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What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. I feel like I always mention the weather or season at the beginning of my write-ups, but that’s cause it really can affect my listening habits. We’ve had amazing spring weather here in Raleigh this past week. I think we even got up into the 80s one day. My cutoff jean shorts were calling my name like the green goblin mask. With great power (sunny and 70s) though, comes great responsibility (a bunch of pollen everywhere.) It hasn’t gotten too bad yet with the pollen, but I know it’s coming. Anyways, about a month ago I wrote about that 60s French female pop compilation I was really digging that I got at Goner Records in Memphis. Fast forward to last week, I’m flipping through the International section (one of my favorites) at the store and come across this France Gall record. The cover alone told me all I needed to know about this album, but what really sold me was the hype sticker on this Third Man pressing. And I quote, “with the psychedelic era upon us, we find Gall, now in her 20s, singing increasingly strange songs about mummies, LSD, and dreams of death.” It’s like that sentence was constructed in a lab to specifically appeal to me. How could I not buy it after reading that? It’s the perfect record for this time of year when everything is blooming. Why not have some bright, warm music to match? Even though I don’t understand any French, you can still pick up on the feelings and mood of each song. My two favorites on here being Nefertiti (written by Serge Gainsbourg) and Les yeux bleus. Getchu some French pop in your system this spring.

Hi Sorry State fam! I’m writing this on Saint Patty’s Day, and I heard that someone can pinch you if you’re not wearing green. Well, I’m wearing black and I dare you. No, but seriously, Happy (belated) Saint Patrick’s Day! Moving on….

This week’s pick is kind of a weird album that leaves me a tiny bit confused, but I kind of like that. It’s the fifth album by Why Bother? brought to us by Feel It Records and titled Serenading Unwanted Ballads. You never know what to expect when you hear a new album by this band, as they are somewhat shrouded in mystery. They don’t play live, and they don’t have a signature style in my opinion. Unless you count being predictably unpredictable as a signature style. Nevertheless, they are an intriguing midwest synth punk band.

Why Bother? is a band that truly sounds like they’re making the music they want to make, and have no fear of any sort of negative reception. If you’re making music you like, you only have to worry about whether you like it, and that has to feel incredibly freeing. And you can really feel that sense of freedom and authenticity in the music.

Anyway, many of the songs on this record are getting their first vinyl appearance after popping up on various EPs and singles. I was especially intrigued by the record when I read that the song Testify was written and recorded by their friend Aaron while he was in prison serving a life sentence. I don’t know the details, but the way that bit of information was phrased sounded like the song was literally recorded in prison. Recording a song while serving a life sentence adds a pretty thick layer of mystery and darkness to the record, which is mostly, but not entirely, packed with rather gloomy ballads.

There are some really good tracks on the first side such as a dreamy, mystical ballad called Until. It is somewhere in the vein of The Jesus and Mary Chain, but sadder. I really enjoyed the first few tracks, but the first one to really get its hooks in me is called High as the Heavens. It’s a post-punk up tempo track that’s emotional but doesn’t feel heavy. I love the song’s arrangement and the infectious chorus. It sort of feels like the Why Bother? version of Just Like Heaven. It’s not as poppy and whimsical, but eerily romantic.

They really play around with different sounds and styles on these songs. I was reminded of early Cure and Lou Reed. The next track was the one that made me think of Lou Reed, and not because it happens to be called Heroin Dancer. It’s kind of psychedelic and trippy compared to the rest of the album. But even better is the song called Some Don’t Dance. It has sharper riffs and a late 70s UK post-punk sound. The melody immediately reminded me of The Cure’s Jumping Someone Else’s Train.

There is a lot of diversity in vocal styles, which becomes more noticeable in the shift between earlier tracks and Heroin Dancer. Sometimes the vocals are very prominent, more stripped down, and in the forefront, and sometimes wrapped in distortion or drowned out by synth and noise. But even the tracks that are a little more chaotic are still pretty measured and controlled versus annoying.

I really like the two faster, more punk sounding tracks on the album. One being Frothy Green, which is a live track from 2020. It leans more garage punk. It’s more stripped down and has a lot more attitude than other tracks, and the synth is more dialed down. And right after that is Feckless World, which is another energetic, and more chaotic track with a cool twist and super abrupt stop.

The song Testify is kind of how you might imagine a song written in prison to sound. I don’t even know what I mean by that, but it’s an acoustic, singer-songwriter type song that is very different from the other tracks. It has a really good main riff that feels heavy with emotion. It’s a more straightforward indie-folk sound, but it’s not run of the mill. Obviously. It was written and recorded in prison. It’s a downer, but it’s a good song.

The next and last song, Nobody Knows, is the winner of the downer award. As it should be. It would be a little tacky if they followed up the song Testify with something even the least bit lighthearted. It’s more atmospheric in terms of the music, and the lyrics are bleak as hell. It’s got lines like “I watch you shed a tear. How many lifetimes are we bound to grieve and fear? Some will stick around, others will disappear.” I really like this song and the style of these last two tracks.

The album is definitely worth checking out. It may be a little disjointed with its different styles and moods, but they aren’t a “by the book” type of band and neither is this record. Give it a listen! Thanks for reading! See you next time!

-Angela

https://flowernewyorkcity.bandcamp.com/album/heel-of-the-next-physical-god

Hello and thanks for reading. A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of the new FLOWER 7” and I’ve been listening to it a lot. This record only features one track on each side. Usually I would talk shit on a record with such few songs, but instead I am a huge fan of this release. Even though it’s only two songs, the duration of this 7" is still about eight and a half minutes. I think I would also usually find songs that are so long to be boring, but in this case I find the two tracks to be super captivating. I heard FLOWER with their debut release on Profane Existence. They played our house spot a while before that LP came out, but I was wasted, and their sound didn’t really stick in my head. On their LP, I heard an obvious nod to NAUSEA, amongst some anarcho-type riffs. The artwork had a total RUDIMENTARY PENI vibe, down to the foldout poster sleeve. I liked the LP, but I really like the EP. The recording sounds much more clear and powerful on the LP, but I find the song-writing itself to be more powerful on the 7". I feel like they really locked the sound in more on this release, and the packaging is simply amazing. I also want to mention how much I like the lyrics. They are political but worded in such a clever way. They are a serious highlight for me on the release. I love the back-and-forth bits on the vocals too. It makes the choruses even more memorable. With the packaging, it’s the same Crass Records foldout poster style as the LP. Even though they were working with less space this time with the 7" format, I feel like they really did more with it. It takes so much time and dedication to pull off this type of layout, and they executed it perfectly. Probably everyone sees FLOWER artwork and thinks Nick Blinko, right? Even though it’s so on the nose, I find there is originality to it. On the 7" especially, there are so many layers, dimensions, and messages. It is such an adventure to take it in. I really appreciate how the lyrics are incorporated into the art. You have to really engage with the record to fully take in. I know not every band has the ability to go all-out with art like this, but man I can say how much I appreciate it when they do. This record is a cooperative release between Fight For Your Mind (France) and a brand-new label called Peace Of Mind. I am pretty sure that label is operated by a member of FLOWER and a close friend of the band. I don’t think this record is actually available in the US yet, but I am sure we will get copies in due time. Alright I think that about sums it up for this week. Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for your support!

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Yet another quiet morning opening the store where I find myself trying to cram a bunch of words onto the page last-minute. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Last night, Public Acid played in Richmond opening for Municipal Waste to commemorate their 21st anniversary of Waste ‘Em All. A couple other Tankcrimes-related bands played like Ghoul and Necrot. The show was at this theater-size venue in Richmond called The National, which I had never been to. Playing on a big ass stage with a barricade was a unique experience compared to what I’m used to, to say the least. I drove back the same night and arrived home at like 3:30am and immediately passed the fuck out. I had nightmares about giant foam rubber monster mascots… then, I woke up feeling like I was still sticky from various neon-colored fluids that were launched projectile style all over the audience. But deep down, I just knew that the Sorry State machine wouldn’t run properly without my face appearing behind the counter. So, here I am on another gloomy Sunday feeling as fried as a dried-out sardine baking on the hot sidewalk.

When most people say they’re into Government Issue, I would imagine they’re referencing the first Dischord single and maybe a couple other early releases. But when I say that I love Government Issue, what I’m telling you is that I unapologetically love every single album. I mean pretty much, I think? I guess I’m kind of a GI apologist in that way. People probably also think I’m crazy for thinking that Boycott Stabb is the better record over Legless Bull in terms of their early hardcore material. Yeah, I said it. In some ways, I might have been predisposed as far as gravitating toward the later GI records. Quick little story: when I was about 15, me and best buddy Randy basically decided we’d become punk together. One year, for my birthday, Randy got me a copy of the eponymous Government Issue album from 1986. Randy told me the story of his experience buying it as he gifted the record to me: Even back then, while Randy was in the record store, before Randy was able to grab the record in order to buy it, there was a group of older punks basically picking up the record and this one older dude was basically talking shit on it. Saying something like, “Oh yeah, this is when Government Issue got weird. Nothing like their hardcore older stuff.” Defiantly, even after having overheard this guy, Randy still said fuck that, I know Jeff likes GI.

Up until this point, the only GI material I had heard was the Dischord EP because I had that 4 Old 7”s on a 12” compilation—a great education for teenage me. The first time I listened to this self-titled 1986 album, it’s not necessarily that I was challenged by it, but I do think I was just a bit perplexed by it. It blended moodiness and intensity in a way that felt fresh, but confusing. I found something mysterious and alluring about the record. And over the next several months, I found myself repeatedly revisiting the record and falling in love with it.

What’s interesting about Government Issue compared to the other crop of bands that emerged out of the early 80s Washington DC hardcore scene is that they just… continued. Most of the 80s DC bands were done by ’83, and ex-members were starting to form new bands during the Revolution Summer period or whatever. And the GI’s endured through it all. And as the band “matured” (hate using that word), GI established a sound and identity more self-realized than it was reliant on their roots entrenched hardcore punk. I’m not sure if the band was intentionally contrarian or distancing themselves, but maybe GI were actually the black sheep breaking away from the flock? (Funny enough, Steve Hansgen played bass on the 1986 GI record and Brian Baker was a producer on it). If any of you are like me, once you find yourself interested in this later period of Government Issue’s catalog, you really start going down the rabbit hole. All the sudden, you don’t care about what other early 80s hardcore bands were on the same flyer as GI in 1982. Hell no. You’re too busy listening to You as it’s glued to your turntable playing on repeat and spending your free time trying to track down that particularly good live version of “Jaded Eyes” from 1988. The Strange Wine live album? Don’t even get me started. Maybe I’m projecting, but I feel like we are a special breed that self-identify specifically as “later era GI fans.” Tell me I’m wrong.

Anyway, we finally get to my staff pick. Yet another reissue we’ve recently stocked at the store is Government Issue’s 1985 album The Fun Just Never Ends. I kept walking by this record sitting right up front in the bins at our store. Stabb was just staring me down on that front cover, beckoning me: “WRITE ABOUT ME.” Reissued on the Dr. Strange label, this newer print of the album includes bonus tracks… namely different versions of a bunch of the same album tracks. Kinda makes me feel like I’m listening to an expanded version of the album on Spotify that has bonus tracks tacked onto the end. But whatever, they’re cool to hear I guess. Without the bonus tracks, this record is pretty short and snappy for a full-length. For all intents and purposes, the record before this one, Joy Ride, still feels like a hardcore record. The Fun Just Never Ends functions like a transitional record for the band, bridging the gap between the faster early stuff and hints at the more melodic, vocal hook-oriented sound they would end up moving toward. I know John Stabb’s quirky, sardonic approach to singing will not be to everyone’s taste, but personally, I find him special because he’s almost like the anti-frontman. And as accessible as I think the musicality of GI’s songs can be for most, there is an underlying feeling that the band is attracted to the concept of anti-everything conventional in general.

For my money, “Mad At Myself” is one of GI’s all time great songs. Still hardcore, but also super catchy. It’s just made to be a call and response vocal hook: “I’m just mad, mad at myself… MAD AT MYSELF!” The song starts with all the instruments kicking in together, but then the drums stop and a solo guitar introduces the absolutely KILLER main riff. In a way, that riff in particular is like everything I love about DC punk guitar, but it is simultaneously so singularly and uniquely Government Issue. Amazing guitar tone. Speaking of which, Tom Lyle has gotta be one of my favorite guitar players. And while he was certainly great on previous GI records, I feel like this album is where I really take notice of Tom’s playing. A moment where the ambition and intelligence you can perceive from the songwriting kinda makes ya go, “Wow.” It feels like Tom really comes into his own and finds his signature style. There’s something special about his left-of-center approach to playing, where over the changing notes in the bassline, he structures these droning open strings under broken chords that move between uplifting melody and moments of dissonance that make my hair stand up on end. Tension and release. The guitar playing in the song “World Caved In” is a perfect example of what I love about Tom Lyle’s guitar playing. It’s funny living in an age now where you can find Tom Lyle nerding out about records on Instagram. Thoroughly entertaining.

Anyway, those are all the thoughts I can muster this week. I probably could go into more detail if any of you really wanted me to. Nothing to do, bored to death. I’m so bored, I’m bored to death. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Annie Anxiety: Soul Possession LP (Corpus Christi, 1984)

Despite spending several decades immersed in punk’s history, I’ll never stop being humbled by how much I don’t know. Case in point: Annie Anxiety. I was familiar with Annie Anxiety’s 1981 single on Crass Records, “Barbed Wire Halo.” I have a habit of picking up any reasonably priced Crass Records single I come across, knowing full well that a lot of them don’t fit the anarcho punk mold (insofar as there is an anarcho punk mold). “Barbed Wire Halo” is one of those outliers, not quite as out there as the poet Andy T’s single, but not really a toe-tapper either, its music composed mostly of manipulated radio recordings and the vocals, while interesting and expressive, are not really something you hum to yourself in the shower.

I know I’ve seen the cover of Annie Anxiety’s Soul Possession album before—probably when Dais Records reissued the album in 2017—but I’d never listened to it until I came across this original pressing. Looking over the jacket before I put the record on, I noticed Soul Possession’s producer is Adrian Sherwood. While Sherwood’s resume is a mile long, I know him mostly as the proprietor of the On-U Sound label and a key figure in propagating dub reggae’s influence in the post-punk underground. I have a ton of Sherwood-produced records in my collection, including groups like Creation Rebel, African Head Charge, and New Age Steppers for which he seemed to be a driving creative force, but he also has credits on Depeche Mode, Primal Scream, and Sinéad O’Connor records, and had a hand in producing Slates, perhaps my favorite record by my favorite band, the Fall.

As for Soul Possession, it’s exactly the mash-up of Crass Records and On-U Sound I never knew I wanted. Penny Rimbaud from Crass provides drums, Derek Birkett from Flux of Pink Indians plays bass, Gee Vaucher contributes backing vocals, and Eve Libertine provides the striking cover design. Sherwood produces and brings along his multi-instrumentalist On-U Sound partner Kishiko Yamamoto, and the first track, “Closet Love,” sounds like the perfect combination of all those elements. Like Annie Anxiety’s earlier single, it sounds fragmented and choppy, but as in dub reggae, the rhythm section is the glue that holds the composition together and makes it feel like a song. That, and Annie’s vocals are clearer and more present in the mix, revealing warm, dreamy vocal lines that you absolutely could sing in the shower.

One criticism I have of some of the other Sherwood-helmed records in my collection is that they can feel unsatisfyingly circular. Sometimes songs don’t have the sense of development that makes them build toward a satisfying conclusion; instead, the music seems to cycle through iterations of a particular idea, stopping unceremoniously when they’ve wrung the idea dry. I don’t get that feeling from Soul Possession, though. Maybe it’s because each song sounds so different from the last. While “Closet Love” isn’t miles away from something you’d hear on a Siouxsie and the Banshees album, several others have a bluesy, swampy vibe that makes me think of the Gun Club and the Birthday Party. But the album never feels rootsy; the production is determinedly futuristic.

Researching Annie Anxiety, I learned, much to my surprise, that she is American, having performed at Max’s Kansas City with a group called Annie and the Asexuals when she was only sixteen. On a visit to the UK, she ended up at Dial House where she connected with Penny Rimbaud from Crass and then Sherwood. Annie’s involvement with the UK avant garde underground didn’t end with Crass and Adrian Sherwood, either, as her later credits include touchstones like Nurse with Wound, Current 93, Coil, and many others. I need to know more about her contributions to these recordings. Certainly she has a keen ear for identifying forward-thinking collaborators.

In 1987, three years after Soul Possession, Annie released another solo album called Jackamo, originally slated to come out on On-U sound, but ultimately appearing on One Little Indian instead. After that, she changed her stage name to Little Annie, releasing a string of singles and an album (the latter in 1992) and amassing a longer list of credits. I’ll be interested to hear where those records go, as Soul Possession’s combination of avant-garde textures and primal performance has really tickled my fancy lately.

Class: If You’ve Got Nothing 12” (Feel It Records) I know Class’s latest LP, If You’ve Got Nothing, dropped a few months ago, but I gave it another listen this week and the record sucked me in so fully that I have to give it a late Record of the Week shout-out. Whenever I put on a Class record, my first thought is, “god damn it this band is so fucking great.” They have a classic sound rooted in mid-70s power-pop… the Flamin’ Groovies, the Nerves, and the like. While many of the pretty boys who emulate those tones write tunes that leave me cold, Class has the songwriting prowess to evoke this storied era without sounding like a hollow echo. If You’ve Got Nothing starts with two of its strongest numbers. “Public Void” reminds me of Eddy Current Suppression Ring in its laid-back delivery, the drummer playing fast but behind the beat while the bass player lays down a rock solid groove. While the song builds to a climactic chorus, it also makes room for a couple of extended instrumental breaks where two lead guitars twist tangled, Television-esque knots. Next is “Behind the Ball,” whose huge vocal hook in the chorus is sing-along-able enough to warrant a comparison to the Exploding Hearts. There are plenty of highlights through the rest of the LP (like the bratty, near-hardcore of “Burning Cash”), but it takes an interesting turn on the final track, “Grid Stress,” where a different vocalist takes the mic and Class dives into full-on Blue Oyster Cult worship. It fucking RULES. When you look at how prolific Class has been—two albums and two substantial EPs in barely two years—you’d assume the quality would vary, but there isn’t much, if anything, I’d leave on the cutting room floor. If you love a great pop/rock tune played with skill and feeling by actual humans (not computers), get some Class in your collection right now.

Hi Sorry State fam! Hope everyone is doing well! This week has flown by, and the weekend is flying by right along with it. So by the time you're reading this, most of us are all mourning the passing of the weekend and starting all over again. But at least we're in it together. And you know, music always helps! So I'm just going to jump into it.

I came across something I really liked the other day on Bandcamp. It's the new album from Drunk Mums, appropriately called Beer Baby. I hadn't heard the band before, but immediately dug the album and thought it sounded like something that would appeal to any classic punk fans. It is newly released and our stock is on its way! So even though we don't have it yet, it is what I've been enjoying most this week, so I thought I'd share it with you. Go check it out on Bandcamp if you want, and if you like what you hear, you will be ready to grab a copy when they arrive. Drunk Mums have been laying low for the past few years, but what a return! The album has 10 tracks delivered in just over 20 minutes. Very high-energy and amped up all the way through. If you like the classics like the Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Clash, etc., I think this record will be up your alley.

Drunk Mums are from Melbourne, which was not a surprise to me when I started listening to it. It has that special Melbourne magic. I am drawn to so many Australian punk bands. What I love about so many bands that have emerged from down under in the last decade or so is that they sound really fresh and exciting. Very upbeat with a hell of a sense of humor. I've written staff picks on many Australian bands, and now that I think about it, a few of them were in my top 10 of 2023. So before I dig into the next one, shout out to some Australian bands that have won me over, like Lothario, Stiff Richards, The Chats, Cutters, Phil & the Tiles, Vanilla Poppers (to be fair, the band are sort of a Cleveland, Ohio/Melbourne mix), Amyl and the Sniffers, and Display Homes (huge favorite). I'm definitely forgetting another handful at least. Also, I'm currently listening to, and really liking, the debut album from The Judges, who are another Melbourne band! Don't be surprised to see that one in one of my (near) future staff picks.

Ok, let's get back to Beer Baby by Drunk Mums! I guess it could go in the garage punk category, but it's really just good old rock and roll classic fun punk. It's very riff based with fun, sing-a-long style choruses. When I say fun punk, I think of the Ramones, and I immediately thought of the Ramones when the second song, Slippin' Up, came on. The intro sounds very close to Beat on the Brat, so close that I thought it was going to be a cover song, but it's not. It's only that opening beat that sounds so similar. I don't know if they do this on purpose but I had another "is this a cover?" moment with the song Apocalypse. That beat in the intro sounds really similar to Dancin' With Myself, which I happen to love. But much like their second track, the style changes before the first verse and thoughts of Billy Idol dissipated. Apocalypse has a deeper sound, and that could be because the bass is more apparent on this track. Another standout track is Livin' at Night. Really, the whole album is catchy, but this one may be the catchiest. It's very Hey Ho, Let's Go! It's upbeat and hooky with an anthem style chorus. The back-up vocals also give the song more dimension and a fun, retro sound.

This is one of those albums that you put on when you want something fun that stays that way from start to finish. I'm really looking forward to getting this one in stock, so keep your eye out for it. Looks like most of their copies on Bandcamp have sold out, and for good reason! Ok time to wrap things up. Thank you for reading! Until next time...

-Angela

Hello and thanks for reading. This week I wanted to write about the recent DEEF reissues on General Speech. I think it's safe to say DEEF is obscure as fuck. While they are obscure in my mind, they were credited as "the first Sapporo hardcore band" by Doll Magazine in 1982. Regardless, I'm guessing outside of Japan that some cult tape traders would be the only ones to know the band, until maybe the G-GAS reissue that General Speech did in 2015 where DEEF was mentioned. G-GAS was from Sapporo, just like DEEF. While they existed at the same time and have some similarities in sound, DEEF existed before G-GAS did. I learned from the Nou reissue that DEEF had begun as early as 1979. However, they were just school kids and far from a punk band in these early days. On the Nou LP reissue we can find DEEF's 1982 debut also entitled Nou, which was originally released on cassette, and is in fact hardcore. The A side of the LP also features their tracks from a hyper rare cassette entitled Nouten Records, which compiled tracks from three early and obscure Sapporo hardcore bands including 2.26 and PROBLEMS. To finish off the A side, General Speech unleashed 3 completely unreleased studio songs recorded in 1982! While the B side of the LP is totally unreleased recording as well, I think those 1982 studio tracks really set this LP off for me.

I knew virtually nothing about DEEF before these reissues. The only stuff I knew from them came from a bootleg of Real Control on cassette I have. Real Control originally came out in 1983, and I think it absolutely rules. When I heard General Speech was reissuing it I got super excited. I was actually under the impression this tape came out in 1984 until this reissue, and that makes DEEF even more significant in my mind. The B side of the LP features another unreleased session from 1983! With all this unreleased material and killer packaging, it is like a record nerd's wet dream. I feel lucky to have a label like General Speech here in the USA. He's reissuing killer shit from overseas, and he does it with a serious passion and knowledge about what he's dealing with. Inside these reissues I discovered things about Japanese punk history that I had no idea about. I learned that punk was essentially banned in Sapporo by the mid-'80s. It looks like the gigs would start at 1PM in the afternoon. They would also be private, and sometimes people would be seated. That is nuts! Each of these DEEF LPs comes with a foldout insert completely loaded up with color photos, flyers, and scans of the original jcards. These LPs are super well-done, and I think they deserve a place in every collection. I understand it can be overwhelming to have two LPs of obscure shit drop on you and it's hard to know where to start or digest. I mean, that's exactly what's happened to me with the other two General Speech reissues he dropped at the same time! Haha. I better check those out before it's too late. Alright I think that's all for the week. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

Hello, hello Sorry Staters. How’s it going? Good to be back with some words about stuff for the newsletter. I was a bit under the weather last week and couldn’t get it together in time to include a recommendation for you. My apologies. Not that there isn’t ever something cool in the store to talk about and I probably have one or two records lying around my apartment that I could tell you are good. I enjoy talking about records and nerding out over shit with friends and customers in the store and spinning them out at gigs but have always struggled to put thoughts on to paper. I really admire my colleagues here at Sorry State for their ability to write interesting pieces. I try. I watch Jeff here just tap tapping away at the keyboard and five minutes later he’s written a killer review on something and meanwhile I am staring at a white screen. LoL.

This week my listening has been all over the place. We had some big orders delivered recently packed full of interesting and cool records. Third Man Records continue to release good stuff for instance. We got some cool Jazz and Soul titles that they have and some new things too. I’m currently getting into Hotline TNT whose latest album, Cartwheel, they have released. I’m way late for this party so y’all are probably up on them already, but if you aren’t and 90s Shoegaze is your thing, then you might want to check ‘em out. They don’t hide the influences at all and go as far as referencing Teenage Fanclub on the record’s hype sticker. Yep, this is exactly what the record sounds like. Early Fannies mixed with other Creation Records bands, particularly My Bloody Valentine. Normally I stay away from newer bands when they are so obviously ripping a certain sound. I’m not into cosplay and civil war re-enactment either. However, I do have a soft spot for this genre and absolutely adore Teenage Fanclub, so Cartwheel hit the right notes for me. Certainly not reinventing the cartwheel, but there are some good tunes on the record.

What I really want to highlight this week though are a series of killer mixtapes that we got in from World Gone Mad. On actual tape. Very cool. Some of the titles I believe we stocked before, but there are a couple of new ones. I’ve stated many times before how much I love compilations, and a carefully curated mixtape is the best thing going for any music lover. These are all collections comprising rare and underground punk, darkwave, post punk and other alternative sounds from singles released mostly in the 1980s. Each one concentrates on a different part of the world and country. If you are hungry for music that you probably haven’t heard before or own on other compilations or as original singles, these tapes are for you my friend. Tons of great obscure tracks that outside of their own countries and within collector circles have rarely been heard.

So far I have listened to the Polish, Yugoslavian, South American, Japanese and Finnish ones. There’s one from Russia, Greece and Columbia that I still need to check out at the time of writing this. The Japanese one is a double tape and has a lot of great stuff on it. Its scope is the entirety of the 1980s and stops in 1991. I recognized a few names like OXZ and Inu, but most of the records were new to me. Working here with Usman has several perks, but one of them is that he knows his Finnish and Scandinavian punk better than anyone and so has hooked me up with some killer tapes himself. I’ll need to compare the World Gone Mad one with his.

So far I would say the Polish one has been my favorite overall, but there’s so much cool music spread across all of these that the Internationalists like me out there will probably want all of them.

There’s something very pleasing for me hearing somewhat familiar musical styles sung in a language I don’t speak. Often lyrics can get in the way of the emotion of a song, so when you don’t understand the words your brain can just concentrate on the music. Usually, you’ll be feeling the song in the way the artist intended, but sometimes you’ll make up your own meaning to the lyrics and interpret the song in a different way and individual to yourself. Or something like that. I guess the point is, don’t be afraid of stuff you don’t understand and know. There’s more to the world than just Los Angeles, New York or London. Obviously. As cool music lovers with refined tastes, you all knew that and don’t need me telling you, but if you fancy a trip around the planet without getting your passport out, these tapes are the perfect way to do it.

I’ll need to compare the track listings with other compilations like the Bloodstains series to see whether there is any overlap, but even if there is, these are mixtapes and not just straight forward compilations. Aaron at World Gone Mad, who I believe compiled all of these, has put a lot of effort into the track flow and sound quality. Just stick ‘em in the deck and press play. Old school. I wish I still had a tape player in my car to blast these on my commute.

My apologies for not giving you a deeper dive into all the tracks and telling you cool factoids about the artists. I’d be lying if I told you I knew much anyway. Like I said, almost all these tracks are new to me and are obscure even for much more seasoned collectors than myself. But don’t worry about it, take a chance. I’d say perhaps start with the Japanese one, the Polish one, and the Finnish one first and then if you are needing more go for the Yugo and South American next. We’ve got the Greek one running right now and it has some good stuff so far.

Gonna leave you there and make sure I don’t miss the deadline this week. Thanks for reading and as always, thanks for your support.

Cheers - Dom

I’ve been thinking about crossover a lot lately. A “genre delineation” you might say, and a meaning or concept that has been occupying my brain space for many different reasons as of late. Metal meets punk… Or punk meets metal? I guess you could lazily describe the sound in this way, but I feel like the term “crossover” references an explosive saturation of bands during a very particular moment in extreme music. During the mid-80’s, in the United States in particular, a flirtation crept to the surface between underground hardcore punk and the emergence of thrash metal. It’s wild to think about Metallica interviews appearing in DIY punk fanzines, likely around the time when Kill ‘Em All was still on an indie label, and well before Ride The Lightning brought the band over to Europe and they exploded in popularity. I do have a bit of North Carolina pride thinking about how Corrosion of Conformity was a prominent force during this era. Around the time Animosity was recorded, I think COC was practically fully embraced by the West Coast punk and metal scenes alike. I’ve personally drooled over tons of flyers from 1985 of gigs that COC played while in California, with like GBH and Metal Church on the same gig. Or at a venue like Ruthie’s Inn, a famous hub for hardcore/thrash metal crossover gigs, where COC played with Bl’ast! and Possessed on the same gig. Wild.

So, what is crossover really? Was it simply a moment when hardcore punk intermingled with heavy metal, and those bands incorporated elements of thrash as the once primitive hardcore musicians got better at their instruments? Sure. But as with all genre-defining terms, you can’t so easily confine every band into a box. For me, I like to think of crossover as maybe sonically resembling metal influence in the musicianship -- BUT also maintaining the politics and social awareness of punk. I mean mostly in the band’s attitude and in the lyrics, rather than singing about Satan or death and mutilation or whatever. I mean, yeah, beer-guzzling skids are gonna love it… also, the record’s gonna have insane, gnarly, bright and colorful Pushead cover art… And the record is gonna sound particularly fucking good while you’re watching a dude blasting a huge air out of a bowl while riding a Powell-Peralta Caballero board. It all goes together.

Now my point, if there’s one band that is emblematic of the balance between the over-the-top, dayglo splatter ridiculousness and radical social consciousness, then it’s Italy’s almighty Raw Power. Gah-deyum, I fuckin’ love Raw Power. And yeah, I know my opening salvo was all about punk and metal in the States, but I’m flying us all the way over to Italy for my staff pick. Certain friends of mine would probably argue that Raw Power isn’t really pure crossover. They definitely don’t sound like M.O.D. or some shit like that. But to me, they’re part of the conversation. If for nothing else, because of the presentation, the sound, and the era when Screams From The Gutter was released. Guilty by association, you might say.

Recently, Sorry State stocked a new reissue of Screams From The Gutter, and it seems like we haven’t really been selling many of them. My gut reaction is what’s wrong with yall? But I do feel like we’ve had several other reissues of this Raw Power record released on several different labels as well. I don’t wanna call Raw Power a “cheap date” or anything, but I don’t really understand why it’s been so easy for reissue labels to get the official license or publishing of this classic in order to keep re-releasing it. I would like to think it’s because these labels understand this record is such a colossal ripper that it needs to keep being in print! I remember Back On Black did a reissue a few years back. This most recent reissue that Sorry State is stocking is on the prolific FOAD label. I gotta say, because the cover art on this record is so iconic, the reissue had better do the image of that melting mutant emerging from the sewers justice!! Compared to previous reissues, FOAD’s treatment of the cover art looks much better – less dull, super vibrant colors. I might even say the palette uses more of a hot pink in exchange for the more subdued purple on my original Toxic Shock copy. Tangent warning: Speaking of Toxic Shock, there is a Raw Power and COC connection. I think Screams is Toxic Shock catalog #3. Then Toxic Shock #4 is the 80s repress of Eye For An Eye, which came out right after COC initially released it on their own No Core, which surely got their record a ton more distribution. Very cool. Funny enough, the Toxic Shock catalog insert pictured below was the inspiration for my recent design of the Sorry State ad for Deletär and Fugitive Bubble ;)

Okay, here’s the thing about Raw Power… They’re kinda ridiculous – and I mean that with the utmost love and affection. Compared to their first album You Are The Victim, the band’s iconic 2nd LP definitely opted for a more metallic sounding production. Big riffs, gratuitous hesher guitar leads, gratuitous and relentless double kick. And you know what? Raw Power may lack subtlety, but every time I listen to this record, I revert back to the neanderthal, over-caffeinated, sketchy, Beavis and Butthead-esque teenage impulse of going, “SO RAD!!” The band has 2 lead vocalists that alternate. The predominant singer’s voice sounds exhilarated and out of breath the entire time. The other dude sounds like a shrieking banshee. Now, as far as the lyrics, they are definitely confrontational and political. I personally can’t speak to the oppressive political climate of 1980’s Italy. And surely there’s a bit of language barrier, as I assume that English is not these guys’ first language. All that said, and trying to be polite, I would describe the lyrics as not the most “poetic” I guess? Pretty blunt. A little boneheaded? Haha. The first song, “State Oppression,” an all-time classic, is like a battle cry. The energy gets you all riled up like, “FUCK YEAH! Fuck the powers that be!! STATE OPPRESSION!!” Then you actually read the lyrics and you’re like wait… what are we talking about exactly? That one lyric, “The bastards, the motherfuckers, they’re everywhere!” And you’re scratching your head kinda going… “Uh… I guess? Oh, I mean, YEEEAAAHHH THEY ARE BASTARDS!!” I think they use the word “bastard” in like every single song. Some other lyrics are like, “Politicans, you are shit. Politicians, you are crap. Politicans, you sons of bitches,” I could go on and on. Pure genius. Another classic off this record, “Police” rallies for action: “Police, police… don’t worry, attack them in the streets! Officers, officers… Kill them, and be proud men.” The “don’t worry” gets me laughing every time haha. It’s like yeah, duh, obviously. But as much as these lyrics read as absurd and outrageous, there’s still something about the attitude behind them that gets me clenching my fists and all fired up. What really gets me is the intro to the song “Army”. It’s starts with a lone guitar riff and then the bass and drums stop and start hitting on these punches… But the singer keeps repeating in a declarative manner: “ALRIGHT!”, almost like he’s addressing the listener before the whole band launches the attack like, “You ready to rip, motherfucker? CHARGE!!” Then it’s non-stop double kick drum mayhem. Fuck yeah.

Wow, somehow that ended up being the longest staff pick I’ve written in a long time. Just speaks to how much I wanna get across my love for Raw Power, I guess. Much like Raw Power’s lyrics, forgive if my analysis was more passionate than it was studious. Thanks for indulging me.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

My staff pick for this week is a playlist of 80s Finnish punk and hardcore I made for the 185 Miles South podcast. I wrote an entire staff pick about 185 Miles South last year, a little after I first started listening. You can read the whole thing if you want, but the short version is that while my tastes don’t line up with theirs 100% of the time, I absolutely love the hosts’ thoughtful and considered approach to music as well as their dedication to following and promoting contemporary hardcore punk. The podcast is very well produced and every episode is a great listen from beginning to end. Occasionally their enthusiasm even turns me on to something cool I never would have checked out otherwise (you’ll see Scarab pop up on our website pretty soon). If you’re a podcast person, you should definitely have this show in your feed.

Zack from 185 and I have chatted a little bit over email, and a while back he asked if I knew anyone who would want to talk about international hardcore punk for the podcast. I not-so-humbly suggested myself, and the first installment aired on this week’s episode (check their site to links to listen on your platform of choice). Zack asked me to make a 5 band, 10-song playlist of 80s Finnish hardcore punk. I approached the playlist much like I do my year-end list each year. I created a shortlist of bands off the top of my head, then I did a bunch of research to make sure I didn’t miss anything obvious. This left me with a list of 6 bands: Kaaos, Terveet Kadet, Riistetyt, Rattus, Lama, and Appendix. I stressed for a long time about which one I should drop. Terveet Kadet is probably my least favorite of that bunch, but they are such an important and well-known band that it didn’t feel right to give them the boot. Eventually I thought of a cheat to let through all six bands, by taking one song from each side of the Kaaos / Cadgers split (in case you don’t know / remember, Cadgers changed their name to Riistetyt shortly after releasing this record) and counting that as one band. That meant I couldn’t use any tracks from Kaaos and Riistetyt’s excellent later records, but at least all my favorites got to come to the party.

After I decided on the bands, I listened through all the records to choose the tracks I thought would be the best mix tape bangers. A few, like Lama’s “Paskaa” and Appendix’s “Huora,” I knew had to go on there. For the others, I had ideas about which eras of the bands I wanted to touch. For Rattus, I wanted one raw track from Rajoitettu Ydinsota (recently reissued by Usman on his label Makitie 8) and another from Uskonto On Vaara, and I knew that I wanted one song from Terveet Kadet’s first two EPs and another from Ääretön Joulu. The latter EP is a real favorite and it was tough to choose just one song. Eventually I settled on a track list and listened to it a bunch to make sure I was happy with it. Since most of this stuff isn’t on streaming services, Zack made a YouTube playlist that you can listen to here.

When we recorded the segment for the show, for some reason I didn’t think about the fact that we’d be talking about the particular songs I chose… for some reason I thought we’d be talking more about the bands and Finnish hardcore in general. Fortunately I had listened to the tracks a bunch as part of the process of making the tape, but I wish I was a little more prepared to talk about the nuts and bolts of each song. All in all, though, I think it went pretty well. At the very least I don’t think I completely embarrassed myself. To borrow a phase from Zack, if you disagree, don’t get at me.

In addition to the episode, Zack also featured the playlist in his 185 Miles South Substack, and if you look at that he pulled a ton of pictures, reviews, and other ephemera about Finnish punk from old issues of Maximumrocknroll. It’s definitely worth a look.

I’m not sure when we’ll record it or when it’ll air, but the next installment will be on 80s Italian hardcore. I’ve only just started on that mix. I have my list of 5 bands and I’ve started listening to everything and choosing tracks. Wretched is already giving me trouble. My first thought was that I should include one track from one of their ultra raw first couple of records and another from La Tua Morte Non Aspetta, but when I listened through their discography, I felt like the song “Finirà Mai?” has to be on there, but that song kind of walks the line between their earlier, more hectic stuff and the gloomier later records. I guess stay tuned to see how I navigate that and any other roadblocks I encounter.