Staff Picks

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Like seriously, what the fuck is up? How long has it been? Weeks? Months?? I feel absolutely certain it’s been at least a few months. In part, because I’ve been outta town so much lately. I’ve been on a whirlwind of an adventure over the last several weeks, lemme tell ya. Firstly, flying with Usman and Daniel to Sweden for our friend’s wedding. Then I came back to the US so Public Acid could haul our asses up to New York in order to play at the Bowery Ballroom with Warthog. THEN, I hopped back on a plane to fly to Copenhagen for K-town Hardcore Fest. Psychotic behavior. And guess what? In less than 2 weeks, Public Acid and Invertebrates are hitting the road together for a full US tour. So we’ll catch up in August. Can you believe it? Jah, give me strength. I ain’t complaining, though. It’s all good things. These commitments require just denying myself rest or proper time at Sorry State.

While I was at K-Town, I was happy to see my friends from Croatia. Indikator B totally ripped. I kept running into the dynamic duo of Carlo and Ticija quite a few times throughout the fest. If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting this pair, you’ll know they’re both hardcore punk record maniacs, just like me. It was funny sitting next to them while watching a showing of the Anti-Cimex documentary, and us all having the same nerdy reactions to moments onscreen. While I was hanging out with them, they were singing the praises of the latest release on Autsajder Produkcija, which is the new 7” by Ljubljana punk band Poguba entitled Noč.

Daniel told me that he thought he remembered me doing a write-up for the newsletter about Poguba’s previous cassette. Now, perhaps my mind is failing me in my old age, but I have no memory of this haha. I even went back and searched the newsletter archive and could not find anything. But if I’m totally wrong and am just having a brain fart, someone please send it my way! I’d love to know what I wrote lol.

Unsurprisingly, I love this new Poguba record. First impressions, the recording sounds incredible. The thick, blown-out, super fuzzy guitars sound so fucked up and powerful. The texture of the guitar tone tickles my ear follicles. They sound raw and organically captured, completely undigital. Totally gross but still captured in a way that sounds sonically lush and huge. Pulsating and alive. The sleeve has a cool looking presentation as well. Stark black and white, using crosses as imagery. Midway between the visuals of Die Kreuzen and Eastern European punk… Coincidence? I would say no.

I think one comparison I would draw between Poguba and their peers Indikator B is that in the context of fast hardcore, it feels like the band puts effort into writing actual songs. I know that may sound like a silly concept, but this approach to creating hardcore music feels in short supply these days. They’re riff machines. Guitar parts and song structures strung together in a way that feels meaningful – the exact opposite of a mediocre collage of riffs just tossed against the wall. But to me, the sense of dread I draw from Poguba’s music feels much more unhinged than Indikator B. Like it’s exploding. The singer and the emotion of the music has a sense of desperation. There’s an inexplicable feeling of darkness just underneath the surface. But it ain’t gothic or post-punk… even if they do sneak in a cover of an early Cure song. Even so, it’s fucking hardcore, dude.

There’s a lot of kinda (for lack of a better term) “weird” moments on this record. The song “Maximum Rokenrol” has these jerky stops ‘n’ starts with kind of aloof, disinterested spoken vocals in between, only to then break into this slow, dirgey section. Makes me think of weird ass parts on a Barn Av Regnbuen record or something. I think it’s cool. Unique ideas like this stick with me, assuming I’m not totally turned off by them. I think more bands should venture outside the constraints of their genre-confining box. I’d rather hear raging hardcore with whacky moments than anymore fuckin’ “whoa-ohs,” that’s for damn sure.

I feel like a lot of current records coming out are boasted with descriptions comparing them to borderline buzzword-y, but admittedly super cool 80s hardcore records which I hold near ‘n’ dear to my heart. However, I often feel like these records sound nothing like the comparisons the writer of the review throws out there. Poguba does sound special in the same way a lot of these great records sound to me. Not so much because the recording sounds authentically “old” or whatever. It’s moreso that this record gives me the same FEELING that a great, classic 80s hardcore gives me. Mean, chaotic, noisy, powerful, memorable. Fucking killer.

Anyway, I’ll stop right there for now. Seems like we’ve already sold a few copies of this record. And that’s killer. Perhaps long gone are the days where people in the US sleep on an under the radar DIY hardcore release from Europe. It’s a beautiful thang. That said, if you haven’t checked out Poguba yet, I highly suggest you check it out.

That’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

Prisão photo by Piotr from Traume. If you’re trying to eavesdrop on K-Town, his Instagram (@xmoroccox) is the one to watch.

In my last staff pick I promised to write about this year’s K-Town Hardcore fest. Now that I’m home and the fest is a week and a half in the past, a minute-by-minute rundown feels superfluous, but I’ll try to hit the highlights. Before I get into the nitty gritty, I’ll give you my standard spiel about K-Town. All due respect to those of you who take on the monumental and thankless task of putting on a fest, but K-Town is my favorite fest in the world. First (and most importantly for me), they always book the sickest bands, and I can’t think of another current fest whose lineup fits so snugly with my personal taste. Second, I love everything about how the fest is run. K-Town is conceived and executed entirely by volunteers, and they are a truly radical organization that puts anarchist ideas and philosophies into practice without ignoring the realities of the world we live in. There are no sponsorships or other corporate BS, but the bands still get paid (and a bunch of money gets donated to important charitable causes) and there’s plenty of the stuff we all love like records and merch and booze. Everything runs like clockwork, and the organizers seem to have thought of everything in advance. The result is a great vibe for the entire weekend. I always say that K-Town is the best place to see a band. Between the great sound and the always-enthusiastic crowd, you’re all but guaranteed to be watching bands at their very best.

While a lot of people come to K-Town for the hangs and only watch a handful of sets, I’m a punk nerd at heart and usually try to watch as many bands as I can. In the past I’ve watched nearly every band, but this year I tried not to put too much pressure on myself to catch every single set. Watching so many bands is physically grueling, and there were lots of friends I wanted to catch up with, which is impossible to do when you’re crammed in a sweatbox with hundreds of other people while a hardcore band rages at maximum intensity and volume. So, sadly, I missed a lot of bands I would have liked to see, particularly during the day shows and earlier in the day on the main shows. I really wish I could tell you about seeing Status Symbol, White Collar, Phosphore, Surrogates, and the Social, but sadly I missed all these sets.

Friday was K-Town’s first and longest day, with Bootlicker kicking off the final set of the night at 1:45 AM, by which time I was hobbling around like the old man I am. They still ripped, though… the crowd went nuts and I was stoked to see them for the first time after missing their set at Skull Fest a few years ago. They also played three covers, which seems excessive on paper, but kept the rage-o-meter in the red. The Berserk was an early highlight. Even though they’re from Philadelphia, this was my first time seeing them, and despite the early hour they brought an unhinged energy and danger that stood out among the more polished bands that dominated this year’s bill. Strong Boys were another Friday highlight. I’ve liked their records, but their chunky, straightforward hardcore (which reminded me a lot of 86 Mentality) made the crowd go wild, and the band’s queer presentation undercut the macho vibes that can turn me off of tough-sounding hardcore. Prisão was my favorite band of the first day, though. I’d seen them play in Stockholm last year, but they were on fire at K-Town, their set a blur of bodies (primarily the singer Lucas’s) flying through the air. Every so often, I’m watching a band and realize they’re at the height of their powers, that they’re achieving a state of transcendence that is always fleeting, so you have to savor it whenever you encounter it. That’s how I felt watching Prisão’s set, and there’s no feeling like it in the world. Oh, and watch for their new 7” coming soon on Sorry State :)

Feeling physically wrecked from Friday’s marathon, I missed the matinee show and the first chunk of the main show on Saturday. After hearing so many Canadian friends talk about Siyahkal I made sure to catch their set, though, and it was heavy, intense, and memorable. After them was one of my must-sees for the fest, Sorry State’s own Psico Galera. They played a scorching set comprised (almost?) entirely of songs from their recently-released LP on Sorry State, and while I got the impression their strange and complex brand of hardcore went over some people’s heads, I thought they killed it. Every year I’ve gone to K-Town a couple of Sorry State bands have played, and when I watch them I always get this giddy feeling because we put out the best bands. Saturday ended with a mighty one-two punch with blazing sets from Hacker and Skitkids. I liked Hacker’s records, but they didn’t prepare me for how ferocious they were live, their singer a kinetic ball of venomous rage ping-ponging across the stage for the entire sweat-soaked set. And then Skitkids closed Saturday with a positively triumphant set. This was their first show in many years, and while I can be wary of reunion bands, I can’t imagine a single person walked away from Skitkids’ set disappointed. They were on fire, opening (and closing!) with their classic intro and blazing through a set that didn’t let up for a second. The band was super well-rehearsed, playing their dense and complex music with incredible precision and power while commanding the crowd like the veterans they are. My clothes were completely saturated with sweat by the time it was over, but it was the most fun I’ve had watching a band in some time.

Sunday is always a little more chill at K-town, since everyone is a bit tired by this point and the crowd thins out as people start making their way back home for work on Monday. However, for my money Sunday had the most jam-packed lineup of the fest’s three days. Sunday kicked off with a can’t miss block of four bands: Traumatizer, Indikator B, Tiikeri, and Ayucaba. Traumatizer was killer, one of those bands that’s just stupidly good at their instruments, and watching them I was amazed that a band this killer was playing first, but that’s a testament to how stacked today’s lineup was. Next up was Croatia’s Indikator B, and even though I saw them play in Raleigh just a few weeks ago, I was pumped to see them again. I haven’t stopped listening to their recent 7” since it came out, and their set was blistering. There are very few bands out there who sound as classic as Indikator B, and I noticed many of the big 80s hardcore nerds in attendance made it a point to watch their. After Indikator B was Tiikeri, and while their melodic sound was an outlier on the fest’s lineup, the band members are familiar faces from the hardcore scene and they play with the energy and intensity of a hardcore band. It’s funny, though, when I looked around me, the front of the stage was crowded with folks from the US, Canada, and the UK… is there something about Tiikeri that appeals particularly to the anglophone world? I couldn’t tell you… I just know I love ‘em. After that was Ayucaba, and there was a buzz in the air as people packed in the room while they set up; you could tell they were on a lot of people’s must-see lists. Their LP was one of my most listened-to records of last year, but they were a different beast live. They played super tight, but the live mix emphasized the bulldozing rhythm section over the hooky guitar leads that sat at the front of the LP’s mix. Also, their style was impeccable, which certainly added to the experience. And they ended their set with a scorching English Dogs cover from To the Ends of the Earth, one of my favorite records ever. Sadly, I missed the next couple of bands, but I made it back in for a wild closing set from hometown favorites JJ and the A’s. They handed out mojitos to the crowd, filled the room with inflatable pool toys, and brought out a big-ass cake, making for a wild party atmosphere. I hear they capped off their set with an Inepsy cover that made the punks go wild, but stupid me skipped out a few minutes early to beat the rush for fresh air.

So yeah, another K-Town in the books. Thank you so much to all the bands, friends, volunteers, and everyone else who made it such a great weekend. Hopefully I’ll see you all next year.

Last week I wrote my staff pick from Stockholm, and today’s comes from Athens, Greece. When I conceived this trip back in January I decided I would take a side trip on my own between my friend’s wedding and K-town, but I ended up waiting until the very last minute to plan this side trip. (Honestly, I was in such a bad place mental health-wise that I wasn’t sure if I was going to go on this trip at all.) I looked at a few different cities, but after searching for accommodation in Athens and realizing how much cheaper it would be to go here than any of the other cities I was looking at, I pulled the trigger. I’d never been to Athens and always wanted to go, and now seemed like the perfect time. It turned out to be a great choice.

Arriving in Athens directly from Stockholm, though, was a big culture shock. This wasn’t helped by my physical state when I landed. My flight left Stockholm at 6AM, which meant I needed to be at the airport by 4AM, which meant I needed to leave central Stockholm by 3:30AM. The day before leaving I still hadn’t really recovered from jet lag or adjusted to the crazy long days in Sweden, so my sleep schedule was all flipped around. I decided to take a short nap in the evening then stay up until it was time to leave at 3:30. I might have slept a few minutes on the plane, but when I touched down in Athens I definitely had that insane, I’ve-been-up-all-night feeling. I made my way from the airport to the train station without any problems, but I had a little freakout when I was trying to figure out which train to get on and the signs were only written in Greek script. I can’t remember if I was looking at Google Maps or something else, but all the names I had were in Roman script and bore little resemblance to what was on the signs. I figured it out eventually… not that it was hard, since there’s only one train from the airport and it goes directly to where I needed to go.

It really hit home how far I traveled when I popped out of the metro station at Monastiraki, which is the neighborhood where I’m staying. In Stockholm the weather was cool and damp and everything is clean, new, and precisely ordered and managed. Athens felt chaotic by comparison. The sun blasted me like a laser beam, the air was hot and dry, the cobblestone sidewalks and streets were full of missing bricks, there’s graffiti everywhere, all the signs are in that incomprehensible Greek script, and the streets were crowded with people, their boisterous chatting and occasional yelling a marked contrast to Sweden, where nearly every person seemed to be wearing airpods and walking determinedly in a single direction. This new environment was overwhelming, but not unwelcoming, and after making it to my room (where they kindly let me check in four hours early) and taking a short nap, I was ready to hit the town.

I typed “vegan” into google maps, decided on a place, and started walking. On my way to the restaurant, I turned a corner and unexpectedly caught my first view of the Acropolis, which hit me kind of hard. Even though I was famished, I had to stop for a minute, sit on a ledge, and just look at it. I’d see much better views of the Acropolis in the coming days, but in that moment it really struck me that I was looking at something two and a half thousand years old. After sitting with that feeling for a minute, I followed the directions to the restaurant and ate a vegan mushroom gyro that blew my mind. Even better, it only cost 5 euros and 90 cents. By the time I leave here, my body is going to be made of like 80% vegan gyro and souvlaki molecules.

I wrote in last week’s staff pick about how I like seeing major historical sights, and that’s mostly what I’ve done in Athens, alongside checking out record stores, eating, and trying to keep up with Sorry State work from my laptop. (I’m seven hours ahead of Raleigh time, and I’ve been spending most evenings working so I’ll have a little bit of overlap with the crew’s working hours back home.) As you might expect, the historical stuff is pretty mind-blowing. Early in my stay I took a day trip to Delphi and visited the Temple of Apollo there, which housed the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle of Delphi sounds like something from mythology, but it was a real thing, and for hundreds of years, throngs of people queued up there in the hopes of gaining some type of insight from the priestess who was said to communicate directly with Apollo. Another big one was seeing the Theatre of Dionysus on the southern slope of the Acropolis. While I’m a firm believer in the adage “there’s no first anything,” it was pretty amazing to see what might reasonably be called the world’s oldest theater, where the idea of theater itself was born (not a certain strain or genre or school of theater, but theater full stop). Yet another highlight was just this morning, when I visited the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture. The museum is packed with cool stuff, but my favorite was their collection of neolithic artifacts, which included pottery shards and flint tools from the early neolithic period, as far back as 6,500 B.C.E. At nearly ten thousand years old, one guidebook I read called these items the earliest human-made artifacts one is ever likely to see in their lifetime.

Looking at all this very old stuff, I’m struck both by how close and how far that history seems from here and now. On one hand I’m so physically close to these things that date back thousands of years, but on the other hand most of those artifacts really show their age. That’s particularly apparent at the Acropolis, where the site, the buildings, and the sculptures and artifacts that once populated it have all been ravaged by time, the weather, war, changes in culture, and everything else that has happened in the intervening two thousand-odd years. These are ruins, after all, and they’re pretty ruined. It’s kind of frustrating to go through the Acropolis museum, which collects all the artifacts from the Acropolis site (except, of course, for the very important ones that are controversially still on display at the British Museum), and look at what amounts to rubble. Yet I’m glad whoever manages these historical sites has largely resisted the temptation to build over them a Disneyland-like approximation of what we think things used to be like. I’m sure that’s a huge temptation, as the handful of artifacts that are super well-preserved are pretty amazing. In particular, I’m thinking of this life-size bronze sculpture of a charioteer in the museum at Delphi. Very few large bronze pieces survive from the classical period because they were almost all melted down and recycled (depressingly, I bet a lot of them ended up as weapons), but this sculpture (though missing an arm), is almost completely intact, right down to the eyelashes. That sculpture is so lifelike as to be uncanny, and, looking into its face, the two and a half thousand year gap felt bridged for just a moment.

This ain’t “Sorry State Art History,” though, so y’all are probably wondering about the record situation in Athens. As usual, I’ve tried to hit up as many shops as possible while I’m here, and there are a lot of record shops in Athens. As I mentioned last time, money is tight on this trip, and while I’ve left nearly every shop empty-handed, I still enjoy checking them out. Plus, even if you don’t buy anything, searching out record stores usually gets you to the cool, interesting parts of a city.

There are actually several shops in the touristy area of central Athens, though. Some of them are so niche that I wonder how they survive in what must be a very high-rent district. The most extreme example is a shop called Birdman Records, which has beautifully designed custom fixtures that look like they must have cost a fortune, but a total inventory of perhaps 300 LPs (which were, to me at least, totally unremarkable). Another notable shop was Record Club, a large basement-level shop with a stage that I imagine would be a pretty cool place to see a show. I was excited about this one because a photo on their Google business page featured one of my most wanted records, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Twice Upon a Time. The store did have a pretty good inventory with lots of rarities (though leaning more toward 45s from the 60s and 70s), but everything was consistently priced four times what I would expect to pay at a typical shop. I didn’t have much hope of the Siouxsie record still being there since the photo was taken a year ago, but I’m glad I didn’t have to make the decision about whether to pay what was, I’m sure, an eye-watering price.

The most interesting shops close to the city’s center are clustered in a covered shopping arcade near the Monstiraki metro station. Here I found a couple of shops that focused on used LPs. The best of them was called Zaharias Records CD. I asked pretty much every store I visited if they had any 80s Greek punk, and Zaharias was one of the few who could point me toward anything interesting. This shop is also where I bought my staff pick for this week:

Various: Συνταγή Αντί Θανάτου 12” (FM Records, 1986)

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve chosen a record I’ve never actually heard as my staff pick, since I won’t be able to listen to this until I get back home. I’m a novice when it comes to Greek punk, so before I got here I looked up as many discographies and articles about Greek punk records as I could find. I tried to absorb as many band names (which was tough because of my aforementioned unfamiliarity with Greek script) and cover images as I could. While I don’t recall coming across an image of this compilation, I recognized the band Clown’s name from a single they released in 1983. I haven’t heard that Clown single and I’ve never heard of any of the other bands on the compilation, but the cover art and 1986 date both seemed promising, so I pulled the trigger. Maybe I’ll make it my staff pick again after I actually listen to it and let y’all know what the bands sound like.

Most of Athens’ record stores—at least the most interesting ones—are in an area called Exarhia, which proves my point that seeking out record stores brings you to the most interesting parts of town. Vacant, derelict, and graffiti-covered buildings seem to be a staple of most parts of Athens, but when you enter Exarhia there’s a discernible vibe shift. Everything is way grungier and graffiti covers virtually every square inch of every building, dumpster, and anything else spray paint will stick to. Much of that graffiti features anarchist political messages and the bars and cafes are all a little seedier and more interesting-looking, making the whole neighborhood feel quite familiar if you’ve spent any time visiting European squats. Despite the numerous wheat-pasted posters telling tourists to fuck off, as a punk I felt like I found my place.

There are a ton of record stores in Exarhia, most of them small specialty shops that focus almost entirely on new releases. There are so many stores that they’re highly specialized: No Remorse, Disques Noir, Metal Era, Eat Metal, and Bowel of Noise are all metal-focused shops, with Eat Metal specializing in traditional heavy metal and power metal, Bowel of Noise focusing on death and black metal, etc. There are two punk shops, with Rhythm Records devoted largely to more ’77-influenced stuff (they were blasting Rancid when I dropped in) and Scarecrow Records catering to the crustier end of the spectrum. All of these shops had world-class selections of new releases and reissues within their given focus, making Athens an extremely well-served city for new vinyl.

Since we carry most of the new releases I’m interested in at Sorry State, when I’m traveling I’m usually after second-hand records. Aside from the shops I’ve already mentioned, Old School Records and Δισκάδικο (Diskadiko) Records both had solid selections and prices, but Art Rat Records was by far the best shop I visited. It’s a small shop with 60s and 70s music (mostly prog and psych) on the left side and new wave and punk on the right side. A quick glance at the wall told me I had found the spot for deep heads: on the new wave/punk side, I noticed a first pressing of the Times’ Pop Goes Art! with a hand-drawn cover, and on the left side I saw an original UK pressing of Pussy Plays. Price tags were on the back of the records, so you had to flip it over to see what they cost. I didn’t even bother flipping over that Pussy record.

I started flipping through the punk/new wave bins and the selection was pretty great, with a good mix of genre staples and more obscure, under-the-radar stuff, mostly from the US and UK, but plenty from western Europe as well. After a few minutes of browsing, all the other customers had left the store, so I decided to pop the question: “got any 80s Greek punk?” The guy said, “yeah, next door,” and he led me outside and unlocked the shop next door, which was an entire second record store packed to the gills with god-knows-what. He pointed at a shelf with about 100 LPs and said, “here’s the Greek stuff.” One of the first LPs I found was the one album I had most hoped to find on this trip. But we’ll have to cover that in a future staff pick…

Wow, I sure covered a lot of ground this week! It’s Wednesday evening as I write this, and I have one more day in Athens before I leave for Copenhagen and this year’s Ktown fest. As usual, there are a ton of sick bands playing, so hopefully in my next staff pick I’ll run down my highlights. Jeff and Usman will also be there, so maybe they’ll write about it too. Until then…

In last week’s mini newsletter I mentioned I’d be traveling for the next little while, and as promised I’m writing this week’s newsletter from my first port of call in Stockholm, Sweden. I think I’ve visited Stockholm four of the past five years, and it’s starting to feel really familiar (I’m sure even more so for Jeff and Usman, who have been here even more often than I have). Stockholm is also just a very comfortable place to be, at least for a visitor like me. Everything is clean and orderly, the people are warm and kind (and virtually all of them speak perfect English), the landscape is stunning, nearly every restaurant has several great vegetarian / vegan options, and public transport is easy to use and seems to go everywhere. I also love how ridiculously long the summer days are. Today the sun rose at 3:34 AM and set at 9:59 PM (though it never really gets completely dark) and all the sunlight makes me feel energized all the time (the nearly constant 65-degree temperature doesn’t hurt either). I know there’s another side to the coin—I couldn’t imagine months of soul-crushing darkness and cold—but I see no reason to dwell on that now, especially since I’ve been in such a dark place mentally these past few months.

This time around I didn’t do much sightseeing, so I don’t have much to tell you about from this trip. When I was here last summer, though, I got to spend a little time visiting tourist attractions. I know that isn’t a priority for some people, but whenever I travel I like to visit museums, historical sites, and other big landmarks. I love art and history, so walking through a museum, learning about something, and seeing a bunch of cool stuff is my idea of a good time. And while tourist traps can definitely be a drag, a lot of these places attract tourists for a reason. I’m glad I’ve seen the Louvre, the Vatican, the Tower of London, and most of the other big tourist destinations I’ve visited. Some of these places have attracted visitors for hundreds of years, and there’s a reason they resonate with people. So I always try to read a travel guidebook and research what people like to do and see in a place I plan to visit.

If you want my tourism pick for Stockholm, it has to be the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship built in 1628, but due to a design flaw it sank just a few minutes into its maiden voyage, and it sat at the bottom of Stockholm’s harbor for over three hundred years. Thanks to the unique properties of the harbor’s water, the wooden ship was very well preserved, and in the 60s they pulled the whole thing up and reassembled it on land. They’ve built a museum around the ship, and while the thing itself is something to behold, the museum also does a brilliant job of giving you enough (but not too much!) historical context to deepen your understanding and appreciation of what you’re seeing. It’s a huge delight for anyone with even a little bit of history nerd in them.

On this trip, though, I’ve mostly spent time visiting friends. Well, that and working. (I had to frame this trip as a “working holiday” to convince myself to actually go.) The main reason for this visit was my friend Melody’s wedding, and that was epic. We had a very long and grueling overnight flight and I hadn’t really recovered from it when I arrived at the wedding, but there were so many friends there and the occasion was so joyous that I still had an amazing time. Since then, it’s been all about fighting jet lag, getting in little mini-hangouts with friends, and working on the closing checklist for buying the store during US business hours (2-10PM here).

This time around I only made time to visit one record shop, and if you’re familiar with Stockholm’s record scene, you know which one it was. If you’re a record collector, no visit to Stockholm is complete without a trip to Trash Palace. This has to be one of the best record stores I’ve seen anywhere in the world, with a ridiculously high density of cool and collectible records. The punk and metal records are off to the side in their own room, which is decorated with old flyers and posters and has a vibe totally distinct from the main shop. The first thing you see is the wall of rare 7”s, which is always populated with rarities from all over the globe. Every time I’ve been to Trash Palace, most of this wall is covered in punk records so rare I’ve never seen them in person, and this time was no different. Of course there are also thousands of LPs (a store with a dedicated section for eastern European punk is one after my own heart) and boxes and boxes and boxes of 7”s at every price point, but that wall of rare 7”s is what the heads come to see.

Even though money is pretty tight on this trip, I knew I couldn’t walk out of Trash Palace empty handed. While there were plenty of things to tempt me, I am very happy with my big score: Lost Kids’ 1979 single “Cola Freaks.” I’m not sure when I first heard this Danish punk classic, but it made a big impression and has been on my want list for at least two decades. I can’t recall ever having the opportunity to buy a copy before today, so when I saw it I knew I’d be taking it home. If, by chance, you are unfamiliar, this 1979 Danish TV appearance is a great introduction.

Until next week…

Greetings fellow Sorry State newsletter readers! As always I hope everyone has had a great week and has been listening to and checking out some new music! I mean, it is why we are here reading this thing right? Not sure if it is clear that I have a love for anything King Gizzard related. This week’s pick is in the King Gizzard universe and is one of my favorite solo albums from one of the band’s members. This record I think has been highly anticipated for a couple of years now. It is Cavs, a project led by the drummer from King Gizzard, and their second full length album Sojourn. It has been a long 5 years since his first, self-titled solo album. Cavs' new album Sojourn is such a huge step forward and you can hear the growth and skill change that has happened for the last 5 years. His improvement is something I've been picking up on with every King Gizzard release, but this solo album showcases all of Cavs' ability to place some really groovy out of pocket spiritual jazz with amazing grooves and fills. This record blew my mind the first time hearing it. Makes me really excited for some new King Gizzard; I hope they make another jazz album in the future. The players on the album are not King Gizzard related, but man did he pick some amazing artists to play on this record with him. The flute combined with the bass grooves and Cavs drumming just seems like they were all on another planet while recording this album. If you like world music, spiritual jazz and funky bass lines, this is a record for you hands down. I know this might be a hot take, but I would recommend this record over anything that King Gizzard has done so far. It is that good. So take a chance and pick it up. We have also been listing tons more metal CDs almost everyday! Until next week take it easy!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. I’m sure most of you are aware Record Store Day was a couple weeks ago. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s always some cool titles that are released. I know there was a bunch of stuff this year that caught my eye, but I had to limit myself. One record I did pick up though is this awesome compilation from Stax: Killer B’s – 14 Fabulous Flip Sides, which if you can guess from the title, is a bunch of old B-Sides from past Stax releases. Just banger after banger on this compilation featuring artists like The Bar-kays, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Little Sonny, Margie Joseph and a whole bunch more. The pressing seems loud and punchy, which is nice. My only complaint is there’s no inner or anything with descriptions of the songs, just a tracklist on the back of the jacket that has some credits and the original release dates. Every song on here is great, but I’m partial to the Booker T instrumental Soul Clap ’69 and the Eddie Floyd track Consider Me. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a Stax fan.

What’s up Sorry Staters?

Sometimes I feel guilty when I don’t talk about releases that we currently have in stock here at Sorry State for my staff pick. Honestly, what I probably SHOULD write about is this new White Trash reissue. Great 80s hardcore from Colorado. And I’m quoted on the hype sticker! Pretty wild. I’m honored. But I feel as though I must be honest about what I’ve actually been listening to on repeat as of late.

My latest obsession was somewhat prompted by this guy Patrick the Pack Rat. Y’all know this guy? I’ve been enjoying his YouTube series where he interviews punks and rocker types about their record rooms. One of his videos reminded about this single by this band The Circles called “Opening Up”. I remember learning about this single many years ago and just loving it. I even looked around for a copy in different record shops when Public Acid went to England the first time. To no avail, I’m afraid.

The Circles released this single in 1979. The band was from England and part of that whole mod revival wave of the late 70s. Now, if you’ve been following Mr. Pack Rat, you might’ve seen his video where he gives a crash course in the genre of power pop. When he talks about The Circles, he jokingly talks about how a lot of the bands in the late 70s mod revival are basically just “well-dressed power pop.” I must admit, whether he was joking or not, I identify with this concept. The 60s mod movement in England had a whole different context with soul music and all that. But when I listen to “Opening Up,” my brain synapses just don’t connect to that place. For one thing, the song is not really bluesy. For all intents and purposes, I would lump this single into my “pop bangers” category along with other power pop stuff I gush over… even if the band does happen to be posed around a Vespa scooter on the cover photo of the single. Like geez, we GET IT, lads.

Power Pop really is a dicey term, isn’t it? But I think more than any other genre, it warrants addictive behavior. At least it does for me, anyway. I’d like to think we’re all fiending for that perfect 3-minute burst of alchemy. We want that saccharine sweet melody, baby. And with a lot of these bands that only released a couple singles in the late 70s, I imagine the rarity of the records only adds to the allure. I guess not unlike people are with KBD singles, it’s like junkie behavior. In some cases, you might be trying to track down a 7” single with just one great song on one side of the record. You just sit there and lift the needle to play the same song over and over and over. For a long time, I didn’t even know what the B-side on the flip of “Opening Up” was. I guess it’s a song called “Billy”… Any good? Maybe I’ll check it out one day. I’m liiiiitle preoccupied with the A-side at the moment.

“Opening Up” seriously is a such a banger. The song kicks in with that simple chord progression, then that little melancholic guitar melody comes in, the drums just pounding on the toms in a build up before the song kicks in. Pure bliss. The pulse of the song is super driving, even if it’s not the most aggressive sounding thing you’ve ever heard. The mood of the melody feels contemplative and nostalgic. Which is ironic, because the lyrics are talking about the youth of a “new generation.” But in a way, because the band is trying to encapsulate a vibe from an era that precedes them, it’s kinda looking forward while simultaneously evoking a feeling of reminiscent longing. Perhaps unintentional brilliance on their part? Haha.

Funny enough, the anthemic-ness of the lyrics and the little guitar lead has this particular sensibility, almost like a wimpier version of the melodic side of Oi! For example, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn that The 4-Skins straight up ripped off “Opening Up” when they wrote “Chaos.” Personally, I lean more toward the intentional tunefulness of The Circles over that kinda stuff any day. But man, close to the end of the song when the band does these 1-2-3 punches on the chords with the kick drum pulsing underneath? “WAN-NAH-NAH – bup bup - WAN-NAH-NAH – bup bup”… and then the guitar hook comes back in? Be still, my beating heart. Then the coda with the singer just chanting on repeat: “I can feel the new sensation! I can see a new generation!” I’m bopping my head, just shouting along. It’s such a beautiful resolution. Perfection.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Some of you readers might be like, “oh yeah dude, that’s a classic.” But if you’re unfamiliar, do yourself a favor and jam this tune. Feels like a good song for Springtime. But hey, if you’ve made it this far, I’ll just put it out there that I’m dying to own an og copy of this 7”. Bang my line if you’re holding and you’d like to help me feel a new sensation for a new generation. No joke though, I’d be stoked to find one.

As always, thanks for reading.

‘Til next week,

-Jeff

If you haven’t checked in with the newsletter in a while, I’ve been using my staff pick space to document / explore / reflect on something that’s been happening in my mind lately. I’m not really sure how to refer to it just yet. A rough patch? A mental health struggle? A nervous breakdown? Every week I wonder if this content would find a more appropriate home in a private journal, but I keep putting it here anyway. I’ve been an avid journaler for a few decades, but for the past few months my journal has deteriorated into basically a document of what media I have consumed (mostly books and movies… I listen to far too much music to catalog it all there) and whatever other content I’ve piped in automatically. The thrill of pure self-exploration has worn off… I need that mild sense of danger that comes from knowing someone might actually read my writing in order to get the words on the page. I could spend some time pondering why that’s the case, but not today.

The gist of today’s update is that things have not been great in Daniel-land. What started as a habit of spending too much time worrying congealed into a uniform sense of dread that blanketed my entire existence, then for the past week or so, that evolved again and started erupting into full-on violent panic attacks. This is not the first time in my life I’ve had panic attacks, but it had been a few years. They are monstrous, evil things. And like the demons in hell, each one is unique, preventing familiarity from blunting their impact. Sometimes I burst out sobbing. Sometimes it feels like all of my muscles clench so hard I become completely paralyzed. Sometimes I get light-headed and feel like I’m going to pass out. Sometimes it’s all in my stomach and I have to fight the urge to vomit. It’s a real smorgasbord of psychological terror. My go-to response when I feel one coming on is to find somewhere quiet, safe, and alone and either do a guided meditation with an app on my phone or just focus on counting my breath. More often than not, when I’m able to close my eyes and focus on my breath, I lose conscious pretty quickly. It’s sort of like sleep I guess, but it’s more like a blackout. My mind is like a computer that flashes the blue screen of death and then I’m just gone. When I emerge, typically half an hour to 45 minutes later, the worst has passed, but I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. One of the strangest things about panic attacks is, at least in my experience, they feel like purely biological occurrences. Typically there is no trigger that I can identify; it’s just something my body decides to do for no apparent reason. Sometimes I can identify a trigger, but often it’s comically benign. I had a really bad one on Sunday when my wife and I were sitting at a coffee shop and someone at the next table mentioned the name of my bank. I started sobbing and had to retreat to the sweltering back seat of the car, passed out and woke up an hour later, soaked in sweat and aching like hell.

My plan had been to ride things out, hoping that after I get through the major stress of buying the store that I could regain some stability and control. However, this week the closing date for the store got delayed (I’m not sure for how long, but at least a few weeks) and between that and the panic attacks ratcheting up in frequency and intensity, I decided it was time to seek treatment. I went back to my therapist for the first time in a couple of years. I put down the book about Swedish death metal I had been reading and started looking for books that might help with an anxiety flare-up. I remember during a major depressive episode a few years ago this book called The Noonday Demon really helped me, so I started reading a book called Beyond Anxiety that seems promising so far. I also made the decision to start taking medication again. I had been on Lexapro for years, but stopped a few months ago. I had been fed up with the side effects for a long time, but what really made me stop was that it felt like the medication was keeping me from processing Red’s death, that I wasn’t feeling everything I needed to feel. I thought things had been going fine, but when I asked a couple of close friends if they thought I should get back on the Lexapro, all of them said yes immediately and with no hesitation. So I guess I’m going to go back to being sleepy all the time, constipated, and having a perpetually sweaty ass crack.

As with my staff pick from last week, this struggles I’ve been experiencing have been the major factor in choosing what music to listen to. Last week I felt so untethered that I needed the sound of my favorite band to ground me and remind me who I am. This week I have been looking for music to soothe me. I’ve been looking primarily for sounds that are spacious, drone-y, and move slowly. I was listening to Agitation Free earlier today and that was getting pretty close to the sweet spot. I went for some Popol Vuh, but I think I chose the wrong album; Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte was a little too bombastic. Nila Sinephro’s Space 1.8was right on the money. Mind you, I have an entire shelf of Eno records, basically everything he released under either his own name or the Ambient series up to the late 80s, but I haven’t touched them yet. I worry I’ve leaned on those too much during past anxiety flare-ups and have come to associate them with anxiety itself rather than its relief. Maybe I’ll spend a little time with those this week and report back. No promises.

My pick for this week, though, is Alice Coltrane’s 1971 album Universal Consciousness. While Alice Coltrane’s music tends to put me in my happy place, I haven’t actually listened to her too much for the past couple of years. I worry that I’m letting the incessant chatter about her in the “vinyl community” ruin her for me. I have a bad habit of letting other people ruin music for me. My go-to example of this is Infest. I loved Infest when I was young. I bought Slave from a distro box at a show when I was 16 or 17 just because I thought it looked cool and I was blown away. Then I got a bootleg discography CD off Rick Ta Life’s distro at a 25 Ta Life gig and wore it out for a couple of years. But then in the early 2010s, around the time Infest started playing again, things took a turn. I saw them a couple of times and it wasn’t the gigs that ruined them for me (they were pretty sick!), but the cult that grew up around the band. It was very intense in Raleigh. There was a new crop of young hardcore kids in town and they were obsessed with Infest. These kids had a band called Abuse., and they put out a total scorcher of an LP on To Live a Lie in 2013 that you should absolutely check out if you have any interested in Infest-inspired hardcore. However, I could not listen to it. I had heard Infest’s name too many times by that point, and the hate had grown too strong within me. I had gone over to the dark side. The side where you don’t listen to Infest.

I really don’t want that to happy to Alice Coltrane’s music, because I truly love it so much. Though the hatred in my heart is probably the reason I reached for Universal Consciousness over Journey in Satchidananda or Ptah, The El Daoud, arguably her two greatest albums and the ones I’ve spent the most time with. But I’ve seen them posted on Instagram and Reddit too many fucking times. Why does that matter? It shouldn’t! But, as you can tell by all the stuff I wrote about my panic attacks above, as much as I would like it to, rationality does not govern my world.

I’m glad to spend some time with Universal Consciousness, though. While it’s not as blissed out as the two aforementioned classics, I think it’s still a really strong album. Alice switches off between organ and harp for the entire album, which is wild because the two instruments are so different. Alice Coltrane was a virtuosic pianist, but something about the organ’s timbre really makes the less conventional notes she plays stick out. I’m not sure whether her playing is chromatic or modal or what, but the organ’s strange mechanical buzz is a stark contrast to how an acoustic piano sounds so human, how it’s wide dynamic range leaves a lot of space in the sound. But then when she switches over to the harp, it’s an equally strong contrast, but from the opposite direction. The harp lines are these gentle washes of color that sound so airy and ethereal. I actually don’t know much about the harp as an instrument. Are there strings for all the notes in the chromatic scale, or are they in a certain key like a harmonica? You don’t really hear people pluck out tunes on a harp; they just kind of spread these waves of swirling musical color that don’t sound, to me at least, like they have a tonal center.

I’ve spun Universal Consciousness a few times over the past few days, and I’m eager for more. It feels like the album is starting to open up for me in a way it hasn’t previously. I’m thankful I picked up this and all her other records before they were such hot commodities. My shelf worn copy still has a $12 price sticker on it, and I think I remember the weird little store in Greensboro where I bought it. Often it feels absurd to own thousands of records, but it feels perfectly sane and right at moments like this, when you pull an under-appreciated one off the shelf and discover it has way more to teach you.

Thanks for reading, everyone. And if you have any recommendations for soothing, quiet, and/or meditative music, please send them my way.

What’s up Sorry State readers?!? My pick for this week is the mighty… and I do mean MIGHTY, Shaved Ape’s Loveletter to Hardcore. My god, does this record make me wanna take a hammer and smash everything I can get my hands on. The A side consists of five new perfect blistering fast hardcore songs that will make your knees weak and your thoughts mean, followed by the absolutely phenomenal tape from a few years ago on the B side. The cover art is stunning with the sick ass picture of Riky Barnes ripping it the fuck up putting those tire tubes to some good use. Vince is a fucking animal. Hardcore rules, go buy this, nuff said…. Peace.

What’s up Sorry State readers? It’s been a minute since my last write-up here. As Dom mentioned in his staff pick the other week, we moseyed our way over to Greensboro to catch our favorite bluegrass phenomenon Billy Strings in action, and he put on a hell of a show for a Tuesday night. Every show is amazing, but this definitely was a standout. Got to hear some old timey staples, psychedelic jams, and of course a heaping helping of Doc Watson tunes. Billy in North Carolina will always be a hoot. This past Monday I also celebrated my birthday, and who decided to roll into town and put on a show? None other than ol Willie Nelson himself. I figured if Willie was coming to town on my birthday, who am I not to attend? Sydney and I gathered up some of our friends and had a lil tailgate before the show complete with fried chicken, beer and a bit of the devil’s lettuce. Coincidentally, Willie’s birthday is actually today (the 29th) and he turned 93 years old, which is fuckin wild that he can still get up on stage and perform. While it might not be what a Willie show was 50 years ago, it’s still impressive that he’s going up there and actually playing and singing. Definitely not some freaky ass Frankie Valli situation (go on YouTube and watch a recent video of him performing; it’s scary as hell). A good time was had by all enjoying an evening of Willie tunes. Speaking of, the other week I picked up this cheap budget comp of Willie just cause it had a nice track list of some of the older stuff. It opens up with probably two of my favorite tracks of his, Night Life and Funny How Time Slips Away, the latter feeling relevant while me and the Red Headed Stranger are both celebrating a birthday. The B-side opens with a cover of the classic Bob Wills song San Antonio Rose with Good Hearted Woman and Help Me Make It Through The Night rounding out the album. Happy birthday Willie, we love ya!

Hi and thanks for reading. I haven’t written a staff pick since November. I’m not sure if anyone really noticed, haha. This year has been by far the worst year of my entire life thus far, but yes, thanks to the support from my loved ones, I am still here. Today I am writing about Finnish hardcore (surprise). When it comes to Finnish hardcore, KAAOS is one of the first bands that comes to mind for me. I remember the first time I heard the Totaalinen Kaaos EP. It blew me away. I couldn’t stop listening. I still can’t. I didn’t know hardcore could sound like that; completely unhinged but still somehow grooves. Don’t even get me started on how many tracks they crammed on the sucker, too. KAAOS was from Tampere and had line-up changes on like every release. I think Jakke, the vocalist, was the only consistent member in the band. It’s funny, I think of him being the iconic front person of KAAOS, but he originally started on guitar on their split with CADGERS. I remember seeing their Nukke EP around and it took me a while to listen to it. It was released in 1993, so my foolish ass thought it might suck. The thing is, while this was not released until 93, it was in fact recorded in 1985. I didn’t understand why it was never initially released, but today I was reading they broke up in December 1985. Maybe that explains why this recording didn’t see the light of day back then? I know they didn’t reform until 1999, so it’s interesting Fight Records picked it up in the early ‘90s for a proper release. Also, in 1996 Fight released Valtio Tuhoaa Ei Rakenna. This was another 7” I foolishly passed for even longer than Nukke due to the release date. Later I discovered this session was originally from 1983. Just a handful of years ago Fight released Ei Enää Kipua Ei Tuskaa on a 12”, and this record is the entire session from 1983 I just mentioned. The 7” from ‘96 was only eight of the sixteen tracks KAAOS recorded. These recordings have become some of my favorite shit from KAAOS. The acoustic guitar bridge in “Elektroninen Xtaasi” and the piano on “Syytön Sivustakatsoja” is so fucking cool, totally unexpected and executed with absolute taste. The latter appears on their 12” from 1984 as well. Funny, writing this now I realize that this session, as well as tracks on Nukke, were probably just practice recordings for the real deal that would follow later. Maybe that is actually why they were not initially released? Sonarize did a US pressing of Ei Enää Kipua Ei Tuskaa, and if you don’t have it, I would highly suggest you pick one up.

Anyways, back to Nukke EP. This record has a similar line-up to their Ristiinnaulittu Kaaos 12” from 1984. I think the bassist is the only difference. Nukke used to be available for cheap as hell like everywhere thanks to Havoc Records, but in recent years it seems to have become a bit harder to find. Perfect timing for Fight Records to get this sucker back in print! In Fight tradition, this pressing is limited to 300 copies on color vinyl. I’m sure once it’s sold out it will be repressed on a different color. I was really excited to hear this beast on 12” format cut at 45rpm, as the original was a 7”. This pressing was also mastered analog from the original mixdown tape. Sounds like a perfect formula, yeah? Well, unfortunately, this shit is cut so quiet. It’s a bit disappointing. I’m also not a huge fan of the cover art. When Havoc did their pressing, they used the band picture from the back of Fight pressing as the front cover. I like that look much better, but this reissue is staying true to the original. Knowing that “nukke” translates to “the doll” in English gives a lot more context. The artwork was done by Nappi, who played bass on their debut 7”. I think he may have been in RIISTEYT for some time as well, but I don’t know that for sure or what he played on. OK. So regardless of my critiques here at the end, if you don’t already own a copy of Nukke EP I would suggest you grab a copy of this reissue cos this material is essential. And to keep it real, if you already have a previous 7” pressing, I’d say you can do without this 12” version. That’s all for today then. Maybe you’ll hear from me next week. Cheers and thanks for your support.

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