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Featured Release Roundup: June 17 2021

Wipers: Tour ’84 12” (Jackpot Records) You might have missed it because it came out this past Friday, the day before Record Store Day, but Jackpot just reissued the Wipers’ Tour ’84 album. These recordings originally came out as a very limited cassette on Greg Sage’s Trap Records, then were released as an LP on Enigma Records in 1985 (that version just features the Wipers’ logo on the cover, so sometimes this album is also referred to as self-titled). While Restless / Enigma released the Wipers’ next few albums, they had released none of the band’s previous three records, which most fans regard as the most essential Wipers records. Since Restless / Enigma was a bigger label, for a long time I saw copies of this record in used bins way more often than the Wipers’ actual first three albums. I wonder how many people picked up Tour ’84 as their first Wipers record, particularly after Kurt Cobain repped the band? I think this album is great, but it shows a different side of the band than the first three albums (which, thanks to various reissues and streaming, are now easily available). Those three albums have a sense of precision that isn’t as present here. The early recordings aren’t super polished, but they feel very locked in and precisely performed. By contrast, these live recordings find the band in a looser, more visceral mode. I love the albums, but I love this side of the band too. I think I’ve read that Greg Sage is a big Jimi Hendrix fan, and you hear that on these live versions. The fidelity is great (it says Greg Sage mixed them, so they must be multi-track recordings), and even better there are three songs that weren’t on any of the Wipers’ studio albums. They’re pretty cool and worth hearing, though, “Moon Rider” bears more than a passing resemblance to “Romeo.” This no-frills reissue doesn’t even have an insert, but it’s on pretty pink vinyl and it sounds great. You’ll want the first three Wipers albums before you pick this up, but if you’ve digested those, Tour ’84 is an essential piece of the Wipers puzzle.


Paranoid: Kind of Noise 12” (Viral Age Records) Paranoid’s Kind of Noise 7” came out as a tiny, 250-copy edition back in 2019. Of course that release sold out immediately, so Viral Age Records from the UK has stepped in and reissued it as a one-sided 12” with the two tracks from Paranoid’s Kaos flexi, which seems even harder to find. If you’re wondering what era of Paranoid this comes from, that’s a kind of complicated question. Kind of Noise came out in 2019, after Heavy Mental Fuck-up! and Cover of the Month found the band moving toward a metal / rock-influenced sound a la Venom. However, Kind of Noise was full-on d-beat, sounding like Paranoid was taking inspiration from noisy Japanese bands like Zyanose and D-Clone. I really liked Kind of Noise when it came out, and this expanded 12” version is even better. In addition to the extra songs, the packaging gets some nice upgrades including a beautiful obi, a glossy jacket, and a heavy PVC sleeve. If you’re missing these gems from deep in Paranoid’s discography, I’d jump on this release while you can.


Sublevacion: S/T 7” (Discos Enfermos) Discos Enfermos brings us the debut release from this Barcelona band. My first thought when I listened to this record was “man, this sounds old as hell.” I mean that in the best way possible. There is very little here to tip you off that this wasn’t recorded in the early 80s… no modern production touches, no straight edge-y breakdowns, no tips of the hat to bands that no one actually fucking knew about in the early 80s… just raw, furious hardcore punk. Like a lot of my favorite 80s hardcore, Sublevacion’s sound is rooted in Discharge and the Exploited. It’s easy to sound like a flattened-out version of what those bands did, but Sublevacion’s loose playing style and grainy, 4-track-style production give this record a lot of personality. I love the way the vocals clip on the loudest and most passionate parts, which gives the songs some extra dynamism. While I’m sure old hardcore nerds will love Sublevacion, the band’s direct and passionate sound doesn’t require a PhD in Hardcore Archaeology to appreciate.


Maladia: Sacred Fires 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Sacred Fires is the first vinyl release from this London band. There are several threads that run through La Vida Es Un Mus’s catalog, and Sacred Fires is of a piece with LVEUM alumni like Permission, No, Subdued, and maybe even Irreal and S.H.I.T. This is the dark shit, the nightmare music. The color is black, so what you look for are the textures and the shades. Maladia can be spooky, terrifying, eerie, sinister, and a bunch of other words that wouldn’t be out of place on a Facebook page promoting a goth night. But they’re also hardcore, meaning that they play with the heaviness and ferocity of bands like Rudimentary Peni and Crass. These five short tracks are a densely packed epic journey, long on detail but short on time to process it. I’m a sucker for these moves, and Maladia nails them.


Leopardo: Malcantone 12” (Feel It) Feel It Records digs into the worldwide underground again, sifting out Switzerland’s Leopardo from the silt. Aside from some Germanic accents, Leopardo doesn’t sync up with my limited knowledge of Swiss music (i.e. they don’t sound anything like Celtic Frost or Kleenex). Instead, they sound like they could have come straight from early 80s New Zealand. Like my favorite Kiwi pop, Malcantone seems grounded in the Velvet Underground’s subversive pop music, is aggressively eclectic (one track here is a solo banjo instrumental), heavily layered, and occasionally might get a little too saccharine for some tastes. Aside from the Velvets, I feel a noticeable Beatles influence coming through in parts of Malcantone, particularly the twee psych elements of Sgt. Pepper’s. It’s a similar mix of styles as the most 60s-influenced contemporary Australian bands, particularly Parsnip and Hierophants, and if you’re a fan of those records, you’ll love Leopardo. The packaging here is also up to Feel It’s usual high standard, with a beautiful gatefold jacket and detail-oriented design that provides enriching 3-dimensional accompaniment to Leopardo’s rich sonic world-building.


Sycophant: Innate Control cassette (self-released) Innate Control is the first release by this new hardcore band from Phoenix, Arizona. It sounds like Sycophant has spent plenty of time studying the Totalitär classics, but they don’t come off as a worship band, reaching further back to Discharge for influence (see “Black Smoke,” which they build around a “Protest and Survive” groove) or dropping in the odd wicked breakdown (“Warzone Mentality”). Sycophant draws from the same well of influences as recent Totalitär-inspired bands like Nervous SS, Scarecrow, and maybe even the Destruct and Lethal Means, and their song and riff-writing skills are top notch. Innate Control has a powerful recording, too, courtesy of J from Gay Kiss. With ten full tracks, this tape is longer and meatier than most 12”s these days, so if this is your style, jump on it!


SSR Picks - June 10 2021

Willful Neglect: S/T 12” (1982, Neglected Records)

I’m trying to summon the energy to get through this busy week, so let’s go with some hardcore punk. I picked this record up at Vinyl Conflict a while back when I was passing through Richmond. They always put a big dent in my wallet, but they really got me this time. As usual I came home with a stack of great stuff, including this original pressing of Willful Neglect’s first 12”.

Willful Neglect were from St. Paul, Minnesota. I think I first heard them on the We Got Power: Party or Go Home compilation LP (my favorite punk compilation), where the opening track on this record, “E.M.S. & D.” (aka “Eat My Shit and Die”) appears. That song is a standout on Party or Go Home’s stacked lineup. Like many of my favorite bands on that comp, Willful Neglect’s style seems to have one foot in song-oriented punk and the other in hardcore. They play as fast and as hard as bands that were influenced by Discharge, but they write songs with memorable—if somewhat spare—melodies, and “E.M.S. & D.” is a perfect example.

Other tracks on this short 12” EP show Willful Neglect’s collective ear for melody coming out even more. “5 Nice Guys” is a standout with its chiming guitars hinting that Hüsker Dü wasn’t the only Minneapolis-area band with a soft spot for the Byrds. The guitar playing throughout this record is great, with the 5-piece lineup giving Willful Neglect a denser, more textured sound that bands with one guitarist.

If you like what you hear, Havoc Records reissued both of Willful Neglect’s 12” records as one LP in 2010, and we have it in stock for the crazy bargain price of only $10. Drink one less cup of coffee today and let this one rev you up instead.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

This week I’m going to talk about some exciting news—for me personally, but also for all you HCPMF’s everywhere. The legendary 1985 EP by Netherlands hardcore band Nog Watt is finally being reissued!! It’s been a long time coming, but especially because this record has become a bit of a rarity, I’m excited to see Fear back in print.

I remember I first heard Nog Watt at a party at Daniel’s house a number of years ago. I believe my homie Elizabeth was the one who requested we listen to it. She seemed flabbergasted when I asked, “Damn, what IS this?” I felt like a n00b, and rightfully so. The fact my baby punker ears had not yet been exposed to this greatness was a damn shame.

I uploaded a rip of my personal copy of this EP a few years back on YouTube (don’t sue me!), and I’m gonna lift some of my own words from that upload as to not totally paraphrase a repetition of myself. Sorry to be lazy, it’s been a busy week:

In my deep dive into more obscure 80s European hardcore, Fear has come to be one of my favorite punk records. Not unlike other bands from the Netherlands (BGK, Agent Orange, etc) the faster songs are played at a groovy, yet blazing pace. That said, in the slower moments of this record, particularly on songs like “Hunted” and the title track “Fear”, Nog Watt emanates a dark, moody vibe that is truly unique and powerful. I think it’s also worthwhile to mention that a band comprised of all female members playing this style of hardcore in the mid-80s is quite an anomaly. This record really captures a special moment in punk.

The 7” is being faithfully reproduced by Final Doomsday Records, a sub-label from the same great people who have been putting out all the great stuff on Meathouse Productions. Sorry State will be getting a big ol’ stack of copies, so don’t sleep on this amazing record!

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading, as always. Hope all you nerds get the picture disc your heart desires on Record Store Day.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Hey there Sorry State gang, how are we all doing this week? Good, I hope. Here at Sorry State mansions, we are busy gearing up for the first of this year’s Record Store Days this upcoming Saturday. We hope to see as many of you locals as possible stop in for a visit this weekend and those of you reading from far and wide, perhaps you will get the opportunity to support your local spot if you have one. I’ve long since stopped complaining about RSD and any of the down sides of such a day, if they even exist, and am fully looking forward to it. There are a ton of great releases this go around and should be something for everyone. I know I have my eye on a couple of things.

In addition to the RSD releases and general new releases, we are still working on processing all the great used collections, including making sure there is another good batch of records from the Veola McLean estate hitting the floor. This week I worked on a box that contained Jazz records featuring the sound of the vibraphone. Possibly my favorite instrument in jazz, it has such a pleasing tone. In particular there were a bunch of records by Cal Tjader, an artist that I love and whose records I have many. Alongside Roy Ayers, Milt Jackson, Dave Pike and Bobby Hutcherson, he is most people’s go to musician whenever they think of the sound of the vibes. So, for my pick this week I thought I would highlight some of my personal Cal Tjader faves. A couple of which were in that box I worked on and will be on the floor this weekend.

A quick run through of Cal’s bio for those new to him. He was an American born to Swedish American vaudevillian parents in 1925 and besides the vibraphone was accomplished on drums and percussion. The family settled in California and by sixteen Cal was good enough on drums to win a local Gene Krupa drum solo contest. A win that was overshadowed by the attack on Pearl Harbor that same day. Aged seventeen he enlisted in the Navy and saw action in the Pacific. After the war, Cal returned to California and ended up in San Francisco attending State College under the G.I. Bill. It was there that he met fellow musician Dave Brubeck and together they formed their first group. They only recorded one album together, and it didn’t sell too well but is notable for being the first outing for future jazz legends. When Brubeck had to take a break from touring and playing after a diving accident, Cal continued with the trio and also finished his college degree. In 1953 he was recruited by leader George Shearing for his band and played vibes and bongos for him. Whilst in New York he was able to meet and see play several notable names in the nascent Latin-Jazz field. Musicians such as Chico O’Farrill, Machito, Mongo Santamaria, and Willie Bobo, who were bringing the Afro-Cuban sound to the fore. The Mambo boom of the fifties was about to explode, and Tjader was right there to take full advantage. He left Shearing and formed his own combo in 1954 and never looked back. On the San Fran label Fantasy, he released a bunch of killer albums throughout the remainder of the 1950s and in 1959 headlined the second Monterey festival and helped save it as it had looked like after the first the festival might not survive. Thank goodness, as we all know how important that festival became just a few years later.

Later in the 60s Tjader joined Norman Granz’s Verve label and released some of his best selling and most popular records. 1964’s Soul Source was a huge hit. The title track being an update on the Dizzy Gillespie tune Guachi Guaro. Soul Burst from 1966 is almost the follow-up album and was also a hit. Around this time, he cut a couple of more upfront Latin albums with Eddie Palmieri that are both excellent, especially Bamboleate, which came out on the Tico label.

In 1968 Cal formed a new label, Skye Records, with fellow artists Gary McFarland and Gabor Szabo. The latter name should be one to remember if you are digging for records. I have written about my love for Hungarian guitarist Szabo in these pages before and can’t recommend his records more highly. Look out for him on some Chico Hamilton records too. Skye was a short-lived label, but both Tjader and Szabo released some their strongest sets whilst it existed. We got in copies of Tjader’s Sounds Out Bacharach and Solar Heat albums which will go out this week. I love his Plugs In album which was recorded live at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California. I got a real thrill when I stayed with a friend who lived there back in the late 80s and got to visit the club on Pier Avenue where so many fantastic jazz musicians had performed over the years.

Another great Skye release to look out for is the Wendy & Bonnie album. That album has achieved legendary status amongst collectors and lovers of psychedelic pop music. I highly recommend you looking into that one if you are not familiar. Their story is too long to get into here, but I will leave a link for you to jump over to and check out.

Tjader continued to release great records throughout the 1970s, delving into the prevailing jazz fusion style but still with a strong Latin influence. Some records he made during this period are quite adventurous and progressive. The last few he made in the late 70s and early 80s returned to a straight Latin jazz format and aren’t too bad either, featuring a new crop of young musicians eager to recapture the classic 50s mambo sound. Sadly, he suffered a premature death at aged 56 in 1982 whilst on tour in the Philippines. He died of heart failure.

His legacy however has and will live on for as long as people listen to music and like so many other great band leaders such as Herbie Mann, his importance won’t be forgotten.

The great thing is that because he cut so many records and was popular you can find something by him easily and without breaking the bank. We have some here right now for you.

Okay, enjoy yourselves on Record Store Day and I hope you score something cool. Don’t forget, it’s the music and community that is important so try not to fetishize the physical object too much. If you don’t score the record you wanted, don’t worry, just stick something else on. See you back here next time. Peace and love - Dom

Hello everyone,

I’m back again with another brief write-up. Is it even a surprise I would pick Totalitär? When we get the repress of Sin Egen Motståndare, I will give a more in-depth Staff Pick on Totalitär, but for now I will just talk about this amazing LP Ni Måste Bort! This is their second full-length release, released in 1997. Like all their LPs, this album was originally released on CD format. Prank picked it up in 2000 and released it on vinyl with an alternate cover, and repressed it sometime after on red vinyl. Those copies are now going for upwards of 50 bones so this re-issue is well needed! When I first heard this LP the dry, compressed sound caught me off-guard. The overall tone is drastically different than all their other releases. While this took some time to grow on me, I absolutely love this LP. I think this one is Jeff’s favorite. Usually you see the one of like three recording studios on the back of a Totalitär record, but this one actually was recorded at a place I don’t recognize off-hand. I think that this could’ve been their only release recorded at this studio. To break this LP down, I enjoy the B side a lot more than the A side. I think the songs are catchier. They are mostly slower than the A side though, with a fair amount of straight up mid-tempo songs. Totalitär brings you the speed and the riffs, but most importantly they bring you the fuckin groove. If for some insane reason you don’t know this LP listen to it and buy it right now. Thanks for reading. ‘Til next week...

I mentioned last week I’ve been buying way too many records and it’s making it hard to figure out what to write about each week! I decided that this week I’m just going to share some of my most recent acquisitions and why I had to have them.

1. Jeannie C. Riley: The World of Country

I learned about Jeannie on Cocaine and Rhinestone’s FASCINATING three-part series on the song ‘Harper Valley PTA’. Riley sang that song and didn’t have much else in the way of country hits, but I fell in love with her voice and now try to pick up anything of hers. This is just an early 70s compilation but has some great songs on it! Found it at the flea market, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to dig.

2. Sydney Omarr: Taurus

I’m not really one for astrology but I fit my Taurus sign to a tee so stuff like this always entertains me. I’ve seen these records at various stars but never for a Taurus so I finally bit the bullet and grabbed this copy off Discogs. I just put it on for the first time last night and it’s so so so good. I know nothing about Sydney Omarr but he talks like what he’s saying is the most important piece of information ever. It’s hard to describe but I’ve never heard someone speak so intensely about fucking star signs. It’s so funny.

3. Savage & Spies: Human Centipede OST

Say what you want, but this movie is fantastic. I will defend it to the end so fight me. I definitely fell trap to the packaging on this because the actual score is pretty nondescript without the movie to back it up. BUT THE PACKAGING! Like, come on. IKEA x Human Centipede is the collab I never knew I needed.

4. Donald J. Borror: Common Bird Songs

Another flea market find. Just throwing it in here because I love field recordings and rarely find stuff like this in the wild. I was stoked to grab this for $1!

5. Divine: Made in England

IT’S PRIDE MONTH, GOTTA GIVE IT UP TO MOTHER DIVINE DUH. One of Jeff’s used record posts got me and I’m so glad none of our Friday appointments grabbed this before I could get my hands on it. I honestly had no idea Divine made music, so this was really fun to discover.

6. Vincent Price: Witchcraft & Magic- An Adventure in Demonology

I’m predictable. Apparently before this was even priced, Dominic knew I’d buy this. And he was right. I cannot stress to you how amazing this record is. From demonic spells to the history of occultism in the Nazi party, this record has it all. And it’s narrated by the velvety voice of Vincent Price. Honestly, this record might get its own write up one day after I’ve absorbed both LPs in this release a bit more.

Record of the Week - Reaksie: Esok Hari Kepunyaan Kita EP

Reaksi:  Esok Hari Kepunyaan Kita EP 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) La Vida Es Un Mus brings us the debut EP from this new band featuring Yeap from Pisschrist on guitar and vocals. Before I give you my take, I want to direct your attention to Fahmi Reza’s words on the EP. I didn’t read what Fahmi wrote until after I’d listened to  Esok Hari Kepunyaan Kita EP quite a bit, and I’m ashamed to say that most of what Fahmi said about the band and their lyrics went over this monolingual white American punk’s head. But that’s why we’re into this shit, right? The reason we search out records and bands from all over the globe is because we’re interested in those people’s perspectives… we want to understand better what the world looks like through their eyes. I was pretty fucking stoked on this record before I knew what the words meant. (To tell the whole truth, I wasn’t even sure what language they were in. They’re in Bahasa, an Indonesian language that Google Translate seems to have no trouble with. “Reaksi” means “reaction” and “Esok Hari Kepunyaan Kita” translates as “Tomorrow Is Ours.”) Reaksi cops a lot of moves from the No Future catalog (particularly the Partisans and Blitz), but they do it well, with the same anthemic sensibility of Rixe but with a tougher edge… I’d bet money these folks really appreciate the Ultra Violent EP. I also like the track “Awas” (“Watch Out”), which has a Ramones-y feel. Anyway, come for the music and the bad-ass alligator on the cover, stay for the education…

Featured Release Roundup - June 10 2021

Suurkaupungin Haitat: S/T 12" (Svart Records) Compilation of rare cassettes, originally released between 1979 and 1982, from this obscure Finnish punk band. I had never heard of Suurkaupungin Haitat before and (according to Discogs, at least), they didn’t have any vinyl releases before this new release on Svart Records, the chief archivists of Finnish music of many stripes. Suurkaupungin Haitat’s cassettes are so obscure they’re not even listed on Discogs, and I imagine were only distributed through small, local networks. Suurkaupungin Haitat isn’t the second coming of the Sex Pistols or anything, but I am loving this record and I’m stoked it exists. The songs are punky, but don’t stick to a particular style. Some sound like they’re grounded more in proto-punk (like the Velvet Underground’s more rockin’ songs or the early Stooges), while others have a poppier edge that puts them more in line with the Buzzcocks-influenced end of second-wave UK punk. Suurkaupungin Haitat reminds me of Swell Maps too, particularly given the fidelity; most of these tracks sound like single-mic room recordings. The recordings aren’t distractingly primitive, though; you can hear every instrument clearly and the drums and bass sound great. While I don’t think any of these tracks are masterpieces, all of them are enjoyable, and sometimes quite strong. The packaging is excellent too, including an insert with photos, ephemera, and an interview with the band (though it’s in Finnish so I can’t read any of it). This is a niche item, particularly given the import price tag, but I’m right in this target market.


Lost Sounds: Rats Brains and Microchips 12” (FDH Records) A few years ago FDH reissued Lost Sounds’s Black Wave album, and now they’ve done the same for Rats Brains and Microchips, my favorite Lost Sounds album. In case you’re unfamiliar, Lost Sounds featured Jay Reatard and Alicjia Trout from River City Tanlines. While those are reasons enough for the band to warrant your interest, they also had a schtick; they described themselves as “black wave,” which I took to mean they were combining new wave and black metal (I remember reading interviews with them where they talked about how they were into the 90s Norwegian black metal scene). One reason I always liked Rats Brains is because they lean into the concept harder on this record, and it sounds to me like they were self-consciously trying to incorporate influences from Norwegian black metal into their music. This was years before GG King seamlessly blended garage-punk and gloomy black metal, and the seams show more here. The songs that incorporate those elements sound choppy; the title track is a real odyssey that moves between several very different sections. This isn’t a complaint, by the way; those songs (the title track, “Tronic Graveyard,” “Dreaming of Bleeding”) are my favorites. They just sound fucking weird, and that’s accentuated by the grainy, abrasive production. The more straightforward, punkier songs are excellent too. This is Jay Reatard we’re talking about it here, and even though he was a few years from Blood Visions (one of the indisputably classic punk records of this millennium), the guy still had a knack for writing great hooks and songs. While FDH’s version is just a straight repress without the contextual information that accompanies many reissues these days, it adds an unreleased (instrumental) track.


The Smog: First Time Last Chance 7” (Episode Sounds) We last heard from Japan’s the Smog when they released a single on California’s Going Underground Records last year, now they’re back with a new single on the excellent Japanese label Episode Sounds. As I said when I wrote about their last single, I love the Smog’s sound. They’re like a Japanese version of the Marked Men, with a similar knack for alternating between jittery and melancholic modes that never skimp on big, melodic hooks. This single is a testament to how important design, packaging, and presentation can be to a record’s impact, though. When I listened to the digital version of this EP, I remember thinking that it was cool but kind of short. When I got the physical version, though, the packaging blew me away. It’s housed in a uniquely designed fold-out sleeve with beautiful two-color printing and liberal use of hand stamping on both the jacket and the center labels. It’s such a beautiful thing to look over that it made me listen to the songs more closely, and that made me appreciate them a lot more. They’re great songs, particularly the b-side. If you’re one of us who geeks out about the packaging on old UK punk singles that seemed so thought out and creatively executed, this scratches that same itch.


Chubby and the Gang:  Lightning Don’t Strike Twice 7” (Partisan Records) Latest single from this UK band that seems to be blowing up. In case you haven’t been keeping up with Chubby’s gang, the group features familiar faces from London’s NWOBHC scene, but they’re not a hardcore band. They’re a pop band, but they play like a hardcore band. That’s but one way in which they remind me of Fucked Up; Chubby and the Gang sound to me like that period when Fucked Up seemed to have a real Undertones fixation, but if you swapped out the Undertones with Wilko Johnson and Dr. Feelgood. It’s anthemic shit. So much so that it’s started to catch on outside the hardcore scene. Pitchfork put the album on their Best of 2020 list and after starting out on Static Shock Records (a familiar name to Sorry State regulars) they’ve moved up to Partisan Records, home of Idles and Fontaines D.C., whose music I’m not familiar with but seem like proper indie bands to me. Anyway, you get an anthem in the band’s usual style on the a-side, but on the b-side we have a loungy track that isn’t punk at all. Here Chubby & the Gang don’t play like a hardcore band; they show a different side of the band, sort of like how the Buzzcocks’ “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” single showcased their more Can-informed material on the b-side. Will the hipsters appreciate it or is this just for the punk nerds?


Venganza:  La Fiera 7” (Discos Enfermos)  La Fiera is the latest 4-song EP by this long-running band from Saragossa, Spain. I’m not familiar with Venganza’s earlier material, but this is some ripping hardcore punk. Venganza isn’t too on the nose with any style. They remind me of Vaaska in that they have a fast, energetic sound that’s tough, but also integrates the anthemic quality of a lot of 80s Spanish punk. The production is full and clear without sounding too modern or too retro, and every song starts with a killer hardcore punk riff and builds to a catchy, chanted chorus. It’s a formula that’s as old as punk itself (older, really), but Venganza doesn’t feel like they’re rehashing a formula, but summoning the true punk spirit. I don’t see Venganza achieving flavor of the week status anytime soon, but those of you who are always down for solid international hardcore punk that hits all the right political and aesthetic notes will enjoy  La Fiera.


Qlowski:  Quale Futuro? 12” (Feel It Records)  Quale Futuro? is the debut album from London’s Qlowski, and it’s a perfect fit with the thoughtful, progressive punk Feel It Records has been putting into the world. Qlowski’s sound is tough to pin down. They have two vocalists, each of whom has a distinctive texture and timbre, and the mix of instruments varies from track to track as well, with some songs centered on synth melodies, some around guitar, and some where the two instruments erupt simultaneously. While I’m sure there are several circa-1980 post-punk bands you could compare them to, they don’t sound like a post-punk revival band. Like their underrated London buddies Sauna Youth (whose Lindsay Corstorphine produced this album), Qlowski sounds impeccably modern, informed by the classics (how couldn’t you be in this age of information overload), but bent on pushing forward with fresh sounds and approaches. Another thing that strikes me about  Quale Futuro? is how fully realized a record it is. It looks like Qlowski has been a band for at leave five years, and  Quale Futuro? has a developed voice, but it also has a concept that ties together the music and packaging. The songs’ lyrics seem focused on the mundane struggles of modern metropolitan life, and the question in the record’s title contrasts this bleak existence with a future that is not only uncertain, but perhaps even worse than what we have now. This idea gets interrogated further in the zine that accompanies the record, which collects work from many artists and writers, all of which relates to that central theme. We live in a world where Bandcamp feeds and Spotify algorithms usher us onto the next thing, but  Quale Futuro? is an album that rewards—even demands—your sustained attention.


SSR Picks: June 3 2021

This week rather than a standard staff pick I’m going to go per-zine on you. For the past few days I haven’t felt like listening to music. In retrospect, I realize I’ve had a lot going on inside my head and I haven’t given myself time to process it. I guess writing this piece is partly an attempt to make sense of it.

I don’t know if you can tell, but Sorry State has been busy. I try to talk to my mom on the phone at least once a week, and between phone calls she checks out Sorry State’s social media accounts to keep tabs on me. This week she told me she read between the lines of our posts that I was frazzled and had a lot going on. Maybe she’s sensitive to that because she’s my mom, but I wonder if anyone else gets that impression too. Sometimes I’m not even aware of how hard I’m working, but after several months of 60-70 hour work weeks I’m fatigued and stressed. Between the Rudimentary Peni LP, the Miss Veola collection, the whole saga with the Golpe and Zorn records, and everything else that happens here daily, I’ve been going pretty much non-stop.

Road trips have always been one of my favorite ways to clear my head, and last Friday I drove to our pressing plant in northwestern Virginia and back, spending over 9 hours alone in the car blasting music and listening to podcasts. I also stopped in Richmond and spent a little (too little) time with some friends like the Vinyl Conflict folks and Sam at Feel It. It was nice to have some solitary time and to listen to music on the drive, but it was such a long and busy day that I didn’t come home feeling refreshed.

The next morning I woke up and drove to Wilmington, North Carolina (about two-and-a-half hours from Raleigh) for an impromptu memorial for my friend Osamu. I wrote about Osamu’s passing last November, and aside from a Zoom memorial service, the people who loved him haven’t been able to get together and mourn his passing. Last Wednesday was his birthday, so most of No Love met in a park in Wilmington where there is a tree planted in his memory. Osamu’s parents joined us and invited us to eat Japanese food at their house afterward. We sat around, traded stories about Osamu, and felt his absence. Like the road trip, it was something that I needed to do, but it left me feeling drained rather than restored.

This week is also the anniversary of the protests that happened all over the country—including Raleigh—in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. There’s a locally famous photo of cops in riot gear lined up in front of a giant, colorful mural that says “Welcome to Raleigh,” and many people shared it on social media this week. I know my experience pales compared to the trauma experienced by people of color in our country, but in retrospect those protests fucked me up. I’ve always considered myself a leftist and a radical. I believe in equality and peace. However, before the protests those were abstractions to me… they were things to talk about in graduate seminars or over beers outside a show rather than anything born of personal experience. I realize now that my privilege allowed these concepts to be abstractions to me; as a straight, white, middle class man, the system was (ostensibly, at least) working in my interests, shielding me from the uncomfortable zones where my privilege rubs against someone else’s needs, wants, and rights.

As I wrote about a year ago, I was standing on the edge of a tense but peaceful protest when a line of cops in riot gear raced into the crowd with batons drawn and started beating people indiscriminately. A line of horse-mounted police joined them from another direction. Cans of teargas whistled by and then hissed acrid, blinding smoke. The scene was violent chaos, but it wasn’t a spontaneous eruption. It was a coordinated attack by the police on unarmed, peaceful citizens. Before that moment, “State Violence, State Control” was just a catchy chorus, but it rings differently to me now, particularly when I reflect on that fact that what was, for me, a unique experience, is a condition of everyday life for people who weren’t born into my social conditions.

After overdosing on music and media on Friday and having an emotionally tiring weekend, I entered a busy week feeling drained. Eventually I realized that what I needed was space. This statement is an uncomfortable fit for a newsletter whose existence is largely based on selling you products, but I didn’t need to find the right music or the right pill or the right anything to make me feel better. I needed stillness. I needed to sit with myself, my humanity, silently, letting these thoughts and emotions swirl around until they ran out of momentum. That process is far from complete, but I’m working on it. I’m sorry that it means you have less hyperbolic jibber jabber about punk rock to read this week, but hopefully it means I can find my way back to that more pleasurable headspace in time for next week’s newsletter.


What’s up Sorry Staters?

This week I’m gonna write about a record that literally just arrived in the mail at the store the same day this newsletter is going out. Later on, Daniel will probably put together a much more eloquent description for this record. But for now, hopefully I can throw out some one-syllable adjectives that will make you all wanna check out the new LP from Detestados!

Detestados are a punk band based out of Austin, TX. I heard this LP on bandcamp a few months back and was excited for the vinyl to be released! Looking at some of their previous recordings, it looks like Detestados has been an active band for several years, their first release being a cassette on the fantastic Todo Destruido label. This eponymous debut LP is the band’s first release on vinyl, and I’m pretty sure the record was self-released by the band.

The first song is a mid-paced, kinda classic pseudo-melodic punk stomper, almost like a clunky, obscure tune off of an old KBD comp. But this first impression is quite misleading, because by the time you get a few moments into the second track, you realize you’re in store for some ripping hardcore punk! The drums kinda play at an extra fast pogo-beat type style. I feel like I can definitely hear some influence from early Mexican hardcore bands like Xenofobia or Atoxxxico. But unlike the rawness of those bands, the guitars are actually pretty clean, but played with unrelenting ferocity. A smattering of tasteful, classic sounding earworm riffs come at you like repeated blows to the head. Weirdly though, there is something uniquely Texan about the guitars too where even with all their shredding, they are also kind of bluesy? Jangly open chords, some ZZ Top-esque slide guitar… you name it. The singer’s voice has kind of a weird effect, almost like a tight echo that makes their voice sound kinda distant. The vocals are snotty and raspy and sound super cool. And to top it off, they do a super accurate interpretation of “Corona” by the Minutemen, all sang in Spanish of course. But like, they totally nail it. It’s killer.

A big thing that stands out about this record is how raw the production is. Yes, raw, but not in a like treble-cranked-on-full-blast noise punk kinda way. It definitely sounds old. I would not be surprised if the band recorded this on a 4-track tape machine. It’s not shitty sounding though, it’s got a total vibe. Honestly, I think it’s like super punk haha. Everything about the presentation of the LP: the photo of this old man with busted teeth singing karaoke or something? Blank center labels. Single-sided insert. No frills, just raw fucking hardcore punk. I’m all about it. Do yourself a favor and jam this badass LP!

That’s all I’ve got I think. Thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff


Hey there, everyone in Sorry State Land. I hope you all had a decent week. Cool.

This week my piece in the newsletter is going to be sloppier than usual. My computer wasn’t cooperating with me yesterday so I am starting this today, Thursday morning, a lot earlier than I am usually reasonably functional. Thank goodness Daniel keeps us in coffee here at Sorry State.

Rachel mentioned the other week how she keeps finding gems deep in the bins here at SSR and last week was no exception for me. I went thumbing through the compilation section (I love a good comp) and pulled my pick for this week out of there. It had been here for over six months, giving folks plenty of opportunity to snag and so I didn’t feel too bad about buying it.

It’s from 1980 on Optional Music and called Can You Hear Me?

For those of you that do not have this killer record in your collection already, please allow me to give you the run down. Basically, a live document of San Francisco punk bands recorded at the Deaf Club during 1979 featuring Dead Kennedys, Offs, Mutants, Tuxedo Moon, K.G.B. and Pink Section. Initial reaction? Wow! What a fantastic document of a nascent local scene. The sound quality is awesome too, a rarity in cases like these and it comes with a great insert telling the story. I’ll basically crib from that as they pretty much said everything that needs to be said.

The San Francisco Club For The Deaf was located in the Mission District and at the time used to rent out their space to interested parties for $50 a night. Offs manager Robert Hanrahan happened across the place and went up the stairs to investigate. Fast forward a few weeks and on Saturday night, December 9th, 1978, the first party took place with Offs, Mutants and On The Rag playing. Admission was $2. Throughout the rest of 1979, a series of events and gigs were held. The list of bands that played there is like a who's who of punk and underground groups from the time and is too long to list here. Because the shows were essentially unadvertised other than posters and flyers distributed locally and amongst the scene, the Club remained underground and as the liner notes state, the weekend punk imitators didn’t get the chance to take over. Apparently, though, the main problem was from the locals who were not impressed by the punk invasion of their territory. Trouble came from neighborhood tough guys trying to start fights and other locals calling the cops and making noise complaints. This did cause the odd temporary closure and the eventual end of the club for good towards the end of that first year. Short-lived but to anyone that attended any of the nights the place remains almost mythical. To quote Jello Biafra, “The magic of The Deaf Club was its intimate sweaty atmosphere, kind of like a great big house party. The club remained raw to the very end…”

I think any of us who has spent time going to underground shows and events knows exactly what he means. You can’t beat the vibe of house party gigs and the like. Am I right Bunker Punks? Back when I was in England in the late 90s, my friends and I hosted several parties in off the path venues and the like. We found social clubs that had rooms to rent and hopefully had a license to sell booze. We hosted in a Rowing Club and ended up getting banned from there and a couple of other places when the parties got too popular and loud. Ha ha. Good times.

You should be able to find a copy of this document easily as a quick glance at Discogs saw several copies for sale and not too expensive either. You should snag one for under $20. Try to get one with the insert though as it does have some good photos and other quotes and information, including the full list of all the bands that played there.

Listening again, I like all the contributions from the bands included. Everyone brings it. Dead Kennedys and Tuxedo Moon were the two main names I knew but I am happy to get some material from the others also. In particular Offs, whose 7” single covering The Slickers’ Johnny Too Bad, which has been on my want list for a while. That 45 is a cool double sider with the song 624803 on the flip if you ever see it. Unfortunately, these two songs are not on the Deaf Club LP but there is footage of them playing the club which I’ll leave a link to here. It’s worth watching to get an idea of the place and see the faces in the crowd. There are one or two that you may recognize.

Another interesting note for me was hearing the voice of the DJ who introduces the bands. Its Johnnie Walker, spelled Johnny on the record. He was an English radio DJ who began his career on pirate radio stations like Radio Caroline in the 60s before joining the BBC and Radio One. He fell out with the BBC after calling the Bay City Rollers “garbage” on air and moved to the US for a few years, ending up in San Francisco on local station KSAN. Kudos to him for ingratiating himself into the local underground scene. He did eventually return to the UK and back to Radio One, rejoining in 1987.

Okay, that’s all from me for this week. Thanks for reading. Go listen to this comp and find yourself a copy. You know it makes sense. Here’s a clip of the Kennedys doing Police Truck to whet your appetites. Dig in.

https://youtu.be/Cn8gJgft8

See you next time. Peace and love to you all – Dom


This write-up will be brief, as I’m sure you don’t need to read here to know about this killer 12” Sorry State has just released by Golpe!!! There has been some serious delays in the pressing, but alas they have arrived... and they look and sound amazing! This band is amazing. I’ve been anticipating the release since late last year. If you keep up with my staff picks, you probably know I am a sucker for “classic” sounding shit, or bands that play with an obvious homage to Discharge. Golpe is not that; they sound modern as hell, but in the absolute best way. The slow parts are not tough, and the fast parts feel like I’m on a roller coaster clinging for my life. Golpe is actually just one person named Tadzio, from Italy. I was obsessed with a previous project he had called Komplott. It is similar to Golpe in a way, but it is much more straight-forward and raw. Definitely worth checking out if you dunno it! Alright that’s all for now, back to mailorder.


The Guild Of Funerary Violinists: The Art Of Funerary Violin

I’m having a hard time figuring out what to write about. Most of my recent acquisitions have been $1 and based on cover art alone and I feel like I’ve talked about the bargain bins enough. Y’all know I spend a lot of time there. I went digging through my own shelves... they’re getting a lot of neglect because I’m still buying way too many records now that I work at a record store. I pulled out one of my favorite things I’ve gotten this year to jog my writer’s block. Maybe it’ll help.

We had a copy of this in the back of the classical section and I didn’t find it until we sold it on Discogs and pulled it for some other lucky asshole. I added it to my Discogs want list, posted it on Instagram, ya know #sadgirlshit. That’s how I found out my old boss, now a friend, owner of Holy Mountain Printing hand screen printed the sleeves for the first pressing of this release, like the one I just packed up for someone. Like, he himself probably pulled the ink on the copy we had in store. If you know anything about Holy Mountain now, you know Danny is way too busy running his cool ass empire to be near ink so it was cool to see something in the wild from the old days.

I attribute this to my now borderline obsession to dig through all the odds and ends at the store when I can. This record remained ‘the one that got away’ for so long. Lo and behold Danny is the perfect gift giver and gifted me the copy from his personal collection for my birthday this year. I’ll admit I didn’t listen to the record in the store before I shipped it and I didn’t search for a recording online... honestly I didn’t care; I knew I’d love it and I needed it. When I put on the copy I got, I think I listened to it at least three times in a row.

I love instrumental music and I love creepy shit and the violin pieces on this record are haunting and mesmerizing. It also unlocked a memory I forgot from high school: an instrumental, string heavy album I downloaded from some blog and listened to until I lost the files. I’d forgotten about it and how much I loved it until this record reminded me of it. Disemballerina’s self-titled album is a fucking masterpiece and I’m so glad I found it again.

Here’s a link to my favorite track on The Art of Funerary Violin and the one that reminded me of what I mentioned above.

And here’s Disemballerina’s 2010 album that was in the recesses of my mind and now hasn’t left my speakers in a long time...

 


American primitive guitar, field recordings of frogs and some coolass organ drones… this new Daniel Bachman double LP is CHILL AS FUCK. I feel like I just woke up in a crystal store after mismanaging my microdoses. I mean, look at that cover! If it doesn’t scream “HOMEMADE SOAP” I don’t know what does. An A+ Appalachian “Pure Moods” zoner for sure. It also serves as a neat soundtrack for the new Legend of Kansai Hardcore book from the folks over at F.O.A.D. Boy, they sure did wrangle up some cool interviews and pictures for this thing. Did you know Cherry from Zouo was once roommates with Glenn Danzig? As my teenage nieces would say: NO CAP! I don’t think SSR is stocking this record OR book, but you should write ‘em nasty messages on social media until they come around. Peace, friends!

Record of the Week: Electric Chair - Social Capital 7"

Electric Chair: Social Capital 7” (Iron Lung) This week we got a limited restock of the latest Electric Chair EP, Social Capital, which came out back in April but sold through its initial pressing instantaneously, before we even wrote about it for the Sorry State newsletter (though Rich gave it some love in his staff pick). While I didn’t try to sell you on this EP because I didn’t have any copies to sell you, it hit me hard when I took it home. At Sorry State we’ve been into Electric Chair since they released Public Apology back in 2018, and we’ve sung the praises of all of their records. Social Capital is different, though. As killer as Performative Justice was, Social Capital is even better. Why? Honestly, I’m struggling to articulate it. I have listened to this record so much in the past few months and I’ve been playing it on repeat to prepare for writing this description, but I just can’t put my finger on why it’s so great. Yeah, the riffs are killer, it has these wild guitar leads, the most epic drum fills, and vocals that are savage yet catchy, but their other records had those things too. Where Social Capital stands apart is in the subtle ways it owns Electric Chair’s voice as a hardcore band. It sounds totally unique, but it is 100% hardcore. I’ve often written about how truly great records pull you into their world and make you see it through a different lens, and Social Capital does just that. Through Electric Chair’s lens the world seems irrational, hypocritical, and maybe even pointless, and the only sane reaction is go wild and fuck shit up. For my money, Social Capital is the single best hardcore record we’ve seen in the 2020s so far, and if you only own one hardcore record from this young decade, this should be it.

SSR Picks: May 27 2021

Alice Coltrane: Huntington Ashram Monastery (1969, Impulse)

Last week Rachel shared one of her scores from Miss Veola’s collection, so this week I’ll share one of mine.

With over 5,000 items in Miss Veola’s collection we can’t process it all at once, so we’ve been bringing a few boxes from storage to our warehouse each week to be priced up, cleaned, and prepped for sale. The collection is in something of a disheveled state at the moment. It looks like someone hastily packed it into liquor boxes, and whoever did that didn’t even take time to make sure the records were all facing the same direction, much less maintain any kind of order. However, it’s clear that at some point the collection was organized, if only idiosyncratically.

Interestingly, the jazz records in Miss Veola’s collection seem to have been filed by lead instrument. All the Grant Green and Kenny Burrell records are near one another because they were both guitarists, for instance. The first box of records I processed from the collection featured a bunch of harpists. This is exciting because two jazz harpists in particular—Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby—are favorites among collectors. Even better, a bunch of the Alice Coltrane records in the box were 70s pressings that were still sealed! Dominic grabbed a Dorothy Ashby record he’d been after for years, and I was excited to fill this gap in my Alice Coltrane collection.

Huntington Ashram Monastery was Coltrane’s second album as a band leader, appearing a year after 1968’s A Monastic Trio on the Impulse label. I’ve been exploring Alice’s catalog over the past few years as I come across older pressings. I don’t search for copies online, but when a record I don’t have comes through the shop I usually check it out and end up taking it home for myself. Alice’s records get a lot of play around my house because their gentle, ethereal vibe helps to counter-balance the frantic, stressed state I put myself in by taking on too much responsibility. When I checked out Huntington Ashram Monastery, I knew it was going into my collection, particularly given that my purchase would also support the Veola McLean Scholarship Fund.


What’s up Sorry Staters?

This week I’m gonna talk about one of my recent scores. The record in question is not my choice because I’m trying to flex. Or at least I hope it doesn’t come off that way! I’m really excited to finally have an original 7” version of the Dirty Rotten EP by DRI because I have a lot of history with this band!

DRI was a hugely important band to me when I was first getting into punk and hardcore as a teenager. I remember being blown away at how fast they played. And even more impressive to me was how fast the vocalist Kurt could squeeze in all those lyrics! Dude could spit mad fast. But THEN when I actually got my hands on a CD copy and could read the lyrics, I was dumbfounded at how great they were. I think the political and social ideas in DRI lyrics actually impacted my worldview. For my money, a lot of them are still pretty right on. It actually took me a while to discover that DRI was a foundational crossover thrash band later on. Some of those later records I still find pretty corny. When I heard the lyrics to one of their later tunes, I think it was something like “GO. Don’t be tardy. Got drunk last night at a party!”, I definitely winced a little.

Listening to that CD when I was 15 or whatever, even with the raw recording, I was fully under the impression that the Dirty Rotten record was a full album. When me and some of my other punk skate rat friends found out that they squeezed 22 songs onto a 7”, I think we were super impressed by that haha. My first band that ever played shows definitely took heavy influence from DRI. We never put out a record, but I remember us discussing how many 23-second songs we could fit onto a 7”. We also covered “I’d Rather Be Sleeping.” Our lyrical content was certainly less serious than our dirty-rotten teachers. We were less about politics and more about skateboarding. That band was called Feeble Minded… pun definitely intended. When I listen to this record now, it brings me right back to high school. The other night when I was playing my recently acquired copy of this EP, I reached out to my buddy who was in that high school band. We hadn’t talked in quite a while. We recited the lyrics to “I Don’t Need Society” to each other in ALL CAPS, exchanging the verses line by line. That was cool.

The grooves on the actual 7” copy of the record are so tight and thin that it’s almost comical. In order to fit all the songs, I’m sure the record had to be mastered a certain way because the record is pretty quiet. But for me, once you crank the volume on your stereo, they sound perfect. Stoked to have this record. Revisiting some old memories while listening to DRI makes the record feel all the more special to me.

Also, “SUBMARINES!”

Thanks for reading.

‘Til next week

-Jeff


Greetings Sorry State gang. I hope we find you all well this week. Thanks for clicking on our newsletter and reading. We appreciate it. Another week and more great music continues to hit the store. Lots of cool new stuff and tons of great used records. We are always buying collections, large or small and have records covering a wide spectrum of genres and price scales filling our bins. There really is something for everyone. We’d love to see you if you ever get a chance to visit Raleigh. If you are local and reading this, then you know already but should still come down anyway. We want to see you.

This week I thought I would highlight a couple of new releases albums that we have in stock, albeit in limited quantities. I was excited about their releases as I am a fan but realize that over here Stateside not as many people are aware of them. I’m talking about The Coral, a group from Merseyside, England who have been around since the late 90s and Gruff Rhys from Welsh heroes Super Furry Animals.

Long time readers will know that I like SFA a lot and have had many amazing adventures centered around seeing them over the years. Front man Gruff has been releasing solo records for a good dozen years now and this is number seven or eight. His style is generally in the pop field with some twists and turns and there have been some concept records and a soundtrack he did which veered a little. This latest offering is called Seeking New Gods, and it is another concept record. This time dedicated to a volcano with mythical properties in North Korea called Mount Paektu. Why not? You don’t need to be up on your Korean mountains and legends to enjoy the album, however. For this record, Gruff recorded the majority of the tunes with his touring band live in the studio and you can definitely feel the energy of that collaborative style of recording. Sound wise, the record has the hallmarks of his recognizable style. Candy dipped psychedelia in glammy 70s pop fashion with clever lyrical wordplay delivered with his inimitable vocals. Great stuff.

There is a little note from Gruff printed on the Obi around the jacket that says,

“I hope this album and its component songs sound like they came from a very personal place, and the fact they are all inspired to varying degrees by events relating to Mount Paektu, from 2333 BC to the present day, remains coincidental to the listener.”

Job done, I would say. You can totally enjoy this record and not have any previous knowledge of orography. My favorite track so far is single Loan Your Loneliness, a keyboard and synth led jam that harkens back to some of the pop hits from later era SFA. I’ll leave you a link to that one. If you like it, you’ll be onboard for the rest of the album, I think.

Also, just to note, we received nice green vinyl versions here at SSR as an Indie exclusive.

Coral Island is the name of the latest record by The Coral and it’s another concept record coincidentally. As with SFA, I have been a fan of these guys since they first appeared. They mix retro psychedelia with pop nous and excellent wordplay to create what could be classified as Cosmic Scouse Rock TM. Their first few albums are all solid and the couple of times I saw them live I was not disappointed. When they came over to New York for the first time they visited the shop I worked in and signed my copy of their single, which we had just got in and invited me to their show. One of the advantages of being in the city was the chance to see visiting UK groups in very small venues when they first came over. My memory bank is full of so many great experiences seeing bands like this. Good times.

The Coral Island LP is their tenth record. I’ll be honest, the last couple have slipped by me over the years but when we were solicited this new one, I thought I would get a copy for myself and the store. Like the Gruff Rhys record, this one is an Indie exclusive and comes on translucent yellow/green vinyl. It is a concept record, as I mentioned, with a narrative about the joys and sadness of a seaside town. The 85-year-old grandfather of band members the Skelly brothers provides a soft monologue throughout the record in a nod to The Small Faces and their Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake LP. It’s a nostalgic kind of record, harkening back to the pre-Beatles era of rock ‘n roll and like watching an old movie from the 1950s set in a seaside location. Possibly not the record I would choose to introduce newcomers to the band but those of you reading who might be aware of the group and their sound will find plenty of familiar and comforting sounds within. I would highly recommend their self-titled debut and follow up Magic & Medicine as good starting points for those wanting to investigate but regardless, I still enjoyed listening to Coral Island and found the whole tone of the record very pleasing and dare I say it, easy listening. They are such good song writers, and the musicianship is top notch. Lots of interesting sounds are employed throughout which help to set the scene of each song and provide context. Twenty years into their career and you can tell these guys know their way around a studio and their instruments. Having the record released as double vinyl might not have been necessary timing wise but it helps separate the two parts of the album and as one reviewer has said, the gap of placing the stylus down on each side gives a few seconds for the narrative to seep into the unconscious before the music begins again.

There are several highlights but on the first few listens I have been digging a track on the last side called Watch You Disappear which sounds like it could have been produced by legendary producer Joe Meek and helps to drive home that retro early sixties feel. In fact, the album does close strongly as also on that final side of vinyl comes another early favorite, a song called Land Of The Lost which has some nice guitar work going on. I’ll drop those links here for you to check out.

https://youtu.be/xLuS3LAVJ0 - Watch You Disappear

I’m going to sign off here. Thanks for reading. I hope my selections this week were of use to at least a couple of you. I guarantee good results should you chose to fall down either a Coral or Super Furry Animal and Gruff Rhys rabbit hole. Until next time, peace and love - Dom


There is a lot of good shit in the shop right now. I will briefly talk about a few things. Most importantly, we got copies of the Molde Punx repress!! This was first pressed about 1 year ago and the copies sold so fast... I do not think many copies made it to the States. I’m pretty sure Sorry State didn’t have a chance to get copies either, but I made it my Staff Pick back in July 2020 when I got a few distro copies. I gave an in-depth rundown of my take on the bands and made a nerdy chart of Norwegian bands haha. Some of these tracks I actually used on the Norsk tape I made a few months ago, if you got one of those. You can check out the label’s bandcamp to hear the songs, but just buy one soon. Don’t fuck up. I fucked up this week; I came back to work to find out we sold out of Disattack and LVEM is also sold out, haha. I can’t stress enough how cool the booklet is with the Molde Punx comp. On the repress they changed the cover of the booklet, but everything else seems identical. I think the new cover is way fucking cooler than the first one, haha. Anyway, you can read the Staff Pick I wrote about this at the link above if you wanna hear me blab more and missed it the first time.

Chaotic Uprising Productions is like my favorite label in the States right now. I dunno the person/people that operate the label personally, but I know it’s someone from Subversive Rite for sure though. Everything they release is worth listening to. All of it has a similar vibe, artwork included. All of it sounds fucking raw and classic in the best way. I know it’s a lot of tape releases, but the tapes themselves actually sound damn good, so it gives the releases more merit in my opinion. Some people don’t care much about tape production and rely heavily on the digital aspect of it. I can understand the digital thing even though I more or less disagree with it, but to me there is no reason why yer tapes can’t sound amazing. You can get a demo tape’s worth of material professionally duplicated for literally $2, in a case too. But disregard that entire opinion when it comes to a band self-releasing a demo/tour tape. Usually those are made with mad haste right before a gig/tour, and everyone has a million things going on so no one gives a damn what they come out like, haha. So the “consumer” pays the price... but I dunno, I don’t expect much from a bands tour tape when I’m at their merch table, I just want to support them so I grab ‘em regardless of how bad they are likely to sound. Anyway... Chaotic Uprising just released a gang of 3 titles. You can check them all out here. Unfortunately Sorry State is already sold out of my favorite from the batch, Bloodsuckers. This band is not doing anything new, but damn, is it good. Pefectly executed, snarling hardcore. The riffs are pretty UK82, but everything sounds a bit meaner than that. I dunno who all is in this band, but I know it’s the same vocalist from Koward, who has been in a shit ton of bands. Koward was one of my absolute favorite bands on the East Coast for a long time. If you dunno them, I would check their first EP out right now. The second EP is very good too. We still have the Hounds of War flexi, but everything else is gone already! (I do have a few copies of the 100% Blood tape, if you want one you can email me at in.decay@yahoo.com)

The last thing I wanna mention briefly is the new Rudimentary Peni LP. If you haven’t taken the time to check it out cos it’s new and you assume it won’t be good, listen to it! It is fucking killer, and honestly it fits perfectly into their timeline. The sound is amazing. I need to listen to it more but it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. I wanted to mention it especially cos Sorry State had A SHIT TON of these, and now we are down to the last two boxes. I imagine they will sell out relatively soon, so be sure to check out the jams and decide if you wanna grab one before it’s too late. Alright, thanks for reading.


Every time I think I’ve come to know what’s on the floor at the store, I inevitably find some sort of hidden gem. I don’t think I’ve gone a week without buying at least something from the bargain bin since I’ve started working here. I have to dig around the store and office space three days a week to fulfill orders, so I thought I had a semi-good grasp on our inventory. As I hope you’ve seen, I’ve been adding to the used section in our online store every Monday. I’m having a great time finding things in-store customers have slept on and it seems like y’all like it because stuff is selling.

This past weekend I found two records in my two favorite sections of any record store- Spoken Word/Oddball/something with a lot of slashes because it’s where all the miscellaneous stuff ends up...and of course the country section. To my surprise, I found two records that had SKUs dating back to 2017-18. HOW had no one snatched these up? Two LPs of great country folk music and a spooky ‘true’ story record priced well under the Discogs median? I didn’t even think twice about buying them. These poor babies had been sitting in the back of the bins for years!

I guess this is all to say what I feel like I always say at the end of my bargain bin record rants- DIG THROUGH ALL THE BINS! The amount of times the very last record in a stack has been the thing I bought...it’s an addicting mentality because who knows what you’re missing! I love when customers come in and can’t leave until they’ve flipped through our entire ‘new arrivals’ bargain bin shelf by the register. Because SAME. Finding gems like what I got this past week just fuels the fire and I know I’ll be making sure I pay extra attention to what we have lurking on the lower levels of our bins.


You know how some records just look RIGHT? I saw this coolass sleeve on the wall at Sorry State the other day, and it jumped straight out to me. Sufficiently minimalistic fonts with a high-contrast copy of the ill-fated Andy Warhol robot printed on a lovely mustard yellow cardstock? SIGN ME UP! I pulled the 7” down from the shelf and next noticed its New Underground Records tag. Hey, I know that label from those weird’n’wonderful “Life is So Why Not ?” comps, so that’s even better!

Then I asked the main mane Jeff behind the counter if he knew what the heck was up with Artistic Decline. He couldn’t say much but did acknowledge this’un was another of those Meat House Productions reissues. Since Meat House’s Hated, Child Molesters and Wuffy Dogs rereleases already received a ton of fanfare in my household, pretty much every sign now points to “YES.”

And, well, yeah… this thing is great! Despite its original 1983 release date and Mystic Studios credit, Artistic Decline’s “Four Song E.P.” sounds more like like an old Dangerhouse record than one would rightly expect. It’s choppy and nerdy and pleasantly lacking the machismo carried by many California contemporaries at this juncture in the 80s. In short, it’s PUNK.

The songs are punchy, quick and deceptively intricate, using all kinds of wild turnarounds and cutoffs in quirky ways that one may not catch on first listen. It’s kinda like the Minutemen doing the Dils or vice versa. Upon our initial store spin, aforementioned SSR employee Jeff also noted that it reminded him of the incredible Modern Warfare, which I think is a very apt comparison.

I could listen to this kinda stuff ALL DAY LONG, so keep up the good work, Meat House!

(I subsequently read Daniel’s Artistic Decline writeup and noticed he said a lot of the same things I just wrote. Great minds, huh?)

Record of the Week: R.I.P. / Eskorbuto - Zona Especial Norte 12"

R.I.P. / Eskorbuto: Zona Especial Norte 12” (Munster Records) One of my favorite Spanish punk records has a new pressing, and even though this is pretty much a straight repress of Munster’s 2009 reissue, I wanted to highlight this record in case anyone reading hadn’t heard it already. When I think of Spanish punk, I think of big choruses, big riffs, high energy, and a lot of influence from the early Clash catalog, and for my money there isn’t a record out there that captures that sound better than this one. Both bands are from Basque Country (the Zona Especial Norte to which the title refers), and both play anthemic, razor-sharp punk with one foot in the ’77 classics and the other in the high-energy hardcore that was well established by the time this came out in 1984. R.I.P. are the rougher, faster, and meaner of the pair here, with a sound that reminds me of ripping but catchy Finnish bands like Appendix and Lama. Their four tracks are a total adrenaline rush that hits as hard as any four-songer on Riot City. As for Eskorbuto, they’re the more presentable of the pair, and while they don’t have R.I.P.’s viciousness, they make up for it with a more refined sense of songcraft. I hear a lot of influence from bands like the Clash and Cockney Rejects, but with a rawness that’s more in line with the Raw Records catalog. Eskorbuto has a big catalog and a long career, but their four tracks here are my favorite material by them. Besides eight truly great punk tracks, this reissue also comes with an A4-sized, full color booklet that has a detailed history of the release (in Spanish and English) along with photos, flyers, and other ephemera. An essential document for fans of worldwide punk.

Featured Releases: May 27 2021

Fugitive Bubble: No Outside cassette (Impotent Fetus) We carried a tape from Fugitive Bubble a while back and now they’re back with another, also on the Impotent Fetus label, which is an imprint of the Stucco Label that focuses on left-of-center punk rather than straightforward hardcore. While Fugitive Bubble isn’t as weird as the Pilgrim Screw tape we wrote about a few weeks ago, it’s a long way from straightforward hardcore. I hear similarities to the quirkier end of early west coast punk… bands like the Deadbeats and Suburban Lawns. Fugitive Bubble’s rhythms are fast and angular, the vocalists yelp out Devo-inspired melodies, and while it feels defiantly left of center, it’s also catchy as hell. I don’t think it would be inaccurate to label No Outside egg punk, but Fugitive Bubble sounds less like they’re obsessed with the Coneheads and more like they have a healthy appreciation for the weird punk classics. Fugitive Bubble seems like they’re full of ideas and they’ve developed a unique and interesting voice with No Outside, so I hope we hear more from them… maybe even on vinyl next time?


Asocial Terror Fabrication: Discography cassette (Doomed to Extinction Records) Just like the title says, this cassette collects the entire discography from this Japanese crust / grind band who started in 2005 and, as far as I know, is still going today. I’m not sure I’d heard of Asocial Terror Fabrication before, but that’s not surprising given that I don’t follow the grind or modern metallic crust scenes closely. This tape is pretty cool, though. Assuming the releases appear here in chronological order, Asocial Terror Fabrication started as a straightforward Doom / E.N.T.-style metallic crust band. Their take on the style is straightforward, but they have that Japanese way of taking the most distinctive elements and dialing them all to maximum intensity. After a few tracks, though, Asocial Terror Fabrication incorporates grind elements into their sound (without abandoning the crust), and this extra variety takes things up a notch. Grind can be a dirty word in some circles, but the grind elements ATF employs are lifted almost verbatim from From Enslavement to Obliteration. Both the blast beat parts and the sludgier breakdowns are very different rhythmically than the driving crust parts, and the way ATF bounces between those grooves keeps this exciting through a pretty hefty runtime.


Sarin Reaper: demo cassette (Dirtbag Distro Tapes) Four tracks of raw, noisy, and nasty metallic punk from Kansas City. There are a lot of things I like about this tape. First, it’s just disgusting. It has a particular ugliness that sounds to me like a cross-breeding of G.I.S.M. and an old Finnish death metal demo. The recording is super raw and the mix is a little odd (with a heavy emphasis on bass and vocals), but this works with Sarin Reaper’s style, which incorporates elements of hardcore, death metal, and raw thrash / porto-black metal a la early Sodom or Bathory. While aspects of these four songs are metallic, Sarin Reaper feels like a punk band through and through… they don’t have the commercialized sound of a lot of metal bands, nor does it seem like they’re being self-consciously “kvlt.” They just sound like a bunch of freaks ripping it and not giving a fuck.


Hounds of War: Rabid March 7” flexi (Chaotic Uprising Productions) You might remember Hounds of War’s tape from last year (also on Chaotic Uprising), and now they’re back with a 3-song flexi. As before, Hounds of War invites comparisons with Vice Squad thanks to the double-tracked vocals, the tempos they play at, and the riffing style. Rather than sounding like a rip-off or an homage, though, Hounds of War takes the best parts of Vice Squad’s sound (i.e. the aforementioned elements) and makes substantial improvements. They tighten up the songwriting (all three songs come in under two minutes), the riffs are more interesting, and the metallic yet melodic guitar leads add some spice whenever they pop up. The production choices—both in terms of the sound of the record and the artwork and packaging—are of a piece with the rest of the Chaotic Uprisings catalog, so if you’ve been paying attention to the label’s other releases (which you should!), you know whether you’re feeling their precisely executed aesthetic. These three tracks feel like they’re over as soon as they start, but that’s OK because this has already stood up to repeated plays on my turntable.


Heavenly Blue: demo cassette (Sewercide Records) Sewercide Records brings us more underground music from Canada’s Maritimes region. Given its regional focus (and a sparsely populated region, at that), Sewercide’s catalog is marked by stylistic diversity and a list of members that overlaps heavily between projects, and that pattern holds with Heavenly Blue. Heavenly Blue features members of Booji Boys (who also released a record on Sewercide) and they’re inspired by the big riffs, catchy choruses, and party vibes of 60s garage rock. It’s not as retro sounding as something like the Ar-Kaics, though; they sound more like the 60s-inspired / retro end of the 90s garage revival, and if they’d been a band 30 years ago, they’d be a shoe-in for a record on Sympathy for the Record Industry or Crypt. The recording is raw and nasty, the singer growls as much as he sings, and the songs are catchy and fun. Budget rockers, garage turkeys, and total punkers can all find something to like in Heavenly Blue.


Donor zine Issue 1 + The Shits 7” flexi (Donor) When I write about records for Sorry State I focus on the music, sometimes mentioning whether the artwork feels stylistically consonant or dissonant with the sound. I also try to mention when a release’s physical packaging is noteworthy since we love and care about physical media here. Much of the time, a release’s packaging can feel like an afterthought, at best providing appropriate window dressing for sounds that have received far more creative energy. This package, though, throws that dynamic on its head. If you look at this as an elaborately packaged one song flexi, it seems pretty silly. The Shits’ Brainbombs-esque track here is cool, but the zine that houses and accompanies the flexi feels much more labored over. It’s a 16-page, A4-sized zine that’s printed full bleed and looks stunning. While the zine incorporates live shots of the band, flyers for their gigs, and lyrics and artwork for the accompanying track, it devotes more space to collages and poetry (lyrics?) whose connection to the Shits (whose name, not coincidentally, isn’t even on the cover) is unclear. The zine is beautiful, and the song is cool, but what sticks with me here is the inventiveness of the entire concept.


Variolación: Frenetica 7 Tracks cassette (self-released) The description the band gave me along with this record says it all: “Very rudimentary hardcore, not reinventing the wheel, but making it roll at an alarming pace.” Variolación takes inspiration from Discharge’s riffing and drumming styles, but brings their own sense of passion to the style, with the primitive execution in the playing and recording bringing to mind the South American hardcore records that description also references. It sounds like something you’d hear on an old BCT tape, and as with those recordings, you’ll need to listen past the production if you want to let this get its hooks in you. If you like your hardcore raw and primitive, though, this is for you. Oh, and as far as I know the band hasn’t posted this recording to the internet, so you’ll have to jump in at the deep end if you’re curious.


Various: Molde Punx Go Marching Out: 1980-1983 12” (Diger Distro) Molde Punx was a tape compilation that came out in Norway in 1983, and here that rare document gets reshaped as a beautifully packaged double LP. Molde Punx captures the prehistory of the Norwegian hardcore scene, and while only two of the bands that appear here made records (Bannlyst and Anfall), according to the hype sticker, members of these bands eventually played in more widely known (though, in America, not by much) Norwegian hardcore bands like Kafka Prosess, Svart Framtid, and So Much Hate. Most of the bands on Molde Punx, though, count the compilation as their only formal release. All the groups here are punk, but there’s a wide range of styles, from nervy art punk to blistering hardcore and just about everything in between (or at least everything that existed at the time). As someone who appreciates the full stylistic spectrum of 70s and 80s punk and loves the minutiae of small regional scenes like the one documented here, I am fascinated by the whole thing and don’t feel compelled to skip a single track. Along with the wealth of music, the full-color, LP-sized booklet compiles photos, flyers, and other visual ephemera from the period, and it’s a joy to pore over even though I can’t read Norwegian at all. The execution is on the level of well-regarded reissue labels like Numero Group and Radio Raheem, and with a ton of killer bands you can’t hear anywhere else, this is an essential grip for me.


SSR Picks: May 20 2021

XV: S/T 12” (2019)

I was super excited to get my copy of this LP by Michigan’s XV in the mail this week. About a year ago, perhaps a little more, I was driving around listening to the Dynamite Hemorrhage podcast when they played a song from this album. I can’t remember which one, but it stuck out enough that I had to irresponsibly tap out a note to myself on my phone to look up the band when I got home. After a little searching (XV is not a very Google-friendly band name), I found XV’s Bandcamp page only to learn their LP was limited to 100 copies and had already sold out. I checked Discogs and copies were already selling for around $70, not that any of the 100 lucky souls who picked it up would part with one. So, I bought a digital copy via Bandcamp and added it to my Discogs want list in case a copy popped up.

Despite not having the vinyl, I listened to the album a lot in the coming months. XV reminds me of a lot of music I already love—particularly the rougher and more ramshackle end of the Rough Trade / UK post-punk scene and the most chaotic and lo-fi songs by the Fall (“Spectre vs Rector,” “Papal Visit,” etc.)—but they doesn’t really sound like anything else. The playing is so loose and chaotic that the music seems to dissolve in front of you, yet there are loads of hooks that I look forward to every time I listen. The vocals are distinctive too, with the main singer employing this nasally valley girl kind of sound and more disaffected-sounding backing vocals from the other members. The lyrics deal with the typical banalities of modern life, like the catchy opening track “Lamp” (my copy of the record came with a pencil emblazoned with the song’s chorus, “I would like a lamp.”). While most of the record is steeped in the artiest, most lo-fi end of the punk/DIY spectrum, the record ends with an extended period of silence and then the most shambolic cover of Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown” I could imagine. Like XV’s own songs, it drifts in and out of focus, Black Flag’s teenage frustration recast as a wandering, medicated haze. It is glorious.

Information on XV is scant. Some Discogs searching revealed a connection to fellow Michigan band Tyvek and several other projects whose names I’d never heard. Despite being very unconnected to XV’s world, when I bought the digital version of the record I was added to their list of Bandcamp followers. A few months later I got a notification when XV released a cassette of ephemera called Basement Tapes, which I bought immediately, and then during last month’s Bandcamp Friday I got a notification there was a new pressing of the album, this time on Gingko Records. I could not hand over my PayPal bucks fast enough, and now that the LP is in my hands, once again I can’t stop listening to it.

Unfortunately this repress seems to have disappeared as fast as the first version, otherwise I would have tried to get copies for Sorry State. However, XV’s Bandcamp site lists some distros and shops that are carrying the record, so if it moves you, you can try reaching out to those places to find a copy.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Let me preface what I’m about to write by saying that I’m a DUMBASS. Here comes some serious embarrassment…

Earlier this week, Daniel and I were both working at our warehouse location. Daniel typically plays music in his office while he’s working. He asked if I would mind if he played the Michael Monroe solo record that I wrote about in my staff pick from a few weeks back. I was stoked that my glowing endorsement made Daniel wanna give the record a closer listen. I asked him what he thought about the record. Daniel said he liked it, but he thought the cover of “Shake Some Action” is not as good as the original… I sat there for a second, stunned, and asked, “Wait… ‘Shake Some Action’ is a cover?”

Like I said, I’m a dumbass. For those of you that read my staff pick where I talked about Nights Are So Long by Michael Monroe, I pointed out “Shake Some Action” as my clear favorite song on the record. I definitely wrote about it as if Michael Monroe wrote the song. I very much appreciate all you readers who noticed this for not calling me out and making me feel embarrassed for not knowing that it’s like THE most well-known song by Flamin’ Groovies. At this moment of realization, my palm hit my face with full force. I even asked Daniel, “in all the years I’ve worked at the store, how have I never heard this before?” With a big smile, he just responded, “I have no idea, it’s a pretty famous song.” Hilarious. Then Daniel told me that if I’ve really never heard it, I should cue it up.

I went and sat at my work computer and put my headphones on so I could shamefully give the original version a listen. The track started playing, and almost immediately, I felt a tumor-sized lump develop in my throat. Even having heard the Michael Monroe cover and having a previous awareness of the melody and structure of the song, all the elements that make this song so great stood out so much more in the Flamin’ Groovies version. The ear candy was hitting me like a sweet ton of bricks. I almost felt emotional. Have you ever had one of those moments where you hear a song for the first time and you almost feel angry that you’ve never heard it before? As I was sitting there silently while the sound that was hitting my ears isolated me from all other stimuli, it literally felt like one of those moments where you hear your favorite song for the first time.

While I love my hardcore, metal and “extreme” music in general, I’ve always had a weak and mushy patch of flesh that is vulnerable to the syrupy pop tunes. Not unlike the subtle melodic mastery of songs I love like “Hangin’ On the Telephone” by The Nerves or “Black and White” by The dB’s, “Shake Some Action” scratches that itch perfectly. Every moment of this song is a hook, right down to the perfectly arpeggiated guitar melody. But the songwriting rides the line perfectly, because it’s not so sweetly poppy or corny in a way that makes you feel like you’ve got a mouthful of saccharine bubblegum. It’s also funny because while I’ve admittedly never listened to Flamin’ Groovies, it also seems like none of their other songs measure up to how well they nailed it on “Shake Some Action?” Even weirder that this song came out 1976 and the band already had records out in the late 60s. You can totally tell that Flamin’ Groovies still had a foot in the Byrds-influenced sounds of the 60s, but to me, this song fits along with proto-punk and hints at what’s to come. Everyone who already loves Flamin’ Groovies is probably thinking “Duh Jeff.”

I feel like a big dork now. Is my face red?

Thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Here at Sorry State Towers, we listen to all sorts of music during our shifts. It’s quite a choice deciding what goes on the turntable next. Something we all agree on and love are the original Two-Tone groups that spearheaded the Ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Recently, through some connections made in Japan by Usman, we were able to bring in very cool Japanese pressings of early singles and albums by The Selecter and The Specials. I will never tire of hearing these records and the quality of those pressings was superb. Plus, the Obi strips and inserts made them extra cool. Duly inspired by the voice of Specials frontman Terry Hall, I came home and pulled out a record he did in the early 00s in collaboration with another artist and it is that one that I am choosing as my pick for this week.

Terry Hall & Mushtaq: The Hour Of Two Lights. Honest Jons. 2003

When The Specials were active, I thought they and Terry Hall were the coolest people on the planet. Against the backdrop of the political landscape, threat of a Third World War, racial injustice and union bashing, groups under the Two-Tone umbrella along with others really meant something and were a beacon of hope for the new generation. It was a sad irony that a movement that was built on racial diversity and socialist ideals was almost derailed by right wing fascists that had co-opted the skinhead movement. Early gigs were tremendous fun, but there was always a sense of danger in the air from some sections of the crowd. Anyway, when things began to break apart and Terry went on to form Fun Boy Three with Neville Staples and Lynval Golding, I followed them also. It can be argued that the FB3 records aren’t as good as the records made with Specials, but I would say that they are different and certainly more pop but still good records. It was a changing time and people were experimenting and bringing different aspects of sound and culture into their music. Some corners hated what Paul Weller was doing with the Style Council for instance or how The Clash had changed. I went with the flow. All of this set the ground for the post second summer of love and the mixing of the tribes that was the 1990s, I think. The 80s has a lot to forget for sure but I think in the world of music a lot of the changes were for the good and helped to expand people’s views and tastes.

Terry Hall put out a couple of solo records in the 1990s, Home from 1994 and Laugh from 1997. I wouldn’t say either of these are essential but for fans of his there are moments. Of the two I probably enjoy the latter more. The production is a little fuller and it has a retro 60s pop feel in places. Certainly, don’t expect anything hard or heavy on either of these records.

Fast forward to the new millennium and we find Terry partnering up with Mushtaq for this one-off project that is labelled as Electronic, Tribal and Downtempo on Discogs. I guess some of that is true but like all decent records that stand up years later, it almost defies categorization and doesn’t sound that dated. I’ve dropped tracks from this record when DJing to good reactions. People recognize Terry’s voice but can’t place the music. It makes for good transitions into other styles also.

The artist Mushtaq is mostly known as being a member of the group Fun-Da-Mental, where he was known as MC Mushtaq. Fun-Da-Mental were popular during the 90s and were the perfect example of the tribes mixing. They combined hip-hop sensibilities with Indian and Pakistani elements through use of clever samples and were quite political with strong civil rights and Islamic messages in their lyrics. It is this Middle Eastern/Asian aspect that Mushtaq brings to the project and I think it works out brilliantly.

Lead track Grow sets out their stall perfectly and is worth the price of admission alone. The blend of sounds from the Middle East provides mystery and hooks in equal measure. Hearing Terry’s distinctive vocals amongst these sounds is a cool juxtaposition. Being as the record was released on Honest Jons, it is not really surprising that Damon Albarn makes an appearance. He lends his voice to tracks and plays Melodica. On the song Ten Eleven hearing his voice does remind you of his other group, Gorillaz , which may be a good thing or not depending on how you feel about those records. I don’t think it distracts and fits in with the vibe of the rest of the record.

Elsewhere, title song The Hour Of Two Lights is a highlight along with lone promo single They Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog Around which came out as a single-sided 10” for all you collector nerds out there. Second song A Gathering Storm predicts the future with uncanny accuracy. I wish I could write more eloquently about the music itself and describe it better for you in detail, but that’s not my strong suit. All I can do is point you in the direction of stuff that may or may not float your boat. I do stand behind all my choices though and will never pick a record because it is rare and obscure or because it is expensive or the hip new thing as the only deciding factor. These are albums that I have built a relationship with since discovering them and my primary thought is always that someone else might like to hear them if they haven’t already.

Here are a couple of links to get you started. I hope you like ‘em.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to give a shout out to my DJ buddy Matt Pape whose Brazilian inspired mixtape I had on the other night as I watched the Man Utd Vs Liverpool game. I enjoy watching matches with the volume off and music on and there were moments where it blended perfectly, especially when Bobby Firmino scored twice. It was the perfect soundtrack and had me dancing around the room in celebration. We might not have had a great season this year but beating Utd in their place is always worth cheering about. The Brazilian magic carried over on to the next game when our Brazilian goalkeeper scored a last-minute winner and kept our hope of a Champions League spot alive. Thanks again Matt. You can find his show, Worldy, and his mixtapes in the archives of TheFaceRadio.com

As always, thank you for reading and enjoy listening to your records. Until next time - Dom

Irreal “Demo 2018” (Manic Noise 04)

This demo originally came out in 2018 on Spanish label Sangre Azul. I don’t think I had heard of this label until this week. Since they originally released this killer demo, I decided to dig deeper into their catalog that dates back to 2014. The sound is pretty much all over the place but each release is killer. I haven’t found a band I disliked yet. If yer looking for raw HC Maquina Muerte was pretty sick, it reminds of 90s Disclose. Pantalla was really cool too, raw as fuck, but in a different kind of way. Desenterradas was fuckin excellent, but be warned they are not hardcore. It reminds me of Crete, my literal all-time favorite local band. There were a few bands in the catalog who I enjoyed who share this like all-encompassing mid-tempo vibe. The riffs and rhythms are great, but the songs don’t like ever “take off.” I think most bands who do this would turn me off, but what I heard sounded really good. Nine times out of ten when a band plays mid-tempo HC it is too tough for me or just like rocked out shit, and that is a line that is easily crossed for me haha. The only rocked out shit I like is Skitkids. No I do not like Thin Lizzy. Anyway, Irreal plays lots of mid-tempo HC but they never cross that line. When they play a “hard” part it’s more like teeth-grinding outta yer head style, not like, “Now I will punch the nearest person in the FACE!” kinda vibe. I didn’t know who Irreal was until the EP that came out last year on LVEUM. It immediately caught my ears with their primitive but compelling song-writing, the perfect combination. Sorry State has some copies of that EP in stock if you slept on it. I try to pay attention to everything we got in the shop, but it’s easy to fall behind. I didn’t realize we got copies of the Irreal demo or the Hellish Inferno tape like three weeks ago! Hellish Inferno was a Staff Pick of mine back in January when the band had just released the tape. They were limited to 50 copies only, so of course they went fast. Manic Noise has done as all a favor by putting more tapes from these killer bands into circulation.

Doug Kershaw - Ragin’ Cajun (from the collection of Miss Veola McClean)

I’m keeping this week short and sweet. Especially because I’m talking about a record that’s sealed (again) and have no plans of popping that shrink off. I always make these arbitrary rules for myself and end up breaking them. After my first tattoo I told myself I’d get no color tattoos...third tattoo was full color. I should know by now not to hold weird expectations for myself!

I really thought my last SSR Pick would be the only record in my collection that would never be opened. But then, as I’m sure you’ve seen on our social media, we acquired an absolutely insane collection from Southern Pines NC native Miss Veola McClean. There was a lot of talk about where a lot of the records came from. We assumed she acquired a lot in her quest to collect all things relating to Black culture, just picking up more artifacts without a ton of consideration. None of us had the pleasure of meeting Miss Veola before she passed, but I think we are getting to know an interesting side of her through these records. Before anyone dug into the boxes, there was a handwritten list of a lot of the collection, leading us to believe she acquired the majority of the records from someone else’s curated collection. But now we’re finding SIGNED RECORDS! Some are just signatures from the artist but Daniel found a Richie Havens record actually addressed to Miss Veola. Now, we’re learning that a lot of this music IS her curation. Not only that, but now we know she met a lot of cool artists in her lifetime.

ANYWAYS, I mention all of this because I purchased my first record from her collection. I say first because I’m sure there will be WAY more. I hope at least one of you read my pick about Cocaine and Rhinestones and started listening to it! One of my favorite episodes is about the Kershaw Brothers, Rusty and Doug. Definitely one of the more fascinating episodes from the first season of that podcast. LISTEN TO IT! As I was trying to find something on our Discogs for a customer, I, of course, found a record I had to buy. Doug Kershaw’s Ragin’ Cajun album is a country cajun classic so I’ve been looking for it anyways. This copy, though? SIGNED! And from Miss Veola’s collection; I logged into my personal Discogs account so quick and bought that shit up.

Sealed records, though. That was the whole point of this. This signed copy is sealed in the shrink and signed ON the shrink. I thought about carefully opening the record and trying not to ruin the signature, but I know it’d happen over time. Even putting my fingers over the Sharpie marks made me nervous, so I took the record home and immediately grabbed a frame off my wall and put ‘er in there. I always thought it was silly to get 12x12 frames to put records in but look at me now. I love that I have this artifact from country music AND this amazing woman’s collection.

Go on our Discogs and come to the store to shop Miss Veola’s collection. I know you’ll find something you just have to pick up!

Record of the Week: Illiterates - Self Titled 12"

Illiterates: S/T 12” (Kill Enemy) I can’t think of the last time we named a restock the Record of the Week, but this LP from Illiterates is a special case. Kill Enemy Records hit me up when the record came out and asked if Sorry State wanted to carry it. I listened to it online, thought it ruled, and asked for 100 copies. It turns out they only pressed 100 copies total, so of course we got way less than that. The record hit our site and sold out instantly, and aside from Jeff writing about it for his staff pick we didn’t give it much attention since I hate teasing people with records they can’t buy. Fortunately, Kill Enemy did a repress (300 copies this time, so don’t expect this to appear in the Billboard charts), and now this beast is in stock and I’m ready to shout from the hilltops that this is one of my favorite punk records of the year. Illiterates’ fast and gritty hardcore grabbed me right away, but I’ve continued to put it on over the past few months, and I’ve grown to love it even more. It’s easy to get excited about a fast hardcore record when it’s blasting out of your speakers, but Illiterates has a subtle sense of song craft that sticks with you long after you pick up the needle. This reference might be lost on anyone under 30, but they remind me of Minneapolis’s Formaldehyde Junkies, whose songs were short, blistering fast, and extremely potent, but had a subtle pop sensibility at their core. And speaking of Minneapolis, I can’t resist mentioning the Replacements cover that closes this record, in which Illiterates take the finger-snapping, piano-led breakdown of “We’re Coming Out” and refashion it into the perfect pit-clearing breakdown to close out this record. The killer music is wrapped up in a killer recording and killer cover art. I can’t think of a single change that would make me like this record more.

Featured Releases: May 20 2021

Joukkohauta:  Joukkohauta 7” (Audacious Madness Records) First vinyl release from this band from Finland, and it is a no holds barred rager. I’m sure many people will be tempted to reference the Finnish classics given that Joukkohauta is from that country—and I’m certain bands like Kaoos and Destrucktions are inspirations—but Joukkohauta doesn’t seem concerned with recreating the past. The singer’s cadences remind me of Poffen from Totalitär and the all-out assault of the production is straight out of the Anti-Cimex playbook, but the riffing is more metallic with lots of palm muting and chaotic, Discharge-influenced lead guitar a la Disbones-era Disclose. Aside from a brief mid-paced section at the beginning of “Kello Käy,” this EP is a non-stop hardcore punk assault. This is limited to 300 copies and while it’s currently flying below the hype radar, I don’t see this one sticking around forever.


End Result: Hellfire 7” (Hardcore Survives) After a couple split 7”s and cassettes, Hellfire is the debut stand-alone vinyl from this crasher crust band from Los Angeles. End Result sounds like they’re from the D-Clone / Zyanose school of blistering raw punk noise, with some of Gauze’s twisty turn-y (maybe even choppy?) songwriting style thrown in for good measure. The sound is loud, raw, and blown out, but clear and present… piercing and biting rather than dull and muddy. Between the chaotic, overblown production style, the manic tempos, and the busy arrangements, I feel disoriented when I listen to Hellfire. It’s a record that doesn’t allow you to find your footing, throwing you off balance with unexpected changes in tempo and dynamics. You’d think it was just expressionistic gestalt until End Result stops on a dime and plunges into total silence at the end of “Control,” my favorite moment on the record. This is a fucking ripper.


Glitter Symphony: In Green Furs 12” (Meat House) This 6-song 12” from Glitter Symphony is my big surprise of the week. When I previewed it before I placed my order from Meat House it went in one ear and out the other, but after it arrived and I gave it an attentive listen or two, it sunk its teeth in HARD. I’ve already sold Jeff on this record and I’ve been singing its praises to anyone who will listen. The short story is that if you like Kim Wilde’s first album or similar early 80s new wave groups like Holly and the Italians and the Go-Go’s, you will flip out over this record. These six songs are all certified pop bangers that can sit alongside the strongest tracks on any of those releases, and if you like this style, you’ll play this record over and over. If you’re a history buff, the longer version of this record’s story is that it contains songs by two different projects: Sizon and Glitter Symphony, both of which were brainchildren of Susan Hyatt, who has had a long music career since. Sizon was a studio project that released a two-song single that got some local airplay in LA. Sizon featured session players (including the drummer from the Knack), so Hyatt formed a live band with some high school friends and called it Glitter Symphony. While the name and the players are different, the two Sizon songs and the four Glitter Symphony songs that appear here are indistinguishable from one another… they’re all pop bangers. The record’s insert reveals some other interesting music industry connections (Hyatt claims to have introduced Duff McKagan to Izzy Stradlin), but for me the brilliance of these songs is the selling point rather than some music history nerd shit. If you aren’t sold, listen to “Room of Flowers” or “Imagination” on Bandcamp, and when you find yourself humming it later, come back and buy this record.


Various: Welcome to Pittsburgh 12” (Cruel Noise) One of the—if not the single—best hardcore scenes in the country gets the monument it deserves with Welcome to Pittsburgh. Anyone who is paying attention knows that Sorry State has all the love for Pittsburgh punks… we’re always hyping bands from the city and we have (or are planning to) put out records by multiple bands on this compilation. So of course I love it! But I’d be saying that regardless of any personal connections because this thing just rips. I’m sure there are other things going on in Pittsburgh, but Welcome to Pittsburgh is composed entirely of fast hardcore bands playing fast hardcore songs. I wonder if they told every band to send in a short and fast ripper or if that’s just the way it worked out. You would think at least one band would have tried to shake things up; even This Is Boston Not LA has the Proletariat. Perhaps it’s just that everyone on the comp knew who they would be up against, because you get a-level tracks from all of my favorite current bands from Pittsburgh: Heavy Discipline, Living World, Loose Nukes, Speed Plans, Peace Talks, RAT-NIP, Necro Heads, Detainees, Invalid, De Rodillas, No Time, Chiller, White Stains, and S.L.I.P. Wrap things up in some rad Keith Caves artwork and throw in a zine where every band gets a page to put their visual stamp on the record and you have a 100% essential compilation record. Like This is Boston Not LA and Flex Your Head—the gold standards for regional compilations—Welcome to Pittsburgh works equally well if you don’t know much about this scene and you’re looking for a sampler or if you’re already a fan and you’re eager to hear new material from these bands. And as befitting a city that is punker than you, I don’t think it’s anywhere on the internet, so you have to buy the vinyl and get the entire experience… there’s no room for dabbling. Welcome to Pittsburgh is, without a doubt, one of the essential punk records of 2021.


Repeat Offender: Demo 7” (Mendeku Diskak) You can probably take one glance at the Nicky Rat layout on this 7” and know whether or not it’s for you, but I’ll expound a little further in case you want to confirm. Mendeku Diskak is a label from Basque Country that specializes in oi! music from that region, but they’ve stepped out of their normal lane to press this LA band’s demo to vinyl. It’s no surprise it appealed to them, because this is exactly the kind of hardcore you love if your tastes also include some oi! Repeat Offender reminds me of the oi!-tinged New Wave of British Hardcore and Boston Crew bands of a few years ago… bands like Violent Reaction, Boston Strangler, and the Flex. Their music encompasses bruising SOA-style bashers, more mid-paced knuckle-draggers, and a few songs with a rock and roll swing to them a la Negative Approach’s “Nothing” or the catchier early Blitz songs. Six tracks appear here, and everything is perfectly executed with the right mixture of power and grit. If you’re into this strain of purist hardcore, this record ticks every box.


Kolpeka: demo cassette (Mendeku Diskak) Five song demo from this young punk band from Basque Country. I could have stopped when I read in Mendeku Diskak’s description that Kolpeka is a bunch of 15- and 16-year-old skateboarders, because I knew I would love it. I’ve heard thousands of punk records in my 41 years on this planet, and I am confident I will never make anything as direct and as powerful as what a teenager does when they pick up a guitar after several hours spent hurling themselves at a curb over and over. Kolpeka’s music doesn’t sound like skate punk at all, though. It fits with the general oi! vibes of the Mendeku Diskak label, but there’s also a strong backbone of catchy, Clash-inspired punk I associate with the Iberian peninsula. Kolpeka’s major key riffs and chanted choruses remind me of the great Prision Postumo album that came out a few months back, but the playing is more primitive and tougher. In particular, I’m in love with the way Kolpeka’s drummer plays. He has a very minimal style, but seems to hit the kick so hard… it just drives you forward and makes you want to march into battle. Skateboarding, youth, punk… this one has it all.