News

SSR Newsletter: Intensive Care Unit, Ice & the Iced, Dream World / Subversas split, Devil Master +more!

Hello and welcome to the Sorry State Records newsletter! Sorry the newsletter is a day late this week. Yesterday got away from me and I wasn’t able to make it over the finish line. But better late than never, right?

Before we get into things this week, I wanted to mention something I should probably say more often: we would love to buy your used punk records (and maybe your punk cassettes and CDs too)! If you’ve been thinking about getting rid of some records, now would be a great time to hit us up. We can travel to you when it makes economic sense (i.e. we’re buying enough to offset the cost of travel), and we can also work through the mail. Selling us used records is one of the best ways to support Sorry State, so if you’re ever looking to unload, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Now, onto the show. This is a heavy week for new arrivals, with two new scorchers from Active-8 Records (including our Record of the Week from Intensive Care Unit), three new ones on General Speech, a highly sought-after early Italian punk reissue, a new split tape from Sorry State’s own Dream World, and lots more. So let’s get to it!

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Lots of titles now on sale

Just a quick note that we updated the sale section of the website for the first time in a long time. There are several dozen titles that are newly marked down (including some punk classics you can get for a steal) and if you keep going you’ll find over 500 items that have been marked down below their original price. Check it out!

 

Sorry State Presents: Iron Lung +3 in Raleigh on September 23

Sorry State is presenting a pretty killer gig at Kings in Raleigh later this month. Advance tickets are available on Kings' website now. Here's the info... hope to see you there!

IRON LUNG (Seattle / Reno power violence legends)
HOLOGRAM (DC hardcore to melt your reality)
CAUSE OF DEATH (young Charlotte punks on a DRI / Deep Wound trip)
PLASTIQUE PIGS (Raleigh’s current Kings of Punk)

You like it fast? WE GOT U

Wednesday September 23, 2026
Kings Raleigh NC
$15 / ALL AGES
Doors at 7, noise at 8

 

Sorry State Newsletter: September 2, 2026: Nu-Viles / XUI / Lost Legion / X / Cosey Mueller / Demilich + more!

cover photo of the Nu-Viles by @wgm.world

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! I have some sad news for you this week… after a couple of years in the vinyl trenches, Danny is going to be leaving us for greener pastures (and a much more substantial paycheck). I want to thank Danny for all his work during his time at Sorry State and wish him all the best in his new job.

While Danny is leaving us, this week we have our first staff pick from a new staffer! Cameron has actually been working here for a month or two and shipping out most of your orders, but I let him settle in before I started bugging him to contribute to the newsletter. I wouldn’t have expected a Frank Zappa record as his first staff pick since Cameron plays guitar in Plastique Pigs and listens to Regulations almost as much as Trevor did when he worked here, but I’m happy to have someone in the mix whose tastes are a little different from the rest of us. Welcome Cameron!

Turning our attention to the business at hand, as usual we have a fresh batch of records to tell you about this week. I have been totally obsessed with this Nu-Viles single that is our Record of the Week. They’re a new band and I think they’re totally killer, so check ‘em out if you aren’t familiar. Our other featured releases from XUI and Man&Error are also really cool, and as usual we have a bunch of fresh new arrivals in the distro for you too and a fresh round of staff picks. So let’s dive in…

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SSR Newsletter August 26, 2026: Ferocious X / Cuir / Plastic Tones / Animated Violence / Guiding Light / +more

Ferocious X photo by @yasuhiro_1623

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State newsletter! I’m totally exhausted from traveling to Pittsburgh and back this weekend for Skull Fest and working way too many hours so far this week, so I’ll keep this preamble brief. As usual, we have a whole bunch of new and old punk rock from around the world to tell you about. We don’t often highlight super poppy releases as our Record of the Week, but this new Plastic Tones album has really been doing it for me. However, if you’re looking for something a little grittier, you know we have plenty of options for you. So let’s get into what’s new this week…

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Out of print Sorry State vinyl back in stock

Usman was tidying up around the Sorry State warehouse and found a small stash of colored vinyl that’s been sold out for some time, many years in several cases. We found just a few copies of each, so grab ‘em quick if you missed out the first time:

Woodstock ’99: Super Gremlin 12” (clear vinyl)

Hüstler: S/T 12” (pink vinyl)

Scalple: Skillful Butchers 12” (blue vinyl)

ICD10: Faith in Institutions 12” (yellow vinyl)

Invalid: S/T 12” (red vinyl, screen printed jacket)

Sorry State Newsletter: August 19, 2026: Chaos / Diät / Subversive Intent / Generacion Suicida / Why Bother? / +more!

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! It’s funny, you may have noticed last week’s newsletter was a little light on staff picks. I cracked the whip oh so very gently at our weekly staff meeting yesterday and the crew turned out for you… this week we have a full slate including a VERY long one from me about an interesting house call I went on today. Of course there’s plenty more to tell you about too. All three of our featured releases this week are killer… I had a lot of trouble deciding which to name Record of the Week. There’s also a bursting New Arrivals section with loads of killer new international punk, a couple of very cool reissues, and the usual stuff we fill your inboxes with every week. So, let’s get to the nitty gritty…

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Sorry State Newsletter: August 12, 2026: Active Ingredients / R.M.F.C. / Lost Animal / The Drin / Ceremony / G.A.Z.E. +more!

Photo of the high-flyin' Invertebrates by the legend Chris Boarts-Larson.

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! It’s been a busy week of driving around and catching gigs for me, all of which I detail in my staff pick below. You might think all this traveling would make things slow down at SSR, but instead I’ve chosen to deprive myself of sleep and rest in order to keep bringing y’all the latest and greatest in international punk. And we have some pretty cool stuff in this week, including a very cool 80s US hardcore reissue as our Record of the Week, two totally killer featured releases, and new arrivals from all over the world and all throughout punk’s history. We get into it all below, so keep reading!

Read the full newsletter here.

 

Sorry State distributing Anti-Fade Records in the US

Sorry State is very stoked to announce a new distribution agreement with Australia’s Anti-Fade Records! We helped them out with Stateside distribution of the recent Institute EP, and since that went well we’ve agreed to carry Anti-Fade’s future releases in quantity in the US, and we’ll also make limited color versions available on the Sorry State site. Pre-orders for Anti-Fade’s next three releases are live at Sorry State now. A new edition of R.M.F.C.s Club Hits with revised packaging comes out on September 18, P.P. Rebel’s second album Devotee follows on October 2, and Lost Animal’s third album Give Some Get Some is out on October 23. More info on these releases below. And if you have a store or distro and you’d like to carry these releases, please get in touch for wholesale information.

 

R.M.F.C.: Club Hits (Nightclub Hits Edition) 12" (PRE-ORDER)

Third pressing of R.M.F.C.’s classic debut LP, Club Hits. “Nightclub Hits Edition” features new artwork with silver foiled lettering, black side tab, inverted back cover, reverse board sleeve and A3 double sided poster. Out September 18th on Anti Fade Records, ahead of R.M.F.C.’s EU/UK tour beginning September 23rd.

ROCK MUSIC FIGHT CRINGE

What is modern music writing without the opening descriptor “long awaited”? To describe most records as being awaited is ridiculous. Nobody today has the patience to wait for a text or a tram or a traffic light… and yet… there is something here, I have a point to make…

Please resist cringe – I will not cringe, cringe is the mindkiller – I assure you, I never use words like “long awaited debut” in polite conversation and avoid those who do by general rule.

But.

ROCK MUSIC FINESSE CLASS

The imminent arrival of the R.M.F.C. long awaited debut means rules must be broken, tablets must be shattered, sacred pigs must be slaughtered…

In our age of media saturation and attention deficit, where every band has side project with a triple LP catalogue before they’ve played a show or had opportunity to tease or tantalise, there’s a lot of easy music being created… and forgotten… look back over the past decade and see how many hype bands you’ve forgotten, how many redundant “long awaited debut” ended up ashen within a month. Nobody is waiting for more easy music. We are waiting for the R.M.F.C. Club Hits LP.

Anyone paying attention to underground Australian guitar overdose would relate: the R.M.F.C. Club Hits LP has been the culmination of five years of work, patience and discipline. If you’ve heard these songs live at any of their shows over the past couple of years you’ll understand – the wait is over and the result is exhilarating.

ROCK MUSIC FANATIC CONVULSIONS

To your average German the sound of Bach made them reverent with Lutheran frenzy, and for the average rock music fan the sound of R.M.F.C. makes them catatonic with guitar overdose.

To your exceptional German composer that came after Bach, the sounds of Bach inspired genius invention, and for the generation of exceptional rock music creators that come to Club Hits, a great deal of easy listening rock music has become redundant and this is a new standard: the craft of these songs is precise, the flow of this record is masterful.

Club Hits is one of those rare records that sounds absolutely of its time without evoking depression, despair and disgust – for we live in times of desperation that most rock music bands are adorning with insipid, tedious tunes that couldn’t make most people put their phone down let alone believe in R.M. – but with the benefit of 80 years of ROCK MUSIC to draw on, there’s a lot of mistakes that Buz learned from and hasn’t replicated here.

ROCK MUSIC FOOTBALL CLUB

I like music and I like football. I like physicality, sweat, blood, I like music with guitar and drum… I like to experience being in the presence of violent movement that is graceful and produces goals or songs…

Great live band this R.M.F.C. Kicking goals, making songs.

If not for the experience of watching them play these club hits live, I don’t think we would be “awaiting” this record. Which is to say, on record FC President Buz takes on all duties: songs written, songs recorded and songs mixed by the Commander In Chief Clatworthy.

If this was the extent of it, if we couldn’t SEE and FEEL the rock music in R.M.F.C., if it was RECORDED MUSIC FAN CLUB - I’m sure you understand me – Buz has managed to make a solo bedroom project into a rock music band of great quality, and hearing these songs develop and stick in your head for days and weeks and months after the show, festering and waiting to be unleashed on the world this coming November 3rd.

ROCK MUSIC FAN CLUB

For those who read these things without listening first, you might ask: what does this R.M.F.C. sound like?

Let’s stay with the overused descriptors – I think R.M.F.C. is rock music band, more specifically a post-punk band.

Indulge me.

If you could say anything about post punk it means post-Wire, who were past punk before punk had an opportunity to codify and become everything brilliant and stupid that we’ve spent 40 years unpacking.

Wire unpacked punk immediately and spent three perfect albums mapping what comes next – their “long awaited debut” came after a pub rock punk phase… and entered into the world of angular guitars and arctic ice feel.

Wire’s opening Pink Flag jab – Chairs Missing straight – and 154 hook knockout has haunted the mixing desks of ambitious post-punk bands since, and every major city in the western world has at least one Pink Flag band, one Chairs Missing band, one 154 band.

Few bands manage to sound like all 3 records, but R.M.F.C. are rock music fan club…

ROCK MUSIC FREAK CLUB

One day when I listened to the Velvet Underground ‘What Goes On’, I thought: this is a perfect song. I could listen to this song for hours on end. I did this – I listened to live versions, multiple ten minute plus jams, alternate mixes, and then back to the album. Over and over again. The song continually delivered new revelations, I saw a golden path leading through a dark cloud of misery, surrounded by spite and resentment, a golden path leading toward something better… and in Club Hits, I hear that same obsessive nature, I could imagine you understand this too, I know I am not alone in listening to rock music like I am encountering the sacred sound of a new religion… you must be obsessed to make music like this, and you must also respond with true passion and devotion… our times need the Club Hits…

ROCK MUSIC FINAL COMMENT

R.M.F.C. Club Hits LP on Anti Fade (AUS) / Urge Records (USA) will be released on November 3rd.

Written, recorded and mixed by Buz in Burrill Lake and Sydney between January 2022 & April 2023. Mastered by Mikey Young.

 

P.P. Rebel: Devotee 12

P.P. Rebel: Devotee 12" (PRE-ORDER)

P.P. Rebel is the harmonium-led, spiritually inspired project of Paris Rebel Richens, who has been making all kinds of extraordinary sounds over the past fifteen years and has more recently found a new direction through the spiritual path of Kriya Yoga. Largely inspired by Paramahansa Yogananda’s spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi, Paris began studying the Self-Realization Fellowship teachings in 2020, before becoming a Kriya Yogi (Kriyaban) and disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda in 2021. Kriya Yoga is an ancient meditation technique traditionally learnt under the guidance of a guru, and Paris describes it as having deeply altered her perceptions and way of thinking — something that naturally finds expression in P.P. Rebel’s lyrics and themes.

After discovering Yogananda’s Cosmic Chants, Paris bought a harmonium from an Indian furniture store in Melbourne/Naarm with the intention of playing along at home. Before long, she began writing her own compositions. The songs that make up Devotee are not strictly chants — especially as they opened up through collaboration and improvisation with the band — but the spiritual influence from which they draw remains ever-present.

“The title Devotee relates to the spiritual path of Kriya Yoga that I follow and am devoted to,” Paris explains. “Before this path, I had hit a wall with music and wasn’t inspired to sing about everyday, material subjects. Approaching songwriting from the ego felt painful — I didn’t want to keep creating from that small ‘I, me, mine’ place. The more time I gave to following a spiritual path, creativity became an offering, and something more natural and meaningful emerged”.

P.P. Rebel began as Paris’ solo project, with her debut album P.P. is… Peeping Piebald Past the Night! released as a 16-track cassette via Anti Fade Records in November 2019. A band was assembled in early 2020 to perform live, initially featuring Daff Gravolin (bass), Tristan Davies (keys), and Matt Harkin (drums), with Paris on guitar and vocals. Following her introduction to Kriya Yoga, Paris incorporated harmonium into the project, Tristan moved to guitar, and Pascal Babare later joined on drums — forming the current iteration of P.P. Rebel. Drawing on both Eastern spiritual traditions and Western influences such as The Incredible String Band, The Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett, and Skip Spence, P.P. Rebel has developed a sound distinctly its own: beautiful, calming, spiritually charming songs for the soul.

Devotee was wonderfully produced by Jack Crook at Sound Recordings on Dja Dja Wurrung Country, and mixed and mastered by local hero Mikey Young, resulting in a sound that feels natural and honest — blending classic textures with Paris’ reflective perspective and spiritual focus.

The album artwork was created by Paris using pressed flower petals collected from altar arrangements at group meditations — a process inspired in part by the work of Sally Stang. The central bird form is based on a photograph by Joel Sartore of a Superb Parrot, which Paris reimagined after noticing its resemblance to praying hands when viewed upside down.

P.P. Rebel’s debut is an album filled with love, joy and optimism, to be welcomed and enjoyed in any household. “Devotee” will be out October 2nd, 2026 via Anti Fade Records.

 

P.P. Rebel: Devotee 12

Lost Animal: Give Some Get Some 12" (PRE-ORDER)

It's not every day you hear about a new Lost Animal album. In fact, it's been ten years between drinks. The debut Ex Tropical was released in 2011, and followed by You Yang in 2016. So what happened, and where's frontman / mastermind Jarrod Quarrell been for the last ten years?

From the horse's mouth, "I don't give a fuck about productivity." A humbling reply. It confirmed Quarrell's MO: here's an artist as a non-conformist. And when he does see fit to bless us with his unique vision of what msuic can sound like, it has the ability to completely charm and disarm. Amongst a sea of rock bands, LA is essentially a solo act. Simply put; LA is JQ. But on the other hand, amongst an ocean of solo acts, LA possesses the grandiosity of a full band, punk in spirit, but without being fast, or heavy. Armed with keys and synths, timbres align more with what a toucan might listen to, as opposed to what's heard commonly throughout Melbourne's gig economy. Strings are gently plucked and horns are tenderly blown. These are the colourful brush strokes that decorate the upper frequencies. They're the ticket to a far away land; exotic, and potentially very dangerous. If the crew from Hear My Eyes are reading this, consider Lost Animals performing Give Some Get Some as the soundtrack to the next time to screen The Hangover Part 2. Yeah, the one where shit gets super fried in Thailand.

The album examines the underbelly of what a ten year journey might rub up against. As one may epect, a lot of that action is below the belt. Tracks like Do That Thing, and Infinity Repeats, showcase the bass as the propulsive vehicle. It rides alongside a drum machine, where a swinging 3/4 beat mimics sensuality and sexuality. Bobbing back up to the surface, the buoyancy of the wah guitar lets it all coalesce. So soak it up.

Rewinding, a few things have happened in the past ten years that are worth illuminating. Shags is no longer commandeering the bass full time. Though he does make an appearance on a couple tracks. The main difference from present day to yesteryear LA is Dan Luscombe (The Drones). Luscombe has jumped into the role of producer (and also part of the live band). One could say he's a producer of the Spector-ilk: playing a hands-on approach and assisting Quarrell's song crafting. He may have suggested to add a chorus or two, but the chord progressions remian distinctly Lost Animal. You'll recognize them easily by their beauty, combined with either fragility or rigidity. Luscombe is arguably the defining force that made this album happen. Perhaps he had Quarrell at gunpoint. Yet to be confirmed. Regardless, thank fuck for Luscombe because it may have been another decade.

But the album's defining feature is arguably Quarrell's lyricism. He may not cross-examine where he's been, but his voice does unmask where he is: absolved and reincarnated. The decade-long journey has resulted in him looking inwards and unlocking himself. The album's many mantras suggest that he may be a bird (I'm a Bird Now), or that he is living on another planet (Never Is Forever). Whatever and wherever he may be, Give Some Get Some invites the listener to reflect on their own journey over the past decade. Because the game's got a price. So ask yourself what have you taken, and what have you given? Life ain't a box of chocolates. It's a bowl of berries. And when fruit symbolizes temptation, get some. Give Some Get Some is out October 23rd on Anti Fade.

Dream World record release gig

Dream World is back home from their recent west coast jaunt and they just announced a record release show for their self-titled LP on Sorry State. It’s at the legendary Richmond house VSC on August 29 with support from Ultimate Disaster and Subversas. Speaking of Subversas, Dream World just released a split tape with this new Richmond anarcho-punk band and you can listen to the tracks on the Dream World and Subversas Bandcamp sites. Word is we’ll have a handful of copies for sale at Sorry State for those who can’t make the gig.

 

Sorry State Newsletter: August 5, 2026: Jug, the Carp, Cel Ray, Direct Order ’82, Neo Boys, Articles of Faith + more!

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! After last week’s abbreviated edition, we’re back in full force with a fresh round of staff picks alongside the featured releases and new arrivals. As usual, there’s a ton of great international punk and other cool music to tell you about, so let’s get to business.

Read the full newsletter here

Sorry State Newsletter: July 29, 2026: Rat Cage / Exclaim / Nekra / Bad Posture / Headcheese / Mopar Stars + more!

Rat Cage photo by @vogonlaundromat

Hello folks and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! We just have a short one for you this week as I’m supposed on vacation, but there are a bunch of new arrivals that you probably want to know about, including two new pre-orders on La Vida Es Un Mus and a big ‘ol heaping helping of the 80s punk reissues we all love. We’ll be back with all our regular newsletter features next week, but in the meantime let’s get into what I have for you this week.

Read the full newsletter here.