***Hailing from Christchurch, New Zealand, THE DANCE ASTHMATICS emerged from the womb a few years ago as a PiL-worshipping dub-punk aggregate unlike anything else on their native isle. In fact, New Zealand hasn’t seen this much menace and casual aggression in a band since The Gordons stalked the earth. Comparisons can also be drawn to such demented precursors as Killing Joke, Butthole Surfers, and Terminal Cheesecake. But ultimately, The Dance Asthmatics have carved a unique identity out of their country’s bedrock. And they’ve fashioned a fortress from which they can let loose volleys of devastating power. Their five-song debut, Lifetime Of Secretion is a bruiser.
12" $17.75
09/23/2016
***To many, CRAIG BELL is well known as bass guitarist / singer with MIRRORS and ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS, two bands that were among the foundation stones upon which the Cleveland, Ohio music scene of the 1970s was built. What many may not know is that Craig was also an integral part of the beginnings of another era of creativity in New Haven, Connecticut in the following decade. With like minded musicians, Craig formed SAUCERS, FUTURE PLAN, THE PLAN, THE BELL SYSTEM and THE RHYTHM METHODISTS in the years he lived on the East Coast (1976—1989). Craig released few recordings during this time, two singles with Saucers, “What We Do/Muckraker” (1979) and “A Certain Kind of Shy/She’s Alright” (1980), songs on the compilation LPs It Happened But Nobody Noticed (1982) featuring cuts by Saucers and The Plan, while The Bell System had their “America Now” released on the radio station only SCREAM promo LP (1985), and a single by The Plan, “I Love New York/I Hate New York/When It’s Too Much” (1983), most of them on his Gustav Label. In 2002, a CD compilation by Grand Theft Audio out of Los Angeles collected the entire studio output of Saucers on an album titled What We Did. This, along with reissues of songs Craig played on with Mirrors and RFTT, was the only recording of his work available. 2016 brings aka Darwin Layne, an LP featuring 11 historic recordings, both live and studio, featuring Craig’s songwriting and his bands Future Plan,...
LP $17.75
09/02/2016
***Having previously released a few 7”s, the five-piece MOSQUITO EGO is set to unleash their first full-length upon an unsuspecting planet. Glomb is a 12-track declaration of intent. A quintet consisting of NATALAY, TIM, TOBI, MORITZ (CLUSTER BOMB UNIT, METABOLSIMUS) and REINHOLD, Mosquito Ego play like a highlight reel of post-punk and noise rock’s finest moments, movements and gestures. Underneath a foundation of churning guitar / bass / drums, electronics sizzle and squiggle, while the entire band gets loose and weird. Along with each member’s voice, samples and loops get thrown into the maelstrom; chopped, screwed, pitch-shifted and hard-panned. “Poke” establishes these parameters from the outset. All funhouse mirrors and grinding gears, “Local Zero” sounds like an unearthed Brainiac deep cut. Other parts of Glomb recall the outre’ avant-rock of Terminal Cheesecake and Slug. This gonzo aesthetic is reflected by MARK BOHLE's eye-popping, synapse-frying cover art.
LP $17.75
06/17/2016
***DAN MELCHIOR is artist as perpetual motion machine. We could say “shark,” but Dan doesn’t sniff for blood in the water. Instead, he is inviting you to his private lake; his solace relies on his relentless creativity. Whether painting, writing, collaging or recording, Dan offers nothing less than words, images and sounds transmitted directly from his subconscious, but filtered through the rigorous process of a true artist. Dan’s latest offering is a superb collection of songs and sonic vignettes that dips down deep into life’s trenches. Here, where light has to fight to be noticed, misery, monotony and melancholy mingle and bleed into one another. Accordingly, Dan doesn’t play the blues, he plays the greys. Plays The Greys is a patchwork album, but don’t let that imply carelessness. Each odd juxtaposition serves a purpose and illuminates its surroundings like a torch in the night. Part one and part two of the title track are perfect examples of Dan’s decidedly non-academic approach to musique concrete’s a-musical gestures. Field recordings bump up against back-porch guitar plucking that morphs into radio declarations by the good Christians among us. Praise be. Edition of 500 copies. In more ways than one, “Death Has No Mercy” is the center of the album. Midway through its hazy meanderings, “Death…” jumps into an uptempo backwoods jaunt. It’s good to know that the guitar is always there, providing a means for expression and catharsis. Suffering in recent years through immense personal tragedy, Dan channels all that pain...
LP $17.75
03/25/2016
***"Cyclone Rodney" is a reluctant tale of punk rock angst and suicide. As if spewed forth from the mouth of a catatonic PTSD victim, it starts as a gurgle and ends in a gush. Its not even suicidal or punk though, just simple anxious chaotic rock. So get fucked. B-side "Just Deserve" is guts on sleeve pop slop, that might just deserve a place along side other tuff wussy power ballads stashed at the back of your record collection...you know, the ones you keep for when you're feeling like a pathetic mushy mess. Edition of 200 copies. Includes an insert.
7" $9.25
03/25/2016
***Way down there at the bottom of the world, there is a young man named EN KERNAGHAN who is devoting his life to a higher power. Make that two higher powers; and from our perspective, there ain’t none higher than Rock n’ Roll. For this Ever/Neverreleased EP, En spins and interprets classics by The Cramps, Pussy Galore and more, into his own personal mantras. With the close-mic’d confidence of a young John Spencer and the zeal of a newly-tonsured Monk, En Kernaghan will make you a believer. Edition of 200 copies with two inserts. "En Ethan Kernaghan project experience banned band 1997 started in a bedroom in an Australian suburb, slowly turning from that of a recording project into a performance band until being banned, then on to recording self titled LP. Kel ANG."—En Kernaghan
12" $17.75
02/19/2016
***Influenced in equal measure by both sides of the street and the top and bottom of the charts, RICHARD PAPIERCUTS’ IF sets a new standard for ambitious pop music on a shoestring budget. Meticulously recorded throughout New York City over the course of a turbulent year, Papiercuts & co. traffic in shades of light and dark. Like a master of ceremonies at an underground cabaret, Papiercuts—a mystery man of uncertain origin and pedigree—is an expert guide to the many quandaries of a modern metropolitan existence. IF is unafraid to explore a complex inner life rife with anxiety and doubt, yet it revels in the sensual pleasures only the contemporary cityscape can provide. IF is the ultimate marriage of subversive, underground sensibilities and classic songwriting craftsmanship silhouetted on a larger-than-life canvas. This music encompasses an ordinary life played out in widescreen. We are all our own celluloid heroes, Papiercuts seems to be telling us. Embrace your starring role, be your biggest fan.
LP $17.75
10/09/2015
***The people say they want the truth. Let’s take them at their word: The People want the Truth. LAMONT "BIM" THOMAS is the god(damn’s honest) Truth. We all know the truth isn’t always pretty, and rarely is it fun—but Thomas makes it sound like the best party you’ve ever been to which you’ve ever been invited. And make no mistake—everyone is invited. OBNOX is soul music for the bruised and battered; feel-good tunes for the righteously pissed-off masses; and a sonic salve for the neglected and ignored. Wiglet—Thomas’s third full-length of 2015—is part two of Ever/Never’s double-fisted Obnox-ious assault on your eardrums (following current triumph Know America). If possible, Wiglet is Thomas’ most wigged-out offering yet. Condensed into a solid half-hour of fuzz, grease, sweat and fury, Wiglet is another entry into Thomas now-patented, and near-effortless, blend of punk (including garage, post and hardcore), soul and hip-hop—all with an ear worthy of a warped late ‘60s studio engineer.
LP $17.75
09/25/2015
NOW AVAILABLE!!! On their debut 12'' EP for Ever/Never Records, New York City's BALLROOM explode out of the gate with a whirlwind fury. Anchored by a tornado of vicious snare drum thwacks and excoriating guitars, "Corridor" is a threat made manifest by singer ERIC CECIL's warnings to "not let the sight disturb ya." Ballroom are a powerful ensemble assembled from scattered remnants of other notable bands. Cecil (who also plays guitar) did time in Chicago punk standout BUSY SIGNALS, and has featured in numerous NYC bands since his relocation. The other axe-slinger, KRISTIAN BRENCHLEY, is a founding member of long-running scum rockers WOMAN, and also lays down the bottom end in Ever/Never labelmates DEGREASER. Ballroom low-end is provided by HOME BLITZ' THERESA SMITH, while the drums are beaten into submission by STEVEN FISHER, leader of WILFUL BOYS and DOZERS.
LP $17.75
08/11/2015
NOW AVAILABLE!!! 1978 was ground zero for the UK post-punk explosion. The previous few years had seen raw rock n’ roll claw it’s way back into the mass consciousness, but ‘78 was the year a veritable army of disconnected and discontented art students decided, en masse mind, to pick up cheap guitars, switch on malfunctioning synthesizers and beat upon cobbled-together drumkits. From the art colleges they came, inspired by the throbbing rhythms of PiL, The Pop Group and Pere Ubu, but also by politically-charged reggae and dub such as King Tubby, Prince Far-I and the Coxsone Sound System. CODE BMUS was just such a unit. Four too-smart-for-their-own-good lads converged in London with an itch to join the fray. Pitched somewhere between squatterpunk art-scrabble and headier RIO-style instrumental tangle, Code BMUS carved out their own peculiar identity in an unforgiving London music and art scene. For years they plied their trade, hauling their unconventional set-up—“a rhythm kit built from Indian tablas, Irish bodhrán, an assortment of metal tubes and plates, snare, marching band bass drum and a miscellaneous collection of objects to hit wired up with transducer mics…deconstructed guitar played with bottleneck, bow and sticks on an ironing board”—to all manner of clubs, converted showspaces and improvised venues. In 1981, Code BMUS brought their musical contraptions to Cold Storage, a meat locker that had been transformed into a recording studio by the fiercely independent and experimental postpunk trio This Heat. The resulting 12” EP, Strike Now, There is No...
LP $17.75
08/11/2015
NOW AVAILABLE!!!Coming at you direct from Cleveland, Ohio, LAMONT "BIM" TOHOMAS has transitioned seamlessly from journeyman sticksman in some of the state's finest bands (This Moment In Black History, Unholy Two, Puffy Areolas, Bassholes, etc.) to the full-on phenomenon known as Obnox. From a foundation of dirt-level garage punk, Thomas sculpts deep cuts out of blown-out beats, redline guitar damage, and soulful singing, as if your local gospel choir had been raised on a steady diet of The Pagans and Back From the Grave comps. Know America is a loose concept album, something like Thomas' deep soul take on 'Pump Up The Volume' or 'Airheads'. Right at the start, on "Signal Takeover," Obnox is hijacking the radio waves. A DJ that sounds suspiciously like Thomas, let us know that we are tuned to "Radio 420 WEDE" and that we better prepare for some "trunk punk." In case you haven't picked up what he's laying down, Thomas informs you that the LP you just slapped on your turntable is "reefer on wax."Received a 7.9 rating from Pitchfork.
LP $17.75
08/11/2015