Staff Picks

Hey there guys! I hope our newsletter finds you fit, healthy, and happy? It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Sorry State since we last spoke to you. We had Record Store Day the Saturday before last, and it was a great day all around. Thank you to all of you who came by on the day to say hello and pick up a record or two. A special thank you to all of those who camped out and spent several hours in line waiting for us to open. I believe almost everyone who waited in line got what they wanted. Obviously, as the day went along a lot of titles sold out, but for the most part folks left happy, and that’s a good thing. I want to send a very big and special thank you to one of our day-one customers and friend, who waited in line and once inside balled out big time. He had wanted to support us in buying the space and had saved up for RSD and went nuts. He basically bought every single noteworthy release and needed two boxes to carry them all out. NS you are a stud sir and a true music lover and evangelist, and it’s your enthusiasm and passion that we share and what makes all of this worthwhile. Cheers mate.

This Thursday, the 30th, is International Jazz Appreciation Day and so with that in mind I thought I would mention a couple of the jazz RSD releases that I bought and have been enjoying. We sold out of our copies, but I see other online sellers and retailers offering them. Both have also been previously released, although in the case of one, in different forms and for the other only as an original and tough to find in the wild and rarely cheap. Both, however, were by artists on their first sessions as leaders, and who were born within a couple of weeks of each other in the same year, 1942.

Charles Tolliver is a trumpet player of renown who, with Stanley Cowell, founded Strata-East Records, the New York-based label responsible for some of the best forward-thinking jazz records of the 1970s. He was already established on the scene when in 1968 he was given the chance to assemble his own band as leader and produce his own session. The fruits of those recordings didn’t see release, though, until several years later. The Strata-East label hadn’t quite got up and running yet, so the UK-based label Black Lion released the recordings as Charles Tolliver and His All Stars. Those all-stars being none other than Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz and Joe Chambers, all of whom were on top of their respective games at the time. It’s a great session of post-bop with all players on fire. That Black Lion release was licensed to several European countries and Japan. Later in 1975, Arista in the US reissued the album as part of their Freedom series under the title Paper Man. Those Arista Freedom releases are always worth picking up as they are cheaper ways to get older and expensive albums, and often the series debuted recordings for the first time. Fast forward to more recently, and Strata-East in the UK reissued the album finally as Charles Tolliver originally envisaged, with two additional tracks from the session. This time the album was titled Right Now…And Then. It’s this version that has been released for RSD and wider distribution, and it’s been done in a classy, bang-up fashion, similar to the Tone Poet level of reissue. I can’t speak on how previous versions sound; this one though, sounds great. Nice quiet vinyl, but with the music leaping out of the speakers. Thumbs up from me.

Buster Williams’ album Pinnacle originally came out in 1975 on the Muse Records label, another fine label for quality jazz. It has remained out of print for decades. There was a late 90s CD issue and a Scorpio vinyl reissue in the early 00s. This RSD pressing is the first widely available version since the original 1975 pressing. Again, like the Charles Tolliver album, the level of quality control is immediately obvious. The album comes housed in a beautiful old-school laminated jacket, and the vinyl is a clean, solid slab of wax that plays beautifully. Quiet where it needs to be and loud where it needs to be.

Buster Williams is a master of the jazz bass. He’s been one of the most in-demand bass men in jazz since the early 1960s and has worked with countless household-name artists and has appeared on hundreds of albums over the course of his long and productive career. Most heads will be familiar with him from his work with Herbie Hancock during his Mwandishi period. Williams was a key part of that groundbreaking group. It would be easier to list the names of legends that he hasn’t played with, but if Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Eddie Henderson want you in their groups, then you know you must be good.

As mentioned, the Pinnacle album was his first as leader, and he’d go on to record a few more, but surprisingly few considering his talent. Not that he wasn’t always keeping busy; he probably didn’t need to or have time to as he continued to appear on loads more records by other artists throughout the years. There is a second album on Muse that came out the following year in 1976 called Crystal Reflections that I hope to find one day. Like Pinnacle, it’s not so easy to find or cheap. That album has Roy Ayers, Kenny Baron and Billy Hart making up the group. Stellar line up. Billy Hart also plays drums on the Pinnacle session and is joined by Sonny Fortune and Woody Shaw for the date. Two names most jazz heads should recognize. Additionally, on Pinnacle, there are some tasteful keyboard touches provided by Allan Onaje Gumbs, a name I was less familiar with. The mood on this album is more in the fusion and free style rather than the bop of the Charles Tolliver album, but is just as listenable and enjoyable and depending on where your head is at, perhaps a bit deeper. Williams plays both acoustic bass and the Fender bass on the album and additionally adds vocals to the title track. He doesn’t get overly busy, but you know he’s there. Album opener, The Hump, is a good of a head-nodder as you can get. Nice laid-back groove on that one. I’m happy to have a copy of this album in my collection and hopefully they’ll release the follow-up next year. Either that or I find an original before.

In addition to these two jazz beauties, I added another RSD title to my collection. I had my eye on the Soul Jazz release of American Power Pop, as they always do a great job and typically compile rare and hard to find singles. When I came back to work on the Tuesday after Record Store Day, we still had a copy available, so I snagged it. Really glad I did, as this comp is packed with bangers. Some singles that you would have to spend an arm and a leg to get hold of. I’m digging the song Drive My Car by Nasty Facts the most right now. A bunch of Brooklyn teens who made their record in 1981. Then there’s also The Normals from New Orleans with their 1978 single Hardcore, years before the term was used in punk parlance. Although the compilation is titled American Power Pop, it includes a track from Vancouver, Canada’s Pointed Sticks, a band that had the distinction of being the first Canadian group signed to Stiff Records in the UK. A highlight for me was hearing the Miami-based band The Reactions. They are afforded two songs on the collection, both taken from their 1980 EP called Official Release. Good luck trying to find an original of that one.

So yeah, another reason to buy a good comp. You get killer tunes without murdering your wallet. Hopefully Soul Jazz will release this title again, although I see copies available from sellers, so you should be able to snag you one.

Okay, well, thanks for reading. Thanks for your support of our efforts here. We are just music lovers doing what we can to steer you towards good shit. By the way, that works both ways. I love when our customers recommend things to us that we weren’t familiar with or convince me to listen to a record I had overlooked in the past. Thank you for that.

Have a good one. Add some music to your day, and we’ll catch up with you next time.

Cheers – Dom

Hey there everyone in Sorry State land. How are you coping with life? Bit of a struggle right now, isn’t it? If it’s not the threat of WWIII, it’s cost of living, and currently for us here in North Carolina, a nice spring, high 90-degree heat wave. So, before we all burn to a crisp, let’s try to find the good things in life and take the time to tell those around us we love them. Friends, family, strangers, it doesn’t matter. Just put out love. That’s all that matters and all that they can’t control or take away from us.

Talking of friends, I wanted to send a heavenly shout out to a special friend of ours at Sorry State and all-around brilliant guy, who sadly left us recently and will now be watching the great gig in the sky and spinning records with the angels. David Sabio, rest in peace, brother. What a joyful and beautiful person you are. Always pumped and excited about music, always out there supporting at shows and buying new records up to the very end. David was an artist and gardener and would love to talk flowers and plants just as much as he did music whenever he stopped into the store. Despite all that he had going on with his health, he always kept a positive attitude and certainly didn’t feel bad for himself or anything like that. A true fighter and an inspiration to all who met him and knew him.

Hey, so this Saturday is Record Store Day. Love it, hate it, or couldn’t care less, there are plenty of opinions on the day. I shan’t get into all the pros and cons here, but suffice to say, we shall again be taking part here at Sorry State. I personally like the day and have never not found at least one record that I wanted. This year, I thought the list was particularly strong with more than just the typical public domain live shows ripped from the internet and pressed on wax. There are several first time on vinyl releases and lots of unreleased music this go-around. My personal want list is way longer than usual. I’m going to have to whittle it down. I am excited about the Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and OMD releases to name three, as they all feature music on vinyl for the first time, which seems more in the spirit of what makes RSD special. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good live show, but a lot of these pressings are verging on fan exploitation. I understand people wanting a record of historic performances, which is why bootlegs came into being, as they filled a gap that the record labels weren’t filling, but now it seems they are trying to cash in on fan loyalty by putting out these live releases. Make the stuff available, but why does it have to be so expensive? If bootleggers can press up a live show and sell it for less than $25, why can’t the labels? But that’s a whole debate about the industry in general. Greed and exploitation and killing the golden goose. Nothing has changed.

There is another artist who has a record out for RSD, and that is none other than Billy Strings. He and the boys recorded a great Tiny Desk concert recently, and that is getting a vinyl pressing. Regular readers of our newsletter will know that John Scott is a big fan and has seen Billy play more times than most. I have him to thank for introducing me to Billy and over the last few years, through listening to multiple live shows, he has turned me into a fan also. I’ve even gone to a few shows. In fact, the pair of us were at a barn burner of a gig in Greensboro just last night. It was a great show, truly. Billy is absolutely a generational talent, and regardless of whether you like bluegrass music or not, you owe it to yourself to catch the boys live if they come to a town near you. John Scott and I will be seeing them again in July, this time in Virginia. A bit further of a drive, but it will be well worth it. Anyway, I’ll be snagging one of the Tiny Desk concerts. Sorry, but I will be utilizing my store employee privileges on that one. This one is especially good because it includes one of my favorite Billy songs, Gild The Lily.

Okay, deadline time approaches. There are more records to price and work on, and we still have some preparation left to do for Saturday. I shall look forward to seeing some of you stop by on the day. Good luck and happy hunting.

Cheers – Dom

Holy sale bonanza, Batman! What a weekend for us here at Sorry State. A mighty, heartfelt and sincere thank you to all of you who stopped by the store this weekend or placed an online order or have supported us at any point. Thank you so much. We just want to continue being your local record spot, bringing joy and positive vibes through music, in a world going increasingly mad. For as long as we can, we’re going to try and hook you guys up with as much good music as possible.

I just want to say that I had a great time over the weekend, even if they were a couple of long and tough shifts. Circumstances left me and Jeff the two to handle the store for the sale. Typically, there’d be two of us for Friday and Saturday, our busiest days of the week, and Jeff always holds down Sundays. It got a little crazy at moments on Friday, with a lot of folks crammed into the store at once, but that’s what we had hoped for and it was great seeing so many of you come out. A lot of cool records were snagged by y’all, but there are still lots more left, so don’t be put off visiting if you didn’t get a chance last week. I’m always surprised when certain records linger and don’t sell right away. I certainly understand that when records get into the $50-plus range and into three-figure territory, that it’s not a casual purchase for most people. But with the added incentive of 15%–25% off, I thought one or two more of our wall pieces might have tempted people. I think we always try to price the high-end collectibles at the lower end of the price spectrum anyway, and we certainly took down several of those “wall” records over the course of the three days. There’s been one up there for a few weeks now that I was convinced would have sold sooner. I’m certain I priced it correctly and according to its condition and demand, but it has just sat, staring out from the wall behind the counter. We’ve played it two or three times, and it sounds fantastic. The vinyl is nice and clean, the jacket is decent, but the insert has a light moisture stain. No biggie for a record as old as I am. The important part is that when played, it sounds great. I had told myself that I could budget a purchase to chip in for the cause. Not that I’m not buying records all the time, of course, but I wanted to contribute and take part this weekend, especially as we were asking you guys to consider spending money with us. The record I am referring to is the great self-titled album by Silver Apples. Released on Kapp Records here in the United States in 1968.

I have a thing for listening to and collecting records that were made and released in the year of my birth, and this one is a great one to have in the atmosphere as I joined humanity. I’m no stranger to the record and the duo that made up Silver Apples. I probably first heard this record sometime in the 1990s and have seen it a few times in stores over the years. It has never been easy to find or that cheap, and as the years pass that only increases. I satisfied my hunger with a reissue on CD that combined their just as cool second album, Contact, which originally came out the year after the first in 1969. Then in the 00s I picked up a vinyl reissue, a bootleg I think. It sounded okay, and that pretty much did me over the years. I will say whoever made it did a great job with the silver foil cover and even included the color photo insert. I wasn’t going to go out looking for it necessarily, but if an original came across my path one day and owning it wasn’t too much of an issue, I always thought I’d like to have one.

I must imagine most of you seasoned music heads know about Silver Apples and how influential their two records, especially the first, have been on future generations of electronic music makers. Everyone from John Lennon to Alan Vega has sung their praises, and so many artists and bands like Clinic, Stereolab, Suicide, Spiritualized, to name a few have built their sound on the foundations laid down by Silver Apples. I think I heard about them through a Geoff Barrow from Portishead mix tape or DJ set. Both probably. He’s turned me on to so many great tunes. Anyway, if you are not familiar with them, I would recommend a deep dive when you get a chance. I can’t do their story justice here in just a few words.

The band was made up of two guys, Simeon Coxe, who just went by Simeon, and Danny Taylor. Simeon made his own synths and produced music and sounds through these and other electronic methods. He also played banjo, which was used to great effect on their cover of the bluegrass classic Ruby. That song appeared on the second album. Taylor was the drummer and supplied inventive drum patterns for Simeon’s songs. After the release of the first album and the positive response it received, they quickly recorded the follow-up. The album cover featured a photo of the boys inside a Pan Am plane cockpit. The Pan Am logo was visible, and the band had obtained permission to have it shown. However, it was decided that on the rear of the album jacket there should be a scene of a plane crash. Understandably, Pan Am wasn’t too cool with that and promptly sued the asses off the group and their label, Kapp Records, resulting in copies of the record being pulled from shelves and essentially ending the group and the label.

A third album had been begun but never completed, and those songs remained unreleased until the late 1990s. In fact, through him calling into a radio fund drive and the DJ recognizing the name, Danny Taylor was reunited with Simeon after years of not seeing each other, and those lost songs saw the light of day again. Taylor had hung on to the tapes all these years, and it turned out to be about seven completed songs recorded back in the day and another half dozen or so that had Taylor’s original drum tracks. To those drum patterns, Simeon produced new music in the spirit of the originals to layer over them, and the results, added to the original recorded songs, were released on an album called The Garden. It’s great too and thoroughly recommended for fans. There are a few different versions of this set out there now. The one I have is a double that includes two additional tracks, both unreleased but intended for a soundtrack to a movie. Pretty cool.

Well, that’s my “pick” for you this week. Go out and investigate, if Silver Apples are new to you, and if they aren’t and you haven’t listened to them in a while, go play them. Before I sign off, I will say that I was enjoying the sounds of the Bikini Mutants, a post-punk bad from the UK that recorded in 1982. Sealed Records has just issued a nice album set of their recordings. Very cool, female-fronted band that if you like Marine Girls, Au Pairs and the like, you’ll probably love just as much. I did and got my copy. Get yours.

Cheers - Dom

Hey there Sorry Staters! March is behind us, but the madness continues. Today is April Fool’s Day as I write, but doesn’t it feel like every day someone is playing a joke on us? Life in the world has always sucked for many people and animals sadly, but today increasingly many are being negatively affected by the reckless, immoral and illegal actions of our current leaders. It’s tough living right now. Which makes indulging in fun activities seem trivial. At least that’s what my brain tells me. I must counter that line of thinking before it downward spirals by purposely doing something that brings me joy. The quickest and easiest and the most tried-and-true method for me is to slap a record on. We discussed here previously how sometimes staring at thousands of records looking for something to play can be difficult, and that’s not because the records aren’t good, but more because the vibe doesn’t hit the mood. However, when your mood isn’t good, it’s not always the best idea chasing that feeling. The thing to do is go in the opposite direction. That’s precisely what I did this week, and it worked out well.

For a few weeks now since it hit the floor, we’ve had a 25th anniversary edition of Sweet Baby’s It’s A Girl album here at the store. It didn’t sell in our new used arrivals and found its way to the used S section, where it sat staring at me. Or rather I kept staring at it. Main reason being that the cover art used was taken from the demo tape that the band first had out and circulating when they started. It featured a cartoon basset hound playing a bass guitar, looking cool with a cig hanging out of his mouth and the text “Never mind the Bassets, here’s The Sweet Baby Jesus.” They had used or altered the image from a comic strip called Fred Basset that appeared in one of the British newspapers. Growing up, I loved reading Fred Basset and had several of the annual comic collections that were compiled each year. Fred was a cheeky and smart character that hung out with his doggy pals and had interactions with the humans in his world and the other neighborhood dogs. A bit like Peanuts if it was always about Snoopy. I’m not sure, but the Fred Basset strip might still be going. Anyway, it’s him on the front of the album and the main reason that I gave it a spin.

After a few weeks of “serious” music listening, I needed the complete opposite. I needed pop. This album is pop punk in all its glory. Short, fast, loud songs about girls, with guitars. Heck yeah! Isn’t that what it’s really all about? This reissue comes pressed appropriately on bubblegum pink vinyl. I’ve given it a lot of spins this week and love it. Just what I needed.

The band, originally called Sweet Baby Jesus but shortened to Sweet Baby, were only around for a few short years, in which time they managed to break up, reform and have their debut album released and become part of the legendary lore of the East Bay punk scene centered around the Gilman Street Project. Without going into a deep dive about that now, as most of you are probably more than aware of that moment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which saw the birth of Lookout Records and bands like Operation Ivy and, of course, Green Day. The latter having changed their original name from Sweet Children, so as not to be confused with Sweet Baby, who at the time had a bigger profile.

The story of Sweet Baby is worth reading about if you are not familiar, but on the back of the jacket for the reissue, main man Dallas Denery, gives a pretty good and detailed rundown of the band’s story and explains why they broke up and then reformed on the back of the album being picked up by Ruby Records, a subsidiary of Slash Records, the subsequent tour of that album, and the final indignity of losing out to a lame band at the BAMMYs, the Bay Area Music Magazine’s annual award ceremony. This after being dropped by the label and the band having disintegrated, again.

I’m a Johnny-come-lately to the SBJ party. Another one that had passed me by. Not that I or anyone could be blamed for missing out on these guys. If you were not around the Bay Area scene at the time or hadn’t gone to one of the shows on that tour they did to support the album, you wouldn’t have heard about them until years later when people started to look back and document those years. Certainly, the album art for the Ruby Records release doesn’t leap out and catch the eye, in my opinion. It’s another cartoon drawing, but of a boy and a girl dancing this time. They probably feared a lawsuit or something if they had used the Fred Basset hound cover, but it’s way cooler looking.

As for the tunes? Pop punk perfection. No deep poetry here or political commentary. It’s songs about girls and love, with only one coming in anywhere close to the three-minute mark. Hard to pick a favorite, but I like Gotta Get A Girl and She’s From Salinas and The Way She Gets Around. They’re all good, though. A fun and highly recommended listen.

Apparently, the deluxe edition of the reissue came with a bonus 7” which featured recordings from their very first show where they were getting heckled by some sections of the audience despite most of the crowd having a good time. I’ll have to look out for that. Probably be just as difficult to spot as that Ruby Records pressing of the album from 1989. I don’t recall seeing one of those, and a quick look online suggests it will continue to be tough. And expensive. Glad I snagged this repress.

Okay, well thanks for taking the time to read, and if like me you needed something to blow the depressive cobwebs out of your head and give you a blast of something fun, go give It’s A Girl a spin. Click here for a link.

Cheers – Dom

Hey! What’s up Sorry Staters? To use the cliché phrase, it’s been a rollercoaster of a few days, but that doesn’t match the lows and highs of emotions running through Sorry State Towers. I’ll leave Daniel to tell that tale in his own time. Suffice to say, it’s been a week. And Mo Salah is leaving Liverpool. Too much to handle at once. With that in mind, it has been difficult (for me) to think straight, let alone write about a record in detail, but of course I’ve still been listening to stuff. However, this week it will have to be a short hello, this is cool, and goodbye from me.

I mentioned last week about seeking records with a bit more going on in the lyrics and attitude department. I’ve been needing music with some politics and protest in it. A compilation came through the store recently that I have been enjoying, and I would like to recommend it to you. It’s titled Who? What? Why? When? Where?

Released in 1984 on the Mortahate Records label, it’s an interesting collection of anarcho-punk bands, eighteen in all, from around the U.K. The label was set up and run by the band Conflict, and they head the collection with a track called Cruise, a song about the anti-cruise missile sentiment felt by many at the time. The rest of the album follows similar anti-government themes, along with animal rights issues and socialist causes. I recognized a few of the names of the other seventeen bands. Not exactly household names, a lot of them, but to you guys reading, you’ll know many of them. Poison Girls are on there for example. I’ve been digging them over the last few years since discovering their records. They have an interesting story and are worthy of investigation for those unaware. Check out their album Chappaquiddick Bridge from 1980 that was released on Crass Records.

If the mention of Crass Records catches your attention, then I think you’d be right at home with this compilation. It has a similar tone and vibe to the sort of compilations that Crass was releasing themselves. The couple of volumes of DIY and punk sounds that the label compiled from submissions from unsigned artists around the U.K. are worth seeking out. There’s plenty of gems on those. Isn’t that the great thing about compilations? Getting to hear and discover bands and artists that you might not have heard otherwise, and getting a kick-ass selection of tunes to play and enjoy. Finding original singles, if the tune even saw a proper release, can be tough and expensive, so having a reasonably priced comp is the way to go. This one has an inner sleeve with lyrics and art, plus some basic information about the bands and where they are from. The copy I have been playing is a bit of a beater, but plays just fine. A nice copy shouldn’t set you back too much though, depending on where you see one. It’s worth snagging if you are looking to expand your knowledge on the anarcho scene from the period and are looking for tunes you might not be familiar with. Click the link here for a listen.

Okay, that’s all I got for you right now. Thank you for reading and for all your continued support. We love you guys and love hooking you up with good shit. May that continue for many more years.

Cheers – Dom

Greetings friends. Big thank you as always for taking the time to read our newsletter. Daniel works so hard each time putting this together and it’s gratifying that you guys read it and especially cool when we receive your enthusiastic thumbs up over anything that we have talked about. We’re all music evangelists here at Sorry State, just trying to pass on good tips and steer you towards cool shit and also learn ourselves. I still have a hunger for new to me sounds and try to listen to something I haven’t heard every single day. Working at a dope record spot certainly helps in that pursuit. Being able to pass on that excitement and joy to people every day is truly gratifying. It sounds corny, but one of the best things about working here is when we can link someone up with a record that means a lot to them and that brings them joy. Whether it’s new or old music, an original pressing or a reissue, it is so cool to know that person’s day just got better because we had the record they had been looking for. Of course, equaling satisfying is turning someone on to a record that they hadn’t heard before or known about. Whether that’s from a conversation or from just having it playing on the turntable, it’s cool when it happens.

I still try to keep that fire of inquisitiveness burning inside me, even as I approach official old git status. Since working here at Sorry State, my musical horizons have greatly expanded. I’m continually being exposed to new music obviously, but also to so many old bands and records that I either missed completely or didn’t pay attention to much at the time. It’s been a great education to be honest. Always keep learning, kids. He’s a fool the fellow who reckons he knows everything or knows enough. To that point, my “pick” for you guys this go-around is the band The Proletariat, a Massachusetts punk band who were around during the first half of the 1980s.

Daniel, last week in the newsletter, had talked about his struggles with trying to find a record to play due to his mood, etc. I can relate to that. I find myself looking at my thousands of records some days and thinking nothing is speaking to me. I always figure it out and slap something on. For me, one reason why some music isn’t doing it for me currently is that it’s too poppy or lighthearted and not speaking to the times. With so much heavy shit going on in the world and especially here in America under the current junta, I’ve been feeling the need for music with a bit more going on lyric-wise. Protest music, hip-hop, and punk have been getting more turntable time of late. Anything really that has some bite in the lyrics and some sort of political edge. Hopefully it goes without saying, but the political messages I seek are of the left, socialistic, democratic and progressive nature and not the neo-Nazi claptrap of the Christian Right and the rest of the knuckle dragging neanderthals that inhabit that end of the spectrum. Anyway, a few weeks back here at the store, we received an order from one of our distros and included was a repress of the first record by The Proletariat called Soma Holiday, originally released in 1983 on Radiobeat Records. I think Jeff and I played it as I wasn’t familiar. I liked it immediately.

The band is thrown into the whole Boston punk and hardcore scene from that period and is known by most because of their inclusion on the classic compilation album, This Is Boston, Not L.A. They also appear on the follow-up EP, Unsafe At Any Speed, which was released later that same year in 1982. Their name recognition was given a further boost that year when they were finalists at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble, a battle of the bands competition hosted by Boston radio station WBCN. Although not exactly a hardcore punk band, their music was more post-punk in sound and had more in common with the groups coming out of the U.K. at the time. They claim not to have been influenced by the likes of The Fall, Gang Of Four, Crass etc., but they share similar aesthetics. The Marxist leaning political lyrics, the steady, militaristic-like drumming that’s almost danceable juxtaposed with angular, biting guitar strokes. It’s all there.

I was going to buy the reissue, but it sold out quickly here with us. You guys already know what’s up. Then, a short while later, a used collection came our way and, lo-and-behold, an original copy of Soma Holiday was in there. A nice one too, with the printed inner. Apparently, on the very, very first release, the record jacket did not have the song titles on the rear. That was possibly a mistake, as the track listing was added to future copies. I’m unsure whether they just switched jackets and the actual vinyl is the same or whether there was another pressing. It looks like the same. So, maybe not a true original copy but it will do for me. Daniel told me he preferred the band’s second record, Indifference, released on Homestead Records that came out a couple of years after the first. It is similar in vibe to the first and was recorded at Radiobeat studios again and with the same producers as the first album. However, that year of recording, 1984, saw the end of the band’s first lineup. Frontman Richard Brown quit, as did drummer Tom McKnight. The band continued with Laurel Bowman on vocals and Steve Welch on drums, and their contribution is heard on a couple of songs on the finished album. Certainly, the addition of the female voice adds another element to the group’s sound. This new lineup didn’t last long. They played a couple of gigs in 1985, and that was it. The album was received favorably by critics at the time and was given a boost by having Roger Miller from Mission of Burma playing piano on an updated version of the song An Uneasy Peace. The earlier version of that song had been included on another compilation album called the International P.E.A.C.E. Benefit Compilation.

I am not sure yet whether I agree with Daniel about preferring the second album over the first. I need to listen to them both a few more times, but at this point in time I am enjoying Soma Holiday perhaps just a tad more than Indifference. The jacket art is more interesting on the second I will say. There’s not a lot about the first one to give you much of a clue as to what to expect, other than the song titles themselves. Perhaps the reason they were added to the back jacket after that very first pressing? They are both good records, though, and worthy of your investigation if you are not already aware. Like I said, I’m a Johnny-come-lately to the party, and no doubt many of you reading already have these records. Still, for those of you like me, finding out about them for the first time, who are needing some weight in their music lyric-wise, these are good ones to check out. I mentioned I had been on a Clash kick recently, and you can hear their influence on The Proletariat. That’s a good thing. The band do cite The Clash as a group that informed them both musically and politically, and I like that they took that baton and brought that modus operandi into what they were doing.

Okay, back to work. I’m neck-deep in used records that need pricing and cleaning. Lots of classic rock-type stuff that will hit the floor in due course. Our locals know the scoop. We do our best to make the staples available at reasonable prices. We’re not looking to shake you down on a Doobie Brothers record, but we might want good money for an OG Nervous Breakdown. There’s plenty of quality records here from a dollar to a grand. We cater to all budgets. As you know, high price doesn’t always equal high quality, but good taste is free, and if you have that and $5 in your pocket, you’ll find something to enjoy.

Cheers – Dom

What’s up everybody? How are you doing out there? Are you surviving? We hope so. It’s nothing but a shit show out there currently in so many ways that we are all affected no matter where we live. Life is changing rapidly and doesn’t look like it’s slowing down on the current trajectory. Every day we seem to be assaulted with more bad news and gloom. It’s hard to keep up or keep sane on current affairs. I know my head is a mess with trying to comprehend the full scope of things. Added to my confused state of mind was our time change this weekend to summertime. I don’t know why that always fucks me up, but it does. My weekend was further enhanced by a bout of food poisoning that had me jumping out of bed in the early hours to throw up. I am not sure what caused it as I hadn’t overindulged in anything or eaten something that I haven’t had before. Not fun. But you are not reading our newsletter for tales of upset stomachs, and I only mention it to give you an idea of my mental state as I talk about the record I have been listening to this weekend.

Recently in the store we had a used copy of an EP by the English group Ride. It was one from 2018, released a year or so into the band’s reformation. It wasn’t bad, and I enjoyed a couple of tracks when Jeff and I played it in the store. I’ll be honest, as much as I love Ride, I hadn’t really paid too much attention to the records they have made since reforming. I recall buying the first of the reunion albums, called Weather Diaries, and not really connecting with it and thus stopped paying attention. A few years back they played a tour, and I didn’t get to go when they stopped off in our area. Perhaps if I had gone, I would have heard those songs live and had a better feel for them, and would have also had their subsequent two albums on my radar. That was not the case, however. Over the past ten years since reforming, the group has released three studio albums and a further two of remixes of the first album Weather Diaries and the second, This Is Not a Safe Place. Their third during this second phase of the band was released in 2024 and is titled Interplay.

I noticed our distributor had a few copies left of the two most recent records and so I ordered myself a copy of each. My first impressions of This Is Not A Safe Place were that some of the production and style were not for me and that it left me disappointed. I’m not expecting the band to sound like they did on their early EPs or on their first couple of albums when they were the poster boys of Shoegaze. I’m not even expecting them to sound like the sixties psych-influenced band they were in the second half of their initial existence. I’ll need to play this one a couple more times to get a proper feel. I certainly heard tracks and moments that I liked, but also moments that I didn’t.

One can’t expect a group to keep playing the same thing repeatedly and releasing similar-sounding records over and over again. Although some do. I respect and enjoy when artists don’t play for the crowds and follow their own path and make whatever the hell sounding records they want. In Ride’s case, there are more current Shoegaze bands who sound more like classic Ride than they do themselves, and so I can see why they don’t feel a need to revisit their past.

However, I enjoyed the album they released in 2024 called Interplay. This one was recorded during the pandemic lockdown and with a different producer. I think that the mood of the world was obviously in a very different place back then, and the songs came out informed by that state of mind we were in during that unique moment in recent history. Now, with the world in a new kind of turmoil, those songs still seem to capture moods we are currently feeling. At least, I think so. The funny thing about this record is that the group has dialed back some of the “modern” production styles of the previous two, but has still made an album that sounds more like 80s New Order than 90s Ride. Perhaps not on every song, but there were a couple where I found myself thinking about the Manchester band. Admittedly, I have been playing some New Order recently. We’ve had some of their records come through the store of late, so perhaps that’s why I readily heard the similarities. In my book, sounding like New Order isn’t a bad thing, but many have tried and haven’t been able to pull it off. Not that I think Ride was trying to.

On other songs, the band sounds more like Ride of old, and I particularly liked the song Last Night I Went Somewhere To Dream and the song that ends the album, Yesterday Is Just A Song. Those are the two that I connected with and made me glad I bought the record. The album opener, titled Peace Sign, might not have the best title and might be a bit predictable lyrics-wise, but is still a nice pop song. Possibly a little stylized for my taste, but I’ll make exceptions for artists I like. Several of my favorite bands from the 80s and 90s like Jesus And Mary Chain, Cast, and Kula Shaker to name three, have put out records in the last few years, and for the most part they have all been good and offered up some interesting and enjoyable new music. I’d say that is the case for Ride. Not reinventing the wheel, not jumping on new bandwagons, not resting on their previous laurels, but just getting on with being a band and making music that makes sense to them. In that regard, you must applaud them.

So, if you are familiar with the band and haven’t heard these newer records, I would encourage you to check them out. I don’t think you need to be a fan to enjoy them necessarily, if you have an ear for more modern pop-sounding music. I think you might be disappointed, though, if you were expecting to hear the sonic palette of Nowhere or Going Blank Again, their first two albums. There are traces of those classics for sure, but those days are several decades in the past for Ride. I was there for the first time around, and it’s been fun reconnecting with them again in 2026. If not a bit late.

Okay, that’s all from me this week. Not all that I am listening to by a long chalk. I just got my copy of the new Station Model Violence for instance. Did you get yours yet? This is going to see some turntable action chez-moi for sure. In between the disco 12” s, Latin, Jazz, Reggae, Soul, Funk, Psych, Punk and Hip-Hop records that are always fighting for needle time. Music, it’s the best, right? Cheers and see you next time - Dom

Hey there Sorry Staters! Thanks for giving the newsletter a read. Is everyone tuning in to see what photo wizardry Jeff will be up to next? Wait until he masters AI. Seriously though, I hope you enjoy reading his entries here in the newsletter as much as we all do. He articulated well the buzz many of us here have been getting from those two Eppu Normaali records and from the Modem album he talked about the week before. A lot of love for our Finnish friends, but we would be remiss not to mention how much we loved Fatamorgana from Spain too. Their record Ahora Aquí Todavía No that came out a few years ago was a Sorry State favorite. They are currently doing well with their full band Belgrado and just released a new album. Perhaps you already picked it up, but if not, go check it out.

Looks like you guys picked up copies of the Institute 7”, however. We sold out of the blue quickly and are getting through the black vinyl as I type. I stupidly missed out on snagging a blue copy, but have been jamming the black. Turns out the songs sound the same. I really like the B-side tune, Why Are These Men Still Alive? Good question. Nice job, fellows.

For my “pick” this week I wanted to share something for the reggae and dub heads who might be reading. I imagine there are a few of you. This is one that was released in 2024 that I discovered last year. Linval Thompson / Roberto Sanchez ‎– Linval Thompson Meets Roberto Sánchez At The Ark - Marijuana Sessions In Dub.

Basically, the story here is that legendary Jamaican reggae artist Linval Thompson linked up with contemporary Spanish producer and musician Roberto Sanchez, who runs his Ark studios in Spain. Thompson provided original four-track stems taken from the Channel One recordings from back in the day to Sanchez, who could then mix them and create new but authentic-sounding dubs. This album features dubs of songs from Thompson’s classic album I Love Marijuana and a few others from the same period. They sound great.

The liner notes get into all the technical details around the recordings and provide some great insight into how some of the classic reggae records from the late 1970s and early 1980s were recorded at Channel One studios and then sent to King Tubby’s for mixing. I won’t get too deep into the weeds with that here, but it should interest fans and those into recording engineering. Thompson has been good about keeping his music safe throughout the years, but unfortunately even carefully stored tapes can eventually erode, and unless saved through a baking process, the music contained can be lost forever. Through his partnership with Sanchez, a lot of his music has been saved for future generations to enjoy. The two met back in 2009 when Sanchez’s band, Lone Ark Riddim Force, backed Thompson on show dates in France, Portugal and Spain. The tour went well, and the artists got along. However, Sanchez had to tell Thompson that the band did not get paid by the promoter. He also took the opportunity to tell him about his studio in Spain and to show him some of the work he had done there. Realizing that the studio had the right vibe, setup and people, Thompson felt secure and confident to work with Sanchez, and after a couple of years began sending him files with original material recorded back in the golden days at Channel One. It’s this relationship that led to the creation of this album of dubs for the I Love Marijuana tunes and others. Staying faithful to the old methods, using analog delays, spring reverbs and the classic Altec low-pass filter, Sanchez has produced an authentic and crucial dub set that should please hard-core dub heads and newcomers alike, whether you love marijuana or not. It does give you a deep meditation.

Okay, cheers and spark it, if you got it. See you next time.

-Dom

This is a public service announcement!

Help make sense of this crazy world by listening to The Clash.

That’s what a lot of us have done for the past fifty years and it’s done us well, I think. Their music was always asking questions and giving you homework to do, but rewarded the listener for paying attention and doing a little bit of research with killer tunes, riffs and hooks. Politics and having a good time can exist together. I was just a kid when they were around, but liked them and bought a few of their records with my paper round money at the time. As the years have gone by, I have steadily grown a huge love and appreciation for them, and I am sure that’s a shared sentiment with many of you reading. One record though that can sometimes even divide fans of the band is their fourth album, Sandinista, released just before Christmas 1980.

The typical complaint being that the three-disc album is too long, blah, blah, blah. Or that it switches style too much and tackles too many genres. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it all before. For most other people, and indeed critics at the time, this eclectic mix of rock, dub reggae, hip-hop and funk was fantastic and highly enjoyable. Sure, it’s a long album, but it plays like you have a cool radio station on or like a curated mixtape given to you by a friend. I love the switches of style and blends of sounds. Bottom line, it’s a great fuckin’ record and doesn’t need me to defend it.

I bought a copy sometime in the mid 80s and mine came with the two zine/newspaper inserts, which are cool and have shots of the band and cartoons and lyrics, etc. I had to buy a CD copy during my travels in the late 80s and 90s, but one way or another it’s been an album that I have never gone without. More recently, with the world situation looming darkly over all of us, I have found myself returning to the record frequently, and it’s never far from the turntable. Sometimes I’ll play the whole thing if I have time, but often I’ll just throw on a side or two and vibe off those tracks. There is a US promo out there that was released at the time that condensed the 36 tracks down to 12 on one LP, and there is an argument that could be a “perfect” version. I have a copy and we had one or two come through Sorry State some time ago.

As a DJ in later years, I regularly included Clash tunes in my sets. The dub and funk they were exploring sound great (especially on some of the 12” singles) and are just as impactful and powerful now. Throw on The Magnificent Seven and/or its dub version, The Magnificent Dance, and watch how the people smile. The song The Call Up is another one that had a profound effect on me as a kid. I had briefly flirted with the idea of a military career, but the impact of the Falklands war, Northern Ireland, and my continued education from music and football quickly put an end to that idea and that song was one that earwormed me at just the right time.

I don’t need to say anything more, really. This was just a, “what am I listening to?” segment of the newsletter this time around. The Clash rule, and that’s a fact.

However, if you haven’t given Sandinista a listen recently, stick it on. It sounds as fresh as the day it was released.

That’s all from me. Cheers - Dom

Hey there everyone reading! Thanks for giving us your time again this week. As well as can be expected in the world today, how are you doing? Here in the southern part of the United States, we have come out from the other side of our winter storm conditions and as I write, we are back to spring-like weather today. I’ll take it. Enough of the weather and on with the music.

As a lover of so many different musical styles and forms, I never struggle to find something to listen to, but it seems in the last few weeks I have been hit by a tsunami of cool new to me records and new releases. There’s a healthy stack of vinyl in the listening queue at home and at the store I am doing my best to catch up on a ton more. It’s hard to know where to begin.

I’ll quickly mention some records that deserve your attention and that I believe Daniel and maybe Jeff will talk about elsewhere in the newsletter or that we have had in the store. Some may be sold out currently, but we’ll get ‘em back.

The new album from our cool Finnish friends Modem is out. It’s called Interface. If you liked their previous album and love 80s synth-pop and the like, then you’ll love this new one. We were lucky to hear some of these new tunes when the guys visited the States last year and played here in Raleigh. Great stuff.

Staying in Finland, the two albums from Eppu Normaali that Svart Records have beautifully reissued, are amazing. I bought my copies out of the box despite never having heard of them or their music. I was blown away. I’m sure Daniel will describe these albums in a way that will be way more learned and articulate than I can muster, but my first impression on hearing the records was that they sounded like a mix of Doctor Feelgood and Buzzcocks, fronted by a Welshman. I didn’t understand what the lyrics were saying, but I could feel the music. Good times 70s power pop punk with r&b and rock ‘n’ roll roots. Check them out.

Daniel mentioned that we have been trying to beef up our international sections and bring in other interesting rock, pop and soul titles whenever we can find them at a good price for you guys. It’s not as easy as you’d think. There are a lot of reissues and compilation series out there. Some are better than others, and some just end up being too expensive. One series of compilations that never disappoints and is always value for money are those released by Soul Jazz Records. Their latest selection of Cumbia and Latin music originally released on the Fuentes label in the latter half of the last century is pure fire. If you have tried finding original Cumbia and related singles and LPs, you’ll know it is not easy or cheap. You’ll probably be familiar with the Fuentes label and know that it’s a mark of quality similar to what Blue Note is to jazz. Watch out for this one when we restock it.

Another sold-out item that hopefully we’ll restock is the Adverts 45 that featured earlier versions of We Who Wait b/w New Boys, that had remained unissued until being specially remastered for this new 7”. They did a great job; the music sounds awesome, and they come in different random colors matching the sleeves that are inspired by the original single release.

If anyone was inspired to check out the band Dry Cleaning that I mentioned recently and ended up liking them, you might want to investigate their earlier records. 4AD have just reissued their first album and put together a compilation of their EPs which I would thoroughly recommend. They’re not for everyone, I get that, but the deadpan delivery and clever wordsmithery is hitting me in the right spot.

We are always out there trying to buy good record collections, and you our customers tend to bring us the best stuff. It’s a good setup. We sell you cool shit; you sell us cool shit, and someone else buys your cool shit. The music lives on and gets to bring joy or whatever other emotion you look for in music to another person. One recent collection buy brought in a slew of cool records that our local customers have been snapping up. There’s still lots of them left, btw. I did have to do the uncool record store clerk thing and snag a couple. I know, I’m sorry. I feel bad about even talking about it. LoL. Hey, we sacrifice a lot for rock ‘n roll and deserve a few perks. So yeah, I grabbed two records by the Dischord-related band Gray Matter.

Gray Matter was a DC-based band together for a few years in the early to mid-1980s. They formed in ’83, split in ’86 and then reformed in 1990 and lasted another three years. Their first record was the full-length called Food For Thought and it came out in 1985. Originally on the R&B label and recorded at Inner Ear Studios. It’s a fab blast of DC post punk-ish music with a touch of late sixties influence perhaps. It was still the 80s, so bands like MC5 and Stooges were just as much an influence as later 70s punk music. Maybe I get the MC5 thing from the back cover of the album, where one of the guys is wrapped in the stars ‘n bars. The sixties influence is confirmed though by the last track on the record, a cover of I Am The Walrus. Say what you want about The Beatles, but Walrus is a brilliant song. When Oasis started out, they would end their live sets with a version too. Both bands tackle the song well. My favorite track so far on the album is Caffeine Blues. It rips.

In 1986, the band released an EP titled Take It Back. Again, recorded at Inner Ear, but this time released on Dischord itself. This 12” is killer. I’ve been blasting it repeatedly. Six tunes, with Burn No Bridges being a particular banger of a song. Thanks to our Jeff here at Sorry State for pointing me towards this one. I was looking through the records from the collection that Jeff had priced and saw the Gray Matter album. I mentioned that Danny and I had just been playing a reissue we had in the store the other day and that how much I liked it. Jeff, rightly, said that I needed the EP just as much. How right he is. I’ve lost count of how many amazing records and bands he has steered me towards. The man knows his records.

I can’t really say much more about the band that can’t be found on the internet and that you hip guys don’t already know, and I certainly don’t want to sound like a poser and come off like I know all about them. All I know is that I trust my ears, and when I hear cool shit, I want it in my life. Btw, the copy I snagged was the first Dischord reissue and not the first press on R & B, so nerds can untwist their panties, and the EP did not have the insert. So basically, almost suckers’ copies. LoL. Jeff said he’d photocopy his insert for me, though.

Thanks for your attention and reading. Perhaps there’s something I mentioned that you’ll enjoy. Cheers to my buddy John Scott, who is out this week on Billy Strings duty in Asheville. I’ve been watching along on Nugs but haven’t spotted him in the crowd yet.

Cheers and catch up with you next time - Dom

2025? Did that happen? It sure did and now we are a month deep into 2026. Time for the mandatory look back on the year past and to pick out a few of our highlights.

I think I can speak for everyone here by saying that this hasn’t been an easy task this year. I am struggling to find positives in a long year of horrors. However, as the saying goes, life goes on, and there were still a lot of cool and interesting things happening in the world of music and the arts in general. I’m going to stick to the music for my best of the year round up. To make things simpler, I divided my list into a few categories. I’ll give you my top pick and one or two notable runners up. As with any of these types of things, it’s all subjective. I know I have forgotten loads. In fact, whilst looking over releases for the year I found several albums by artists that I like that I had not even known about. Shame on me. And I work in a record store. LoL. Just shows that no matter what you know, there is still way more that you don’t.

Favorite New Artist

The Cords: S/T LP – There comes a time when you must let the younger generation just get on with it, but it is always nice when a record comes out that has cross-generational appeal. The Cords are a couple of young ladies from Scotland who have made an enjoyable pop record. On Slumberland Records, which has a whole roster of bands in love with the sound of UK DIY and C86.

Honorable mentions:

Annie Achron: Never Paradise LP. Cool synth-pop.

K9: Thrills LP. Post Punk, jangly, lo-fi from Richmond.

Autocamper: What Do You Do All Day LP. More C86 and 80’s Scottish pop inspired indie from Manchester.

Puppet Wipes: Live Inside. LP. Lo-fi post punk from Canada.

Added Dimensions: Jane From Preoccupied Europe LP. More cool lo-fi indie post-punk from Richmond.

Favorite New Record from an established artist

Pulp: More LP. Sheffield’s finest (there’s stiff competition for that title) return after twenty-four years since their last studio album with a banger. Touring and playing shows like it’s 1995 all over again. Jarvis for president/prime minister.

Honorable mentions:

The Lemonheads: Love Chant LP. Everyone’s favorite rogue pop star Evan Dando returns with his Lemonheads and a new album. Like hearing from an old friend after many years.

The Liminanas: Faded LP. The French psych duo return with a great record aided by some friends, including Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream.

Gruff Rhys: Dim Probs LP. Welsh hero and Super Furry Animal main man delivers another fine solo album. Clever, witty pop of the highest order.

Lady Wray: Cover Girl LP. Her third album and another produced by Leon Michels for Big Crown Records. Great mix of retro-inspired soul and R & B with modern pop and hip-hop influences.

Stereolab: Instant Holograms On Metal Film LP. Another fine return from a group that has been out of the spotlight for some time. The ‘Lab came out with an album that sounds just like vintage Stereolab from the 1990s. Really good. John Scott went to see them when they came to North Carolina and said they were ace.

Best single.

Psychoactive: S/T 7”. L.A. punk featuring members of Rough Kids, who Sorry State released records by. Two blistering, classic old school punk blasts. Limited single, but there was a second pressing. Get one.

Best cassette tape.

The Ancient Pulse: S/T Totally brilliant horror soundtrack-inspired music. If you dig John Carpenter, then you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this cassette. For added authenticity, the same keyboard used by Carpenter was utilized for these recordings. Up there for release of the year in my opinion. I had this on repeat over the Halloween period.

Honorable mention:

Canned Snakes: Live At Budgetcan. Local supergroup of sorts casually releases a cool tape. Hard to put a tag on it, genre wise. Indie/post punk/rock? I don’t know. We liked it around here.

Best compilation.

All The Young Droids LP. Terrific compilation of synth-pop and post-punk, mostly from the U.K. and released between 1978-1985. A well put together comp with great liner notes and information. You’ll discover a lot of new favorites on this one. Highly recommended.

Honorable mentions:

Chiswick Records 1975-1982 Seven Years At 45 RPM LP. Nicely put together collection of punk, pub rock and pop singles from the great Chiswick Records label.

Secret Superstar Sounds LP. Cool compilation from the folks at Soul Jazz Records concentrating on more obscure British DIY, punk, power pop and new wave singles released between 1977 and 1980.

Best Live Album.

Johnny Marr: Look Out Live! LP. The coolest guitar slinger out there gave fans another fun live album taken from his more recent solo career outings, but with some Smiths songs for good measure. Highlight of the autumn, if not the year, was travelling to Norfolk, Virginia to catch the man play live. He did not disappoint. An absolute legend and so cool and friendly.

Reissues and rarities from older artists.

Dennis Bovell: Sufferer Sounds LP. Top-notch U.K. reggae and dub from the late 1970’s. A brilliant-sounding collection of prime-period productions from Dennis Bovell. A must-have for dub fans.

Sister Nancy: One, Two LP. Reissued for Record Store Day, this is the much in demand reggae album that includes the classic Bam Bam. Always tough to find, so nice to have available again.

Vince Guaraldi: You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown OST LP. We’ve been loving the Charlie Brown TV special soundtracks that have been getting released recently. All filled with cool, mostly unheard music from the great Vince Guaraldi. This one was released as a zoetrope record, so you get to see Lucy pulling the ball away from Charlie Brown and other animations as your record spins. Nice.

Longineu Parsons: S/T LP. Rare and hard to find funky and righteous jazz originally released in 1980 and never fully reissued until now. Another good Record Store Day release.

Best used record score.

Eugene McDaniels: Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse LP. Saving the best and most special one to the end. I have known about this jazz grail for decades and have had a reissue LP and CD to keep me satisfied over the years, but finding an original copy in the wild has proved tough. In the stores that I have worked at, it has come in once or twice and I have seen it for sale at record shows, but either the price or the condition wasn’t right. Finally, in 2025, a beautiful copy still in the shrink with the lyric sheet came into my possession. How, you ask? Well, whilst rummaging through one of our dusty storage lockers looking at mostly junk records, Daniel found this one and a few other decent titles that we could easily sell at the shop. When he saw how hyped I was over the Headless Heroes record, he simply gave it to me. Wow! Amazing. That’s the sort of thing our Doctor D does. He is the best boss, the best friend and best person ever. If you aren’t familiar with this record, do yourself a favor and go check it out. You’ll recognize some of the sounds, as they were sampled by, among others, A Tribe Called Quest. Total banger of a record and just as meaningful and relevant now as it was fifty years or so ago. Thank you, Daniel.

Okay, that’s a small sampling of highlights of the year for me. Loads missing and still more I need to hear and catch up on. Fun homework.

Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting our store, thanks for ordering from us and thank you to all the artists and bands that made all this fantastic music for us to love and enjoy. 2026 might well be a shit show in the making, but let’s hope we’ll all be here this time next year to review the top sounds and good things that happen this year. Fuck you know who.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up everybody? Thanks for clicking on our newsletter this week.

Well, I don’t think you needed to be Nostradamus to predict that this year would not be a great one, but who had America starting a war with our NATO allies on their bingo card? Crazy, man. So, with the threat of WW3 and the collapse of the world order imminent let’s talk about music. Yeah!

January has been dubbed a month to appreciate all things jazz music by the internet, and indeed the radio station that I am on, The Face Radio, has been celebrating “Jazzuary“ as much as possible. I’ve certainly had fun spinning jazz records on air this month and thought I probably should pick one for y’all here. However, with the way of the world and my mood, it couldn’t be too straight. Therefore, my recommendation for you this week is to listen to Gil Scott-Heron’s 1981 album on Arista called Reflections. Yes, I know the 80s aren’t considered prime jazz years, but GSH was still pumping out bangers, and this record, although concentrating on the political situation of the Reagan era and before, is just as relevant today as then. Perhaps even more so, considering our current situation. We all need the righteous poetry and words of GSH spoken over good music. Don’t we?

Gil does more than just provide the words and voice for the record, though. He plays a variety of instruments, keyboards, and horns across the album. He’s assisted by a strong band, including Kenny Powell on drums to name one musician, and fine background vocals from the Waters family. Should those names mean anything to you.

The songs are all fire, although for me, perhaps the weakest is the opening song called Storm Music. The words and meaning of the song are fine, but the music is a sort of reggae-inspired groove everyone had to inject into their music back then. Bob Marley, Jamaica, and reggae music were boss then, and everyone had to have a reggae song on their record, even GSH. Not that the song is full-on reggae or that bad, just not the strongest start to the album in my humble opinion. However, I would never dream of criticizing a legend, and when you listen to the lyrics, it makes sense why an element of reggae and World music would be in the song. The side continues with a Bill Withers song and one that literally asks, Is That Jazz Music?

The real heat on the record comes on the second side. Beginning with an updated cover of the Marvin Gaye classic Inner City Blues, which is great, and then followed by a song titled Gun, the message is clear, and sadly still applies to today as much as it did then. The masterpiece of the album, though, is the closing cut, “B” Movie, a twelve plus minute monster of a groove and spot-on commentary from GSH. It’s a must-listen-to song. The other week whilst on our radio show Worldy, my partner Matt played it, and it went down very well with the listeners. His version was taken from an Underworld compiled compilation for the Back To Mine series. Apparently they sourced an even longer version of the song than the album version with more music at the end of the track. They might have given the song a little sonic polish also, as it sounded great. Either way, the power of the song still comes across. I am curious to get hold of the 12” single version at some point, though. I’m not entirely sure where the Underworld boys got their version from, but it is out there. Maybe on a UK-only 12”? Answers on a postcard, please. Regardless, it’s the words and the message of the song that count, and GSH delivers one of his best with “B” Movie. Go check it out here. Cool album cover art too, with Gil’s sunglasses reflection showing us different aspects of life in America.

Okay, that’s all I have for you. Thanks for reading and supporting us.

Cheers - Dom