Alternative Tentacles

Nomeansno

Wrong

Alternative Tentacles

At last, one of the all-time bat legends, Nomeansno has returned to Alternative Tentacles Records. The entire catalog no less, starting with their most beloved album, Wrong. Using the original all-analog master, from the original mother, as engineered by George Horn, John Wright, and Jello Biafra. Nomeansno formed in a vacuum, in Victoria, British Columbia in 1979 and honing their sounds for years before relocating to Vancouver and releasing eleven albums over an almost forty year career, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, and numerous EPs and singles. Originally formed as a two-piece by brothers John and Rob Wright, and later joined by monster guitarist, Andy Kerr. Mixing hardcore punk, dark lyrics, and sophisticated arrangements boarding on prog, Nomeansno was massively influential and widely regarded as the first band to be referred to as “math rock”. Originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1989, Wrong stands on its own and is still considered to be a much-loved classic. Allmusic called the album a masterpiece and a definitive jazz core album. In 2021, the album was voted by the public’s to win the Canadian Polaris Heritage Prize to honor classic Canadian albums released before the creation of the award. In 2015, drummer John Wright described the album as their “most popular album by a country mile” and to the St. Louis Music Press of Wrong’s success to the rise of alternative music and the success of Nirvana: “That’s where all the buzz about us came from. We were touring throughout the...

Kultur Shock

King / Country Mohammed

Alternative Tentacles

Yet another rockin’ new direction from the label that can’t stop expanding its….well,…Tentacles! Meet Kultur Shock—multinational ‘Gypsy Punk’ pioneers, led by irrepressible ball of energy and good cheer, Gino Yevdjevich.     Gino was quite the mainstream pop star in his native Bosnia (and the Balkans), when the shelling of Sarajevo began, trapping him in his family’s apartment for two years. He was finally able to flee, first to New York, then on to Seattle. Instead of reviving his pop career, Gino chose (a full plunge) to reinvent himself, reaching deeper into his heart and Balkan roots, and Kultur Shock was born! They began playing slightly electrified Traditional Folk, to a growing refugee audience, including many a dancing Serb. The fan base quickly widened to Krist Novaselic and Vic Bondi, among others, who then drew in Jello Biafra.  -  Then something happened -  A year or two later, they debuted in San Francisco to a sold-out audience at the Bottom of the Hill, packed with almost all refugees and migrants - and a much louder, heavier Kultur Shock. Lineups hail from all over Eastern Europe, Seattle, and even Japan; with a much wilder, more theatrical Gino as ringmaster of all he surveys. A more punked-out, direct version of their close friends and cousin, Gogol Bordello, Kultur Shock mixes Balkan folk melodies and bizarre meters with face-melting metal and blood-pumping punk rock in a pagan cauldron of lyrical, obnoxious, and politically irreverent music stew since 1996. The band released its first three studio...

Darts, The

Snake Oil

Alternative Tentacles

At last! The Darts return from their Bat Cave Covid lair, with Snake Oil—by far their best album to date. The Darts formed in 2016 with the goal of getting some solid female musicians together to make garage punk rock and roll noise, see the world, and basically have a super-fun slumber party every night. They are now hands down one of the best garage bands in the world. This is a much fuller sound than any Darts disc before, courtesy of their longtime collaborator Bob Hoag (FB Rec) and some remote control co-production wizardry from Jello Biafra himself. Featuring the return of Nicole Laurnne on vocals / Farfisa and Hammond organ, Christina Nunez on bass / vocals, and Meliza Jackson on guitars / vocals, Snake Oil is the debut of new drummer Mary Rose Gonzales. The result? It comes out smoking as if the band had been in a pressure cooker throughout the pandemic. Expect the wider sound and sparkle of Laurnne and Nunez’s previous band, The Love Me Nots (which was also recorded by the brilliant Bob Hoag), but with way more raunch—and Laurnne’s voice has never sounded better. Snake Oil is for fans of agile, sultry vocals and beefy, vintage rhythm sections paired with razor-tone guitars. This Snake Oil was concocted to remedy the most unaffected and stiff-legged garage rockers out there!

Wheelchair Sports Camp

Yess I’m A Mess

Alternative Tentacles

Alternative Tentacles Records is proud to introduce Wheelchair Sports Camp – Denver’s biggest smallest band! Combining humor, playfulness, middle fingers, and an undeniable love for the groove, Wheelchair Sports Camp is certainly not your average hip-hop act. Fronted by Kalyn Rose Heffernan—a wheelchair using, profanely queer and tiny rapper, with a very distinct high-pitched sense of humor. This noisy experiment was birthed by the DIY, combining beats with shredding face live. Playing shows in every place they could, the band has since stretched into theatre, performance art, public television, politics, prison tours, permanent installations, and who knows what's next…. With two songs on this Alternative Tentacles Records debut 7-inch record, the band has written a future viral-hit with, “Yess I’m A Mess”. Conscience hip-hop mixed with acoustic beats, swelling keys and a lyrical flow that will get one singing along on the first spin. Side B does not slow down with Heffernen taking aim at her very own variation of trip hop beats and tones and her own experiences. For fans of Living Legends, People Under The Stairs, and J5.

Nomeansno

Dad/Revenge

Alternative Tentacles

For over thirty years, Nomeansno defined post-modern hardcore. Acclaimed by peers and adored by fans, this musically adept trio consistently thrilled sweaty crowds around the world. They were nothing less than a punk rock success story, and always on their own terms. In a word (or several), they are were at the same time intelligent, articulate, studied, thoughtful, violent, passionate, intense, playful, and they became legends. Now at long last, after twenty-two years, Alternative Tentacles Records is proud to welcome them home, starting with the brand new reissue of the Dad/Revenge 7-inch. Originally forming in 1979 by brothers Rob and John Wright after being inspired by a D.O.A. show, and guitarist Andy Kerr joining the following year, Nomeansno would go on to release eleven albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, and numerous EPs and singles. Heavily influenced by jazz and progressive rock, they created a distinct hardcore punk sound, featuring complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics. They are often considered foundational in the punk-jazz and post-hardcore movements, and have been cited as a formative influence on math-rock and emo. In 1985 Nomeansno entered Keye Studios to record “Sex Mad” for release on Psyche Industry Records. In 1986, the album was picked up by Alternative Tentacles Records and reissued in the United States and Europe. In order to promote that release, Alternative Tentacles released the Dad/Revenge 7-inch vinyl single in 1987. Pulling together two stand-out tracks for the release, a powerful straight up punk track “Dad”, with the...

Jucifer

Nazm

Alternative Tentacles

Nazm sees Jucifer deploy their familiar studio tactic: writing, arranging, producing, engineering, and playing all instruments themselves to create a sprawling concept album. This time, it’s to celebrate their shared love for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and central / south / west Asian traditional and pop music cultures with fourteen highly textured, intensely personal and passionately delivered original songs. Fans of the band likely know they can expect surprises with each album, as well as recordings which differ drastically at times from their live sound. In this tradition, Nazm strays far from the brutal excess of a Jucifer show (and of their recent releases Futility and District Of Dystopia) but, as with all Jucifer’s recordings, the point is not to imply any static trait of the band but instead to bring to life a story they’re telling.

Jucifer

نظم

Alternative Tentacles

A glimpse at the hypnotic نظم album (coming soon on 2xLP!) this 7" strays far from the brutal excess Jucifer are best known for, but follows their tradition of resolutely unorthodox studio offerings. Blinding sunlight strikes silver in celebration: worn black cloth casts shadows over infinite dust. Founded in 1993, Jucifer pioneered the metal two piece. With 29 years of incessant touring the band carved its reputation for literally towering onstage sound, which careens venomously from their walls of speakers in every extreme and tempo of metal and punk. Jucifer's motto "sludge, black, grind, thrash, death, crust, doom, combine" or more briefly "genre=obliterate" is fair warning.

DFMK

Dame Peligro

Alternative Tentacles

Dame Peligro, the new 7-inch record by Tijuana’s own DFMK is the definition of punk rock and roll. With driving tempos and raw leads. the high octane vocals will coerce any fan of hardcore punk to seek out more! Walking the line between melodic riffs, and soaring melodies, this is the band at their harnessed best—three songs to two-step to!

Spindrift

Classic Soundtracks Vol. 3

Alternative Tentacles

Described as a ’60s garage rock band performing as a mini-orchestra stuck within a Tarantino film, Los Angeles-based Spindrift is a cinematically inspired rock band that has also been described as “Heavy Western” or “psychedelic spaghetti-western rocknroll.” Led by songwriter-producer-composer Kirpatrick Thomas on guitar and lead vocals, along with Portland-based guitarist Becca Davidson, bass / baritone guitarist, producer, and vocalist Riley Bray, and aerospace engineer Joe Zabielski on drums and electronics, Spindrift creates a cinematic scope that has been heard on their compilation albums like Classic Soundtracks Vol 1, 2, and The West (released by Xemu Records), HBO’s Eastbound & Down (Seasons 1 & 2), the Quentin Tarantino-produced biker exploitation film Hell Ride, the film Diablo (featuring Scott Eastwood), and “The Ballad of Darrell Lemaire” from Season 1 Episode 9 of Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia (Viceland). Classic Soundracks Vol. 3 is their tenth studio soundtrack compilation album, co-produced by Riley Bray and Jello Biafra. Released by Jello’s own Alternative Tentacles Records, it completes a trilogy of themes from various feature films, documentaries, and TV mini-series. This final installment reveals a new level of maturity from the band, opening doors to new genres including espionage-esque Bond themes, upbeat guitar duets, “Italian Polizia” car chase electronica, hard rock from the Middle East, psychedelic disco, and progressive “kung fu” rock.

Itchy-O

Sypherlot / Hallowmass 2020

Alternative Tentacles

The 57-member neural necromancers Itchy-O have returned to unleash Sypherlot / Hallowmass 2020, a double-live album recorded during the chaos collective’s groundbreaking 2020 drive-in concert series. It was against this backdrop of isolation and suspended reality that Itchy-O heeded the call for a radical evolution in shared catharsis and new sonic experiments: short-band radio broadcast turned each car interior into a private listening experience for a post-apocalyptic simulation, while roving bands of mysterious beings opened a temporary escape portal with contactless chaos, engulfing each and every vehicle in rite and ritual for the ages. As the blaring car horns attested, these incredible live performances delivered a needed spirit-lift in the absence of concerts as one knew them amidst shuttered music venues, lighting a proverbial—and literal—torch during one of the darkest moments of modern history.

Legendary Shack Shakers

Cockadoodledeux

Alternative Tentacles

Join those Legendary Shack Shakers as they mark their 25th anniversary as a band on Planet Earth—to celebrate the occasion, they’ve invited former members to help them record an all country & western album! From spaghetti western to bluegrass, western swing to rockabilly, Tex-Mex to country folk, the variety of the genre is on full display. Always ones to respect their history, the Shack Shakers have also included some Kentucky local legends to “pick and grin”. Hotshots such as Stanley Walker (Grand Ole Opry band leader for Jean Shepard and guitarist for Sun Studio’s “Rockin’ ” Ray Smith) and Jack Martin (dobro-player for Lester Flatt) really give those “young ‘uns” a run for their money. And the always-ornery “Hillbilly” Bob Prather (Louisiana Hayride fiddler and running buddy of Opry star Onie Wheeler) pitches in too. Just add The Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, hillbilly royalty Chris Scruggs and an Old Crow Medicine Showman and you’ve got a recipe for what could only be a Legendary Shack Shakers masterpiece. Titling it Cockadoodledeux was done, admittedly, to bookend 2002’s Cockadoodle-Don’t, an album by which many fans were first made aware of the group. However, it also serves to signal the start of another twenty-five years! Just as the plucky, two-headed chick emerges from the egg on the cover, so too begins a fresh start for the band’s creative energies. Once again, generations of fans—both young and old—get to lean in, listen and expect the un-expected.

Biafra, Jello And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine

No More Selfies/the Ghost Of Vince Lombardi

Alternative Tentacles

At last, Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine have finally delivered the two songs missing from the Tea Party Revenge Porn LP version on vinyl, the instant classics, “No More Selfies” and “The Ghost of Vince Lombardi”! This is very strong stuff. Hear the inimitable Mr. B skewer the place the world’s put itself in, like no one else would—or could—as he and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine capture the full power of the live shows on disc as never before. Only so many artists have a track record of lyrics this good, and back it up with music as good or better. It’s usually one of the other, but rarely this fierce, thanks to the wall of sound production of the mysterious Marshall Lawless, with Kurt Schlegel at the board this time. Co-conspirators now feature both string-titans of longtime AT mainstay Victims Family: guitarist Ralph Spight (also Freak Accident) and wonder bassist Larry Boothroyd (also Triclops, Brubaker); plus drummer / metal percussionist Jason Willer (UK Subs, Nik Turner, Charger, The Mob). Why on a 7-inch and not on the LP? The high speed “driving tests” Biafra always uses to find the best rockin’ song order for his albums (since the Dead Kennedy days of Fresh Fruit!) meant going “lean, mean (and louder!)” for the LP version, and two more songs in the middle for the CDs and download. These are not outtakes or “bonus tracks”. They make quite a strong 45 on their own. So play often!...

Biafra, Jello And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine

Tea Party Revenge Porn

Alternative Tentacles

Hot on the heels of five viral video singles, Tea Party Revenge Porn, the first full album since 2014 by Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, is finally here! This is very strong stuff. Hear the inimitable Mr. B skewer the place the country has put itself in like no one else would—or could—as he and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine capture the full power of their live shows on disc as never before.  Only so many artists have a track record of lyrics this good, and back it up with music as good or better. It’s usually one of the other, but rarely this fierce, thanks to the wall of sound production of the mysterious Marshall Lawless, with Kurt Schlegel at the board this time. Co-conspirators now feature both string-titans of longtime AT mainstay Victims Family: guitarist Ralph Spight (also Freak Accident) and wonder bassist Larry Boothroyd (also Triclops, Brubaker); plus drummer / metal percussionist Jason Willer (UK Subs, Nik Turner, Charger, The Mob). So as germs and police riots rage, there’s no better primal scream therapy than a long-awaited new Jello Biafra album. From Dead Kennedys to Lard to the now-classic albums with the Melvins, DOA, NoMeansNo, Mojo Nixon; and of course, The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, Tea Party Revenge Porn is right up there with all of it.

Dead Ending

American Virus

Alternative Tentacles

“Jeff said, ‘Let’s do a new record—we’ll call it American Virus’—sounded good to me. He wanted to do a Clash cover too—which I didn’t like. I was wrong.” – Vic Bondi, Dead Ending Stemming from conversations between vocalist Vic Bondi (Articles Of Faith) and guitarist Jeff Dean (Airstream Futures, All Eyes West, The Bomb) about the obvious politicization of the pandemic, Dead Ending’s latest release on Alternative Tentacles Records, American Virus presents two screaming new tracks; the title track “American Virus” and “Walter Benjamin At The Border” with a digital bonus cover track “Complete Control” by The Clash.  “I was watching the press conference when Trump called COVID-19 the Chinese virus, and watching him double down on it, when journalists were calling him out like some giant spoiled toddler, made me want to throw my TV out the fucking window!” Dean says, “I started trying to figure out logistically if we could even record, since everyone lives in different states.” Using their access to different recording devices Bondi and Dean each wrote a track, and along with the cover and sent them to drummer Derek Grant (Alkaline Trio), who laid down drums and the songs started to take shape. Bassist Nathan Voorhees (Ensign, Vision) was unable to record on this 7-inch, but founding bassist Joe Principe (Rise Against) was down to come back to play on the songs. In no time, once more the unrelenting, uncompromising, political hardcore sound that Dead Ending has long been known for was exploding...

Tsunami Bomb

Still Standing

Alternative Tentacles

With their new 7-inch Still Standing, Tsunami Bomb has returned with their unique sound of keyboard-driven, bombastic punk rock, with a dark edge and soaring vocals, that gives an incredible fresh spin on some classic tracks. Following up their emphatic return on the 2019 album The Spine That Binds, the band wanted to revisit two of their classic songs as a gift for their street team, The Bomb Squad. The Irish jig driven “Irish Boys” is a live show favorite, but only previously available on a bedroom made 4-track recording from 1999. Keyboardist and co-vocalist Oobliette Sparks takes lead on this track, firing lines back and forth with vocalist Kate Jacobi, while guitarist Andy Pohl showcases his lead guitar skills as the song screams through it’s bittersweet tale of both shoes and evening plans drunkenly destroyed. Another Tsunami Bomb beloved classic gets a revisit with “El Diablo”, a song that was co-written by Oobliette who had sadly left the band by the time it was originally recorded. Now in its intended form, the keyboards return with a vengeance making you wonder how they could have ever not been present. Meanwhile the band’s tight rhythm section, drummer Gabe Lindeman and bassist Dominic Davi, explosively charge through the track at a breakneck pace. However, it’s Jacobi who takes center stage, with her high-flying vocals making the song and its message definitively and unquestionably hers. That’s just side A! Side B has two tracks exclusive to the vinyl, from a bootleg recording of...

L.A. Machina

Welcome To The Machina

Alternative Tentacles

With a walloping brand of high voltage psych / stoner / punk & roll, newly forged female super-power trio L.A. Machina are an irresistibly formidable break-out force. Consisting of three notable natural born rockers—the powerhouse singer-guitarist Michelle Balderrama (Brainspoon, Electric Children, The Darts US), equally high impact vocalist-bassist Suzi Moon (Turbulent Hearts, Civet) and high priestess of banging backbeat Rikki Styxx (Death Valley Girls, The Dollyrots, Two Tens, The Darts US)—L.A. Machina brings both gorgeously rendered, highly original songs and a supercharged appeal that’s already gained them significant traction. The players all came into each others orbit at famed Downtown Los Angeles club The Redwood and quickly surrendered to the inevitability of this stellar alliance. The fast moving threesome’s intoxicating sound is brilliantly showcased with their debut single and video “Teenage Head” and now, very shortly after firing the band up, L.A. Machina already has both an Alternative Tentacles vinyl release slated and a spot on the Punk Bowling festival’s Main Stage confirmed for 2020. Expect a slew of radical, female empowering kicks aplenty from this tremendous new rock & roll asset. Their impressive underworld pedigree and wild, wild style ("We’re kinda like Josie & the Pussycats,” Moon says, “but with LSD and way more distortion") collide with magnificent effect. Having managed all of this in just 4 weeks time, these high-flying, hard-hitting women are guaranteed to reach a dazzlingly stratospheric rock & roll altitude.

World/Inferno Friendship Society

All Borders Are Porous To Cats

Alternative Tentacles

The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s long awaited new album dares one to try and decipher its multi-layered, encrypted message, while being dragged kicking and screaming through a succession of flashbacks, alternate realities and drug and alcohol induced delusions. While this ensemble is known for its utter disregard for boundaries of genre, All Borders Are Porous To Cats deliberately pushes the limits of what could possibly be perceived as punk rock. It scores tales of fugitives, arson, larceny, perjury, drug addiction and freedom with elements of soul, funk, latin, polka, and classical music, as well as the band’s signature punk cabaret sound. Three years in the making, five missed release dates, five lost band members, many a bridge burned, and a defamation lawsuit waiting to happen, The World /Inferno Friendship Society invites the listener to enjoy the fruits of their perpetual torment.  This seventh full-length album finds the collective reset and reinvigorated, behind the lyrics of Jack Terricloth, apparent possessor of the punk rock fountain of everlasting style and rage. The album follows Cat In The Hat (no relation), an undocumented refugee who is framed for a crime and requires the assistance of a ragtag gang of miscreants, academics, orchestra-caliber musicians, and radical insurgents—sometimes art does in fact imitate life! The album’s release comes in tandem with the release of accompanying book One Smashed Window For Every Divided Soul, an illustrated combination tour journal and narrative exploration of Cat and his travails. The book acts as a companion piece to the...

Tsunami Bomb

The Spine That Binds

Alternative Tentacles

***Back in print on CD!!!  Northern California’s punk rock cult favorites, Tsunami Bomb, has risen from the grave and reformed with their third full-length release, The Spine That Binds, and with it they have proven that this chapter of Tsunami Bomb not only embraces their signature style of aggressive pop-punk supplemented by a touch of darkness but have taken it even further. Honing their skills of melody while being more in-your-face and more aggressive than ever, they conjure a dark journey of discovery with each track.  Originally formed in 1998, and disbanding after many member changes in 2005, Tsunami Bomb reformed at the end of 2015. This new release finds the quintet brought to life with the return of founders Dominic Davi (bass / backing vocals), Oobliette Sparks (keyboards / co-lead vocals), and Gabriel Lindeman (drums). Joined by Kate Jacobi (lead vocals) and Andrew Pohl (guitars/backing vocals), they combine their skills to create a sound that effortlessly mixes dark musings on the search to find one’s place in an increasingly uncaring world, into unforgettable anthems, calling on one to get up and sing-a -long. The Spine That Binds is not asking for your acceptance, it demands it. This album will scratch the itch of all the die-hard fans looking for that familiar Tsunami Bomb sound, but also show a new, angrier and brutally honest side of the band. With the support of Jello Biafra’s legendary punk rock label, Alternative Tentacles Records, Tsunami Bomb has not only heard...

Darts, The

I Like You But Not Like That

Alternative Tentacles

***Available again!!!  The Darts (US) have exploded onto the scene with a fiercely classic sound that invests deeply in late ’60s garage, while incorporating tones of horror-punk and psych-rock. Live, they hurtle through their songs with the reckless abandon of a freight train about to run off the rails, while their calculated musicianship sets a seamless trajectory of grooving hooks and danceable boogie back beats. If Elvira and Wednesday Adams consumed the flesh of man, drank shots of snake venom, started a garage rock band, and played a sweet sixteen party for Rob Zombie’s daughter, it would probably sound exactly like The Darts. The band formed in early 2016, after vocalist / keyboardist Nicole Laurenne (The Love Me Nots, Motobunny, Zero Zero) and bassist Christina “Madcap” Nunez (The Love Me Nots, The Madcaps) decided, following the end of The Love Me Nots, to finally utilize the similarities in their creative ambitions to put together the all-girl band they had been talking about for years. Tapping some of their favorite players for the project, like drummer Rikki Styxx (The Two Tens, The Dollyrots, Thee Outta Sites), the band quickly wrote and self-released two debut EPs back-to-back. Soon after this, the singles “Running Through Your Lies” and“Revolution” found instant radio airplay. “Take What I Need” was selected by Sirius / XM’s Underground Garage channel as “The Coolest Song In The World,” while infamous horror author Stephen King personally tweeted about the band, professing his fandom to the world. Shortly thereafter,...

Arnocorps

Welcome To The Gym!

Alternative Tentacles

Alternative Tentacles Records is pumped to announce the release of “Welcome To The Gym”, featuring two brand new songs from ArnoCorps, the self-proclaimed Greatest Band of All Time and inventors of Action-Adventure Hardcore Rock ‘n’ Roll. The 7-inch vinyl and digital release solidifies the band’s recently expanded lineup. Closing in on two decades as an active band, the “Austro-Californians” of ArnoCorps have consistently met with critical acclaim and frequent sell-out crowds from “San Fran-tastic” California to Great Britain and beyond. The group was founded to combat what they have deemed “cinematic Austroploitation”, including films featuring their fellow Austrian expat, Arnold Schwarzenegger. ArnoCorps claims that each film is actually unabashedly pilfered by Schwarzenegger from ancient Austrian folklore, then shamelessly bastardized by Hollywood moguls.   Having already restored integrity to timeless heroic lore such as “Terminator”, “Commando”, “Running Man”, and “Total Recall” with past releases, ArnoCorps turns back the clock to the Arnold of the 1970’s with their latest songs: “Scavenger Hunt” and “Dead Lift”. The transformative power and creativity of the group is truly showcased here as a campy comedy and embarrassing guest role on The Streets of San Francisco are ironically given new life as inspirational songs, one promoting the joy and benefits of physical fitness, the other an anti-bullying anthem for body positivity.   As with all of their releases, ArnoCorps successfully combines the best of both punk and metal influences that very few other bands have been able to. Adorned in trademark black combat uniforms and face...

Dead Ending

(it’s Not) What You Believe B/w Painkiller

Alternative Tentacles

In the wake of their incredible 2019 album Shoot The Messenger, hardcore all-stars Dead Ending return with a blistering 7-inch single “(It’s Not) What You Believe b/w Painkiller”! This outstanding single contains not one, but two huge songs, forged through the combined efforts of Vic Bondi (Articles Of Faith), Jeff Dean (All Eyes West), Derek Grant (Alkaline Trio), and Nate Gluck (Ensign). Unrelenting, uncompromising, and unwilling to turn a blind eye, they push forward with their spirit of chaotic hardcore in an effort to educate the masses to stand up and be heard.

Silver Machine, The

Standing On The Bare Ground

Alternative Tentacles

The epoch of The Silver Machine began in 2012, from mystic visions seen by its female founders in Savannah, GA. The name of this cult of performers, and their mytho-futurist-intergalactic-shamanic doctrine, sound and aesthetic, are derived from the infamous psychedelic-space rock band Hawkwind. The Silver Machine travels sideways through time, along Hawkwind’s electric lines, calling forth ancient truths long forgotten, discovering new Zodiac signs. The heroines in this space odyssey reach even further, discovering new quantum territory with every enchanting harmony and guitar chord. When listening to Standing On The Bare Ground, one is projected to an alternate realm. The all female vocal-crooning sounds like the conjuring of spirits at a druidical fertility ritual. The synths tingle and amplify the senses, activating long forgotten synapses of the mind, forcibly wrenching open the third eye of one’s collective consciousness, and the drums, forever charting their cosmic trajectory, carry the momentum, moving into the future and claiming it as the present, perpetually seeking the event horizon. Standing On The Bare Ground is the band’s debut album. Having kept their ancient cosmic knowledge a secret only known by participants in their rituals of live performance for years, The Silver Machine has finally found ground control with Alternative Tentacles Records. Personally endorsed by Jello Biafra, and the infamous Hawkwind voyager Ms. Stacia, who calls the record, “A work of divine inspiration.”

Darts, The

Subsonic Dream / Bullet

Alternative Tentacles

THE DARTS (US) are an all-grrrrl garage-psych-rock supergroup that calls both Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ home! Featuring Nicole Laurenne (The Love Me Nots, Motobunny, Zero Zero), Rikki Styxx (The Two Tens, The Dollyrots, Thee Outta Sites), Christina Nunez (The Love Me Nots, Casual Encounters, The Madcaps), and Michelle Balderrama (Brainspoon).  The band formed in early 2016, quickly becoming a well-seasoned touring powerhouse with multiple US and European tours already under their belt. Having already built a devoted fanbase around the globe, they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  This new 7” is the first release since their 2017 debut full length, “Me. Ow.” and both “Subsonic Dream” and “Bullet” were selected for this release by THE DARTS (US) and JELLO BIAFRA to give established fans of THE DARTS (US) a great taste of what’s to come from the band, and new fans a fantastic introduction that will only leave them wanting more.

Fish Karma And/or The Derailleurs

Time To Say Goodbye

Alternative Tentacles

Fish Karma has been creating music in Tucson, Arizona, since the early 80s. Three of his albums have been released on Alternative Tentacles Records: “The Theory of Intelligent Design,” “Halloween in America,” and “Lethal Fairy Tales.” Dave Roads, longtime bass player for Al Perry and the Cattle, performs in several bands in Tucson when not playing guitar with the DeRailleurs. Dante Perna, formerly of Captain Space Clown, has been drumming with Fish for the past several years. Nobody is quite sure about the Reverend Jim Hartley, but rumors indicate he currently resides in Benson, Arizona. Fish Karma and/or the DeRailleurs have been performing together for the past three years, putting out the album “Schwa” in 2017.

Dead Ending

Shoot The Messenger

Alternative Tentacles

With the world’s current political systems in a state of flux, it’s only fitting that Dead Ending return with Shoot The Messenger. Politically charged, this electrifying new release is a call to arms for those willing to speak out against the destruction of democracy clutched in the hands of clowns posing as elected officials. The band lashes out at the throats of the 1% like a cornered, savage beast hungering for the blood of its oppressor. Unrelenting, uncompromising and unwilling to turn a blind eye, they push forward with their spirit of chaotic hardcore in an effort to educate the masses to stand up and be heard.  Founded by The Bomb guitarist Jeff Dean, thsi current line-up includes Vic Bondi, front-man of the legendary Chicago punk band Articles of Faith, Derek Grant, drummer of Alkaline Trio and newest recruit, and Nathan Voorhees (Ensign, Vision).

Itchy-O

From The Overflowing

Alternative Tentacles

If one hasn’t experienced the disorienting power of this throbbing fifty-piece troupe of masked chaos, this is another chance to join the apocalyptic party that is Itchy-O. Infamous from Colorado to Tasmania for astounding unsuspecting audiences with their aural and visual insanity, the band returns to unleash a fresh new album to add to their legendary live spectacle. They are the most unique band Jello Biafra has signed to Alternative Tentacles in many years! Based in Denver, Colorado, their percussion-centered electronic performance hive-mind has declared war on today’s predictable mediocrity and blindsided fans with their unique music and astonishing performances since forming in 2009. From The Overflowing is the follow-up to their full-length debut Burn The Navigator which was released in 2014. This new album is charged with the same sonic fury of their live shows delivered by a driving drum corps battery and taiko drummers along side Spaghetti Western guitar licks, snake-charming bass lines, and a rich arsenal of dark electronics including synthesizers, theremin, and vocoders. The troupe completely engulfs and immerses the listener from every angle in a pounding electric bog of music and ephemera.

Arnocorps

The Ballsy

Alternative Tentacles

Arnocorps, inventors of Action Adventure Hardcore Rock ’n’ Roll, continue to inspire heroes and sheroes world-wide! Their latest classic The Unbelievable was recorded in recognition of over fifteen years of undying support that spans the globe! These sonic allegories contain the unmistakably ballsy Austrian-accented vocals, complemented by the band’s patented “heroic symmetry” lineup of two guitars counterbalanced by two bass players and defiant drums. With the runaway success of the band‘s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for this record, Alternative Tentacles decided to accompany it with first-ever vinyl pressings of the band’s two previous self-released CDs. The Ballsy and The Fantastic round out their latest as the most heroic trilogy of vinyl releases of all time, with a combined strength that restores integrity to nearly all Austrian myths bastardized and exploited by Hollywood!

Arnocorps

The Fantastic

Alternative Tentacles

Arnocorps, inventors of Action Adventure Hardcore Rock ’n’ Roll, continue to inspire heroes and sheroes world-wide! Their latest classic The Unbelievable was recorded in recognition of over fifteen years of undying support that spans the globe! These sonic allegories contain the unmistakably ballsy Austrian-accented vocals, complemented by the band’s patented “heroic symmetry” lineup of two guitars counterbalanced by two bass players and defiant drums. With the runaway success of the band‘s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for this record, Alternative Tentacles decided to accompany it with first-ever vinyl pressings of the band’s two previous self-released CDs. The Ballsy and The Fantastic round out their latest as the most heroic trilogy of vinyl releases of all time, with a combined strength that restores integrity to nearly all Austrian myths bastardized and exploited by Hollywood!

Arnocorps

The Unbelievable

Alternative Tentacles

Arnocorps, inventors of Action Adventure Hardcore Rock ’n’ Roll, continue to inspire heroes and sheroes world-wide! Their latest classic The Unbelievable was recorded in recognition of over fifteen years of undying support that spans the globe! These sonic allegories contain the unmistakably ballsy Austrian-accented vocals, complemented by the band’s patented “heroic symmetry” lineup of two guitars counterbalanced by two bass players and defiant drums. With the runaway success of the band‘s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for this record, Alternative Tentacles decided to accompany it with first-ever vinyl pressings of the band’s two previous self-released CDs. The Ballsy and The Fantastic round out their latest as the most heroic trilogy of vinyl releases of all time, with a combined strength that restores integrity to nearly all Austrian myths bastardized and exploited by Hollywood!

Pachinko

State Your Grievances

Alternative Tentacles

For 2 decades, Mad-City madmen PACHINKO have been biding their time, collecting bad vibes and weirdness to unleash on unsuspecting audiences world-wide! Crowds who’ve been lulled into complacency will once again find themselves knee deep in the sweet sonic bile PACHINKO is spewing all over the clean floor. Not only is “State Your Grievances” their 1st record since 1999, JELLO BIAFRA calls it their best since their 1st Alternative Tentacles LP “Behind the Green Pachinko” from 1996! A frightening mix of the classic noise-rock sound (COWS, HALO OF FLIES), AC/DC, and the great years of BLACK FLAG, PACHINKO has returned, triumphant in their E85-guzzling hot rod of dirty chords, lyrical POV shenanigans, and lecherous musical muscle! 25 years after their feedback-drenched musical birth in Madison Wisconsin, PACHINKO’s new release “State Your Grievances” inflicts 11 grotesque screeds- er, songs- upon the world, including “Song Of The Infidels”, “My Husband Is A Corporate Lawyer”, the title track, and “Art Loverer”. Trust us, the songs are even more confusing and scuzzier than they sound on paper! These PACHINKO tunes, by the original members Brian Brech, Greg Norman, Matt Quigle, and Mike “Magma” Henry are guaranteed to wipe that smug smile off your face. They are once again churning out more of the great messed-up head shakers they paraded around way back when, careening into everything within striking distance. The critics have called Pachinko (amongst other flattering things) : “mean and unclean”, “a cross between a handgun, a remote control and a good 40-ounce”,...

Phantom Limbs

Applied Ignorance (re-issue)

Alternative Tentacles

Oakland’s mysterious Phantom Limbs inflicted their psychotic art-goth-punk debut on the world back in 2001— and to celebrate their reunion Alternative Tentacles is proud to reissue Applied Ignorance with brand new art by singer Hopeless and the addition of two previously unreleased tracks recorded live on KALX Berkeley in 2001! Prodded by pitchforks to see them, Jello Biafra thought they were the strangest band he had ever seen a Gilman St. crowd go stark raving nuts for — a cross between Screamers and Gilbert and Sullivan gone terribly wrong. Eerie, grinding keyboards mixed with driving bass, thundering drums, wall-of-sound guitar and frantic, desperate vocals. This album is a swirling amalgamation of old school punk, deathrock, and no-wave mixed with the theater songs of Kurt Weill. Their live shows became stuff of legend with singer Hopeless invariably naked or covered in grease paint, duct tape, wrapping paper or substances of unknown origin. Crowd interaction was mandatory, with Hopeless sometimes going so far as to handcuff himself to unsuspecting fans.

Dead Ending

Ivanka Wants Her Orange Back

Alternative Tentacles

*** In celebration of the trainwreck of our democracy, the Alternative Tentacles Mint is offering this one-time only unique pressing! Yes, you too can own this marvelous icon of the deplorables. Made of exquisite Corinthian vinyl, and designed for small fingered hands, this outstanding single contains not one, but two huuge songs, forged through the combined efforts of Vic Bondi (ARTICLES OF FAITH), Jeff Dean (ALL EYES WEST), and Derek Grant (ALKALINE TRIO), with a special dash of bass from Dave Shield (ARTICLES OF FAITH). Supplies are limited, so act now before election day, and as a bonus we'll throw in this priceless sleeve, designed especially for the AT Mint by renowned graphic artist John Yates.

Pansy Division

Blame The Bible / Neighbors Of The Beast

Alternative Tentacles

Hot off their upcoming album, Quite Contrary, comes a new Pansy Division 7-inch single, Blame the Bible! The band celebrates their 25th year with a perfectly timed election year stomper. Angry and funny, it delivers a strong message about religious hypocrisy and right-wing blind hatred, guaranteed to resonate no matter which gender’s sign is on the bathroom door! The B-side, “Neighbors of the Beast,” is an exclusive non-album track which suggests that the devil might actually be a better neighbor than a right-wing Christian. Unless, of course, he doesn’t exist and is just a concept made up by people who have no fun and don’t want others to.

Pansy Division

Quite Contrary

Alternative Tentacles

Alternative Tentacles Records celebrates Pansy Division’s 25th anniversary with Quite Contrary, an unforgettable collection of hook- filled sing-a-longs. This latest album continues to mix clever lyrics with catchy melodies while giving a sober look at themselves and where they are now. Starting back in 1991 in San Francisco, singer/guitarist Jon Ginoli and bassist/vocalist Chris Freeman shared the experience of not only being outsiders for being gay, but also for being gay punk rockers. By turning their alienation into music that defied the stereotype that gay men preferred pop divas and show tunes, Pansy Division would go on to become beloved underground music legends.  Also featuring guitarist/vocalist Joel Reader (The Mr. T Experience, The Plus Ones, The Avengers) and drummer Luis Illades (The Plus Ones, The Avengers), Quite Contrary is the perfect follow up to 2009’s That’s So Gay. Tackling topics such as New Year’s reflections, phone addiction, aging barflies, dating apps, and flaky guys (an evergreen Pansy Division theme), this latest release provides a glimpse at the struggles of modern life both with Pansy Division’s trademark grin and a sense of determination. Quite Contrary sums up everything great about an astonishing 25-year career, including reuniting the original cover models of the classic 1996 album Wish I’d Taken Pictures, showing them 20 years later — quite contrary to the forever young imagery of mainstream gay iconography— a fantastic look into the social and personal frustrations we all face today. Pansy Division evolves with the times, gaining new depth while staying...

Disaster Strikes

In The Age Of Corporate Personhood

Alternative Tentacles

Produced by underground legend Richard Marr, Disaster Strikes delivers Boston hardcore punk with impactful lyrics about social justice and workers’ rights.  These ten blistering tracks encapsulate the raw energy and intensity of Disaster Strike’s live sets. The opening track “The Fighting Path” is fermented with protest and resistance from its violent start to its incendiary final warning. The title track, “In the Age of Corporate Personhood,” features guest vocals by label czar and legendary punk provocateur Jello Biafra. Featuring epic cover art by Minneapolis-based artist Bill Hauser, In The Age of Corporate Personhood is a blue-collar, hard core juggernaut that captures an intensity rarely grasped by studio albums.

Culture Shock

Attention Span

Alternative Tentacles

In between Subhumans (UK) and Citizen Fish, Dick Lucas fronted Culture Shock. Short-lived and influential as hell, the innovators of ska-punk-dub-reggae are at their best with Attention Span, their first recording in 25 years! Culture Shock began in England in 1986, soon after the Subhumans broke up, and ended three albums and three years later. Showing the progression from Subhumans to Lucas’s early blueprints for Citizen Fish, Culture Shock is a transitional band just like Ian MacKaye’s Embrace is the missing link between Minor Threat and Fugazi. The lineup remains almost the same, with original members Bill (drums), Jasper Patterson (bass, also original Citizen Fish member) and Lucas (vocals) joined by Alex Gordon (also from Citizen Fish) on guitar. Lucas’s lyrics are primarily concerned with social and political issues, including the awareness of animal cruelty and social alienation. The songs are far from angry rants—they often highlight a perspective of positivity and empowerment. Attention Span follows the success of their 2012 release, Everything (a collection of their three albums and demos), which ignited the band’s full reformation. They have been playing live again since 2013. Attention Span delivers a blend of ska, punk, dub and reggae that appeals to sing-along music fans and provides a glimpse at the struggles of modern life. Two fine examples are the opening track, “Visibility,” which explores the illusions of internet privacy and “social media-ocrity,” and “What Have We Got To Hide,” a clever take on Big Brother paranoia. Since their rebirth in 2013, Culture...

Feral Ohms

I Fall / Sweetbreads

Alternative Tentacles

Bezerko guitar wizard Ethan Miller returns to the heavy with the latest arrival from FERAL OHMS! This brand new 7-inch includes a pounding cover of THE DAMNED's “I Fall” on side A and a brand new original title, “Sweetbreads” on the b-side!  Oakland’s 'Caveman Psych' power trio is made up of Ethan Miller (COMETS ON FIRE, HOWLIN RAIN), Chris Johnson (DRUNK HORSE) and Josh Haynes (NUDITY). It’s loud, super-fuzzed and just over the border from psyche in a darker, harsher jungle. Doses of concrete basement West Coast 80s punk, 70s hairy bare-chested wall of amps festival rock, 90s screaming wah Japanese underground and various other forms of scuzz, primitive, biker and outcast rock and roll all combine forces in this ungodly mutation like a truly unholy musical Three’s Company. Hop on this comet direct to planet fierce. It’s going to be a wild ride!  - Limited to 500 copies. - 3rd release from this acclaimed SF Bay Area psyche fuzz punk fan favorite. - Unique interpretation of THE DAMNED classic “I Fall” from their classic debut LP “Neat Neat Neat”!

Johns, Evan

Panoramic Life

Alternative Tentacles

Evan Johns is supposed to be dead… but he’s indestructible and back to boogie after nearly a decade in and out of hospitals and rehab clinics. He’s still thirsty for red-hot rockabilly and ready to tear you to pieces with his raw twang and surf blues. Alternative Tentacles is tickled to announce the addition of Evan Johns’ albums Panoramic Life and Somewhere Over The Skyline to its excellent digital catalogue. Johns grew up in Virginia but was born to be a road-dog travelling musician. He started hitch-hiking cross-country with an acoustic guitar and cans of beer when he was a kid, going to shows and listening to vintage bluesmen moan on-stage and shoot the shit off-stage. He got his first electric guitar when he was 17 and moved to DC to jam with local rockabilly heroes like Danny Gatton. Johns wrote three songs on Gatton’s album Redneck Jazz before forming his own band called the H-Bombs.  Alternative Tentacles founder Jello Biafra caught a Evan Johns’ and the H-Bombs gig back in the 80’s and described it as “a little Tex-Mex here, garage punk power there, all whipped into a witch's brew of spitfire guitar and Evan's trademark vocal growl. This is the real stuff.” Johns had fire in his eyes, passion wailing out off his guitar strings, and a 12-six-packs-a-day bar tab. He was just as wild off-stage as he was on-stage. By 1984 Johns was causing chaos and making music with various groups in Austin, Texas. He joined...

Johns, Evan

Somewhere Over The Skyline

Alternative Tentacles

Evan Johns is supposed to be dead… but he’s indestructible and back to boogie after nearly a decade in and out of hospitals and rehab clinics. He’s still thirsty for red-hot rockabilly and ready to tear you to pieces with his raw twang and surf blues. Alternative Tentacles is tickled to announce the addition of Evan Johns’ albums Panoramic Life and Somewhere Over The Skyline to its excellent digital catalogue. Johns grew up in Virginia but was born to be a road-dog travelling musician. He started hitch-hiking cross-country with an acoustic guitar and cans of beer when he was a kid, going to shows and listening to vintage bluesmen moan on-stage and shoot the shit off-stage. He got his first electric guitar when he was 17 and moved to DC to jam with local rockabilly heroes like Danny Gatton. Johns wrote three songs on Gatton’s album Redneck Jazz before forming his own band called the H-Bombs.  Alternative Tentacles founder Jello Biafra caught a Evan Johns’ and the H-Bombs gig back in the 80’s and described it as “a little Tex-Mex here, garage punk power there, all whipped into a witch's brew of spitfire guitar and Evan's trademark vocal growl. This is the real stuff.” Johns had fire in his eyes, passion wailing out off his guitar strings, and a 12-six-packs-a-day bar tab. He was just as wild off-stage as he was on-stage. By 1984 Johns was causing chaos and making music with various groups in Austin, Texas. He joined...

Jucifer

District Of Dystopia

Alternative Tentacles

Jucifer, founded in Georgia in 1993, are pioneers of the sludge / doom / death metal two-piece. For their seventh full-length, Districts of Dystopia, Jucifer mounts a sonic assault chronicling the corruption and gross misuse of power in our nation’s capitol. Now, the story can be heard on vinyl through Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles Records. Recorded in their RV during their never-ending tour of the planet, Districts of Dystopia offers nine of America’s ugliest history lessons put to record! “Non Gratus Anus Rodentum” (“Not Worth a Rat’s Ass” in Latin) is a sludgy, murky ode to the Tunnel Rats: US Army infantry soldiers who entered Viet Cong tunnel systems to kill enemy soldiers, oftentimes with just a bayonet, a .45, and a flashlight. “Decapitating the Regime” is all woozy riff and martial snare, tackling the reversal of the US’s initial support for Saddam Hussein’s regime over the course of both Gulf Wars—from the supply of weapons used in multiple horrific genocidal acts over the course of two decades to the eventual murder of thousands of Western military personnel by those same weapons. Through all nine tracks, G. Amber Valentine’s rasp and tar-thick guitars lay down a grimy, murky layer while her husband, Edgar Livengood, pounds aways at the drums. There’s no flash, no tricks, just straight-up raw power that would make Eyehategod stand up and take notice.  Unlike heavy duos that use loops, backing tracks or triggers to fill out their live sound, Jucifer relies on compositions designed to...