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What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. If you’re in Raleigh, or anywhere near, I’d make a point to come out to The Pour House here on Wednesday night (April 2nd) for a great gig. Three ripping bands (Scarecrow, Paprika, and Homemade Speed), all of whom I’m excited to see take the stage. Definitely gonna be a barn burner. On that note, today I’m actually gonna be writing about punk music. Yes, I still do in fact love listening to punk and hardcore even though most of the time my staff picks are about some old ass folk or bluegrass album. I figure my colleagues are much more qualified and knowledgeable in that realm than me, but every once in a while, I gotta dip my toes in. Actually, Usman already wrote about this comp last October, and much better than I will, but I’ve been blasting it this weekend so I figured why not. I’m talking about the We Can’t Help It If We’re From Florida comp that was reissued last year. If you read my staff picks, you know I’m a sucker for comps, and this one is right up my alley. The original was on a 7”, but this reissue is on a 10” with some bonus tracks. The title cracks me up; it’s too perfect. These crazy Floridians knew how to rip, though… there’s no doubt about that. It starts off strong with five songs from Hated Youth, my favorite of the bunch being “Hardcore Rules”. The standout group on here for me, though, would have to be Roach Motel, who has seven ripping tracks on here. How could you not love a song called “My Dog is Into Anarchy”? Anyways, surprisingly we still have some copies available here at Sorry State, so if you’ve been sleeping on this one, time to wake up and snag one!

Hello and thanks for reading. Also, Eid Mubarak to anyone reading who might’ve celebrated. I probably would have never said something like that ten years ago, as I reject all religion strongly. But now I find it important to embrace some parts of my upbringing and my family’s culture. I find it more important than ever actually, with this growing MAGA cult shit that is whitewashing and homogenizing America. I actually just drank some water that came from the Zamzam Well, which is nuts to me. This was the first time I’ve ever had this water, unless maybe there was a time at a mosque when I was a kid and don’t remember. I’m assuming the average Sorry State reader does not know of this well. It is watering well inside Mecca, by the Kaaba. If you still don’t know what I am talking about, Muslims face towards Mecca when they pray cos this is where the Kaaba is. This is the holiest place on Earth to a Muslim, because of the Kabaa.

OK enough religion, haha, and onto TOTALITÄR. I have said this before: this is not the first time I have written about TOTALITÄR and I know it will not be the last. TOTALITÄR is one of the best hardcore bands ever for a good reason. They started in the ‘80s and continued to release unbelievably good records for twenty years. I am pretty sure I wrote about Sin Egen Motståndare when Prank put it back in print last time. But for good measure, I will explain a bit. This was their debut full-length and the first record where Jallo Letho would join them on drums for recording. Jallo Lehto was previously in NO SECURITY (who is arguably just as good as TOTALITÄR, but lacked the solid output of records). If you didn’t know, Jallo is the guitarist of MEANWHILE as well. Anyways, I remember when I first heard Sin Egen Motståndare, to my young and stupid ears it sounded too compressed. It didn’t sound as raw as their other records I had heard, and it starts out with a rocked-out intro. Again, I was a stupid teenager. In fact, this LP is absolutely a hardcore masterpiece. The speeds they hit on some tracks, and how damn locked in everything is… man, it’s hard to handle a record this good, haha. I’ve heard some people are turned off by the artwork of TOTALITÄR records. Maybe I am just too obsessed cos I don’t see anything wrong with this cover. Yeah, it’s simple, but I think the way it’s printed is cool and I mean the artwork is of a guy with a gun to his head in his reflection saying some shit like he’s his own enemy. It’s deep, haha, no joke. I met this guy at K-town last year that said he had the original artwork, fuck.

Alright, so this is the 30th anniversary pressing of this record! I didn’t buy a copy last time Prank reissued this cos I have every version that came before, including the CD. However, when I saw this reissue was coming, I knew I had to have a copy. Prank enhanced the artwork with some spot-gloss and even housed the LP in tip-on jackets!! That’s so sick. A tip-on in 2025? Those are so expensive to manufacture now. By the price point on this bad boy, he must have little to no profit on this release. Inside, this version also includes liner notes none of the previous ones had, alongside a bonus flyer from the original album release gig. If, for some reason, you didn’t buy this record in the last 30 years, this is probably the coolest version you can get. If you didn’t know, this album was originally only available on CD. It was released by Finn Records, which was a label that Jallo Letho operated with another guy. It was five years later when Prank released it on vinyl. Thank you Prank Records, haha.

I feel like everyone reading this already knows how good TOTALITÄR is, so I feel a bit silly writing about them, but literally every single one of their records belongs in your record collection, so I think they are worth talking about until I die. If you aren’t familiar or just have been sleeping on grabbing copies of their shit—step up, cos they won’t be in print forever! I think people already flip that first Skrammel comp on Discogs. We still have the second one in stock that compiled their EPs from 1998-2002. This is some of their rawest shit. If you don’t have this record, you need it. Unless you have those originals and like flipping 7”s, haha. But this compilation was seriously needed for so long, as those records are increasingly harder to find. We also have some copies of Ni Måste Bort, their second LP, and we’ve got some copies of their final LP, Vi Är Eliten in stock as well. The style of TOTALITÄR is very distinct, but each LP has its own unique sound, really. Sometimes they are a bit more raw, and sometimes they are a bit more catchy, but they ALWAYS groove hard as fuck at high speeds. If you don’t have all these records I mentioned today, you should load up your shopping cart with some of the best records ever made while hitting the free shipping minimum. Alright thanks for reading, and thanks for your support!

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I’m still feeling a bit weary after this past weekend. I drove up to Richmond along with a few friends to go check out the Keith Caves art show! I’m sure most people reading this are familiar with Keith’s art, seeing as he’s been in high demand in the punk world over the last several years, being commissioned for record covers, flyers, and all kinds of imagery that requires Keith’s signature punkified gnarliness. Keith is also a good friend and we’ve done some serious time playing in our band Meat House together. I got a bit choked up walking into the gallery and seeing all the original hand-drawn artwork for all these pieces of art I’ve seen on record covers, t-shirts, etc… But then also to see Keith’s family hanging out and all these familiar faces walking in and out being stoked on seeing the art up on the walls. Seeing the art that Keith did for Scarecrow in person was so rad. I think Daniel bought it, which is awesome that we’ve got it in the family. I felt like a proud uncle or a similarly weird analogy.

We spent some time at the art show, delivered Keith a fruity Island-style canned cocktail, and made our way to the big gig that was part of the same event. The show was like 7 or 8 bands and started later than it was supposed to (of course haha). It was my first time seeing Corrupt Faith since having seen a super early incarnation of the band several years ago. But now, with the current lineup, they totally blew me away. Heresy/Ripcord jumps non-stop. Total Nada totally ripped. And then we had to stick around for the whole thing since Invertebrates played last. They didn’t go on until like 1am or something, but totally brought the house down, as expected. Then we drove all the way back to Raleigh. I got into bed at like 5am and woke up to open the store the next day. Rock’n’roll, baby.

So yeah, here we go again: Jeff is once again talking about Totalitär. If you were unaware, Prank has released a special anniversary edition of Totalitär’s debut LP, Sin Egen Motståndare. It seems crazy to think about this record being 30 years old now. Any Totalitär-obssessed lunatic who has been frothing at the mouth for the latest edition of this record might have already pre-ordered a copy directly from Prank. Those who did not pre-order the record may not be jumping over furniture in a rush to order a copy, especially if said person has a different version of Sin Egen already. I totally get that. I, myself, probably already had 3 different pressings of this record. But me being one of the aforementioned drooling lunatics, of course I had to pre-order a copy.

In the scope of Swedish hardcore, I still weirdly think of Totalitär as an underdog band of sorts. For a long time, I feel like they were not held to the same standard as other Swedish legends like… I dunno, Anti-Cimex or something. But over the years, I feel like the band’s importance and influence has become more explained and recognized. For me, Totalitär’s stylistic approach to songwriting and signature delivery of playing hardcore is absolutely singular and has been hugely important to me. To me, their particular style of hardcore and even the imagery has become like a language. Now if you’ve heard the record, then you’ve heard the record. Some people might associate Totalitär with like dark and heavy crust. Which I understand to some degree? But not really. I always think about riffing in songs that I love like “På Väg Mot Mål” or “Skallra För Döden”, and what stands out to me is how damn catchy it is. But you know what? Sin Egen may not even be my favorite full-length by the band. That said, I think something about the band being inactive for many years preceding this record, then the addition of Jallo from No Security on drums (this being his first appearance on recording with the band), and this record then re-sparking a new era for the band recording fresh material makes this a landmark record.

I think the major selling point for this special edition has gotta be the packaging. First of all, the vinyl looks beautiful. There are 2 variants, and I opted for the greener looking color myself. The record comes in a thick, heavy-duty tip-on gatefold sleeve. And I forget what’s it called, but it’s printed in a way where select sections of the artwork are hyper glossy to stand out from the rest of the artwork, where there’s more of a matte finish. It also includes a reproduction flyer for the record release show for Sin Egen Motståndare. The record originally only came out on CD, so really this is a 30th anniversary for the CD release year. On the inside gatefold, there’s a photo of the band from the release gig, which was in Uppsala on November 19th, 1994. There’s a nice little write-up on the inside gatefold which explains the scenario and events leading up to and surrounding the making of the record. The band humbly says that it’s “remarkable to see interest in this record 30 years later…” Then the liner notes end with, “Don’t be your own worst enemy. Read books instead of tweets. Fight the power! Fuck racism! 94 in 24!” Cool sentiments to read, but also dark to think about how these are just as relevant now if not more than when the band was writing lyrics in 1994. But—if you’ll allow me to be corny—there’s a part of me that feels kinda touched when I’m looking at this photo of the band playing in Uppsala in 1994, thinking about how Totalitär was directly influential on my band, and I’m like, “fuck man, we played in Uppsala.” Scarecrow did not play the same venue space pictured on the inside gatefold. That would be crazy. But when we played Uppsala, Poffen the singer was at the show. Pretty cool for young teenage punk me to think about when I was first hearing this record.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Not trying to convince anyone to buy a classic Swedish punk record you may or may not already have. For me, it was worth experiencing the extra little touches. Kudos to Prank; I feel like this reissue was done with a lot of love. Punk rules.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Unfortunately, I’ll have to keep things brief this week as I’m running late, but if an abbreviated staff pick doesn’t give you your “Daniel talking about records” fix, you can watch last week’s episode of What Are You Listening To? with me as a guest. I was joined by WAYLT?’s host Mike along with Tom from Static Shock Records and Dave from Sewercide Records. Shoegaze was derided. The gospel of Wire was sung. A good time was had by all. Watch it here.

One record I mentioned in passing on WAYLT? is my staff pick for this week: the debut LP from Finland’s Ratsia, released in 1979 on the Johanna label. Many of you know how great Finnish hardcore is, but their ’77-era punk scene was just as strong. Ratsia is one of my favorites, but there are a ton of great bands: Eppu Normaali, Kollaa Kestää, Loose Prick, and many more. While American punk bands from the 70s often sounded scrappy and raw, many of the Finnish bands were quite professional-sounding, following the lead of bands like the Buzzcocks and Stiff Little Fingers who continued growing after punk’s initial explosion of energy. Like those bands, Ratsia had an artisan’s approach to pop songwriting, and they weren’t afraid of strong production values either. If you’re the kind of punk listener who goes deep into the discographies of the ’77 set rather than just focusing on the earliest stuff, I bet you’ll really appreciate what Ratsia does.

After this self-titled LP, Ratsia released two more albums before they disbanded in 1982. Their second one, Elämän Syke is a little more new wave-sounding, of a piece with the first album but adding more layers and textures, while their final LP, 1982’s Jäljet, takes a turn toward post-punk. There are also four singles along the way, but I haven’t heard those and we’ll see if I ever lay my hands on them. Hopefully I can return to Ratsia’s discography again one day when I have more time and energy to dig in.

Hello Sorry Staters! I hope everyone is enjoying reading all the picks this week. We have been getting in a lot of killer new records that I hope everyone has had a chance to pick up. We have been busy getting those Hell preorders in your hands and it seems like everyone is enjoying the record! My listening has slimmed down a lot in recent weeks due to my current obsession with reading a nerdy fiction book called “Dungeon Crawler Carl” and nothing has been capturing my ear holes enough for it to be worthy to write in my weekly pick. So for the couple of you that made it all the way to the bottom of the newsletter to read my pick for this week, thank you!

One label I have been exploring the past couple of weeks is Habibi Funk. This label is everything I want when exploring new locations and old periods. The work and attention to detail these curators put in these releases are second to none. The music is absolutely brilliant and a dream for anybody that deejays live. Habibi Funk Records is based in Berlin and is a reissue record label founded by Jannis Stürtz. Established in 2015, the label is dedicated to reviving and sharing music from the Arab world, primarily focusing on genres like funk, jazz, and soul from the 1960s to the 1980s.

One release I own is Habibi Funk 015: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World, Pt. 2. The diversity on the compilation spans so many great genres from the Arab world such as Egyptian organ funk, Moroccan disco, and Libyan reggae. Some of my favorite tracks are Madgy El Hussainy—Music De Carnavel. This is a super funky organ funk track with drums and other percussion instruments in the background keeping the beat. This track is gold and will get anyone dancing. Then there is Ibrahim Hesnawi and his track on the complication called “Tendme”. The track is roots reggae straight from Libya. Habibi Funk label just released a whole record of more tracks from him and they are definitely worth checking out.

Going out of my comfort zone and seeking out music I had no idea existed is getting me out of this listening slump. So don’t be afraid and try some music you never heard of! Until next week friends!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a nice week. Today I’m gonna be talking about an album I’ve had stuck in my head for the past month (well really at first it was just a song from the album stuck in my head, but that led me to just listen to the rest of the album a bunch and I found some other earworms.) The album is Pardon My English (The Girls From Bahia) by the Brazilian group Quarteto Em Cy, released in 1967. I had listened to another album of theirs that I enjoyed (their self-titled) and found this one that was released a couple years earlier. What hooked me at first was their cover of “Oh Susannah,” which I did not realize till writing this, was originally published in 1848! I knew it was old, but that was kinda blowing my mind. I was walking around like a crazy person repeating, “I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee” in my best Quarteto Em Cy impression. A very catchy version, no doubt. I also really dig the title track, “Pardon My English,” for one of the more upbeat songs on the album. Slowing things down though, I also really enjoy “Você.” It has this really pretty sounding harmony throughout the song. I don’t actually own a copy of this album yet. Rarely do I ever actually buy used records online cause I like to just come across it in the wild, but maybe I’ll just have to say screw it and order a nice copy from Discogs.

Hello and thanks for reading. So last week I mentioned I got a parcel from a good friend of mine in Finland. While there were some serious scores inside for my personal collection, the largest portion of the box was probably these PUTKIPOMMI 7”s. My mate didn’t release the record or anything like that, but he was just helping us keep the shipping costs down since he was already sending me shit. (What a sweet man!!) So, PUTKIPOMMI is a relatively new band from Oulu, Finland. While they are just teenagers, it sounds like they have been studying this shit for like a decade. They play with such a classic sound, and it is without a doubt delivered raw and fast. We played together in Turku when SCARECROW went to Finland for the first time ever last year and they left a serious impression on me. The second they started to play my ears perked up like mad and I moved closer to the stage. Well, I say stage, but the gig was just on the floor of some DIY/anarcho bike shop. I had no idea I was going to witness some shit like that. I felt like I was watching RIISTETYT in the ‘80s or something. It was just so raw and like nothing I ever hear a band doing these days. I kept looking over at Daniel or someone else in our crew and saying like, “What the fuck?!!” After they played, I asked them if they had any tapes or records, and they told me they did not have tapes, but they were going to have a record out later that year. I have been anticipating this record Tuhottu Tulevaisuus ever since.

Some of those reading might remember I made a little fanzine when we stocked the debut QUARANTINE 12”. Well, this PUTKIPOMMI really got my mind going, and I arranged an interview with the band to turn into a fanzine. Instead of writing messages back-and-forth, I thought it would capture the actual feeling of an interview better if we all spoke over video chat. I ended up having to interview them twice, cos the first time I lost the entire screen recording… haha. That sucked. That wasn’t the only painful setback when making the zine, though, especially since it’s not just a few pages folded in half. I tried to go all-out. The centerfold is printed in color and it actually folds out a bit with an extra flap, reminiscent of a Playboy mag or whatever, but Finnish, haha. Daniel was super cool and offered to eat the costs of printing, so everyone who orders the 7” at Sorry State will get a copy of the zine as well. I will probably take some time in a few weeks and make the zine available digitally as well. Alright that’s it for today, you can read everything else I have to say in the fanzine! Check out PUTKIPOMMI and grab the 7”! Cheers and thanks for your support.

What’s up Sorry Staters? Cheers for checking in with us again this week. There’s quite a bit of news on new releases in this week’s letter. Not that there isn’t always, but with a couple of our own label releases in the mix, there’s plenty to get excited about.

I’ll just pick one thing that caught my eye this week, and that’s a cool 45 by L.A. punks Psychoactive. There’s only a few of these out there and we got a handful, so move quickly if you are into snappy ’77 style punk rock.

The single comes as number one on their own Psychoactive label and is issued in hand stamped and numbered paper sleeves in an edition of 200 and with a sticker. Mine’s number 19. Two tunes, Don’t Wanna Wait b/w Seditionaries.

Jeff and I were giving it a spin in the store, and I had mentioned that I had liked it a lot as it appealed to my taste in punk rock styles, namely that classic 77 sound well routed in rock and roll’s past. Jeff told me that wasn’t a coincidence as the band features Paul and Tsubasa from L.A. punk band Rough Kids. The very same Rough Kids that Sorry State had the honor of putting out their first couple of platters. No wonder the record sounded so seasoned and on point. Jeff also reminded me that Rough Kids have been backing T.V. Smith on his current Adverts tour. Very fucking cool. So yeah, there is plenty of pedigree in Psychoactive.

Whether they will stick with the name remains to be seen, as a quick google brought up several other bands with the same name around the world which they’ll have to contend with. Also, anything with “psycho” in the name brings up all kinds of results. But what do I know? I am certainly not giving unsolicited advice to the band. LoL. May the best Psychoactive win.

Talking of Rough Kids, I gave their The Black And White And Gray album on Dirt Cult Records a spin over the weekend and had a fun time listening to it. They really are a tight, sharp band with plenty of good tunes and riffs. Do yourselves a favor and check out their records if you aren’t familiar. We should have copies of at least their second I believe.

Okay, that’s about all my noggin can handle for this week as far as writing goes. Back to my other chores. Thanks for reading and supporting the scene.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

I must say, I’m feeling pretty damn excited as I’m sitting down to write for the newsletter this week. Amongst all the bad news I feel like I’m bombarded with on a day-to-day basis, some good news couldn’t hurt. Just this morning, Public Acid’s string of shows that we’ll be playing in Finland in June got announced. All 3 shows are with the mighty Kriegshög. Incredible. And it turns out that Kohti Tuhoa is playing all 3 dates with us as well. Last year, when Scarecrow played with Kohti Tuhoa in Helsinki they absolutely destroyed. Starting to get that buzz of eagerness and anticipation. Also, the reality that all this crazy traveling I’ll be doing is on the horizon has started to sink in. I had better be ready.

Here on the home front in Raleigh though, I want to reiterate about a couple gigs coming up in April. Just a little over a week away, Paprika from NOLA, along with Homemade Speed from VA and Scarecrow, are playing the Pour House on April 2nd. Then a few weeks later, Jail from Detroit are playing with Paranoid Maniac and Scarecrow (once again) at Neptunes on April 24th. If you’re local to the Raleigh area, don’t miss those!

For my staff pick, I realize that Daniel already made this X2000 LP record of the week in the previous newsletter. But now that I’ve had proper time to digest this new LP entitled Gótico Tropical – Firstly, I don’t know why the hell I waited around to give it a listen; secondly, it absolutely RIPS. Hopefully I won’t be just repeating what Daniel already had to say about this record, and instead, only give you further reason to check it out.

At first glance, one might expect X2000 to come from a Spanish-speaking country. But it turns out the band based out of Gothernburg, Sweden and the singer is a transplant from Colombia. On X2000’s bandcamp, there’s a brief statement about the record that reads: “Between the sultry tropics and the rural darkness of Colombia, there live beings that not even Dracula himself dares to pay a visit.” Quite an ominous synopsis to set the scene for the atmosphere this record conjures. I don’t know, man. X2000 just creates a type of hardcore that I love, where it’s so dark and left of center, that there really is this sense of horror and dread. The band’s delivery has this unhinged feeling of fear and psychosis. The singer makes his entrance on several songs with bouts of maniacal laughter. The vocal performances will often begin with animalistic grunts and powerful screams, but then shift to a feeling more like cries of desperation. It’s intense, dude.

For me, the star of the show is the guitar player. I assume the guitar is drenched in chorus. Either that, or the guitar player recorded several layers of riffs that are severely out of tune with one another. The discomfort and eeriness of the guitar tone makes the band feel even more alien and otherworldly. Lots of ringing open strings, and notes within the chords that are like harmony with brief moments of beauty, but often weaved in along with what sounds as if the guitar is creating dissonant ugliness on purpose. The guitar and bass will often diverge and play notes completely different from one another. Along with that, the deceptively simple pulse of the “1-2-1-2” on the drums will often have unexpected, and rather odd time changes. This unsteadiness and chaos of the music come across less like the band is throwing ideas at the wall, and rather like they have the structures intelligently, yet connivingly under control. Which gives the listener an unsettling sensation like you can’t get a grasp on what’s happening. You’re wrapped around their finger, as if the tendrils of your muscles are hanging like a marionette from Freddy’s claw before leaping to your death… Nightmare On Elm Street 3, anyone?

Perhaps that’s a rather abstract way to describe this record. Personally, I think it’s really cool and feels fresh. I gather the impression that there’s a layer of conception deeper than what lies on the surface with this band. I would love to see this band play—I have a hunch they might be really great live. Check out X2000 if your nap underneath the rock has gone on for too long!

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

I’ve had the Bad Brains on my mind lately. A few weeks ago I picked up a copy of Black Dots at Vinyl Conflict (I bought this on CD when it came out and never owned it on vinyl) so I’d been listening to that a bunch, and then the other night when I was scrolling YouTube I came across this live set from 1987:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-wgzqTKFiE

I don’t know what I expected, but as the band launches into the intro from the I Against I album and the camera lands on HR, stalking the stage and conducting the band with his arms, I saw this glimmer in HR’s eyes and I was just like “oh shit, this is about to pop off.” From there, they segue into “I,” and when HR starts to sing… holy shit, he is on fire.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the footage of the Bad Brains playing at CBGB in 1982… it’s up there with Die Kreuzen’s public access footage as one of the most electrifying punk performances ever caught on video. But it’s such a different event than this Florida show. Not that it’s possible to overshadow the band’s incredible charisma, but the crowd is so into it at CBGB—losing their shit from the very first note—that they’re as much a part of the experience as the band in the video. You’re watching a great band and an audience who know their witnessing greatness and are acting accordingly, creating this feedback loop that propels the CBGB set to incomparable heights. The Florida set couldn’t be more different. The stage is huge; the sound isn’t that great; the setting is bizarre, and the crowd is mostly normies separated from the band by a gigantic barricade. The Bad Brains aren’t feeding off the audience here; they are their own power source.

I know some people consider I Against I the Bad Brains’ finest moment, but to be honest it’s never totally clicked with me. I remember a few months ago I was working the counter at the store while Jeff was in the back and I played a used copy we had in stock. The store was pretty quiet, so I played it loud and listened fairly closely. I hadn’t listened to I Against I in years, and I thought this might be my moment of epiphany, but no dice. A lot of my issue is with Ron St. Germain’s production, which sounds so dated to me… something about the guitar tone reminds me of a TV commercial… it’s just so slick and like corporate sounding. The irony there is that, aside from the Omega Sessions (which is thee greatest Bad Brains studio recording in my humble opinion), Ron St. Germain probably did a better job of capturing the Bad Brains on tape than any of the other producers they worked with. But still, watching this footage from Florida shows he didn’t even get close.

The version of “House of Suffering” on the Florida set in particular annihilates what they released on I Against I. The band’s energy level is a notch higher, and HR’s vocal performance is light years beyond what he does on the album. This live version has so much passion and character, and when you listen to the album version next to it, the vocals sound comparatively flat and lifeless. Beyond that, the song just clicks in a way the album version doesn’t, its main melody landing cleanly and directly like a perfectly placed body shot. The song never really stuck out to me on the album, but here it is a revelation.

After “House of Suffering,” they do a reggae medley of “Day Tripper” by the Beatles into “She’s a Rainbow” by the Rolling Stones (similar to what they do on The Youth Are Getting Restless live album recorded that same year). This should be totally cheesy, but somehow it’s not… I love the way Daryl starts the song playing the “Day Tripper” riff on the bass… I couldn’t place the melody until HR gets to the chorus. I imagine the Bad Brains must have developed this version for occasions just such as this, when they were playing for an audience full of spring breakers. I love the way HR gets lost in the song and improvises on the lyrics and melody. It feels like I’m watching genius at work.

Coincidentally, I started reading Finding Joseph I, Howie Abrams’ biography of HR, a few days ago (I’m about halfway through the book as I write). Abrams’ book charts HR’s ascent and descent better than anything else I’ve read or seen (including the Bad Brains documentary, which is very good), so I have a clearer sense of what version of HR I am watching in 1987. While people uniformly describe HR as smart, charismatic, and brilliant in his early years, signs of instability and darkness started showing in his behavior by 1982. By 1989, it seems like that first version of HR had all but disappeared. In 1987, though, you get a kind of peak. The band still has all of their musical chops, but they’ve been playing together for a full decade and have developed a level of flexibility that matches their power. That’s true of HR as well. The early performances can seem manic, bordering on out of control. The HR we see here is supremely controlled, but just as powerful. In 1982, he’s a machine gun spraying bullets, but in 1987 he’s able to wield the massive weapon that is his talent as if it were as compact and light as a pistol.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll stare at this video slack-jawed until the very last second, when HR’s perfectly timed backflip lands right on the closing beat of “At the Movies.” Fucking hell.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. It’s starting to really feel like spring here in Raleigh: 70 degree weather, thunderstorms in the middle of the day, flowers blooming… it’s been nice being reminded how nice spring is. I forget how rejuvenating spring can feel, and I find myself listening to music that matches the feeling. Today I’m writing about another compilation, nothing fancy or special really, pretty run of the mill, Super Girls. While this may not be the most exciting record, it’s a great example of some cheap heat to me with a nice copy running you probably about $10-15. My copy even still has a cool $1 sticker from “Papa Jazz.” With 3 discs, you definitely are getting your money’s worth. This compilation features all the heavy hitters of girl groups and solo acts from the 60s: The Supremes, The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups, The Chiffons, Brenda Lee, and a lot more. To me, this is a perfect playlist for some cheery spring music. How can you listen to Lollipop and not have visions of sunshine and happiness dancing around your head? I’ve also found some tracks on here that I wasn’t as familiar with that take turns cycling which one is stuck in my head. Currently, it’s the song Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis. It just has this real dreamy sound to it with the organ and The Dells providing some soothing background vocals. Other tracks I’ve really enjoyed on here are I’m Into Something Good, Don’t Say Nothin’ (Bad About My Baby), Heatwave, and Don’t Hang Up. The type of music that makes you wanna share a snow cone with the person you love on a hot, sunny day.

Hello and thanks for reading. I was out of town last week, so I haven’t really had any time to listen to records since my last staff pick. When I returned home, there was a parcel waiting for me from a friend in Finland that I have been really looking forward to. There were various tapes and records inside (including some stuff for Sorry State) that has me excited as hell, but I will save that for next week. Instead, I am going to write about this week’s Hardcore Knockouts - namely ERNST AND THE EDSHOLM REBELS.

EXISTENZ has appeared in two matches now and they lost both times. To me that’s insane. I think that record is in the top 25 sickest Swedish hardcore 7”s. Maybe they are too obscure or something? Last time they were paired with ARROGANTA AGITATORER. Both bands were originally from Helsinborg. ARROGANTA AGITATORER seems obscure as hell to me, but that 7” has been reissued, I guess. EXISTENZ’s 12” has been reissued and I have always wondered why they haven’t done the 7”, especially since they are active again!!

Now, when I say their 7” is in my top 20 Swedish hardcore 7”s, E.A.T.E.R.’s Doomsday Troops 7” is also without a doubt on that list. Yes, this record is raw and fast (maybe a bit on the sloppy side at times, haha), but I think the choruses are really what make this record stand out so much. Whether it’s the gang vocals or catchy guitar riffs, I find the songs stuck in my head often. If you haven’t heard this record, definitely check it out.

While E.A.T.E.R. originally appeared on Really Fast Vol. 1, my introduction to them was when Doomsday Troops was reissued. If you clicked that link I just dropped to check out the EP for the first time, or if you don’t already have one of these reissues, you need one. It’s funny, I always thought Havoc released this, but Havoc is only credited for distribution. Ten bucks says Felix handled all the manufacturing and/or keeps it in print, haha. In Havoc Records tradition, this reissue is super nice. The paper is a lot nicer than the original actually, and it comes with a repro of the original booklet.

The same year that record was reissued, Hardcore Survives released a 7” entitled Abort The System, which included four unreleased songs from the 80s. I actually had no idea that Distortion had also released a compilation a few years before that, which included all the tracks from Abort The System and Doomsday Troops. It didn’t just include those songs, but it also included their split tape tracks and some unreleased songs. One of those unreleased songs is “Death Wish,” which seems to be from the same session as Abort The System. I don’t want to spend too much time explaining all the different versions of songs, but between that compilation and E.A.T.E.R’s bandcamp it’s amazing all the killer shit you can hear. I read they had another session besides Abort The System that was never released, and you can actually find some of these songs on their bandcamp as well.

Let me back up a little bit, though. If you don’t know E.A.T.E.R. outside these 7”s, I would suggest checking out their split with INCHARGE. While the style is a bit more primitive, you can still hear some serious melodic tendencies here and there as well. It’s killer. E.A.T.E.R. was from a small town called Grums, and I think INCHARGE were like the only other band from there. I tried to find a link to drop for the INCHARGE side of the split, but I could not find any that were worthwhile to share. Two of E.A.T.E.R’s tracks from this tape were also used on Really Fast Vol. 1. On that Distortion compilation I mentioned, they noted those two songs were from an earlier session, but I think that is incorrectly credited and that entire tape was from 1983. Micke Blomqvist recorded both bands at his studio Kloakens A.A.S. I think he recorded all the E.A.T.E.R. stuff actually, but I am not sure about some of these demo recordings. I’ve mentioned Micke Blomqvist time and time again, and that will probably never stop cos this guy deserves so much credit. If you don’t know, Micke Blomqvist was in ASTA KASK and operated a recording studio where he recorded tons of bands like ANTI CIMEX, AVSKUM, ASOCIAL, SVART PARAD, CRUDE SS, NYX NEGATIV, and RÖVSVETT.

Alright anyway, so I mentioned I had read about an unreleased session from the 80s. Well really, I had read about two unreleased EPs from the 80s and I am pretty sure Abort The System is one of them. I found this unreleased demo tape on YouTube, but the style of playing has got me wondering when this was recorded. All the song titles are also in Swedish and that makes me think. You can only find their songs in Swedish on their split tape that came before the EPs. I mentioned earlier you can find some unreleased songs E.A.T.E.R’s bandcamp page, and these “demo tape” songs were some of them. I still included that YouTube link earlier cos oddly they excluded one from their bandcamp.

There are many odd but cool things about their bandcamp, haha, namely their “alternate” version of the Distortion compilation they have up there. It’s like an entirely different track listing. They even added a “smurf” version of a track, where it’s just sped up like hell, haha what the fuck? They also drop another unreleased song, this time “Slakt.” I can’t tell for the life of me what session it’s from, but it’s fucking sick to hear. It sounds a lot like ASTA KASK. They’ve also added some rehearsal recordings that kinda suck, alongside what sounds like old 80s live recordings that are pretty cool. There is also another version of a song from their split with INCHARGE. That was cool to hear, but the SUPER cool thing to hear was the demo recordings of Doomsday Troops. If you haven’t heard this stuff and you love that EP like me, I’d suggest checking it out immediately! Alright, I should get going. Thanks for reading.