Happy New Year to all of you out there in Sorry State land. Here we go for another attempt at 2020, version 3. I’ll try and stay positive and believe that this year will be better, but based on my personal circumstances and the news so far already this year, I doubt it. Prove me wrong world, prove me wrong.

So, like many folks, I am dealing with life issues, setbacks, health problems, etc. etc. and finding the time and ability to enjoy things has been hard. Music really is my salvation and so working here at Sorry State has been a godsend. Record shops are my church. Writing about records I like here in the newsletter is an absolute pleasure and a privilege and I am very grateful. I’m also lucky to have a great DJ partner in Matt over at the Face Radio and doing our humble show each week has been the highlight of my year. I had a couple of DJ gigs and maybe one or two social interactions when we thought it was safe to come out of hiding over the summer, but otherwise it has been Sorry State and home for me almost exclusively. Again, let’s hope this year is different and a lot better.

That all being said, 2021 was still an amazing year for music. So many good songs and records were released last year. Our own Sorry State Records label put out nine releases total last year. Not bad considering all the industry problems with manufacturing going on. Per tradition, everyone involved in music typically puts out their best of the year lists around this time and we at SSR are no different. So here are some records that I enjoyed taking home in 2021. My selections are made up of new releases, reissues that came out this year and a few older things that I scored.

Okay, so in no order of ranking or anything else, here we go.

Albums:

Durand Jones & The Indications: Private Space – Colemine

The third album from these guys. One of the top contemporary soul bands around. This record sees them taking a more modern, cosmic disco approach to their songs. The sound is later 70s inspired now with more songs about love than protest. I wouldn’t mind betting this will be the soundtrack to plenty of baby making. Their label, Colemine, is up there with the like of Daptone in releasing terrific new soul, r n’ b and funk. I missed them when they played in our area the last time and hope I get a chance again.

Gruff Rhys: Seeking New Gods – Rough Trade

Another solo album from Welsh hero Rhys. You may know him from his band Super Furry Animals. I enjoyed this record a lot. It had a lot of the pop glam 70s sort of sound that he employed with SFA and was another concept album, something which he does so well. This time about a volcano. Fair enough.

Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime – Matador

Tuareg guitarist’s debut on Matador is a world psychedelic treasure. This was one of our top records of the year over at Worldy. Saharan blues and rock songs about African politics, human rights, and life. If you are familiar with the group Tinariwen, then you will know what to expect. Just imagine them with a guitar slasher like Moctar’s hero Eddie Van Halen and you’ll get the idea. Each listen to this record gets better and better.

Paul Weller: Fat Pop (Volume 1) – Polydor

The Modfather’s pandemic lockdown record and number sixteen in his solo career. Following on quickly from the previous year’s On Sunset album, which he was unable to tour, Fat Pop is more a collection of songs than an album proper, but it works just the same. For people of a certain age like myself, Paul Weller can do no wrong and although there may have been the odd song or two from his solo records that had the feeling that he was stuck in a musical cul-de-sac, the last few albums and especially the experimental soundtracks he has done have all been cool. I love the man and this latest batch of tunes felt and sounded good to me. The songs Cosmic Fringes and Glad Times are worth the price of admission alone.

E.P.s:

Cochonne: Emergency – Sorry State

Local heroes Cochonne graced our label this year with a terrific mini-LP. Their first and only vinyl 12” release is a smart set of five post punk songs sung in English and French. If you like bands like Kleenex and Wire, then this should be right up your alley. We are very proud to have helped in the release of this record. When I played some of it at a DJ gig for the Hopscotch music festival last September (I had a test press) it caused several people to approach and ask who it was. Usually a good barometer.

Smirk: E.P. – Total Punk

Also, in a post punk vein but with a little more of an American Garage feel are L.A. based Smirk. They put out a full length on Feel It Records, which is cool, but I preferred the songs on this mini-LP a bit more. Mostly up-tempo, poppy songs with jittery and anxious guitar sounds kept moving by propulsive drum and bass. Smirk is the brainchild of Nic Vicario and kind of a solo project, but he formed a band to play out live with and first-hand accounts of their shows have all been positive. Seven quick tracks, of which I like the one called Imaginary Harry the best.

Super Furry Animals: Ice Hockey Hair E.P. – BMG

This one is a reissue that came out for Record Store Day. Originally released in 1998 on Creation as a stand-alone release between second album Radiator and third Guerilla. The title track in its full-length version and the song Smokin’ are SFA classics and a perfect example of their sound. That sound? Think early 70s Beach Boys mixed with ELO, Queen, Wings, Bowie and doing techno and you’d be some of the way there. I loved this band and saw them countless times in small venues, large ballrooms and on festival stages over the years. This reissue was welcome as the original 12” vinyl had been tough to find.

Singles:

Axnér: Got The Look – Axnermusic

Just making it into the end of 2021 comes this fantastic and fun disco pop record. A duo consisting of one half of London’s Disco Freaks Chris Davies and Swedish singer Julia Axnér making their debut here with a modern take on the 70s sound ably assisted by Chic drummer Ralph Rolle to add a touch of class and authenticity to proceedings. 2022 should be good for them if they have more goodies like this tune in their locker.

Dorothy: I Confess/Softness – Sealed Records

This single is a reissue of a 7” that originally came out in 1980 on Industrial Records, Throbbing Gristle’s label. It has proved to be a popular seller here at Sorry State. You can read about it and get our take here. The B-side has the money track, a great cheesy synth sound mixed with a tougher disco beat that sounds more like now than it did then. Sealed Records do a nice job with the packaging and finding these nice obscure gems.

Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints: Feels So Good – Dala/BQE Records

I’m a little biased on this one as my friend and skipper over at the Face Radio, Kurtis Powers is behind the release of this record. Although technically released in 2021, the vinyl 7” is just now getting ready to ship. We’ll allow it. This is another great slab of contemporary soul that could have come out any time in the last fifty years. It’s that timeless. Bobby Harden is no fresh newcomer either. He has paid his dues similar to the likes of Charles Bradley, Lee Fields and Sharon Jones and was lead vocalist for the original Blues Brothers Band. This is the follow up single to the smash song Runnin’ (To Get To Your Love) which was their debut and they should follow this up later in the year with a full-length LP. Soulful Saints are the Brooklyn based housed band for Dala Records and do a fine job backing Bobby. For fans of Daptone, Colemine, Big Crown and other similar labels.

Sial: Zaman Edan – La Vida Es Un Mus

Singapore’s Sial offer a unique take on the modern hardcore punk sound. We’ve been fans of theirs at Sorry State, carrying previous singles and album. I like the conceptual element to the record. The title translates as Age Of Craziness and is referring to broken promises made by the state to minorities. The record is psychedelic with dark moody synth ambience and a deathrock vibe underneath the blistering guitar sounds. Not normally my go to sound but these guys are doing something different, and I support that. Plus, it’s damn good.

Personal Record Scores:

I tend not to brag and flex too much about records that I have added to my collection for several reasons but there has never been a time in my life when I haven’t been buying either records, tapes, or CDs. Never got into the downloading thing. There is no doubt that I have more than an average collection with a few rare items, but I buy a lot of my stuff for DJ use and so I’ll buy an average record because it has one or two good tracks. I obviously prefer minty clean copies but don’t mind some light wear, especially if it means getting a record cheaply. Being on a tighter budget these days has kept me away from the big-ticket items, although occasionally I have to pull the trigger and go for it. Luckily, working here at Sorry State has helped feed my vinyl addiction as I’m getting access to lots of bargain bin shit and Lord Daniel gives us a very generous discount. With the pandemic ongoing I haven’t been visiting other stores, although there may have been a little online buying earlier in the year with my tax refund. Here’s a few records I was happy to score.

Arica: Audition – Arica Institute Inc.

This is an interesting find. The Arica Institute was a hippy commune that set up in Chile and made several records. This one has spoken word instructions on meditation and body movement with cool free jazz shit going on in the background. There are plenty of passages of music without the guru talking that are interesting. This is a double album and came out in 1972. Copies are hard to find but worth looking out for.

Ray Barretto: Charanga Moderna – Tico

There’s not much to go wrong with a Ray Barretto record is there? This one is a nice Tico Records title I had been hoping to find eventually. Cool Latin stuff with a cut that can be heard in the film Mean Streets. Nice.

Il Balletto Di Bronzo: Ys – Polydor

Finding original copies of records by this Italian progressive group is not easy or cheap. I have a reissue of their first album called Sirio 2222 from 1970 and when a nice clean copy of their second Ys from 1972, albeit a 2nd pressing, came in the store, I had to get it. This record rules. Italians doing Krautrock basically. This causes some debate amongst collectors. Some people love the record and others do not. Keyboard led prog concept records aren’t normally my go to either but there is something about this one that I like. Whatever. I was happy to get a copy.

Ronnie Foster: Cheshire Cat – Blue Note

This was a nice one to find. A great funky jazz album on Blue Note. I have been lucky to find a few of his albums and was stoked to add this one to my collection. Foster played organ and keyboards and released a series of nice albums on Blue Note beginning in 1972 with Two Headed Freap which has been in demand by DJs and producers for years. Cheshire Cat came out in 1975. For fans of Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder.

RIP 2021 finally. This year has been long with everything going on. I did a bootcamp for web development in addition to my full-time job for most of this year and I’m freakin tired y’all.

I missed a lot of music being holed up in my little computer world. These aren’t in any kind of order, just the order they came to my brain. Also I still have a LOT of stuff to listen to from this year. So this list isn’t exactly the “best stuff released.” It’s things I have gotten around to listening to multiple times and enjoyed.

1) Chain Whip: Two Step To Hell

I feel like there has been no better soundtrack to 2021 than this album. I’ve been pretty isolated this year due to the pandemic, the fact that I have worked from home for several years now and doing a coding bootcamp on top of my 40 hour work week. So this has often been the needed kick in the teeth that I need to motivate me to actually do anything. My life has been pretty sedentary, so I’ve gravitated towards some of the more aggressive releases this year. Full of energy and emotion, this record just rips. Music gets weird sometimes. The releases are endless and time is finite, so things fall to the wayside pretty easily. That being said though, this is an album that I feel like will hold up in another 10 years as just a prime example of hardcore in the 20s.

Seth’s Top Track - Fresh Paint and Philanthropy

2) Bootlicker: S/T

This album is just solid as they come, like a freakin brick wall. These songs don’t feel super fancy and over thought out. They are straight and to the point. That being said, there’s still lots of melody packed in these songs. They’re all barn burners while still being extremely catchy songs. There’s something about the twangyness of the one guitar mixed with the overall fuzziness of everything (almost like everything was clipping when recorded, but it works so well). Definitely an ear full of noises to discover in the depths of everything.

Seth’s Top Track - Another Body

3) Slant: 1집

Insert all of the expletives here. I skipped Slant’s earlier releases, much to my dismay. I guess I assumed it would more so be capital h hardcore. Talk about egg on my face. As I mentioned, these are more so the things that made it under my very large rock I live under that I was intrigued enough to listen to multiple times. I have jammed this album endlessly. It is just a complete rager. If I still drank, this would make me want to shotgun a beer while throwing half of it on all of the people around me. Every song is just sharp and scathing, like being drenched in boiling water. The guitars have a very Minor Threat on speed feel to them. This album just doesn’t relent though and god I freakin love it. All Killer No Filler. Like I keep trying to come up with smart sounding things to say about this (I’ll leave that up to Daniel and Rich) but in my head just keep thinking “Damn this rules”. I feel like if this isn’t on your top ten of the year then I might not trust your taste (I mean jk, but maybe not?)

Seth’s Top Track - Violent Minds

4) Kohti Tuhoa: Vakivaltaa

I’ve never really listened to this band. I think the artwork always made me assume they sounded like Dystopia or something. I’m an idiot. So artwork aside (don’t get me wrong, the artwork of their albums is always super cool and reminds me of older sci-fi novels (which I love), it just always led me to wrong assumptions musically) this record is great and all of my friends are bad friends for not correcting my action earlier. It was on a big playlist of stuff that came out this year that I made and the second Juokse Kovempaa came on I HAD TO HEAR MORE. I was instantly hooked. This band does just such a fantastic job of mixing in some of that reverbed out post-punky sound along with their very Comes-like brand of hardcore. The guitars aren’t super heavy and crunchy but still do a lot of the heavy lifting along with the drums, while the vocals feel like an endless stream coming at you super quick, backed with fury and power. Every time I get to the end I am just left wanting more, but luckily due to my short-sightedness I have a whole lot of material from them to comb through and enjoy.

Seth’s Top Track - Juokse Kovempaa

5) Imploders: S/T

Yo, do you like Minor Threat but want something cooler and modern? Then get this 7". So maybe it’s just that first song kind of reminds me of Minor Threat. Still, this record is fantastic. Truly gritty and riffy with lots of interesting ear catching vocal chord shredding. Like I could go in depth about how it mixes some of that DC flavor with some of the grit and melody of the west coast or some dumb thing like that, but if you like hardcore and punk then you can’t go wrong with this record. It gets me hyped up and makes me feel like a teen again every time I put it on.

Seth’s Top Track - Keeping A Close Eye

6) Rata Negra: Una Vida Vulgar

I mean I’ll never be one to hide that I love things that pop and bop and are super melodic. I have liked all of Rata Negra’s releases and most everything these people have been involved with. That being said, the opening track, Venid A Ver, might be one of my most listened to songs this year. It’s just such a sonically interesting song to me. It has turned into like an addiction to hear it at least once a week or something. The rest of the album is up to par as for Rata Negra songs (I really enjoy the video for El Escarmiento), but for some reason that specific song has just been turning around in my brain since this came out. I feel like everyone’s had enough time to decide on if they dig what Rata Negra’s selling. I don’t think this album is going to be the gamechanger if you haven’t dug their last two albums. For the uninitiated, Rata Negra plays catchy punk that is very poppy and jam packed full of melody. On top of that is a weird darkness/somberness that seems to cover the whole thing. It’s hard to explain but always feels to be there. It’s one of those things that as soon as a song of theirs comes on, it’s unmistakably a Rata Negra song. While they definitely have “their sound” they 100% take the time to explore what they can do within that.

Seth’s Top Track- Venid A Ver

7) Morbo: A Quien Le Echamos la Culpa

I really haven’t spent enough time with this record to write in depth about it. This band has been on my periphery for a long time (I’ve definitely seen the band name and logo before) but I’ve never checked them out. This is 100% a Seth Record though. It has a very 70s sound mixed with a bit of grit and grime. The vocals remind me of something very specific but on the tip of my tongue (maybe a bit of Los Saicos in how grating the vocals are in comparison to the bouncy/trebly/very ‘77 guitars). This is my most anticipated record to sit and listen to closely though. I’ve had it on in the background a lot but haven’t sat and given it the attention I feel it needs. I almost didn’t write about this, but it is just so up my alley that I’d feel remiss to not make everyone else to listen to it. This one will more than likely be a big hit of 2022.

Seth’s Top Track - En El Cubil

8) Electric Chair: Social Capital

I’m sure everyone is writing about this. I mean it flat out rules. Every time I put it on I panic thinking it’s at the wrong speed because it’s so fast. I don’t know if I’m going to have any gleaming, original revelation past “this rules” so yeah.

Seth’s Top Track - Social Capital

9) Mujeres Podridas: Muerte En Paraiso

So this record made it on like some bandcamp list of top Psychedelic records of 2021 or something. I assumed it was simply because of the cover art. My mind went down some weird rabbit hole somehow ending at a very young me listening to Black Flag for the first time. My brain couldn’t comprehend it as music. It was just so alien and different from everything I had heard until that point. So then I listened more closely and realized how kind of alien and out there this record is compared to anything accessible to the masses. There’s a lot in these songs to unwrap. Overall, though, it drips with something cool and unidentifiable. All I can think about is coming into this album as an entry into developing your own tastes and as an outsider to music aside from what’s on the radio and how freaking cool and different it is. So yeah, that was a long rant that ended nowhere close to explaining how this sounds. All I can say is give this album a try,, it’s really good and like one of those albums I kind of want to show every weird misfit kid I run into now.

Seth’s Top Track - El Chico En La Discoteca

10) Illiterates: S/T

This reminds me of the best parts of the 00s, which are now so long gone. Like it sounds rough and tough with no silly machismo added in like some NYHC macho, I lift weights and eat only protein powder music, I don’t know. I had several albums for this last spot to pick from, but this album just does it for me. It just takes me back through the past 20+ years of suffocating in sweaty basements and some of the life choices I’ve made. Definitely hardcore for those that love hardcore. It just brings a dumb grin across my face.

Seth’s Top Track - Justin’s Song

Things I need to check out more:

Cochone

Spread Joy (I’ve really enjoyed what I heard)

Alien Nosejob

Scalple

Taqbir (that was this year right?)

like millions of demos etc.

Check out a Spotify playlist of Seth’s top tracks here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L6bFBi7twdcUoOFANXfy4?si=baa9117680ac4112

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Well, here we are at the end of another fucked up year. Everyone say goodbye to the year 2021. Prepare for a year-end wrap up with lots of over-indulgent ramblings:

It’s kind of a trip to think about how we’re all now living in the year 2022. That doesn’t even seem like an actual year that humans should be living in. That sounds like a made up year in the plot of a science fiction movie where people time travel to the future. So weird. Every year, when we get close to New Years Eve, all of us folks who work at the good ol’ Sorry State start thinking about our Top 10s for the whole shebang. I went back and read my “year in review” from our newsletter this time last year, and boy, was it depressing to read. I guess what I wrote just reflects the frame of mind I was living with at the time. As I’m writing this, rather than simply thinking about 2021 as its own series of unique events, I can’t help but compare this past year to how gnarly 2020 felt. In some ways, 2021 was a lot better, but it still had this lingering feeling of an alternate reality.

One of the major joyful differences is that once we got to the summer of 2021, punk happened again. At first, all gigs took place outside, which was fine by me. At that point, I’d take what I could get. I remember discussions where people were rightfully hesitant, like, “Is this a good idea?” The first show back in Richmond was under a bridge right underneath an I-95 overpass, and there were easily a few hundred people there. I remember feeling overwhelmed but so exhilarated. The feeling in the air was that everyone had busted out of isolation, just waiting for this moment where they could explode with energy. That was a gratifying moment. With both Scarecrow and Public Acid, I even got to travel a bit to go and play shows. But now, at the end of this year, new covid variants have slowed things down once again. I’m hopeful there will still be energy around making cool punk stuff happen in 2022.

Before I ramble too much, I’ll go ahead and get to records that I enjoyed this year. In all honesty, SO MANY great records came out in 2021. While I’ll surely be leaving out some key releases that I jammed this year, the records I chose for my Top 10 all feel like total no brainers. I decided to not include any Sorry State releases, but Golpe surely would’ve been in my top 10. I’m gonna keep my little explanations about each record super brief. Also, I’ve numbered these, but they are not ranked in any particular order. Heavy on the hardcore. Would you expect any less? Here we go:

1. Electric Chair: Social Capital 7” - Easily one of my favorite records to come out this year, or really, in the last 10 years. This feels like the band that is preserving and flying the flag for true hardcore punk. When Public Acid was in LA, I saw Electric Chair 3 nights in a row and it was so energetic and powerful every single time. This band rules. End of story.
2. Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi 7" - I remember when Daniel first sent us the link to this band’s new EP. Instantly, this thing blew my, Usman’s, and every other punk freak’s socks off. A new crop of Finnish hardcore at its finest.
3. Personal Damage: Demo 7" flexi - Another USHC-fueled punk banger that totally caught me off guard this year. Taking cues from some of my favorite classic California hardcore like Wasted Youth (among others), these dudes play snotty but super catchy hardcore perfectly. We stayed at a house in LA where Bungee the guitar player/singer lives. Out of his room, he was just blasting Gang Green super loud. I was like, it all makes sense now. “Mwah,” chef’s kiss.
4. Quarantine: Agony 12” – One of the most mind-blowing records I had heard in a long time. These Philly rippers get to the meat of the issue with their hardcore, but also incorporate some inventive and surprising moments on this record. Electronic dance mixes and all. The band was kind enough to invite Scarecrow to play their record release gig for this LP. I remember watching Quarantine play and just thinking that these dudes were like machines. It sounded exactly like the record.
5. Nervous SS / Rat Cage: Split 12" - Sometimes, I just get sick of everyone talking about Discharge all the time. Don’t get me wrong, they’re maybe the best punk band ever. Still, for all the d-beat or whatever you wanna call it out there, there’s just something so special about that Swedish flavor of hardcore. This LP contains two bands that crush this style, and neither is even from Sweden! Macedonia vs UK. Who wins? There’s no telling. Such a ripper that got many spins this year. If you want ripping käng/mängel (kängel? Imagine LL Cool J raging to Swedish hardcore), then look no further.
6. Alambrada: Muerte Preventiva 7" - What a vicious record. After first hearing Muro, and then losing my shit to this Alambrada 7” when it came out, it’s clear that Bogota has an amazing hardcore scene. Alambrada is so fast, nasty and mean. One of my favorites this year for sure.
7. Psico Galera: Le Stanze Della Mente 12" - Definitely the most unique sounding record I have on my list. For lack of a better term, Psico Galera has that type of “weirdo” or “spooky” hardcore sound that is right up my alley. In my mind, the sound falls somewhere between the dissonance of Die Kreuzen (or maybe more accurately Wretched) and the fuming rage of Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. This thing just kicks ass.
8. Fairytale: S/T 7” - A record from early on in 2021 that has really stuck with me. NY’s Fairytale really stood out to me with this record because they take that Swedish käng hardcore, but mix it with these psychedelic, out of control guitar freak outs. It’s insane. I also think the singer Lulu’s vocals totally make the record. Ripping.
9. Tower 7: Peace On Earth? 12" - Now here’s a record that squeezed into the running right at the end of 2021. I think that it would be criminal to not include in this list. If you paid any attention to our distro in December, you’re probably aware that Sorry State sold out of our copies in like an hour. Pretty wild. People might crucify me for this, but I think I might still prefer Tower 7’s demo over this LP. Just by a hair. And that’s not to say this LP isn’t amazing -- it’s like a total evolution of their sound. I just love how the demo sounds like a gnarly, unhinged hardcore record. This LP so clearly takes more influence from metal, which is totally cool. It’s like an Eye For An Eye vs. Animosity kinda situation. Personally, I’m happy to have both.
10. Morbo: ¿A Quién Le Echamos La Culpa? 12" - My final pick on this list is the least hardcore-related of the bunch. Somehow, I’ve managed to evade having any awareness of this band, which is crazy, because Lima, Peru’s Morbo has been active since 2001. This LP is an amazing collection of tuneful punk songs, and was first released on cassette a couple years back. The songs are so good that, for my money, it definitely deserved a proper LP release. The packaging instantly stood out with the recycled paper jackets and super cartoony, punk as fuck artwork. When listening to this, it feels too classic to be a brand new punk record coming out in this fucked up time. Check this out if you slept on it.

There’s also a ton of reissues that I spent a lot of time with this year. I guess I was a little Duff McKagan obsessed because I was listening to the Living: 1984 12” and the Vains: You May Not Believe… 7” constantly. I jammed that Assault and Battery 12” on Alona’s Dream a whole bunch. Can’t forget the Meathouse camp’s killer reissues this year like the Nog Watt 7” and the Artistic Decline 7”, but most importantly, all those Hated 7” reissues.

Another top 10 list of stuff that happened in 2021…

1. Best food. In California, I ate so much Mexican food it was ridiculous. But honestly, my fondest memories are of this one burrito spot right down the street from where we stayed. We went to Sam’s Tacos so many times. While it wasn’t the “fanciest” spot, it’s open 24 hours, and the food was so good. Local folks just cranking out burritos all day. If you wanted no meat or cheese like me, you’d have a hard time ordering if your Spanish speaking is weak. Part of what made it so awesome is just rolling up with our big homie Irfaun who lived at the house we stayed at. Our first late-night visit based purely on his recommendation.
2. Best record score. I don’t think any year will top 2020 as far as my cleaning up on killer records. Still, I got some pretty cool records in 2021. There’s several I could mention, but my big score this year was a copy of Minor Threat: In My Eyes 7”. It’s a 2nd press with yellow labels. I’d love to have a red vinyl copy one day, but the likelihood of that seems less and less all the time. This copy will do me just fine I think. I worked out the deal for this a couple days before New Year’s Eve, and it only arrived this past Wednesday, but I’m still counting it haha. Shout out to my dude Alejandro. I’m stoked. I’m sure I’ll be posting about all my other record scores on social media like a total dork in the next day or so.
3. New band. One of the biggest things that happened this year is that I joined Public Acid. I’ve been friends with everyone in the band for years, and I feel so lucky to play in a sick band with my homies. In the short time I’ve been playing with Acid, we’ve already done some really exciting things. Look forward to playing guitar on a new Public Acid record in the near future.
4. Bunker Punk stuff. As much as it’s been difficult to stay active with music projects with the current state of the world, Usman and I have continued to work and plan stuff for our label. I was very excited to release the Fatal cassette this year, a project that Usman and I played on with Kevin Mertens singing. Would be rad if Fatal turned from a recording project into a band that actually played shows. Also, Scarecrow released a few songs for upcoming and long-awaited 2nd EP. It’s been over a year since we recorded the songs for the EP, so hopefully Bunker Punks will finally release it in early 2022.
5. Traveling. Both Public Acid and Scarecrow played killer gigs in Philly. Public Acid got to go play in New York and LA, which is nuts. The notion of visiting anywhere but my bedroom in the year 2020 would not even have occurred to me. Even still living in a pandemic in 2021, I was on an airplane for the first time since I was a teenager. Kinda crazy. I really feel like it was good for my headspace and mental health to get away and take a break from my normal routine.
6. Moving. I’m not sure how much I’ve talked about this in our newsletter, but after we were forced to move out of our old punk house (The Bunker) in 2020, I ended up crashing with my mom for a few months. Earlier in 2021, I finally moved into my own apartment. Adjusting to living alone has been pretty weird, but I think I like it. I hope when shows get super active again that some young punks will get another show house going. Then I won’t have to be the one hounding drunk people for money!
7. This might sound kinda funny, but I think a big thing for me this year was actually SEEING PEOPLE. I distinctly remember a period last year where I felt super isolated. Spending time in person with homies really feels like a major change -- especially visiting people that live in other cities! The fact that I got to chill hard with Amy and Jim from Dark Thoughts multiple times, not only in Philly but also out in LA, is so rad. Also, through my travels playing gigs, I got to meet so many cool people. Sasha in NY was so cool to let us Acid dummies crash on the floor of her studio. I had a blast in Santa Ana meeting Kevin and Corrina, drinking in parking lots and nerding out about Bad Religion. Planning on having more rad times spent with homies in 2022.
8. Uuuuhhh, I changed my hair a bunch? I was Vince Neil blonde for a while, and now I’m full Agnew. No one cares. Why am I putting this in here? haha
9. Call it a New Year’s resolution if you want, but while I was quarantining I decided to take a break from drinking. Also, I’ve been veg for a while, but I’m going to actively try to eat a cleaner diet, eating more fresh food and less processed junk. I gotta keep this vessel lean and mean. I already feel so much better so far.
10. Getting covid and isolating during Christmas! Just kidding, that SUCKED.

Alright ya filthy animals, that’s all I’ve got. Here’s hoping 2022 is a good one. As always, thanks for reading, especially this odyssey of a “staff pick.”

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Another year is in the books and it’s time to engage in that long-standing music nerd tradition of the “best of” list. While the list format seems to imply there is some sort of science or coherent method, I shot from the hip. I flipped through the records I bought this year and if it felt right, I added the title to my (eventually very long) short list. Then I took that short list and narrowed it down to 10 titles that felt the most important to me. The 10 records below are the ones I spent the most time listening to, but it feels like there’s something else to it. This collection of records seems to speak to this historical moment. I’m struck by the fact that, while I like to think I have a pretty broad palette for music, noisy punk and hardcore dominates this list. Obviously, that’s a style I gravitate toward, but that music also feels important right now because we’re living in such fucked up times. The Tower 7, Horrendous 3D, and Fairytale records are the sound of the giant machine we all live within grinding its gears, teetering on the edge of breakdown. I can’t bear to listen to anything that sounds slick to me in these times because it feels like a farce… how can you live on that surface level when we are surrounded by so much death, sickness, and pain? Not that there isn’t beauty too, but the records that felt the most beautiful were fashioned from rougher, bleaker material.

Top Records

Tower 7: Peace on Earth 12” (Roach Leg)

If I had to pick one record from 2021 as my favorite, it would either be the Tower 7 or the Morbo LP. Tower 7’s gritty, gnarly hardcore was the perfect music for this year. Yes, the record is currently hard to get, but that isn’t because they’re some kind of record collector hype band… it’s just because this is the music that everyone wants and needs to hear right now.

Morbo: ¿A Quién Le Echamos La Culpa? 12” (Cintas Pepe)

When you listen to Tower 7, you wander into the shit. When you listen to Morbo, you crack open a beer while sitting atop the rubble. While it’s gritty as fuck, it’s the one record on this list that gives me something like pure joy.

Horrendous 3D: The Gov. And Corps. Are Using Psycho​-​Electronic Weaponry To Manipulate You And Me​... 7” (Whisper in Darkness)

Fast and fucked will always be cool, but slightly less fast and extremely fucked sounded great to me this year. No one did it better than Horrendous 3D.

Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi 7” (Open Up and Bleed Recordings)

Like Morbo, Finland’s Yleiset Syyt has a classic sound that makes me feel like I’m young again, taking my first plunges into the depths of 80s hardcore.

Quarantine: Agony 12” (Damage United)

A record that hits you like a 300-pound linebacker.

Electric Chair: Social Capital 7” (Iron Lung Records)

Electric Chair rules so fucking much. Very stoked I got to see them live a couple of times too, because as good as their records are, you gotta see them in person to get the full experience.

Illiterates: S/T 12” (Kill Enemy Records)

This young band from Pittsburgh came out of nowhere and dropped this catchy, punky take on 80s hardcore.

Amyl & the Sniffers: Comfort to Me 12” (ATO Records)

This record is the outlier on my list, but I listened to it so much I had to include it. I’ve loved Amyl & the Sniffers since I first heard them, and I remain befuddled by how many people hate on them. Perhaps Comfort to Me clicked with me because the Sniffers have essentially turned into a hardcore band without losing any of the swagger or catchiness of their earlier records.

Fairytale: S/T 7” (Desolate Records)

Like a lot of the bands on this list, Fairytale plays noisy hardcore, but their music has this ethereal mystery about it I can’t get enough of.

Nervous SS / Ratcage: Skopje Vs Sheffield 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus)

This is an ideal situations where a split is greater than the sum of its two sides. I always start with Nervous SS’s assault of intricate, explosive riffs, for which Ratcage’s equally ferocious but more anthemic songs provide the perfect chaser.

Notable Reissues

As always, I bought a lot of reissues this year. Here are the ones I enjoyed the most. Many of them are as notable for their packaging as for the music (Neos, Neon Christ, the Worst, Partisans), some of them are pretty straightforward repros that arrived at the perfect time to take over my turntable (English Dogs, the Clean, Burning Image), while others introduced me to bands I never would have known about otherwise (Karma Sutra, Burning Image, Glitter Symphony).

• Spike in Vain: Death Drives a Cadillac 12” (Scat)
• Neos: Three Teens Hellbent on Speed 12” (Supreme Echo)
• Karma Sutra: Be Cruel With Your Past And All Who Seek To Keep You There 12” (Sealed Records)
• Hated: 4 Song EP / Pressure 7”s (Meathouse Productions)
• Nog Watt: Fear 7” (Final Doomsday Records)
• English Dogs: To the Ends of the Earth 12” (Bomb All Records)
• Neon Christ: 1984 12” (Southern Lord)
• Assault & Battery: The Complete Session, May 1981 12” (Alonas Dream)
• Burning Image: The Final Conflict 7” (Going Underground)
• The Clean: Tally Ho 7” / Boodle Boodle Boodle 12” (Merge)
• The Worst: The Worst of the Worst 12” (Radio Raheem)
• Glitter Symphony / Sizon: In Green Furs 12” (Meat House Productions)
• Artistic Decline: 4 Song EP 7” (Meat House Productions)
• The Partisans: Anarchy in Alkatraz / No Future Demos 80 82 12” (Sealed Records)
• Pyhäkoulu: In Retrospect 12” (Svart Records)

Favorite Zines

Make a zine! This list should be longer.

General Speech

Maggot Brain

Razorblades & Aspirin

My War

The “Short List”

Here is my “short list” of artists whose work I enjoyed this year. I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting and this list is already way too long, but here it is anyway:

Straw Man Army, Urin, Vivisected Numbskulls, Hologram, Algara, Suffocating Madness, Chain Whip, Mujeres Podridas, Sial, Psico Galera, Knowso, Slant, Smirk, Imploders, Gauze, Erik Nervous, 80HD, Canal Irreal, Headcheese, Reek Minds, Children with Dog Feet, SQK Fromme, Prision Postumo, Spread Joy, New Vogue, Collate, CDG, Reckoning Force, Personal Damage, GG King

Final Flex

I usually think of buying expensive old records as a source of shame rather than pride, but since everyone else is doing it, here are some items I acquired in 2021 that I think were pretty cool:

Elvis side:

Jesus side:

Reckoning Force: Broken State 12” (Not for the Weak Records) A lot of bands make their way by catering to a micro-scene or a clique, but every so often a record appears that tramples all over those quibbling divisions, tapping into deeper, more primal wells of energy and power. The Slant LP Iron Lung released in 2021 was one of those records, and Broken State, the debut 12” from Virginia’s Reckoning Force, strikes me as another. Reckoning Force pulls elements from several corners of hardcore history. I hear some straight edge hardcore in the vocals and build-ups, but most songs are built around quick-fingered riffing from the Totalitär school, and several tracks have catchy, early 80s SoCal punk-style guitar leads (see “Foul Company” and “Last Stand”). I get the impression Reckoning Force isn’t working from anyone else’s template, though, just grabbing whatever tools are most appropriate in their pursuit of total rippage. And boy, does Broken State rip! After a brief ten-second buildup, Reckoning Force slams the gas pedal to the floor and doesn’t let up. Like their fellow Virginians Wasted Time, Reckoning Force’s songs are intricate but not labored over, expertly crafted yet brimming with spontaneous energy, and performed with a jaw-dropping precision that, rather than zapping hardcore’s trademark in-the-moment intensity, ratchets it up to impossibly high levels. If you’re after a pure jolt of energy, I can think of few records that deliver it as effectively as Broken State.

This week I don’t have a conventional staff pick for you. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been struggling with depression and burnout. To top it off, today is a rainy, gloomy day here in Raleigh, and I’m not having much success generating the level of enthusiasm I like to have for a staff pick. So let’s moan for a minute, shall we?

There shouldn’t even be a Sorry State newsletter this week, because I’m supposed to be on tour right now with Scarecrow. However, the week before Christmas the world once again seemed to collapse as the omicron variant of COVID spread like wildfire over the country. Loads of my friends and family contracted covid in the middle of December. I ended up even having to cancel visiting my family for Christmas, since my mom was feeling sick on Christmas Eve and there was nowhere to get tested to see if she had COVID or not. I enjoyed the low-key Christmas with my partner Jet, but the entire thing was depressing, especially since the Scarecrow / Scalple tour seemed less and less likely with each passing day.

This all felt like an unfortunate rerun of March 2020. Scarecrow’s first real tour was supposed to start the last week of that month, but the first wave of COVID infections caused everything to shut down. That experience felt so surreal that it was, strangely, easier to take. This time it feels more like a direct kick to the stomach, which is exacerbated because government guidance around COVID has somehow gotten even murkier. When our March 2020 was canceled, it was obvious there was no way we could go out. This time around, it’s a total hodgepodge. Until yesterday, I was worried that canceling the tour wasn’t the right decision and people would think we were paranoid or something for pulling out. While I see some shows and events are going ahead, it seems like most things are canceled. And it does not escape me that this is the second time we’ve had to cancel a tour, and I worry people will think we’re flakes. Of course, this is just one example of how, the way the entire COVID situation is being handled, it feels like all the bad stuff falls on each of us individually, even though individually we are all powerless to make any substantive change.

Sorry State has had a busy holiday season, and while I am thankful for that, it also meant that the disappointment of the tour being cancelled arrived when I was feeling exhausted, and the disappointment and exhaustion combined to make me feel depressed. I spent the few days surrounding Christmas moping around the house, not listening to music or doing much that I enjoyed. I just slept, read escapist books, and fought the urge to look at my phone, at which I mostly failed. This week work demanded that I kick myself back into gear, so I’ve made a point to eat better, exercise, and meditate, which has allowed me to get some work done, including the newsletter you’re reading right now. But it’s been a struggle, and at the end of each day it’s tough to find the energy to enjoy the things I love, like music. So even though I have a big stack of records I acquired over the past few weeks, they feel inert, like dead weight rather than the spiritually rich totems that I usually see them as.

So, that’s where I’m at. Tough times, everyone. Take care of yourselves.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

It feels like it’s been a long time since I sat down to write one of these. Public Acid got back from our trip to Cali over 2 weeks ago, and that time in between just seems like a blur. The trip was amazing. I can’t express enough how much everyone’s hospitality meant to us Acid Headz. While I was there, I ate around 30 burritos in 5 days, met some really cool freaks, saw some killer bands including seeing Electric Chair 3 nights in a row… so not much to complain about there! Oh yeah, except for that I got covid… womp womp. It was pretty shitty timing with me catching it right around the holidays. It does seem like I’m hearing about a whole bunch of people getting covid again, like even those that are vaccinated and boosted. Things are rough to the point where Scarecrow had to cancel our East Coast tour with Scalple. I’m pretty bummed about that. Oh well. I was out of commission and restricted from contact with the outside world for a while, but now I’m back at the good ol’ Sorry State to nerd out about records.

Has everyone heard this Nisemono tape already? Even with me being isolated and glued to my phone for 2 weeks, I still somehow managed to miss this thing coming out. I only heard it for the first time just the other day and was so pissed when I learned that Toxic State had already sold out. But thanks to our master commander Lord Daniel, Sorry State did manage to reserve a handful of copies for our distro. Nisemono is a new band out of New York that sings all in Japanese. This shit is fucking devastating. The gnarly, tight, complex and constantly moving riffing actually reminds me a lot of Infernöh. The recording is perfect I think. It’s yet another Sasha production, who seems to be the in-house engineer for the NY scene these days. It’s one of my favorite recordings that Sasha has done so far. It sounds clear and powerful but still gritty and raw. The double-tracked vocals really grab your attention. I could be totally wrong, but the cadence and the fact that the lyrics are in Japanese lead me to believe that this is the same person who sang for Nomad. I hadn’t revisited those Nomad recordings in a minute, but they still rage. That said, I think Nisemono might be even better. And of course, with this tape being a Toxic State release, the packaging looks beautiful.

At the time I’m writing this, the tapes are not yet up on the webstore. I plan on getting them posted and available for sale today (which is Thursday). If the tapes are still available and you haven’t heard about this band yet, do yourself a favor and lock one down quick! They will surely sell out.

That’s all from me this week. Glad to be back.

‘Til next… year ;)

-Jeff

Greetings one and all and thanks for clicking on the SSR Newsletter. I hope that your holiday was a good one regardless of how and whether you celebrate. We are almost at the end of the year, and you may well be reading this in 2022. Either way please allow me to wish all of you a happy new year. It’s hard to believe we’ve crossed out another one. Another year for the books, for sure. Who could forget when a mob of crazed cultists tried to stage a coup last January? Or those few weeks during the spring where we thought the Covid-19 pandemic was behind us? Along with so much more. It seems like we lost so many great humans this year. As I write this, I learned of the death on Christmas Day of DJ Janice Long, a legend in Liverpool and in the broadcasting world. She’ll be spinning records with John Peel on heaven’s best radio station now. I bet they pick a great Festive Fifty this year. I can’t tell you how big a part of my young life growing up these two were, hearing them on the radio or seeing them on TV each week. They are both heroes and loved by so many. May they and all the departed rest in peace.

These last couple of weeks have found me listening to a good amount of Christmas music it has to be said. Having an outlet to play records now that I am part of The Face Radio family has been great, as there haven’t been many actual DJ gigs to spin at. I had fun selecting holiday themed music for our shows. At the store, there literally isn’t enough time to listen to all the great records, old and new, that come through. In my apartment there are records everywhere and so many stacks of must listen to next records. My time at home when not asleep is usually sound tracked by something playing on the stereo. It’s mostly from my own records, but I listen to a lot of the other radio shows and selected mixes and podcasts. There’s hardly time to fit in my footie games and the odd movie although other than when watching Liverpool play, I often watch games with the sound muted and music playing. Occasionally you can get those Wizard Of Oz / Dark Side Of The Moon moments when on screen action synchs with the music.

Typically, most mornings I listen to jazz music. I prefer instrumental music a lot of the time. Lyrics can often restrict your thoughts and take you to a specific place (which is fine when you want to go there) whereas instrumental music allows your mind more freedom. I feel anyway.

This past Boxing Day morning I needed something pretty mellow and soothing to play first thing as the previous evening’s imbibing had given me a slight hangover and so happening on an Ahmad Jamal record needing to be filed, I threw it on. It hit the spot and it might work for some of you if piano led jazz is your bag.

The album is called Tranquility and was released in 1968 on ABC Records. It was his first for the label after mostly being with Chess/Argo and began a great four-year run with the remaining albums being released on Impulse, ABC being that label’s parent company. On all these records, Jamal plays piano and is backed on bass by Jamil Nasser and on drums by Frank Gant. Nasser had been with Jamal since 1964 and Gant from 1966 and both would continue recording with Jamal through the late 1970s. Nasser is sometimes credited as Jamal Sulieman.

The sound on Tranquility is Soul Jazz and all acoustic. Not dissimilar to records made by Ramsey Lewis and his trio. But where Ramsey’s often unashamedly mine the pop vein, Jamal’s recordings tend to be deeper and more introspective. That being said, on Tranquility the record starts with two Bacharach and David tunes which for 1968 couldn’t be more pop. There are more covers too on the record with Jamal only penning two of the songs. The title track Tranquility is his, along with one called Manhattan Reflections and these originals are the standouts, in my opinion. They both appear on side two with a tune called Free Again sandwiched in-between. Tranquility has a great trademark Jamal descending chord riff that will earworm you after a couple of listens. It’s simple music that hits you deep if you allow it. I realize that jazz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but for those that it is and for lovers of piano and keyboards then you should investigate Ahmad Jamal and his music further.

One of my favorites by him is The Awakening album, which was one of the trio albums he recorded for Impulse with the same musicians. That one came out two years later in 1970. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear where DJ Premier and Pete Rock found samples. The title track again has a memorable hook not unlike the one used in Tranquility. Because of the samples and quality of this record, it is in demand and original copies tend to sell high. There are reissues though, although they are getting harder to find cheaply. Many of his earlier records for Chess and Argo are cheaper and easier to find. It’s the Impulse ones that are more collectable as folks generally regard anything on that label as being top shelf, similar to how Blue Note records are regarded.

Perhaps some of you will find yourselves nursing a sore head this coming New Year’s Day morning and in need of soothing. Dial up either of these albums or both and give them a spin. They should do the job. Of course, not just for hangovers, but any time you need quality instrumental jazz music. Thanks for reading and being lovers of music just like we are here at SSR. Happy New Year. See you next time.

Cheers - Dom

Hi,

I’m guessing everyone has heard about this already, yeah? I’ve been seeing a lot of people talk about it online. Don’t fuck up and pass it over cos you think it is too hype. All the talk is well deserved, if you ask me. I have been eagerly awaiting the Sorry State copies since November 18th haha. If you read my Staff Picks, you probably saw I dropped the link a few times since it was released on bandcamp. The debut cassette from TOWER 7 did not catch my ears so much. Daniel loved it, though. A lot. When he shared the link to the LP, he was clearly super excited, so I checked it out. And, almost immediately, I understood why he liked it so much. Or I knew why I did at least. The tone is gross, just disgusting. It makes my teeth grind, and occasionally I have to punch the air while listening. The drums are very clear, locked in like a fucking metronome with quick fills peppered into the the parade of pummeling. The vocals fit in the mix perfectly, similar to the guitar tone in their harsh and dense sound. Naturally, I came back to the cassette cos I couldn’t stop playing the LP. While the songwriting is in the same vein, I think the LP unbelievably outshines their debut on cassette. I hope that is not rude to say. I mean, that is to be expected to some degree when comparing a tape to a record... Everything on the cassette has been pushed to the next level, far beyond the next level. The sounds of each instrument are really brought forward but still complement each other rather than drowning each other out. While the guitars are blaring in the mix, the vocals are still audible. Which makes me really happy cos I enjoy the vocals a lot. I was looking for an adjective to describe the way they sound to me, and I think the appropriate word is “cruel.” They really are the icing on the cake. You can hear the disdain and conviction in the vocalist’s words. The mix is pretty dry on the vocals, which make me like em even more. The vocalist doesn’t need to hide behind any effects. Don’t even get me started on the lyrics… they are exactly the kinds of things I want to read. They are thought-provoking, making you feel something deep inside the core of your being. At least that’s what happens to me when I read them... haha. I guess you could call them “misanthropic” lyrics, but I would just call them honest and realistic. I’m glad they put the lyrics on bandcamp, cos I’ve been reading along as I’ve waited for my physical copy. I don’t know anyone in this band cos I would feel super cheesy for liking it so much probably. I have met the guitarist Shiva once or twice, however. I was kind of obsessed with a band from some years ago that Shiva also played guitar in called DEFORMITY. If you never heard it, check it out. This band had like a rock’n’roll-y sound, but what drew me in was how harsh the production was. It was a killer combination. Anyway, TOWER 7 sounds nothing like DEFORMITY. TOWER 7 is pretty much a crust band. I feel weird saying that, but I am not sure why… I guess crust is a kind of broad description. I dunno, I guess they remind me a bit of HELLBASTARD. No, they don’t sound like them a whole lot, but to me they have similarities in their song structures. Maybe it’s the palm-muting too, haha. Don’t get the wrong idea and think it’s boring cos the songs are long or drawn out, like the seven minute HELLBASTARD track. Yeah, the songs are longer than your typical hardcore tracks, but they are so damn well written. They never drag, instead I welcome the transitions into new passages cos I simply cannot get enough of this shit. TOWER 7 delivers an intensity that can’t be matched by many bands. Unfortunately, I have only been able to play a physical copy once this week, and I have not taken any time to dive into the packaging. One thing I can always expect from a release on Roach Leg is a good aesthetic, which this album certainly has. It’s got several inserts and a fold-out poster!!! I can’t wait to check it all out. This is usually where I would say something like, this record belongs in every single collection blah blah and drop a link to grab a copy, but unfortunately we sold out lightning fast when we got our copies in. Luckily, there is a repress that should be ready (fingers crossed) in January. Until then, jam it up on bandcamp if you weren’t one of the lucky ones. Thank you for reading, and thanks loads to everyone for the support! I think the volume of our mail order is hitting a new standard... very grateful for the work. Alright til next time... peace!

Karma Sutra: Be Cruel With Your Past And All Who Seek To Keep You There 12” (Sealed Records) Karma Sutra was an anarcho-punk band from Luton, England that formed in the early 80s (their first cassette, compiled here, came out in 1983) and dissolved somewhere around 1988. I’d seen the band’s name before and never heard their music, but this collection LP on Sealed Records reveals them to be a buried treasure of the anarcho scene. With a long tenure as a band and a lot of lineup changes, Karma Sutra’s sound covers a lot of ground on Be Cruel With Your Past, which takes in everything from the band’s earliest work, which has a heavier sound akin to Amebix’s early singles, to their final recordings, which remind me of post-punk-informed anarcho bands like Zounds, Hagar the Womb, and Chumbawumba. Despite the stylistic shifts, these tracks are marked by strong songwriting, with catchy choruses (particularly on “Intelligent Life” and “It’s Our World Too”), nimble and energetic playing, and more adventurous moments like the flute-infused “Poll Tax.” The more I listen to this collection, the more I’m astounded that something this good has remained under the radar for so long. Perhaps that’s because the band’s best-distributed release was their LP, which isn’t included here, presumably because the members feel it was rushed and was their weakest work. I can’t speak to that, but Be Cruel With Your Past hangs together remarkably well as an album, and if you’re a fan of that old anarcho sound—particularly the more melodic end of the spectrum—you’ll love it. Even better, it comes with a massive booklet that compiles what seems like every scrap of ephemera relating to the band, including photos, flyers, fanzine interviews, the many informational pamphlets, booklets, and inserts that were de rigeur in the anarcho scene, and Lance Hahn’s excellent article from his series of anarcho punk histories that appeared in Maximumrocknroll. With excellent music you almost certainly haven’t heard before, eye-catching packaging, and a booklet that fills out the record’s history and context, Be Cruel with Your Past has everything I want from a punk reissue.

Last weekend I flew out to Los Angeles for the inaugural Lie Detector fest. I had a great time doing the things you do at punk fests… reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, hitting up record shops, trying to find killer food, and of course watching lots of bands. One nice thing about not knowing as many people on the west coast is that I never found myself in that conundrum where you’re talking with someone you want to hang out with, but a band is starting inside or in another room and you can’t decide whether the hang or the set is more important. I got in plenty of hanging, but I also watched every single band at Lie Detector and at the show I went to in Orange County on Sunday. I’m still in my post-isolation state of mind where I can’t get enough live music, so I soaked it all in. It helped that pretty much every single band was killer.

At one point I thought to myself that maybe I should post pics and vids to the Sorry State social media accounts, but I don’t want to go down that road. I spent years taking photographs at nearly every gig I went to. I had no training in photography and crappy equipment, but I still got a few decent shots over the years. However, once smartphones came out, looking at a sea of phones in the air at gigs got me out of photographing shows. Fortunately, there were some very skilled photographers at this weekend’s shows. Rob Coons has already posted some insane photos, and legendary punk photographer Alison Braun was at Friday’s gigs. I’m sure you can find tons of photos and videos on social media too. As for me, I’m thankful for being able to point your attention toward these skilled artists and experience shows without that sense of dissonance that comes from thinking about how the world in front of me should be framed and presented.

As I said, I didn’t see any poor sets this weekend, but my favorites were from Reek Minds, Public Acid, Fuga, Blazing Eye, and End Result. Electric Chair was also incredible every time. I think they’re a very special band with both great songs and a larger-than-life personality that puts them head and shoulders above pretty much every other current hardcore band. My favorite set of the weekend, though, was Prision Postumo. I’d heard Prision Postumo’s records and I liked their singalong punk style already, but live the band crackled with a different energy. As I was watching them, Minor Threat kept popping into my mind… like Minor Threat, Prision Postumo is anthemic but tough-sounding, and they have a charismatic frontperson you can’t take your eyes off of. I hope I get to see them again sometime.

Another band whose energy felt very different live than on record was Reek Minds. As with Prision Postumo, I liked Reek Minds’ records a lot already. They have an ultra-fast style in that Septic Death / Siege / Deep Wound territory with lots of whiplash changes in tempo and rhythm. I’ve seen a lot of fast bands like this in my life, and they’re usually way sloppier live than on record, the live sets typically getting by on noise, volume, and chaos rather than precision. Not so with Reek Minds. Their execution was razor-sharp despite their songs’ intricacy, and the beefy sound at the venue made them seem even heavier than their records. As much as I love their records, what came across live was a little different, and I hope they can capture some of that magic on their upcoming 12” on Iron Lung.

All of this reflecting on bands’ live sets versus their records makes me jealous of the people who get to see these bands all the time. When I fall for a band, I try to see them as often as I can. Records, at best, capture one moment in time, and there are so many bands that have had better moments. As great as Government Warning or Direct Control or Wasted Time or Double Negative’s records are, I saw sets by all those bands that were so much more special, and I know the people who only experienced those bands’ records don’t have the full picture. It makes me jealous of the people who get to fill out their picture of bands like Prision Postumo and Reek Minds, as well as thankful that I got at least a little peek at what I’m missing.

Hi Sorry State gang, how was your week? It’s fast approaching Christmas and New Year and I am sure you are asking yourselves where the hell did this year go? Time waits for no one. Anyway, I wish you a great holiday season no matter how you chose to celebrate (or not).

Unfortunately, this past week saw the passing of more legends from the music world. I am sure you have been reading the obituaries and tributes that have been on social media regarding the deaths of Steve Bronski, Mike Nesmith, Robbie Shakespeare and Joe Simon, and perhaps are fans of their music. I know I was and so for my picks this week I hope you will join me in remembering these gentlemen by listening to some of their work.

Firstly, Steve Bronski. He was the co-founder and keyboard player for the 1980s pop group Bronski Beat. They had a huge hit with the song Small Town Boy and brought the subject of queer rights into the pop charts. Lead singer Jimmy Sommerville later formed the also successful Communards., although Bronski Beat continued and had further hits, including the smash Hit That Perfect Beat, a personal favorite and mentioned before in these pages I believe. The group’s debut album Age Of Consent contained the song Why? which dealt with anti-gay prejudice and a great reworking of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. Check them out if you are not aware and need some positive pop music in your life. Sadly, it appears Steve died in a fire from smoke inhalation. He had suffered a stroke previously and could not escape the building he lived in when it caught fire.

Michael Nesmith should need no introduction and for several generations of fans his iconic knitted cap he wore during his Monkees years is as recognizable as Michael Jackson’s jeweled single glove. I absolutely loved The Monkees. Growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s the reruns of their TV show were a staple of kids’ Saturday morning television. I was moving from my 1950s rock ‘n roll stage to full on 1960s obsession and so watching anything that had music and action from that period in clear glorious color was always going to be on my radar. What was not to like about The Monkees? Who gives a shit about how they were formed and why and who played on those early records? They are great pop songs. The band could play and could write their own songs, and Nesmith has more than enough songwriting credits to prove that. After his tenure with The Monkees, he formed the First National Band and helped pioneer the burgeoning country rock scene. His song, Different Drum, was a huge hit for The Stone Poneys and a young Linda Ronstadt. I always liked the tune Circle Sky from the Head album and movie that The Monkees made, and it was one of his tunes. Thank you, Mike. We love you and will miss you.

Robbie Shakespeare’s passing was a huge loss for the music world. The reggae bass player’s influence on not just reggae music, but rock and pop cannot be overstated. His playing is a cornerstone of so much great music that it is almost impossible to list all the artists that he has played with and all the amazing records he has played on. He is, of course, best remembered for his partnership with drummer Sly Dunbar. As Sly & Robbie they became the go to rhythm section for not only reggae production but for the pop world too. Grace Jones and Bob Dylan, among plenty others all benefited from their rock-solid playing.

Growing up in the 1970s, I fell in love with reggae music and became fascinated with Jamaica. Some years later, in the late 1980s and 1990s, I was fortunate enough to visit the island many times and have many happy memories of adventures there. Some are a little hazy—you know, because of Jah cure. Lol. I would never claim to be an expert on reggae music, but I have a decent section in my collection and perhaps not stocked with expensive originals, but there is still plenty of killer stuff. I wish I hadn’t had to part with a lot of my reggae CDs because I had some rare stuff on them, but I still have plenty of tunes on wax to keep me going. Lots of records featuring Sly & Robbie as either themselves, as part of The Revolutionaries, in Black Uhuru, on other artists’ records or as the production team on their own Taxi Records. One record I play a lot by them and that we have had come through Sorry State since I have worked here is their Disco Dub album from 1979 on the Gorgon label. The cover for it is fantastic for one, but the music is pure unadulterated drum and bass reggae and a perfect example of how the two musicians worked together so well. You really hear Robbie’s bass lines at the fore. Awesome stuff. It’s not an expensive record and there are reissues available too. Check out these two cuts for your listening pleasure; Side Walk Doctor and Mickie Mouse.

Lastly, Joe Simon, a great soul singer who had hits in the 1960s and 1970s, left us this week. I have some good funky 45s by him and he might be best remembered for his hit The Chokin’ Kind and for singing the theme song to the movie Cleopatra Jones from 1973. That’s a cool blaxploitation style film and worth checking out. One single of his that I have and like is called Moon Walk, not a nod to MJ and his famous dance steps but one made in the year of the actual moon landing. I’m a sucker for anything moon related or space and stars. Lol. Some nice keyboard work on that song and some tight drumming too. Does have some sax though, so not for you Jeff. Lol.

May all their souls rest in peace and hopefully they are jamming and playing with the heavenly chorus now. Their legacy will continue to influence and entertain generations of music fans to come. As a final piece of somewhat self-promotion, on the radio show I do, Worldy, Matt and I played some Nesmith and Sly & Robbie tunes along with some seasonal holiday records this past week. If you have the inclination and want to check it out, click the link. I thought we had a good show and hopefully you will be entertained for a couple of hours.

Hey, thanks for reading folks. Have a great weekend and holiday if we don’t speak to you before then. Triangle locals, get your asses down to the store. We are full of great records. Perfect gifts for the music lovers in your house.

Cheers, peace and love - Dom

I don’t get excited about all reissues. Sometimes it’s painfully obvious to see how little planning went into them. Sometimes they are made in a reproductive fashion, but end up feeling more like a cheap knockoff rather than an homage to the original. The NOG WATT 7” reissue that Final Doomsday brought us this year had me excited as hell, like Christmas-style excited (just kidding I don’t celebrate Christmas you dick). The sound was simply amazing, and the reproductive sleeve was top notch. I feel lucky it was a U.S. label that reissued that EP. That record has needed a reissue for a long time if you ask me. I’m pretty sure I have a few copies still, so if you missed out feel free to hit me up (in.decay@yahoo.com). One thing that really gets me drooling is when the label goes all out and does it up with a booklet. The booklet that came with the MOLDE PUNX 12" compilation was amazing. That was some next-level archival nerd shit. Another great one that immediately comes to mind was the booklet with THE PARTISANS 12" on Sealed Records that came out earlier this year. We have some of those in stock actually, if you missed it the first time. And I can’t forget, the booklet in the UNITED MUTATION 12" on Radio Raheem was excellent!!! The recent POISON IDEA 12" has a a pretty fucking sick booklet inside. If you missed that one as well, there are copies here. While the booklet is all photos, they are fucking badass photos that were mostly unreleased as far as I know. Anyway, what I am really writing about today is PYHÄKOULU. Remember how I mentioned being excited about reissues earlier? I can’t express how bad I needed this one in my life haha. I’m sure me not having their 12” and split 7" really added to that equation, though. I feel like this is a common theme… but I first heard this band on the Killed By Finnish Hardcore 12" compilation. I don’t want to spoil the fun of exploration for anyone, but there are a few things I’d like to mention from inside the booklet. Well, first, I should point out that I think this is the sickest booklet I have ever held in my hand from a reissue record. The vocalist Saku kept an archival notebook through the band’s lifespan, and we get to dive deep into that in this nearly 50-page booklet! I am just a fan of the band, but it’s honestly kind of emotional to explore it. Maybe I’m just a nerd, though... The last chunk of the booklet is all in Finnish; it appears to be cut-outs from interview appearances. The beginning of the booklet is all in English though and I am very grateful for that. While I already knew the band was started by Saku with a mission to have a band with all women (which unfortunately was not the outcome), I had no idea the band had this many line-up changes. It is sad to read about the band’s history. While there are a lot of cool things that are mentioned, there is still an underlying sadness, with two members passing away while the band was active. The booklet is loaded up with cool stuff, though. Aside from having the opportunity to read the recent words of the voice behind PYHÄKOULU, we get to see loads of sick flyers and photos of the band. Saku even kept a log of every show they played, and that is also in there, haha. The booklet also provides a nice breakdown of each release with recording info, track-listing, members, and scans of the covers/inserts. And of course, we get all the lyrics to every single song that is on here. I did not know Saku took such great care with her words. They talk about how she brought her notebook to every show and would even bring it on stage to sing along with. Knowing how much this notebook went through, and how much it meant to Saku, it feels crazy to hold this Svart reproduction in my hand. I know the booklet’s contents are far from identical and this is just a reproduction, but the sentiment is a very powerful one. Surprise, I haven’t even mentioned what this band sound is like, if that’s what you're looking for. I feel like I never actually give a solid “music” write-up haha. Which will be the case here as well... I’ve only ever heard downloads of the 12" and split 7". I wish I had the bootleg 7" at least, but I don’t. Being able to hear these songs like this was amazing. They sound so good, way more dynamic than I could’ve imagined after hearing all the shit downloads. I used to think Sankari EP was my favorite, but now that I have this compilation I don’t think that’s the case by any means. The split songs are excellent, and while they are sloppy at times, they still got what I am looking for. Saku talks about this recording session a bit in the booklet. It was fun to read about the “variables” involved haha... One of these songs is on the Killed By Finnish Hardcore 12" compilation, which is where I first heard PYHÄKOULU. On the B-side we get their self-titled 12". Since I have gotten this compilation, side B has been my fucking jam. You can hear how they grew in many elements since recording for the 7" but the sound hadn’t changed a lot like the way it did on the Sankari EP. The Sankari EP is on the A-side after their split tracks. Side C is a live set by PYHÄKOULU! No, this isn’t some amazing sound board recording, but I think it’s great. You get to really hear the intensity of Saku performing live. Side D is all unreleased stuff, and its sound is kind of all over the place. But that’s not surprising knowing their Post Mortem 12". I haven’t listened to that in a long time but it was always my least favorite haha, I’ll have to come back and check it out. Alright, I need to get back to work. Grab this reissue. You will not regret it. It’s sold out from Svart already and our stock is dwindling. Thanks for reading. Peace.

Short one this week because I’m focusing super hard on my end-of-year list! I started at Sorry State last October so I couldn’t really contribute to any ‘best of’ lists, but now I can!! Queue me furiously digging through my collection for the past two days.

On Tuesday I went to my first show since January 2020! I hate crowds to begin with, but after over a year of not being in close proximity to people… I was nervous but rallied for Primitive Man and Blood Incantation. And holy shit, it felt so good to be back. I’ve wanted to see Primitive Man for many, many years so it was especially a treat to be welcomed back to live music with them. The lineup was fucking stacked; I only knew about Primitive Man and Blood Incantation, since they’re big names, so I thought I’d use this week to share some links to the other acts I got to see.

Jarhead Fertilizer

I think I’m late to the game with this one because this band has some members from Full of Hell. But holy shit, totally different vibe. I saw FOH back in college and it was an intense experience, of course, but Jarhead Fertilizer was a wall of sound in another sense. They were deeper, stonier (is that a word? It is now), and much more of a ‘stand there and bang your head’ set than a ‘run around into other people’ type set like Full of Hell shows are.

Sissy Spacek

Literally two days after I bought tickets for the show, a few Sissy Spacek records landed in the store. Having never heard them, but now with plans to see them, I put them on to see what I was in for. Listening to the records made me way more excited for live music, but I still wasn’t prepared for their set. The drummer brought out a fucking bucket at one point. Great band to listen to, but an absolute must see if you ever get the chance.

Primitive Man

I’m hoping, even though y’all are a bunch of punks, I’m speaking into an echo chamber about my love for Primitive Man. Somehow, they exceeded all of my expectations. The band was so tight; you could tell they play together often and have a great time doing it. The sound was on point. Everything about it points to one of the best shows I’ve been to in recent years, pandemic or not!