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The Dark: Sinking Into Madness 12" (Toxic State Records) Jeff did a great write-up on Sinking into Madness for his staff pick last week and you should consult that for a more in-depth history lesson and analysis on the Dark’s debut LP, but I still wanted to throw in my two cents on how exceptional this is. Featuring members of recent favorites Tozcos and Personal Damage (among many others), the pedigree here is strong, and it does not disappoint. As Jeff noted, the riffs are in the Randy Uchida school (I even hear a bit of Motley Crue sleaze on “Heartless”), but the record’s pace and tempos remind me of G-Zet’s restrained gallop. Rather than the guttural vocals you might expect from a band in that style, though, the vocals here sound like 80s LA death rock, using screams, shouts, and even some slightly Dracula-sounding croons. It’s a unique combination, and if you like the intense but dark vibes of False Confession, 45 Grave, or mid-period Execute (Jeff’s Blunt Sleazy comparison was dead-on), the Dark might hit you similarly. Sinking into Madness was a bit of a grower for me… the record is so restrained and the sound is so unique that it took me a minute to adjust, but once it hit, it hit hard. And it goes without saying that the Toxic State packaging is on point as always. Sinking Into Madness is one of the most singular and interesting punk LPs in recent memory.

Hello Fellow Sorry Staters! Here we are after a brief break while some of the Sorry State crew were on tour. We are in the middle of summer here in North Carolina and boy is it HOT. I think this coming weekend we are supposed to have record-breaking high temperatures in the 100s. Phew! I mentioned in my previous pick a week or so ago that I was very excited about what Convulse records was doing. They are definitely on the forefront of releasing some really good music this past year. Which brings me to one release I am super excited about, Pardoner’s Paranoid in Hell 7”.

This album is all over the place in the best way possible. The tempo and style changes from track to track or hell even from verse to chorus. It’s what makes this record so damn fun and interesting to listen to. This record was recorded in one session in one day. I would not have guessed it on my first few listens. They have done a great job on the production of this record from beginning to end. Paranoid in Hell also has great art from Trey Flanigan (guitar/vocals), who also did some art for Gel and Gatecreeper. A couple of my favorite tracks that really jumped out to me are Distant Star and Instrument of Peace. Both tracks have this almost trickery behind them. They start as one style/tempo but end in something that you were not expecting, from fast and fuzzy punk to poppy super catchy chorus with great memorable lyrics to go with it. On your second listen to this record you would have already memorized the lyrics and the catchy choruses that go along with them.

This band is a fresh face in the alt rock scene that seems to have most bands just fade away. You can hear the influences on this record, from the Dils and Pavement to newer bands like Bugg and Big Bite. I cannot recommend this record enough, easily becoming one of my favorite EPs so far this year.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. I’m sure all the Scarecrow members’ write ups will be a lot more interesting and entertaining than mine from their European excursions, as me and Dom held down the fort back in Raleigh. Not much was happening in Raleigh other than it was hot as hell, but a couple weeks back I got to go to a pretty cool show at the Pour House downtown. I hadn’t heard anything about it till the day of the show, but it was a band from Saint Petersburg, Russia called Messer Chups and they play surf rock with a sort of horror theme going on, like the soundtrack for a weird 60s midnight movie. I had never heard of them, but it sounded like a pretty interesting show and what else was I gonna do on a Tuesday night? I ended up going with a friend of mine and it was a fun show. We both agreed it would make great spy/detective music, maybe cause they played the Pink Panther theme. After the show, I went over to the merch booth to pick up their latest record to support a touring band. The name of the album is Dark Side of Paradise and it came on a cool white and blue swirl vinyl. It’s a pretty fun listen. If surfy songs about Dracula and witches and black leather sound appealing to you, then this will be right up your alley. My favorite track on here is probably the cover of Nights in White Satin, which was pretty cool.

Hi Sorry State fam! Long time no talk! As you probably know, half our staff is in the same absolutely killer band together (Scarecrow), and they just did a two week European tour. It’s so cool that they got to meet some of you in person and I’m also jealous! But it makes me stop and think about how cool it is that punk can do that, ya know? Things were chill around here and the store was still standing when everyone got back, so it was a success all around. Let’s just dive in, shall we? I’m excited about my pick!

So stoked to be writing about this classic from LA’s early deathrock punks, Legal Weapon. My god, who doesn’t love their legendary album, Death of Innocence? If you don’t love it, I will just assume you haven’t heard it yet, so definitely do that too. Before that prized piece of punk graced our presence, they released their debut EP, No Sorrow (1981). This is the first time it’s been on vinyl since its release, which is pretty exciting as the original is a rare and highly sought after piece that will cost you a fortune.

This EP featured the band’s earliest lineup, which means Patricia Morrison on bass! Total punk icon. It would probably be easier to list the bands she hasn’t been in, but prior to Legal Weapon she had been in the Bags, and then after Legal Weapon she peaced out and moved on to Gun Club, Sisters of Mercy, and The Damned! Quite the punk rock resume. And her bass work on this album is so killer.

No Sorrow is a fine example of early west coast punk. You can hear a subtle gothic influence in the music here, but their deathrock punk side wouldn’t fully emerge until the next record. But with No Sorrow, it was as clear as day that something special was brewing and they weren’t going anywhere for a while. This EP is high energy. It’s fun and catchy, and a little poppy in the most bad ass of ways. Like a darker, more rebellious, rougher, and riffier rendition of the Go-Go’s.

What really sets Legal Weapon apart from other punk bands of the time can be summed up in two words: Kat Arthur. RIP. Her smoky vocals are so strong, and they add so much interest and edge, power, and substance to the already kick ass music. Her ability to pull off different vocal styles with sincerity gives the band a lot of flexibility with their sound. Kat has one of the best voices in all of rock and roll, period.

This record is just banger after banger. No duds. There are five tracks from the analog master and two unreleased live tracks from the Mabuhay Gardens, straight from the board. The first track (No One Listens) takes a page out of the Ramones book, as it totally reminds me of Wanna Be Sedated in the first five seconds. Given that’s one of the best and most exciting punk songs of all time, it didn’t take long to sell me on this record. I actually started with Death of Innocence, so it’s interesting to rewind the clock a bit and go back to the beginning.

There is a really stand out part of the record in the middle. A perfect three-song run including Live My Way, No Sorrow, and Pow Pow. Now that’s one killer chunk of punk. Pow Pow is my favorite track on the record. The killer opening riff that’s joined a few seconds later by the deepest bass tone just gets me. The deep and dark melodic bass parts are so satisfying. This song really showcases how Kat’s vocals can easily change the mood of a song, and no matter what she does with her vocals, it sounds like that style was made for her. In particular, I love the way she sings the line (and other variations of the line) “little boy wants out now, so you let him have a pow pow!” I can picture her singing this to some dude who is pinned under her boot. The whole track has a playful and taunting vibe that makes it absolutely infectious.

The guitar tone and the beat in the title track, No Sorrow, reminds me of Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown. Another LA band getting their start around the same time, and releasing their debut right before Legal Weapon released theirs. Big punk things were happening on the west coast at the turn of the decade. And I don’t think Legal Weapon got the credit or recognition they deserved for how good they really were. Easily one of the best and most underrated punk bands ever.

So if you haven’t already, grab this EP. The first batch we had went fast, and for good reason! Thanks so much for reading! Until next time!

EDIT: I am so sorry to report that by the time you’re reading this, the record has sold out again. But put your email in under the record’s listing on our website and be notified of any restock! Dammit! I hate when that happens. Sorry ya’ll. Thank you for reading! Until next time….

-Angela

Hi and thanks for reading.

It’s been a minute since we’ve had a newsletter cos we were on tour, and I am sure I will be rusty when it comes to writing out my thoughts. I can’t really begin my staff pick until I talk briefly about tour. It was so, so fun. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to tour Sweden and Finland, and also play K-town. I feel so lucky. We made some truly amazing new friends on this tour that I already miss. I was really looking forward to seeing some friends again that we made on our first European tour in 2022, and I also met some people for the first time that I have been chatting with online for a while. It felt really good to be welcomed by so many people overseas. And then there is VIDRO, our soulmates. I seriously cannot thank them enough for everything they’ve done for us, especially Lucas, who arranged the tour. It really sucks to part ways, cos we live so far from each other. We formed such a deep connection when we toured together last year, and this tour really strengthened this bond. We have loose plans to tour again together in 2024. Let’s see how many times we can tour together before it gets weird, haha.

There is so much shit to mention from tour, and I am sure I will mention stuff here and there over the next like year. But I won’t take up too much more space with that today. Before I get into my staff pick, I still have one more thing to mention. When we got back from tour, Jeff and I released a new record on BPDT! I had mentioned this release, alongside a SCARECROW tape, before we left for tour. Instead of raving about our release again, you can just listen to it here. For anyone that is really paying attention, I must correct a mistake I made when I previously mentioned this split. I had said that GEFYR was from Hudiksvall, the same city where TOTALITÄR and NO SECURITY were from. That is wrong! NO SECURITY was from Eskilstuna… I don’t know what I was thinking. For the SCARECROW tour tape I mentioned, we have the leftovers available for mailorder now, but unfortunately, they are only available direct through BPDT. If you need one, you can grab one here while they last.

In 2022 when we played Olso, we played at this place called Club 37. Of course, I really wanted to play Blitz, cos it is a historical site as far as I am concerned, haha. But Club 37 was a fucking blast, and we made some friends who we hung out pretty late with. Well, this time around we got to play Blitz! The show was pretty fun, and a few friends we made last time came out to the gig again. Bård was one of these guys. Last time we met I was excited to learn he operated the label Cradle To Grave Records. He only did three releases; two of which I am here to write about today. If I remember right, he was surprised I knew about his label when we first met. Naturally, I knew of them already cos he had reissued some essential Norwegian hardcore records! Before we met this time, we arranged to bring back some copies of the reissues he still had. We only got fifteen of each one, so if you don’t have either one yet, don’t sleep! I am pretty sure these things are not so easy to find now.

Since I already had the BARN AV REGNBUEN LP, I will start with this one. Because they never had an LP, I knew this reissue would be a compilation of their stuff. The unfortunate side to this reissue is that it doesn’t actually explain where the tracks are pulled from, haha. But on the contrary; I think it is nicely done overall, with great liner notes including a history of the band and English translations to all the songs. I originally got this LP before I landed an OG of their EP. Aside from wanting those songs bad, I was also trying to jam their flexi on a more permanent format. Their EP rules, but man the flexi is my shiiit. Like other Norwegian bands, BARN AV REGNBUEN has the ability to get melodic yet still pummel the shit out of you at the same time. They get much more weird than other Norwegian hardcore bands I know, and they might be the nosiest one I know as well. I didn’t look into this that much, but I think the LP has the flexi and various tracks from compilations on the A side. I’m guessing it’s tracks from compilations, or maybe it’s just unreleased recordings of songs they had? I will have to ask Bård about them, haha. The B side has their EP as well as their tracks from the Tsjernobilly Boogie LP. If you don’t know this LP, check it out. It’s such an amazing, underrated compilation. Even if you have all these BARN AV REGNBUEN records, I think this reissue is essential. The sound is great, and there is plenty of bonus shit you basically can’t hear anywhere else.

Moving onto the other reissue we grabbed, SISTE DAGERS HELVETE. I did not have this one already, cos I foolishly suspected it was simply a reissue of the LP. I actually still thought it was a reissue of the LP until I took a copy for myself and listened to it. When we were hanging out, Bård explained to me the sound was not what the band intended on the original release, and this reissue was done the way the band initially wanted. I have the original LP already, but I decided I would take a copy for myself when we got back for sure after he said that. I remembered when I got my copy, I thought the OG was super compressed and lacks low end, haha. I was happy to hear the sound on the reissue. It’s got the low end intact, and the full sound gives the songs much more attack. Anyway, I am not that familiar with SISTE DAGERS HELVETE, but luckily this one has a breakdown of where each track comes from. They also gave us a history of the band and proper English translations to their songs. I found the liner notes particularly interesting on this reissue. I learned the original vocalist was a Finnish guy who was living in Norway at the time. He recorded the LP with them and moved back to Finland. For some reason, this was super interesting to discover, alongside that they were inspired mostly by USHC bands. After reading that and listening to the LP again, it seems pretty obvious, haha. After he left the band, they recorded four more tracks with the guitarist taking on vocal duties. These songs are included on the reissue as well. One of these I have heard before, on the Nå Eller Aldri 7" compilation. The other three appear on some international sampler tape with like a million bands that is probably rare as fuck. It seems like most of the tracks are not exclusive to the tape, but as far as I can see this is the only place these three SISTE DAGERS HELVETE tracks appear. Their song on Nå Eller Aldri is cool, but man, the other three are REALLY fucking good. I have no idea, but I don’t think it sounds like their track from Nå Eller Aldri was recorded at the same time as these. I’m not sure what it is about it, but it just seems like there is such a perfect chemistry happening with just the three of them. The style is noticeably different from the LP, like they weren’t going for the USHC style anymore and just playing whatever came out.

I always found it interesting that this Norwegian band’s LP was originally released on Rock-O-Rama, especially cos I don’t know any other bands from Norway on their label. In the reissue, they explain how they had a record deal with Propaganda Records in Finland, but it was released by ROR instead without their knowledge. I know Propaganda would license certain records to ROR and they would both release them, but it’s interesting that Propaganda didn’t even release it. Thinking about it again, the VAURIO LP was licensed to ROR from Propaganda but there was never a Propaganda pressing. DESTRUCKTIONS as well, but the band had broken up before this LP was released, so maybe that’s why Propaganda didn’t bother releasing it? Who knows. There was also some sketchy shit with the release of HIC SYSTEEMI LP on a ROR sub-label as well, but I will save that for another time, haha. Anyway, learning about the connection to Propaganda through their Finnish vocalist explained that one a bit, but it sucks the band got fucked over in the end. They also explain ROR gave poor English translations for their song titles, and the album name was even changed. I’m sure the band was pissed as fuck to see their record being released without their knowledge, and on top of that ROR changed the title and fucked up the sound!

Before I go; I read in an interview with Frank, the guitarist of VORKRIEGSPHASE, and he explained how they dealt with something similar when releasing a record on ROR. They had permission to release their record, but the label did not use the master tape approved by the band. Frank explained they added a ton of overdrive, distorting his guitar way too much and it took away from the impact of the drums. It’s kind of ironic they didn’t want it that distorted, cos I think their fans of today really love them for the insane guitar tone. Alright, that sums it up for me this week. I think both of these reissues are killer and they are essential for every collection. I already knew what was up on the BARN AV REGNBUEN, and I am happy to have their discography in stock at Sorry State. But, I had no idea the SISTE DAGERS HELVETE discography would rock me so hard, and I am super glad I checked it out. It feels so cool that we played in Oslo and brought thee back with us to help distro in the US. Punk!!! Alright, cheers and thanks for reading, and thanks so much for everyone’s support.

Hey there Sorry Staters, how’s your summer going? Enjoying those triple digit temperature heat waves? Perfect for vinyl records, right? So, we’ve been away from your inbox these last few weeks, but with good reason as half the staff make up three quarters of Scarecrow and they were of course on tour in Scandinavia with our favorite Swedes Vidro. No doubt their sections of this newsletter will entertain you with stories of that adventure. The rest of us here at Sorry State are so proud of the band and we hope that some of you reading could catch them at these shows.

Back here at Sorry State the wheels kept turning and the records kept coming as well. As any of you who follow our socials and order from us online or shop in the actual store can testify, there have been some damn good records coming through here. We work hard sourcing these gems for you and although not alone in this endeavor, I think we do okay at it. I’ve worked at some good stores and probably like you all, have visited some great ones across the world too, but I can honestly say I have seen just as many cool ass records come through here as anywhere else. I’m proud, happy and honored to be a part of Sorry State and absolutely nothing makes me happier in a professional sense than when a customer scores a record that means something to them. Whether it’s an expensive collector type record or just a $5 bargain bin record, it doesn’t matter. If they are happy and will enjoy the music, that’s all that matters. In all the jobs I have done in the past, this is the one that gives the most satisfaction as far as providing goods and service is concerned. It means way more than providing a nice cocktail or a steak dinner to someone. Music means more. It’s the most important part of many people’s lives and so when someone leaves here with cool shit that they love it’s the best feeling.

Meanwhile, around the world, so much is happening. Let’s leave politics and war aside for the moment and rather revel in other things that bring us happiness. For sports fans there’s lots to cheer about and watch this summer. Ongoing as I write are the Euros and Copa America for the football fans and the Olympics are about to begin too. Certainly, for football (soccer) fans in the US it’s a good couple of months because you might well have one of your favorite teams or players in a stadium near you. Manchester City will be here in Cary, North Carolina, playing Celtic for a pre-season game. My Worldy DJ partner Matt is excited about that. My Reds will be in South Carolina, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. As of now I don’t have tickets, but who knows, perhaps I’ll make it to one game.

For the radio show these past couple of weeks, Matt and I have been spinning as much music as we can from countries involved in the tournaments. Whilst going through my French section for a selection or two I pulled out an Air 12” to play on the show. This 12 has the songs Casanova 70 and Les Professionals on it and came out in France a year before their classic debut album Moon Safari in 1997. I remember having to special order it as an import. Air, along with other French artists at the time like Kid Loco and Etienne De Crecy, were starting to get a lot of attention and I was all over it. Moon Safari remains one of my favorite records from that time. Shortly after I moved to New York City in 1998, Air came over and played a great concert at the Town Hall, which I attended. Also, around the time of Moon Safari’s release they visited the BBC and recorded a DJ set for the essential mix program. I recorded it and still have those tapes somewhere. They played a lot of cool stuff and set me on the search for a whole bunch of records. What is great about the Casanova 70 12” is that there are two mixes by British producer Brendan Lynch of the title track, who beefs up the drums and adds some samples, noticeably from the Aphrodite’s Child 666 album. They sound great from the loud cut pressed into the 200g vinyl. My favorite of the two mixes is The Secret Of Cool. Take a listen here. Brendan Lynch is one of my favorite producers. He has made some terrific dubs and mixes with Paul Weller and Primal Scream to name two of the bigger names he has worked with. For Deejays, his name on a mix is guaranteed to give a little something extra and that special touch is nicely applied to the Air track. For a few years, this 12” was rarely out of my record bag for gigs. I haven’t spun it recently and so it was fun busting it out for Worldy and even now it gets folks asking about it.

If you check your local listings, you might be lucky to catch Air live, who are out there currently performing Moon Safari in its entirety.

In other cool record news—no doubt one of my colleagues has picked the new record by The Dark called Sinking Into Madness, but let me jump on the praise bandwagon and steer you towards this monster slab of hardcore punk metal thrash awesomeness. These guys could be described as an L.A. punk supergroup as they have in their ranks members of Tozcos and Personal Damage. That should be enough to get your interest alone, but do yourselves a favor and check them out.

I’m still loving the New Town Dream album from Neutrals. So many great tunes on the album. It’s a bit of an easy comparison, but imagine The Jam crossed with Television Personalities and Belle And Sebastian and you’ll be in the ballpark. If those bands do it for you, then I think you’ll like Neutrals.

Okay, back to work. There are more records that need pricing, cleaned and to be listened to. The biggest challenge I have each week is trying to listen to all the ones I want to. Just not enough hours in the day. Sigh.

Thanks for checking in with us and have a great July 4th weekend next week.

Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Well shit, it’s been a while huh? Hope all you Sorry State readers out there weren’t hurting too badly without a newsletter for the last better part of a month. Scarecrow only made our triumphant return home from our Nordic European tour less than 2 weeks ago. But still, I only just now feel like I’m settling back into normalcy. Without going into crybaby mode too hard, I will say that the post-tour blues hit me really hard this round. I gotta say, this tour was easily one of the best punk-related trips I’ve ever been on in my life. This is due greatly in part to spending a grand majority of our travels alongside our good friends in Vidro. While watching them play every night, the conviction, intensity and energy they deliver in their performances is truly inspiring. Made me wanna throw a couple extra high-kicks into my repertoire during Scarecrow’s set. My attempts are surely much less cool looking or graceful haha. Beyond how great they are as a band, everyone in Vidro—Lucas, Vendela, Melody, and Staffan—are all just a bunch of sweeties. The smartest, the funniest, the coolest. We all feel like family now. Stay tuned for the upcoming sitcom where all live in a big house together. Shenanigans will ensue.

I won’t go into a full-on tour diary, but here are a couple tidbits I’ll mention:

• In Uppsala, we got to see Gefyr play, and they ripped. PX-30 also were so killer—they have the same guitar player as Herätys, so of course I geeked out on him.

• Visiting Finland for the first time was amazing. I finally got to see Tiikeri play inside of a bicycle shop, which had me smiling ear to ear for their entire set.

• I got to touch and listen to an original copy of The Fix Vengeance in the home of a super funny, sweet and welcoming Finnish married couple, who we found out probably have one of the best hardcore punk record collections in the world.

• Kohti Tuhoa’s set in Helsinki was incredible.

• After Finland, you obviously must take the overnight party boat back to Sweden. There was late-night karaoke on the ferry. Melody from Vidro did impressive renditions of the Jackson 5 and KISS (awesome). Usman did an equally impressive performance of “Walk” by Pantera (LOL). Usman hates Pantera btw.

• Our show in Stockholm (where Vidro is from) was a killer gig. Red from Scarecrow joined on guest vocals for Vidro, and Vendela from Vidro jumped up and sang with Scarecrow for a song. Such a special moment.

• In Oslo, we got to play the legendary Blitz venue that’s been around and hosted bands in Norway since the 80s. Daniel’s bass got stolen in Norway, but that’s about the only bad thing worth mentioning (oof).

• Our show in Gothenburg was great too. We played with Slan, whose EP Usman and I released on Bunker Punks. I for one definitely partied hard that night.

• Then we were off to K-Town. Christina and everyone who helps organize the fest at Ungdomhuset are amazing. Maybe the best punk festival ever.

• Got to party with the homies in Invertebrates in Copenhagen for 3 days. They absolutely crushed when they played.

• Danced my ass off during Mujeres Podridas.

• Larma was insane. Most ripping band I’ve seen in years.

• Visiting Cliff Burton’s memorial, nearby where the bus accident happened in the Ljungby area of southern Sweden.

• Lastly, our driver Wilhemina fucking rules. Was so rad getting to hang out with her, and also meeting and talking about hardcore with her partner Christoffer (from DS-13 and more recently, Exil).

Alright, so that bulleted list ended up being longer than I thought. So yeah, life back in Raleigh has been dull by comparison. But I’ve been stoked to see friends, and definitely have enjoyed being back working at the record shop. Also, The Spits/Electric Chair gig here in Raleigh was killer the other night. Looking forward to hopefully equally killer local gigs in the months to come. One more thing, Usman and I are proud to announce our new release on Bunker Punks: the Gefyr / Rat Cage Split 7”! Available directly from our webstore or Sorry State if that’s more convenient for ya. We’re stoked on this one. 2 ripping bands from Sweden and England, respectively.

Sooooo, time to talk about what record I chose for my staff pick for fuck’s sake? Apologies for the long intro. I went with the debut full-length by The Dark, entitled Sinking Into Madness. Perhaps this record needs little support or exposure from little old me, seeing as you folks already seem to be gobbling up our copies here at Sorry State. But I think this is a great record, so why not give it a little attention? The Dark, based mostly out of the Los Angeles area and partially Orange County as well I believe, has been a band for quite a while. The band’s previous vinyl release was a 7” called Demons, which came out in 2018. And I remember really loving the band’s series of demo tapes, which now feel like they came out about 10 years ago. Wild. I remember there being a little buzz around when those initial couple demos were floating around. Not only that, but the band’s sound and aesthetic gave this illusion of a veil of mystery. Like… who were these characters lurking in the shadows making this evil sounding hardcore? Which was a funny thought for me to have back then, because the names of the people of in the band are totally credited on the j-card lol. Maybe the band only seemed obscure and hard to find because of their lack of internet presence? But for example, Corrina the drummer of The Dark also plays drums in Tozcos. Which is interesting, because now following Toxic State’s breaking out of their usual scene and starting to release non-NY based bands… first Tozcos, and now an unexpected full-length from The Dark. Imagine that.

Speaking of that first demo by The Dark, listening to this new LP, I was like, “Huh, these songs sound familiar.” Turns out that the first 4 songs on Sinking Into Madness are the same 4 songs on The Dark’s first demo. That said, those are great songs, and definitely deserving of a sonic facelift from the raw recording on the cassette. Okay, let me talk more about what I think the music sounds like. Compared to everything I hear in the current hardcore punk landscape, I think The Dark are doing something super unique. The Dark is a fitting name, because I hear a lot of influence from the creepier, darker depths of Japanese hardcore. The Dark in particular seem to borrow from the more metallic, plodding side of Japanese punk, reminding me a bit of Blunt Sleazy-era Execute. They straddle raw punk influence, while incorporating glam-influenced, chugga chugga guitar stylings a la Randy Uchida. Then again, I also hear like GBH.

Unlike their earlier recordings, the vocals are less the heavily effected and sit more up front in the mix. Still a bit of delay on the vocals, but all the instruments sound heavier and punchier with more weight to the sound. The vocals have more clarity, while still maintaining a demonic and vomitous atmosphere, yet also a feeling of creepy, desperate emotion over the powerful riffs behind them. And while the familiar songs on the A-side are great to revisit, the new songs the band have written on the B-side sound fresh and powerful. The opening B-side track “Face In The Mirror” to my ears leans into a bit of that Orange County influence, with these eerie, arpeggiated chords that make me think of something off of Weathered Statues by TSOL. Then probably my favorite track on the record, “Heartless,” opens with this sassy, chuggy mid-paced riff that straight up sounds like Judas Priest or Motley Crue. Maybe the band would hate me saying that haha, they’re probably still thinking about Randy Uchida writing those riffs. But that shit fuckin’ BANGS. Makes me wanna hop on a motorcycle and mow down posers with a battle axe or some shit. FUCK and the double kicks behind the dissonant Die Kreuzen-y riffs on “Nightmare”? Get the fuck outta here, it’s so killer!

As always, Toxic State did a beautiful job with the all-screenprinted packaging. From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem like The Dark plays live super often. Hopefully this LP will get the band some well-deserved love and implore them to play some fests or maybe even tour? I would love to see them play. Do yourself a favor and snag this LP while you can.

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

‘Til next week (hopefully),

-Jeff

Since the last SSR newsletter, Scarecrow went on a big adventure around Scandinavia. I imagine Jeff and Usman will also write about the tour, so hopefully I don’t overlap with what they say too much. I wish I had a full tour diary I could share with you, but there would just be too much to say. The tour wasn’t that long—only about 2 weeks—but it was so packed with adventure that I’d have to write a novel to cover it all. There are also a million people who deserve a thank you for booking shows, hanging out, showing us hospitality, saying hi at a gig, making us food, playing in a ripping band, and many other kindnesses big and small that so many people showed us. I won’t get into all those either lest I miss someone, so instead I will silently send my appreciation into the universe and instead tell you about Scarecrow’s tourmates in Vidro.

Scarecrow and Vidro have become very close after doing two tours together. Our friendship started kind of randomly when our bands played together in Hamburg in 2022. We’d never met and our tours happened to cross paths, but I was aware of Vidro. I believe Lucas had emailed me some tracks a few months before that, asking if we’d be interested in putting a Vidro record out on Sorry State. While I liked what I heard, we had so much going on at the time that I felt I couldn’t take it on. Then I saw them play in Hamburg and I immediately regretted that decision. Vidro is so fucking good live. Their songs are great, earworm riffs bouncing across a foundation of bruising, medium-fast hardcore, and the band is a ball of energy live, bouncing constantly and making it impossible to sit still when you’re watching them. Crowds love them too, and having seen them a few dozen times I am still in awe of their ability to turn any room into a joyous hardcore punk dance party.

While seeing Vidro for the first time was great, it was an otherwise strange night in Hamburg when we met them, and I wonder how much of our friendship was forged in this crucible of conflict and awkwardness. Long story short, the venue we were playing made Scarecrow feel unwelcome even before we arrived in the city, and at the end of the night it felt like they were trying to rip us off financially as well. I purposely avoid being too involved in Scarecrow’s finances (I have enough of this kind of stress in my life with Sorry State) so I wasn’t there when things came to a head, but I know it was a tense situation. It was cool meeting Vidro that night and seeing them play, but in my mind the weirdness of the gig overshadowed my memory of meeting and hanging out with them.

Fast forward to summer 2023 and Vidro asks if Scarecrow wants to join them on a tour of the US east coast and Midwest. It sounded like a great idea to me, but there’s always some risk involved in being in close quarters with a bunch of semi-strangers. After an initial warming-up period, friendships blossomed quickly as we discovered how much we have in common and how much we have to learn from one another. There are demographic similarities between the two bands—both bands are a mix of races and genders, with most members being around the same age and a couple of outliers who are older and younger—as well as odd coincidences like both bands having one member who has diabetes and both bands having one member with a PhD. Also, everyone in both bands is really invested in the punk scene, following new bands and maintaining connections across the worldwide DIY network. Mostly, though, we just vibe as people. Both bands feel like friends first and a band second, and we’re all attuned to one another’s needs and eager to help one another fulfill them. When both bands are all together, it doesn’t feel like anyone has somewhere they’d rather be, and that’s a rare feeling to have with such a big group. Even I—an introvert and something of a loner—feel accepted and part of the gang.

I’ve written about Vidro’s records in previous newsletters (though I still need to write about their latest EP, Upp Till Dans, which is excellent), so instead of going back over that, I thought I’d share a few of my impressions and recollections of Vidro’s members, each of whom I’ve come to know and love over our time together.

Lucas is Vidro’s guitarist. He’s Brazilian, but has been living in Sweden for years, and the fact that he is the only member of the Vidro / Scarecrow crew with a child earns him the nickname “Mr. Babymaker” on the first tour, one of the many jokes that carries over to the second tour. Lucas is exuberant and full of energy, and while many of the similarly energetic people I’ve met in my life have been scatterbrained, Lucas is meticulously organized and seems to take the lead on a lot of band business like booking shows and tours, printing merch, etc. Lucas is so friendly and extroverted that it’s easy to see how he’s made so many friends and connections across three continents… it’s just non-stop fun to be around him. He’s also a monster musician. One day I’m taking a nap at the place we’re staying while Lucas is changing his guitar strings, and once the new strings are on, he plays his guitar unplugged for a while to break them in. The sound is breathtaking. I hear familiar Vidro riffs, but un-amplified and unaccompanied, his playing is lush and beautiful in a way I hadn’t appreciated before.

Melody, Vidro’s bass player, is American, and like Lucas, she’s been living in Sweden for a long time and her parents are Swedish immigrants (to America), so she’s more of an American / Swedish hybrid than a Budweiser-guzzling monster truck fan. She’s intelligent and well-educated, with a devastating wit and superhuman comedic timing... I remember one moment on the first tour, at the Little Rose Tavern in Cleveland after our early gig, when she made me weep with laugher. I wish I could relate the anecdote that bowled me over so thoroughly, but my recollection is clouded because I was tripping on mushrooms, which should not, however, reflect negatively on Melody’s aforementioned wit and comic timing. When you first meet her, Melody is intimidatingly cool, particularly if your first impression of her is on stage, where she bangs out Vidro’s devastating low-end grooves with effortless style. But when she lets you in on her true goofball nature, it feels like you’ve joined an exclusive club.

Staffan, Vidro’s drummer, is a punk legend. He’s been into punk since the early 80s (maybe even the late 70s?), having played in bands like Kurt I Kuvos and Huvudtvätt and started the influential hardcore label Really Fast Records. The first thing many 80s punk nerds say about Vidro is that “their drummer was in Headcleaners!,” which I gather isn’t entirely accurate, but it’s still a pretty amazing claim to fame that both Staffan and the band wear with grace. Several people over the course of both tours tell me they’ve punished Staffan about his involvement in the early Swedish punk scene, but talking about punk clearly is not punishment to him. Staffan has been a music fanatic since he was a kid, and his opinions about virtually any type or era of music that comes up in conversation are informed and insightful. Besides playing music, he’s also been an avid photographer for decades, and at the end of both tours he shared with us an album of photos that render our entire crew with a level of style and creativity on par with punk’s greatest photographers. Staffan is also fiercely funny. Usman loves to say outrageous things and see how people react, and Staffan is his perfect foil, returning his volleys like an improv pro. Staffan’s drumming also suits Vidro perfectly, both in his massive, industrial-tinged playing, and in his penchant for style and theatricality,

Vendela, Vidro’s singer, comes off as the most earnest member of Vidro. She is a writer and she’s active in radical politics, and I feel like I’ve committed a major faux pas early in the first tour when she asks where we get our news and I tell her I read The New York Times every day. Despite the apparent mismatch in our levels of political radical-ness, Vendela and I often end up in one-on-one conversations about politics, philosophy, and other big ideas, in which I really hope I’m not annoying or boring her. One night, at an after-show party in Richmond, she tells me about the years she spent living in Manchester, England, and we bond over being young Anglophiles and big fans of the Fall. Vendela’s passion and directness are evident in her musicianship, too. Her songs often center on short, repeated phrases that are ambiguous and evocative, and she barks them out with such force and passion that she regularly blows out her voice. And like everyone else in Vidro, she loves fun, and I can see her frustration when taking care of her voice prevents her from participating in a conversation or partaking in an in-joke.

So yeah, those are my friends in Vidro, or at least small sliver how how they look through my eyes. I hope I’ve conveyed to some degree the love and admiration I have for these folks, what a joy they are to be around, and how much I love their band and their music. Stay tuned for the next Scarecrow / Vidro tour diary, wherein we ask, “how many times can two bands tour together before it’s just weird?”

Yambag: Mindfuck Ultra 12” (11PM Records) Cleveland’s Yambag returns with another highly pressurized blast of manic, faster-than-fast hardcore. If you’ve seen Yambag live, you’re doubtless already a fan, as they are one of the most explosive live bands in contemporary punk. I can think of few other bands that command a room the way they do, and when I’m watching them play I feel like their music is a massive ocean wave that’s obliterating me physically and psychically. Their records, of which I think Mindfuck Ultra is the best yet, are similarly powerful. With a blisteringly fast sound that lies somewhere between DRI’s Dealing with It and Napalm Death’s From Enslavement to Obliteration, Yambag shows all the budget power violence and fastcore bands how a truly great band deploys the blastbeat. When Yambag is blasting, it feels like you’re being run over by a truck (case in point: the first track, “Ancient Relics”), but there’s just as much thought put into the non-blasting sections, and if you took blast parts out, you’d still have a great (if very short) US-style hardcore record. And while all the parts work in and of themselves, when Yambag constructs one of their Rube Goldberg machines of whiplash tempo changes (like on “Huff N Puff”), the effect is singular and outstanding. While so much contemporary hardcore feels trapped in a prison of context where you really need to understand the band’s influences and where they’re coming from socially, aesthetically, and politically in order to appreciate them, Yambag delivers visceral gut-punch hardcore punk that makes it feel like you’re hearing this music for the first time.

Welcome Sorry Staters! With Memorial day behind us, we are now in the heat of NC summer, and I can't help but find myself spending more time outside. This past weekend was spent at the farmers market with my wife Molly and my pug pup Prudence roaming the various plant stalls. We fixed up our back patio to enjoy with friends, planted some veggies, hung string lights and got the solo stove ready for a fire. Sunday night was spent with good friends around a fire pit with marshmallows and music blasting from our portable speaker. Summer nights are one of my favorite times to listen to ambient music such as Richard D. James' Aphex Twin. I get a little melancholy listening to the song Avril 14th from the 2001 album Drukqs. Sitting outside, the summer breeze, fire going and laughter with good friends, always reminds me of when I was growing up and spending summers skateboarding in the cul-de-sac with my neighborhood friends. That's the perfect combo for a great beginning to the summer. Now lets get into this weeks pick.

Last week I mentioned how much I loved Convulse Records. Well this week is another Convulse Records pick! As I wait for the new Pardoner 7” to arrive to chat about in another week’s pick, I will talk about how much I love the new Gumm album, Slogan Machine. I heard about Gumm through one of my other favorite bands, Soft Kill. Soft Kill recently took Gumm out on tour with them throughout the midwest as support. Slogan machine is mean as hell but melodic and very uptempo. Right out of the gate on the track “No Frontier” the guitar is heavy but melodic and the drums are pounding at full force. This is the main driving force behind this whole album. It’s danceable, it’s tough and it’s everything you ever wanted from a hardcore record. I’ll leave this blurb with one of the lyrics that stood out to me:

“I want to feel like this world is world worth saving”

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend and got to relax a lil bit. I was able to go to the beach with some friends and hang out there for Sunday and Monday which was nice. It feels like summer is in full swing now and what better way to celebrate than listening to some dumb novelty music? I picked up The Big Itch Vol. 3 a couple months ago when I was in Oxford, Mississippi at End Of All Music, which is a really great spot to check out if you ever find yourself down that way. While I was flipping through records there, this one jumped out at me for two reasons:

1. The cool wrestling pictures on the cover

2. I thought it was called The Big Bitch Vol. 3 until after I bought it and was laughing about it and my girlfriend pointed out that it actually said Itch.

It was $10 so I figured why not? It was worth it for the cover alone. With songs like Wombat Twist, Cave Man Hop, Discombobulated, I was bound to get some enjoyment out of it. It’s a fun record to just throw on every now and then whenever you wanna hear some stuff that sounds like twice rejected Cramps songs. Move over Monster Mash and make room for the new king of Halloween bangers, The Graveyard Cha Cha.