, but that’s where this podcast lives, and I’m sure a ton of you are already on Spotify anyway, so I might as well go with it. Hopefully this isn’t a slippery slope, because I don’t want to be recommending fucking Mypillow or the new Subaru Outback in my staff pick. Thankfully, the other sections of the newsletter remain focused on underground punk and hardcore.

Back to Bandsplain. I was hanging out at a friend’s house the other weekend and when the subject of podcasts came up, Rich told me about this one. (Yes, the same Rich who isn’t actually on the SSR staff so we can’t fault him for not having written a staff pick in a long time, but we still wish he would.) Rich, characteristically, insisted that the podcast sucked but he listened to it anyway, so I made a note to check it out. Once I did, it took over my car stereo.

We’ve been talking about doing a Sorry State podcast for years, but aside from having no time to put together a podcast, I think everyone on the staff has a different vision for what an SSR podcast would be. I always said my vision for a great music podcast would be an approximate ratio of 75% talk to 25% percent music. The majority of the running time would be spent introducing, discussing, and contextualizing whatever music we’re discussion, then you would play a a full song (or maybe a few if they’re short) so the listener could make up their own mind, or just have a deeper and more engaged listening experience thanks to their newfound knowledge. This is Bandsplain’s formula to a T.

In each episode, host Yasi Salek invites an expert on a particular band to take a walk through that group’s history and discography. The focus is on artists with a cult following, with a mix of dyed-in-the-wool indie artists (like the Cocteau Twins and the Misfits) and more widely known artists who have dedicated, cult-like followings (like Steely Dan and Metallica). The guests are a mix of music journalists and the kinds of people who might appear as talking heads in a music doc, and on the episodes I’ve listened to so far, they’re well chosen. Riki Rachtman is the guest for the Guns N Roses episode, and while he pushes hard against the speculation and interpretation that is music journalists’ stock in trade, his close relationship with the band through their formative and peak periods makes him a perfect guest (even if he is, as he’s always been, kind of annoying). Salek herself is also great. I know nothing about her background, but she’s knowledgeable (it helps that she’s the same as me, so we have similar points of reference), has great rapport with the guests, and regularly drops hilarious zingers (my favorite is when she calls Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal approach for Cocteau Twins “ethereal scatting”).

The interview segments are as well-researched and informative as you would expect from a good music podcast, but the magic happens when they play the full songs. After hearing the background information and analysis, I’m primed to hear how that plays out in the actual music, and I find myself listening to the tracks with an open and curious ear. While I often listen to an artist’s work after listening to a podcast or reading a book about them, the seamlessness of the Bandsplain listening experience allows me to hold the episode’s conversational threads in my brain while I’m listening. And one full song is the perfect amount to hear at a time. While most of the artists they examine on Bandsplain are “album artists,” a song on an album is like a paragraph in a long text: one complete, fleshed-out thought. Then it’s on to the next interview segment, where the conversation moves forward, requiring another example track a few minutes later. Just like I imagined for my own unmade podcast, the proportions are perfect.

So far I’ve listened to the episodes on Guns N Roses, Steely Dan, the Lemonheads, and the first half of the two-episode series on Metallica (part one covered up through the black album, and I’m not sure I can take going any further than that). I’ve enjoyed every episode, and my only gripe with Bandsplain (and it’s a minor one) is that they’re a little too free with the value judgments. While it doesn’t grate against my ear when they’re praising things, they’re sometimes dismissive when they don’t like something. They pretty much write off the early Taang!-era Lemonheads material, and Ben Deily’s songs in particular. I always liked Deily’s songs, and I’ve always thought his songs are stronger than Evan Dando’s on those early records.

All in all, though, Bandsplain is one of the best music podcasts I’ve heard in a while. I’m looking forward to making my way through the other episodes and seeing what artists they cover next.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

It’s weird that Halloween is already behind us. Oh well, I guess time to stop watching horror movies every day. Back to hardcore it is.

The other night, my buddy and I were talking about Regulations and how that shit is still totally killer. He then asked me if I had ever heard the Neu Ronz EP, to which I responded, “Nah, what’s that?” He described it to me as “Otto singing in a band with dudes from Nitad and Raped Teenagers.” I thought to myself, “Well, fuck… what’s not to like?” I listened to it all the way through, my brain literally exploded, and I have not stopped listening to it since. This Neu Ronz 7” came out in 2015 on Adult Crash, and somehow, even with me working at Sorry State and us regularly stocking releases from Adult Crash, I never heard it. I could kick myself. I’m such an idiot. I always tend to embellish, but this is one of the most killer hardcore records I’ve heard in forever. A Swedish supergroup masterwork. Each song is about a minute flat. You can totally tell there’s Raped Teenagers folks involved because all the riffs have that catchy and kinda wonky quirkiness about ‘em. But when you take that wonky, turbulent rage and top it with Otto from Regulations’ hooky vocals that we all know and love, you get a perfect and potent combination. Each song is a hit. It’s like a totally weird and leftfield take on hardcore, but also approachable ear candy at the same time. I love it. Do yourself a favor and play this over and over ‘til you puke just like me.

Now I just need to lock down a physical copy of this EP. Anyone got one they wanna part with in USA? Preferably on red vinyl. nerd emoji

That’s all I wanna talk about this week. Short and sweet. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hey everyone, and thanks for clicking on our newsletter again this week. This week sees us stepping into the holiday season with Halloween in the books already. I hope you all had fun. For Worldy, the radio show I do on TheFaceRadio.com, we celebrated Dia De Los Muertos, the Mexican festival that celebrates those that have passed and also Diwali, the Indian festival of lights that actually begins this Thursday. If you enjoy Mexican garage and psych, sitar music and funky Bollywood soundtracks, head over to the archives and take a listen.

So, with Diwali in mind and talking of funky Bollywood soundtracks, I thought it very appropriate to mention a great one for my staff pick this week. I don’t have too many Indian records in my collection but I have some killer compilations and a fair few by Ravi and Ananda Shankar. However, this soundtrack is one of my favorites. It’s Shalimar by R.D. Burman and was originally released in 1978.

Rahul Dev Burman was arguably India’s top musical director and composed scores for over three hundred Bollywood movies during his thirty plus year career, beginning in the 1960s. The film centers around a jewel thief attempting to steal an expensive diamond known as Shalimar. Being a Bollywood film, it contains great music and the mandatory dance number. It’s also notable for featuring some non-Indian actors in their first and only Bollywood roles. Rex Harrison, Sylvia Miles and John Saxon being those names. It’s not an amazing film per se and didn’t do so well in the box office, but is now more remembered for the music.

For me, the money tracks are the title theme and a number called Baby Let’s Dance Together. Both have been good DJ tracks for me and other music evangelists and have appeared on several compilations. As original copies can be a little pricey and so too the reissues, grabbing a compilation such as Bollywood Funk is highly recommended and a cheaper way to get these cuts on vinyl. That collection is chock full of funky jams and not your typical album of sitar music that you’d hear at your local curry shop.

I just love the production on this record, and it reminds me in places of some of the great Italian heist caper movies from the 1970s. Buman is, in many ways, the Indian equivalent of Ennio Morricone. Elsewhere you have tracks like One Two Cha Cha Cha that mash up Indian sitar with a Latin rhythm over which vocalist Usha Uthup sings and raps in English and Hindi. It’s groovy baby. Burman really exercises his chops on this soundtrack. He was operating at the peak of his powers. There are lots of interesting musical moments and he employs all sorts of non-traditional Indian sounding instrumentation to great effect. There is an accordion on one track making it sound like a Columbian Cumbia. There’s some Tijuana horns to envy anything Herb Alpert was doing and being 1978, he had new keyboards available that give some moments a more modern sound. In addition to the great music and production, credit must be given to the vocalists used and the way that voices are employed. It’s the type of stuff that probably could only be heard on a Bollywood soundtrack. At one point in a song the vocal chorus sounds like a herd of horses whinnying. Honest. Great stuff.

I’ve thrown in some links there for you to check out and for lovers of Indian music and Bollywood film, I think you’ll find plenty to like here. Have a great Diwali if you are celebrating and I’ll see you all here next time.

Peace and love - Dom

Hello everyone, thank you for reading. I think today I will write about two bands. One release I have been anticipating a lot; the other one caught me by surprise. I first heard KOHTI TUHOA last year, six years after their initial release. Which sucks cos I could’ve been jamming this good ass shit years ago, but I am still happy to have it in my life now. The earlier releases I was not very familiar with, but today I have been spending time with their other records. Their debut EP is insane… it is much more on the raging side than the groovy side of things. With this band, they execute both elements with perfection and precision and I can’t choose which side of things I like more. We have the LVEUM pressing available on our webstore if you wanna grab it from us. LVEUM re-released this EP a bit after its initial release. Apparently, they remastered it and it has an extra track the OG does not. The shit rules so much, I love it. The production is excellent but still raw. Honestly, it reminds me of the way the first RIISTEYT 12” sounds, but the guitars don’t cut through quite as much as a nasty 80s recording. I’m not saying it’s bad; I think it’s excellent. I am just saying it’s almost impossible to emulate an 80s studio recording. Anyway, between this first EP and the one that was just released, they have four fucking records ahhh, too much for me to mention. And also I am not familiar with all their releases, unfortunately. I jamming their 2019 LP right now, Ihmisen Kasvot. The guitars are fucking blazing on this shit. We have a few copies available on our webstore still, I just picked one up for myself since my dumb ass slept on this one haha. Damn I also just scored copies of their other two records on Discogs for $5 each. I am set!!! Oh my fucking god I just heard a PAINAJAINEN song from one of the albums I just bought. I am obsessed with this band haha. So sick they cover this. I featured PAINAJAINEN somewhat recently on Hardcore Knockouts. Anyway, KOHTI TUHOA’s new EP Väkivaltaa is different from all the previous releases. The A-side has a drawn-out “atmospheric” vibe, while the B-side has hardcore tracks like I expected. While the A-side is a step in a new direction, I still enjoy it a lot. Going back through the band’s discography today, I realize they started out with much more raging songs with groovy elements peppered in, while the past few releases are definitely more heavy on the grooves. We got a stack of limited edition blue vinyl from LVEUM. Grab one while you can!!

I heard THE VARUKERS at a young age. They were painted on so many damn jackets. I remember wearing a VARUKERS t-shirt and my dad looked at me and said do you know what that is? I said uhh a band...? He then enlightened me with the definition of verrucas. They are warts on the bottom of your feet. Funny enough, I had verrucas for so many years in high school before I learned proper boot hygiene. My dad was always telling me shit I didn’t understand about the bands I was into, especially things that were specific to Great Britain; like what G.B.H. means, what bovver boys were, etc. Soon after I first heard VARUKERS, I picked up a 1980-2005 compilation CD. The thing about being young and checking out a CD like that is, I didn’t know what the fuck I was listening to. There are old tracks, new tracks, and re-recordings of old tracks. It’s a disaster... I don’t need to hear that shit. I just want the classic stuff. It’s funny to hear them re-record old songs too, cos they probably wanted to show how much better the songs sound now? I think they should’ve just left us with the ‘80s recordings, haha. Anyway, fast forward about ten years and my bandmate Alex (What up!) shows me this sick VARUKERS compilation from 1986, Prepare For The Attack. Now THIS is the kind of compilation I want to hear! They re-record songs and play ‘em with a different feel, and it is fucking killer. It also has some stuff that did not appear elsewhere, I believe. The sound quality is excellent, too. It’s a great record and has always been one of my favorites after I heard it. Last week, I saw we had copies of this compilation in stock at the shop! It had bad artwork, so I didn’t even notice it was a reissue of an old record at first haha. I just assumed it was some new VARUKERS shit with not very good art. I am a hater. Anyway, I checked it out, and it also has a fold-out poster of the bad artwork inside for you to hang on your wall. With the art being so bad I just assumed this was self-released by the band, but on closer inspection I don’t see band or label credits anywhere... and with another look at the disc I see the matrix is scrapped out haha, whoops I think this a bootleg. Regardless of the unofficial bad art, the sound is excellent. The original cover was really basic, and it didn’t come with an insert, so who cares about the re-worked cover. Check out the link I dropped above. If you dig the songs, I would pick up a copy and save yourself the money and hassle of getting an 80s import pressing. Alright that’s all for this week, thanks for reading everyone and thanks loads for the support!! Sorry State has been quite busy with mail order. ‘Til next time...

All the Streets are Silent

I had no idea what I was in for when my partner put on this documentary. While he had been anticipating the release for months, it fell off my radar almost as soon as we watched the trailer in June. When he put it on, we were both immediately captivated by the archival footage, the score, and the impressive list of interviewees; we were completely fixated on the TV during the entire run time. This is a raw and beautiful portrayal of skate and hip hop culture colliding in the late 80s through early 90s. At this point, so many of the things mentioned in All The Streets Are Silent are embedded in pop culture that I took their origins for granted and just saw things like Supreme as a cultural joke. Watching this collision happen on camera, through the lens of someone living it, was way more fascinating and inspiring than I ever thought it would be.

I’m not well versed in either of these worlds; skateboarding and hip hop were fleeting interests growing up. I still found this documentary relatable because, at its core, this is a story about a dedicated group of people making shit HAPPEN! The less relatable bit is, of course, shit blowing up to what it is today: billion dollar companies, name recognition all across the globe. I’m more used to things lurking in the underground, but respect where respect is due. I feel like in this day and age it’s really easy to take a small scene for granted. Subcultures are popping up and disappearing with micro trends, and it’s hard to see what is going to have a large cultural impact.

The real gem of this documentary is the camcorder footage. Most of it was taken by the film’s narrator, founder of Zoo York, Eli Gesner. I wasn’t even alive when most of it was filmed, but I feel like I could tell that it was an authentic portrayal of a time that’s long gone. The snippets of everyday life grounded these people that are now icons. The footage they got of so many iconic rappers hasn’t been seen before this documentary and I’m so glad it wasn’t lost to the ether of new technology. It’s the kind of stuff that the people filming it knew they were getting gold. The vibe was electric; you can feel it all these years later. I highly, highly recommend this doc if you even have the slightest interest in rap; the freestyle videos are worth the whole movie alone!

Akina Nakamori: 不思議 12” (Reprise Records, 1986)

A few weeks ago I was on my couch late at night, unable to sleep, reading about Japanese punk music. On this particular research binge, my focus wandered outside the noisy Japanese hardcore that occupies the bulk of my attention, and I got curious about non-hardcore punk and new wave in Japan in the 80s. Somewhere amidst reading about groups like Friction, Anarchy, and INU, I came across a brief mention of Akina Nakamori’s 1986 album. That description prompted me give the album a quick listen, and it caught my ear right away. 不思議 reminded of something that might have come out on 4AD Records with its lush instrumentation and dark pop style, but unlike Siouxsie and the Banshees or the Cocteau Twins (the album’s closest sonic points of reference), Akina Nakamori wasn’t a young musician whose talent was just coming into bloom. Rather, she was an established pop star throwing a mid-career curveball.

Akina Nakamori was a Japanese pop idol, beginning her career in 1981 by winning the singing competition show Star Tanjō!, or A Star Is Born. After establishing her name with the TV series, Nakamori started her recording career and released a long string of successful singles and albums, regularly topping the single and album charts in Japan, with some of her releases approaching one million copies sold. I’m no expert on this style of mainstream 80s Japanese pop, but what I’ve checked out is about as glossy and gentle as you would expect given the cover art for her second album, Variation:

Compared to other pop idols, Nakamori’s image was edgy, her slightly risque lyrics contrasting with her biggest rival, Seiko Matsuda, who projected a gentler, girl-next-door image. Nakamori also followed the lead of western pop stars like Madonna who changed up their image with each new single or album release, making her the more sophisticated choice among the competing pop idols.

不思議 (Fushigi) is Nakamori’s tenth album, originally released in 1986. 不思議 is the first album of original material Nakamori released after BEST, her first greatest hits collection. Perhaps looking backward for BEST prompted some creative restlessness, or maybe the timing is coincidental, but 不思議 represents a dramatic shift in style for Nakamori. This is obvious from the album’s cover artwork, which subverts the pop idol convention by obscuring the singer’s face and adopting an earthy color scheme rather than modern-looking graphics.

The music also subverts pop convention by putting Nakamori’s voice way back in the mix—which is dominated by a busy bass, huge-sounding drums, and ethereal strings—and drowning it in echo. The vocal approach brings to mind Cocteau Twins, while the dark vibe and knotty rhythms remind me of Siouxsie and the Banshees circa Tinderbox. The entire album is in this style and it’s a gripping listen all the way through. Everything I’ve read insists that the UK post-punk that 不思議 most closely resembles was not an influence, and that Nakamori arrived at her similar sound independently. This is particularly impressive given that 不思議 is the only album in her long career that Nakamori self-produced.

While 不思議 went to #1 in Japan, it only topped the charts for three weeks, a relative disappointment for a huge star like Nakamori. While the album seemed to confuse much of her audience, critics hailed it as a triumph and it remains well regarded to this day.

If you want to read more about 不思議, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky wrote a very detailed piece on the record (much better than this one) for the AV Club back in 2016: https://www.avclub.com/a-one-of-a-kind-album-tried-to-turn-80s-pop-on-its-ear-1798243749

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I don’t how many of you get as psyched as I do about this time of year, but I’m trying to dwell in it as much as possible. I’m bustin’ out the flannels, I’m drinkin’ the hot cider… shit, I might even carve a pumpkin! Hoping all you freaks out there are prepared for a killer spooky-ass weekend. I love Halloween. And while I’m sure there will be plenty of Misfits and Samhain on deck, I feel like most of my energy during this time of year is devoted to watching movies rather than listening to music.

I’m by no means a soundtrack buff, but one great thing that comes along with 80s horror classics is the score. For whatever reason, cold and sparse synthesizer soundscapes seem to fit perfectly. I’m sure most people are familiar with John Carpenter’s films. Amazing of a filmmaker as Carpenter is, I still find it so interesting that he also composed a memorable score for many of the movies his name is attached to. One of my particular favorites is the 3rd installment of the Halloween franchise, Season of the Witch. An interesting sequel for sure, considering it doesn’t even feature the iconic Michael Myers. However, I think the score by Carpenter, along with Alan Howarth, is maybe his best work. In contrast to the instantly recognizable, anxiety-inducing 5/4 theme from the original, the 3rd sequel is predominantly a series of droning atmospheric mood pieces. The synth sounds hit piercing dissonances and have these perfectly organic yet cold synth-pad tones before the over-digitized sounds that came later in the 80s. The major theme “Chariots of Pumpkins” stands out with a more beat-driven feel that was destined to become a remixed disco-fied banger played by DJs in the years to follow. If you’re looking for some eerie and spine-chilling ambiance for your Halloween weekend, I’d definitely recommend jamming this electronic masterpiece. Also, if Season of Witch weren’t lumped in with the Michael Myers series and was a stand-alone movie, then I think it would maybe be less maligned. I think the movie is definitely worth revisiting as well!

As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Happy Halloween Dear Sorry Staters. What’s up? Before I scribble a few words for my staff pick this week, let us take a moment to acknowledge the fact that we now live in a world where Liverpool Football Club beat Manchester United five nil at Old Trafford. An absolute horror story for them and one of the greatest wins for us, and we have plenty of memorable victories to choose from. Non sport fans can shrug their shoulders in indifference and the rest of you I encourage to google the game and enjoy the multiple highlights and global reaction.

Okay, moving on. It is Halloween this week and although I am sure my other SSR colleagues are going to pick horror theme records (Rachel) I couldn’t resist jumping in with a selection myself.

I know I have talked about my love of soundtracks previously. I have quite a few, so this week’s pick is plucked from them. Let’s listen to The Vampires Of Dartmoore and their Dracula’s Music Cabinet LP from 1969.

This was a German released record made to cash in on the Horrotica craze of the late 1960s that continued into the early 70s. European cinema was awash with B-Movie titles featuring scantily clad women being pursued by vampires and monsters. Most of these films used stock music library compositions for their soundtracks, although many of the better ones had scores made especially. This record was made by music library session guys for a film that didn’t exist. They are cues and themes for an imagined film. Does it work and is it any good? Kind of. The critics are divided. Some people think the record is utter pants and others have discovered some charm to it and like it. I fall into the latter camp, obviously. So do the good folks at Finders Keepers who prepared this reissue, which I have. Original copies disappeared into the backs of dusty European record shops and the collections of vinyl hounds and are tough to score.

Musically, the record is a kitschy pastiche affair. A cross between a jazzy lounge record, sound effects LP and actual soundtrack. There are some psychedelic touches here and there, but it is far from a Krautrock album, although you can hear similar stuff going on in some of the early Irmin Schmidt soundtracks he did in his early pre-Can and Can days. Who played on the record is not completely certain, but we know the composers and main artistic inspiration came from two dudes, Horst Ackermann and Heribert Thusek, who were active in the German music scene at the time. Oh, and there is a drum break in there too.

The cover is pure horror theatre with white faced, vampire toothed characters and a child looking creepily at the camera. The rear has a vampire chick spreading her cloak wide and looking like a Kiss extra with bad teeth. Great stuff.

I listened to the record a few times this week, and I liked having it playing in the background whilst I worked. It is a quick affair, about thirty-five minutes, so doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. Like I said, not brilliant, not a lost John Carpenter or Morricone score, but fun and appropriate for the season. You can check it out yourself here.

Alright, that’s my lot for you this go around. Have a great Halloween weekend everyone. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be given some of that THC dosed candy that apparently people are giving out. According to Fox News. Not holding out much hope, as in all my years I rarely hear of people giving out free expensive drugs to strangers.

Peace- Dom

Hello again,

It has been a week already? Ahh... a lot of stuff happened in the past week. We got some killer new releases (per usual I guess haha). My birthday was over the weekend. This photo is Jeff, Kevin, and me getting wasted with the Hardy Boys. It was a great time. I was happy to spend it with my closest friends. Anyway, I was really excited for the parcel from D-Takt we just got in. I had been accumulating a stack of records over the course of a month or two from Jocke (D-Takt). So on top of the hot new releases, I was looking forward to all the shit I was getting from him, hehe. D-Takt just dropped four 12”s at once! Insane!! We did not stock the WARCHILD 12" cos there is a U.S. press coming from Black Water. I fucked up and never checked out WARCHILD til this release. Black Water has released three of their previous records. I mean shit, we have those records in stock at the store too. The new WARCHILD 12" is amazing, not that it matters, but I think it’s my favorite of the four titles D-Takt just released. I wish I could drop a link for you but I can’t find one. They are from Sweden, and it definitely sounds like it. The style is similar to other crushing Swedish bands like MEANWHILE or INFERNÖH. Top-notch… grab it when you see it available in the States!!!

I have been playing the Anti-Metafor 12" a lot. I think I have all their previous releases, but this one really shines in my opinion. On the back it says “100% DIY REHEARSAL RECORDED.” To me that sounds like it could be a put off… but then beneath that it says “SCANDINAVIAN HARDCORE” haha, which might draw you back in. Anyway, what I mean to say is the recording and production sounds fucking excellent. The drums are simultaneously pummeling and piercing. It sounds killer. I don’t think this record is for everyone, though. I’m not tryna be pretentious or anything, but I know a lot of people can’t hang with absolut blazing fast käng. They probably think it’s boring or some shit. A lot of elements of this band remind me of CIMEX. A lot actually, haha. The A-side is four pummeling songs in the vein of Raped Ass. The riffs are pretty straightforward with some guitar leads here and there. The final song on the A-side is a slow one. A lot times I fucking hate slow songs… but I like this one. Well done. For the B-side, it starts off pretty straight forward with some crying guitar leads like you would hear on the A-side, but the sound changes a bit after that. It honestly sounds like the songs that follow are more in the vein of Victims of a Bombraid, haha. It’s much heavier on the leads, and the riffs are a bit more complex. It still maintains the pummeling of the A-side, but some of the songs’ tempos are certainly pulled back. I love it… this is an excellent 12". You can check out a song here. Alright, thank you for reading and thanks to everyone for the support!!! ‘Til next time...

I can’t end October without another round o’ spooky records! As my reorganization continues and as my coworkers dig through collections, I’ve added more and more things to my Halloween vinyl playlist. Here are a few more creepy LPs from my collection…

Leinengen Vs. The Ants / Sorry, Wrong Number

I’m slowly trying to get these Radiola records because they never disappoint. Killer swarms of ants? Come on now, that’s so good. I will say, though, the B side’s story is much more compelling, and it caught my ear when I listened to it. “Sorry, Wrong Number” is a tense tale about 1940s technological troubles that had me stop what I was doing to listen to the conclusion. Stoked to find a rip on youtube. You should definitely give it a listen.

Even More Death and Horror

These BBC sound effects records are top notch. If you can suspend your critical thinking for a second, this record can get pretty gross. It’s pretty obvious someone is messing with food to make disgusting sounds, but as soon as I read track titles like “two throats cut” and “fingernails pulled out - assorted” I stopped hearing veggies being torn apart and started to hear the bodies.

Edward Scissorhands OST

This movie has been one of my favorites since I saw it when I was a child! Waxworks is one of my favorite movie soundtrack labels right now and I was kicking myself for missing this release. If you know anything about Waxworks, Mondo, etc, you know that the after market prices skyrocket when a pressing is sold out, so I thought it just wasn’t meant to be... until I found a new copy at All Day Records in Carrboro (holy shit you have to go there, it’s so good).

Basil Rathbone Reads Edgar Allan Poe Volumes 1 & 2

Caedmon is another label that I will almost always buy. The album art, the attention to detail in the recordings, I have loved every single release of theirs I’ve found. I picked up Vol. 2 of this FUCKING MASTERPIECE last year and was so so so excited to find volume one in a buy at the store the other week. Rathbone and Poe are a match made in spooky heaven and these records provide the perfect ambiance to the stories being told.

Death Side: Unreleased Tracks & Video Archives 7” / DVD (Break The Records, 2021)

You may have heard about the new release from Japanese legends Death Side on Break The Records. Sorry State got a very small handful of copies, and after everyone who works here got to take one for themselves, there were only a few left for the website. As expected, they sold out within minutes. I wish we could have gotten enough copies for everyone who wanted one, but it just wasn’t possible. I try to avoid hyping hard-to-get releases in the newsletter, but I enjoyed this release so much that I wanted to write about it for my staff pick.

The major attraction when I heard about this record was the 7” containing four unreleased tracks Death Side recorded during the sessions for the Game of Death compilation LP in 1989. While I missed out on the very limited official vinyl pressing of Death Side’s split with Chaos UK that Break The Records released in 2016, my collection of Death Side vinyl is otherwise complete (even including compilations!) and I wanted to keep it that way.

While I anticipated this release for the 7” EP, it’s probably the least compelling element of the package. Death Side had a habit of recording extra songs at their recording sessions, and members would take turns adding vocal tracks to these extra songs. That is what this EP compiles, with one song each sang by Death Side’s four members at the time of this recording. Main vocalist Ishiya sings the first track, with drummer Muka-Chin, bassist You, and guitarist Chelsea providing vocals for the subsequent tracks. Chelsea gets an assist from Tokurow of Bastard in his track, which is pretty cool to hear.

The tracks on the 7” are, surprisingly, really good. My expectations were low given these are outtakes from a recording session for a compilation, but fuck… Death Side was so good and so prolific they left tons of gold on the cutting room floor. While the recording quality is rough (more gritty than lo-fi), the songs have so much going on… it’s amazing how much music flowed through Chelsea. There are great riffs, several of Chelsea’s trademark melodic leads, and some unexpected moments like the creepy-sounding, melodic chorus to “Sunshine Blind.” I won’t overstate my case by insisting this material is essential or that it holds a candle to any of the original-era Death Side releases, but these tracks are cool and worth hearing if you are a fan.

The physical package includes liner notes by Zigyaku from Gudon, Bastard, and Judgement, who was a close confidant of the band when they recorded these tracks and present for the session. He describes being locked in the studio all night, the band completing these half-finished tracks by writing lyrics and vocals on the spot. Death Side always seemed like superheroes to me, but Zigyaku’s liner notes humanize them and provide much-needed insight as to how the band worked.

Now onto the DVD, which is my favorite part of the package. I hadn’t played a DVD in years, so I had to unpack my ancient Xbox, which was covered in dust, still sitting in a moving box I hadn’t opened since moving into my current house two and a half years ago. After finding all the cables and replacing the batteries in the remote, I was relieved when the DVD’s menu popped up on my screen.

Some of the material on the DVD I had seen before. The 1989 footage has circulated online for years, and contributed to Death Side’s mystique as I was learning about them in the early 2000s. This footage is pro-shot in a live house with multiple camera angles and good sound, and while the venue seems small, the stage lighting and the band’s incredible style give them a larger-than-life appearance. Ishiya entering the stage with his giant, 3-foot mohawk is one of the most magical moments of punk ever captured on video. I remember downloading low-res clips of this footage from Soulseek and torrent sites twenty years ago, and it’s just as captivating to me now. I also remember the first time I saw Forward in the early 00s, thinking to myself “holy shit, two of these guys were in Death Side, and that’s the one with the giant mohawk!” It is the stuff of legends, and if seeing this doesn’t hook you on Japanese hardcore, then nothing will.

My favorite part of the DVD, though, are the tracks from a 1993 gig that I’d never seen before. The footage from live house gigs is of a piece with other video footage of legendary Japanese bands from the 80s and 90s, much of which was released commercially on VHS tapes. While you can see the crowd is going off, the atmosphere seems sinister and charged; you can even see fights break out as the band plays. However, the 1993 footage is from a different sort of gig. The first song from this gig on the DVD, “Stick & Hole,” begins, and the crowd is just going the fuck OFF. There are a ton of people on the stage (it reminds me of a packed 90s / 00s gig at St Stephen’s in DC or the First Unitarian Church in Philly), and a bunch of freaks wearing nothing but speedos dance around, lighting fireworks. Ishiya looks punk as hell with his arm set in a cast, but Chelsea has transitioned toward his Paintbox-era fashion with his loud Hawaiian-style shirt and his hair in a stringy, bleached-out surfer style like something out of Lords of Dogtown. One camera angle focuses on him and he’s just shredding the living fuck out of his guitar. It looks like there are a few hundred people at the gig and everyone is dancing, thrashing around, and crowding around the microphones during the gigantic choruses. While the recording isn’t professional, the DVD cuts between multiple camera angles, which keeps the energy level from stagnating. This gig seems so fun, and I gobbled up this footage with saucer-wide eyes and a giant smile plastered across my face.

The DVD cuts between several different gigs, and between the songs, there are interview segments with Ishiya, You, and Muka-Chin. Like Zigyaku’s liner notes, these interview segments humanize this larger-than-life band as they reminisce about touring, having no money, and how close their friendship was during the band’s original era. I’m so pleased they provided English subtitles for the interview, and my buddy Jesse Conway’s translations do so much to bring into focus what was before only discernible through the (interestingly) cracked prism of awkward translations. I’ve always wondered what Japanese hardcore bands think of their American fans, and in the interview, the members talk about how they dreamed of touring overseas during the band’s original era ,and how much it meant to them for the reformed version of the band to get such an incredible response at their gigs outside Japan. Those words, along with the care they took to make this release accessible for western audiences, make me feel like some of the love we westerners have for Japanese hardcore is getting through to them.

The DVD’s climax is an explosive version of “The Will Never Die” at that 1993 gig. Everyone is singing along, the band and audience are losing their shit, and the energy, which video often doesn’t capture, is electric. I can barely imagine what it must have been like to be there in person, but I feel so lucky to watch it now.

Once again, I’m sorry to tease everyone by writing about a release that will be very difficult for you to acquire. There has long been an annoying snootiness and exclusivity among the people who follow Japanese punk in the west, with many fans protective about information and skeptical of people who are comparatively new to this stuff. I hope it’s clear I’m not trying to cool guy anyone or brag. I just love this band and this music, and this release prompted so many thoughts that I felt compelled to share. If you can find a copy for yourself, then cool (it’ll be difficult, but not impossible), but if not, try your best to make something just as awesome happen right now in your part of the world.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Hope yall are all enjoying the spooky season! I’ve been trying to cram in watching as many horror movies as possible before Halloween. Inevitably, that means hearing some cheesy heavy metal in some of these 80s flicks. Pretty appropriate for what I’ve written below:

I had an idea for a staff pick a while back that I’m only now taking the time to fully wrap my head around. This idea was resparked in my brain when I found out that Daniel is currently working his way through listening to the entire Black Sabbath discography. When he told me this, I thought “Damn, that’s a cool idea.” But still, a dubious task to say the least when you consider the many changes Sabbath went through over their multiple-decade career. The other day, Daniel and I were both working at Sorry State’s warehouse location and he had just reached the Dio era of his listening journey. As we both experienced the lesser known tracks from Mob Rules, it reminded me of an idea I had to write for our newsletter a long time ago, but never got around to. This idea involved the 2 most iconic singers from Sabbath, and now I think it’s time I finally time I got to flesh this thing out. I’m not going to revisit the age-old debate of “who was better in Sabbath, Ozzy or Dio?” Instead, most of you rockers know that both Ozzy and Dio had very successful careers going solo post-Sabbath. Bear with me…

Many months ago now, I remember we had a copy of Ozzy Osbourne’s The Ultimate Sin sitting in the used bins here at the store. Between both Rachel and I specifically, I remember this record getting a lot of play while either of us would be working the counter at the store. An underrated Ozzy record, I would say. But around that same time, we also had a copy of Sacred Heart by Dio. Each of these solo records by the former Sabbath frontmen could be described as midpoints in each singer’s solo career. Sacred Heart was released in late summer of 1985 and The Ultimate Sin was released in early 1986. So really, the albums were released only about 4 months or so apart.

Now, each record had a major single with a music video: Ozzy had “A Shot In The Dark” and Dio had “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children.” I’m not sure for anyone reading this how long it has been since you’ve heard either of these songs, but around the time I was revisiting these records I couldn’t help but notice that they are EERILY similar. Even when you look at the picture sleeves for each single, both have orange backgrounds and feature an image of a dragon! Now “A Shot in the Dark” has Ozzy’s head anthropomorphized onto the dragon, but still! Haha. But there’s so much more going on here.

I’m not sure if each of the former Sabbath singers brought in a producer (maybe the same producer??) on these records to help with their slumps in the middle of their careers, but you do have to consider the time period. The landscape of heavy metal was changing a lot in the mid-80s, with bands like Dokken hitting the big time. The genre influence I hear really creeping its way into both of these tunes is what I’ve heard a lot of people refer to as “Night Metal.” Maybe some you will know what I mean by that haha. With hair metal being the dominant force at the time, both Ozzy and Dio have a bit more of a glittery, glammy soft edge on these songs. Both songs are midpaced at a similar tempo, each opening with a keyboard-laden, melancholic atmosphere that gives off a hint of mystery. Then finally, we have to talk about these riffs. When each of these songs break into their signature guitar riff, both chugging in the key of A or maybe A flat, you realize that for all intents and purposes – you’re listening to the same song. The opening lyrics and the phrasing is so similar as well, with Dio’s opening line “It was starting to rain on the night that they first decided.” and Ozzy singing “Out on the street, I’m stalking the night.” Play them back to back, it’s almost dead on. Even when you look at the music videos there are similarities! Both videos follow teenagers on their night out with a feeling of distress looming over them. Both videos incorporate supernatural elements and whisps of mystical happenings. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children” opens with a minute-long cut scene and definitely has more of a plot to the music video than Ozzy’s tune. Still, it’s strange how alike they are in terms of vibe, the overarching theme being feeling lost, but still having each other. These middle-aged Sabbath singers had to connect with the youth, man!

I wish I could sit here and write a super detailed essay about how crazy alike these songs are, but at some point, I need to go price some records for the store. I gotta say though, if I had to pick my preference for one of these numbers based purely on execution, I think “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children” takes the cake. I would say mainly because I like the video. It does kind of remind of a like PG-version of Nightmare Elm Street (See? It all comes back to Dokken). Both are cheesy as hell, but if Dio’s music video is like an expensive Gruyere, then Ozzy’s is probably more like Cheese Whiz.

That’s all I’ve got this week. As always, thanks for reading and nerding out with me.

‘Til next week,

-Jef Lep

Hey there Sorry State Gang. I hope you all have had a good week and are doing well? The world keeps spinning, and another week is in the books. Between navigating the endless pain and stress of life (slight joke) I have had my mood lifted by good football matches, great music, and good reads. The Mighty Reds secured a win in Madrid, Spain this week against Atletico in what was quite a game, with Mo Salah setting another club record of scoring in nine consecutive matches. Music wise, we are flooded as per usual with great records new and old at the store. I’ve been listening to my usual fix of Jazz, Soul and oldies at home and trying my best to do something that I rarely do these days and that is read a book. So, for my pick this week, I would like to tell you about a new one I’ve been flicking through that a lot of you might well be interested in.

The Best Of Jamming! Edited by Tony Fletcher

Jamming! was a British fanzine that existed between 1977 and 1986 with a thirty-six-issue run. It began as a school publication launched by a teenage Tony Fletcher in London, with the first issue being a six-page affair published in December 1977 and costing a whopping ten pence, eventually evolving into a nationally distributed monthly. Packed full of great reviews, interviews, and features on sport, politics, poetry, and whatever else was clever at the time, it became an essential read. Back in the day before the internet you had to get your knowledge from these types of publications, and I did my best to read as many independent zines as possible in addition to all the numerous weekly and monthly music papers and magazines. It took a bit of effort and after years of buying them, I literally had thousands. For many years whilst traveling at sea, I had them stored in my parent’s attic, but my Dad got worried about the weight and one day took them all to the dump. Ha. So many great issues of old NME, Melody Maker, Sounds etc. returned to the earth.

Tony Fletcher, originally from Yorkshire, now resides in upstate New York and has had quite a few great books published over the years. He has written biographies/books on Keith Moon, R.E.M. The Clash, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Smiths, Wilson Pickett, and Eddie Floyd in addition to a couple of novels. Jamming! his latest, is a coffee table sized book that collects the highlights from each issue of the zine. With a foreword by Billy Bragg and insightful comments and reflections by Tony on each issue, it is a fun and fascinating read. Like a lot of zines started by young enthusiastic music lovers, it managed to get closer to the artists it covered than the mainstream press did. Jamming! had a lot of exclusive interviews during its run and many are included in the book. In addition, there are personal letters from the likes of Paul Weller and Mark E. Smith and tons of great period photos and other memorabilia.

Later issues of Jamming! appeared in the US but chances are for most of us this will be the first time we are reading these pieces. Over here Stateside there were, of course, plenty of homegrown zines and mags to get your hands on. Jamming! kind of reminds me of the great Bomp! magazine that the late Greg Shaw was putting out around the same time. That terrific publication covered similar territory and there is also a nice compendium of issues that came out a few years ago that I would highly recommend you get your hands on.

This collection of Jamming! is officially out on November 25th and is published by Omnibus Press. If you click the link to Tony’s page on the net, you’ll find links to all the places that are carrying it. I was lucky to get an early look courtesy of my Face Radio partner Matt, who was given an advance copy from Tony himself when our show Worldy broadcasted a special Jamming! show from the Brooklyn studio last month. I couldn’t fly up and do the show with Matt and Tony, but they had a great time and played so many great tunes that captured the spirit of the zine and the music it covered. You can click here to listen to that show. It really is a fun listen and great to hear from Tony himself.

Thanks for reading and your time. Have a fab week and I’ll see you next time.

Cheers – Dom.

Hello and thank you for reading,

This pic is completely unrelated to everything, but it is a wholesome pic so I am sharing it. I have been chatting with one of the guitarists from MORNINGTON CRESCENT, and 3/4 of SCARECROW just got an original copy of their killer EP! The other 1/4 of SCARECROW took the pic, hehe. I keep forgetting my birthday is this month. As I get older, I care less and less about birthdays. I don’t stress much about getting gifts for friends, and I really don’t like it when people spend money on me. Except I love to make mixtapes, but lately I find myself a bit too busy to enjoy this... of course, the real exception to everything I’ve just said is Jeff, haha! We always get each other a cool ass record for each other’s birthday. He has given me so much cool shit, man. I am lucky. I cannot wait to see what he’s got locked in for me this time around. This year I gave him my copy of ENGLISH DOGS To The Ends of the Earth 12”. I tried to buy him his own copy so I wouldn’t have to give him my dead mint condition copy, but the copy I got for him was so warped it would not play. The seller would only offer a refund on the 12" while I would have to eat the shipping both ways. So I eat shipping twice plus tax cos someone can’t grade a record??? Good thing you sent me P.O. Box as the return address, asshole. Anyway, the whole reason I am even mentioning this is cos one birthday tradition that never seems to fail is WHIPPITS, ahhhhhhhhh! I literally just realized I need to go buy a box today from the head shop, and now I am very excited!! Yeah I am juvenile, I don’t care.

Anyway, I am writing about a cool re-issue today, HYVINKÄÄ EP. I actually did not even know this EP existed until I heard about the re-issue. This EP is named after the city where all the bands were from. Before receiving the EP, I only knew one of the names, PAINAJAINEN. They are the only band from this comp that actually has a proper record. I think it is safe to say these bands are pretty obscure. Although when I got my copy and played it I instantly recognized the first PURKAUS track from the Killed By Finnish Hardcore 12" compilation. I had a lot of anticipation for the PAINAJAINEN tracks but compared to their EP it was not what I expected! I wondered if it was even the same band cos their EP is so fucking good, haha. I think the PURKAUS tracks might be my favorite if I had to choose. They know how to rip. But, the SOTAKULTTUURI tracks really get me going. They know how to seriously fucking ROCK! Aside from Finnish hardcore being known for its absolutely nasty (and sometimes sloppy) song-writing, I feel like Finland was the best at making songs groovy as fuck. The early bands knew how to throw a little cheese on some Discharge shit, but they make it stylish instead of corny. I really like contemporary band KOHTI TUHOA for this reason. There’s another upcoming release from Finland I cannot wait for either, YLEISET SYYT. We will be getting a lot of copies of this once it’s released. You know, I did not mention that the HYVINKÄÄ EP is not available from Sorry State yet. We have copies on the way with another re-issue from HöhNIE Records, the LASTA EP. So keep an eye out!

I’m a bit behind on getting this writing done, so I will have to wrap it up. The LASTA EP is another “obscure” record, though the bands on there are really not that obscure. It seems that some of the tracks appear elsewhere, but certainly not all. There’s 10 bands on this record! Aside from PURKAUS having an appearance here as well, this compilation features more popular bands like RIISTETYT, TERVEET KÄDET, BASTARDS, and KANSAN UUTISET! Both these 7"s coming from HöhNIE Records are very cool re-issues. Check ‘em out! If was you, I would surely grab both. Oh yes, I also forgot to mention we are getting the color vinyl versions for both releases! kk thanks for reading, peace!

I’ve come to really love Thursdays; putting together the newsletter has become one of my favorite parts of working at Sorry State! I let the music Daniel and my coworkers write about dictate my playlist and it’s honestly such a fucking joy to listen to everything each week. If you’ve gotten this far in the newsletter, I don’t need to tell you how cool this shit is, haha!

I’ve been spending a lot of time combing through my collection and updating my Discogs collection with the odds and ends I missed in the constant shuffle of new things. It made me realize I’ve picked up quite a few things on my Thursday shifts because of the newsletter, so I thought I’d share a few from the 7” box I’m currently reorganizing.

Distant Fear: A Reminder of Death 7”

I remember when we got this in and I was admiring the hand printed packaging. As someone who studied printmaking in college, I’m such a sucker for hand printed packaging on records. What really sold me on this, though, was Daniel’s description when this hit the Featured Release section way back when. For being a 7”, this record is still atmospheric and moody; it really feels longer than it is. We still have a few copies left because things from New Zealand tend to be a bit pricier, but I assure you this is worth every penny!

Electric Chair: Social Capital 7”

I don’t have to say much about this. We’ve been blowing through copies of this release since it came out, and for good reason. I’m still kicking myself for not grabbing Performative Justice when we had it in the store for 0.2 seconds before it sold out...don’t be like me, go grab Social Capital now why we still have it!!!

Execution: Silently it Grows 7”

Another record I fell victim to because of packaging and then the subsequent Featured Release write up. It’s an assault on the ears in the best way. Another import, so we luckily still have a few copies you can snag on the web store!

Horrendous 3D – The Gov. And Corps. Are Using Psycho-Electronic Weaponry To Manipulate You And Me… 7”

I think this might be my favorite thing I’ve picked up from the newsletter. I remember putting this on during a shift, not thinking too much about it, and watching the faces change on the customers in the store. I knew I needed it. It’s a dirty, nasty, hardcore jumbled mess that comes together perfectly for this record.

Nekra: Royal Disruptor 7”

I’m finding out I’m late to the game with some bands, but I’m glad to have found them either way. My Discogs want list generally increases every Thursday when I discover a new band. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I buy a cassette player and go down that hole. Finding Nekra definitely made me do a few eBay searches for cassette players so I could justify buying their demo from 2017. I’m so glad I have this release, though!