News

Hello everyone. How’s it going?

As this past Monday was MLK day here in the United States and the radio show I do falls on a Monday, we naturally did a show that reflected that and tried to honor the great man with the selections we chose. In preparation for the show, I found myself auditioning lots of records and quickly realized that I had several records by The Impressions and Curtis Mayfield in the stack of possible contenders. My DJ partner Matt ended up spinning the song “Preacher Man” by them, and I played a Curtis penned tune, “Mighty Mighty”, performed by the legendary Baby Huey. His record came out on the Curtom label, which was of course Curtis Mayfield’s label. Whichever song or songs we chose, there is no doubt that when it came to writing and producing songs that related to civil rights and the state of the country, Curtis Mayfield was the man. His compositions were topical, political, soulful, funky, reflected true life and just damn good. Even though Curtis had the voice of God, The Impressions with or without him never lacked for vocal talent. When he left the group in 1970 to concentrate on his solo work and producing for other artists, his spot was taken by the fabulous Leroy Hutson, who himself only stayed with the group for one album before going solo. That album from 1972 is Times Have Changed and is my pick to steer you towards this week.

When talking about The Impressions, it really is hard to pick a favorite song or album. They existed as a group for close to sixty years, albeit with multiple lineup changes, but their golden period was certainly the time during the 1960s when Curtis Mayfield was in the group writing songs. Their records combined love songs, party tunes and right on social commentary in equal measure. Beginning in 1964 with “Keep On Pushing”, Curtis had a supreme talent for writing what are considered black pride anthems. I could list them all, but you surely must be aware of songs like “People Get Ready”, “Choice Of Colors”, “This Is My Country” and “Amen”. That’s just the songs he wrote for the group. After 1970’s Check Out Your Mind album, another winner, he went solo and continued creating gold. If he had only just written “Move On Up” or “Superfly” and nothing else, he would still be a legend. Anyway, Times Have Changed is the first post-Curtis Impressions album but his presence is all over it. Six of the eight songs are written by him and the other two are by his replacement, Leroy Hutson and Marvin Gaye. Mayfield handles the production and most of the arrangements, although Hutson helps on his track and old collaborator Johnny Pate lends his talents on a number too.

The album begins with “Stop The War,” a plea to end the conflict in Vietnam, but sadly a song that could apply to our times today or at several other points in recent history. It’s a classic Mayfield production, instantly recognizable. Tight bass and beats, propelling percussion, psychedelic and funky guitar leads and tasteful use of strings. Title track “Times Have Changed” is more of a gospel influenced slow burner that has wind sound effects layered underneath the intro and outro. Money track for most people is the cover of “Inner City Blues,” the Marvin Gaye anthem from his classic What’s Going On album, which had been released the previous year. The Impressions provide a powerful and faithful version of the original.

Next up the group sing “Our Love Goes On And On,” a nice love song with a great percussive break and an almost disco feel that Gladys Knight & The Pips would cover a couple of years later on the soundtrack to the film Claudine. Another fine Curtis Mayfield written and produced set. The man did not stop during the 1970s I tell you.

The remainder of the album stays in love mode with songs related to matters of the heart. I really like the song “Potent Love.” It’s a textbook Mayfield production and shows off the great musicianship from the players he used, particularly that of Master Henry Gibson on percussion duties. The album finishes strongly with the song “Love Me,” a great soulful mid-tempo head-nodder that again benefits from some fine musicianship and a strong arrangement.

Although Leroy Hutson replaced Mayfield in the group, his vocals are not lead throughout, and in fact you hear just as much of Sam Gooden and Fred Cash as you do Hutson. That’s not a complaint. The Impressions were always a vocal group. Just like their contemporaries over at Motown, The Temptations and The Four Tops, for example, they had great harmonies and shared lead amongst the members depending on the song’s needs. Every cut on this record has terrific vocals, just outstanding. These kids today call themselves singers, yeah right.

Perhaps the only criticism of this set is that it’s a little short at just over thirty minutes and possibly too heavy on the love songs. Maybe one more song like the first three would have evened it out more, but who the hell am I to second guess genius fifty years later?

I think the album is a fine addition to the group’s discography and worthy of investigation for all the soul lovers out there. There are several versions and pressings available, but be prepared to pay a little for a first with the embossed gatefold cover, and look out for copies that came with a small poster included with the initial run that has the group standing solemnly in a cemetery with the text “Too Late For Equality” above them. The same shot without text is used inside the gatefold.

As a group, The Impressions carried on for many more years, creating some good music. Following Times Have Changed came the albums Preacher Man, Finally Got Myself Together and Three The Hard Way (a soundtrack) which are all solid. Curtis Mayfield, as we mentioned, kept himself very busy with his own records and the many others that he wrote, arranged and produced for other artists. It goes without saying that if you see his name on a record, it’s worth checking out. I mean, Curtis and The Impressions were one of the biggest influences on Bob Marley and The Wailers, and you can’t get a better endorsement than that.

You can click here for a link to listen to the album if you feel so inclined, and I’ll see you here next time.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up Sorry Staters?

How’s everyone doing? Lately, I’ve been feeling alright. I go through bouts where my spirits are up and down, but for whatever reason maybe 2023 is off to a good start. Last week’s shows that Scarecrow played along with Flower and Destruct were really great. I’m not sure if any of them would be reading this or are even aware of Sorry State, but there was a whole new crop of kids that came to the show at The Fruit here in NC. Tall, skinny teenage dudes with foot-tall mohicans. I love to see it. I was them once. I loved street punk and bands like A Global Threat (honestly, I still like AGT haha). Gives me hope that more younger people will start coming out to punk gigs in town. Maybe they’ll even start a killer band! Who knows?

Speaking of it now being 2023, we’re almost 3 weeks into the year and Sorry State is finally talking about “year-end lists” for 2022. It’s so hard for me to pick favorites. Shit, it’s hard enough to even remember what records came out in the last year. A record that I’ve seen appear on many people’s “Best of 2022” lists is the latest LP from Long Knife, Curb Stomp Earth. And I would agree! I definitely spun that record a lot this year.

Probably planned to coincide with the release of their new LP, Black Water just reissued the first 2 LPs by Long Knife. With all the people of the internets hyping Curb Stomp Earth, I wonder how many people are familiar with their earlier material. I will admit that it’s been many years since I’ve revisited those records. I bought both of them when they came out. I was thinking back, and I remember I bought Wilderness around the time my old band Mercy Killings played with Long Knife. If I remember correctly, I think we played their shows in NC and in Richmond on that tour. Maybe I’m wrong about that, but Richmond for sure. I had to check back and see when Wilderness came out, and I was shocked to see that it came out in 2013. 10 YEARS AGO! I was trippin’ on that. I had a brief moment of feeling like an old man and that I’ve been doing this punk shit for too long. But I then I threw on this LP and that feeling subsided pretty quickly haha.

This first LP holds up super well. Before I’d heard Long Knife back those many years ago, they were billed to me as, “Dude, they sound like Poison Idea.” Which, sure, I get it. They’re from Portland. They got those riffs. And yeah, the singer Colin’s snarling vocals do kinda recall Jerry A. But I think simply calling them a Poison Idea rip off is selling them short. Clear influence or not, I think Long Knife has their own stamp with the way they write songs. I would say when comparing it to Curb Stomp Earth, the first record is definitely less dense and ambitious with the arrangements and whacky instrumentation. Wilderness is obviously a more straight ahead hardcore record. That said, it’s clear within just a couple minutes that these dudes are seasoned and can really play. The record starts off a bit slow, with this pounding intro heavy on the toms on the drums. Then the first song “Artificial Heart Recall” is like this frantic, octane-driven mid-paced song. But then a song like “Ghost in the Hall” really stands out, kicking off with this sort of moody, minor chord style riff and sing-along chorus. It really caught me off guard. But I remember even back in the day when I first got this record, I was totally just blown away by the B-side. The one-two punch of “Reptile Smile” into “Back To Blackout” is like hardcore mastery to me. The B-side is just heater after heater. The last track “Move It Creep” comes in with this drum intro that has a kinda like phaser or flange effect. So really, even on the first record, they were experimenting with some cool ideas in the production. There’s like blazing harmonized guitar leads, ripping bass fills… some good musicianship sneaks its way into Long Knife’s songwriting. My only complaint about this record is that it feels short. It’s basically 9 songs played on a 45 RPM 12”, but it flies right by. As I’m writing this, I flipped the disc like 6 times. I guess it’s clear that I still like it!

So yeah, I’ve been gushing about Wilderness the whole time, but Long Knife’s 2nd 12”, Meditations on Self Destruction, is also back in print. Sorry State just stocked a bunch of copies of each record. So, if you missed out on these earlier releases in the Long Knife catalog, make sure you remedy that ASAP.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

The Breeders: Title TK LP (2001, 4AD Records)

A problem one runs into when your record collection gets to be a certain size is making sure you give adequate attention to everything. I have enough records that I can’t store them all on easy-to-browse, eye-level shelving. The letters T through W of my LPs are behind a chair in my living room. If I know I want to listen to Total Control or Wire, it’s easy enough to reach behind the chair and grab one of their records, but it’s difficult to flip through those records and see what’s there. Consequently, Tarnfarbe or Univers Zero don’t get played as much because they’re just not as accessible and those artists’ names aren’t often at the front of my mind.

I’ve always been aware of this problem, and for years I refused to alphabetize my records, reasoning that if I kept my records in that order I would only play records that start with certain letters that were more accessible on my shelves. Eventually, though, that chaotic organizational system outlived its usefulness… I just couldn’t remember what I had or didn’t have, and I’d often want to listen to something and couldn’t find it. My latest solution is that I alphabetize my records, but I get help from technology when it’s time to decide what to listen to. While records are great at providing an immersive listening experience for the album you’ve chosen, digital libraries are more convenient to browse. So, I’ve been trying to get digital copies of everything I own in a physical format. As this process comes together, I’ve browsing my digital library to help me select what record I want to listen to.

I love this app called Albums, where the default view of your digital library is a grid of album artwork in random order. It only takes a few seconds of scrolling to find something I want to listen to, and then I go over to my shelves and pick out the record and play it. This method has prompted me to play records I hadn’t played in years. That’s what happened the other day with Title TK. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to listen to that evening, and when I scrolled past the album’s cover, I thought, “that’s exactly what I want to listen to.” It may have been ten years since I last listened to Title TK—who knows—but I’ve been having a lot of fun with it since I pulled it out.

Title TK is kind of a weird, under-appreciated album in the Breeders’ discography. It’s their third album, but it came out eight years after their breakout second album Last Splash. Those eight years were chaotic, with many line-up changes and expensive aborted recording sessions. Apparently, Kim Deal was a brutal taskmaster in the studio, alienating many of the musicians who contributed to the sessions. At one point, unsatisfied with the drum performances she was getting from every musician she tried, Deal decided to learn drums herself, moving back to her native Ohio to woodshed. (Deal, indeed, provides some of the drum tracks on Title TK.) After years of false starts, a new version of the Breeders coalesced in 2000 with three members of Fear (!?!?!?!) joining the fray, as well as Kim’s twin sister Kelley returning to the band after a hiatus.

If you get two Breeders fans together, they’re probably going to argue about whether the first album, Pod, or the second album, Last Splash, is the group’s high-water mark, but I think Title TK is their catalog’s quiet masterpiece. Maybe it just hit me at the right time, but there are so many things I love about this record that are unique to it. The biggest ones are the senses of space and rhythm that characterize these songs. I always thought I heard a distinct dub reggae influence on Title TK, not only in the heavy bass on tracks like “The She,” but also in the mix’s sense of wide-open space. So much of my listening diet around the time Title TK came out was punk and hardcore, and I found it refreshing to hear a record that sounded so light and airy. Plus, all that space in the mix provides the perfect setup for blindsiding the listener with a weird sound coming out of nowhere, like the synth burst that interrupts the otherwise gentle “Off You.” Also, while the album is as full of great guitar and vocal parts like you would expect, many of the songs get their mojo from unexpected rhythms. The first track, “Little Fury,” is a perfect example, where a minimal yet distinctive drumbeat provides the song’s most important hooks.

Those are the parts of Title TK that are unique, but it also has all the things I love about the Breeders’ other records. There’s Kim and Kelley’s harmony singing… there’s almost always something special about siblings singing in harmony, and the sound of Kim and Kelley singing together is just pleasing to my ears, syrupy but with a haunting quality. And then there are Kim’s lyrics. They’re imagistic, full of apparent non sequiturs, but always alive with potential meaning. They’re like Stephen Malkmus’s lyrics, but without the self-conscious erudition (some might say pretension). As with the lyrics, Kim’s songwriting seems to follow an idiosyncratic internal logic, never doing what you expect but always sounding natural and intuitive. I just love the way Kim’s brain works.

So yeah… Title TK… an under-appreciated gem. Check it out, or if it doesn’t sound like something that would appeal to you, give some love to one of the lesser-accessed corners of your collection.

Oh, and if you’re familiar with this album and you’re wondering why I’m holding it up backwards, it’s because I like the back cover better than the front, so that’s how I have it shelved. There are quite a few records I have shelved that way. This one has been that way so long I almost forgot what I know as the front cover isn’t actually the real album cover.

Inferno Personale: In Ira Veritas 12" (Symphony of Destruction Records) In Ira Veritas is the debut record from this band based in Bremen, Germany, but featuring punk expatriates from all over the world, including Italy, Colombia, Germany, and Argentina. Scarecrow played with Inferno Personale on the first night of our European tour last summer, and they peeled back our collective faces… they were so raw, intense, and explosive. Thus, I had an idea of what was coming with In Ira Veritas, but even having seen the band, it did not prepare me for how stunning this record is. Inferno Personale features a member of Muro, and they have that way of maintaining an overwhelming level of intensity I associate with Muro and other contemporary Colombian punk bands like Uzi, Systema, and Primer Regimen. I’m not sure how all these bands pull it off, but their music sounds like it’s being wrenched from deep within them, a primal howl that reaches the primitive parts of my brain. I’ve seen Inferno Personale described as a crasher crust band, and while some moments (like, for instance, the album-closer, “Monologue”) summon that subgenre’s blur of intensity, what keeps me coming back to In Ira Veritas is how much compelling music Inferno Personale squeezes in amongst the constant bashing. The album’s cover art is an obvious nod to Wretched’s second album, La Tua Morte Non Aspetta, and it fuses that record’s subtle musicality with the raw intensity of Wretched’s earlier recordings. In Ira Veritas is littered with memorable licks and riffs, dramatic rhythmic shifts, and throat-ripping howls. Like D-Clone’s Creation and Destroy or Confuse’s Indignation, it’s one of those rare records that grabs you by the throat with its intensity, but has the depth, subtlety, and originality to keep you flipping it over. Throw it in a beautifully illustrated, screen-printed jacket that will make the print nerds drool, and you have an irresistible package.

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. My listening has been all over the place, but like most weeks, there was some blues mixed in there. I was listening to Muddy Waters, and more specifically, Electric Mud. One of the most polarizing blues albums of all time, Muddy Waters was even quoted as describing the album as “dogshit.” Critics were harsh on the album when it released in 1968, stating that it didn’t sound like the traditional blues they were used to hearing from a Muddy Waters album and weren’t fans of this more psychedelic sound that was ripe with the use of fuzzboxes and wah-wah pedals. I on the other hand, love it, along with a lot of other people who enjoy this different take on some of these classic blues songs like Same Thing and Hoochie Coochie Man. According to a source close to him, Jimi Hendrix used to listen to Herbert Harper’s Free Press for inspiration before going on stage to perform. This album really flies by at about 37 minutes, but It’s so great from start to finish. He’s just really shredding on here. I also really love the picture printed on the inside of the gatefold jacket and the smug look he’s giving in it. This is the most recent 2017 pressing from Third Man Records, and it sounds amazing. We have a few copies still available online and in store, so if you don’t have a copy yet, I highly recommend it.

Hey Sorry State readers! How are you? It’s been a meh kind of week for me. A lot going on that I don’t want to do, like dental work (please go to the dentist more frequently than every four years). It feels like a lot of the things I’ve majorly procrastinated on are now coming to a head. Something I don’t procrastinate on is listening to music. How’s that for a positive segue into my staff pick?

This one’s tough because I really like the Sirkka release (it’s so bad ass, highly recommended) but I figured someone else could do that write-up more justice at this time. So, I’m going with a band that’s not new, but new to me: Vanilla Poppers. I’ve been playing their EP, I Like Your Band, on repeat.

I think most of the band is from Melbourne, but for the last several years they made Cleveland their home. Still not sure why they chose Cleveland, but they actually found the scene to be very welcoming. But I think most of the band actually moved back to Melbourne.

Anyway, the EP is raw, somewhat melodic hardcore played with the utmost confidence. Vanilla Poppers get straight to the point and play with such urgency. It’s full of classic and interesting riffs and fast and furious drumming. The opening hook on the first track, Get Away from Me, is so killer. But it’s the singer’s wailing, screeching, vocals that take center stage for me. Not only are they cutting, but full of early 70s punk attitude.

The lyrics are simple but funny, and cover things like fake friends and being broke punks. And also the ritual of meeting people in the bathroom at punk shows and telling lies like “I like your band.” Which also happens to be the catchiest track on the EP. The EP is only four songs, so it’s over way before you’re ready.

I think if you like Judy and the Jerks, you will like Vanilla Poppers. Unfortunately it’s sold out on our web store, but I highly recommend checking them out.

Thanks for reading! See ya next time.

-Angela

https://vanillapoppers.bandcamp.com/album/i-like-your-band

Hi and thanks for reading. Unfortunately, the physical copies of my Staff Pick are sold out from Sorry State, but you can listen to it here. I think the tape is killer, so I still wanted to write about it. Of course, the first thing I hear is FRAMTID when I listen to this tape, the chaotic noisy sound with gutteral vocals really bring them to mind. They do have some more pulled-back songs that remind me of DOOM, but drenched in even more distortion. The band does not hide behind distortion though. The song-writing is good and the drums are super fucking locked in. The groove on ‘Anguised Misery’ is just perfect. I am not a huge fan of stomper tracks, but this one really hits the spot for me. I am not sure who all is in KOS, but I know it’s some members of POLLEN alongside Chris Ulsh, the greatest songwriter in America. It looks like the cassette is unavailable from the band as well, but word is there is an EP in the works ;) Alright I’ve got limited time today so I’ve got to go. Check out the debut from KOS and get excited for their EP! Cheers and thanks for reading!!

What’s up Sorry Staters? How’s your week been? I hope all is well out there with you.

Last week the world sadly lost another name in music with the passing of Scottish musician Alan Rankine of the pop group The Associates. With that in mind, for my staff pick this week please join me and celebrate the fabulousness that was The Associates.

For anyone who was tuned into the pop world during the early 1980s in Britain as I was, there was no escaping the impact that The Associates had. During 1982 they ruled weekly TV chart show Top Of The Pops with their appearances, performing their two biggest hits, Party Fears Two and Club Country. I can recall hearing the former song for the first time and still think it’s one of the most unique pop songs of the era and remains a personal favorite. The magic came from the incredible range of singer Billy Mackenzie and the ease with which he moved through the octaves. Combined with the catchy guitar & synth-pop made by Alan Rankine it was a match made in heaven. Alan now joins Billy in the afterlife, who tragically left the world back in 1997.

Rankine and Mackenzie formed the group in the late 1970s in Dundee, Scotland. They cheekily came to attention by covering David Bowie’s Boys Keep Swinging just months after the original had been released, without permission. Bowie’s publishers were impressed enough though to offer a deal, which led to the recording of their first album The Affectionate Punch, released through Fiction Records. That label was home to The Cure, with whom they toured in 1980 and The Cure’s Robert Smith provided backing vocals on a song or two. He’s heard on the song Amused As Always, which has a great squelchy bass line. The album’s a cool mix of synth-pop, post punk guitars and Bowie Low period all topped off with Billy’s vocals cruising operatically throughout proceedings. I had a copy of the record once, but let it go in one of several purges my record collection has had over the years due to moving or needing money. I’ve yet to find a replacement copy in the wild, but perhaps on a future trip to England I’ll come across one. Of note is the fact that a few years later, the album was re-recorded with new parts and vocals. The consensus is to avoid this version.

The Associates switched labels to Situation 2 after that first album and released a string of singles throughout 1981. A lot of the money for recording was taken from bigger record companies with the view to providing them demos. Situation 2 compiled those singles and other tracks onto the album Fourth Drawer Down. There’s lots to like among these tracks. I like the song Q Quarters, for instance, and my absolute favorite Associates track, the instrumental simply titled The Associate, which is a great catchy synth-based tune that’ll earworm you big time. Trust me. That song has been a go to DJ track for me over the years and always goes down well.

The early 1980s were blessed with so many great pop groups all doing their thing. If you know and like Soft Cell, Heaven 17, ABC, Spandau Ballet, and Human League to name a few, that’s the company that The Associates were keeping. The majors wanted in, and it was WEA that got them through their involvement with Beggars Banquet, which was the parent label to Situation 2, and with whom they had an international labels deal. This resulted in The Associates’ next and most successful album Sulk being released on their own Associates label via Beggars in the UK and on Sire in the US. It must be noted that the versions released in the UK and US vary considerably with different tracks and running order. The previously mentioned, Party Fears Two and Club Country are on both, but for the US version third hit 18 Carat Love Affair is added. (Personally, not one of my favorites, but still a good pop song). Things were on the up and up for the group in 1982, with a major UK tour poised to begin and US interest strong from both Sire and Island Records. Then Billy suddenly decided to pull out of the tour. Possibly a self-destructive move fueled by drug use and his desire to reinvent and not wanting to be pigeonholed into any one category, it was enough to force Alan Rankine to leave the band.

Mackenzie continued as The Associates, but with different musicians and associates for each subsequent project. Those further albums unfortunately don’t reach the high quality of the early work, although there are some definite worthy moments. Mackenzie famously ran up huge debts whilst at WEA with all sorts of shenanigans related to recording, re-recording and other artistic expenses. Eventually, they had to pull the plug. Apparently when taken to lunch at a Knightsbridge restaurant by his A&R man to be told he was dropped, Billy took the news on the chin and asked for one last expense to be picked up, his cab fare home. Naturally, it was accepted. Billy took the cab from London back to Dundee. Class.

There’s lots more to the story, including Billy working with Swiss production team Yello and recording a song with legend Shirley Bassey, something he was particularly proud of and proof to his parents that he had “made it.” In 1993, Billy and Alan had seemed to agree on a reunion, and plans were made for a tour and recordings. However, their differences remained and before much could come of it, they split for the final time. Sadly, four years later, following the death of his mother, which deepened his depression, Billy passed away due to an overdose of medications.

Alan Rankine is to be applauded and noted for his later contributions to music. He became a lecturer at Stow College in Glasgow, and as part of his musical program ther,e a young group called Belle And Sebastian were chosen to have their record Tigermilk released on the school’s Electric Honey label. The rest is, as they say, history. Kudos to him, though.

For a good few years, Associates records have been out of print, but in the early 2000s all the albums were reissued on CD remastered with bonus cuts. I do have a copy of The Affectionate Punch, at least on CD. The rejected WEA album also finally got a release. Plenty to explore for sure, but certainly do yourselves a favor and get to know those first three records and look at some of their early videos and TV appearances. Perhaps we can make Billy’s famous black beret become fashionable again.

Thanks for reading and being open to other forms of music than just punk. Y’all are cool like that and it’s appreciated.

Cheers - Dom

Rest In Power Jeff Beck. Truth.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Even after getting back from my trip a couple weeks ago with Public Acid, it already feels like life is getting busy here at home again. As I’m writing this, I’m simultaneously gearing up for a gig happening in NC tonight. Tonight (which is Wednesday) Scarecrow is playing with Flower from NYC, along with our buddies in Destruct and a brand new NC band called Overgrown Throne. Should be a sick gig. Tomorrow night (Thursday) we’re also playing Flower’s show in Richmond. So where is there time to sit down and wax poetic about punk records? But when duty calls to bang out incoherent ramblings for our weekly newsletter, I’m up for the task!

I feel like I gotta talk about this Vidro record. Vidro is based out of Stockholm, Sweden, but a few of the members are transplants from USA and Brazil. The band’s latest LP Glöd came out in Europe in the earlier half of 2022, but the States are now blessed with a fresh vinyl pressing courtesy of Beach Impediment Records. I was lucky enough to see Vidro live a couple times this summer in a few of my ventures overseas. The first time I saw them was in June at the K-Town fest in Copenhagen when I was there with Public Acid and Warthog. I can’t remember if they played Friday or Saturday, but they played later on the bill and at the time I was more or less unfamiliar with them. The room at Ungdomshuset was PACKED with sweaty punks. As Vidro began to play, the stage was dimly lit and these 4 figures on stage were shrouded in a cloud of mystery. I just remember standing toward the back of the venue and thinking how powerful they sounded. It was intense. Maybe even a little scary. But then later on that night, I was chatting with Tadzio from Golpe over by the merch tables. It somehow came up in our conversation that Staffan, who plays drums in Vidro, also played in Kurt I Kuvös and an incarnation of Headcleaners. Now, me being the Swedish punk nerd that I am, I totally flipped out when I learned this information. Staffan came over to us at some point when we were talking, and I proceeded to punish him for a few minutes about his bands of yesteryear. He was super friendly.

THEN, fast-forward to a month-or-so later when I was in Germany on Scarecrow tour… In Hamburg, Scarecrow ended up playing Vidro’s last gig of their tour. This time, instead of appearing dark and mysterious on a big stage, I got to see Vidro perform in a more intimate and exposed environment. All the bands that night played on the floor of this squat in Hamburg (which I can’t remember the name of). Vidro delivered a powerful performance once again, but intense and convicted as they are, I remember the energy in the room being more fun and lighthearted. But people in the crow did go the fuck off. It was killer. At the end of the night, Scarecrow and Vidro hung out outside by our respective tour vehicles, and we all chatted for a while. They all seemed like super cool people.

And even after all of this, I STILL hadn’t heard Vidro’s new LP yet. Now, having listened to it many times, it’s safe to say that it’s killer. I think Vidro’s sound really stands out. They’re something special, like a breath of fresh smoke. I find Vidro to be pretty unique in the landscape of current punk and hardcore. Lucas the guitar player’s sound is blaring on this record. And I’m not sure if they have chorus on them or what, but the guitars have this wobbly, dissonant, kinda other-worldy effect on them. While the riffs come through clearly, the wash of noise underneath gives Vidro’s sound this eerie and cloudy atmosphere. Almost kinda droney in a way. That said, Lucas and the bass player Melody weave through these kinda slithering riffs that are heavy and nasty sounding, but also incredibly catchy. Like wobbly, slithering ear worms. While I’d certainly say that Vidro is a hardcore band, I would also say they play at this pounding, heavy mid-paced tempo more often than they play ripping fast. Staffan plays the drums with this heavy-handed, straight-down-the-middle kind of attack… almost kinda like 4-on-the-floor but if it were hardcore drumming! No wonder it’s so dancy. Then the singer Vendela just delivers the vocals with a powerful, commanding presence, barked and chanted with such intensity. I remember watching her just kinda owning her space and staring down the crowd while Vidro played in Hamburg. I probably tried to avoid eye contact haha. This record sounds explosive. You can really hear the dynamics and energy in the room. It feels as exciting and has a total vibe as if you were in the room with Vidro while they’re playing. You can taste the blood, you can feel the sweat, you can smell the crusty armpits.

So yeah, check out this record if you haven’t yet. I heard through the grapevine that Vidro might be coming to tour USA in 2023. Look forward to that.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Neuroot: Right Is Might 7” (1986, Smuel Productions)

This week I’m writing about Right Is Might, the 1986 7” from Dutch hardcore band Neuroot. Neuroot has been on my radar for a long time—decades even—but I never had my “a-ha” moment with them until I picked up this 7” a few months ago. That happens to me often. I know many people who, if they hear something and it doesn’t speak to them immediately, decide they don’t like it and write the artist off forever. However, I tend to trust the wisdom of the crowd. If there are many people whom I respect who like a band or a record, I just assume it hasn’t hit me in the right way, that I haven’t heard the right record or listened to the band in the right context. I’m always circling back to artists like this, and many of my all-time favorite records and artists are ones I didn’t respond to on the first listen.

I’ve listened to various Neuroot reissues over the years, but this great-looking and great-sounding original pressing did my head in when I dropped the needle. Neuroot’s sound is big and powerful, as you always want your hardcore punk to be, but what strikes me here is the originality of their sound. While there are a couple of fast thrash passages on Right Is Might, most of the EP stomps along at a menacing, medium-fast tempo, like an army marching with purpose toward their intended target. By holding back from those cathartic passages of blistering speed or lumbering heaviness, Neuroot’s music builds tension, which they emphasize harmonically with dark and dissonant chords in the vein of Die Kreuzen or later-era Wretched. While many great hardcore records sound like explosions of energy, Right Is Might simmers like a pot at the edge of full-on boil. Perhaps that unique tone is what I had trouble locking into when I heard the band previously… it’s not what you come to an 80s hardcore record expecting.

Besides generating a unique brand of tension, Neuroot’s style also provides space for some noteworthy work from the band’s players (the vocalist is charismatic, but pretty straightforward in their execution). The guitarist bounces back and forth between the dense and dissonant chords I mentioned above and chunky palm-muting, emphasizing that relentless marching rhythm. The bass player often departs from the root notes, injecting wobbly, noisy fills into the songs’ many nooks and crannies. My favorite part of Right Is Might, though, is the drumming. It’s just so creative. Rarely relying on a straightforward punk beat, Neuroot’s drummer finds unique places for rhythmic accents. The drums never do what you expect them to, and while the drumming style is quite busy, the songs always have that powerful groove… it’s not like, say, Jerry’s Kids, where the drumming is so hyperactive you have trouble hearing the beat at the center. Neuroot’s songs are always rock solid. Perhaps that’s because they were a band for five years before they released Right Is Might, their debut record. Who knows when it emerged, but they exhibit a unique and powerful playing style here.

While Right Is Might has sparked a new appreciation of Neuroot’s music for me, that music sometimes gets overshadowed by this record’s relationship to a piece of hardcore punk record collecting lore. The insert for Right Is Might thanks Pushead for releasing the record in North America, but this never actually happened. The four tracks on Right Is Might, along with two others recorded at the same session, were supposed to come out on Pusmort Records as a split LP with the Canadian band Fratricide. It’s unsurprising that Pushead liked Neuroot… their metallic punk sound would have fit well with Pusmort artists like Final Conflict and Poison Idea. Unfortunately, though, the release never progressed past the test pressing stage. As you might expect, those original test pressings are highly collectible, though they change hands from time to time… there are though to be at least 25 copies in circulation. You can read a thorough analysis of the entire history of the aborted Neuroot / Fratricide split on the Negative Insight zine website, including scans of all of Pushead’s original correspondence with Neuroot from the 80s. So cool!

While Right Is Might isn’t rare or expensive, at least as far as 80s European hardcore 7”s go, a better (and certainly easier) option if you want to experience these tracks is Havoc Records’ 2020 reissue of the record, which expands to a 12” by adding the two additional tracks meant for the split 12” with Fratricide. (If you’re curious, the Fratricide material was also issued eventually on the Canadian label Schizophrenic Records). Even better, we have the Havoc LP in stock at Sorry State! Pick one up and get yer noggin crushed.