News

Live Fast Jeff Young: Vol. 11 - Presentation Isn't Everything

What's up Sorry Staters?

So this round we're talking about album artwork, and more specifically, records which we personally have a soft spot for, but which also happen to have terrible artwork. My gut reaction is to begin my thoughts on this topic by acknowledging my fellow Sorry State bloggers' choices for "bad artwork". When looking at some of the record covers that have been discussed, I thought some of the art my colleagues criticized wasn't all that bad! And sure, some choices were not the most exemplary, and at the end of the day your favor towards certain artwork is all a matter of taste. Still, I find myself approaching this topic wanting to talk about bands that I think musically are killer, but whose artwork not only misrepresents the sonic aesthetic of the band but also leaves me thinking: "What the hell were they thinking?"

When I think about record covers that I am artistically attracted to, I think typically I lean toward imagery that's more stark and austere. A lot of artwork I like also tends to be either be black and white or have a limited color palette. One of my favorite record covers is the first Killing Joke album. Fairly simple, I believe it's a photograph that's been tampered with to incorporate the band name. With the former criteria in mind, the contrary to this aesthetic usually involves bright colors, cartoony or graphic illustrations and busy, corny design ideas. Many of these elements at first glance are red flags, and can be turn-offs for me when judging artwork or the band adorning said artwork. As much as I like some metal, a lot of goofy lookin' thrash records (I won't name names) come to mind when describing the type of album artwork I think looks lame.

So what am I trying to get at here? Case and point: I really think Herätys really missed the mark on their artwork. Let me make myself clear, I think Herätys is a killer band. If you'll allow me to gush here a bit, I think that during the time they existed as a band from the late '00s until around 2013 or so, they reintroduced a style of Swedish hardcore that few who attempted to imitate did nearly as well. When looking at bands like Stress SS and also Institution and Katastrof (which feature Poffen from Totalitär), the former members of Herätys's current projects further illustrate their commitment to pumping out pure mängel fury.

I remember the first time I heard Herätys, I thought to myself that they would instantly become a contemporary favorite. But then I saw the artwork... I'm not sure who approved the idea to depict all the members of the band as zombies on the front cover, but I feel like the first LP's cover art is more reminiscent of a Misfits-inspired skate rock band than a ripping, classic Swedish sounding hardcore band. I guess the counter-argument against this stance is that at least the artwork isn't another overly contrasted photo of graphic war imagery with Crass font. I like Discharge as much as the next punk, but there was an era where the crust pool was way overflooded with this visual signature.

I remember being stoked for the long-awaited follow up to the debut 12", an EP titled Helvettiin Ja Takaisin. And one might think Herätys would remedy the artwork direction from the first record, and they did... well, sort of. Being the fan that I was at the time, I ordered the Euro press of the 7" direct from the label overseas. As you can see from the gif above, the limited version of the Euro press came with bonus artwork! The focal point of the more common cover art for Helvettiin Ja Takaisin depicts a figure walking through wilderness with a TV for a head (WHAT?). Now, one might be inclined to argue that at least they attempted something more abstract, but I think that would be giving them too much credit because this cover art is really just kinda puzzling and unmemorable. And while additional artwork did disguise the actual cover art, the bonus art took things in an even more silly and cartoony direction. The illustration depicts what looks like a giant drunk punk Satan standing over Hitler and some other weirdos in Hell while eating hotdogs. Don't know what happened there.

And then the cherry on top: rather than abstaining from the cartoony design of the bonus cover from the former release, Heräys's final 7" Näen Punaista totally indulges in the silly imagery and may be their worst record cover to date. Sticking with the dictator theme, this final cover depicts what looks like Stalin drunk in the snow, along with all of the animals of the Scandivanian Winter Wonderland and of course -- a guy with his dick out. If I didn't know anything about Herätys and saw this artwork, I would probably jump to the conclusion that they were a shitty grindcore band that sang about pizza.

So here's what I find so irritating: Because I have such a fondness for Herätys and I think of them as an important band, both to me personally and because of what they brought to the hardcore scene at the time, I wish they had artwork that reflected their integrity. I'm not saying the band should take themselves too seriously, but I would prefer if one of my favorite bands weren't artistically represented by such a cheesy visual legacy. But hey, I'll still throw these records on and think they rip, they totally hold up. I'll just begrudgingly shake my head at the covers until I remove the wax.

Alright, now let's talk about some other records that out since my last post. Some of these have pretty decent artwork:

The Dark: Demons 7" - Debut vinyl release from this LA-based punk band. If you read Daniel's excellent Record of the Week review of this EP, you'll understand the shop's fondness for The Dark's classy interpretation classic Japanese punk. I really liked The Dark's two previous cassettes and thought beyond their chugga-chugga riffs and snarling vocals, they also were good at creating a creepy atmosphere that matches their aesthetic. Don't sleep on this!

Fried Egg: Beat Session Vol. 4 CS - New batch of recordings from this VA punk band. I feel like all of these Beat Session recordings tend to bring out the best in the bands they put out releases by, and the same is true of Fried Egg. I'm not sure if they recorded this live, but this recording really does them justice with so much power and energy. Also, a sick Mecht Mensch cover to boot! Grab this hot reel.

Exploatör: S/T 12" - I feel like my roster of new releases wouldn't be complete without mentioning the latest from Poffen and company! Even after hearing Poffen's bands like Institution or Katastrof, Exploatör is sort of a return to form by reuniting most of the classic Totalitär line-up. The guitar sound and pulse of the drums is immediately recognizable and refreshing to hear. For real rage-a-holics only.

Hot Snakes: Jericho Sirens 12" - So most of the time, when I hear bands are getting back together to make a new record, I automatically expect it to be bad. And I'm not sure whether it's just the level of musicianship by the people involved or if Mr. Froberg's groups have such a signature style that making new music just comes naturally, but on Jericho Sirens, Hot Snakes do not sound like a band phoning it in. It's as if they never stopped! If anything, I think this new record is better than a couple of the others. While Vincent may not be a fan of the artwork, do yourself a favor and don't pass up on another killer Hot Snakes record.

Profoss: S/T 7" - Two D-beat bands in one blog post? Sure, why not! Debut vinyl release from Profoss, a Swedish band featuring members of Infernöh and, weirdly enough, Terrible Feelings. Profoss is another band that synthesize the best aspects of their predecessors and unapologetically crank out tunes in the best of Swedish punk traditions. Total fist-pumper all the way through. Get this before they're gone!

Here's some upcoming punk shows in NC, slightly updated from last time:

4.15.2018 - Davidians (last show) @ Wicked Witch

4.19.2018 - Cloud Gazer @ The Bunker

5.4.2018 - Iron Reagan, Left Cross, Skemäta @ Maywood

5.14.2018 - Penetrode @ The Bunker

5.15.2018 - Lace @ The Bunker

5.19.2018 - Cement Shoes @ The Bunker

5.25.2018 - Skeleton @ The Bunker

Once again, I'll try to re-update next blog!

I think that'll do for this round. As always, thanks for reading!

'Til next time,
-Jef Lep

Sorry State New Release Cheat Sheet for April 9th

Tons of awesome stuff in this week! New music from Fetish (ex-long knife), Witchtrial, Silent Era, Dream Probe, Broken Spirit, Bad Example, Big Cheese, Leather Jacuzzi, Preening and Boris Dzaneck!




Clearance Section Updated

I'm sure all of you bargain hunters out there have been waiting with baited breath for when we update our clearance section again, and that time has arrived! We just added a heap of new items to the section, all of which are now 50% off their original price, and there's plenty of good stuff left from previous updates as well.

First up is a real gem for those of you who like your hardcore raw and nasty. Kobra was a wild 80s Italian hardcore band, and this live set, recorded off the soundboard in the UK in 1983, is one of the rawest, nastiest, and most primal pieces of hardcore punk I've ever heard. The fact that this is in the clearance bin is definitely no mark against its quality... we ordered heavy on this because I like it so much, but I guess it's just a little obscure for your average person.

In March 2017 Boss Tuneage released a series of demo recordings from new-ish hardcore bands on flexi-disc. We were (and are!) super excited about this series so we ordered a lot of copies, and now our remaining stock is hitting the clearance bin. All of them are worth your time (especially at just over two bucks a pop!), but this demo from Texas's Obstruction is the pick of the litter IMO.

Why on earth did no one buy this collection of vintage material from New Zealand's features? Early Kiwi punk heavily influenced by Wire and PiL? What isn't to like?

This 7" from DC's Soft Grip came and went without a much attention. My buddies Connor and Ace (who play together in Red Death, but also play separately in groups like Protester, Pure Disgust, Genocide Pact, and many others) are in the band, and honestly I think this might be my favorite thing either of them have played on.

Finally, we still have a few copies of this latest 12" from Australia's Straight Jacket Nation released last year. Hardly deviating from the band's established formula, if you're into the raw and primal hardcore of Cleveland groups like the H100s and Nine Shocks Terror this one is still highly recommended.

Record of the Week: The Dark: Demons 7"

The Dark: Demons 7” (Darker) 80s Japan has proven a fertile hunting ground for contemporary hardcore bands looking for hip influences, but I feel like most bands tend to focus on the tougher and more hardcore elements of that sound… in other words, there is no shortage of bands who imitate Sakevi’s growl, Kuro’s wall of sound production, or Confuse’s loose and manic pogo beats. However, while the Dark are clearly inspired by 80s Japanese punk, they take a different tack, leaving behind those “tough” elements in favor of bringing out the spooky and haunting qualities on records like the Execute’s Criminal Flowers EP or G-Zet’s killer 12” EP on ADK. In particular, the Dark separate themselves from a lot of the pack with their vocal sound, which largely eschews the Sakevi grunt-growl that you hear appropriated by modern bands like Blazing Eye or Odio in favor of a kind of tortured, semi-yodeled howl… it’s a really difficult sound to describe, but if you’ve heard Criminal Flowers you know exactly what I’m talking about. As for the rest of the instruments, they tend to burrow into a mid-paced, metallic kind of sound that makes me think of Zouo or Gudon, never breaking into full-on Gauze / Systematic Death-style thrash. And yes, there are a couple of the requisite guitar leads, but they’re not a main focus, hanging back in the mix and contributing to the overall sense of atmosphere rather than hogging the spotlight themselves. I know that I’ve referenced a big ‘ol stack of Japanese punk records in this description, and while the Dark are clearly inspired by the music of that era, they’re combining the ingredients in a way that still feels fresh and exciting to me. Further, this record feels real and underground and not like a band imitating a cool style so that they can get a spot near the middle of the bill on a regional punk fest. Highly recommended.

Featured Release Roundup: April 5, 2018

Impotentie: Demonstratieve Opnamens 7” (Drunken Sailor) It’s not often that I listen to a new band and think “what the hell IS this?,” and far less often when said puzzling band is identifiably punk. Montreal’s Impotentie is, indeed, identifiably punk, but it’s punk like nothing I’ve ever really heard before. There are elements of things I know: the claustrophobic, straight-into-the-board guitar sound recalls obscure KBD and euro-punk (particularly when the lead overdubs come in super loud), the singer is somewhere between a hardcore barker and the intimidating shouts of Metal Urbain or the Screamers, and some parts sound like a band playing extremely loose and slightly out of tune Warsaw covers. However, it all adds up to something that is utterly singular. Maybe this is what early Zounds would have sounded like if they did acid all of the time? Really, I think Jonah Falco’s description says it all: “It's the sound of a greyly lit kitchen in some nothing town with pitched roofs and gables, the smell of stale cigars and vinegar and the taste of meat in a tube on moist bread with watery coffee.” More than recalling any particular era of punk, Impotentie capture a real vibe here, and it’s bleak and dour, but with moments that are distinctly beautiful. A very special record that I recommend highly to anyone who values originality in their punk.

The Fritz: S/T 12” (Drunken Sailor) Debut 12” from this Chicago-area band that boasts members of both CCTV and Liquids as well as a bunch of more hardcore-ish bands. The Liquids connection particularly makes sense because the Fritz have a similar way of bouncing back and forth between hardcore and more song-oriented styles, though the Fritz don’t ever get straight up poppy in the way that Liquids sometimes does. There’s also a distinct rock n roll element to the riffing, which brings to mind a number of different 90s garage-punk bands like the Rip Offs, Teengenerate, or even New Bomb Turks. Like all three of those bands, the Fritz straight up rip in the manner of a hardcore band, but at the same time they seem to be reaching backward to an earlier, even more primal era of rock and roll. And of course the production is piss raw in all of the right ways. I don’t know if the Fritz is going to blow up like Coneheads or Liquids because they don’t put the melodies right at the forefront like those bands do, but if you like your punk raw, ripping, and riffy listening to this record will be just as lovely as having your back scratched in exactly the right spot.

Preening: Greasetrap Frisbee 7” (Ever/Never) Latest 7” from this Oakland-based punk / no wave group. I really like Preening a lot, as they seem to have so much to say… as the label’s description indicates, everything that I’ve heard from them is just bursting with ideas, like they’re trying to cram an entire album’s worth of music into every single song. That can be disorienting if you just want to pump your fist and sing along, but if you like complex music that is intricately composed (or at least intricately improvised) with parts weaving across, between, into, etc., one another this is going to be right up your alley. One of the things I love about No Wave is that it’s more of a conceptual framework than an actual music genre, so the pallet of sounds available is theoretically unlimited, and Preening take full advantage of that… there are bits that recall the danceable new wave of Gang of Four (or newer bands like Shopping), the skronk of outsider jazz, and even a few moments that are pretty straightforwardly punk. However, none of these moments stick around long enough to get stale, and it always feels like the band is pushing forward, trying to do something as interesting and exciting as possible. If you’re looking for pop songs then skip this one over, but if you like your punk wild and skronking this is highly recommended.

No Babies: Someone to Watch Over Me 12” (Upset the Rhythm) Latest 12” from this Bay Area no wave / punk band (oddly enough I just wrote a description for the new Preening 7”, so it’s a good week for Bay Area no wave fans!), and it’s a wild ride. Musically, No Babies sit somewhere in the area where no wave, avant-prog, and hardcore overlap… there are elements of all three styles in the band’s sound, but it feels like an organic combination rather than a superficial pastiche. From no wave you get the cacaphonous arrangements, with instruments playing wildly clashing melodic lines that still stick to a coherent—and occasionally even danceable—rhythm… it’s the musical equivalent of a chaotic Jackson Pollack canvas done in wildly clashing colors. From avant-prog (I’m thinking of bands like the Flying Luttenbachers) you get the incredibly intricate compositions, like you gave King Crimson an entire month’s prescription of adderall and forced them to play their complex compositions at hardcore tempos. And from hardcore, obviously you get said blistering tempos, but also a confrontational, aggressive attitude that finds the band lurching, lunging, and careening with the deft power of Damaged-era Black Flag. The musicianship is uniformly incredible, to the point where I find it kind of amazing that the musicians can even remember these compositions, much less play them all together at such crazy tempos. I also have to point out that the vocals here are particularly exciting (BTW said vocals are handled by Jasmine Watson, who you may know from Torso, Neo-Cons, and numerous other bands), not just punctuating the songs with rhythmic shouts (which is an approach No Babies certainly could have gotten away with), but creating rhythmic and melodic lines that are just as complex and exciting as anything the other players are doing. Someone to Watch Over Me is a real adrenaline rush of a record, and while I’m sure it’ll be too much for a lot of people out there I find every second absolutely gripping.

The Child Molesters: (I’m the) Hillside Strangler 7” (Meat House) The debut release on Meat House Records is an official reissue of this well-known KBD gem… the a-side was comped on Killed by Death volume 1 while the b-side was on volume 2, so there’s a pretty good case for them being the ultimate KBD band. Anyway, “Hillside Strangler” is pretty much what you’re looking for if you’re into raw KBD punk… lyrics about serial killers, music that sounds like an inept MC5, and production straight out of the bargain basement… it really has it all. And of course if that’s not “out there” enough for you there’s always the b-side, which is a Yoko Ono cover (!!!). You probably know both of the tracks, so I’ll just say that this reissue is all class (good sound and hand “blood” splatter on the sleeve just like the original) and that 90s (bootleg?) pressing is even going for $$$ on Discogs so ditch your copy there, pick up this version, and then go to dinner at Applebees with the money you have left over. Jalapeno poppers! Yum!


All New Arrivals

Amen Dunes: Freedom 12" (Sacred Bones)
Silent Era: O Horizon 12" (Last Hour)
Broken Spirit: Vultures and Pigs 12" (Last Hour)
Los Saicos: Wild Teen Punk from Peru 1965 cassette (Discos MMM)
Artcore #37 with Toxic Reasons: No Pity 7" (Artcore)
Minor Threat: '82 Live 12" (euro import)
Chrome Skulls: 6 Hits from Hell cassette (self-released)
Mueco: Mindless Instinct 12" (Konton Crasher)
Dissober / Honnor SS: Split 7" (Konton Crasher)
Blystex: Somos Salvajes cassette (self-released)
Dream Probe: Demo Coleccion 7" (Alonas Dream)
Evel Knievel Rice: Mr. Grover's Room 7" (Alonas Dream)
Silver Abuse: Consider The Pigeon 12" (Alonas Dream)
The Escavels: You Should Know 7" (Alonas Dream)
The Griffith Harter Union: Progress 7" (Alonas Dream)
Barb's Child: S/T 12" (Glued To The Genre)
Preening: Greasetrap Frisbee 7" (Ever/Never)
Leather Jacuzzi: The Whole Hog 12" (Danger)
PMS: S/T 7" (Danger)
Boris Dzanek: In His Own Words 12" (Danger)
Decemberists: I'll Be Your Girl 12" (Capitol)
Etta James: At Last 12" (WaxTime)
Thelonious Monk: Monk's Dream 12" (Southern Lord)
The Dark: Demons 7" (Darker Records)
Eagle Twin: The Thundering Heard 12" (new)
Zeke: Hellbender 12" (Relapse)
Sammal: Suuliekki 12" (Svart)
Giuda: Rock N Roll Music 7" (Rise Above)
Various: Musique Experimentale 12" (Finders Keepers)
Corrupted: Felicific 12" (Cold Spring)
Various: Cronica Tecnica 12" (Geometrik)
Nebula: Dos EPs 12" (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Various: Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan Part 1 12" (Jazz Records Limited)
Various: Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan Part 2 12" (Jazz Records Limited)
Brainticket: Psychonaut 12" (Lilith)
Brainticket: Cottonwood 12" (Lilith)
Various: Italia New Wave 12" (Spittle)
Various: Italia Synthetica 12" (Spittle)
No Babies: Someone to Watch 12" (Upset The Rhythm)
Lightnin' Hopkins: S/T 12" (Wax Love)
John Lee Hooker: The Great 12" (Wax Love)

Restocks

La Urss: Maravillas 12" (Discos MMM)
Big Black: Songs About Fucking 12" (Touch & Go)
Neil Young: Harvest Moon 12" (Reprise)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Lift Your Skinny Fists 12" (Constellation)
Hot Snakes: Automatic Midnight 12" (Sub Pop)
Hot Snakes: Jericho Sirens 12" (Sub Pop)
Sleater-Kinney: Call the Doctor 12" (Sub Pop)
Black Sabbath: S/T 12" (Warner Bros)
Green Day: Insomniac 12" (Reprise)
Green Day: Dookie 12" (Reprise)
Green Day: Nimrod 12" (Reprise)
Led Zeppelin: II 12" (Atlantic)
Swell Maps: Jane from Occupied Europe 12" (Secretly Canadian)
Notorious B.I.G.: Ready to Die 12" (Rhino)
The Cure: The Head on the Door 12" (Rhino)
The Cure: Disintegration 12" (Rhino)
Ramones: S/T 12" (Rhino)
The Pixies: Doolittle 12" (4AD)
David Bowie: Diamond Dogs 12" (Parlophone)
David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust 12" (Parlophone)
Motorhead: Ace of Spades 12" (Sanctuary)
Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 12" (Merge)
The Scientists: S/T 12" (Numero Group)
Earthless: Black Heaven 12" (Nuclear Blast)
Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (mono) 12" (Capitol)
Arcade Fire: Funeral 12" (Sony Legacy)
Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain 12" (Astralwerks)
Brian Eno: Another Green World 12" (Astralwerks)
Beyonce: Lemonade 12" (Sony)
Voivod: Rrrrooooaaar 12" (Noise)
Voivod: Dimension Hatross 12" (Noise)
Khalid: American Teen 12" (RCA)
Weezer: The Blue Album 12" (Geffen)
Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill 12" (Def Jam)
Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface 12" (Fueled By Ramen)
Nick Drake: Pink Moon 12" (Island)
Alice in Chains: Dirt 12" (Music on Vinyl)
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black 12" (Island)
Kanye West: College Dropout 12" (Roc-A-Fella Records)
Snoop Dogg: Doggstyle 12" (Death Row)
Tool: Opiate 12" (BMG)
Rage Against the Machine: Evil Empire 12" (Epic)
Wu-Tang Clan: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) 12" (RCA)
Misfits: Collection 12" (Caroline)
Misfits: Collection II 12" (Caroline)
Funkadelic: Maggot Brain 12" (Westbound)
Autopsy: Critical Madness: The Demo Years 12" (Peaceville)
Bjork: Vulnicura 12" (One Little Indian)
The Black Keys: Thickfreakness 12" (Fat Possum)
Brand New: Deja Entendu 12" (Triple Crown)
Master: S/T 12" (Hammerheart)
Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded West 12" (Glacial Place)
Power Trip: Manifest Decimation 12" (Southern Lord)
Power Trip: Nightmare Logic 12" (Southern Lord)
Propagandhi: Less Talk, More Rock 12" (Fat Wreck Chords)
Run the Jewels: S/T 12" (Mass Appeal)
Run the Jewels: RTJ 3 12" (Mass Appeal)
Taake: Kong Vinter 12" (Karisma)
Windhand / Satan's Satyrs: Split 12" (Relapse)
Baroness: Blue Record 12" (Relapse)

Sorry State Records' New Release Cheat Sheet for the week of April 2nd

Sorry this is a little late. I (seth) have been pretty sick the past few days and am a little behind on things.
New music this week from The Fritz, Impotentie, Honnor SS, Chrome Skull, Mueco, Barb's Child, No Babies(I've been loving this LP), Blystex, Zeke and Nebula.




Record of the Week: Fried Egg: Beat Session Vol 4 cassette

Fried Egg: Beat Session Vol 4 cassette (Shout Recordings) As much as I have loved every Frieg Egg recording so far, I’ve always felt like there was something more lurking beneath the surface, waiting to break through, and on this new cassette that bubbling undercurrent finally reaches the surface. First, though, for the uninitiated, the Beat Sessions are sort of like a modern, DIY version of the Peel Session. From what I understand, bands stop by Shout Recordings when they’re on tour in California and do a quick recording. While I don’t think it’s necessarily “live in the studio,” there isn’t time for obsessive retakes and overdubs, so you end up with something that melds the organic, “people playing together in a room” quality of a live recording with the clarity and power of a polished studio recording. So far, all 4 volumes have been excellent. Now, back to Fried Egg. They’ve always been a furious USHC-style band (and they still are! Just check the killer Mecht Mensch cover here, as well as original tracks like the blistering “Teeth”), but they seem to be pulling from a wider set of influences now. “Bite My Tongue” is the real standout—and I’m glad they made it the first track—with its insanely catchy main riff, which takes a classic-sounding descending rock and roll riff and twists and distorts it into something entirely the band’s own. Later in the track they hit on some lurching, later Black Flag-style rhythms (which they break out in other songs as well) that really showcase the tightness and power that the band has developed. Not many bands can transition from full-bore thrash into those kind of heavy, in-the-pocket rhythms in the space of a single song without it sounding forced, but Fried Egg knock it out of the park. I think I remember hearing that the next official release from Fried Egg will be an LP, and these five tracks hint that that record is really going to be something else. In the meantime, though, I’ll be wearing out this tape.

All Things to All People Vol. 28

So, this time around on the Sorry State blog we’re writing about great records with terrible artwork. When I first heard this prompt I thought to myself that it would be easy, but flipping through my own record collection I’m hard-pressed to find any records where I truly hate the artwork. Maybe that’s because artwork is really important to me and I’m hesitant to buy releases that don’t have good artwork, or maybe it’s just that I’ve grown so used to the artwork on most of the records in my collection that I don’t have a strong visceral reaction to it anymore. At the very least, I would argue that time is usually kind to record artwork. What can seem garish, ill-conceived, half-baked, or otherwise inappropriate upon a record’s release can, with time, develop a certain patina. Similarly, tropes that feel obvious or overused at the time can feel less so in retrospect, especially when this artwork is lit by the gentle glow of nostalgia. Think about things like terribly-rendered illustrations on 80s metal records or lame cut-and-paste 80s punk layouts… they looked terrible at the time, but looking at them in the present day they’re kind of kitschy and cool. I’ve long said that it won’t be long before people are applying photoshop filters in order to replicate the pixelation on computer layouts from the 90s and early 00s or trading copies of the fonts that came bundled with Windows 95.

So, if bad artwork isn’t really that bad, then what is really good artwork? It turns out, answering that question is just as difficult. To me, great art (like great music) is simple and direct, and does a lot with a little. It has immediate impact, but also leaves you with something to chew on and think about. Raymond Pettibon’s illustrations for Black Flag or Glenn Danzig’s graphic design for the Misfits are probably the best examples of what I’m talking about. I’m also a big fan of the simple yet functional design of a lot of first and second-wave UK punk picture sleeves. Find yourself a cool black and white photo, overlay the band’s logo in a simple spot color and you’re done. No muss, no fuss.

So, what records don’t follow those edicts?

Void: Condensed Flesh EP

So, this one is kind of cheating because it’s an after-the-fact retrospective release, but all of the artwork (right down to their contribution to the insert for Flex Your Head) on the original Void releases is killer, so this “put an engraving of a skeleton on it” (the punk equivalent of “put a bird on it”) is highly disappointing. And then there’s the Sessions LP on Dischord, which is unattractive in an entirely different way.

Wire: 154 LP

You know, I never liked the artwork for 154. Sue me. It’s like, “hey, I see what you did there, Wire.” The artwork is a kind of literal visual representation of the music… it could maybe even serve as a kind of John Cage-type unconventional score. It’s just a little on the nose for me, and where the music couldn’t be more dynamic and interesting, the artwork just feels kind of flat, cold, and commercial. Also, this isn't Wire's fault per se, but every time I look at it I'm reminded of the wavy turquoise takeout cup.

No Bullshit Vols 1-4

They’re pictures of cows, not much more or less. Except, somehow the one that tries to be more than that is the worst one of all.

Totalitär: Sin Egan Motstandare LP

Do you think this artist has heard of Raymond Pettibon?

Formaldehyde Junkies: 2nd 7”

Again, a little too on the nose for my tastes… I mean, is that literally supposed to be a photograph of a formaldehyde junkie? What I was saying earlier about giving you something to chew on as a viewer? This is like the opposite of that.

None of these are particularly egregious, but each of them rubs me the wrong way for one reason or another. Maybe some of these even rise to the level of "hot takes" or pet peeves (I have a feeling Jeff will have some words for me about calling out Totalitär), but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. I'm curious what other people's pet peeves for artwork are, so feel free to reply in the comments or hit us up on social media, and look forward to the rest of the SSR's staff's opinions over the next week or so.


Midnite Snaxxx: Greedy Little Thing 7” (Goodbye Boozy) Latest 7” from this Bay Area band, and I think that at this point we can start affixing adjectives like “long-running” and “veteran” to their name. Midnite Snaxxx have a lot of records out at this point, and they are all absolutely killer… in my opinion you should own every single one of them. They don’t really sound like much else that’s around these days, crafting short and snappy garage-punk songs that recall the glory days of Rip Off Records (and indeed the singer Dulcinea was in the Loudmouths, who were connected to that scene), but really these songs could have been made at any point between the early 60s and now. Midnite Snaxxx effortlessly combines the adrenaline rush of classic rock and roll (think the Beatles doing “Twist and Shout”) with the big melodies of 60s girl groups and the explosiveness of vintage 70s punk, and the result is just perfect. I kind of doubt they’ll ever be a big hype band because they aren’t “on trend,” but if you like this kind of straightforward, poppy garage-punk you should simply buy every single record that they put out. I know I’m going to.

C. Memi: Heavenly Peace 12” (Bitter Lake) Official reissue of this delightful 7” as a great-sounding 45RPM 12” courtesy of the archival label Bitter Lake Recordings. While the foundation here is what we’d now call minimal synth—which I can’t imagine was a framework that C. Memi was working with at the time this was created—there’s also a distinct element of French “chanson” music, which the label description notes was kind of a “thing” in Japan at the time. Regardless, I just love the unpretentious playfulness of the record. Judging by the label’s description as well as this piece on the BandCamp blog, this recording was essentially an experiment, and that sense of discovery shines through every moment of the EP. In other words, you’ll come for tracks like “Hitojichi” that recall the post-industrial synth-punk of Metal Urbain or SPK, but you’ll stay for the overall vibe, which is infectious and singular. I have to admit that I was a bit puzzled by this record the first time I listened to it, but it reveals itself a little more with each spin and despite the relatively minimal aesthetic I continue to find more to love each time I listen.

End Time: S/T 12” (Fullyintercoastal) Debut record from this Bay Area, California band. I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to this record, but something about the label’s description stuck out… maybe it’s the fact that the band took two years to put together a 6-track EP, or maybe it’s the waist-deep sarcasm in said description, but something told me to check this record out and I’m glad that I did. I don’t know for sure, but I would guess that the members of End Time are a little older as their music betrays a wealth of influences… I hear the motorik propulsion of Neu!, the catchy, angular guitar lines of early Joy Division, the slightly shambolic feel of Pavement’s early records, and the way that the songs build up, calm down, and build up again even recalls Drive Like Jehu or Fugazi. That probably sounds like a big mishmash, but it comes together really well here. I also love that the recording is extremely warm and somewhat raw and analog-sounding, like it could have been painstakingly recorded on a cassette 4-track. There’s no denying that End Time have a real 90s vibe—they remind me a lot of what was called “emo” before that word came to signify emotional pop-punk—but if you regularly listen to Dischord releases past #25 or so I imagine you’ll like End Time quite a bit.

Rixe: Cassette Promo cassette (La Vida Es Un Mus) Limited 3-song cassette by Rixe… what is it promoting? Perhaps they’re finally going to make the jump to 12” vinyl? Who knows! All that I can confirm is that these three songs are the Rixe you have come to know and love with little in the way of left turns or surprises. Since they started releasing 7”s on LVEUM, Rixe’s aesthetic—sonically and visually—has been completely airtight, and all three tracks here stay very much within that framework. One would think that that framework would be constricting, but now that Rixe has a substantial number of tracks out in the world it’s kind of amazing that they’ve managed to stick to such a consistent sound without sounding like they’re just rewriting the same song over and over. Anyway, enough of the pontificating… the point I’m trying to make is that Rixe keep doing their thing and it still doesn’t feel played out or redundant, so incorporate these three burners into your playlist and get pumped for whatever it is that they’re promoting.

Mint: demo cassette (self-released) Demo cassette from this Philadelphia band. The recording is super raw and DIY, but the music is well-written and catchy. Even though I don’t think this is what they’re going for (if, indeed, they’re going for anything at all), but I’m reminded of the early, raw demo recordings by Zounds or the poppier Crisis songs. Like that stuff, there’s pop music at the core of what Mint is doing, but they wholeheartedly embrace punk’s raw, primal, and aggressive posture and also (in places at least) adopt some of the more sophisticated arrangements of post-punk. I have a feeling that fans of bands like Good Throb, Frau, and Priests’ early material will also like this quite a bit.

Snob: S/T 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) After a couple of outstanding 7”s, here’s the debut 12”er from London punks Snob. It’s funny, I generally expect bands to get more complex and spread out a little when they move from small vinyl to large, but Snob seem instead to have streamlined things, making their music even more direct and concise. The lyrics remain a highlight and they’re as confrontational as ever. Lyrically, the most intriguing songs (at least in my opinion) take buzzwords like “consent” and “ally” and examine how the concepts behind them play out in an actual person’s life. In both of those cases, the enlightened political attitudes that are supposed to be part and parcel of using these buzzwords is just a fiction that allows people to continue to disrespect and dehumanize one another behind the shield of political correctness… or at least that’s how I read it. Musically, the noisiness and looseness of Snob’s 7” recordings is largely gone, replaced by a locked-in, metronome-steady rhythm that significantly changes the overall character of the band’s music. While Snob sounded animalistic and uncontained on the 7”s, here they sound disciplined, even mechanical, an impression that is accentuated by the much clearer recording. It’s a slightly different Snob, for sure, they remain just as worthy of your attention.

Absolut: Hell’s Highest Power 12” (D-Takt & Rapunk) After numerous splits and 7”s, here’s the debut full-length from Montreal’s Absolut and it RIIIIIPS! I feel like an idiot because I let a whole week go by between when this thing arrived in the store and when I listened to it, and a week without Hell’s Highest Power in my life is a week wasted! It’s fitting that one of the splits I mentioned above is with Sweden’s Paranoid, because Absolut seem, along with Paranoid, to be part of a trend of crusty punk bands rediscovering their metal influences (see Paranoid’s covers LP, where they took on metal classics by bands like Sepultura and Celtic Frost). Absolut have done more than just superficially add a guitar solo here and there, though. Hell’s Highest Power is a complex hybrid of crust, death metal, and thrash metal (with a few touches of black metal here and there, particularly on the epic closing track “Last Corpse”), all wrapped up in the magically raw production favored by death and proto-death metal bands like Hellhammer, Master, and Mantas. Indeed, at times Hell’s Highest Powerseems more like a metal record with some heavy crust influences than vice versa, and I’m fine with that because when they’re in “metal mode” Absolut are never cheesy… if they dropped the crust influences entirely I’m pretty sure they would still be the most exciting metal band I’ve heard in years. I’ll leave it there and just say that if you’re a crusty or a metalhead you need to hear this record… highly recommended.

Cadaver Dog: Dying Breed 12” (Youth Attack) After a flexi and a couple of tapes, here’s the proper debut vinyl from Denver’s Cadaver Dog. It’s funny, Youth Attack’s description does its best not only to locate Cadaver Dog’s debut in the long arc of hardcore’s history, but also to self-consciously bill it as some kind of a culmination or conclusion of hardcore’s existence. Not only do they call it “the most negative hardcore album of all time,” but they also note that this record “can be considered the end conclusion to hardcore's aim.” Honestly, I think that’s complete hogwash, and even if you agree with the author’s premise that Cadaver Dog has “out-negative’d” every other band in the entire history of hardcore, the argument that Cadaver Dog is the “end conclusion” of hardcore only really works if your conception of what hardcore is is only about an inch wide. All of that being said, my gripe is really with the record’s description, not the record itself, which I must say is excellent. Basically, it’s Negative FX filtered through the Youth Attack aesthetic. In other words, these are a bunch of short (many hover around the 30-second mark), fast, and punchy hardcore songs with the raw, nasty, black metal-influenced style of recording and slightly unhinged looseness that are perhaps the most consistent sonic aspects of Youth Attack’s brand identity. It’s a thrilling listen, and feels authentically angry and explosive in a way that many of the more mannered and composed hardcore records coming out in this day and age don’t. I’m sure that Youth Attack’s whole aesthetic will continue to be divisive within the punk scene, but if you can’t get down with a hardcore record that rages this hard I feel bad for you.

Vile Gash: Nightmare in a Damaged Brain 12” (Youth Attack) Long-awaited new record (seriously, I think they’ve been talking about / working on this thing for several years) by this flagship Youth Attack band. While it’s somewhat overshadowed by the Cadaver Dog LP released at the same time (which is just a hair meaner and more explosive than this), this is still a blistering slice of hardcore that’s well worth the wait. While Cadaver Dog is Negative FX filtered through the Youth Attack aesthetic, Vile Gash are pretty much the epitome of the Youth Attack aesthetic, perhaps even more than the bands that Mark McCoy is actually in. Like a lot of Youth Attack’s best bands, Vile Gash transcend their influences and sound like wholly their own thing. Even if you can make comparisons across elements of their sound (I’d put them at something like 50% furious Scandinavian d-beat, 30% USHC, 15% black metal and 5% sludge), it all adds up to something that doesn’t sound quite like anything you’ve ever heard before. It’s also—again, like a lot of Youth Attack bands—overwhelmingly negative and nihilistic. Whether you’re coming at this because you like to hear hardcore bands that are original, innovative, and exciting, or just because you want to find the grimiest, ugliest music possible Nightmare in a Damaged Brain will absolutely satisfy you.

Profoss: S/T 7” (Adult Crash) Debut 7” from this Swedish band that features members of a bunch of other bands… I’m not really good at keeping track of that sort of thing, but I’m pretty sure Jeff said that there were members of Herätys and Fy Fan here? I could very well be wrong about that, so don’t quote me! At any rate, this record sounds to me like the guitar player from Totalitär gave a bunch of riffs to Anti-Cimex, who recorded them all with the lineup and production from Victims of a Bombraid. Whether you want to call that a catchier version of Cimex or a meaner, noisier version of Totalitär is up to you, but regardless it’s an extremely potent combination. It seems like Sweden has been spitting out records of this flavor (with relatively minor variations in sound and style) at an absolutely furious pace lately, and if you’ve been having fun picking up records by the likes of Katastrof, Exploatör, and the bands mentioned above then you’ll be stoked to pump your fist along to this one as well.

Snor: Scandinavian Heartbreaker 7” (Adult Crash) Second EP from this group out of Malmö, Sweden. As on their earlier EP, Snor seem to walk the line between noisy pogo-punk in the Gai / Swankys tradition and noisier d-beat, fusing the two styles in a really effective way and adding in some nice little touches like reverbed-to-hell vocals (that still carry a little bit of melody) and complex arrangements with a lot of starts and stops and cool little changes that gives it a slight USHC flavor as well. Like the Profoss EP released at the same time on Adult Crash, this has an absolutely perfect recording with exactly the right balance of fuzz/noise, heaviness, and clarity. I feel like this is one of those records that, when you put it on, you think it’s going to be kind of a one track pony, but when you listen closely you realize there’s actually quite a lot going on and plenty to love. Because of that complexity it’s not likely to become the flavor of the week (people tend to prefer things that are simpler and immediately graspable), but if you seek out the interesting, innovative and strange in your hardcore I highly recommend this one.

Ubik: S/T 7” (Aaarght!) Debut vinyl from this Australian band that plays a kind of catchy anarcho punk style a la Crisis or Zounds. I remember listening to their demo tape quite a lot when that came out, and this is even better than that! There are a couple of familiar tracks from that session, but the production is clearer and more powerful, and the whole thing just feels more articulate and fully realized. This is a very difficult sound to pull off because it requires the perfect balance of pop songwriting chops and the ability to generate that sense of atmosphere that is peculiar to this particular strain of anarcho, but Ubik totally nails it while also sounding like their own band and not just a tribute act. If you’re a fan of this style this one is highly recommended.

All New Arrivals

Snob: S/T 12" (La Vida Es Un Mus)
Rixe: 3 Titres Promo cassette (La Vida Es Un Mus)
The Child Molesters: I'm the Hillside Strangler 7" (Meat House Productions)
C. Memi: Heavenly Peace 12" (Bitter Lake Recordings)
Monster Magnet: Mindfuck 12" (Napalm Records)
Jeff Rosenstock: POST 12" (Polyvinyl Records)
Grateful Dead: Best of the Grateful Dead Live 1969-1977 12" (Rhino)
Preoccupations: New Material 12" (Jagjaguwar Records)
Cyberplasm: What Is Flesh cassette (Fuckers Will Pay)
Crimex: Demo cassette (Fuckers Will Pay)
Crash Course in Science: Signals from Pier Thirteen 12" (Dark Entries Records)
Dark Blue: Fight to Love 7" (12XU)
Felt: Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty 12" (Cherry Red)
Felt: Ignite the Seven Cannons 12" (Cherry Red)
Felt: The Seventeenth Century 12" (Cherry Red)
Felt: The Splendour of Fear 12" (Cherry Red)
Felt: The Strange Idols Pattern 12" (Cherry Red)
Leftover Crack: Fuck World Trade 12" (Fat Wreck Chords)
Los Lichis & Pakito: Savage Lichis Religion 12" (Feeding Tube Records)
Mournful Congregation: The Incubus of Karma 12" (Osmose Productions)
T2: It'll All Work Out in the End 12" (Decca Records)
Simply Saucer: Cyborgs Revisited 12" (In the Red Records)
Spacemen 3: Dreamweapon 12" (Superior Viaduct)
End Time: S/T 12" (Fullyintercoastal Records)
Jack White: Boarding House Reach 12" (Third Man)
Cruz Somers: Sit & Stare 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
Muzzy: S/T 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
Midnite Snaxxx: Greedy Little Thing 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
New Berlin: Quarantine 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
Skull Cult: Skeleton Mind 7" (Goodbye Boozy Records)
Mint: Demo cassette (Slugsalt)
Cutie: S/T cassette (self-released)
Neil Young + Promise of the Real: Paradox 12" (Reprise)
Autopsy: Critical Madness: The Demo Years 12" (Peaceville)
Black Moth Super Rainbow: Baby's in the Void 7" (Rad Cult)
Neu: S/T 12" (Gronland)
Neu: Neu 2 12" (Gronland)
Fried Egg: Beat Session Vol 4 cassette (Shout Recordings)
Kikagaku Moyo/幾何学模様: S/T 12" (Guru Guru Brain)
Kikagaku Moyo/幾何学模様: House in the Tall Grass 12" (Guru Guru Brain)
Minami Deutsch: S/T 12" (Guru Guru Brain)
Gunter Schickert: Samtvogel 12" (Wah Wah Records)
Richard Pinhas: Rhizosphere 12" (Bureau B)
Heldon: Allez-Teia 12" (Bureau B)
AMM: AMMusic 12" (Black Truffle Records)
Dadawah: Peace & Love 12" (Dug Out)
Pharoah Sanders: Izipho Zam (My Gifts) 12" (Everland Jazz)
George Grunblatt: K-Priss 12" (Gonzaï Records)
Masahiko Sato: Belladonna of Sadness 12" (Finders Keepers)
Nebula: To the Center 12" (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Orang-Utan: S/T 12" (Sommor)
The Bridge: Overdrive Rock/Jazz Party 12" (Sommor)
The Runaways: Live at the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 12" (Vinyl Lovers)
Chet Baker: Sings 12" (Wax Love)
Bathory: The Return 12" (Black Mark)
Master: S/T 12" (Hammerheart)
Savage: Loose 'N Lethal 12" (Hammerheart)
Crude: Drug Culture 12" (Farewell Records)
Supercrush: I've Been Around 7" (Debt Offensive Records)
Wild Rose: Fanatic Heart cassette (Rougemont Records)
Absolut: Hell's Highest Power 12" (D-Takt & Råpunk Records)
Exploatör: S/T 12" (D-Takt & Råpunk Records)
Profoss: S/T 7" (Adult Crash)
SNOR: Scandinavian Heartbreakers 7" (Adult Crash)
Hank Wood & the Hammerheads: 3rd LP 12" (Toxic State)
Vile Gash: Nightmare in a Damaged Brain 12" (Iron Lung)
Suburbanite: S/T 12" (Iron Lung)
Cadaver Dog: Dying Breed 12" (Iron Lung)
Hot Snakes: Jericho Sirens 12" (Sub Pop)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Polygonwanaland 12" (Blood Music)
Yo La Tengo: There's a Riot Going On 12" (Matador)
Green Druid: Ashen Blood 12" (Earache)
Lakes: Silver Thorns 12" (Paradise Daily Records)
Sex Tourists: S/T 12" (Paradise Daily Records)
Nerve Beats: S/T 12" (Fine Concepts Records)
The Trashies: The Octagon 12" (Fine Concepts Records)
Miss Destiny: Ice Queen 7" (Shipping Steel)
Alien Nose Job: Panel Beat 7" (Not on Label)
Rabid Dogs: S/T 7" (Aarght Records)
Ubik: S/T 7" (Aarght Records)
Ebenezer & the Bludgeons: Peer Pressure 7" (Windian Records)
Exorcist: Voices from the Graves 12" (Nuclear War Now!)
Abhorer: Oblation II: Abyssic Demonolatries 12" (Nuclear War Now!)
Rites of Thy Degringolade: The Blade Philosophical 12" (Nuclear War Now!)
Lurker of Chalice: S/T 12" (Nuclear War Now!)
Broken Cross: Militant Misanthrope 12" (Apocalyptic Visions)
Anxiety: Trash Baby 7" (Fun with Smack Records)
REM: Automatic for the People 12" (Craft Recordings)
Brian Eno: Another Green World 12" (Astralwerks Records)
Black Moth Super Rainbow: Mr. No One 7" (Rad Cult Records)
Malady: Toinen Toista 12" (Svart)
Harms Way: Posthuman 12" (Metal Blade)
Night Prowler: Crucible of Power cassette (Kram Records)

Restocks

The Bags: All Bagged Up 12" (Artifix)
Descendents: Cool to Be You 12" (Fat Wreck Chords)
Devo: Hardcore Devo Vol 1 12" (Superior Viaduct)
Devo: Hardcore Devo Vol 2 12" (Superior Viaduct)
DOA: Hardcore '81 12" (Sudden Death Records)
Eyehategod: Take As Needed for Pain 12" (Century Media)
Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand 12" (Scat Records)
Jawbreaker: 24 Hour Revenge Therapy 12" (Blackball)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Flying Microtonal Banana 12" (Flightless)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: I'm in Your Mind Fuzz 12" (Castleface)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Murder of the Universe 12" (ATO)
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Nonagon Infinity 12" (ATO)
Marked Men: On the Outside 12" (Dirtnap)
Thee Oh Sees: Mutilator Defeated at Last 12" (Castleface)
Iggy Pop: The Idiot 12" (4 Men with Beards)
Rubella Ballet: Ballet Bag 12" (Dark Entries Records)
Sleep: Volume One 12" (Tulepo)
Solid Space: Space Museum 12" (Dark Entries Records)
Sonic Youth: Sister 12" (Goofin)
The Sound: From the Lion's Mouth 12" (1972)
Spiritualized: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space 12" (Plain Recordings)
Stiff Little Fingers: Inflammable Material 12" (4 Men with Beards)
The Fall: Grotesque 12" (Superior Viaduct)
The Fall: Slates 12" (Superior Viaduct)
The Fall: This Nation's Saving Grace 12" (Superior Viaduct)
C.H.E.W. / Rash: Split 7" (Slugsalt)
Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death 12" (Bad Boy)
The War on Drugs: Lost in the Dream 12" (Secretly Canadian Records)
Polvo: Exploded Drawing 12" (Touch & Go Records)
The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy 12" (Rhino)
The Pixies: Trompe La Monde 12" (4AD)
Hot Snakes: Automatic Midnight 12" (Sub Pop)
Bad Religion: Stranger than Fiction 12" (Epitaph)
Rancid: And Out Come the Wolves 12" (Epitaph)
Mission of Burma: Vs. 12" (Matador)
Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive 12" (Merge)
Dinosaur Jr: You're Living All Over Me 12" (Jagjaguwar Records)
Joy Division: Substance 12" (Rhino)
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures 12" (Rhino)
Radiohead: OK Computer 12" (XL Recordings)
Zero Boys: Vicious Circle 12" (Secretly Canadian Records)
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours 12" (Reprise)
Sunny Day Real Estate: Diary 12" (Sub Pop)
The Cure: Disintegration 12" (Rhino)
Childish Gambino: Awaken My Love 12" (Glassnote)
Childish Gambino: Camp 12" (Glassnote)
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon 12" (Sony)
The Clash: London Calling 12" (Columbia)
Beyonce: Lemonade 12" (Sony)
Weezer: The Blue Album 12" (Geffen)
The Velvet Underground: White Light, White Heat 12" (Verve)
Nirvana: Incesticide 12" (DGC)
Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid M.A.A.D. City 12" (Interscope)
Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables 12" (Manifesto)
Dead Kennedys: Plastic Surgery Disasters 12" (Manifesto)
Bob Marley: Legend 12" (Island)
Tool: Opiate 12" (BMG)
Tool: Undertow 12" (Volcano)
Wu-Tang Clan: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) 12" (RCA)
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 12" (Roc-A-Fella Records)
Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More 12" (Island)
Misfits: Earth AD 12" (Caroline)
The Louvin Brothers: Satan Is Real 12" (Capitol)
Roky Erickson: The Evil One 12" (Light in the Attic Records)
High Rise: II 12" (Black Editions)
Faust: S/T 12" (Lilith Records)
Baroness: Yellow and Green 12" (Relapse)
Burzum: Burzum / Aske 12" (Back On Black)
Burzum: Det Som Engang Var 12" (Back On Black)
Jason Isbell: Something More than Free 12" (Southeastern)
Mayhem: Deathcrush 12" (Back On Black)
Sect: No Cure for Death 12" (Southern Lord)
Windhand / Satan's Satyrs: Split 12" (Relapse)
Touche Amore: Is Survived By 12" (Death Wish)
Deafheaven: Roads to Judah 12" (Death Wish)
Converge: Jane Doe 12" (Death Wish)
Converge: The Dusk In Us 12" (Death Wish)
Converge: Axe to Fall 12" (Death Wish)
Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind 12" (Death Wish)
Turnstile: Nonstop Feeling 12" (Roadrunner)
Cement Shoes: Demo cassette (Loki)
Van Morrison: Astral Weeks 12" (Warner)
Green Day: Insomniac 12" (Reprise)
Green Day: Nimrod 12" (Reprise)
Metallica: Black Album 12" (Blackened)
Motorhead: Another Perfect Day 12" (Sanctuary)
Motorhead: Ace of Spades 12" (Sanctuary)
Entombed: Left Hand Path 12" (Earache)
The Pixies: Doolittle 12" (4AD)
David Bowie: Space Oddity 12" (Parlophone)
David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust 12" (Parlophone)
Celtic Frost: Morbid Tales 12" (Noise)
Joy Division: Closer 12" (Rhino)
Rik & the Pigs: A Child's Gator 12" (Total Punk)
Perverts Again: Friday Night Light 12" (Total Punk)
Parsnip: S/T 7" (Anti-Fade)
Padkarosda: Tetova Lelkek 12" (Static Age Musik)
Lebenden Toten: Mind Parasites 12" (Overthrow)
LSD: 1983 to 1986 12" (Schizophrenic Records)
Haram: When You Have Won, You Have Lost 12" (Toxic State)
L.O.T.I.O.N.: Digital Control and Man's Obsolescence 12" (Toxic State)
Aus Rotten: The System Works for Them 12" (Profane Existence)
Violent End: S/T 7" (Rock 'N' Roll Disgrace)
Tarantula: Weird Tales of Radiation and Hate 7" (Deranged)
Offspring: S/T 12" (Craft Recordings)
Weezer: The Blue Album 12" (Geffen)
King Crimson: Red 12" (Inner Knot)
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue 12" (Columbia Legacy)
Dead Kennedys: Give Me Convenience 12" (Manifesto Records)
Tool: Lateralus 12" (Volcano)
Kanye West: College Dropout 12" (Roc-A-Fella Records)
Childish Gambino: Camp 12" (Glassnote Records)
J Dilla: Donuts 12" (Stones Throw)
Bjork: Homogenic 12" (One Little Indian)
Candlemass: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 12" (Peaceville)
Death: Scream Bloody Gore 12" (Relapse)
Death: Spiritual Healing 12" (Relapse)
Geto Boys: We Can't Be Stopped 12" (Rap A Lot Records)
Motley Crue: Too Fast for Love 12" (Motley)
Soccer Mommy: Clean 12" (Fat Possum Records)
Sunn O))): Domkirke 12" (Southern Lord)
Tiny Moving Parts: Swell 12" (Triple Crown Records)

Sorry State New Release Cheat Sheet for the Week of March 26th 2018

New Music from Rixe, Snob, C. Memi, Fried Egg, Midnite Snaxxx, End Time, Cruz Somers, Mint, Cyberplasm and Wild Rose!



Record of the Week: Hot Snakes: Jericho Sirens LP

Hot Snakes: Jericho Sirens 12” (Sub Pop) When most bands come back from a long absence or a break-up, they’re content to deliver something that’s simply “good enough,” if not outright bad. Perhaps it’s that bands tend to tepidly imitate their old material rather than trying to push past it, or maybe it’s because they’re not that invested in their “old” project and simply don’t try hard enough. Regardless, none of those are problems with the new Hot Snakes album, as Jericho Sirens , their first album in 14 years, is as good as or better than any of their other three full-lengths. While there are nods to their older material (like the touches of melodica peppered throughout the record) and plenty of songs that are very much in the vein of their old stuff (like “Six Wave Hold-Down” or the anthemic title track), much of the album seems like the band is pushing themselves to play harder, faster, and weirder than they did on their previous records. Whether it’s the blistering fast changes on “Why Don’t It Sink In,” or the wild, Big Black-esque riffing on “Having Another?,” the baroque density of the riffing and the tightness and complexity of the playing (with many of the songs in mega-quirky time signatures) is truly next-level. It’s intellectually interesting, but it’s also viscerally exciting to listen to a band blow through musical boundaries and just let it rip like this. Yeah, they’re pretty much just showing off, but it’s more like someone showing off by driving their car dangerously close to the edge of a cliff than the stiff formalism of a classical music recital. Jericho Sirens is a thrilling listen, and one of the most genuinely exciting records to appear so far in 2018.

Highlights from the Clearance Bin, March 2018

In case you weren't aware, Sorry State has a massive clearance section full of releases available for 50% or more off their original retail price. Why does stuff end up in the clearance bin? Well, I suppose sometimes because it sucks, but more often than not it's because it didn't really catch on. Maybe we were super excited by a release and ordered a ton of copies, but the band never toured and the label forgot to send out promo copies and Jimmy never posted it on his YouTube channel, so it just kind of gradually faded into obscurity. Regardless, there's still tons of great, cheap music availabe in this section. Here are a couple of highlights:

You know how everyone freaks out about Coneheads and DLIMC? Well, Hairlong N Freeky is a project from the person behind those projects (along with one of the members of Glue), and it very much bears his sonic fingerprints. Why this never caught on is beyond me, because I think this record rules.
Violence Creeps is one of Sorry State's favorite bands of the past few years and their other records sold like gangbusters (particularly their records on the Total Punk label), but Soul Narc never seemed to catch on. I'm baffled as to why, because this record is right up there with their others... definitely in the tradition of Flipper, but with catchy, memorable songwriting (unlike many of the other bands who follow Flipper).
The Lowest Form is one of my favorite current hardcore bands and I'm baffled as to how we still have copies of this record in stock! Featuring Paco from La Vida Es Un Mus on drums and released on the mighty Iron Lung Records, the Lowest Form are exactly the kind of raw, dense, yet intellectual hardcore that you would expect them to be, and they rule.
According to our records, we have not sold a single copy of this 7" by Hyane, which is baffling because it rules! Maybe people have just never heard of this band, but they're great. The label's description calls them post-punk, but this isn't some watered-down goth-rock, it's noisy and dynamic hardcore with mega catchy guitars worthy of the Chameleons or Killing Joke.
If there's one place this little Norweigan ripper does not belong it's the bargain bin... get it out! If you're a fan of classic 80s European hardcore Negativ should be on your radar.
This perfectly dumb slice of second-wave UK punk (original released on the brilliant Raw Records label) was a bit expensive when we first got it in, so maybe that's why you didn't pick it up. You no longer have that excuse.
Y'all let a Framtid record hit the clearance bin? That's fucked up.

Sorry State New Release Cheat Sheet for March 19th 2018

So much cool new stuff this week! Lots of releases we're really stoked for at the store. New music from Kaleidoscope (Our record of the week! Click for that blog post), Profoss, Snor, Ubik, Retirement, Cadaver Dog, Vile Gash, Rabid Dogs, Concussion (featuring SSR's own Chubb) and the X20-Subdom split cassette.