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Knowso: Rare Auld Trip / Psychological Garden 12” (Drunken Sailor) I feel like I never hear people talking about them, but for me Cleveland’s Knowso is one of the most distinctive and exciting punk bands currently putting out music. Maybe they haven’t caught on because it’s easy to get into the weeds thinking / talking / writing about everything surrounding their music. (Like, for instance, that there are at least three bands—Knowso, Cruelster, and Perverts Again—that share members and sound very similar, or that all of Knowso’s releases feature distinctive artwork from cartoonist Nathan Ward, who seems to be the band’s driving force, handling bass, guitar, and vocals.) However, when I put all of that shit aside, when I just put on this record and listen to it, I am fucking blown away every time. While I’m not 100% confident in my ability to distinguish Knowso, Cruelster, and Perverts Again in a blind taste taste, the sound here is instantly identifiable and utterly distinctive. Just like when you see a red Coke can and you know what it is no matter what language or script “Coca-Cola” is written in, once you hear this nervous, jittery punk with the paranoid-sounding, speak-sung vocals, you know you have landed squarely in this different universe (via Cleveland). And not only is the sound distinctive, it’s fucking great. The rhythms are so precise, creative, and memorable, similar to what bands like Lithics or Fitness Womxn are doing but much tighter, faster, and more confrontational. The riffs are also outstanding, and Knowso has great two-guitar dynamics, something I’m always a sucker for. All of that would make for an excellent band or record, but what pushes Knowso over the top for me are the lyrics. I’ve trained myself to ignore bland and even bad lyrics, but that is not a problem here. Actually, these lyrics are so great that I’m happy to sit and read the lyric sheet without putting the record on. I love lyrics (and other types of word art) that present you with a potent image and just sort of leave it there for you to roll around in your brain. (I’m reminded of an interview with Ian Mackaye where he pointed out the line “the milk bottles stand empty” in Wire’s song “Ex-Lion Tamer,” noting how that image said so little but so much at the same time.) Here are some of my favorite cryptic bits of wisdom: from “Turning Planet,” “Turning planet / I see you spin / a hundred miles in my shoes;” from “Boredom in the Valley,” “Old neighbor in the night car / Gotta sloppy gait when he walk to the car / Two way radio no signal / Ke8dyv.” I love those more cryptic lines, but it’s not just free jazz word salad. “You Lick the Boot” engages with the whole BLM / Defund the Police conversation, while “The Plants” is the environmentalist anthem only Knowso could write. Long story short, the eight songs on this record are modern punk masterpieces. Maybe they’re too weird for you, but they’re everything I want from punk. All hail Knowso.

Razorblades & Aspirin #12 zine The latest issue of Razorblades & Aspirin is out, and if you aren’t hip to it yet, wake the fuck up! Razorblades & Aspirin is a zine for people who love punk old and new (there’s a LOT of overlap in coverage with the stuff we carry and write about at Sorry State), and its idiosyncrasies include a full color, full bleed print job that is uncommon in the world of punk zines and a heavy focus on photographers, photography, and the visual culture of punk. I love that Mike at Razorblades & Aspirin remains engaged with current punk (he’s based a few hours away in Richmond, VA and it’s always cool to see his incredible photos of shows I was at), but the pandemic times we’re in demanded a heavier focus on old stuff for this issue (even so, he squeezes in interviews with several current bands and labels and a lengthy feature on how punk record stores are navigating the pandemic). I love the interviews with legendary LA punk photographer Ed Colver and Brian Ray Turcotte of Fucked Up & Photocopied, and there’s the now-familiar R&A mix of reviews, interviews with photographers, and stunning photography. Odds are that if you’re a Sorry State newsletter subscriber, you should be a Razorblades & Aspirin reader too.

Canal Irreal: S/T 12” (Beach Impediment Records) When I first listened to the preview track on Beach Impediment’s Bandcamp site, I knew nothing about Canal Irreal. I don’t think I’d ever heard their name before. Going in with no expectations, I was blown away. I had to stop and be like “what the fuck IS this?” and it seriously bummed me out when I saw it was the only track that was streaming. (It’s now streaming in full and on streaming services too, so you won’t encounter this problem.) When I investigated further, I realized this band rules so much because they’re a group full of ringers. First up, there is guitarist Scott Plant, one of my favorite current musicians in the world. I first fell in love with Scott’s music through his old band, Civic Progress. (If you aren’t familiar, check out their Petrolem Man EP on YouTube. And, word to the wise, I just checked Discogs and Civic Progress’s EPs are officially dollar bin rippers.) Civic Progress played the 80s USHC-influenced style that was popular at the time (2006-7), but set themselves apart with a style that had a whiff of post-punk and Scott’s lyrics, which were already revealing the astute social analysis, elegant wordsmithery, and occasional Doc Dart-esque uncomfortable bluntness that remain hallmarks of his unique voice. (Sorry for all the parentheses. I am having a lot of parenthetical thoughts. I’m just going to go with it. Since we’re in a parenthetical right now anyway, I might as well mention two other lyricists who are stylistically similar to Scott and just as good: Nathan Ward from Knowso, because their new record also arrived this week and won by a hair’s breadth in the competition for my heart that is Sorry State’s Record of the Week, and Rich Ivey from ISS, because he’s fucking family, like H2o and Madball or some shit. But back to Scott Plant…) Civic Progress was based in St. Louis, but in the late 00s Scott moved to Chicago, which is when I got into the Scott Plant business for a brief but exciting moment. Scott’s new bands in Chicago were Manipulation (Sorry State Records numbers 28 and 54, the former of which is still in stock) and Broken Prayer (Sorry State Records numbers 52 and 71, both of which are still in stock and the former of which is housed in a jacket, screen printed by moi, whose quality I no longer stand behind). Having revealed myself as an incompetent at some point in this space of time, Scott soon set sail for greener label pastures. Broken Prayer morphed into Droid’s Blood (whose two vinyl releases are in stock at Sorry State) and even a solo electronic 10” lathe cut under his own name (It was limited as fuck yet as of this writing our inventory says we still have one copy). I’m throwing a lot of names at you here, but I also want to emphasize that through each of those projects, Scott’s music has become more ambitious, more original, and more exciting. Also, like a lot of musical geniuses, Scott has grown interested in synthesizers. Broken Prayer and Droid’s Blood featured synths (my newly Swedish friend Liz Panella played some of them in Broken Prayer, while Scott took over in Droid’s Blood) and also flirted with the harsh yet evocative textures of power electronics, while Scott’s work under his own name is less noisy and more rhythmic. Which brings us roughly to today, wherein I’m telling you that Scott Plant HAS RETURNED TO THE STRINGED INSTRUMENT! (AND IT IS GLORIOUS!) And that’s what the fuck you hear in Canal Irreal. I know nothing about Canal Irreal’s inner workings (I didn’t even know they were a band until a few days ago), but these songs are so strewn with Scott Plant’s musical fingerprints I would be surprised if someone informed me he “just played guitar.” Whatever Scott Plant’s creative role, someone in this band knows how to write a mother fucking punk song, and these energetic and hooky tracks are great ones, with one foot foot in hardcore, one foot in UK post-punk, and a healthy appreciation for classic Chicago punk with huge hooks like Naked Raygun and the Effigies. (Sound familiar? If not, you might want to re-read what I wrote about Civic Progress near the top of this lengthy description. And it’s about to get lengthier, motherfuckers, because SCOTT PLANT IS ONLY ONE FOURTH OF THIS BAND!) As member #2 in this lineup (which I did not plan before I started writing and am here emphasizing is in no particular order) we have MARTIN FUCKING SORRONDEGUY. Yes, Martin from Los Crudos and Limp Wrist, though if you’ve even attempted to read this entire description you are the type of person who almost certainly has a lesser-known Martin project that is even closer to your heart. (I’m going to go with Needles (about whom I’m going to resist the urge to rhapsodize right now), though there are no wrong answers.) I’m going to assume that Scott Plant doesn’t write any of the lyrics in Canal Irreal and say that, if you’re going to bump Scott off lyric writing duty, you better know what the fuck you’re doing, but this is not an issue because Martin is one of the greatest lyricists in the entire history of punk. I can only provide limited insight into this given that my command of Spanish is minimal (though Martin’s writing in English hints at what us poor monolinguals are missing), but suffice to say that, based in no small part on his lyrics, Martin is perhaps the single most important punk of the post-1990 era. (Though Martin is one of those people who seems so good at everything that his photography, work as a punk historian and archivist, graphic design, films, and more things I’m sure I’m forgetting are just as important to mention.) Where were we? Oh yeah, we’re halfway through the list of members. Fortunately for you, I am less familiar with the work of bassist Fernando Anteliz and drummer Lupe Garza, but they prove themselves to be Scott and Martin’s musical peers here, playing no small part in generating that perfect combination of hardcore punk and post-punk that blew me away on my first listen. I don’t have a way to wrap this up, so I’ll say that hopefully you stopped reading by now to devote your attention to listening to this record. If that’s the case, when you buy the vinyl, I hope you buy it from Sorry State. I already got my copy so I am cool with selling the rest of them, but I will experience a twinge of sadness when it is no longer in stock. If you are still reading this and haven’t checked out the record, I imagine you must be in some kind of situation where you can read this, but cannot listen stream the record Perhaps you are in the waiting area at the DMV and you do not have any headphones. Or maybe you’re on a camping trip and, before you got out of cellular range, you saved this piece of writing to some sort of app or service that allows you to access it when you’re offline. If you’re the person on the camping trip, you’re probably great at planning and you already made yourself a note to check out the Canal Irreal album. If you are not the person on the camping trip, this should serve as a reminder that you should make said note and put it somewhere you will see it. If you’re in a pinch you can write it on your hand. And, since no one is reading this anyway, I’ll also apologize to the people I mentioned if any of the information herein is erroneous. I’m just a fan with no fact checking department doing my best.

Antidote: Thou Shalt Not Kill 12” (Radio Raheem Records) I’ve been listening to Antidote’s Thou Shalt Not Kill EP for at least twenty years now, and this reissue has significantly increased my understanding and appreciation of this all-time hardcore classic. If you’ll indulge me in a bit of reminiscing, I’m pretty sure the first time I heard an Antidote song was on Redemption 87’s self-titled album, which came out in 1996 and practically lived on my turntable for my last couple years of high school. That album featured a cover of “Something Must Be Done.” I didn’t know it was a cover at the time; I just knew it was my favorite song on the record. A few years later, once the Internet made researching 80s hardcore much easier, I heard Thou Shalt Not Kill and realized why that song stood out so much from the others on the Redemption 87 album. Eventually I found a bootleg LP that compiled Thou Shalt Not Kill, the Abused’s Loud and Clear EP, the Mob’s first EP Upset the System, and Urban Waste’s self-titled EP. To me, that bootleg LP is the sound of New York Hardcore, or at least my favorite iteration of New York hardcore. While I love all four records deeply, it was a toss-up whether I liked Antidote or the Abused best, and it is wild that Radio Raheem has now given the world definitive reissues of both records. I’ve listened to this EP hundreds of times over the years and still know all the words, but I never learned much more about Antidote. Radio Raheem’s reissue fills a lot of gaps in my knowledge, the most exciting of which is the wealth of material here other than that classic EP, which is also compiled. First up is a batch of 1982 demo tracks that are just killer. They showcase a very different band than Thou Shalt Not Kill. While the lineup is mostly the same and they play several of the same songs, the band’s sound hasn’t come together yet, nor has Louie Rivera’s trademark vocal style (which surely must have influenced Ray Cappo profoundly, among many others). Not having those trademark elements of Thou Shalt Not Kill is a minus, but a big plus is that, with the most distinctive elements of Antidote’s sound absent, it puts more focus on how great these songs are. The 1982 demo tracks sound like classic SoCal hardcore to me: energetic, tuneful, and almost poppy. Some moments bear an uncanny resemblance to the first Bad Religion album. There’s even a big, Naked Raygun-style “whoa” part to “Die At War” that they nixed for the Thou Shalt Not Kill version, and it’s awesome. These 1982 demos are fucking essential in my book, but wait… there’s more! The b-side of the LP is a live CBGB set engineered by Jerry Williams (who also engineered Thou Shalt Not Kill) featuring even more unreleased songs. The live set splits the difference between the more metallic and melodic material, but it’s hardly redundant, especially given the great fidelity. The music on this record is essential for anyone who loves early 80s NYHC, and this reissue also features Radio Raheem’s usual best-in-the-game packaging, including a huge booklet, sticker, and the usual meticulous graphic design and printing. If your collection is anything like mine, you already own multiple versions of Thou Shalt Not Kill, but you don’t want to miss what Radio Raheem’s version brings to the table.

Military Mind: Hardcore 2021 cassette (self-released) Military Mind is the latest hardcore powerhouse to emerge from Canada, this time from the fertile western Canada scene that also includes bands like Bootlicker, Chain Whip, Headcheese, and the Slow Death Records roster. However, if you gave me a blind taste test without telling me anything about Military Mind, I would have assumed they’re the hot new band from Pittsburgh. Their approach is like White Stains and Loose Nukes, rooted in 80s USHC (almost to the point of being an homage), but with a sense of danger, excitement, and immediacy that reassures you punk is happening right now and that it’s not just cosplay. Five tracks, about six minutes, and it’ll leave fuckin’ skid marks on your tape deck. Get it.

Execution: Silently It Grows 7” (Hardcore Victim) Silently It Grows is the fourth release from this hardcore band from Melbourne Australia, following 2018’s Flags of Convenience 7” and a couple of cassette releases. I haven’t heard any of those releases, so I came to Silently It Grows fresh, perhaps expecting something rooted in noise punk given the cover art. That’s an influence, but Silently It Grows is so more than just a solid noise punk record… it’s a fucking beast. Execution reminds me of Public Acid in that they have a sinister, dangerous edge to their music while also being tough and hardcore, but given their obvious grounding in classics like Confuse and Gai (as well as nasty Italian hardcore like Wretched and Negazione), it seems like they’re more willing to lean into the abrasive and chaotic elements of their sound. The hot track for me is “Fatal Shores,” and if you’ve spent as much time as I have jamming Public Acid’s Condemnation EP, I encourage you to give it a listen as it has a similar spirit to that record. Not that “Fatal Shores” is the only great song… the title track is a banger too. I don’t know how hip American punks are to Execution yet, but this record is a fucking scorcher.

Distant Fear: A Reminder of Death 7” (Wrought Material) Black metal does not lend itself to the 7” format, but New Zealand’s Distant Fear makes it work. Much of my favorite black metal feels cinematic in scope, with a wide-screen sensibility that conjures vast, open (snow-covered) landscapes. Distant Fear generates this sensibility not through the hypnotic repetitiveness that some bands use, but through an eclectic yet seamless approach to style. These two songs feature parts that incorporate noise / power electronics, Bathory/Venom style punky savagery, Amebix-y slow boil, triumphant viking metal, and a little of that classic 90s-style Norwegian grandiosity. Even more impressive, it does this in a way that doesn’t appear schizophrenic, but as almost… cosmopolitan? I don’t know, they just fucking make it work. This release features beautiful packaging too, including a screen printed jacket, hand-stamped labels, and an obi strip. Like just about anything from New Zealand, it’s super expensive, but I get an extra bit of excitement when I get a record from that fascinating little corner of the world. Maybe this isn’t Sorry State’s normal thing, but I’ve listened to this a ton and think it rules; maybe you will too.

Nog Watt: Fear 7” (Final Doomsday Records) Fear, the 1985 7” by the Dutch band Nog Watt, is one of the greatest hardcore records of all time. Some records land on that list because of straightforward brutality (S.O.A., Negative Approach), some because of their nimble speed (D.R.I., Koro, Deep Wound), and some because of their unique vibe (Die Kreuzen, Wretched, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers), and while Nog Watt has all of those characteristics to one degree or another, their claim to fame is the density and sophistication of their music. Their songs are lightning fast but densely woven with intertwining melodies and rhythms. The band has outstanding players on every single instrument. The bass, drums, guitar, or vocals might take center stage and as soon as it seems like they’re stealing the show another instrument comes in to do something even cooler. Fear reminds me of Dead Kennedys’ Plastic Surgery Disasters in that the songs have an over-arching pop structure that makes them instantly memorable, yet when you listen for the details you realize how intricate the songs are and how the performances have an almost superhuman combination of power and delicacy. Every song on Fear is great, but the “hits” like “Going On” and “Big Warning, Big Mistake” (your “hits” for this record may be different) are among the most perfect pieces of punk rock ever recorded by anyone, anywhere. Maybe this isn’t a record you need to buy before you get Black Flag, the Misfits, the Circle Jerks, or the DK’s, but if you are into hardcore punk beyond that level—if you’ve enjoyed compilations like P.E.A.C.E. or Welcome to 1984—this is a record that should, without question, be in your collection. I also want to point out what an incredible job Final Doomsday did with this reissue. When I compare this version with my original copy (subtle flex), it is almost eerie how alike they look. It is difficult to recreate the look and feel of records that were made in the 80s, but Final Doomsday knocked it out of the park. The audio, aside from the reissue being a hair quieter than the original, is similarly indistinguishable. To further whet your appetite, I’ll note the pressing sold out from the label instantly and Sorry State’s stockpile is dwindling rapidly. I hope there’s a repress because I want this on the shelves at the store forever, but given the current supply issues in the record pressing world, I encourage you to jump on this immediately if my sales pitch has won you over.

Predator: Spiral Unfolds 12" (Total Punk Records) Mere months after issuing the incredible new GG King album (note: back in stock at Sorry State if you missed out the first time), Total Punk Records returns to Atlanta’s punk scene for the latest album from the long-running band Predator. Predator’s first 7” came out in 2009 and their first LP all the way back in 2011; they’ve been at this for a while, and Spiral Unfolds feels like the culmination of everything they’ve done up to this point. If you asked me to describe Atlanta’s garage-punk scene I would almost certainly mention that the bands have a power-pop edge to their sound. This is true of well-known bands like the Carbonas, GG King, Gentlemen Jesse, and Beat Beat Beat (all of whom, if I’m not mistaken, have shared members with Predator), but despite not having that classic power-pop element to their sound (at least in this current iteration), Predator is instantly identifiable as an Atlanta band. Their angular rhythms, thick guitar sound, catchy riffs, and sung vocals (albeit in a robotic monotone) remind me of Atlanta bands like Wymyn’s Prysyn and Uniform, but Predator is just Predator. In a lot of ways they’re like the ultimate Atlanta garage-punk band, jettisoning the easy to like aspects of those bigger bands and leaning into the idiosyncrasies. Spiral Unfolds… fuck, man. Just like GG King’s last LP, Remain Intact, this latest record sounds like the band is throwing off any reservations or limitations and attempting to make the record of their fucking lives. And they nail it. This is a great punk album, likely one of the best of the year, and essential if you follow whatever you call this strain of nervy, catchy punk.

Mundo Primitivo: Paisaje Interior cassette (Static Shock Records) Paisaje Interior is the debut release from this new band on Static Shock, one of our favorite labels here at Sorry State. While Mundo Primitivo is based in Australia, their singer is from Colombia and sang for the band Abuso, and to my ears Mundo Primitivo has more in common with the raw and urgent punk that’s been coming out of Colombia for the past several years than the more considered and cosmopolitan Australian hardcore scene. What’s it sound like? Raw fucking hardcore punk with elements from catchier punk and a little goth. The tape starts with an instrumental track whose riff sounds suspiciously like Fucked Up’s song “Generation” (it’s a great fucking riff, why not?) then segues into several tracks of killer, catchy punk. It’s hardcore, but with a sense of drive and bounce rather than an emphasis on heaviness or brutality. The songs feel unique from one another, not just iterating the same ideas and motifs again and again. This culminates on the tape’s last track, “Medium,” which has a spookier, more spacious goth sound that reminds me of Kurraka. The songs are superb and I love the gritty recording, killer artwork, and that there’s a solid 12” EP worth of music here. One of the strongest demos we’ve seen in 2021 so far.

HHH: Solidhardcore 12” (Discos Enfermos) Spain’s Discos Enfermos brings us this Spanish hardcore band’s 1985 cassette-only release on a great-looking new vinyl version. I’m going to give it to you straight on this one and list some of my observations about this record:

• It sounds like shit.
• The band plays really sloppy.
• This recording has perhaps the worst bass tone I’ve ever heard in my life.
• The influences are obvious (Discharge and G.B.H.).
• I mean it really sounds like shit. The drums and bass are super muffled and the guitar tone is so biting it hurts your teeth.
• There appear to be problems with the source material as there are occasional drop-outs.

If these are pros to you, buy this record. If they are cons, consider one of the thousands of other records we carry here at Sorry State. But I should tell you that you also miss out on a pretty cool poster insert.

Self-Inflict: demo cassette (Not for the Weak Records) Virginia’s Not for the Weak Records brings us the demo tape from this new Virginia band, and it’s of a piece with that state’s long line of tough-sounding, traditionalist hardcore bands. Self-Inflict has the driving, locked-in sound I associate with Negative Approach’s Tied Down LP or later bands that took cues from that record, like Dead Stop or Punch in the Face. It’s no-nonsense stuff that alternates between fist-pumping rhythms and heavier grooves that make you want to hurt someone. The recording is clear, bright, and heavy without sounding too slick or modern, and if you are a fan of this strain of tough, 80s-inspired hardcore, you’re gonna love it.

Deficit: Staggering Toward False Light cassette (Not for the Weak Records) Not for the Weak Records brings us another tape from a new Virginia band; this time it’s Virginia Beach’s Deficit, a one-person project helmed by Ben Kohler, the drummer for Street Weapon. While the Self-Inflict tape that Not for the Weak put out at the same time has a brawny, driving sound, Deficit is rawer, noisier, and more unhinged. I’d place Deficit in the tradition of bands like YDI, Urban Waste, and United Blood era Agnostic Front. While these bands were heavy and tough-sounding, there was a streak of added danger, like they would not only want to fight you, but there’s a distinct possibility that during that fight they would stab you with a shiv hidden in their boot. If you like it nasty, this one’s for you.

Mini Skirt: Casino 12” (Erste Theke Tonträger) This Australian band has been kicking around for a few years now, releasing a few EPs, and Germany’s Erste Theke Tonträger has brought us their much-anticipated debut album. Well, it wasn’t anticipated by me in particular since I hadn’t heard Mini Skirt before I checked out Casino, but man this is a killer record. When I first listened to it, the thing that jumped out was how much it sounds like Eddy Current Suppression Ring. ECSR is one of my favorite bands of the last couple of decades, and they have this distinct way of playing… upbeat, but with a nonchalant, behind the beat groove that sounds like the Stooges’ Fun House if they never discovered heroin and instead just smoked weed and hung out on the beach. Well, at least that way of playing was unique to ECSR before I heard Mini Skirt, because Mini Skirt does pretty much the same thing and it sounds just as great. Mini Skirt’s vocal approach differs from ECSR, though. Mini Skirt’s singer has a gruff bellow that’s more like the Cosmic Psychos. (Sorry for another Australian band comparison… it’s kind of unavoidable since the singer has such a heavy accent.) The lyrics are politically aware and thought-provoking, which is important because Mini Skirt’s spacious sound gives a lot of room for the singer to do his thing. If anything I’ve mentioned above piques your interest, give Casino a peek… it’s won me over.

Neon Christ: 1984 12” (Southern Lord Records) I think this marks the first time Sorry State has chosen a Record Store Day exclusive release as our Record of the Week, but 1. I love this record and 2. as of right now we still have some stock, so it’s not like you have to stand in line for hours to lay your hands on this record. 1984 compiles two recording sessions by 80s Atlanta hardcore band Neon Christ. The driving force behind Neon Christ was guitarist William Duvall who, after Neon Christ’s demise, moved out to California to play second guitar in Bl’ast! and (after a bunch of stuff in between I’m sure, including a short-lived band with Mike Dean of C.O.C.) ended up as the singer in Alice In Chains, which is still his job today. Those connections are kind of wild, but I would love Neon Christ just as much if the members’ current resumes included little more than sitting on a couch and reminiscing about the good old days. Neon Christ’s Parental Suppression EP is a great slice of under the radar USHC with a unique sound. One thing I love about Neon Christ is that they had several different tricks up their sleeve. They were one of the fastest thrash bands around, rivaling bands like the Neos, DRI, and Deep Wound. However, they also made frequent forays into song-oriented punk. “The Draft Song” and “Neon Christ” have more in common with anthemic west coast punk bands like the Adolescents, and not only do these songs provide a welcome reprieve from the thrashing but also they’re great examples of the style. 1984 contains Neon Christ’s 1984 EP Parental Suppression on side A, while the b-side collects the songs the band recorded at a second session six months later. The latter tracks came out previously on a (semi-official?) double 7”. Being only six months later these tracks aren’t too different from the ones on the 7”, but “The Knife that Cuts So Deep” leans even harder into the pop thing than the songs on the 7”, with a kind of Homestead Records-type, “post-hardcore band trying to write songs that are a little more palatable” vibe. It was too much for me in my younger days, but I really like it now. That second recording isn’t as strong as the EP, with a muddier mix and some reverb obscuring the band’s power, but the songs are still killer. As for the packaging, while the cover art sticks out like a sore thumb, the rest of it is excellent. The LP-sized booklet full of photos, flyers, and a detailed oral history of the band is essential, and the sound is fantastic. According to the jacket, the release went through an all-analog process from the original tapes, and I can confirm it sounds great. Hopefully this is one of those Record Store Day releases that gets wider circulation, because this is an essential piece of American hardcore punk history that anyone with an interest in that style and era should get their hands on.

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!

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…

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.