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What’s up everyone? I hope you’re all having a nice week. I’m going to the Dead and Co. show tonight here in Raleigh, so I figured it’s a good time to write about my favorite Grateful Dead record, Reckoning. I know some people reading this newsletter probably hate the Grateful Dead’s music, and that’s okay. Some people don’t care for it, and some people really enjoy it, and I happen to fall in the latter category. I remember listening to some of the more popular stuff when I was like thirteen and I liked it, but didn’t think much more of it than that. Then probably about five or six years ago I was visiting my buddy out in Colorado and we went on a hike in the mountains and when we were driving back down, he put on Terrapin Station and it just clicked for me. I started listening to all the live stuff and just went down the rabbit hole from there. Diving deep into their music has been very integral on my musical journey and led me to so many other artists and music I love today. If I never had this deep dive, I probably wouldn’t have discovered Billy Strings and been to all the shows I’ve been to this past year and become obsessed with old folk and bluegrass music. Which leads me to the album I’d like to talk about today. My brothers got me this copy of Reckoning (from Sorry State!) for my birthday a couple years back. I remember when I got it, I was a little thrown off by the tracklist. What the hell were all these traditional songs on here I didn’t recognize? An acoustic set? It was all a little different from the stuff I’d heard before from them. I remember I listened to it and thought it was good, but nothing that really stood out to me and it kinda just sat on my shelf for a while while my other Dead records got more love. Fast forward to my revelation with folk music and I come back to this album. Hold up, they’re covering Dark Hollow, Been All Around This World AND Deep Elem Blues on here? Fuck yeah. I love this record so much now, sometimes some things just need a lil bit of time to grow on you and this album has aged like fine wine to me.

Hi Sorry State readers! How are ya? It’s been ok on my end. It’s been kind of a dreary week or two around these parts. Which sucks now that I’ve committed to going for walks regularly. I’ve been trying to go out in the morning, because I read some science about the benefits of physically being in the sun (whether it’s behind clouds or not) when you first wake up. I say physically because it doesn’t count if you just look out the widow. Plus, it just makes me feel better all day. It also gives me the perfect opportunity to listen to new music! Let’s go.

My staff pick this week is by the Canadian band, Divorcer. They released an absolutely killer EP titled Espionage. It has been in very regular rotation for almost a couple weeks now. It’s so likable. It’s fun and catchy and all that good stuff, but also witty and clever.

It’s very pop-heavy, but it feels substantial. The vocals are sharp and sometimes breathy, with a lot of lovely harmonies. Tiny Devil (the first track) is absolutely infectious. It sucked me right in with its simple yet effective beat, and sharp vocals that are both sweet and taunting. They cleverly blend quieter vocals with the lead vocals to play the part of the tiny devil in her head. I mean, I think that’s what they’re doing. The layered vocals add great dimension to all the tracks.

This is also evident on the next track, Bug. It’s my other favorite track. It starts out rather simple and catchy, and just a little weird. You think you get the gist of the song after 30 seconds or so, but it gets more weird and then kinda trippy, but still maintains structure. I like when songs take weird, unanticipated turns, but they still find their way home.

Crying is a slower tempo, more stripped down track. The darker melodic bass riff lays ground for lovely vocal harmonies. I think it’s a well-placed track to slow things down and reset before going out with a bang on the closing track, Leech. This is another winner for me. It seems to draw inspiration from a popular alt-rock formula with its quiet verses and loud crashing choruses. It also incorporates some more noticeable distortion to roughen things up. It all makes for a well-rounded EP.

I’m really drawn to poppy songs with clean and simple beats, but don’t sound superficial. I think that making good use of simple sounds in a way that sounds creative and catchy is no easy feat, and Divorcer does this very well. Unfortunately, this may be sold out or very close to sold out at the time that you’re reading this, but if you get a chance, give it a listen! And hopefully we’ll get more.

Thanks so much for reading! Until we meet again.

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. Today I am here to talk about this killer VORKRIEGSJUGEND 12"! The first pressing of this record sold out super quick. I think we got like only ten copies or less. Luckily it's back in print and we got a nice stack, so I am happy to write about it this time around. I discovered VORKRIEGSJUGEND soon after my adventures into German hardcore. I don't really know much about the band, but their 7" is absolutely killer. It seems like it might be rarest thing released on Pogar Records? Maybe cos they have pretty limited reissues. I was just looking on Discogs and the 2003 reissue LP goes for over $100, damn. When I was on there, I also saw this pretty cool write up on this very 12" I'm here with today. It's well-written and provides way more insight into the band than I could, haha. Nevertheless, I still wanted to highlight some shit. This comes from a sound board recording, so the audio is great. I mentioned thinking the 7" is killer, and they play all but one song off of it, I think. So of course, it had me raging! It seems like there is one track on this live 12" that was never properly recorded, but I could be wrong. I looked around YouTube and found some other live recordings and they had played the same song. This one is pretty nice, it's got a ton of sets on it - but still not the one that has been reissued on this LP! It was an excellent touch the LP comes with fold-out insert that has a photo of VKJ playing that night and a scan of the gig flyer. The insert folds out to show a bunch more flyers with them playing with some killer bands. This is the first release on Stonz Records, based in Berlin. I hope they have more planned cos I think this live LP is excellent and everyone should get one, haha. If you don't know VORKRIEGSJUGEND, I would definitely check out their EP. Their LP is cool too, but not quite as raging. A live LP may not be the best place to start if you've never heard a band...who knows though, if you don't buy it now maybe you'll regret it later. Oh before I go, I wanted to drop a link to this video on YouTube of VKJ playing live in 1984. It looks like they are playing in the basement of their squat or something. Since I don't understand German of course I have no idea if that's their squat. There's a handful of videos on there from the same occasion it seems, and it's all based around an interview of some sort. Alright then I’ve got to go! talk to you next week. Thanks to everyone for the support!!

Hey there everyone, I hope all is well with you. Thanks for tuning in again and checking out the ‘ol newsletter. We appreciate it.

Like any head into music, I love witnessing live music. That’s where it’s at for sure. Seeing, hearing and feeling great music performed in person is the best. In recent years, that has been something that I haven’t been doing a lot of and it sucks. Partly due to the covid years and not wanting to be in crowds again too soon, but mostly down to my old broken-down body not being able to take it anymore. My legs, knees and feet are usually giving me a lot of pain by the end of any given day and so standing for long periods of time, especially in place, amongst a crowd is verging on agony now for me. As a result, I barely go out much at all now let alone go to shows and stuff. I’m saying this not for pity but as a lead into my pick for you all this week. Because I have not been attending shows, I have been going through my record collection and spinning some of the live albums I have. That and watching concert footage on TV and streaming live audio via the internet. Here at Sorry State, whenever I work with John Scott, we typically play at least one live show during a shift. It has started to become our ritual to fire up his Nugs account during the last hour and play a Billy Strings show or something similar.

One live album that I did pull from my jazz shelf this past weekend was the fabulous double by Grant Green titled Live At The Lighthouse, on Blue Note Records from 1972. What a killer record and thoroughly recommended for fans of Jazz, Soul and Funk music. To paraphrase Big Daddy Digs, this one is so hot it smokes across all four sides; you’ll need a fire extinguisher standing by.

Jazz fans will not need any introduction to ace guitar slinger Grant Green, but if you are new to him, then this record is a fine place to begin. This was his last album for the great Blue Note label, one that he had been with since the early sixties, with a couple of excursions to other labels here and there, and for which he had cut nearly two dozen albums. These records are great, but many have argued that Green really excelled in the live environment. Perhaps a case that could be made for many a performer. Two years previously to the Lighthouse session, Blue Note released another album by Green recorded live at a club in New Jersey called the Cliché Lounge. This, Alive! is a great record too, capturing Green and fellow musicians in fine form. You really can feel the atmosphere of the room in the recording. Soul Jazz in its purest and simplest form. Funky and groovy and current but with the jazz and blues roots upfront instead of perhaps the new fusion and psychedelic elements that were now becoming in vogue. Highlight of that set for me being the cover of the Don Covay tune Sookie Sookie that rockers Steppenwolf helped popularize a couple of years previously. On Alive!, Green is supported by the ace drumming of Idris Muhammed and by Ronnie Foster on keys. Those names alone should be enough to convince you of the pedigree of the record.

However, in my opinion, and I don’t think I am alone in saying this, Live At The Lighthouse is even better than Alive! Two years later and a change of coasts and venue and with a different line up, albeit just as talented. This time around the drummer’s stool is occupied by Greg Williams, a young cat at the beginning of his career who started with Lou Donaldson and in the same year as the Lighthouse session would play drums on Jack McDuff’s great Heatin’ System album, ably demonstrating his ability to keep it funky. Shout outs and mentions must be given to all the musicians, so on vibes was Gary Coleman who had played on dates for everyone from David Axelrod to Quincy Jones. On organ was Shelton Laster who gets a writing credit for the tune Flood In Franklin Park. Bass duties were filled by Wilton Felder of the Jazz Crusaders. On tenor and soprano sax was Claude Bartee who had previously been playing with Pucho And The Latin Soul Brothers. Lastly, special mention must be made for Bobbye Porter Hall on percussion. A native of Detroit who played, often uncredited, on countless Motown recordings alongside the Funk Brothers in Detroit and the Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles. She changed the spelling of her first name to distinguish herself as a female musician. Her bongo skills can be heard on Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) for one example. She has played with everyone from Marvin Gaye to Bill Withers, Gene Clark to Carole King and many, many more.

Green selected his bandmates well, and together they put on a barnstormer of a performance for the lucky folks crammed into the Lighthouse for these recordings. The Lighthouse is an historic venue that started as a restaurant and then became a bar in the 1940s and beginning in the 1950s a venue for jazz music. Located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, it became a hub for the burgeoning West Coast Jazz scene and a must play venue for touring musicians. It’s still there, although it’s added Café to its name. Years ago, after I left college, I flew to California with a view to try and get a job and stayed in Hermosa Beach with a friend of my old boss. The job didn’t pan out, but I was staying just up the street from Pier Avenue and the famous Lighthouse venue and would walk past often and did catch a show there. I was just beginning my journeys into jazz back then so wasn’t hip to the history of the club necessarily, but it was cool to have been there.

On the recordings, each tune is introduced by announcers Hank Stewart and Ed Hamilton and throughout the audience plays their part also. You hear quite a few shouts of “Right On!” and rightfully so. There isn’t a dull moment on any of the four sides of the album, but I really dig their interpretation of the Donald Byrd tune Fancy Free along with the workout they give to the song Jan Jan from The Fabulous Counts. Both stellar performances worth the price of admission alone. This is top-notch stuff, funky and groovy, right on and just plain fun. Green’s guitar playing here is some of the best you’ll ever hear. With the band cooking behind him, his solos are sublime. Funky, bluesy and driving, yet simple and always soulful. He doesn’t need to be flash and doesn’t hog the spotlight, giving plenty of room for all the musicians to soar on their solos. Almost all the numbers are stretched out to ten plus minutes, but you could easily see and want them to keep going on longer. Reading a few reviews from then and now, it seems that in not following the rush to fusion territory this record has perhaps aged better than some of those that did. Funny how things circle around, although in more recent years, fusion is becoming more popular again. Whatever. Just enjoy it all I say.

Grant Green has left us. He tragically died in his car of a heart attack aged 43 whilst in New York to play at George Benson’s Breezin’ Lounge. He had gone back out on the road against doctor’s orders after having spent much of the previous year in hospital. Since his death there has been more music released in his name than when he was alive. He literally recorded on hundreds of sessions whether as a leader or sideman and his legacy is as one of the greats. Several of his recordings have been sampled in the hip-hop world and the Acid Jazz boom of the late 80s and early 90s picked up on his rare groove classics, keeping his name alive with the next generations of music lovers. One of his six children, Grant Green Jr., is an accomplished jazz guitarist himself and plays in a similar style. In addition, his daughter-in-law Sharony Andrews Green has authored an informative and heartfelt book titled Grant Green: Rediscovering The Forgotten Genius Of Jazz Guitar. The book concentrates more on Green the man rather than being a dry diary of recording sessions, etc.

If after listening to Alive! and Live At The Lighthouse and are hungry for more jazz guitar, then you will be in for a treat with pretty much any Green album you pick next. Released the same year is the soundtrack to The Final Comedown, which Green provides the music for. A good movie and a great soundtrack, which has the distinction of being the first soundtrack on Blue Note. A record that is popular with the samplers and rare groove guys is The Main Attraction, released in 1976 on Kudu. You can dip in with confidence to any of his 60s recordings. Street Of Dreams from 1967 is a good one. The Latin Bit from 1963 is a favorite too.

Personally, as far as instrumentation in jazz goes, I love the guitar and vibes the most. Add in some Afro-Cuban percussion and a funky drummer and we’re off to the races. My collection features a lot of albums with guitar and my favorite artists other than Grant Green are many. George Benson, Boogaloo Joe Jones, O’Donel Levy, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Gabor Szabo, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Larry Coryell, Sonny Sharrock, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul and John McLaughlin are the first few names off the top of my head, and I know I’m missing many more. You get the point. If you dig the sound of guitar in your music and see any of those names in the credits, you’re guaranteed some top playing no questions asked. Go explore.

Signing off now and getting back to work. Tonight, John Scott is going to see the Dead in concert and Jeff is preparing for his weekend of gigs and as I have been writing I’ve been spinning The Great Society live at The Matrix from 1966. It’s all live music action around here and always where it’s at.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

As the weekend approaches, I’m yet again scrambling to get one of these damn things written. I spent like half an hour trying to get the graphic above put together. It looks so stupid. It’s like one of those tattoos where a shark is busting out of the skin, but it doesn’t even look that cool. But at least it features images related to the key topics contained within this write-up. I’m partially anxious because as soon I leave the store tonight, I’m immediately hopping in my car and driving up to Richmond. Then I’ll wake up at 9am and hop on a plane to Minneapolis. Trust me, I ain’t complaining. I’ve talked about it in previous newsletters, but Public Acid is playing this one-off gig on Saturday. I’m way stoked about this Thrasher event we’re playing. I get to see some of my favorite pro skaters sponsored by Vans rip it up during the day and then go rip it up with Electric Chair that evening? Can’t wait.

Once again, I didn’t know what record to write about. I took the easy way out and decided to write about a record I threw on the other day. I’ve been listening to old LA punk constantly lately. The other day, I listened to the sole release by this band Kaos (not to be confused with the Finnish band Kaaos, spelled with 2 “a’s”). This single, entitled Product of a Sick Mind… was released on What? Records in 1980. This same label released a lot of other early LA punk stuff, namely “Forming,” the first Germs single. Kaos was a short-lived band formed out of the ashes of The Controllers. The A-side track “Alcoholiday” was born to be featured on a Killed By Death comp. Less hardcore sounding than their contemporaries, this song is a sleazy, ramshackle, garagey punk stomper. I’m pretty sure this song appeared on KBD #4, sandwiched in between a bunch of Zero Boys songs. On the B-side, “Top Secret” is a bit faster tempo and reminds of the Randoms’ “Let’s Get Rid of New York” or something similar on Dangerhouse. The last track is a heavy dirge lamenting about not being able to sleep. Funny enough, this final track “Iron Dream” I first heard when the Carbonas covered it. That repetitive refrain “I can’t sleep at night!” I always associated with the Atlanta punk greats. It honestly sounds like a song they could’ve written. So when I finally got into this Kaos single, it was exciting to connect those puzzle pieces.

I scored my copy of Product of a Sick Mind a few years back. I pull it out to jam every once in a while. Funny enough, my copy is the 12” version, so it’s one of those oversized punk singles with plenty of unnecessary dead wax. My favorite style. But there is a more KBD-appropriate 7” single version released the same year. Limited to 200 copies, it’s super rare and has become quite the collector’s item. I’ll stick with my oversized platter.

Weirdly, I haven’t been drinking much lately. And funny how that works, I feel pretty great. But inevitably in Minneapolis I think I’m gonna rage. Time to get my Alcoholiday started.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Honor Role: Rictus LP (Homestead Records, 1989)

My nephew Brody just spent a few weeks staying with my wife Jet and I. The original plan was to hang out for a bit in Raleigh and then go on a mini-vacation on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina for Memorial Day weekend, but a big storm came in, the ferries weren’t running to the island, and we had to cancel our trip. That was a bummer, but it was fun to hang out with Brody for an extended amount of time. He’s 19, a student at Ohio State, and he’s super into music and skateboarding, so we get along like a house on fire. It was nice to have a buddy to skate with, and while he was here we spent most evenings playing music for one another.

Something I realized about myself during these listening sessions with Brody is that I have a strong bias against music from the 90s. Brody played a lot of stuff from the 90s, and it made me realize I almost never listen to music from that entire decade, no matter the style. There’s probably a deep psychological reason for that… like I see the 70s and 80s as some sort of unspoiled golden age, but the 90s make me think of real life, being in high school and feeling like I didn’t belong, being stuck in a rural Virginia backwater while the interesting stuff happened somewhere else. Most recordings from the 90s have a distinctive sound, and while a lot of things about that sound are pretty good—it was an era known for big-sounding, polished recordings, even for underground bands—the sound doesn’t take me to a place I want to go. Even when Brody brought up punk and hardcore bands, I realized I hardly ever listened to them. He told me he’s been into Orchid’s Chaos Is Me, and I told him about how I bought that record when it came out and how Orchid’s guitarist, Will Killingsworth, masters like 50% of the music we sell at Sorry State (including several releases on our label), but I realized I haven’t listened to Orchid in 20 years. He also texted me the other day to tell me he’d been listening to His Hero Is Gone’s Monuments to Thieves. Again, a record I loved when it came out, but I haven’t listened to it in many, many years. So many of our conversations went like this, Brody bringing up something from the 90s and me driving the conversation back into the 80s and earlier or forward into the present millennium.

Having this realization about myself, I was particularly excited when a copy of Honor Role’s second and final album, Rictus, came through the shop. Brody, like most young people it seems, has broad tastes, but I think his favorite style of music is the post-hardcore math rock of the early 90s… he loves Slint, US Maple, Don Caballero, and stuff like that. So I was excited to bring home this Honor Role record because I know they were a big influence on that sound. I think he liked Rictus, but the first thing he said was “this sounds like Tweez,” Slint’s first album, which actually came out in 1989, the same year as Rictus.

I feel weird writing about Honor Role because I’ve heard so much about them from older people in NC, all of whom insist they were one of the best bands they ever saw, way better than their studio recordings. Honor Role played Raleigh a lot… people tell me they came down from Richmond so often they were pretty much considered a local band. Since they broke up in 1989, though, I never got to see them play, and for years I never even checked out the records because of how vocal everyone was about how they didn’t live up to the live experience. However, at some point their 1985 single “Judgement Day” came into the shop, and noticing it was on the legendary Raleigh label No Core Records, I checked it out. I listened to that 7” so much… I even ripped mp3s of my copy so I could put it on my phone… I was so addicted to it I needed the ability to hear it any time I wanted. Contrary to my expectations, “Judgement Day” has a great, powerful recording, raw in the manner of low-budget 80s recordings, but clear with good separation between the instruments and a big drum sound. And the songs, “Judgement Day” in particular, are just so good. They’re a long way from pop, but still so memorable. “Look around me, all I see, waves and waves of… MEDIOCRITY!” Classic.

Converted, I started picking up Honor Role’s records when I saw them. Rictus, though, proved elusive, sitting on my want list for years before this copy came in. It was worth the wait, though! When I first popped it on I was digging it so hard… it had everything I loved about the “Judgement Day” single, namely the catchy vocals and dense, poetic lyrics and the powerful, punk-informed rhythm section, but so much more than that too. Honor Role is lauded for their ability to play in odd time signatures and the relentless riffage of guitarist Pen Rollings, and both are in full effect on Rictus. Some timings on these tracks are just wild. And beyond just being quirky, they’re executed with so much fluidity. I love complex, proggy rhythms, but often bands who play like that can feel overly tight, like the music is laid out on a grid and everyone is playing to the grid rather than with one another. But Honor Role sounds like a band who has abandoned the grid, locking into rhythms that are more organic and human than any math equation. And the riffs… fuck! A lot of them sound like they’re grounded in the big classic rock riffs of bands like AC/DC and Thin Lizzy, but skewed and bent into something subtler and more interesting. Like Greg Ginn, Pen Rollings’ style is instantly identifiable and I could listen to him shred forever.

It’s a shame I never got to see Honor Role play live, because if they were exponentially better than these records, they must have been something truly great, which everyone insists they were. There are a couple of gigs on YouTube, and these sets from CBGB in 1987, DC in 1988, and Chapel Hill in 1989 (the band’s final show) are indeed powerful. I’m not much for watching video footage of bands playing live, but all three hold my attention. If you want to check out Honor Role’s studio recordings, Merge Records collected everything from their post-punk era (I can’t believe I didn’t even mention the band’s hardcore years above… oh well) on a CD called Album, which is available on streaming services. That CD starts with Rictus and then proceeds in reverse chronological order through the rest of the band’s catalog, ending with the “Judgement Day” single. While it’s a lot of this very dense music to absorb in one sitting, at least it’s out there and accessible. If you want to follow my path into their discography, keep an eye out for used copies of the “Judgement Day” single and Rictus in your local used bins… it might take a while for them to turn up, but they shouldn’t cost you much when they do.

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

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. This past Saturday, me and Dom were working the store together, and it was pretty busy, as Saturdays tend to be. Artsplosure was going on downtown as well, so there were a lot of people out n about. I was in a Willie Nelson mood that particular morning and we had just got some of his records from a buy we did a couple days earlier, so I decided to give those a spin. At one point, a young girl and her dad came in and were doing some shopping around. The guy explained to me his daughter had just recently gotten a record player and was trying to build up her collection. I happened to be playing Shotgun Willie at this point and they had been in there for about ten minutes before she asked her dad, “Who is this playing?” He told her to go ask us at the front counter who it was, so we told her and showed her the record and she was saying how much she liked it and asked if she could buy it. Of course you can buy this Willie Nelson record. It always feels good to sell something right off the record player, but especially when it’s someone who’s hearing something for the first time and it just really clicks with them. As Dom said, “another soul saved.” I guess it would make sense for me to write about Shotgun Willie for my record this week, but I don’t even own that one. For my choice this week, I’m going with what I think is the coolest Willie album, Red Headed Stranger. I’m always a fan of murder ballads and this album is just one long murder ballad. It follows the tale of a preacher who’s become a fugitive on the run after catching his wife cheating with another man and killing them both. What more do you need? It feels more like watching a movie than listening to an album to me honestly. I also love the way he incorporates older songs like Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and puts them in a whole new perspective to tell the story. There are so many Willie Nelson albums it’s kinda hard to know which ones are actually really worth checking out and listening to the whole way through, but I would definitely say this one is essential listening.

Hey Sorry State fam! Hope you’re having a fantastic week! Just wanted to quickly say thanks for your overall rad-ness, your kind words, and continued support. We appreciate you and we think you’re the coolest. Ok let’s go….

My pick this week is the new EP (Fantasy) by the English post-punk band, Es. This is their third release over seven years, but this is the first time I’ve heard them. Daniel said he really liked the EP too, so we got a grip for the store. It’s a good-looking EP. A beautiful turquoise/aqua (what’s the difference?) with a bright green sleeve (which compliments the vinyl color so well), and a good sized lyric sheet insert.

Aesthetics aside, it sounds really cool. Broadly, the sound is mid-tempo gothy synth punk with doomy, yet lovely, vocals. The crazy part is they don’t have a guitarist. Even crazier, I didn’t even notice until a few spins later when someone told me. It’s only four tracks, and while that makes for a short EP, the songs are very satisfying and ordered in a thoughtful way. Upon first listen I will admit that it sounded a little samesy to me. Not a bad thing, as I happen to like the style so why not hear more of it? But after a few listens I realized I rushed to judgement. More on that later.

The opener, Emergency, sounds like a period piece, and that period would be the early to mid-eighties. It’s a likable and sensible opener. It doesn’t blow you away, but it still makes sure you aren’t going anywhere. It worked, because here I am writing about the EP for my staff pick.

After the first track you can throw the sensibilities out the window because the song Too Late really struts its stuff. The crunchy bass parts sound great with the high-pitched synth nuggets. The latter sounds are reminiscent of an 80s video game, and lean a little egg punk. It’s like a demented pop song.

The song Unreal is kind of like the first track stylistically, but it’s cleaner, faster, and it just gets to the point quicker. It has a bigger chorus. The kind of simple and catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head.

Swallowed Whole closes out the album. It’s faster, more urgent, and the rhythm section is punchier and more apparent than previous tracks. It feels like the culmination of the prior three tracks.

It sounds like the songs build on one another. Not necessarily in a linear fashion, but in some sort of interconnected way. Each track has its core sound or style and also incorporates the coolest features of the other tracks, but in a subtle way. That might not make sense. I’m probably reading too far into it, but I think you have to read further into it to notice the nuances that make the record more unique and intentional than you may give it credit for.

Anyway, give it a go!

Until we meet again.

Thanks,

Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. I’ve been out sick from work this week, unfortunately. I am here today though to write about this (also) sick record from LANGUID. However, before I begin, I wanted to mention this killer new shit that I can’t get enough of. While it’s just a Bandcamp link for now, I know that it will eventually be released on Adult Crash. This is some of that real deal Tottis-worship, from none other than Uppsala, Sweden! The vocalist, Martin, booked SCARECROW in Uppsala on our European tour. (Hi Martin!!) It makes me feel super cool to know someone in the band across the ocean, especially cos I like it so much, haha. I can’t wait for the record. Until then I will be frequently visiting their Bandcamp site. So, LANGUID first came on my radar with their debut 7”. Their sound very quickly caught my ears. The most obvious influence I pick up on here is DISCHANGE. When a band like this is your primary inspiration, I think you gotta be super creative. Since almost all the songs are slow, the riffs must be very catchy, and the D-beat MUST groove. If you can’t achieve both, the record is going to sound sterile and just drag on. This pulled-back DISCHARGE style has been done countless times, but every now and again a band executes the sound with perfection, like LANGUID has done here. I feel like the DISCHANGE formula is unique, and so influential, because despite the songs being groovy and catchy, the riffs are still heavy and mean. Soon after DISCHANGE changed (haha) over to MEANWHILE they developed a more “rocked out” style compared to the heavy edge that DISCHANGE carried. Don’t get me wrong, they have plenty of songs that still have that heavy sound (including every single track on this amazing 2005 EP), I just feel like they leaned more into other aspects of the songwriting as time went on. Their 1995 masterpiece Remaining Right Silence is before I notice this change, however. Alright, LANGUID. It’s cool Desolate has decided to get this LP back in print. I remember trying to find a copy soon after it was released was no easy task. It was released only by the band in Canada. This Desolate release includes a bonus 7” which features their 2017 demo, remastered at Communichaos. I had never heard these recordings before. All these songs are re-recorded on the LP I think, but it’s always cool to get to hear their original take on the songs. Aside from the excellent songwriting on these releases, LANGUID’s artwork has always gotten my attention. The illustrations are simple yet mean. Just like the music, haha. They always gave me a Scandinavian Jawbreaker kind of vibe, but it doesn’t come off quite as cheesy. Naturally, I was excited to see this Desolate release came with a poser of the front cover! Alright, I think that’s all I got left in me this week. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for the support. Peace!

Greetings Sorry Staters, thanks for clicking on us and reading. Thanks also for the nice comments and support that we received from many of you this past week. As you may have noticed, we had the hump and were annoyed by certain comments directed towards us. Regardless, we are moving on and will continue to work hard and do our best for you out there and hope that if we slip and make a mistake, you will understand and give us the benefit of the doubt instead of slagging us off and being that guy. Of course, if we deserve to be told off, we’ll take it, but fortunately those types of situations don’t happen that often.

Moving on. Writing anything today is with heavy heart after the sad news of yet another legend leaving us. I’m speaking of Tina Turner. Rest in power Queen. I’m of the age where I grew up with her music and presence in the popular culture. One of the first records I owned as a kid was the River Deep Mountain High album on A&M. That was the Phil Specter produced album she did with Ike. The title tune being a song that originally did not hit in the US, but went massive in the UK. Great album with a bunch of great tunes. Title track of course, but I Idolize You being my next favorite. Lovers of Soul and R & B music have been following Tina since the early 1960s and I joined her rank of fans as a kid in the 70s and 80s. I don’t need to tell you about her remarkable story, but suffice to say she truly earned her legendary status.

I was thinking about the book that Daniel talked about last week in the newsletter on celebrities that fall from grace and whether it is possible to separate the art from the artist etc. Can we still listen to Ike & Tina records? Don’t get me wrong, I love Private Dancer as much as the next person and can dig the Mad Max movie, but the records she made with Ike in the 1960s are so good. Not to ignore all the horrible things that Ike was, but he wasn’t the only person in the studio when all those fantastic records were made. He may have been the main catalyst for the music’s creation, but many others worked hard to make them happen. Should their efforts and talent be ignored? Big questions and answers don’t come easy. As the writer of the book points out. I’m going to continue enjoying the music Tina made with Ike in celebration of her and for the power of the music itself and nothing more.

I hate to make this column an obituary, but I couldn’t talk about one legend passing without also mentioning the sad departure of Andy Rourke last week also. Bass player for The Smiths and all-around top bloke. Those records would not have sounded as great as they were without his inspired playing. When your band mate is Johnny Marr and he is in awe of the lines you played, you must be damn good. Andy, in later life, lived in New York City and was a fantastic DJ. His show on East Village Radio was terrific and that show and the station were influential on many, including The Face Radio, who I am with now. God bless you Andy, rest in peace.

As for my “staff pick” selection this week? Other than plenty of Smiths and Tina? How about a great 45 that finally made its way to us here from the UK? We have been proud to be carrying releases from a fabulous small label in England called The Big AC Records. Among a talented roster of artists, they are championing the career of an incredible vocalist called Carmy Love. We have one of her previous records, Rebel, here in stock. This new one is titled In The Morning, although officially a few months old from release date it’s new to us and I imagine you. This is modern sophisticated soul music that manages to maintain a retro feel whilst still sounding current. Not as easy as it might seem. Carmy Love may not be in Tina Turner territory quite yet, but critics and fans are falling over themselves to heap praise on her vocal talent. All her previous singles have sold out at the label, so this is a good chance for you to snag a copy before they disappear. She has a new single out next month which we should be stocking, so keep your eyes peeled for that but in the meantime go take a listen to In The Morning and see what you think for yourselves.

Okay, back to work. These boxes won’t open themselves. Plenty of incoming goodness along with a nice new batch of cool used records are awaiting my attendance. Better hop to it. Cheers and see you next time.

• Dom