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Hey there Sorry Staters, what’s up?

We’re crankin’ along here at SSR trying to get through another week of either unbearable heat or heavy thunderstorms. Today as I write it’s coming down so hard, I could have sworn I saw Noah and his Ark sail by. Honestly, I’ll take the rain when it cools things down over the triple digit temps any day. God, I must be British, always talking about the weather. Ha.

So, a quick correction and disclaimer before I go any further. Last week in the newsletter Dr. D wrote in his stellar piece on the mighty Only Ones that I had instructed him on how the Spooky Tooth album Ceremony was the only Tooth record worth F’ing with. That was true for Daniel, but not for other folk and not my opinion on the merits of other Spooky Tooth records. Their first couple of albums are fine late 60s blues rock and before they were Spooky Tooth, the guys were in a cool Mod band called The V.I.P.’s, who released a few singles, including the nugget Straight Down To The Bottom. That band transformed into Art, who released a great psych album on Island called Supernatural Fairy Tales in 1967 that as an original will set you back some change. So yeah, I dig Spooky Tooth, have nothing against them, and think they’re fine musicians and people. Just didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. LoL.

Okay, moving on. Just like buses, you can wait forever for a good collection call, but then they come three or four in a row. That has certainly been the case of late and local customers are being treated to some terrific records hitting the bins, with plenty more waiting in the wings. Several of our locals and indeed the staff are currently shopping their kidneys around. I’ll probably mention something cool that I picked up at some point, but tend not to like to brag and flex about records I’ve scored, ‘cos you know? Instead, this week I just want to make you’ll aware of a fun little reissue that we recently stocked.

Vince Guaraldi: It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown

This is the long-awaited issue of the music and cues used for the 1969 TV special created by Vince Guaraldi and his crack group of musicians. There’s a lot to like here if you are a Peanuts fan as I am and if you love the music that went along with the Charlie Brown specials. You’ll recognize the big tunes such as Linus and Lucy, but you’ll also notice the different arrangements and musicianship going on with these takes. The most obvious is the use of flute on the recordings, which is makes them sound even jazzier. Growing up in the 70s both my sister and I loved Peanuts. We had Snoopy dolls, figures, all the comic book collections, and like everyone else watched the TV specials each year. The Christmas and Halloween ones get shown often, but the summer special sometimes gets overlooked. I have a few of the soundtrack records in my collection and at Christmas time here at the store, we almost can’t have enough copies of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I didn’t have this one though, as I believe it is the first time the music has been officially released. There was an RSD pressing earlier in the year, but now a more widely available version on blue vinyl is out there. Although there are thirty-two tracks on the album, it plays at 45 RPM and doesn’t outstay its welcome. The package includes a four-sided insert full of great information about the music and the special and there are plenty of cool images from the show. Well worth it for fans. I just picked my copy up so haven’t read them all yet. Instead of repeating them here parrot fashion, I’ll let you guys read them for yourselves.

Okay, short and sweet this week, but hopefully somewhat appropriate for the time of year. Have a great summer for those north of the equator and we’ll see you around here next time. Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Another week, another barrage of bleak and depressing news in this fucked world. Some good moments too, of course. “I Shot The Devil” by Suicidal Tendencies has sounded pretty good lately *winkwink. I wonder… what’s the campaign budget for squibs? Who cares.

Hey! I’m booking a show here in Raleigh on August 12th. ARGH is coming all the way from Chilé, and also No Knock from NYC, which I believe has couple of the same members as Fairytale. The show’s at RUMAH. Hoping at least some of you newsletter readers are local, and I can spread the word through this channel. Come to the gig!

Public Acid heads to play with Integrity in New York on July 27th, but the same day NFTW recording artists Bato are playing in Raleigh as well. Don’t miss that. Then Scarecrow plays Skull Fest. Then Public Acid plays Unlawful Assembly. AAAAHHH.

Sorry to start off so negative. Maybe it’s because I’m also listening to this new Subdued record on repeat ad nauseum. But trust me, I have nothing negative to say about this new record. The other night, I was once again a guest on the Analog Attack show What Are You Listening To? The host Mike beat me to the punch talking about the new Subdued on the podcast. So now’s my opportunity to further express my thoughts.

Obviously, I was also way into Subdued’s previous 12” Over The Hills and Far Away. I’ve even been lucky enough to catch them play live a couple times: once on stage in Copenhagen, and the other time was outside, under a bridge in Richmond. But I gotta say, when I first threw this new record Abattoir onto the turntable, it really blew me away. I was like holy fuck, this is a great record. For me, easily their best yet. Whereas I feel like the anger represented in current hardcore can either feel like performative posturing, or if earnest, perhaps a bit corny?... Subdued just feels DEAD serious. Almost in a way that I can’t explain. The vocalist Jack feels less like he’s yelling, and more like he’s pontificating from a pulpit, delivering observations of vile realities in a manner both poetic, and simultaneously like a frenzied stream of consciousness. When the record gets into the third track “Vulturemen,” the lyric delivered so bluntly as “Living in a world with evil bastards who are always wanting more.”—A simple enough sentiment, but spat out with such a palpable feeling of disgust that you believe every word. Even just hearing the repeated refrain of “Nothing good can survive. It dies. It dies.” I just sat there listening, staring at my turntable going, “FUCK.”

Clearly, the band’s influences are rooted in UK anarcho punk. I’ve heard people compare Subdued to Icons of Filth or Exit Stance, which I hear, I suppose. But musically, I feel like I hear the band merge a lot of disparate musical ideas. Slow, dirgey mid-paced riffs with tribal rhythms. Melodic, yet eerie and spider-weaving arpeggiated guitar work. And then brutalist explosions of speed and intensity. The heavy slow parts aren’t too metal. The melodic parts aren’t too cheesy. And the fast parts aren’t too reminiscent of all other “raw or d-beat or whatever.” I love the intro to the track “Children of God” that opens with this lone, trudging bass and when the guitars enter, they play this unexpected “lick” I’d guess you’d call it? It’s so killer. And all these theoretically opposing musical sections don’t clash or feel unfocused. They are blended smoothly and seamlessly, like a natural extension of the band’s unique vision. This record isn’t just a mirroring of the English anarcho punk sounds of yesteryear. It’s like a bleak reflection in its own right—like a cold, psychedelic nightmare.

Most of Subdued is based out of London. But now Cody, who plays in Nosferatu and I’m sure many other bands, has joined on 2nd guitar. Nicky Rat makes the commute to play in Nosferatu, and now Cody makes the commute to play in Subdued. Why not, right? Interesting punk world we live in these days. But I think the recording of this record was split between London, but was mostly recorded at D4MT Labs where the likes of Tower 7 and Straw Man Army do their recordings. The sonic signature of D4MT recordings really suits Subdued, I’d say. 8 songs is the perfect length as well. 12” EP, best format. The peaks and valleys you journey through over the course of Abattoir feel like the perfect amount of sickness for one to stomach. All ending with the grand finale: a pulsing monotonous build into nothing, with the echo of “WE DESERVE ANARCHY NOW.” We do, don’t we?

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Another showstopper from La Vida Es Un Mus. Who woulda thought? You need to hear this new Subdued. It’s really great.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Various: Pohjalla 12” (Love Records, 1978)

My staff pick this week is a record I picked up while Scarecrow was on tour in Finland. It’s always great to find records in their country of origin, and this was part of a big haul I picked up at a small record fair our friends Markku and Kerttu took us to while we were in Turku. I knew basically nothing about Pohjalla (which I believe translates to something like “from the bottom”) before I picked it up, only that it was a compilation of 70s Finnish punk, but when I got home and listened to the stack I bought on tour, I had a hard time taking this off the turntable to make way for the next record.

Pohjalla came out in 1978 on Love Records, perhaps the most important Finnish record label of the 1970s, releasing much of the country’s best rock and prog from that decade. While Love Records released several important early Finnish punk records, they went bankrupt in 1979 just as the scene was taking off. After Love Records’ dissolution, founder Atte Blom started the better-known (among punks at least) label Johanna, which absorbed Love Records’ roster and went on to release a slew of classic records until Johanna, in turn, went bankrupt in 1984.

I haven’t been able to find much information about Pohjalla, but I know it was meant to be a sampler of some of the best new Finnish punk bands of the time, and that all the bands involved recorded tracks especially for the compilation. While I’m not sure since all the credits are in Finnish, it sounds like the bands recorded at the same studio, giving the LP a very uniform sound. Compilations can be spotty, but this one is consistent, with the only real outlier being Se’s track “Peilit,” and even that is a welcome change of pace, coming three quarters of the way through the record.

Pohjalla starts with a track from a group called 1978 with the track “Elektroninen Xtaasi.” Given this is the only track 1978 released and the songwriting credits feature many of the same names as the other tracks on the record, I’m guessing this was a pickup group that formed in the studio to record this song. I also wonder if it was always planned to be included, since the song isn’t listed on the back of the jacket, only on the record’s center label. That really threw me for a loop… it’s hard enough keeping track of what song you’re listening to on a compilation record in a very unfamiliar language without curveballs like that coming at you.

While the other four bands on Pohjalla contribute multiple tracks, the songs are all mixed together. I can’t think of many other compilations that do that, but it works here since the bands and the recordings are so similar. The sequencing works really well, and honestly it sounds more like a cohesive album than a lot of records by single artists.

Now for the bands. Problems? contribute four tracks of intense, rootsy punk. While their songs are upbeat and energetic, there’s an old rock and roll / rockabilly feel to the guitar and bass paying that makes me think of the Rezillos or the Lurkers. I particularly like the big chorus on “Roitsikka Oot.” Sehr Schnell also contributes four tracks and has sound that’s similarly influenced by 70s UK punk and old rock and roll, with highlights being the wild fuzz guitar solo on the album-closing track “Värinää” and the staccato groove on “Juho Vanha Natsi.” Next up is Pelle Miljoona & N.U.S., who also contribute four tracks and share the 77 UK and roots rock influences of their comp-mates, though their rougher guitar sound and loose and wild vocal approach help their contributions stand out. Speaking of standing out, Se is the odd band out with only two contributions. It seems like they’re more of an eclectic new wave band than straightforward punk, but I love the tense, post-punk-ish intro to their track “Ei Asfaltti Liiku” and the wild prog/psych break that comes in the middle of the otherwise Elton John-ish “Peilit.”

So yeah, that’s Pohjalla. I’m sure my band-by-band run-through was too boring to read, but your takeaway should be that this is an excellent 70s punk comp that scores particularly high in the consistency and replay-ability departments. And better yet, all the bands (except 1978) have other records to explore. Actually, Puke N Vomit just released a compilation from Problems? that we have in stock, so if this tickles your fancy, that might be a great way to dive to the next level.

The Massacred: Death March 7” (Active-8 Records) Death March is the second EP from this Boston band, and holy fuck is it a powerful hardcore onslaught. While the Massacred’s sound and presentation are steeped in early 80s international punk, those influences feel digested and synthesized here, cooked down to a dense and ultra-potent concentrate. Jeff always mentions Headcleaners when the Massacred comes up, and I definitely hear that on Death March, particularly in the guitar playing, the way the riffs bounce around while the guitarist’s right hand barely ever deviates from this inhuman buzzsaw rhythm, the relentless pick attack captured perfectly in this raw but nuanced recording. While the riffs move around a lot, there’s straightforward pop songwriting at the core of these songs, which often build to harmonically satisfying crescendos that make me feel almost weightless. While the Massacred has made sure the bones of these songs are strong, they keep the focus on ferocity in the performance, with the bludgeoning rhythm section and caustic vocals coming from the Shitlickers school of all-out intensity. Like the music, the lyrics are grounded in convention (Discharge-style meditations on war and human savagery), but find room for subtle innovations that make them come alive, whether that’s an arresting image (“Hang them up on chains / rectal fed and bludgeoned / shine your boots sloshed in rotting green puke”) or an interesting metaphor (“Septic Appendix” casts political and military leaders as diseased organs infecting everything around them). Every second of music here, every square millimeter of artwork and packaging, feels considered and optimized for maximum intensity and impact. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a good pummeling.

Hello fellow Sorry Staters! Another week, another pick! We have loads of new releases that came out this past week and even more in the weeks to come! For the month of July, I am going to do something a bit different with this platform. I am going to go through one of my favorite genres, shoegaze/dreampop, and just chat about a few of my favorite albums in the genre. I fell in love with shoegaze through a lot of newer bands such as Whirr, They Are Gutting a Body of Water and Full Body 2.

The first album I’m going to talk about this month is Drop Nineteen’s Delaware. Released in 1992, it captures the essence of the genre with its swirling and reverberated guitars, dreamy vocals, and layered soundscapes by using a myriad of effects pedals. The band went through a lineup change after this album, but couldn’t get it quite right after they released this juggernaut of a record. A little fact about the cover art of this record, the image of a girl holding a gun was replaced by a flower on the 2024 reissues of the album due to the amount of gun violence in the United States. The band donated a portion of the sales to the Artist for Action charity.

This record is often praised for its production, which balances the raw energy and attitude of alternative rock that was done so well in the 90s, with the textured layers typical of shoegaze. The album remains cohesive throughout while exploring different sonic landscapes, from the more upbeat sounds in the song Angel to the more melancholic song like Kick the Tragedy.

This album is a must have for anyone exploring the genre and looking for an album reminiscent of 90s alternative rock and shoegaze as a newer exploratory sound at that time.

Hi Sorry State fam! Hope everyone is doing well and had a great weekend! I had a blast finally getting out of the house to see some good old local hardcore on Saturday night. Scarecrow played with a couple of bands I had never seen before called Hell is Here and Cyprian. Both were more of the metal persuasion. Always fun to see something new. And Scarecrow kicked ass of course. Their chemistry is unmatched, and they keep just getting better. I think the show officially pulled me out of my social funk and I’m ready to do it again!

So I’ve been revisiting parts of my record collection that have been gathering some dust. You know, those albums that you throw on and remember how great they are, and wonder why the hell you haven’t listened to them in so long. I have a lot of those. And one of them is Elastica’s self-titled debut. I remember how stoked I was to find this record locally. Nothing beats the feeling of coming across a record that you don’t expect to see, haven’t thought about in a long time, and need to buy right then and there. And even better when it’s a really great looking first pressing with the limited edition catalogue (i.e. the Elasticatalogue). Such a great extra. It introduces you to the band, gives some background, shows some merch, and dedicates a page or two to each band member. Flipping through it for the first time in a long time reminded me how much I loved Justine. Who didn’t love Justine? I love booklets like this because it’s so much fun reading about a band while listening to their record. The ultimate record nerd experience.

This album was released in 1995 and is the only album to feature the original line-up, and guitarist Donna Matthews! Elastica sort of exploded with the 90s Britpop scene with the song Connection, but I always thought they were so much cooler than the rest. Effortlessly cooler. Perhaps because they had cooler musical influences like Wire, who they would coincidentally rip a guitar riff or two from. Oopsie. But I mean, if you’re gonna rip a riff, let it be Wire’s riff. I still think the record is ridiculously underrated and under-talked about in the grand scheme of things. At the time, their sound was like a combination of old new wave and the new new wave. Elastica sounded refreshingly different, putting their own attitude in the music,. The record rocks and is consistently melodic the whole way through. One of those no skips kind of records.

This record takes you on a really fun and fast ride and then sort of throws you out of the car while it’s still moving. Leaving you wanting more. The ultimate measure of a great record. The kind of record that you need to play two or three times in a row to get your fill. Like I said, every track is a banger, but my favorites are Smile, Connection, Car Song, Stutter, and Vaseline. So go grab one of those amazing records in your collection that you haven’t played in a few years, and have one of those “why don’t I play this more?” moments.

Well, I’m gonna call it here. Thanks so much for reading! Have a great week! Until next time!

-Angela

Hi and thanks for reading.

Today I will write briefly about the NEGAZIONE / DECLINO split, Mucchio Selvaggio. I don’t know a ton about Italian hardcore, but this record is absolutely essential if you ask me. It seems like 80s Italian hardcore was blessed when it came to releasing killer split records, more than any other country I can think of. I am really happy there is finally an official reissue of this iconic LP, or cassette more like. Mucchio Selvaggio was originally released on cassette in 1984 as a co-production between two labels: Disforia Tapes and Ossa Rotte Tapes. Disforia was operated by members of NEGAZIONE. Ossa Rotte Tapes was a label operated by Stiv Valli and Marco Medici, who was the vocalist of CRASH BOX. These guys were well known for a fanzine they started in the early ‘80s called Teste Vuote Ossa Rotte. A few years after they stared the zine, they also started releasing cassettes under Ossa Rotte Tapes. They only had a handful of releases with this label, including the CRASH BOX demo in 1983. The label kept evolving, and in 1985 they released their first record, INDIGESTI: Osservati Dall’Inganno, under the name TVOR On Vinyl. Mucchio Selvaggio surprisingly had three different printings on cassette, and in 1986 it was finally reissued onto vinyl by UK label C.O.R. Records. I actually always thought there were only two different versions of this tape, but inside this reissue there is a copy of an advert stating “third reprint.” Crazy.

This was the record that really put DECLINO on the map for me, cos I really had no idea who they were before I heard this split. I used to think this was my favorite DECLINO shit, but I don’t think I could choose now. Their 7" debut almost sounds almost like a different band. They play a bit slower and they sound a lot less chaotic. While it was not initially what I expected, the EP quickly grew on me. Call me crazy but I think it sounds like this record could have been released on Dischord, haha. The evolution from this record to Mucchio Selvaggio is pretty wild. Their sound on that record is really how I think of them, but the evolution continues on to their LP in 1985, Eresia. The quality of recording on this record is probably the best of all their records. I am disregarding the sound of the live tracks at the end, even though those tracks don’t sound bad at all for being live. I usually associate Italian hardcore with being fast and chaotic, but on the sloppier side. This record is absolutely fast and chaotic, but played so tight. It is absolutely killer. They can build such a great tension and then fucking explode. God, and the guitar is way too good. This used to be the material I listened to the least, but if you can’t tell, I have been playing the hell out of it lately, haha.

So, this reissue was done by a new Italian label called Rocka Tapes. I have no idea anything about them really, but this is their second release. The first release was a reissue of the CRASH BOX demo! I had never heard this demo, but it was a must if you ask me. I really appreciate how the label did a cassette version of the demo alongside a proper LP version. They’ve done the same thing with Mucchio Selvaggio. For any nerds who need the original cassette format, we’ve got you covered. I am one of those nerds and needed both versions. They’ve included nice scans of the complete j-card inside the LP reissue, so you don’t really need the cassette if that’s what you’re really looking for. The sound on the LP is also great. While the packaging may not be the coolest in my eyes, I think the reissue is really well done, and it’s essential in every collection. The original LP version is getting harder to find and more expensive, so I am happy this is available again. Alright that’s about it for today. I hope Rocka Tapes plans to hit us with some more essential Italian hardcore reissues! Cheers and thanks for reading everyone.

Hey what’s up, Sorry Staters? I hope you are all doing well. I know it’s a crazy world out there right now. Elections, sporting tournaments, you name it. Plenty to keep us busy and distracted by. This weekend is also a holiday here in the US; we are celebrating our possible last Independence day. At the same time, we’re experiencing brutal heat waves with the triple digit readings returning. Please people, do not leave your vinyl, kids and dogs in the car.

We recently bought a big collection from an industry guy who, between the late 1970s and early 1980s, must have acquired every promo copy of a new release going. He had all sorts of special promo only 12”s, 10”s and white label pressings. We’ve been pricing them up and selling them over the past couple of weeks. After we had made a couple of passes, I went through again looking for good bargain bin titles and for anything that we might have missed. Among the many decent records I found and brought to the store were a bunch of cool compilations. They were mostly label sampler promo type things and contemporary to the period i.e., late 70s/early 80s. I liked the Urgh! Soundtrack compilation, which had almost all of the artists who appeared in the film. The film itself consisted of just live footage shot at various venues and locations around the world in 1980. There was no narration or talking heads, just the live footage. As for the acts themselves? There isn’t a bad one on there, really. For me, the weakest selection was the very first cut by The Police (which isn’t so bad), but after that you get a ton of great live versions of good songs by good groups. I don’t think it will cost you a lot to buy. This collection had three copies, and I sold two as I was playing it in the store. The third I kept for myself. LoL.

From the same collection was another cool compilation that Columbia records put out in 1982 called Psychedelic Dream. It featured a mix of songs from bigger name bands that Columbia and Epic Records had released in the late 1960s, but also included lesser-known names and songs from records that didn’t sell so well and were, by the 1980s and beyond, quite rare and expensive. So in amongst the stuff from The Byrds, The Great Society, Spirit and The Hollies, you get some cool cuts from the likes of Kak, United States Of America, July, and The Head Shop. Those last four wouldn’t see their records being reissued until years later. So, if you were a punter back in 1982 and took this one home, it probably set you on a quest to track down these more obscure releases. The July album is one of my favorite U.K. 60s psych albums and so to get a couple of cuts from it on this comp was cool. The album jacket sports a third eye graphic with neon colors and cryptic lettering which might mean something and comes with a brief essay of nonsense which ends with, “The secret message lies written in chalk as the rain comes down on the other sidewalk.” Alright. Cool. There’s a track listing and production credits, but no more information. I’m not sure how well this sold and you don’t see it talked about as a cool must have in the same ways that folks talk about Nuggets, for instance, but even if it only draws from a couple of major labels, the track selection is decent and it’s a good listen. Jeff and I gave it a rinse in the store and enjoyed the play back.

Staying with the late 1960s and psychedelic music comes a great reissue of an obscurity from 1969. It’s Twentieth Century Zoo and their album titled Thunder On A Clear Day that originally came out on the Vault label out of L.A. The band themselves were from Phoenix, Arizona and were originally called The Bittersweets, but changed their name on arriving in L.A. to record and being informed that there was already a group on the east coast who had the same name. Apparently, the new name came from a remark made by a girl tripping on acid at one of their shows. The group had put out their first couple of 45s on the local Caz label. These two singles and a couple more that Vault released and then the album in 1969 are the band’s entire output. The album is a nice mix of heavy bluesy psych in a similar vein to Blue Cheer, The Savage Resurrection, The Litter’s Emerge album and of course Led Zeppelin, who were ruling the underground rock circles at the time with their first two albums. The songs that have a more garage-psych sound are the ones that interest me most. Years ago, Sundazed Records put out a 45 that compiled the two A sides from their first two singles, You Don’t Remember and Love In Your Face, plus the B-side of the second, a cover of Tossin’ And Turnin’. It’s been a fave in my collection since buying it. Those two A-sides get included on the album, but I believe they were rerecorded or edited. They sound close, but from what I have read were recorded at different studios. Certainly, the earlier versions didn’t have the sound effects that the album version has. This current reissue adds the B-sides from the two Vault singles whose A-sides are already included on the album, but either due to space, taste or publishing rights does not include the Caz label single B-sides, of which the cover of Tossin’ And Turnin’ is one of them. It’s a shame because the song has some wicked fuzz leads and solos. Otherwise, though, you get the bulk of their best material.

An original of this record has always been tough to see, let alone afford, and for that reason there have been several bootleg pressings put out over the years and a legit CD version, again from Sundazed Records, which has a bunch of unreleased tracks that might have ended up on a second TCZ album had they had opportunity to release one. Although their record was critically well received, and they did tour and play good size venues with the likes of the MC5, their career was cut short when lead guitarist Paul “Skip” Ladd was drafted. The band attempted to find a replacement, but those attempts failed and after a final single release the group officially disbanded in 1970. There’s a good interview with Skip that you can read here.

Take a listen to the tunes here, which includes those singles and B-sides, and snag a copy from us if you dig it. I know I will be.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Hope everyone reading this stateside had a good time on America’s bullshit holiday. July 4th, aka National Hot Dog Day… Hey, don’t get me wrong. I love a good veggie wiener with mustard. I was supposed to drive up to Richmond and play an outdoor gig with Public Acid, but my fuckin’ tire exploded while I was driving 70 mph on the highway. It was fucking scary. All I had for a spare tire was one of those shitty donut tires, so I couldn’t make the rest of the trip. I saw clips of the gig online, and it looked like a blast. Explosions going off in the background while my dawgs in PubAss ripped a 4-piece set without me. Wamp wamp. I was bummed. I’ve got the shit-eatin’ blues, I guess you could say.

So yeah, if that last little ‘wink-wink’ of a sentence wasn’t good enough to clue you in, I’m talking about The Cheifs for my staff pick. One of the unsung great bands of the early Hollywood punk scene. The other day at work, I was blasting The Cheifs as Daniel was walking into our warehouse. He said something along the lines of, “Good call, stoked to hear The Cheifs today.” For me, the HCPMF appeal of the band is universal, and yet, it seems I rarely hear people talk about The Cheifs (except for a bunch of my punk friends in LA haha).

I remember my first exposure to The Cheifs was on the Who Cares compilation LP. This comp features great tracks by bands like AKA, Suspects, and Civil Disobedience—all of which are bands whose only recorded output was on this comp. I was familiar with Shattered Faith prior to my first exposure to this compilation, but the main reason I discovered the record many years ago was because of Political Crap. Now, for those that don’t know, Political Crap was one of Duane Peters’ first bands. Love him or hate him, I was super into everything revolving around Duane Peters when I was a teenager. Come on dude, he’s the master of disaster! I listened to everything from US Bombs, Die Hunns, you name it. Okay sure, so now those bands don’t hold up for me much these days, but I was just devouring everything I could find when I was a kid. Of course, I was also way into Duane because of his skating. I first saw him in the Black Label video Blackout from 2003, and even back then I was like, “Who is this gnarly OLD dude shredding pools?” Then to discover later on that he had a punk band from 1980 that sounded like an unhinged, youthful version of Black Flag? I was sold. Say what you want, “Slow Death” is an all-time banger.

Anyway, The Cheifs also have 3 songs on the Who Cares compilation, all of which I loved when I first heard them. I came to find out later that The Cheifs’ self-titled 7” single, released on Playgems Records in 1980, is the stuff of legend. Funny enough, Darby Crash is credited as a “creative consultant” on the record? Interesting. And amongst record nerds and KBD heads, this 7” has become quite the coveted collectors’ item. I’d love to have a copy one day. The A-Side track “Blues” is such a killer song. A song that feels like it should be a “hit” in the punk lexicon. Granted, it’s a rough recording and much more obscure than bands that appeared in Decline of Western Civilization, for example. But I mean shit, all of the band’s songs are killer. I just think The Cheifs were great songwriters. Aggressive attitude and style of playing, but still that hooky, sing-along tunefulness we love in our early LA punk, vocal harmonies and all. I would imagine they were super influential on the Orange County sound that would emerge a year or 2 later.

A 13-song compilation LP entitled Holly-West Crisis compiles all The Cheifs’ recorded material. This LP was first released by Flipside in the 90s, and included the band’s legendary 7” single, as well as the songs from both of their compilation appearances. But most importantly, the first 6 songs on the compilation are a recording session from 1982 that were previously UNRELEASED. So crazy, because a bunch of these songs are just as good as the songs on their early 80s vinyl releases. The title track “Holly-West Crisis” is like a long-lost gem and a perfect opener for the whole record. Really, the 13 songs on this compilation function like a perfect full-length LP for The Cheifs… even though the separate recording sessions do sound pretty different from one another. It’s awesome though, because you get all the ragers in one half-hour dose. Since the early 2000s, Dr. Strange Records seems like they have ALWAYS kept Holly-West Crisis in print. And gawd bless ‘em for it, I say! Overlooked yet not difficult to find? I don’t get it. I guess the cover art has gone through several iterations over the years, but the record is available for $20 or less at any given moment. That’s a beautiful thang. The album cover pictured in the thought bubble in my photo above is the artwork from the latest version pressed in 2022, which Sorry State is currently stocking. Not my favorite graphic design in the world, but I much prefer it to the purple artwork on the copy I used to have many years ago.

Yeah dude, you gotta blast some Cheifs this summer. “Knocked Out” or “Eddie’s Revenge” is gonna sound really good out of your car stereo while you’re cruising to the lake, rockin’ those sunglasses with the top down.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

This week I have a hot tip for you: the first-ever vinyl reissue of the Only Ones’ second album, Even Serpents Shine, is in stock now. I’m a big fan of this album, and since it’s the first time it’s been available on vinyl since its original release, I thought I’d tell you about my connection to it.

The Only Ones are most famous as the band behind the all-time classic track “Another Girl, Another Planet.” As far as I can remember, I first heard “Another Girl, Another Planet” on this Rhino CD box set called No Thanks that was formative in the growth of my love for 70s punk. The box set is packed with hits, but I always particularly loved the latter two discs, which offer a hit-parade overview of the early punk diaspora, with massive pop tunes like the Real Kids’ “Ghosts of Princes in Towers,” the Members’ “Sound of the Suburbs,” and “Another Girl, Another Planet.” Even among such a strong track list, the Only Ones’ contribution stood out, as I’m sure the song does to so many people whenever and however they hear it. It’s just an all-time classic tune.

At some point I picked up Special View, the bowdlerized American version of the Only Ones’ first album, to see if the Only Ones were one-hit wonders. Special View was a US-only release that combined tracks from the first two Only Ones albums with a few non-album cuts for the US market. It’s in that tradition of US versions of 60s UK albums where record companies took the UK version, swapped out a bunch of the album tracks, and replaced them with singles, b-sides, and other bits and bobs. This practice had mostly gone out of favor by the early 80s (it was doomed once people began thinking of albums as coherent artistic statements), but it notoriously happened to the first Clash album. Truthfully, I don’t remember much about my initial impressions of Special View... it certainly didn’t turn me into an Only Ones fanatic, and I’ve barely touched the record to this day, though I still have it.

The next step on my Only Ones journey was the single for “You’ve Got to Pay.” Thankfully my copy still has the price tag, which jogs my memory as to where and when I got it. I was visiting my brother in St. Louis for a few days, and at some point I went out on my own to the local record shops. When I stopped at Euclid Records, they had this massive file cabinet for 7"s... it was kind of awkward and a pain to go through, but once I started flipping, I found all these relatively cheap punk-era UK singles you never see in the US. They were cheap enough that I made a few blind buys, of which I remember the Mutants’ “Boss Man” (a great, amped-up pub rock single) was the best. When I got home and listened to the stack I bought, “You’ve Got to Pay” was an immediate standout. Part of that is the loud-ass mastering job on the single. I’m not sure if they were trying to make the song stand out on radio or what, but the version of “You’ve Got to Pay” on the single sounds monstrous, its simple guitar hook stabbing you in the gut like a rusty shiv. As a song, “You’ve Got to Pay” is built on the same skeleton as “Another Girl, Another Planet,” i.e. big guitar hook at the beginning, massive chorus, and lyrics that are ostensibly about love but work just as well if the object of that love is drugs rather than a person.

Once “You’ve Got to Pay” hit me so hard, I knew I had to get Even Serpents Shine, the album it originally appeared on. It took some patience to find a copy here in the US since it was never pressed here and has never been repressed at all since it’s original release, but once I got my hands on it, it cracked open my brain and dominated my listening for months. Like “You’ve Got to Pay,” Even Serpents Shine has a great sound. It sounds like a major label production from the late 70s, crisp and clear in the manner of so much classic rock, and while the fact that it’s not crowded with overdubs makes it sound elegantly minimal, there are flashes of lushness when production touches like backing vocals and guitar overdubs come in. The songs are great too, like “Out There in the Night,” an upbeat pop tune that coulda been a hit. The b-side opener “Curtains for You” is one of the band’s best moments too, a slow-burner that has all the high drama of London Calling, but with a mature, world-weary sophistication. Honestly, though, I could write about every track. This album just rules.

A quick aside on our Only Ones journey. Ever notice the one guy in the band who looks visibly older than the rest of them? (I feel for him. When Scarecrow is traveling, I often get asked if I’m with the rock stars.) Turns out the Only Ones drummer is an old-timer who previously played in the band Spooky Tooth. This would hardly be worth mentioning, but one day Dominic handed me a Spooky Tooth album and told me to check it out. It’s called Ceremony and ostensibly it’s a collaboration between Spooky Tooth and the French avant-garde composer Pierre Henry. However, what actually happened was that Pierre Henry was handed a master tape of six Spooky Tooth tracks (which were written as a set to be a “rock mass”), and without ever meeting the band or discussing it with them, added his own strange musique concrete sounds and completely remade the album in his own image. Spooky Tooth was none too pleased, but the result is a delightfully weird classic rock / modern classical hybrid that fans of groups like Univers Zero will dig. Dominic assures me that no other Spooky Tooth records are worth my time.

Back to the Only Ones. Eventually, and again after much searching since it never came out in the US, I found a copy of the original UK version of the Only Ones’ debut. I was hoping the original UK version would hit me just as hard as Even Serpents Shine, but thus far it hasn’t. I can’t figure out why, as so many of the things I love about the second record are present on the debut. Peter Perrett’s lyrics are great, the lead guitar lines are hooky as hell... but aside from “Another Girl, Another Planet,” much of the record skulks along at these sludgy tempos that keep the energy level low. I could see these songs really connecting if I were in the right mood (maybe if I was on heroin?), but I’ve yet to have that moment when I really and truly fall in love with the first album. MOV has also reissued the debut alongside Even Serpents Shine, though, so pick up your own copy and decide for yourself.

And while I’m mentioning other releases that came in at the same time as Even Serpents Shine, MOV has also reissued the third Saints album, Prehistoric Sounds, which (like the Only Ones records) never got a domestic US pressing and hasn’t been pressed at all since 1987. This is another record I had to search high and low to find a nice original copy of, and like Even Serpents Shine, it was well worth the wait. Maybe it’s more “mature” than Eternally Yours, but I think it’s nearly as good, and many people out there prefer it to the first two Saints albums. So scoop that too if you need it.

By the way, this trip through the Only Ones discography (with a few other stops along the way) reminds me of my patented multi-record picks, as seen on the YouTube series What Are You Listening To?. Jeff and I, along with our buddy Dave Brown from Sewercide Records and host Mike Foster, will share some of our recent listens on WAYLT? this Friday evening, July 12, at 10PM Eastern US time. It’s way more fun to watch live and post in the comments while it’s livestreaming, so join us at this link if you can!