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Record of the Week: Suffocating Madness - S/T 7"

Suffocating Madness: S/T 7” (Roach Leg Records) Two of the hottest labels in the game right now, Roach Leg Records and Active-8 Records, bring us the debut by this new project from New York. Suffocating Madness has a few Sorry State connections, with Jesse from Sorry State alumni Bukkake Boys (as well as New York’s Extended Hell) on guitar and Pancho, who plays guitar on the upcoming Scalple LP on Sorry State, on vocals. That’s a strong pedigree, and Suffocating Madness lives up to any expectations you might have based on the lineup and the awesome cover art. While Suffocating Madness is a hardcore band, they also have elements of UK82 and metal in their sound, reminding me of records like Broken Bones’ Bonecrusher and GBH’s City Baby’s Revenge that added a hint of musical sophistication to the punk/hardcore formula. This is particularly true of the two songs on the b-side, both of which have Motorhead-ish galloping rhythms that are as infectious as they are intense. More than just stringing together sick riffs or building punishing sound, you get the impression that Suffocating Madness writes songs, as these four tracks stick to your ribs more than most bands that operate as these tempos. As catchy and song-oriented as this stuff is, though, it’s still 100% hardcore, ripping and intense. I’m not sure if Suffocating Madness is a full-fledged band or just a project, but I’m hoping we hear more because these four songs smoke and I think this band could make an incredible LP.

Featured Releases - September 16 2021

Amyl & the Sniffers: Comfort to Me 12” (ATO Records) The name Turnstile is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, with half the punk scene apologizing for liking them and the other half offended by their very existence. The controversy reminds me, in some respects, of the debate that surrounded Amyl & the Sniffers a few years ago. I’m not sure to what extent that debate is still happening, though Amyl’s singer and lyricist Amy seems to address it on the track “Don’t Fence Me In” (my favorite line from that song: “Bah! Binaries”). If one still needs to take a position on Amyl & the Sniffers, I am heartily in the “pro” camp. I fucking love this band, and I think I like Comfort to Me even more than their previous records. As much as I love punky hardcore bands (old ones like the Adolescents, later ones like the Carbonas and Career Suicide, and even recent ones like the Imploders, whom I also write about this week), sometimes I want something a little more pop, and Amyl & the Sniffers scratches that itch. That being said, the Sniffers can rip, and you could stack “Choices” up against just about anything from the world of DIY punk and hardcore. But Amyl & the Sniffers’ main thrust reminds me of punky rock and roll bands like the Boys, Slaughter & the Dogs, Generation X, or the Damned. Those bands were as much pop as they were punk, and a song like “Soda Pressing” or “Neat Neat Neat” is no less a reach for a hit than “Security” or (my favorite song on Comfort to Me) “Hertz.” It’s clear Amyl & the Sniffers aren’t trying to sound like those bands; rather, they have a pop group’s ambition to make great songs, but they also want those songs to be loud, fast, and hard. Looking back at what I’ve written so far, it sounds like I’m apologizing for liking Amyl & the Sniffers, but truth be told, I have no shame. I love this record.


Marv: Keyboard Suite I 12” (Enmossed Records) North Carolina synth duo Marv is back with their second vinyl release, and if you loved the spaced-out kosmiche bliss of their first album, you’re bound to love Keyboard Suite I too. As before, Marv’s music has a huge sense of space, with a wide-open mix that makes the lush synth sounds seem like they’re ping-ponging across the limitless vastness of space. While that sound is still the foundation of Marv’s music, there’s more melody on Keyboard Suite I, with pulses of tone sometimes coalescing into gentle melodies. While some passages are new age-y, mostly those melodies remind me of the gentlest, most delicate classical music, like Erik Satie. This is particularly true of “Tokyo TX,” the longest track on the record at eight and a half minutes and my favorite for its particularly melodic bent. Keyboard Suite I comes to us via the Enmossed label, which means it’s housed in beautiful silk-screened packaging with a debossed seed paper insert. It’s as much a joy to look at as it is to listen to.


Imploders: S/T 7” (Neon Taste Records) Debut release from this new Toronto band on the (West Coast) Canadian label Neon Taste. The sound is fast and snotty hardcore punk / punky hardcore with short songs and brisk tempos. I hear a lot of Angry Samoans and Circle Jerks in Imploders’ sound. Like those bands, Imploders sound liked they’re amped up on stimulants, but rather than getting violent, they get wired and antsy. Also, like those bands, there’s a rock and roll / classic punk approach to the guitar riffs, while the rhythm section blazes like a hardcore band. Fans of Career Suicide and the Carbonas will also be primed to love this. Five ripping, catchy tracks and I hear there’s already an LP in the works. Sign me up for that too!


Acid Casualties: Victims of Psychick Warfare cassette (Neon Taste Records) Victims of Psychick Warfare is the first release from this mysterious band from New Jersey, brought to us with the stamp of quality that is the Neon Taste Records logo. Acid Casualties has a raw and gritty sound that reminds me of a band deep in the track listing of The Master Tape Volume 2 or We Got Power: Party or Go Home, but this doesn’t strike me as generic. Acid Casualties’ songs swing and lurch with a variety of subtly different bash-you-over-the-head rhythms, and for every straightforward track like the YDI-ish “Against the Wall,” there’s something quirkier like “Back on the Chain Gang,” which works in a little rock riffing a la Eye for an Eye-era Corrosion of Conformity. 7 rippers, no bullshit.


Psyop: This Is Your Brain on America cassette (Pokeys Records) Psyop is a new band from Iowa City; hardly a hardcore hotbed, but I think they might be related to a band from there who caught my ear a few years ago, Beyond Peace. One reason I’m always excited to hear bands from outside the cultural centers on the coasts is because they often sound refreshingly out of sync with punk’s prevailing trends, and that’s the case with Psyop. The first track, “What’s in My Pants,” starts with a bright, major-key riff that could have started off a gritty underground pop-punk release, but it’s only a few seconds before Psyop reveal themselves as a hardcore band. While This Is Your Brain on America has all the thrashing and blasting you would expect, there’s a 7 Seconds-esque sing-song undercurrent running through everything that I really like. The tape is short and sweet with only four tracks, climaxing with the (primarily) mid-paced closer, “Secretary of Defense,” whose dramatic punches and dissonant riffing make it the highlight.


Celluloid Lunch #6 zine w/ Bubblegum Army flexi While there aren’t as many music zines as there used to be, the ones who have chosen to stick it out in that space really mean it. Case in point, Celluloid Lunch. This thick, square-bound half-size zine has a slightly different focus than Sorry State (they don’t seem too into hardcore, like the more adventurous stuff on labels like Feel It, and have one foot in the outsider / experimental end of the underground rock/garage scene), but the authors have a rigorously thoughtful approach to the music they are passionate about. This issue features bands like Collate, Leopardo, Silicone Prairie, and Crazy Doberman, along with other musings about music and records (including a review section). I was familiar with roughly half of the artists covered, yet I still read this issue cover to cover with rapt attention. Celluloid Lunch gave me new knowledge and insight about existing favorites like Collate that allowed me to revisit them with a new, deeper appreciation, and gave me a frame of reference for checking out a bunch of stuff I didn’t know about at all. What more could you ask of a music zine? Celluloid Lunch is essential reading for the underground rock fanatic.


Record of the Week: Chain Whip - Two Step to Hell 12"

Chain Whip: Two Step to Hell 12” (Neon Taste Records) This new 12” EP from Vancouver’s Chain Whip is a non-stop barrage of punk energy. Chain Whip’s first album, 2019’s 14 Lashes, was a corker, a whirlwind of catchy west coast punk meets 80s US hardcore that was tailor made for my tastes, but Two Step to Hell is, in the label’s words, “meaner, faster, and a bit more pissed off.” As good as 14 Lashes was, this 6-track jolt of energy is even more exciting. Chain Whip fits squarely in the tradition of bands like the Freeze, the FU’s, Career Suicide, and Government Warning, all of whom took the anthemic, song-oriented punk of early Black Flag, the Germs, and the Adolescents and melded it with the blitzkrieg energy of pure USHC like Minor Threat. It’s rare to find a band that can both write songs this great and perform them with this level of precision and energy, but Chain Whip sounds like a flawless machine on this record. The songs fly by so quickly that you barely have time to process how killer they are. Take a track like “Blank Image,” whose great, TSOL-on-Jolt-Cola riff builds into a manic call and response chorus, repeats itself, then climaxes with a melodic guitar lead straight out of the Buzzcocks’ playbook. Every track is a miniature fast-motion masterpiece, reaching a crescendo with “Death Was Too Kind,” the Subhumans (Canaduh) singalong that closes the record. I’m tempted to complain that it’s only 9 minutes long, but this record is so killer that I wouldn’t want to upset its delicate balance with any unnecessary filler. Instead, I’ll just keep playing it three times in a row every time it hits my turntable. If you like hardcore punk, this is not one to miss.

September 9 2021

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! The rain is pouring here in Raleigh. I just got a flash flood alert on my phone and Jeff is wearing socks in his staff pick photo this week because his shoes got soaked walking to work. It’s supposed to let up later in the afternoon, but it’s one of those days when you want to curl up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee and a stack of records. Maybe this new Chain Whip 12” isn’t so great for a lazy day like today, but if you need to get yourself hyped, it’s the most energetic thing I’ve heard in a while. Maybe the Church Group tape we write about in the Featured Releases section would be a better choice? As usual, we try to cover all of our bases here in the SSR newsletter, so examine your local forecast and choose accordingly.

"It’s rare to find a band that can both write songs this great and perform them with this level of precision and energy, but Chain Whip sounds like a flawless machine on this record." Read more about it...

Zorn has come gigs coming up in September. If you’re in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Philadelphia, go see them, but even if you aren’t, you need to check out the sick little promo video they put together for the gigs.

Later this month (we don’t want to get too specific given the current disarray in the vinyl manufacturing world), Sorry State will release Skillful Butchers, the new LP from New York City punks Scalple. The first preview track, “Lying Through Your Teeth,” is streaming on Sorry State’s BandCamp and our website. Skillful Butchers finds Scalple changing up their style from their first LP on Roach Leg, moving toward a UK thrash style inspired by bands like Heresy and Concrete Sox. Watch for a preorder link soon!

Hey west coast, Hüstler is coming your way! Check the image for the dates, which they’ll be playing with fellow New Yorkers Blu Anxxiety. I hear Hüstler might make some new copies of their out of print cassette on Sorry State for the tour. We’ll also have word soon on Hüstler’s debut vinyl on Sorry State!

My pick from Sorry State’s Discogs listings this week is some vintage North Carolina power-pop from the Sneakers! The Sneakers featured Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter, two of the biggest names in 80s college rock and power pop, both of whom got their start in the small North Carolina city of Winston-Salem.

Remember, you can always combine your order from Sorry State’s Discogs site with your order from our webstore and save on shipping!

Usman brings us to Finland once again for this week’s edition of HC Knockouts. I just got word that Svart is doing a double LP discography for Pyhäkoulu and I’m going to order a big ‘ol stack for Sorry State. Watch for that in a few months!

Cast your vote in the next edition of Hardcore Knockouts on our Instagram stories next Tuesday!


Meathouse Records graced us with both 7" reissues from the legendary punk band the Hated!

We got in some hot slabs of Australian punk by way of Polaks Records!

NC's own Marv put out a new record of analog synth-y goodness.

We got in some critical reissues, including this Spiritualized LP.

This new Flux LP came in with some other great titles from Trujaca Fala.

Neon Taste didn't stop at Chain Whip, we have their two new HOT releases in stock!

New issue of Celluloid Lunch featuring a flexi from Bubblegum Army.

New cassette from this Iowa City band!

SSR Picks: September 9 2021

Stomu Yamash’ta and Masahiko Satō: Metempsychosis (Japan, 1971)

An idiom I repeat often in the world of records is, “when it rains, it pours.” It’s not uncommon for a dry spell of finding used records for the store to be followed by a bunch of collections coming all at once, sometimes more than we can handle or afford. This pattern also holds for individual titles. I can’t recall seeing an original pressing of Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain before 2021, but we’ve had three copies this year. There was one point a few years ago when we had four Beatles butcher covers in stock at once, though we haven’t seen one since.

Lately the unseen hand that controls the vinyl taps seems to have turned the knob labeled “Japanese records for Daniel.” I’m sure anyone with a passing familiarity with the newsletter knows what a Japanophile I am, so I always have a healthy want list from that magical island, but things have been dropping in my lap lately. Even when I was in New York with Public Acid, we walked into a random record store that we passed on the street and I found an original pressing of Creation’s first album from 1975. So weird. I’m sure I’ll cover plenty of these records in future picks.

This 1971 album from Stomu Yamash’ta and Masahiko Satō was the record that opened the floodgates, and it’s one I had been after for a while. Metempsychosis is one of Julian Cope’s top 50 picks in his Japrocksampler book, but it’s one I had trouble learning about. I found Cope’s description of the album intriguing, but at the time I could only find short snippets online (the full album has since appeared on YouTube). The album hasn’t been repressed since 1976, and it seems like few copies made it to the West.

Metempsychosis intrigued me for several reasons. It seemed like one of the more avant-garde titles covered in Japrocksampler, and I liked that the drummer gets top billing. I love drum-centric jazz with dense polyrhythms, and fusing that with traditional Japanese percussion sounded like a wild idea. Stomu Yamash’ta (sometimes also Yamashita) also seemed like an interesting figure. He was only 24 when he recorded Metempsychosis, and was already a rising star in the jazz world. With his long hair and flowing robes he cut a memorable figure on stage (captured dynamically on Metempsychosis’s cover photo), and he was already considered one of the top percussionists in the world. The Japanese record industry was trying several tacks at making Yamash’ta a star, of which Metempsychosis was one. Yamash’ta has had a long and successful musical career, his most famous moment for Western listeners coming in the late 70s when he led the jazz fusion supergroup Go, which also featured Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze, and Michael Shrieve.

The other name on the cover of Metempsychosis was also a huge draw for me. Like Dennis Bovell, whom I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, Masahiko Satō’s name (sometimes spelled Satoh) just keeps coming up. His soundtrack for the 1973 animated film Belladonna of Sadness is a record I return to again and again, and while its sound is grounded in Miles Davis’s work on records like Bitches Brew and Live Evil, there’s something about Satō’s take on that style that just gets me… maybe it’s how he takes those epic, stretched-out jams and compresses them down to scene-length bursts of creativity? Satō’s album with his project Soundbreakers, Amalgamation (also released in 1971), is another record from Cope’s Japrocksampler list that intrigued me, and getting a physical copy has been a highlight of this recent deluge of Japanese vinyl to hit my collection.

Satō serves as composer for Metempsychosis, so it seems relevant to share Satō’s bio on Apple Music, which I discovered last night:

Masahiko is a Chick Corea-influenced pianist who also plays electric keyboards. His compositional depth is not considered as strong as his playing.

What a diss! I couldn’t disagree more about Satō’s skills as a composer. On Metempsychosis and Amalgamation, Satō’s compositions remind me of Bill Dixon, another of my favorite avant-garde jazz composers (and the subject of another of my previous picks). Like Dixon, Satō takes influence from 20th-century classical composers like Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez. Suspicious of conventional melody and harmony, Satō is fascinated by density and volume, often contrasting bursts of of loud horns creating dense, complex chords with long passages of near-silence. As with Bill Dixon’s records, you need to be mindful of where you set your volume knob when you listen to Satō’s work.

Circling back to Metempsychosis, it’s pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear: Satō’s orchestration and composition skills laced with lots of dense, complex percussive patterns. It’s a wild ride.

Researching this pick, I’ve also discovered a few other records I need to check out. Right now, I have Stomu Yamash’ta’s 1971 album Red Buddha playing on YouTube and I am intrigued. I also realized I didn’t talk about the artist who receives third billing on Metempsychosis, Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd. I see that group has a huge discography, and I’ve heard their 1970 collaboration with Masahiko Satō, Canto of Libra. 1971’s Canto of Aries, this time a collaboration with Masahiko Togashi, appears to be part of the same series and I’ve seen it mentioned in lists of notable Japanese jazz records. I also want to find a copy of Pianology, Masahiko Satō’s 1971 collaboration with the German pianist and composer Wolfgang Dauner. That record has been reissued a few times in recent years, but don’t often pop up in the US.


What’s up Sorry Staters?

Honestly, I feel like the Meat House label is doing God’s work. I get stoked every time Sorry State stocks new releases from this label because they seem devoted purely to the very specific goal of getting rare and often obscure punk singles from the Los Angeles area back in print. I’ve always been attracted to the late 70s /early 80s California punk sound, and often I feel like Meat House re-releases exemplary, yet unsung gems from this era of punk rock.

About a year ago, Meat House reissued the first single by The Hated. While at the time the Hated were a band I was fairly unfamiliar with, I thought this single was super cool. At the same time, Meat House also reissued the super rare Waiting For The Bomb Blast single by Long Beach greats Funeral. Now, I wouldn’t say that the Funeral 7” overshadowed my attention toward the Hated single, but something about the burgeoning 1981 speed and ferocity of the Funeral single really grabbed me. With such poetry like “Politicians are sick, they all suck my dick!”… how could my attention not be diverted?

BUT NOW… The latest 2 releases from Meat House are out, and thankfully The Hated’s full catalog is once again available at reasonable prices for nerds like me. Man, how fucking killer are these 2 singles? Whereas the first single still had a foot in early LA punk, the Jan Brady-period single Pressure / Stereotype is a one-two punch of perfect punk with updated power and production. This single is on par with the legendary sounds of Dangerhouse, but also increasing the tempo and hinting at the oncoming Orange County fury of TSOL and the like. I mean FUCK man, the pure cynic view on suburban blight with direct but poignant lyrics: “Hate your job, hate your kids, hate your wife, hate your life”… you don’t get much more classic punk commentary than that. But for 1981? Still comes across as pretty earnestly scathing and visceral for the time. It’s anthemic dude. Catch me raging at like 2am just shouting “PRESSURE! PRESSURE! PRESSURE!” I’m hooked. BUT THAT’S JUST THE FIRST RECORD.

The Marsha Brady-period 4 Song EP for whatever reason has the kind of artwork that is instantly attention-grabbing for me. This looks like a classic punk EP that everyone should know about. Maybe in terms of speed and aggression, this record takes a step back as opposed to the aforementioned single. But that’s not to say this record isn’t just as powerful. The second track on this EP presents a melodic and innocent, but also bleak commentary on the state of your immediate reality. The hook screams “I’m afraid to leave my house today!” I dunno, even with my new-come familiarity with these songs, I just feel the frustration this band was evoking. These records feel like a missing link between bands like the Adolescents and other amazing bands from this era. Maybe I’m gushing and overusing ALL CAPS due to my excitement blasting these records right now, but I think this shit is killer. The symptoms of my ever-worsening case of Pretentious Record Collector Disease™ is now leading me to believe that I must own every original Hated single (with picture sleeves of course).

Do yourself a favor and snag both of these reissue EP’s.

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

‘Til next week,

-Jeff


Greetings dear readers and thank you for clicking on our corner of the internet again this week. I apologize for missing deadline on last week’s newsletter. A combination of only being able to write dog poop and a computer mishap is my excuse. It’s been another full two weeks of news and events in the meantime. Most of it not good. We’re looking at you Texas. It really does break you down reading the news. It would be easier to ignore it, but of course we can’t. We just find ways to bring our blood down from boiling point. Obviously, for us, music is our tool to help soothe our souls or fire them up. Thank goodness for that.

Before I continue, I wanted to acknowledge the sad news of the death of genius artist, producer Lee “Scratch” Perry. I won’t get into how great Perry was. I’m sure you are more than fully aware and have some of his records in your collection. More informed and eloquent people than me have done him justice since his passing and during his life. There are some great books about him such as People Funny Boy by David Katz and every music paper and magazine worth its subscription has done a piece on him. Hey! Weren’t we just looking at an old Grand Royal magazine with Perry on the cover? Like so many of us, his music has become woven into the fabric of our being, and he was one of my musical heroes. His photo hangs on my kitchen wall. Last week over on Worldy, the day after he died, Matt and I played a full show of Lee Perry music and productions, all pulled from our personal collections as our tribute. If you need some good reggae and dub in your life, you can check it out here.

Talking of my buddy Matt, he and I are going to be DJing this week at the opening of the Hopscotch Festival here in Raleigh. We’ll be providing tunes and good vibes somewhere within Wristband City. At the time of writing this, I don’t know the exact details, but we’ll be there from 10 AM until 3 PM on Thursday and Friday. Maybe I’ll see some of you there. A big thank you to Daniel and my colleagues for covering for me so that I could do this. It’ll be fun and Lord knows we need some of that. A full weekend of listening to music. Cool. Whatever your feelings are concerning the lineups for festivals is one thing, but I have always had a good time at Hopscotch and seen some good live performances, often when I didn’t expect to. Hopscotch has day parties too and they are a good way to see some live music either cheaply or free. In the past, it’s been a blast and let’s hope this year will be the same. Obviously, under different circumstances this time around with this damn pandemic. But that’s a whole other rant and not for here.

I don’t know about you, but often in between periods of listening to killer stuff, be it new or old, especially if it is loud and powerful, I need to put on something very different. It might not be a top tenner or a dance floor smasher, but it just needs to take my head someplace else. Typically for me that is found in older music and so for this week I would like to steer you towards a record that came out in 1970 on Warner Brothers called simply, Pride.

This has been stuck in my car CD player for the past week and has ear wormed me big time.

I used to have thousands of CDs, but over the years due to storage issues, lack of use and need for funds, I have sold most of them. I probably have just a couple of hundred left at this point. I kept this one because it has the two albums producer David Axelrod made in 1968 with garage band The Electric Prunes along with the Pride album. The CD also contained a bonus disc of instrumental versions, which is very cool, and I wish there was a record that had those on it. Future Record Store Day idea.

I am going to assume most heads know who the late David Axelrod was? He is up there with the legends on the back of the recordings he made for himself and those of others that he produced. You should go look him up if you are new to him and listen to his music and read his story. The record collecting world has long valued his records and the hip-hop world especially. Go ask Dr. Dre.

Mass In F Minor and Release Of An Oath were the two concept records Axelrod wrote and arranged for Electric Prunes producer Dave Hassinger at Reprise Records, who was using the Prunes’ name but not much of their musicianship. They played some parts, but much of the music was played by other musicians. For the two records, members of The Collectors, a Canadian psych band and Climax from Colorado were employed respectively for the two recordings. These were bands Hassinger was working with, but Axelrod however preferred his guys, various members of the famed Wrecking Crew of session musicians and it is their playing that forms the meat and potatoes of the albums.

Basically, they were concept records built around Catholic Mass rituals and other religious themes and not at all like the previous garage-psych sound of The Electric Prunes. The records released on Reprise were minor hits and prompted Axelrod’s main employer Capitol Records to demand he make records like that for them. Axelrod was Capitol’s head of production at this time and had been writing, arranging and producing hits for them since 1963 when he joined as A&R man. He produced records for jazz great Cannonball Adderley, singer Lou Rawls, actor David McCallum, South African Letta Mbulu and so many others and pushed the label towards signing more black artists. As mentioned, Axelrod used core members of the Wrecking Crew for his recordings. Drummer Earl Palmer, bassist Carol Kaye, guitarists Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco formed the backbone of many of his recordings. The beats played by Earl Palmer are very prominent in the records and those, along with some other unique sounds, are perfect for hip-hop sampling. Dr. Dre sampled the song The Edge for his track Next Episode to great effect. That song, The Edge, was produced by Axelrod for one of David McCallum’s albums. The popular actor put out several records and Axelrod produced them. They are not amazing all the way through, but there are some moments.

Axelrod made three records under his name for Capitol, Songs Of Innocence in 1968, Songs Of Experience in 1969 and then Earth Rot in 1970. Using the same core of musicians as on the Electric Prunes sessions just minus the Prunes. All three albums are concept based, this time using the poems of William Blake for inspiration on the first two and then environmental pollution for the third. Axelrod combined classical music with jazz and rock and r n’ b and molded them into something quite unique and special. Without getting into a long review of them, let’s just say they are all terrific, particularly the first two, and I’ve left you links to all three plus the Prunes albums for you to check out. If this is old hat for you, please forgive me.

After these three records comes the Pride album. This was a one off for Warner Brothers that Axelrod’s manager arranged using the name Pride as the artist. It was a collaboration between David Axelrod and his son Michael, who wrote the lyrics. Singer Nooney Rickett, who had been with Love, was the vocalist. The album has similar touches to the previous Axelrod albums but is more of a folk psych record with dashes of Spanish guitar and maracas giving it a Mexican folk flavor. The drumming is still on point and there are nice stabs of twelve string guitar. It’s not very long and in the grand scheme of things not that mind blowing, but it has a charm and perhaps because I am such a fan of his other records, I like it a lot. It’s not that easy to find an original, but there is a recent reissue on vinyl. The funny thing is that when people talk about Axelrod and his records, this one hardly ever gets mentioned. Probably because of the title, but for some reason it has been the sleeper in his discography that many people missed. I’ve read reviews comparing it to late era Love and The Byrds, which is fair, but I also think it has similarities to Rodriquez’s Cold Fact album in places. Admittedly not as good as that, but somewhat in the ballpark. It has the Axelrod touch though. Check it out when you are between things to play and need something mellow but with some substance. I hope you like it.

Okay, thanks for reading and see you next time. Cheers – Dom.


I’ve stayed away from writing about music for most of my SSR Picks because my coworkers do phenomenal jobs each week and I know I can’t keep up. But I don’t only listen to bargain bin weirdos and country music (I mean I do 90% of the time) so I guess writing about something else was bound to happen! I spent yesterday listening to a bunch of metal tapes from the 90s and found a few bands I now LOVE. They’ve been kicking around the store way too long for how good some of the music is! I guess old metal tape collectors are kind of niche, but I’m slowly putting the items online, so if you fit the bill, keep an eye out on our used section! Here are my favorites from my shift yesterday:

Octinomos: Demo 2 (1994)

Some good ol’ 1994 Swedish black metal. I love this because the low production quality helps instead of hinders and creates a really dark and bleak sound. Nothing super revolutionary, but the vocals are amazing paired with the guitar tone. I can’t find much info about any of these tapes or the artists behind them, but it looks like Octinomos last released a record in 2001. It’s their only vinyl release listed on Discogs so add to want list.

Mindrot: Faded Dream (1992)

Someone snatched this up as soon as I posted it on the Instagram story and who can blame them? This cassette is from 1992 and one of only a few releases by this band. It doesn’t feel strictly one type of metal, with a lot of thrashy, doomy, other metal subgenre-y riffs over the vocals that sometimes get more yell-y than scream-y. Even though Relapse Records picked them up in the late 90s, this band’s discography is way too short, making this cassette totally essential.

Various: Diabolical Netherworld II (1993) & III (1994)

I didn’t find much info on these compilations, but whoever put them together fucking killed it. Looks like it was some dudes in a band called Moonburn, but they only have one release on Discogs and a bunch of dead ends on Google. I really enjoyed the two compilations of this series we have in the store. It mixed some unknowns with some classic black metal bands, but the quality is high on every track. The bands on these comps span most of Europe, with most becoming defunct before the 1990s ended, unfortunately. It looks like the guys in Moonburn were the only American band on Vol II, so I’m going to assume these compilations were bringing over a lot of new music to the States. It’s so cool to think about the history of these specific objects and how they hopefully informed a budding metal fan. Our copies are still available on the web store to be loved by someone new!

Featured Releases: September 9 2021

Church Group: S/T cassette (Helta Skelta Records) Australia’s Helta Skelta Records brings us this cassette from Church Group, a new synth duo from the label’s hometown of Perth. Church Group has a sparse, minimal sound that reminds me of the early Human League records, where primitive sequenced beats provide a backdrop for intertwining synth lines that course through the mix like lonely spacecraft through the vast expanse. While the instrumental tracks are spacious and minimal, the vocals are expressive, even soulful, creating a dynamic contrast. It’s a solid formula for the first two tracks—“Joined” is particularly strong—but on the third song a second vocalist with a different sound enters the fray and ratchets the dynamism up another notch. While the music is unassuming by design, strong songwriting and vocal performances elevate this above the crowd of bedroom synth projects.


Blood Loss: Surviving Life in the Shadow of Death 7" (Convulse Records) Second 7” from this Denver hardcore band, following up the self-titled 7” they released on Convulse Records in 2019. While I hear a hint of youth crew hardcore in the singer’s style and the drummer’s 1-2-1-2 thrash beats, Blood Loss is definitely on the punker end of that style with their blistering tempos, rougher production, and emphasis on fast thrashing rather than breakdowns (though one of the four tracks, “Pawns,” has a breakdown). My favorite moments are when lead guitar overdubs come in; it’s super loud on both of the tracks with leads (which I always love), but it works well on the title track, whose song-closing lead is both creepy and epic, reminding me of Anti-Cimex’s “When the Innocent Die.” I like that Blood Loss doesn’t sound like they’re pandering to any club of internet record clubs, just playing fast, passionate hardcore with grit and guts.


Spitboy: Body of Work 12” (Don Giovanni Records) Don Giovanni Records collects the entire recorded output of 90s punks Spitboy on this great-looking gatefold double album. I missed Spitboy the first time around. I was an early teenager during the years when they were an active band, and with one foot on the Nirvana > Sonic Youth > Fugazi punk path and another on the Green Day > Rancid > NOFX path, I had little frame of reference for the music they were making. Add in the expected immaturity of a teenage boy and the fact that, by the time I heard Spitboy, elements of their sound like the grooving rhythms and dual vocals had been coopted by nu-metal (ironically the bro-iest of subgenres), and I didn’t have a way into their music. However, I know they were an important band to many people, so I was excited to give them another try with this collection. It’s funny, while I hear plenty of the grimy Bay Area hardcore that I expected, the comparison that came to mind most often when I was listening to Body of Work was Jawbreaker. While the vocals are very different, as in Jawbreaker’s music, Spitboy’s songs let the bass form the melodic and rhythmic backbone, with the guitars not so much riffing as providing texture through dense, complex chords. Spitboy’s sound trades Jawbreaker’s pop undercurrent for something more like early Neurosis’s apocalyptic chug, but there’s something similar in the approach. As one would hope, Body of Work’s packaging gives plenty of space to Spitboy’s lyrics, which were a huge part of the band’s appeal. I’d love to say that Spitboy’s lyrics feel ahead of their time, but the world is still a long way from catching up. I’m sure there’s space for this kind of expression in other genres, but I rarely see this style of personal, introspective lyrics in the current hardcore scene, and when you do, it’s typically from cis men. Reading through the lyrics, I’m struck by this sensation of feeling wounded, and the mix of dissonance and aggression in the music compounds that feeling. Spitboy’s lyrics and music are challenging, but the challenge is still worth taking up.


Repeat Offender: Summary Execution 7” (Shitkicker Records) We carry this LA band’s demo-on-vinyl release (on Spain’s excellent Mendeku Diskak label); now it’s time for their proper debut EP. Repeat Offender sticks to a similar style as that demo recording, applying a dollop of oi! groove to their hard-charging traditional US hardcore sound. There’s a lot of influence from your Negative Approaches and your Negative FX’s, but the distorted nightmare vocals give Summary Execution an element of eeriness that helps them stand out from the numerous bands who play in this style. There’s also the top-notch production (heavy but not slick) and killer riffs and songwriting. Check out the way the closing track, “Foul Play,” builds to a pit-clearing stomp, then drops out for a second before the second verse, a perfect setup for the knockout blow. Repeat Offender’s top-notch songwriting and execution make this EP a no-brainer for USHC purists, but there are more than enough new and interesting wrinkles to interest those of us who prefer some variety in our aural bludgeoning.


Totally Different Head #5 zine Latest issue of this music zine out of Portland. Totally Different Head is a pretty straightforward music zine: the author likes music, they write about what they think and feel about some of it and they interview some people who make it. The writing itself is thoughtful and engaging; you can tell Corby thinks and cares deeply about music, and their writing pushes you further into the music you already know and sparks your curiosity if you aren’t familiar. The music covered is on the artier end of Sorry State’s wheelhouse, with ink spilled about Kaleidoscope, Brontez Purnell, Special Interest, and several others. With crisp, uncomplicated, and readable layouts and thoughtful yet compact prose, Totally Different Head feels like an unpretentious music zine, but really what it does is get out of the way so the music can be the star. If you’re reading this, you’re almost certainly on the same page, so check it out.


SSSSSSS: S/T cassette (self-released) SSSSSSS is a project from Clark Blomquist and Owen Fitzgerald, two longtime participants in North Carolina’s underground music scene. SSSSSSS is fast, noisy, and intense, but the project seems to come at punk and hardcore sideways, taking the paranoid sounds of early industrial music and dragging the BPMs into hardcore range. The drums are electronic, but rather than being sequenced, they’re played live on electronic pads which, along with the punky riffing, makes SSSSSSS sound like a hardcore band that’s been routed through the Matrix. While guitars propelling most songs are pretty straightforward and punk, the vocals are chopped and screwed, bathed in distortion and echo. The electronic drums and distorted vocals recall Big Black in places, but SSSSSSS isn’t coloring inside anyone else’s lines. I like the more straightforward punk songs, but my favorite track is “The Air,” which fuses the mid-tempo hardcore dirge with a sampled vocal track and a synth melody that reminds me of Neu!. If an alien species downloaded a text description of hardcore punk and tried to recreate the music from that, this might be the result.


September 2 2021

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! This week I’m not burning the midnight oil like I was last week, but I managed to complete all of my essential work before I hit the road with Public Acid Friday morning (check out my SSR Pick for more info on that). I am already behind on email, though, so once again I apologize if you’re waiting for a reply from me. Hopefully I can get back on top of my unruly inbox Friday and Saturday.

Other than that, things are steady as she goes here at Sorry State. Lots more awesome punk rock is hitting the shelves, and we pulled this newsletter together to inform you about it. We’re even dropping some brand new music ourselves: the first preview track from the upcoming Scalple LP on Sorry State. Check it out below and enjoy!

"If you love punk rock with hooks, wit, and energy, you should listen to Heavy Metal." Read more about it...

Zorn has come gigs coming up in September. If you’re in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Philadelphia, go see them, but even if you aren’t, you need to check out the sick little promo video they put together for the gigs.

Later this month (we don’t want to get too specific given the current disarray in the vinyl manufacturing world), Sorry State will release Skillful Butchers, the new LP from New York City punks Scalple. The first preview track, “Lying Through Your Teeth,” is streaming on Sorry State’s BandCamp and our website. Skillful Butchers finds Scalple changing up their style from their first LP on Roach Leg, moving toward a UK thrash style inspired by bands like Heresy and Concrete Sox. Watch for a preorder link soon!

Hey west coast, Hüstler is coming your way! Check the image for the dates, which they’ll be playing with fellow New Yorkers Blu Anxxiety. I hear Hüstler might make some new copies of their out of print cassette on Sorry State for the tour. We’ll also have word soon on Hüstler’s debut vinyl on Sorry State!

This week we listed a bunch of sealed original pressings on Sorry State’s Discogs page. It’s really exciting stuff. Did you ever think you would own a sealed original John Denver LP? Well now you can, folks! Buy it for your mom or something so we can keep the lights on around here, LOL.

Remember, you can always combine your order from Sorry State’s Discogs site with your order from our webstore and save on shipping!

HC Knockouts breaks from its usual format this week to ask your opinion on one of the great hardcore split records. Totalitär or Disclose? Wow, what a choice! I’m surprised Totalitär won so handily, but as with most editions of HC Knockouts, there is no wrong answer.

Cast your vote in the next edition of Hardcore Knockouts on our Instagram stories next Tuesday!


Check out the latest release from Roach Leg Records! It RIPS!

Love it or hate it, we have the new Turnstile record in stock.

SSSSSSS just emerged from Carrboro, North Carolina and we have their new cassette!

SSR Picks: September 2 2021

This week I don’t have a pick for you as such. Instead, I want to use this space to talk about what a great time I had tagging along for Public Acid’s New York and Philly shows last weekend. I think we all struggled with the idea of going on the trip given the covid situation in the US seems to be getting worse rather than better, but now that everyone is back home and has negative test results I can breathe a sigh of relief and reflect on what a great time I had.

The shows themselves were awesome. I’ve been going to shows long enough to recognize when I’m seeing something special, that (usually fleeting) moment when a band is at the height of their powers, and that’s the feeling I get when I see Public Acid in 2021. In terms of their performances, Public Acid is a total force, and their three post-lockdown sets give me that feeling of the stars aligning, of a band playing the music people want to hear at the moment they want to hear it. PA’s sets both nights crushed, and people went off. These were perfect punk rock moments.

The other bands were also awesome. I got to see bands I already love (like Dark Thoughts and No Fucker, who sounded even better than they did the first time around), new bands whose recordings had already gotten me excited (80HD), and even get blown away by a band I knew nothing about (ICD10). I spend so much time listening to new releases that it’s tempting to think I know about everything going on in the punk scene, but even all the stuff that comes through Sorry State only scratches the surface of what punk and hardcore have to offer right now. I hope that, as the world opens up, more of you can reconnect with your local and regional scenes. And when you do, tell me who the good bands are so we can stock their releases at Sorry State!

Even more important than the music was connecting and reconnecting with so many humans I hold dear. First and foremost, I’m so appreciative of the time I got to spend with the people in Public Acid. Even small tours like this one can be stressful and can bring out the worst in people, but our time together was totally chill. Beyond the fun we had from moment to moment, it was great to strengthen and deepen these relationships. I also got to reconnect with people I’ve known for 15+ years (like Jesse from No Fucker and Zach from ICD10), have great conversations with people whom I’d only met briefly or corresponded with, and meet a bunch of new people too. I’m astounded by the number of people who took me up on my invitation in the last newsletter to come up and say hi. It made me so feel so good to know that not only do people read this thing, but they appreciate and value it too. Thank you so much to everyone who paid me and the band any bit of kindness this weekend, particularly the very special people who booked the gigs, put us up, and ensured we had a great time. And I apologize if I was weird or awkward to anyone… my energy level waxed and waned over the weekend, but I didn’t meet or hang with a single person who wasn’t cool as fuck.

So many times my conversations (with both new friends and old ones) turned to how much we care about punk. A year and a half without shows, as hard as it was, reminded me how much fun all of this is and how important it is to me. And as I get older—I turn 42 in a couple of weeks—I realize the punks are my people, my family. The NC punks are like siblings, and going to these larger shows is like visiting extended family or a gathering of tribes. I’m sure plenty of people think I’m a fool for dedicating so much of my energy to punk, but immersing myself in the community this weekend made me feel great about the life I’ve carved out for myself.


What’s up Sorry Staters?

As some of you may know, this past weekend I hit the road with Public Acid to play in both NY and Philly. It was a blast. Met some cool people, caught up with some old friends, heard some rad bands and also picked up some records along the way. Thanks to all the other folks in Public Acid, the homies Merm and Daniel who were along for the ride, and all the people who helped with the gigs and put us up. After the whirlwind of this adventure, I think it’ll be nice to cool off on gigs for a while.

One person I ran into in NY was Jesse, who used to play in Extended Hell as well as many other killer punk groups over the years. He hooked us up with a few copies of the brand new 7” by his new band Suffocating Madness. I was itching to check this record out when I got back from the trip. No surprise, this thing rips.

While I’m sure the Swedish riff masters of yesteryear are owed a small debt, Suffocating Madness sounds even a bit more vintage hardcore than other bands I’ve listened to on the Roach Leg label. This EP sounds raw and dirty but still punchy and warm, not like a dumb noisy, tin can raw punk recording. I would not be surprised if the dude who’s been recording all the stuff for Active-8 recorded this session as well. There’s a specific analog sonic signature that I feel like I’ve noticed with recordings done at this studio. Everything sounds kinda pushed into the red, compressing beautifully with a warm, spongey, gritty texture. Sounds cool as hell. I don’t know if it’s due to the vocalist Pancho, but I can’t help thinking that Suffocating Madness kinda sounds like the early Varukers singles. In the midst of his barking, Pancho’s voice does hit some distinct pitches. It’s not like the vocals are sing-songy or “melodic” by any means, but I can’t help but think of the chanting of early UK hardcore. My favorite track on the EP is the last song “Disassociate”, which has some serious Motorhead riffage. Not sure if that’s what they’re going for, but some of the riffs in this song are pretty rockin’. The single-note, chugging riffs on this track hint at a minor key, which gives the song this moody, bleak feeling.

As I’m writing this, Sorry State does not have the Suffocating Madness 7”s available on our webstore. But the boxes of records have arrived at the store, and I plan on getting them up on the webstore by the time the newsletter goes out this week. Don’t sleep on this ripper!

That’ll do for now I think. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff


Hi,

I’ve been fucking blasting music a lot the past 10 days or so. Maybe more? Maybe that seems silly to say cos this is something I used to do every single day but I have fallen out of the habit over the past year for a number of reasons... Anyway I think this means I’m in a good mood. Or maybe it means the opposite and I just don’t want to think about all the shit that stresses me out. My drive to work is about one hour, so I have plenty of time to think haha. I currently have only one CD in my van and it has been blasting on repeat. I been singing along too, even though I don’t really know any of the words. Oh side note if you care, I have been jammin’ with a band for sometime now. We have like five or six songs. I do vocals. It kinda sucks but the people are cool so whatever. Anyway, this compilation ‘I Thrash Therefore I Am’ introduced me to some of my favorite bands of today. I remember picking this up simply cos it had Anti-Cimex on it. This was enough incentive to buy an unfamiliar record cos they were a band I had instantly fell in-love with. Who didn’t right? But I had never heard Mob 47 or Moderat Likvidation before. Man was I in for a treat. Don’t even get me started on Enola Gay and Existenz... these are some of the best tracks on this motherfucker. It’s a real shame that my young dumbass ears did not appreciate these two bands when I first heard the LP. They took me some time to warm up to. I think cos they don’t wear their Discharge “influence” on their sleeve like most Swedish bands I am obsessed with. I’m assuming most readers know but if you don’t, this compilation is actually a 12" reissue of a tape that came out in the ‘80s. The LP version doesn’t have all the tracks, while the CD version I been jammin’ actually has more tracks than the original tape. The photo up there is the back of the CD booklet. It’s similar to the 12" cover and the original tape cover, but with a lot more “color” hahaha... This photo below is the cover of the CD version. Bless whoever’s heart made the artwork to this shit. While the sound was improved, I think it’s safe to say the artwork was not. Alright thanks for reading, peace!


I spent last week (safely) traveling through the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. I spent 98% of the week busting my ass hiking up mountains and biking like over 50 fucking miles but I still somehow was able to spend a good amount of time looking at and thinking about records. I was unexpectedly able to spend a little under 24 hours in Seattle with a friend from high school at the end of the trip, so I spent much of my nights last week looking up record stores to go to. I would’ve easily and happily spent my time trekking from one side of the city to the other but my wallet, legs, and friend said otherwise. We hit some cool spots and I wanted to share a couple of the things I brought home with me!

Various: Israel Song Festival 1971 12”

Honestly can’t remember if I’ve mentioned the section of Jewish and Israeli records in my collection, but it is quickly growing and is equally nostalgic for me as it is informative. I grew up going to temple pretty regularly and while I had (have) my gripes with what I experienced, I always gravitated towards the music. This is a recording of the competition that started in the early 60’s that was a pre-competition of sorts for the Eurovision competition. I just looked all this up, I’ll confess. I have been finding other festival recordings of various genres and have loved all of them so I was excited to find this!

Beekeeper: Seafarer 7”

My first stop in Seattle, I’m sure this won’t surprise a lot of West Coast readers, was Singles Going Steady. My friend lived right around the corner which gave me ample time to look at all the odds and ends in the store. I found a few holes in my collection and had a lot of fun picking out some random 7”s based on cover art. Something about the name Beekeeper combined with the old photo caught my eye. After seeing it was made in 1992, I thought I had a good chance at liking it. It’s in a similar vein as some of the old radio copies I wrote about a few weeks ago; grainy, feedback-laden grunge type stuff that was well worth the few bucks.

Instängd: Mitt Svar På Ingenting 7”

New thing that keeps happening: not thinking twice about picking up old Sorry State releases at other stores. I had some great stuff to pick from at Singles Going Steady but opted for this 7” from 2007. I thought it was cool that it predates the store! If any of y’all haven’t dug through the Sorry State bandcamp, you’re missing out on some serious heat like this one.

Fuck the Facts: Die Miserable 12”

This band has had a special place in my heart after I saw them live at the (now dead, RIP) Jinx in Savannah while I was in college. It was such a POWERFUL fucking show, I can’t even remember who Fuck the Facts played with. I don’t have any of their releases on vinyl and can’t remember a time where I came across them in a store so I snatched this out of the bins quick as hell.

Arch Oboler: Drop Dead! An Exercise in Horror! 12”

I mean this screams my collection, I had to buy it. If I hadn’t worked so hard on my horror records during most of last year, I would’ve tried to buy way more in Seattle. It’s really cool going to a different city on a different coast and seeing how different their bargain bins are. I spent most of my time shopping in the bargain sections of various stores (who is surprised?) and instead of Grandma’s Collection of Country and Classical, there was a wide variety of international music, radio plays, and all my favorite types of oddball records to look through. This record, though, is already one of my favorites in my collection and I’ve only listened to it once. Bite size stories from every facet of horror; it’s absolute perfection.

Zulu: My People...Hold On/Our Day Will Come 12”

I didn’t get this in Seattle but it came the night I left so I couldn’t listen to it until today. THE ZULU RELEASES ARE FINALLY ON VINYL AHHHHHHH!!! And the packaging is stunning, with an awesome screen printed b-side. As of writing this, Sorry State has already sold out of the few copies we got so good luck getting your hands on it somewhere else!

Record of the Week: Heavy Metal - V- Live at the Gas Station 12"

Heavy Metal: V - Live At The Gas Station 12” (Total Punk Records) If you thought Heavy Metal’s well of inspiration ran dry after they dropped their fourth album, a 24-track double, in late 2019, then think again. V - Live At The Gas Station pares things back to a svelte 12 tracks, but they are all certified bangers. Heavy Metal’s silly name, robust discography, and irreverent lyrics might lead you to think their music is inconsistent or underdeveloped, but there isn’t a moment I’d shave off this record. The shoegaze/Britpop song called “Motorhead,” the oi!-ish “Boots of 69” (I think I heard the lyric “skinheads break wind” somewhere in there), and the classic melodic punk of “Bored Into My Mind” are all essential, but even the weirder moments like “Centipede Venom” and the obligatory off the wall cover (“Burning Love,” retitled “Gebrannte Amore”) are perfect, and would be the highlights of a lesser band’s album. Like their spiritual brethren ISS, Heavy Metal’s music is poppy enough to have you singing along by the second listen, but so dense and intricately crafted that it’ll take hours of turntable time to wrap your mind around it. If you love punk rock with hooks, wit, and energy, you should listen to Heavy Metal. And if you’ve already been buying Heavy Metal’s records, V is certainly not the place you want to stop.

Featured Releases: September 2 2021

Lacerate: S/T 12” (Konton Crasher) Konton Crasher brings us the debut record by this hardcore punk band out of Cleveland. Someone in Lacerate must have graduated from the Totalitär school of riff construction, because the catchy and furious riffage on this record is top notch. However, Lacerate differs from lesser Totalitär-inspired bands in their knack for constructing great songs. Like Feel the Darkness-era Poison Idea, these eight tracks aren’t just dishes of riff salad, but well-constructed pieces of music that have a logic to them, building to exciting climaxes and pumping the throttle in ways that make the ripping parts more ripping and the crushing parts more crushing. I also love the vocals, which eschew the normal d-beat growls and screams for a powerful bellow that’s half-shouted, half-sung, weaving another set of compelling melodies through the intricate riffing. This record is all power, all energy, and I keep flipping it again and again because I don’t want it to end. Killer.


Chain Cult: We’re Not Alone 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) We’re Not Alone is a new two-song single from this punk band from Athens, Greece, composed during the pandemic and reflecting the weirdness of our current times. While the lyrics address isolation, this isn’t anything new for Chain Cult, who actually titled their first EP Isolation. The music is also in the same vein as the band’s previous releases, a style of heavy, dark, and melodic punk that I don’t hear too often these days. Chain Cult reminds me of the melodic bands that Feral Ward Records would put out… bands like Complications, Masshysteri, and Criminal Damage. It sounds like music for old heads who might have a faded Leatherface or Jawbreaker shirt mixed in among their “concert grey” hardcore tees (I am very much part of this club). As with Leatherface, the guitars are heavy yet packed with melancholic melodies, and the songs are grounded in anthemic UK punk and oi!. Putting out a two-song single is a bold move but both tracks are strong, dense with hooks and with a sense of emotional and political gravitas.


Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons: Jazz 4 Johnny 12” (Feel It Records) Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons is a new name from the fertile Cleveland scene that has been giving us delightfully weird and/or raging music for several decades. Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons are on the weirder end of that spectrum, their sound characterized by meandering grooves, lyrics that might be mundane or surreal depending on how you look at them, and guitars and synths that sound usettlingly out of tune. While pop music typically strides in a particular direction, moving toward some sort of musical climax or resolution, Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons’ music wanders the streets aimlessly, perhaps picking up a piece of garbage, examining it for a while, then unceremoniously casting it aside. If you’re into that long tradition of skewed Cleveland bands from the Electric Eels to the Homostupids to Folded Shirt to Perverts Again, you know the vibe. Jazz 4 Johnny is another thread in that tapestry, another glimpse into the fractured reality our minds work so tirelessly to tame.


Direct Threat: S/T cassette (Iron Lung Records) If you’re wondering if the debut cassette from this Denver band sounds like it looks, the answer is yes; it sounds exactly like it looks. This is hardcore for bald guys with boots, taking the oi!-tinged style of Negative Approach and Negative FX and sprinkling it with violence-inducing mid-paced breakdowns from the Cro-Mags school. Direct Threat has three gears: fast and tough, slow and tough, and catchy and tough, and they’re equally powerful playing in each. The recording is nasty, but clear enough that the power comes across. Don’t expect any surprises, but don’t expect to be disappointed either. This one goes.


Cemento: Killing Life cassette (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung Records brings us the debut tape from this death rock / goth / post-punk band from sunny Los Angeles. Cemento’s sound ranges from brooding death rock that reminds me of their fellow Angelinos Christian Death (particularly on the opening track, “Cash Grab”), to punkier, more melodic post-punk a la the Chameleons. Cemento relies on familiar tropes of this style, including chorus effects on the guitars and double hi-hat patterns on the drums, but there’s solid songwriting at the core and a knack for earworm guitar hooks. And with eight tracks clocking in at 23 minutes, Killing Life feels more like a cassette album than a demo tape or teaser.


Little Angels: demo cassette (Kill Enemy Records) Little Angels is another killer hardcore band from Pittsburgh. I’m not sure what social circle they come from, if they’re part of the Loose Nukes / Rat Nip / White Stains crew of old heads, the younger crowd like Illiterates and Speed Plans, or some other group, but like all the bands mentioned above, they have the snotty, unhinged US hardcore sound down pat. Little Angels reminds me the most of Illiterates’ loose, manic, and catchy take on the style, with a vocal approach that’s bound to put money in the hands of some lozenge company or another. The recording is raw and in the red and the band bashes out 6 songs in as many minutes, leaving me with nothing not to like. Ripping.


Featured Release Roundup: August 26, 2021

Doom: Complete Peel Sessions 12” (Sonarize) I have to admit that I’m a poser when it comes to Doom. I’ve seen many bands cover “Police Bastard,” but I never explored Doom’s records. Perhaps it’s because their discography is big and intimidating and I didn’t know where to dive in. However, when this latest batch of Doom reissues from Sonarize Records hit the shelves, Usman mentioned that Complete Peel Sessions is his favorite Doom material, so this record seems like a logical starting point. And indeed, it is a full-blown crusher. Even if Doom inspired a lot of mediocre, one-dimensional crust bands (and I’m sure that’s debatable), the music captured on this record (which compiles two Peel Sessions, the first from 1988 and the second from 1989) is not only powerful but varied and dynamic. There’s everything from crushing, mid-paced palm-muted parts to full-on blasting alongside plenty of the fist-in-the-air crust you associate with Doom if you know anything about the band. The record also opens with a blazing cover of Black Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe.” As with most Peel Sessions LPs, the production sounds great, and the embossed, foil-stamped jacket is a nice plus too.


Hugayz: Hugz and Kissez cassette (Tough Gum Records) Poland’s Hugayz has some egg punk trappings on this five song cassette, including a jittery drum machine and a general sense of weirdness. However, the big hooks and genuine sense of charm elevate this above the also-rans. I hear a lot of Suburban Lawns and later-era Devo in these songs, which could soundtrack a raging party attended by all the weirdest kids in school. All the tracks are interesting, but my favorite is “Walk U Home,” whose earworm synth line sounds like something a great early hip-hop record would have sampled from a Rick James record. Connoisseurs of the quirky and catchy, give Hugayz a listen.


Research Reactor Corp: Live at Future Tech Labs 12” (Sweet Time Records) Live LP from this Sydney group, recorded for a livestream event but well worth releasing on vinyl in my humble opinion. Research Reactor Corp’s previous record came to us via Germany’s Erste Theke Tonträger, and if you know that label you might be unsurprised to learn RRC’s music sounds like dyed in the wool egg punk. You’ll hear lots of analog hiss, Mark Winter-style mutant Chuck Berry guitar licks, and warbly synthesizers. The vocals, however, are of the rabid, throat-shredding variety, pulling the music in a more aggressive and confrontational direction while the guitar riffs and synthesizer lines dish out their (tainted?) ear candy. While a lot of music in this vein is recorded in bedrooms and has a staid, introverted quality, on Live at Future Tech Labs, Research Reactor Corp sounds like a bunch of slathering, uncaged beasts. Don’t let the word “live” scare you off… this is grade A, free range, grass fed egg punk.


Inferno Personale: demo cassette (Symphony of Destruction) Inferno Personale (Personal Hell) is a new band based in Germany, but with members from all over the world. In the brief liner notes in this cassette, they say they’re doing the “same old shit,” but then explain how important it is to do this same old shit, to examine and express one’s self in the face of a society that seeks to dehumanize all of us through endless cycles of work and consumption. Despite the band’s self-effacement, they articulate those sentiments even more powerfully in their music. Inferno Personale isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel—they’re a fast, raw, and angry hardcore band—but they take what they do seriously, value it highly, and execute it with a sincerity and passion that makes the music feel electric. Inferno Personale reminds me of Muro in that they seem to take influence from every preceding generation of raw hardcore punk, but the defining force in their music isn’t their stylistic trappings but the power and sincerity of the performance. If you like the hardcore we like at Sorry State, check this out… it rules.


Systema: Ultima Guerra 12” (Symphony of Destruction) Systema is a new band from Bogotá, Colombia featuring members of heaps of other Colombian bands, among them the almighty Muro. Fans of Muro should check out Systema as they have a similarly passionate and urgent sound, though their style is a little different. In particular, I hear a lot of Finnish hardcore in Systema’s music. Like my favorite Finnish bands, Systema sounds like they’re steeped in Discharge’s heaviness and power, but they bring just a little more musicality to the table, resulting in a hybrid that is just as intense but a little catchier. I hear this on Ultima Guerra’s few mid-paced parts, like the driving intro to “Violencia,” which sounds like something Kaaos might have done. Like just about everything I hear from this Colombian punk scene, it oozes passion and energy. The physical version also features beautiful packaging, including a two-color, screen printed jacket and a large poster insert.


Taqbir: Victory Belongs to Those Who Fight for a Right Cause 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) The buzz on Taqbir was strong when we first got this EP in earlier this summer and our initial stock sold out within a day or two. Now they’re back in and we have plenty on hand so all of you can see what the fuss is about. It’s easy to see why Taqbir has caught so many ears. The group is from Morocco (they might be the first punk band I’ve heard from that country) and they sing about topics that seem very familiar on one hand—strict parents, body image, anger, frustration—but also unique if you’ve mostly listened to punk bands coming at this topic through the lens of western liberalism. While the lyrics themselves are in Moroccan Arabic, the translations are worth checking out because they’re so raw, direct, and full of passion, much like the accompanying artwork. The music is also great. You might expect a band from a place without a long tradition of punk bands to have a sound that is basic or undeveloped, but Taqbir already has a strong and unique voice. The vocals are fiery, but my ear latches onto the unique melodic guitar leads that surface through the din of chorus and distortion. Taqbir’s debut is worthy of the hype, a politically and musically vital slice of contemporary punk.


SSR Picks: August 26, 2021

Dennis Bovell is a name that keeps coming up in my travels through the world of records. I think he first came on my radar as producer of the first Slits album, Cut. His name came up again when I was learning about one of my staff picks several months ago, the classic lover’s rock track “Silly Games” by Janet Kay, which he wrote and produced. I’ve also been dipping my toe into the deep waters of the Adrian Sherwood / On-U sound universe of music, and Bovell’s name comes up again and again in that reading. When I saw that Lora Logic, the subject of a few of my staff picks, played sax on a track on Bovell’s 1981 album, Brain Damage, I knew it was time to investigate further. It took a minute to locate a decently priced copy in the US, but one arrived last week and I’ve been digging in hard.

Bovell was born in 1953 in Barbados, but grew up in the same London of the late 60s and early 70s that shaped so much of the music I hold most dear. Fascinated by the first wave of dub reggae, Bovell jumped right into the music world and started his Jah Sufferer Sound System, whose operation briefly landed him in jail, though his conviction was overturned on appeal. He started the London reggae band Matumbi in 1971 and that group had some success, which launched him into the world of songwriting and record production, and he was off to the races. Bovell is one of those people for whom a thoroughly researched discography would be miles long. There are experts who could tell you way more about Bovell’s music and career, but I’m coming at his work from the odd angle of being a white American punk born in the late 70s, so forgive me if my understanding of his life and work isn’t as rich as it could be. I know the universe of music he made and influenced is massive, and I am eager to learn more. Maybe I’ll update you on that journey in future staff picks.

I think the first dub reggae I heard was a CD compilation called Dub Chill Out. I’m not sure why I bought it, though I remember I picked it up at the same shop where I bought the Minor Threat discography CD that changed my life. Dub Chill Out must have been budget-priced, and I probably picked it up because it was cheap and I had read about dub’s influence on punk. I doubt I had heard any reggae music outside Bob Marley before that, but that CD wrecked me. For my seventeenth birthday my dad, recognizing how much I loved music, installed a high-powered amp and nice speakers in my crummy little truck. Everything sounded amazing on it, but the dense bass on Dub Chill Out was the ultimate, with the heavy grooves shaking your bowels when you were inside. It would be years before I heard PiL’s Metal Box, but Dub Chill Out prepped me for it and instilled in me a lifelong love of crushingly heavy bass.

While the Jamaican dub compiled on Dub Chill Out clearly inspired Bovell, his music isn’t a straightforward homage. Bovell adopted the heavy grooves and experimentation with studio effects, but I’m guessing the technology he was working with was a little different (and possibly more advanced), since his music is less stark and minimal and employs a wider pallet of studio effects. Like the Adrian Sherwood productions that have piqued my interest, Bovell loves finding weird sounds, and Brain Damage is crammed with them. Along with this maximalist approach, the synthesizers and studio effects Bovell employed on Brain Damage help date this record to early 80s Britain, and it’s steeped in the same vibes as many of my favorite records from that time and place.

Brain Damage’s eclecticism also stands out to me. Part of that might be the way the album was assembled. The list of credits is a mile long, with nearly every track featuring different players. I imagine Brain Damage’s tracks must have been conceived individually and compiled as an album, since there are dramatic stylistic shifts from track to track. While there’s plenty of heavy dub, there’s also ska and other popular music styles like disco and funk. I even hear a bit of the British music hall tradition in the songwriting, a style I know from its influence on bands like the Kinks, the Specials, and Madness. As with the sound of the record, this peculiar stylistic mix stamps Brain Damage as a product of late 70s / early 80s Britain.

Another thing that draws me to this era and the style of music is how heavily integrated it was. Lora Logic brought me to Brain Damage’s Discogs page, and the track she plays on, “Bettah,” is a heavy reggae track with political lyrics that still feel relevant today. As humans, we still deserve better than society is delivering for us. While the sentiment and the core of the sound seems grounded in the experience of West Indian immigrants in London, when Lora Logic’s instantly identifiable sax comes in, it’s something else. Logic’s sound is always off-key, brittle, and marked by a shaky, uncertain vibrato. With just the sound of her horn, Logic signals that Bovell’s demands for a better world don’t just apply to his own community, but all the freaks, the weirdos, and the marginalized. At least within this community, the punks and the dreads recognized they were in the same boat, and they valued one another’s culture, style, and creativity. Together they created something that likely never could or would have existed otherwise.


What’s up Sorry Staters?

For my staff pick this week, I’m writing about the debut LP from this band Lacerate out of Cleveland. I remember Sorry State carried this band’s demo tape, but I’m pretty sure that was like 5 years ago or something? I think I recall checking it out back then, but I couldn’t really remember how Lacerate sounded. Funny enough, I instantly connected the dots when I saw this LP cover, fashioning a similar big ol’ RAMBO knife for artwork just like their demo tape. After some time has gone by, Lacerate finally gets the vinyl treatment courtesy of Konton Crasher.

I gotta say right off the bat that the quality of the music and playing grabbed my attention. I think both the riffs and songwriting on this LP are truly excellent. The way this band constructs a song is right up my alley. I hear a bit of Poison Idea, maybe a bit of Totalitär, but also not really? The label’s description of the record mentions a whole lot of bands that are all from different countries and that to me all sound entirely different haha. But taking that into consideration, it is hard to put my finger on exactly what style of hardcore to compare to what I’m hearing. I feel like this is not a straight up d-beat record, and to me sounds way more like US hardcore—sure, maybe the more euro-influenced end of US hardcore, but still… I think the guitar tone is just about perfect. Bright and cutting, where it almost sounds clean, but still played with style and ferocity. It’s tasteful, sounding more like organic, no frills hardcore than like if the guitar player used a Metal Zone pedal or something. I wouldn’t necessarily say I have any gripe with the record, but I will say that the vocals are pretty unconventional. Not like they’re a hurdle by any means, but I think the vocalist sounds quite unique and took me a moment to get used to. Follow me here: the singer almost sounds somewhere between Tam’s vocals on Turn Back Trilobite and Born To Die In Gutter-era Discharge. Sounds hard to imagine, right? You might hear what I mean when you check this out. I was definitely pleasantly surprised to find out about a raging band I didn’t know too much about. For all you punk-ass mofos out there who are hesitating to pull the trigger on this stark, black & white record cover with a big Crocodile Dundee knife on it, definitely give this a shot. “That’s not a knife!”

Short and sweet this week. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff


Hey there, readers, and thanks for pulling us up on your computer device again this week. Another week with more doom and gloom in the world and iconic figures departing us, but without getting too depressed about that, let’s try to concentrate on the good things in our lives and stuff that makes us happy. As you are reading this, it must mean that one of those happy things for you is music. Snap. That’s why we are all here and why I love coming to work and being around music all day.

This week I confess to not having a proper staff pick to add to the newsletter. This entry is being composed at the traditional last minute with not too much to say, certainly nothing too clever or witty or informative, but hopefully you’ll forgive me. I have been having some ongoing back and leg pain issues that leave me pretty wiped out by the end of the day and unable to do much of anything least not write some intelligent prose. So, for this week I’m going to quickly highlight two records from our bargain bin I plucked and thought were cool. We try to keep a decent bargain bin section, so next time you are in the store, remember to look down at the floor bins and at the display bin by the counter and flick through. It has been said that our cheap stuff is the equivalent of, if not better than, the entire stock of some other stores. Maybe? I know we make sure there are always some goodies in there for the diggers and those on a budget. A great place for beginners and old hands alike.

From our Jazz bins, I found one called The Jazz Life! This was a compilation of tracks recorded in 1960 and 1961 that hadn’t been previously released and was compiled by Nat Hentoff, the notable Jazz critic and writer, to coincide with the release of his book of the same name. It came out on the Barnaby label, a subsidiary of Janus Records who distributed it, and was culled from unreleased Candid Jazz recordings. The roll call of artists playing on the sessions is like a who’s who of jazz. Names include Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Booker Little, Kenny Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Kenny Clarke, Booker Ervin and even Lightnin’ Hopkins. The Hopkins track called Black Cat recorded in New York is brilliant and worth the price of admission alone. Another highlight is the cut Lord, Lord Am I Ever Gonna Know, which was recorded in Paris with Lucky Thompson as leader on tenor sax and featuring inspired drumming from Kenny Clarke and some tasty piano from European Martial Solal. It’s cool stuff, man. Dig!

To contrast the hip, cool jazz, my next find was from the Funk and Soul bins and here I have selected an album on Motown from 1977 by Mandre that sports a great Daft Punk-esque cover of a robot in a tuxedo. The sound is pure space funk disco and is awesome. And as Space Funk™ is the new hip thing, I was happy to discover it. Mandre was the alter ego of Andre Lewis who was the keyboard playing founder member of the funk-soul group Maxayn, named after his then wife Maxayn Lewis. As an avenue for his experimentations in electronic sounds and keyboards, Mandre was the name given to his new project after Maxayn disbanded. Signed to Motown, he released three records, of which this is the first. His identity was kept a mystery behind the robot mask. For sure, Daft Punk knew about this guy. Naturally, these futuristic records went largely unnoticed at the time, but over the years curious crate digging DJs and collectors have made a lot of the records from this era desirable and hip again. Sometimes the prices creep up on these things, but for the most part, certainly in recent years, it has always been easy to find these late 1970s and early 1980s major label releases. Perhaps that will change as a new audience discovers them and the prices of classic era funk and soul records continue to climb and become out of reach for the music fan on a budget.

I haven’t fully digested this album yet but have been enjoying it. The track Solar Flight stands out and gives you a fair representation of the goodies held within the rest of the record’s grooves. Apparently late-night listeners to Philly radio station WDAS-FM would have heard this as DJ Tom Brown used it on his show. Fun fact, Andre Lewis was a tester for Roland and was one of the first musicians to take possession of and record with the Roland TR-808 and worked with Roger Linn on developing early digital drum machines. Nifty.

Anyway, keep an eye out for either of these in your local record spot depending on your tastes, but always remember to dig in the dollar bins as you never know what you may find. Until next time friends. Peace and love - Dom


Hi,

I’m sure a lot of readers have heard this band regardless of how new they are, but I am still choosing to write about it cos I’m sure there are some who have yet to hear this fuckin’ hot ass reel. I am under this assumption cos the youtube sensation No Deal uploaded it, and when they upload everyone and their mother knows about it. Ideation is a new band from Tallahassee, FL. I know it’s members of Armor and Protocol, but I don’t know much else. What I do know is the recording sounds amazing. Everything is pushed to the max. Regardless of its intensity the riffs are loud and shimmering in their clarity. The mix on the drums is simply excellent. Although this shit could’ve been recorded in a tin can and it would probably sound sick cos the drummer is so, so damn good. The songs are pretty short, ranging from about 50-80 seconds. It feels like they cram a lot into the short amount of time, though. The songwriting has a fair amount of change-ups. A lot of times when bands do shit like that, I feel like it takes away from the intensity or “pummeling” aspects of the songs. Ideation manages to have some of these characteristics, but executed in perfect taste. Their tempo/rhythm changes just bring even more raw intensity to the songs. The songs are extremely catchy while simultaneously filling you with the urge to punch the person next to you in the fucking face. It’s an excellent tape. I managed to get my copy of this tape from Tallahassee transplant, Seamus (What up!), but I am hoping Sorry State will lock some distro copies down soon. In the mean time you can listen and buy a copy here. Thanks to all my loyal readers and wanna give a shout to Ashley, Sabrina, Tonya, Tina, Gina, Sylvia, Debra, Christina, Sonia, Paula, Inga, Carla, Greta, Barbara, Inca, and Darla.