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What’s up Sorry Staters?

Holy shit, it’s February already? While I’ve got some news about cool stuff I’ll be up to in the Spring, seems like it’s shaping up to be a pretty mellow February and March. That’s fine. I was on another episode of Analog Attack’s What Are You Listening To? podcast the other night. If you feel so inclined, go experience some visuals with my auditory word vomit in addition to the written word.

Alright, let’s dive in:

Am I crazy? I always thought that Eternally Yours was the 3rd Saints album… Don’t know how I Mandela-effected myself with that incorrect factoid. I feel like I’ve even had discussions about how quote-unquote, “some classic punk band’s third albums are where they really hit their stride.” Like Machine Gun Etiquette being a primary example. As much as I’ve listened to I’m Stranded ad nauseum over the years, I love Eternally Yours so much. But I will say, I have a bad habit when I really love a particular album by a band, I fail to dive deeper into the band’s catalog. In the case of The Saints, I’ve neglected Prehistoric Sounds for far too long.

Now that I know the proper chronology of the band’s discography, it makes perfect sense that Prehistoric Sounds would be the natural evolution from Eternally Yours. On Eternally Yours, it’s almost like the experiment of using a horn section on the opening track “Know Your Product” was a cautious stepping stone on the journey to the bluesy/soul-influenced sound of the third album. Now digesting the sonic palette of Prehistoric Sounds more closely, I’m like damn dude, this record is SO horny. Hehe. But seriously, I think when I was younger, the shift in musical style and instrumentation might have been a barrier for me to get into this record. Listening now, I’m like, “No dude, this is fucking great.”

Granted, this is a seismic shift from the incredibly guitar-heavy riff-forward sound on The Saints’ first album. I’ll admit, the first couple songs are a slow burn for me. The opening track “Swing For Crime” opens with this slow and sweet, but melancholic swell of melody and then launches into a kinda Bo Diddley rhythm. But once the record gets to the third cut, “Every Day’s A Holiday, Every Night’s A Party,” then count me in—I’m signed, sealed, and delivered. Singer Bailey’s cool and aloof, and somewhat fed-up delivery of, “Champagne and misery, where are you? Let’s have another drink,” captures a particular mood. The songwriting on this record really is top-notch, lapsing and waning, which makes the slow numbers feel extra brooding. But in turn, the up-tempo numbers feel even more lively. In my current revisiting, tracks like “Church of Indifference” and “Everything’s Fine” are working their way into my top 5 favorite Saints tunes.

The bubblegum pop/doo-wop flavor of “Take This Heart of Mine” is the most Ramones-feeling track on the whole record. Feels like if you turned up the horn section in the mix even more, then the song could work on End of The Century. Then the song “Security” opens with this big horn section riff and groove that stands out as even more retro from the rest of the songs on the record. In fact, the song feels so upliftingly 60s-sounding, that I thought to myself that this must be a cover. I admit, I did have to go double check. And sure enough, it’s an Otis Redding song. That checks out. They also end the album with an Aretha Franklin tune as the finale. And ya know what? I think it rules.

It is funny, on a track like “The Prisoner,” I’m sitting here thinking to myself, “Damn(wink wink), what a great bass player!” Then I was like, oh yeah duh, it’s Algy Ward. For some reason, I thought Algy left The Saints after Eternally Yours to go join The Damned. Turns out I guess he left The Saints after one genre boundary-pushing album to go record another one. How ‘bout that?

Apparently, Prehistoric Sounds was a commercial flop when it came out, which caused The Saints to be dropped from their label. This makes me think, I wonder if people look back at this record in retrospect with reverence, or if it remains a divisive album even among Saints fans? My opinion on these “Music On Vinyl” pressings is usually kinda whatever, but I really think this pressing does the record justice. Compared to the previous Saints albums, I think the production on Prehistoric Sounds is so bright and clear. This might sound weird, but it’s so easy to listen to. It’s like candy for the ears. That, and the adventurous choice to commit to the expanded instrumentation, along with the nerve to lean into the soulful influences, makes for an interesting listen. And the thing is, it’s not like the supposed seismic shift in sound on this record is way out there or inaccessible. It still sounds like The Saints. Go figure. And I think it’s brilliant.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings. The Saints rule. Aaaaand, that is all. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

The Only Ones: The Peel Sessions Album (Strange Fruit Records, 1989)

This week’s piece will (hopefully) be on the shorter side as I’m running late on this week’s newsletter. Thankfully, there isn’t too much to say since I’ve already written about the Only Ones a couple times in my staff picks section, so check those two pieces for more background info on the band. I ran down my take on the band’s studio discography last summer, but I was missing one piece of the Only Ones puzzle: the Peel Sessions! I never really thought about chasing down the Only Ones’ Peel Sessions until I saw Mike talk about this album on an episode of What Are You Listening To? some months back. Mike enthused about this record and I knew I had to have it, but it took me quite a while to find a copy. I ended up having to order this one from Japan.

On the back cover of this record, Only Ones guitarist John Perry notes that, when people want to know what his old band sounds like, he always points them toward the Peel Sessions rather than the studio albums. Like so many bands, the Only Ones benefitted from the quick-and-dirty Peel Sessions approach, which forced bands to record and mix four songs in a single day-long session, albeit with the assistance of the BBC’s world-class audio engineers and equipment (though Perry’s description of the primitive 8-track mixing desk might be construed as a complaint). The Peel Sessions Album compiles tracks from four sessions the Only Ones recorded between 1977 and 1980, and while their choice to jumble up the tracks rather than present them chronologically seems curious, it actually works really well. The uniformly high fidelity makes all the recordings sound of a piece and the band’s lineup stayed the same throughout their run, so there are no jarring transitions. And by starting with a track from the 1980 session—the song “Oh Lucinda” from Baby’s Got a Gun—the record gives a quick kick in the pants to anyone who thinks the group’s later material is totally without merit. Not that every track appears here in its best version. “Another Girl, Another Planet” doesn’t have the kick of the classic single version, and “No Peace for the Wicked” misses the lushly textured production of Only Serpents Shine.

Curiously, this seems to be the only vinyl issue of the Only Ones Peel Sessions. They didn’t have one of the 80s Strange Fruit sessions LPs with the classic cover design, and other issues of their sessions have only been on CD. I actually just ordered one of these CD reissues for myself: a 2002 double disc that pads out this album’s track list considerably, adding the two Peel Sessions tracks omitted on this collection (one each from the band’s two 1978 sessions), a seven-song Radio 1 in Concert session from 1978, and two short sessions recorded for The Old Grey Whistle Test. If there’s anything there worth reporting back to you about, I’ll be sure to do so.

The Massacred: Nightmare Agitators 12” (Active-8 Records) After two scorching 7”s, Boston hardcore punk band the Massacred brings us their debut twelve-song LP. The Massacred’s two EPs are some of the strongest, most memorable punk records of the past several years, and anticipation was sky high for this record. As expected, it’s a total monster, but it took me a few listens to warm up to it. When I first sat down with Nightmare Agitators, I felt like the Massacred de-emphasized some of the strongest cards in their hand. One thing that sets the Massacred apart from legions of other hardcore bands is their speed and precision. They aren’t the fastest band in the world, but they may be the tightest, each note delivered with deadly precision and the bass, drums, and guitar locked together in a way that multiplies their impact exponentially. While that sound still forms the backbone of Nightmare Agitators, it’s fleshed out with more mid-paced material, and the different instrumentalists’ parts often complement one another subtly rather than remaining in rigid lock-step. There’s a lot of variation in tempo on this album, with three fully mid-paced songs and lots of other half-time sections within songs, even getting downright slow and sludgy on the intro to “Lie in Ambush.” The Massacred’s other big calling card on the EPs was their huge vocal hooks (“schizophrenic… in-saaaaaaanity!”), but those are also less prevalent on Nightmare Agitators. The chorus for “Lie in Ambush” stood out as great on first listen, but the vocals seem more submerged in the mix on Nightmare Agitators, and it took a few listens for the rest of the record’s choruses to lodge themselves in my brain. Those may sound like criticisms, but by de-emphasizing these more immediate aspects of their sound, the Massacred opens up opportunities to develop other strengths. The title track is a standout in this regard, a mid-paced song that builds tension through the verses, then goes through this wild chorus section that starts with a catchy lead guitar hook, builds to a climactic gang chant, then abruptly downshifts into a rolling tom part. It’s unexpected, but it’s my favorite part on the record. “Extermination” ends the album with another standout mid-paced track, the menacing march erupting in squeals of abstract noise guitar that scald your eardrums before settling into an eerie, phaser-drenched melody as the song fades out. As much as I love the blistering speed picking on “The Gash You Can’t Close” or “Detest,” they hit even harder as tactics employed within a more comprehensive assault. This kind of stripped-down punk often doesn’t survive the transition from 7” to 12” vinyl, but the Massacred stepped up to the challenge here, delivering a solid 25-minute full-length that not only avoids repeating itself, but is dense and imaginative enough to propel you through many repeated plays.

Hello Sorry Staters! New week, new pick. We have seen some cold weather here the past few weeks, and it seems to be totally out of the norm from what we usually see in North Carolina. I hope everyone is staying warm and staying positive since the orange goblin got sworn in. One thing we can all do is help lift each other up and work through this disaster as best we know how. For me it’s music and reading!

I picked up Weird Music That Goes On Forever: A Punk’s Guide To Loving Jazz a few months ago when I started on my journey of digging into all things jazz music. It’s a good starting point for someone that isn’t well versed in different players and jazz labels. The book breaks down all the greats, from Charles Mingus to Coltrane and Lee Morgan. Each part is a mini biography for each artist and breaks down some albums from each artist to start with. So check this book out if you want to expand your knowledge of Jazz! There is also some great art work sprinkled in by Raleigh’s own Brian Walsby!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. Raleigh finally broke its 1000+ day drought of no snow this past week, which was a welcome surprise. It’s always fun to watch the city shut down from an inch or two of snow and everyone buy up all the milk and bread for some reason. This week I’ve got another blues banger lined up for my pick this week, Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers. I’m pretty sure any time I’ve put this on while I’m in the store, a customer will come up and ask about what it is. All killer, no filler on this 1971 release, which launched the now legendary Alligator Records label. At the time, a 23-year-old Bruce Iglauer was a massive blues fan and wanted to put out a record by his favorite Chicago blues band, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, so he scraped all his savings together and went and recorded them and started his own label, Alligator, and pressed about 1000 copies. The rest is history. I’m forever thankful of individuals from the past that heard such great music and thought, “damn I gotta record this so everyone can hear this,” because now we’re left with this rich history that can be so exciting to explore and learn about. Anyway, the music on this record speaks for itself; if you like the blues, you’re gonna love this record. It’s just rocking the whole way through (as if the HouseRockers are gonna do anything other than rocking the house). I’m always a big fan of the slinky sound of a slide guitar and it’s in full effect on this record. I also really dig Hound Dog’s vocals on this. They’re a little bit higher than a lot of his Chicago blues contemporaries. My favorite track on here would probably be his cover of It Hurts Me Too, about as good as it gets.

Hi and thanks for reading. It’s funny I am starting off the year by writing about two tapes back-to-back cos I usually am not a fan of tapes for a number of reasons, but of course there are exceptions. If tapes were all still just $5 or less, I would probably still buy the hell out of them, but that’s not the standard anymore. There are times I write about a record that I enjoy but don’t buy a copy in the end cos I am pretty selective about records I buy these days as well. I am even more selective about cassettes, but I would not write about a tape that I haven’t bought myself as well. Anyways, if you’re someone like me who is a RAT CAGE fan and never seen them live (and probably never will), this tape is perfect. It’s not a sound board quality recording, but it certainly captures their raw intensity I always hear about from those who have seen them live.

RAT CAGE’s sound has evolved quite a bit over the years, but they’ve always had a pummeling sound. I’ve definitely heard more melodies or unexpected bits recently, but it’s always delivered with such intensity and speed. “Spitting on the ceiling” is a perfect example of some shit that came way outta left field or whatever for me, haha. That record is kinda all over the place, but fuck it rips. Some songs are so fast but played so damn tight, it’s insane. I kinda forgot that Sorry State had an exclusive color of that one. I am all for changing shit up a bit, especially when you can really pump out releases like RAT CAGE can. I feel like people already know, but it’s Bry playing everything on the recordings, and then live he sings with some mates playing the instruments. Regardless of his song-writing approach changing subtly, it’s always fucking ripping. This live cassette is a testament to that. They sound so intense it’s nuts, haha. Bry’s vocals rule, too.

A big reason why I hate tapes is cos they are too short. Typically, the program repeats on both sides as well. So much material can fit on one tape, but I also understand that demos are typically short and released exclusively on tape. The ABERRATE demo I wrote about last week, (which is now in stock!) featured their demo on side A, and a live recording on side B. I loved that. I feel like they made better use of the tape by adding an alternate B side, and I will never see them live, so I really appreciated that. Anyways, this RAT CAGE tape isn’t short by any means. It’s nearly 30 minutes total. It doesn’t seem like they cut anything out from the live set, so you can really pretend you are there, haha. Don’t worry about weird or boring gaps between songs though, these guys are like seasoned veterans; if they stop between songs, it’s not for very long. We also get Bry’s stage banter as well. I guess it’s not so much banter, as he talks mostly of politics on stage. He does say “fuck” a lot though, so it’s not weird pretentious or preachy politics, if you know what I mean, haha. I know the longer the tape, the more expensive. But they kept the price fairly low on these regardless, especially with import shipping costs etc. DIY to the core. OK, I think the sums it up for this week. Cheers and thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for your support.

No personal info for you all this week. I’m gonna dive right in:

I guess that I’m sticking with the Swedish theme from last week. Only this time around, instead of talking 90s death metal, I’m taking us back way back to Sweden’s musical output from the late 70s. Here’s the thing: I love Swedish punk. But I’m mainly familiar with 80s Swedish hardcore, and I would surely never claim to be an expert about the really early Swedish punk scene. I’ve heard about some of the early KBD-level punk bonzers like Liket Lever. Honestly though, I’m due for a proper late 70s Swedish punk education, even on the more well-known stuff! I would love to import some used Swedish punk records that cost less than $40.

I bring this up only because I’ve been jamming this Ebba Grön singles collection LP on repeat over the last several days. I just love it. This past weekend, we actually got some snow here in Raleigh. I mean, yeah it was just SOME snow, not like North Carolina could be mistaken for a proper Swedish winter or anything like that haha. But the weather gave a good excuse to stay in the house, get cozy and jam a bunch of killer records. Last summer, Scarecrow was on our Scandinavian tour with Vidro. Whenever we got the chance, Usman, Daniel and I would split off from the group to go check out record stores. My bandmates cleaned up, buying tons of great records. I was pretty jealous because my budget only allowed me to purchase a fraction of the amount of records I would have liked to take home with me. I would wager that this Ebba Grön Samlade Singlar 78/82 is not too difficult to come across secondhand in Swedish record stores. Still though, I remember Daniel being excited to find anything Ebba Grön while we were record hunting. I don’t know if it was out of feeling bad for me or my lack of scores on our trip, but Daniel was sneaky and bought 2 copies of this Ebba Grön singles compilation and just gave one to me. Now I’m obsessed with these tunes, so thanks again Daniel!!

I honestly can’t believe how late to the game I was on this band. Obviously, I’ve heard Ebba Grön over the years, but I never made a huge effort to track down original copies of their records. Now I feel like I’m fiending for everything I can get my hands on. With a debut album called We’re Only In It For The Drugs, you know I gotta have that! Haha. For any readers unfamiliar, I would equate them to like (what I would assume is) one of Sweden’s exemplary classic ’77 punk bands. Like the way you would talk about The Clash or Stiff Little Fingers in the UK, or Teenage Head in Canada. Very melodic, very rock’n’roll. Still, if you ask me, there’s something very particular about the sense of melodicism from Swedish bands unlike any other region for punk. My personal favorite track is probably “Vad Ska Du Bli?”, which is off of a single from 1979. Kinda Johnny Thunders-esque guitars, but much more up-tempo and gets more sing-songy in the vocals than it does bluesy rock’n’roll.

As the compilation continues to journey into the band’s 80s material, you hear things sounding a little more produced, a little more new wave. Some synths enter the arrangement, and there’s even some reggae vibes going on—which of course, you were just REQUIRED to do if you were a punk band from this era. But the A-side is just straight bangers in the classic punk vein. Man, I would say just about every song on this compilation is great. But listening to the aforementioned 1st album, to my ears it sounds like Ebba Grön is not just a singles band. Including the deep cut album tracks, just about every song is a ripper. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the “Born To Be Wild” cover with harmonica accompaniment, but I’ve come around. Especially once you’re a couple beers deep, it fuckin’ rips.

So, the other night during the snowstorm, I decided to post about this Ebba Grön LP on my social media. I got a bunch of people messaging me to talk about how great the band is. I also got some inside scoop from Swedish friends! Apparently, according to my buddy and Swedish educator Christoffer, the song “Beväpna Er,” which translates to “Arm Yourselves” and has lyrics about “killing the king,” which was very controversial and the song was banned in Sweden for many years. Pretty cool that the band was so confrontational, even back in the late 70s. Now listening to this record, especially a song like “Staten & Kapitalet,” I can totally hear how influential this band must have been on more contemporary Swedish punk bands like Masshysteri and the like. I mean look at the cover of The Vicious Alienated next to this singles compilation. Coincidence? I think not.

If any of you readers out there see this and have any suggestions of Swedish bands for me to check out, please get in touch! I’m sure I’m familiar with some bands you might recommend, but you never know!

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

The Zarkons: Riders in the Long Black Parade 12” (1985, Time Coast Records)

A while back I wrote a staff pick about the second album by LA’s the Alley Cats, which my friend Dave Brown of Sewercide Records and Misanthropic Minds so generously sent to me after we talked about it on an episode of What Are You Listening to? I didn’t mention it in my previous staff pick, but some time after releasing Escape from Planet Earth, the Alley Cats changed their name to the Zarkons. Eager to hear the next chapter in the Alley Cats’ story, I set out looking for a copy of the Zarkons’ first album, 1985’s Riders in the Long Black Parade, and after a few months I finally turned one up.

Riders in the Long Black Parade has been on repeat since I got it home. Not only have I been playing it a bunch, but after my wife Jet heard me play it, she’s become obsessed, too. It was too cold last week for Jet to work in her pottery studio, so she’s been doing ceramics work at the dining room table in the evenings. Several times this week I’ve been sitting on the couch in the living room, failing to get up immediately when a side of vinyl finishes. If the silence persists for more than a few minutes, Jet yells, “PUT ON THE ZARKONS ALBUM!” from the other room. I can’t help but oblige.

As much as I enjoyed Escape from Planet Earth, I think I like Riders in the Long Black Parade even better. Why? That brings up my big question about this record: why did the band change their name? The band’s lineup on Riders in the Long Black Parade is the same as the Alley Cats lineup; in fact, the photo of the band on the record’s back cover is exactly the same photo from the sleeve for their “Too Much Junk” single. The name change from the Alley Cats to the Zarkons wasn’t due a change in membership or record label, and I don’t think they really changed up their sound too much either. This sounds like an Alley Cats record. The band’s playing is still razor sharp, and they use the same dual-vocal approach with bassist Dianne Chai and guitarist Randy Stodola trading off on equally strong lead vocals. It’s the logical next step from Escape from Planet Earth in pretty much every way.

However, the Zarkons have honed their sound since their last record as the Alley Cats. One thing I really like about both iterations of the band is that their songs are growers, not showers. The melodies are subtle, but earworm-y. They’re not one of those bands whose songs you’re singing along to by the second time the chorus rolls around, but by that same token you’re not sick of them after you’ve heard them a few times. If pop music often gets described as sweet, the Zarkons / Alley Cats are savory…. hearty… nourishing. The only moment I’m not completely sold on is their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” but I think the problem is more with me than with them. I’ve never understood why so many bands cover that song; I always thought it was kind of silly. Those eastern-sounding guitar lines sure sound good here, though.

When I wrote about Escape from Planet Earth, I mentioned how that record’s artwork was monochromatic and kind of nondescript. Riders in the Long Black Parade totally swings the other way, and I find the artwork captivating. The blood-drippy letters and grim reaper would come off as cliche if the wild fluorescent color scheme didn’t pull so hard in the other direction. Tonally, the record is a little bit new wave and a little bit death rock, and the artwork tips a hat to both worlds rather elegantly.

While Riders in the Long Black Parade seems like a logical continuation of the Alley Cats’ sound, it looks like the Zarkons changed things up when they returned with a second album in 1988, adding a full-time lead vocalist named Renté. (Going down the Discogs rabbit hole for her reveals she contributed vocals to a song by the pre-Minutemen band the Reactionaries… wild!) Reviews of that second album don’t sound promising, but the Allmusic review I found that pans it also calls Riders in the Long Black Parade “pretty dreadful,” so what the fuck do they know? As usual, I’ll keep following the breadcrumb trail and report back in a few months.

Mob 47: Tills Du Dör 12" (Beach Impediment Records) By now, most of you probably know the story with Tills Du Dör, but here’s a quick recap if you don’t: Stockholm, Sweden’s Mob 47 formed in 1982, dropped a stone-cold classic 7” EP in 1984 (along with some scattered cassette-only releases and compilation appearances), popped up with another 7” in 2008 that was surprisingly strong, and in 2024 they finally released their debut full-length, Tills Du Dör, to near-universal acclaim. I’ll join that chorus… this is a scorching record. Most people take pains to point out that Tills Du Dör isn’t just better than expected, or merely good for a bunch of older guys. Maybe it’s the strange path they’ve taken as a band, but both the band and the audience seem unburdened by Mob 47’s older material… it doesn’t stalk them like an albatross in the way it can for some “legacy” bands. Tills Du Dör sounds like that 1984 EP in a lot of ways, but it sounds just as much like that band with 40 more years’ experience. Mob 47 has toed this line where their legacy informs them without smothering them. Tills Du Dör has all the things that make Mob 47 great—the blistering speed, catchy riffing, impassioned politics—but the band is also tighter and the recording is certainly clearer. Mere mortals can only aspire to such supreme levels of self-awareness and actualization. No matter who made it, I think Tills Du Dör would have been lauded as one of the best hardcore punk records of 2024, so the fact that it extends the legacy of Sweden’s most legendary punk bands is merely a bonus.

Hello Sorry Staters! Short and sweet one from me this week. I just wanted to pick a used record to highlight how many hidden gems we have in our used section, not only in the store, but online as well. If you ever need a suggestion for what genre to dig more into, you always go to Dominic at the Sorry State brick and mortar store. I have recently been exploring free and avant-garde jazz and was handed a record with 3 players on it I never heard of before.

Wally Shoup/Chris Corsano/Paul Flaherty—Bounced Check is the record he handed me and said this might be up your alley. This recorded was recorded live at gallery 1412 in Seattle, WA in 2005. I was used to listening to older players such as Cecil Taylor or Archie Shepp. So digging into a new free jazz record was new and very refreshing, opening up a world of new players to deep dive into. One of the big stand outs on this record is the drumming performance by Chris Corsano. His drumming on this record is out there, chaotic but planned in a way that tunes in just right with Shoup and Flaherty’s sax playing. I encourage anyone that is into free jazz to check out these players, and as always give me recommendations!

We are adding used records and CDs every day and I encourage you to buy something you think looks cool or sounds like something you might like. We have tons of really killer used stuff for sale, so check it out! Until next week!