Sorry state newsletter: July 16, 2025

This week we have two new releases on Sorry State up for pre-order: new LPs from Illiterates and Knowso. We also have a blistering Record of the Week from Philly’s the Berserk, a reissue from 90s Japanese crusties Frigöra on General Speech, and a slew more.

Click here to read it.

two new releases on Sorry State up for pre-order

Illiterates: No Experts 12" (Sorry State Records) The “dumbest band in hardcore” returns with twelve more rampaging tracks. While Illiterates’ last record, 2023’s No Experts, trimmed their compositions to the bone, Does Not Compute widens the scope just a hair, making room for anthemic mid-paced parts (see “Remember When” and the epic title track), blazing Straight Ahead-esque crossover rippage (“Sustainability”), and even a touch of trad youth crew (the Can’t Close My Eyes influences were all over No Experts, but “No One Wants To” is pure Revelation Records circa 1988). Illiterates have also added a new guitarist since the last record, which they’re so excited about they wrote a song about it (“Hig Champion”), though they tastefully limit themselves to just a few eruptions of fret-melting lead licks. And while Illiterates insist they’re dumb, their lyrics are full of wisdom you don’t get at the library, like the anti-pretension anthem “Read the Room” (my favorite lyric: “one thing school didn’t teach you is how to read the fucking room”). Hair-splitting aside, Does Not Compute is another great hardcore record from one of the best bands in the game right now.

Knowso: Hypnotic Smack 12" (Sorry State Records) Hypnotic Smack is the new album from Knowso, the Cleveland punk duo featuring Nathan Ward (Cruelster, Perverts Again, the Carp) and Jayson Gerycz (Cloud Nothings). If you’ve heard Knowso’s music, you know they’re spiritual children of Devo, both in their proclivity toward dense and nervy rhythmic experimentation and in the way their lyrics turn a cracked, distorted mirror at the world and its many absurdities. Like the Fall’s best records, Hypnotic Smack attacks the body and the brain simultaneously, your hips jerking uncontrollably to the robotic pulse of “You Climb the Sphynx” and “Club Music is the Soundtrack” while your brain chews the koan-like cud of lyrical nuggets such as “every boss in America is a real estate agent.” Ward’s cryptic lyrics reflect the psychedelic labyrinth of horrors that is your daily doomscroll, but it’s OK… we can still dance the night away to “Panopticon,” the goth club dance anthem no one predicted Knowso would write. The world is full of punk bands that are great at pummeling you, but Hypnotic Smack is the rare punk record that beguiles and entrances.

Recommended Reissues

  • Trivalia: Crna Voda 12"
    Regular price
    $36.00
    Sale price
    $36.00
  • Frigöra: Fullständig Frigörelse 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • Frigöra: Liberation t-shirt (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Frigöra: Plague Bearer t-shirt (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Frigöra: Var För... t-shirt (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Death Side: The Will Never Die 2x12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    Sold out
    Sale price
    $38.00
  • The Boys: Kamikaze 7"
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Big Boys: Fun Fun Fun/ Frat Cars 12"
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00

New and Recommended Punk & Hardcore Ragers!

  • Primitive Impulse: Piss It Away 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Punter: Australienation 12"
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • 1186: Histeria 12"
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • Split System / Les Lullies: Split 7"
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • Body Maintenance: Far From Here 12"
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • Patrol: S/T 7"
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • United Stare: S/T cassette
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Pure Terror: Ehteram 7"
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00

recently restocked

  • Contrast Attitude: Discharge Your Noise 12"
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • Barn Av Regnbuen: Folk Uten Framtid 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Siste Dagers Helvete: Helvete Er Los
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Mopar Stars: Shoot the Moon / Burning Question 12"
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00

more of this month's best sellers

Electric Chair / Physique: Split 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00
Destruxion America: Gritos Norteños 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00
Necron 9: People Die 12"
Regular price
Sold out
Sale price
$20.00
Inmates: Role Of God 12"
Regular price
$23.00
Sale price
$23.00

Recommended books, zines, and other reads

  • Wasted Opportunities #17 zine
    Vendor
    Self Released
    Regular price
    $6.00
    Sale price
    $6.00
  • The $22 Cheesecake and More book
    Vendor
    books
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Punk Junk Vol. 1 zine
    Vendor
    zines
    Regular price
    $12.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Sensory Overload - Issue #1 Spring 2025 + cassette
    Vendor
    zines
    Regular price
    $14.00
    Sale price
    $14.00

New punk and hardcore up for preorder

Karma Sutra: The Daydreams Of A Production Line Worker 12"
Regular price
Sold out
Sale price
$28.00
Hekàtē: ΜΑΥΡΗ ΤΡΥΠΑ (Black Hole) 12"
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Béton Armé: Renaissance 12"
Regular price
$28.00
Sale price
$28.00
Puffer: Street Hassle 12"
Regular price
$22.00
Sale price
$22.00

new on la vida es un mus

Kaleidoscope: Cities Of Fear 12"
Regular price
Sold out
Sale price
$25.00
Tàrrega 91: Ckaos Total 12"
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
EXO: S/T 12"
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00
Puñal: Buscando La Muerte 12"
Regular price
$25.00
Sale price
$25.00

new arrivals

  • Primitive Impulse: Piss It Away 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $20.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Knowso: Hypnotic Smack 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Illiterates: Does Not Compute 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00
  • Grinderman: S/T 12"
    Vendor
    BMG
    Regular price
    $35.00
    Sale price
    $35.00
  • Grinderman: 2 12"
    Vendor
    BMG
    Regular price
    $35.00
    Sale price
    $35.00
  • Kesha: . (Period) 12"
    Vendor
    Kesha
    Regular price
    $30.00
    Sale price
    $30.00
  • Lord Huron: The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 12"
    Regular price
    $50.00
    Sale price
    $50.00
  • Trivalia: Crna Voda 12"
    Regular price
    $36.00
    Sale price
    $36.00
  • Frigöra: Fullständig Frigörelse 12" (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $22.00
    Sale price
    $22.00
  • Frigöra: Plague Bearer t-shirt (PRE-ORDER)
    Regular price
    $18.00
    Sale price
    $18.00

latest used items

  • Miss May I: Shadows Inside CD
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $3.00
    Sale price
    $3.00
  • The Obsessed: S/T 2xCD
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $10.00
    Sale price
    $10.00
  • Soulreaper: Written In Blood CD
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $8.00
    Sale price
    $8.00
  • Cirith Ungol: Half Past Human CD
    Vendor
    used
    Regular price
    $8.00
    Sale price
    $8.00

new on sorry state

Plasma: Mua Et Voi Omistaa 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00
Fugitive Bubble: What Will Happen If We Stop? 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00
The Hell: S/T 7"
Regular price
$9.00
Sale price
$9.00
Subculture: Fred 12"
Regular price
$20.00
Sale price
$20.00

new batch of markdowns!

  • Lebenden Toten puzzle
    Vendor
    self-released
    Regular price
    $40.00
    Sale price
    $20.00
  • Sistema En Decadencia: Nuestro Legado 12"
    Regular price
    $28.00
    Sale price
    $15.00
  • Heavy Metal: V - Live At The Gas Station 12"
    Regular price
    $17.00
    Sale price
    $12.00
  • Eve of Darkness book
    Vendor
    UXB Press
    Regular price
    $52.00
    Sale price
    $35.00
  • Rolex: Live In Orange County 6/30/19 cassette
    Vendor
    No Solution
    Regular price
    $6.00
    Sale price
    $3.00

Who We Are and What We Do

Sorry State Records has the best selection of DIY punk and hardcore vinyl in the world, with well over 2,500 unique titles currently in stock. We're a great music discovery tool, with blogs and other features to help you discover great new music you'll love. We have the fastest, most professional mail order service in punk, with most orders shipping within 24 hours. We're also a great brick-and-mortar record shop based in Raleigh, NC, specializing in collectible and hard to find titles in all genres.

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