***A nuanced and balanced collection of well-crafted modern shoegaze, measuring equal parts melody and mystery. Swirling haze gives way to nearly-Midwest emo sounding arpeggios before exploding again in sonic fireballs of feedback and distortion. FFO: Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Swervedriver.
12" $26.95
07/21/2023
***Listening to War Honey is an almost transcendent experience. This burgeoning young Brooklyn band is driven by the soaring operatic vocals of Gabrielle Dana that incorporate socially conscious and often surrealist lyricism. Ben Fitts’ ethereal guitar work reverberates across a vast sonic landscape, with mesmerizing melodies as well as dark textures. This album compiles both War Honey EPs and two singles with a reimagined song order in a CD digipak, including an 8-page booklet of lyrics and artwork.
CD $11.00
07/21/2023
***Moving through tight, clean, hard-punk, masterly into acid surfer, vibrating-melodic power-metal, KISSED BY AN ANIMAL is through and through a New York band with grit, love, and party turned to Maximum Krank. Think Dinosaur Jr. meets Lemonheads on a psychedelic tip. Some of the songs are perfect for cruising sunsets. Some of these songs are perfect for being purposely lost at sea. And some of these songs are the soundtrack for the life you will have if you follow your heart to the path of ascension. “The Brooklyn band’s simultaneously thoughtful and party-friendly second full-length is both evidence of, and a tribute to, creativity and true originality and an invitation to be yourself” —Bands Do BK
LP $21.95
08/12/2022
***With an impressive pedigree of NYC veteran musicians, PEMBROKE’s energetic debut is brimming with melodic punk riffs, galloping hardcore, mosh-inducing breakdowns, a tightly wound rhythm section, and a pinch of DC post-hardcore flavor. Think Sick Of IT All covering Rites Of Spring or vice versa. There’s catchy, crunchy guitar work provided by JON BIVIANO of the legendary SUPERTOUCH. JAMIE BEHAR from SAETIA / OFF MINOR infamy manhandles the six-string bass duties, while former LYTIC drummer FRANKIE ZERILLI covers all ground between a gallop and a mosh. The record is rounded out with the gruff commanding vocals courtesy of RON TREASURE from NYC street punk/oi band GUNS DON’T RUN. “An interesting sonic stew that brings to mind everything from NYHC to New Wave of British Heavy Metal to Revolution Summer-like melodic hardcore.” —No Echo
LP $21.95
08/12/2022
***Dreamy slowcore indie influenced by Slowdive, Crumb, Cigarettes After Sex, Modest Mouse, and Nick Cave. This EP is ripe with lush atmosphere, soaring operatic vocals, ethereal guitar work, and dark textured melodies. "An unpredictable amalgamation of sprawling ambient slowcore jams and bluesy existential shoegaze psalms... Frontwoman Gabrielle Dana’s haunting melodies evoke the soulful passion of Ella Fitzgerald and the darkly desperate warbles of Chelsea Wolfe, enveloping the listener in a ghostly rapture" —A Grrrl's Two Sound Cents Black ice color vinyl limited to 315 copies with screened B-side, vellum insert, and digital download.
12" $18.50
01/28/2022
***Like most good stories, this one begins with a Craigslist ad: "Let's get this out of the way first- I have no official music experience." This honest confession was the beginning of Brooklyn’s GROUPIE, as well as Ashley Kossakowski (bass/vox) and Johanna Healy’s (guitar/vox) friendship. They took bits and pieces from the punk, post-punk, and new wave acts of the '70s and '80s that spoke to them most—The Stooges, The Cure, The Clash, to name a few, and gracefully blend them with more feminine influences from the '90s like Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, and The Breeders, crafting a sound that nods to the past while exploring contemporary themes. Guitarist Eamon Lebow and drummer Aaron Silberstein fill out their sound with textural guitar lines and dynamic percussion. After harnessing their sound over two EPs, Groupie is about to introduce themselves to the world proper with the release of their debut album Ephemeral, due out January 22, 2021. Ephemeral is a ten-track introspection on the transience of life, memories, and heroes. With warm, yet dissonant tones and energetic, impassioned vocals strengthening this theme - it’s a sound that drives right to your heart. Edition if 200 copies on fruit punch colored vinyl.
LP $21.50
03/26/2021
***Kissed by an Animal is the auditory counterpart to the universe of illustrator/musician Dima Drjuchin. Dima is known in the art world for his rich surreal scenes plucked from an alternate dimension existing exclusively in his own mind. You can find his work on countless album covers from artists like Father John Misty, Brad Mehldau, and Reggie Watts. The debut LP from his band, Kissed by an Animal, articulates the chaos of his visual world through soaring guitar solos, unrelenting drums, and instantly memorable melodies that you will be singing to your grave - seriously. The marriage of Dima's music and his visual style is on harmonious display in their video for the single "The Good Times are Here Again," which depicts illustrated versions of the band performing in a technicolor dream world of Drjuchin's creation. Joining forces with veteran Brooklyn musicians, Jon F Daily (drums) and Tsugumi Takashi (bass), the band self released their debut LP on cassette in 2019 to rave reviews and is now being released on vinyl by Handstand Records. Kissed by an Animal wears its influences on their sleeve—from The Misfits to the Cure, from Dinosaur Jr to A Flock of Seagulls. You'll be pulled in by the instantly catchy melodies, you'll stay for the relentlessly driving rhythm section, and you'll be disappointed when the song is over before you've had your fill.
LP $21.50
03/26/2021
***LMI are a dark hardcore / stoner punk trio from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. They blend the angular dissonance of Drive Like Jehu and the off-kilter energy of early Mastodon with heavy punk riffs akin to Poison Idea if they were potheads instead of drunks. LMI explore the cavernous recesses of the mind on “Excess Subconscious” with a series of menacing shrieks and snarls, bleak introspective lyrics, and an overall eerie atmosphere. LMI formed when they were 16 years old (originally named “Lazy Middle-class Intellectuals” after a Bad Religion lyric) and have played together for over a decade. They have toured relentlessly across North America, playing with the likes of Pentagram, Full of Hell, Today Is The Day, Black Tusk, KEN mode, Rosetta, Long Knife, Spotlights, and Portrayal of Guilt. Edition of 311 locked groove copies. Includes double-sided insert.
LP $18.35
03/26/2021
***CASUAL BURN are a femme-fronted punk rock band from New Orleans. Their debut full length Mean Thing is a haunting punk rock stomp with goth and surf undertones, sludgy downshifts, and a few noisy freak-outs. Everything is held together by MONET's hypnotic vocal style, a sonic sister of Siouxsie Sioux and Alice Bag. Catchy melodies and strong songwriting chops contrast with the blown-out garage vibe of an ‘80s punk record. “Chaotic punk with gothy overtones, an echoey ambiance and vocals that could best be described as Siouxsie Styrene.”—Suburban Voice
LP $15.50
09/20/2019
***An environmental cautionary tale from a vile hybrid of sludge metal and noise punk Subterranean dwelling humanoids, horribly deformed by exposure to a toxic radioactive substance, making a raucous metallic commotion with help from local Brooklyn volunteer/drummer JAMES and the Society for Estuary Waste Education & Research. These however are our best educated guesses and their true origins remain unknown. The creatures comprised of and henceforth referred to as “MUTANT SCUM,” were subsequently discovered while tracking the substance to its source in the sewer systems underneath Newtown Creek. Little is known about these creatures, the substance, or what may have twisted them to life. Our best guess is that the toxic cocktail of the Greenpoint Oil Spill, decades of unchecked chemical dumping, and raw sewage spilling into the creek created a fertile breeding ground for these mutant aberrations." Pressed on slime green vinyl and housed in gatefold jackets.
LP $17.75
09/20/2019