Beltones, The

***The Beltones are, beyond debate, one of the best American Punk Rock bands of the late 1990s / early 2000s-era. Hash it out amongst yourselves if you disagree, but them’s the facts. And that’s why TKO Records is pleased to announce the release of Fort Liquordale: 1995-1998. Collecting damn near all of the material from the band’s original South Florida lineup, Fort Liquordale is the definitive document of the Beltones early history.

Side A features the first vinyl appearance of the On Deaf Ears mini album and Naming My Bullets 7” material since the limited 2014 Record Store Day reissue. It’s obvious but nonetheless bears repeating that these songs are some of the finest U.S. punk ever committed to vinyl: mandatory listening for all students of the form.

Flipping the LP takes things further into the past. SIDE-B compiles the Lock And Load 7” EP, the My Old Man 7” single, two obscure comp tracks and two tracks from the Beltones’ impossibly rare 1995 demo. For any Beltones diehard, this is as complete a chronicle of the band’s earliest material as one could hope for.

And that’s that: Beltones records sell themselves, but we had to say something for this blurb.. If you aren’t already a fan, you either haven’t heard them yet, or your musical taste is in question. Edition of 800 copies on olive drab vinyl.