Upcoming Releases

King Automatic

Playing 6 Garage & Sixties Hits

Slovenly

***King Automatic makes cover like dirt across the grooves of this big-hole 10inch, taking classic tracks from bands as generationally distant as The Seeds and The Gories, transforming “Pushing Too Hard” and “Thunderbird ESQ” into perfectly effortless Jamaican rock steady, fortified with his signature drum machine, and multi-layered loop treatment. And what would a covers record from a French artiste be without paying respect to Mssr. Jacques Dutronc? His 1968 classic "L'augmentation" gets a 21st century rub-down to loosen up the kinks, and emerges revitalized for a daring new scene. The real madness, however, lies at the end of the programme, with an inverted version of “One Step Beyond” knocking the record’s concept on its head, as this 2 TONE classic is stripped of its syncopated nuttiness, summoned back to its roots, and emerges born again as pure rhythm‘n’beat. And this, fellow punk rudes, is how we’re demanding our rock’n’roll be delivered today… COPASETIC AND INTENSIFIED!

Bodish, Holt

Gorgeous

Celluloid Lunch

***"Holt Bodish, best known as the driving force behind Montana’s power trio Mordecai, steps into a more intimate and unfiltered space on Gorgeous, a collection of refreshingly shambolic home recordings that offers a deeper glimpse into his singular artistic sensibility. Crisp, wiry guitars cut through layers of cacophonous percussion, keyboards, drum machines, and anything else Holt has at his disposal. Like the detailed twang of certain UK DIY bands, the songs are propelled by experimentation. Layers of home-recorded first takes blend together in an analog haze, and beneath the noise, Holt’s unmistakably sharp riffs and churning chord progressions come into focus. Songs such as I Am Nothing recall the pop songcraft of Tall Dwarfs or The Clean, but here they are imbued with a looser, more chaotic energy, while Half Sunset leans into an effortless VU cool. Holt’s story-like, half-spoken vocals are less breezy than Lou Reed’s, instead sounding stark and intimate, like The Shadow Ring fronting a rock band. Hand percussion lends an earthy pulse to tracks like Bogus Refutations and No to Nothing, edging toward the folky mysticism of The Fugs or The Incredible String Band at their most hypnotic and exploratory. Rather than feeling deconstructed, these songs feel unconstructed, as if the ideas were captured the moment they formed, still warm with immediacy. Gorgeous draws its power from this approach, where the result is a disorienting and compelling sense of realness."—Kryssi B.

Drainolith

Drainolith's Montreal

Celluloid Lunch

***On The Electric Hearse (2020) Drainolith time-travelled through various phases of gentrification in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood of Montreal to pay homage to a bygone era, distilling it’s essence out of time. With Drainolith’s Montreal both spatial & historic scope have broadened for a stranger & sparser psychic cartography. Opening with a rendition of les objets mutantes a 2010 poem by the mysterious Cassie Cornette, Moskos sets the scene of this record as exploration of the titular city’s terrain vague. I write from a public standing desk beneath a hardwood awning where the bike path ends & metaverse offices stand. When Electric Hearse was recorded this location was still an ambiguous dirt and gravel pit where free impromptu dance classes took place on a makeshift wood floor. A well manicured and overpopulated nursery now grows where weeds once wrought their chaotic & resilient networks. The piano that bridges these two incarnations of “guerilla park” now sits with a lock and chain over its keyboard cover. This is the best I can describe the state of Montreal’s terrain vague at the time of this release.Following the plaintive notebook synth wailing which closes side 1 we’re introduced to the no music crew “they can’t hear music, they only hear words” in Alex’s own. Chilling stuff. The sounds of spray paint cans & interstellar radio tones crinkle in the background.Separating the sci-fi sprawl of the album’s first part and the b-boy bouillabaisse of it’s second are Bourbs the street and Bourbs the guy “two...

Mars

Live At The Village Gate 1977

Hozac

***A common misconception about MARS is that their music was meant to be dark and nihilistic. That’s not totally wrong: When their guitars sawed noise, rhythms lurched heavy and words came in howls, listening could be a harrowing experience, as suffocating as any of their apocalyptic No Wave counterparts. But the quartet’s work was also energetic, joyful and buoyantly melodic. After all, they started by jamming on tunes by the Velvet Underground, pretty much the ur-band when it comes to sounding both dark and bright. As much as MARS stretched and remade that model into new wiry shapes, the spark of brightness sustained.It’s easy to hear when listening to this set recorded in the summer of 1977 at a series of shows put on by the late Terry Ork at the Village Gate, a renowned jazz club in Greenwich Village. All eight songs have an urgent bounce, which is clearest in the caffeinated energy of the vocals, usually delivered in the pungent wail of either Sumner Crane or Connie Burg. Mark Cunningham’s rubbery bass and the chopping guitars of Crane and Burg shoot flares as if they were running a fireworks display. Add Nancy Arlen’s nonstop drumming – roughly echoing Mo Tucker if she had extra limbs and Live at the Village Gate becomes a dizzying rush of tunes that zooms by in a taut 24 minutes.Though Mars hadn’t even recorded at this point, they were already what Burg called “like a machine in a way – a really out...

Tommy Jay

Tommy Jay's Short Sagas of Sorrow 1974 Archival LP

Hozac

***A true Ohio outsider legend in every sense, Tommy Jay along with his producer/co-hort Mike Rep were recording like crazy in the mid 1970s and we’re so glad they did. What we have here before you is an unreleased 1974 studio album with another book of classics intertwined within, and if you’ve been following Tommy’s hypnotic trajectory with Mike Rep, True Believers, and the Harrisburg Players over the years, it’s another long-awaited reward for your faith in this underground system you’re invested in.Pure Ohio Gold as they say, and as a recently unearthed recording, we’re proud to present it for the first time anywhere, solidifying Tommy Jay’s pillar-like influence in the sick and twisted Harrisburg underground. Forever underrated, Tommy shines hard here for the singer-songwriter era, keeping that creeping “punk edge” just under the surface for extra tension, even in 1974. In another world Tommy Jay would be as well-known as Skip Spence or Ron House, but his star still rises, albeit slowly & surely. Much like a companion LP to The Grim-O-Comix Sequence and his essential Tall Tales of Trauma LP, Short Sagas of Sorrow fills yet another void with it’s deep lo-fi goodness that has no problem hitting all of your unprotected sweet spots.

JPI Vio-Lens Kommand

Pon Tu Lengua Sobre Mis Huesos: Exploraciones Cartománticas

Nuclear War Now

***The 2026 full-length album from Uruguay's occult black metal entity JPI Vio-Lens Kommand and the band's second release on NWN! Productions. JPI Vio-Lens Kommand continues its uncompromising path with a feral blend of black metal, d-beat, and punk, driven by surrealist poetry shouted in Spanish. The production is deliberately raw and organic, evoking the sound of a forgotten 1990s four-track demo, while the sparse but effective use of keyboards adds an eerie sense of depth without softening the band's primitive attack. Where the previous album leaned toward death-thrashing chaos, this recording shifts closer to the hypnotic minimalism of Ildjarn and Invunche. Recommended for fans of Asocial (Sweden), Gudon (Japan), Metal Attack (Bolivia), and Plasmid (UK). Presented on heavy black vinyl with a 3mm jacket and insert.

Witches Hammer

Final Storm

Nuclear War Now

***Forty years in the making, Final Storm serves as the triumphant final chapter in Canadian Speed Metal cult, Witches Hammer's history. Rather than reinventing themselves, the band has remained faithful to the speed and thrash metal sound that has defined their legacy, delivering nine tracks that seamlessly stand alongside their previous two acclaimed albums. The record bridges past and present, combining material from the band's earliest days with newly forged compositions to create a fitting Final Storm.Two songs on the album trace their origins directly to Witches Hammer's legendary demo era: "Mantle of Death" from the band's 1985 debut demo and "Death of No Reprieve" from their 1986 follow-up. Alongside these resurrected classics are two completely new tracks, "Nocturnal Oblivion" and the instrumental "Malicious Assault." The remaining songs are built from a treasure trove of unreleased riffs, rehearsal tapes, and basement recordings created during the band's formative years in the 1980s. Much of the material was painstakingly assembled from decades-old cassettes, with the band collaborating to complete and refine unfinished ideas into fully realized songs.

Carp, The

Tangled Up With the Two Tailed Rat

Total Punk

***Our favorite fishy boot boys, THE CARP, are back with their sophomore LP. Born out of a PERVERTS AGAIN practice that ALEX WARD didn't show up for and a mutual love of street punk and Oi!, THE CARP mashes the two through the skewed lens of the 'Kids Who Brought You CRUELSTER. 11 pissed off rants about the drones flying over our heads, the data centers in our backyards, the unaffordability of living, and the billionaires who make it all possible. The Carp are here to give you your marching orders, so lace up your docs, head to your nearest lake, and join the local chapter of the fish militia! 'Tangled Up With The Two Tailed Rat' is sardonic, anthemic, and 100% TOTAL PUNK!!!!

M.O.T.O.

Kill M.O.T.O.

Chain Smoking Records

***BACK IN PRINT!!! M.O.T.O.'s acclaimed second full-length album originally released in 2003. A gem of fast-paced Ramones-style punk loaded with satirical humor.

Prisonnier Du Temps

Prendre Le Pouvoir Par La Force

La Vida Es Un Mus

***This is the second album from Prisonnier Du Temps, and from the cover alone you can tell that its sole member, Jacky Cadiou, wanted to surprise and not just deliver a pointless follow-up. You can already feel a desire to break the usual codes just from that image.Breaking the rules is exactly what he does across these eight new tracks. There’s a lot of boldness here, and a clear urge to move away from a French Oi! scene that’s becoming more and more uninteresting. This record pushes beyond that boredom and goes much further. It’s no less angry or brutal, both in the music and the lyrics. But alongside that violence, there are plenty of catchy, infectious, and overall anthemic moments. This is far from dull, simple minded Oi!. That sense of daring opens the door to huge, epic melodies that might bring to mind Criminal Damage, and if we’re talking Portland bands, you can also hear the wild melodic intensity of Tragedy and Poison Idea all driven by a raw, bulldozing post-punk hardcore sound.You can really feel that this album was created out of Jacky Cadiou’s need to release his anger against those who oppress us. It’s the frustration and pain of the forgotten turned here into music: “The world moves forward with its eyes closed and Gaza burns, forgotten… In pain and tears, children fall unarmed…” With this second album, Prisonnier Du Temps delivers the record you didn’t expect but absolutely need.

Stingray

Enemy

La Vida Es Un Mus

***Stingray returns three years after Fortress Britain. Back with a new line up and an ever more savage sound, massive sounding on a 5 track 12” EP.Enemy is London on a plate. Stench-tinged hardcore punk born of the ever reaching infinity of Britain’s complex and confusing capital. Nihilistic acid burns in the style of NEUROOT, DEATH SIDE and DOOM, under a few minutes per piece, peppered with prosciutto-dipped VAN HALEN style solos Ala later Wretched or Shotgun Solution. Vocal visitations by Ciara Savage bring frightening melodic elements into the occasional foray into truly irresistible mosh, not far from the barbed wire trailblazing of Gastunk, SOD, and Sacrilege before flying back into fast paced passages of “Scandinavian Jawbreaker” worthy velocity.Recorded at Fuzzbrain by Jonah Falco. Mixed and mastered by Chris Corry at the Paincave. Draped in a Tin Savage sleeve, and released on the ever eternal home of musical suffering, La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.

Suicidas

Canciones Malditas

La Vida Es Un Mus

***Based between Barcelona and Vienna Suicidas have been slowly dropping punk gems on different seven inches for fourteen years. Working at their own pace and staying away from trends, the band has always kept their sound rooted in the most melodic side of early punk. Their output is sparse in quantity but simply flawless in quality up to this point. Their early singles have been collected on two singles compilations already.Fast forward to 2024 and the band entered the studio to record their first full length. This time with the addition of a second guitarist, elevating their sound to new heights. Canciones Malditas has songs with riffs for days, and singalongs that stay with you forever. It has eleven idealistic anthems mixed with dejected love songs for the fuckups. Their influences are classic: Lost Kids, Commando 9mm, Screaming Sneakers, The Adverts and more than anything their beloved Ramones, from who they take the sharp driven punk rock, full of melody but sounding crude at the same time. With a super bright recording and a total atemporal approach to the genre, Suicidas signed a record that I find extremely hard to remove from the turntable.

Effigy

Burnt Offerings

Sealed

***The early 80’s in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was hardly the place where music dreams came true. It had an amazing venue called Friars which was on the touring circuit, but very few local bands. There was the VICE CREEMS fronted by Kris Needs and there was the notorious yet terrible SORE WILLIES. EFFIGY came from the ashes of the SORE WILLIES and formed in 1983. EFFIGY came fully formed and instantly became popular in the local area, where they put on a weekly night at the Uptown Coffee Bar. The band hardly left Aylesbury though, and when they did it was to play in nearby High Wycombe and Bicester. They played bigger gigs with everyone from ALIEN SEX FIEND, BILLY BRAGG, UK DECAY, THE SCARS and SPIZZ. The band recorded one 5 track demo in October 1983 and it is simply unbelievable that it has never been re-released, but then again the bands legacy seems to have banished without a trace, with literally no mentions anywhere. Making their demo one of the hardest ones from 1983 to track down, or even hear, since it is not even uploaded on YouTube.EFFIGY’s sound is so instant. It’s driving, tight female fronted post punk with hooks, style, and had it been released at the time would have made them a household name. Think a straight ahead version of SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, early X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND, THE A-HEADS or the SKELETAL FAMILY but with a more pop edge. The songs lyrically were around the obsession...

Rudimentary Peni

EPs of RP

Sealed

Unavailable since its original release on the Crass side label Corpus Christi in 1987, the much bootlegged compilation The EPs Of RP finally gets an official reissue on Sealed Records.The LP collects both Rudimentary Peni 7” releases pre-Death Church LP, completing the trilogy of Rudimentary Peni's first era recordings before their first hiatus.The A side contains the band’s stunning debut. A breakneck 12-song 7” EP recorded in 1981 at Street Level Studios and originally released on the band’s Outer Himalayan label. From the first track Rudimentary Peni pull you in and aurally assault your ears creating the template for many to follow. It’s abrasive, sharp, intricate with supreme musicianship and a unique dark sense of humour. They created a perfect, demented universe of twisted, poetic and needle in the red punk often imitated and truly never matched.Flip over for the follow up, the 11 track 7” Farce that was originally released in 1982 on Crass Records. Like most records on such label it benefits massively from John Loder’s engineering and Penny Rimbaud production. Farce never lets up the intensity with twisted melodies, a locked in rhythm section and Blinko’s much copied anguished vocals that he sings like his life depends on it. It energetic, manic and 40+ years later nothing comes close to both EP’s.While both EPs were originally packed in Nick Blinko’s artwork, he created a masterpiece of dark and intricate art with microscopical detail to house their collection. You can literally get lost for hours in it. This...

Lay, Shannon

Past The Veil

All The Best

***"Shannon Lay’s seraphic voice and fingerpicking has long been a guiding spirit—a compassionate steward of tender hearts and minds. For the last decade, her music has tendered a retreat from one’s worries, and created a refuge out of delicate and minimalist arrangements. With her new studio album, Past the Veil, she proffers the same care and understanding, and a similar emotional timbre, but from an entirely different sonic vantage point. Rather than weaving a safe cocoon in which listeners may hide out, Past the Veil rips it apart, offering a bold invitation to move through our discomfort and uncertainty. It is the sound of rebirth. It is a chance to stand up, join together, and maybe even dance."—Erin Osmon. Co-Written and Produced by Rob Shelton at Altamira Sound in Alhambra, CA.

Gun Outfit

Early Tapes Vol. 1

L.G. Records

A remaster and first time pressing of the earliest Gun Outfit cassettes, which were produced by the band to sell on their first two national tours in 2009 and 2010, along with some unreleased tracks. The aesthetic at the time was basically an embrace of primitivism. Technical know how was actively disdained in favor of abject expressionism. The context was the hardcore scene, but it was Olympia, so there was some kind of hermetic awareness that could be read as art. This record shows the side of the band that was least afraid of what people thought. The tapes were for friends, there was no outside audience yet.The Emanation cassette was recorded by four track cassette wizard Adam Croce (from Broken Strings) at Carrie's dad (Chunk's) house during the summer. “We thought he was insane because he made us do multiple takes.” Reuben Storey of the death metal band Funerot was the drummer and played a role in arranging the songs. The tape had space on it that an LP didn't. The self-titled cassette was recorded in various spots throughout Olympia—mostly the slummy abandoned office building where every band practiced downtown and was mixed at the double wide where Carrie did work trade shoveling out horse stables for rent, Weeping Willow Ranch. Daniel Swire joined on drums after Reuben slid back into metal world; his style was more subtle. “The band got weirder and the tape got worked so much it started to bleed through. There was confusion throughout but...

Lockstep

I Know What I Saw

Profound Lore

Lockstep is a Nashville-based band pulling elements from shoegaze, doom and heavy rock. They’ve built a sound rooted in atmosphere and weight, moving between quiet, uneasy moments and crushing walls of noise. With each release, the band has tightened their approach—cutting excess and focusing on impact. Their debut full-length, I Know What I Saw, out through Profound Lore Records stands as the band’s most focused and complete statement to date. Following the release of several singles (their last being the “Drag Along” single from 2025), their Arrival EP from 2023, and already having a decent number of shows and tours under their belt (notable past tours include runs with Prize Horse and Gumm), I Know What I Saw leans into massive, slow-burning riffs and dense, layered guitars that stay engaging without letting up, locking into sections that feel both hypnotic and suffocating. Songs stretch and build with purpose, pulling listeners deeper into the band’s world while keeping a constant sense of tension and release. It’s the clearest and most realized version of Lockstep yet.

Woodwose

Woodwose

Language Of Stone

Rooted in the Philadelphia experimental music and acid-folk revival scene of the early 2000’s, Woodwose neither fits comfortably into said scene nor any musical movement current or past. While their sound can be described as primitive, in the sense of the primordial, not in terms of playmanship, their folk-horror aesthetic abuts a pop sensibility that undermines pure thrift in either genre. What results is a wholly unique sound that permeates one’s physiognomy like poison from a deliciously enchanted apple. Keyboardist/flautist/vocalist Jessica Weeks (Magus, The Valerie Project) and guitarist/vocalist Gillian Chadwick (Ex Reverie, Rusalnaia) together draw from a storied musical past to infuse a new creation whose iteration defies ease of labeling. Dueting vocals clamber and soar, guitars stab and arpeggiate, keys rumble and swoon as the rough beast that is Woodwose’s debut long-player stands upright, ready to be born into the world.

Odor Eater

But For Who?

Feel It

On Odor Eater’s third album, their first for Feel It Records, But For Who?, Harley Moore and Logan Devlin have appropriated various sonic idioms of the New Wave employing a similarly playful mode of critique lyrically and musically while updating the social context to reckon with the maelstrom of contemporary pop culture. The Olympia/Portland duo have created a record that speaks the language of their influences fluently but with a definitively contemporary accent—a bricolage of the sounds of Devo, Bill Nelson, Vince Clarke-era Depeche Mode, and Kraftwerk. Devlin and Moore bring fresh ears to this style of composition, mixing freely the aforementioned with a more fully developed sound of their own that is brighter this time around—less heavy and more danceable. Over the course of 11 songs, propulsive drum machines bip bap in deceptively simple patterns, with Devlin’s zig-zagging bass lines shuffling under arpeggiated chords and rhythmic synth leads while Moore’s vocals act as a sort of post-everything Virgil guiding us through the contemporary inferno. Lasers zip-zap in the background, machine-like sounds whoosh and whirr, percussive blips and beeps pop here and there, along with occasional clarinet parts provided by Moore. Meanwhile the lyrics, written and sung by Moore, deal with a wide range of personal and political issues, their vocal delivery often calling to mind the expressive dynamics of Stateless era Lene Lovich—at times veering towards the shouts and howls of Lydia Lunch. There’s songs that deal with genocide, the MAGA cult, and social one-upmanship—and there’s a couple of...

Coeur A L'index

Fatiguee / Mes Heros

La Vida Es Un Mus

***Coeur A L'Index return with their final offering which is the perfect indie pop and power pop format—a two track 7”. The A-Side ‘Fatigueé’ is a bittersweet, dreamy and mournful song that has the charm of the slower Shop Assistants songs. The flip ‘Mes Héros’ is a complete fizzbomb of indie pop and power pop that sounds like an obscure band from the Girls from the Garage compilation series mixed with Dolly Mixture. It’s sparkles and shines instantly. Coeur A L'Index leave this world with a perfect trio of releases—the original demo, the album Adieu Minette and now this 7”. Limited to 300 copies.

Mesh

No Fun At All

Feel It

Philadelphia four-piece Mesh end a 5-year wait with debut LP No Fun At All, out Summer 2026 on Cincinnati’s Feel It Records. Members Sims Hardin (guitar/vocals), Allison Durham (12-string guitar/vocals), Tom Riese (bass) and Steve Darling (drums) formed in 2019, taking inspiration from a blend of influences: early British post-punk, 80’s indie and Philly living. Out of their local DIY scene, Mesh home-recorded their self-titled debut cassette, released in 2021 with Chicago’s Born Yesterday Records. Following their debut tape, the band zeroed in on writing and performing new material locally while also completing several Midwest and East Coast tours.On No Fun At All, Mesh break away from lo-fi recording habits, leaning into clarity and depth with eleven new tracks. Songs like “Hold Onto” and “Boots On The Pavement” move with urgency, accented by Durham and Hardin’s intertwined vocals and guitar work. “Atrophy” is a bright and jangly number highlighting Durham's voice and 12-string chime, while “Violent Peasant” captures a sardonic medieval critique of modern landlord/tenant inequities. No Fun At All is a playful yet mature, dynamic first LP from Mesh. Spin it til your turntable breaks.

Go Public

You Are Traffic

HHBTM

***The past isn't real, the future ain't happening, all we've got is right now and Go Public and You Are Traffic: Hey now, don't dream it's over. An Atlanta band naming a record after traffic might be like dropping a two-ton anvil right on the biggest Bozo-red clown nose imaginable, but there are levels to every parking deck. Maybe it's a gridlock of the soul? The close-together shame of becoming a stranger, a slow motion accident of skeleton details? This band's business—skronky contortions and nope wave deconstructions, prickly wisdom and post-punk pith—is ageless yet absolutely right this very moment, distilling the cosmically unique pointlessness of this number that never should've become a year, and magnifying the microscopic glimmer of hope at its furthest corner. Call it dice-roll politics: a saving throw at a craps tempo—bleakly vibrant jams for endtime dance parties.These men have been in bands. You have maybe heard those bands, if you live in Georgia, or are their friends. Their bands were good; this band is great. Go Public can drop names, a whole catholic education of influences and inspirations, from every acre of the radio dial; but what matters is what comes out, not what goes in. You Are Traffic has few peers; brittle but hard-boiled, it's a swinging splatterhouse of booksmart, tough guy art with the jittery anxiety of Talking Heads and the restless musicality of This Heat in equal measure. The guitar sounds like a dayglo glass sword, for Christ's sake. Sean Rawls and Adrian...

Saints Of Lorain

Those Dark Roads

Eleventh Hour Recording Company

***Cleveland’s underground punk scene has given birth to the Saints of Lorain, who are set to release their highly anticipated debut album in LP format, Those Dark Roads on Eleventh Hour Recording Company. Building on decades of raw experience, loss, and survival, the record marks a powerful new chapter for one of Northeast Ohio’s most authentic punk acts in recent memory.Forged from the legacy of late-’90s outfit Al & the Coholics, Saints of Lorain carry forward more than 25 years of underground DNA—delivering a sound that blends street punk, garage rock, and metal into something unfiltered and unapologetic. Cleveland has long been known for its grit, and Saints of Lorain embody that spirit with music rooted in real-life struggle and resilience.Their recent releases—including Before We Were Saints—have reflected on their past, capturing the chaos, consequences, and survival that defined their early years. Critics have described their sound as that of a band “that’s been to the bottom and clawed their way back,” channeling lived experience into every lyric and riff.Now, with Those Dark Roads, Saints of Lorain turn their focus forward. The album expands on their signature intensity while diving deeper into themes of redemption, endurance, and the long shadows cast by the past.

Bishop, Sir Richard

Hillbilly Erotica

Drag City

***Guitar lord Sir Richard Bishop: ‘one guitar, six strings, no overdubs, 7/8ths improvised, 1/8 composed’ are the terms for a faux vol 2 of speculative Hillbilly music, a psychotic mash of inspired modal post-grass recitals, inherited recollections and new national anthems. Revisiting his pa’s ol’ Tennessee home, Rick’s picks are steel-string mayhem on the tracks, American music at its most gorgeous/literal/violent. And you can dance to it! Are y’all ready for some Hillbilly Erotica?

Optic Sink

Lucky Number

Feel It

***"Lucky Number, the third album from Memphis trio Optic Sink, finds the band both refining and expanding their hypnotic mix of post-punk and dance music, resulting in a sharp and moving exploration of surfaces, shadows, and self-delusion.Natalie Hoffmann (NOTS) has come into her full power as a lyricist. Her work on earlier records (see 'Modelesque' and 'Glass Blocks') shows her talent for exploring the hidden shallows of modern life, but here the funhouse mirrors are balanced by painful longing and drops of truth that leak through the cracks. The music reflects this—under Bauermeister’s driving grooves and the songs’ tight arrangements lurk hidden complexities, thanks in part to Keith Cooper’s exceptional, angular work on guitar and bass.'Unreachable / untouchable space / glass tower / a fragile face / when you’re here / where do you go?' Hoffmann sings over the sinister, nocturnal funk of 'Construction.' Few bands can match the hard beauty of Depeche Mode, New Order, and A Certain Ratio—Optic Sink manages to do more than that, adding their own sad, cutting wisdom. Produced and recorded by Caufield Schnug of Sweeping Promises, Lucky Number is out Fall 2025 on Feel It Records."—Dan Hornsby of True Green / author of Sucker and Via Negativa

Askew, Ed

The Final Painting

Drag City

***In his last years of life, poet/painter/songwriter Ed Askew worked again with his producer on 2013’s remarkable For the World album, Jerry David DeCicca, to create an evocative new set of songs, which would become The Final Painting. The twilight energy is at once lush and minimal, with contributions from Sharon Van Etten, Eve Searls, Canaan Faulkner, Bill Callahan, William Tyler, Ryan Jewell, Dustin Laurenzi, Fulvio Sigurta & Trevor Nikrant from Ryan Davis's Roadhouse Band. Bracing meditation on romance and the slow shuffle off our mortal coil.

Prison

Big Rigs on the BQE

Drag City

***Prison hits the road album, riding two massive jams across altered routes of consciousness a la the allegorical and literal heavy traffic of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, visible from the windows of the studio in which Big Rigs on the BQE was recorded! The requisite Prison gear, guitars, bass and drums plus synth & FX, coughs out exhaust flavored with Groundhogs / Velvets / Hampton’s / Pink Fairies / Magic Band / Good Rats / Can. An improvised rock and roll tapestry, gas ‘n guitar pedal on down to the metal.

Severed Heads

Cuisine (With Piscatorial)

Dark Entries

Severed Heads reattach themselves to Dark Entries for an expanded reissue of their 1991 opus Cuisine (With Piscatorial). As originary Aussie industrial legends—although founder Tom Ellard would balk at being branded as such—Severed Heads shaped the continental subcultural sound with their kitchen electronics, chaotic tape loops, and infectious nursery-rhyme-esque melodies. Cuisine (With Piscatorial) was the long-running project’s ninth album, and is a commentary on the state of music. Ellard explains: “The whole food joke is really about what music's about and how disposable it is; people have records like they have cups of coffee.” The album also presents a turn away from the dancefloor formalism of the era, which Ellard dismissed as already sufficiently explored. Cuisine brings us punchy pop kernels of the prime Heads variety, all clocking in around three minutes. Cuts like “Pilot in Hell” and “Ugly Twenties” rank among the band’s best through their deadly skewering of synth pop tropes. But the album also offers us a Piscatorial section, where Ellard felt free to “go fishing for ideas.” Here we get a taste of the project’s demented cut-up sensibilities, like on the “Quest for Oom Pa Pa” suite, where vintage jazz records are collaged into an angular nightmare. This double-LP reissue is the first time that Cuisine (With Piscatorial) will appear on vinyl, with a previously unreleased early version of “Seven of Oceans.” Also included is a 6-page booklet with liner notes, lyrics, and press clippings.

Why Bother?

Beyond Step One

Feel It

***"As we shift out of the Age of Pisces, chaos reigns. The false profits continue to squeeze water from the stone of life, and humanity continues to look for the light in a growing darkness. It is easy to feel powerless… to give up hope… but do not despair. As Jupiter enters Leo, we are on the verge of a new awakening. And with that, we have a new WHY BOTHER? Offering. Iowa punk druids WHY BOTHER? return from a brief cosmic silence with their most esoteric and ethereal work to date; Beyond Step One.Little is known about this collective of endless hitmakers. They operate in silence and darkness, and not by accident. What we do know is that they continue to issue sprawling musical works that skew from garage punk- to surf rock- to new wave and beyond. Their music is connective, frenetic, and eruptive with covert but powerful subliminal messages bubbling beneath the surface. Unlike many modern bands, WHY BOTHER? choose not to perform live. Instead, they offer Odyssian sonic works like reclusive painters uninterested in the novelty of attention or a cult of personalities. And so we listen closely, and we wait patiently for each new and expansive batch of songs; a singular and cohesive rock n roll vision.With Beyond Step One, WHY BOTHER? conjures eighteen pieces. Eight punk songs, which are par for the course for the group; oddball yet hyper-infectious tunes that utilize grotesque horror film tropes and off-kilter love songs as a trojan-horse for...

Dragnet

Dragnet

Total Punk

***After an 8 year absence Gary Wrong comes barreling out of the wild’s of Alabama with his new project DRAGNET. New collaborator Matt Leary standing at his side laying down the licks and making the beats, while Gary’s throbbing baselines do the driving. Trudging the empty beer cans and filthy muck, that line the murky swamp floor, behind their beat-up airboat while slinging Gary’s signature harsh vibes. They shout in unison about the end of the world on lead single ‘Para-noid.’ Bummer punk with a bit of sunshine slipping into the sludge courtesy of some catchy hooks. Pulsing, hypnotic, and 100% TOTAL PUNK! 12” out on TOTAL PUNK on August 7th, but get your preorder in now. Limited to 300 copies!

Prophetic Justice Ministry

Key To World Peace

Night School

Key To World Peace is the third release by Prophetic Justice Ministry - aka Australian musician Sam Perry. An atmospheric, cinematic album that belies a striking pop songwriting nous at its core, its conductor Prophetic Justice Ministry is at the centre of a new wave of creative, rule-bending Melbourne artists. Romantic, smudged and hazy, Perry emerges from behind a wall of half-light with a clutch of earworms and affecting emotions.Recorded in home studios in Belgrade (Serbia), Christchurch (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia) over the course of three years, Key To World Peace offers a dichotomy in approach. Shifting on a dime between ambient, filmic washes of sound and more traditional song structures, the approach feels natural, casually acid-tipped and emotionally revealing. While Perry’s distinctive keys and production melding with melody is evidenced in Melbourne group Who Cares?, as Prophetic Justice Ministry there’s a heightened sense of mystery and space being used.Swirling in a psychedelic fog with dry iced chords falling down like melting stars, the album pulses with an ominous, distorted intro that sculpts air into blocks of sound before Psyop offers a glimpse through the gloom at the artist navigating through crushed, shoe-gazing chords, singing a consolation into an abandoned building. Side A’s more abstract tone veers from industrial tracks (T-A) to pastoral, impressionistic pieces (Trance) before album highlight Life’s A Party showcases the effortless, classic songwriting lurking in Prophetic Justice Ministry. Built on the tension between the upbeat lyrics and suppressed, rich delivery, the song lopes on an...

Heathen Axe

s/t

DEATHGOD CORP

“I wanted to make a totally fried recording, quick and dirty. Sort of a cathartic expulsion. Clean the cobwebs. “I recently bought a Vestax MR44 (the best sounding 4-track ever IMHO)—the same 4-track I recorded some Coachwhips, early OCS etc. on. Now we had the tools we needed so I spent a week writing riffs and brought them to Tom Dolas and John Hodge. We ran them one time and then recorded them on the second go. Loosely improvised and unhinged. Everything turned all the way up. “Hope you dig—play loud.” —John Dwyer

Whiles

Hummingbird

Anyway

The Whiles are a Columbus, Ohio indie-folk-rock band whose work spans four different decades. Formed in the late 90s, The Whiles have shared the stage with The National, Grizzly Bear and My Morning Jacket, had a song in an Academy Award Nominated documentary (Murderball) and all of its members have been at the center of the world renowned (and sir Paul McCartney endorsed) Sgt Peppercorn's Marathon, the only show of its kind in which all 220 songs of the Beatles are performed in a single 14 hour performance. In 2024, The Whiles booked time with legendary producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, Breeders) to record a new album. Unfortunately, Alibini tragically passed away three months before the scheduled recording dates. The Whiles pivoted and finished two records on their own in their home studios: Hummingbird, a 10 song polyrhythmic meditation on being a middle aged parent in a post-Covid world, and Colors of the Year, a rerecording and 3D reimagining of the band's 2004 masterpiece. Both albums showcase the bands ability to incorporate Beach Boys harmonies, George Harrison-esque guitar composition, the 2000s indie aesthetics of bands like The Shins and The National and Dylan/Cohen inspired lyrical precision, and an emotional vulnerability that echoes The Smiths and Elliott Smith. The Whiles bring a uniquely earnest musical kaleidoscope of both records, records that hopefully will resonate in a fragmented world that craves beauty and truth, The Whiles are excited to be an active band again, looking back and celebrate the rerecording of a...

Ultra Lights

Pleasure's All Yours

Chunklet

Fortune favors the brave. And lordy, nobody has been more rewarded than I have by stumbling into the brilliantly crafted world of Ultra Lights. It started innocently enough when I witnessed their second show, appearing on a stacked bill that included locals Bizner and Arbor Labor Union and the Dutch phenom band Lewsberg. After their opening set, I went up to guitarist/vocalist John Robinson and asked if their closing song was a cover, because it sounded so dang familiar. An earworm for the ages, if you will. Yeah, it was that annoyingly catchy. Maybe was it a Fang song? That Sunday night signaled the beginning of my torrid love affair with Ultra Lights.Ultra Lights’ first release was “Nostalgia.” At the time it was unquestionably their best song. “Nostalgia will eat the young”? Are you serious? That still stops me in my tracks. The two subsequent singles were equally all killer, no filler. The six-song 12” that collects all three singles is equally spotless. I’ve got zero notes. The band has played New York (including a WFMU session!), Chicago, Nashville, and anywhere else that’ll take them. Left in their wake are fans like me who are convinced that Ultra Lights is their new favorite band.Enter Pleasure’s All Yours. A record that, by any reasonable metric, is a stone-cold masterpiece. Not just compared to records by other bands in Georgia or, more broadly, the South. No, I mean that in the great history of recorded music, this is up there with the...

Whiles

Colors of the Year

Anyway

The Whiles are a Columbus, Ohio indie-folk-rock band whose work spans four different decades. Formed in the late 90s, The Whiles have shared the stage with The National, Grizzly Bear and My Morning Jacket, had a song in an Academy Award Nominated documentary (Murderball) and all of its members have been at the center of the world renowned (and sir Paul McCartney endorsed) Sgt Peppercorn's Marathon, the only show of its kind in which all 220 songs of the Beatles are performed in a single 14 hour performance.In 2024, The Whiles booked time with legendary producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, Breeders) to record a new album. Unfortunately, Alibini tragically passed away three months before the scheduled recording dates. The Whiles pivoted and finished two records on their own in their home studios: Hummingbird, a 10 song polyrhythmic meditation on being a middle aged parent in a post-Covid world, and Colors of the Year, a rerecording and 3D reimagining of the band's 2004 masterpiece.Both albums showcase the bands ability to incorporate Beach Boys harmonies, George Harrison-esque guitar composition, the 2000s indie aesthetics of bands like The Shins and The National and Dylan/Cohen inspired lyrical precision, and an emotional vulnerability that echoes The Smiths and Elliott Smith. The Whiles bring a uniquely earnest musical kaleidoscope of both records, records that hopefully will resonate in a fragmented world that craves beauty and truth,The Whiles are excited to be an active band again, looking back and celebrate the rerecording of a lost gem (Colors...

Mondoriviera

La Laguna Dei Bei Sogni

Not Not Fun

The latest by Rimini riddler Lorenzo Camera aka Mondoriviera refracts his burnt vapor mutant sound design into a melted palette of hypnagogic guitar, funhouse keys, wormhole FX, and narcotic crooning: La Laguna Dei Bei Sogni (“The Lagoon of Beautiful Dreams”). Inspired by an episode of a 70’s Italian cartoon about a fugitive ex-army officer delirious with yellow fever on a paradisal South American island surrounded by stolen money and perplexed indigenous villagers, the songs stir an appropriately manic and hallucinatory mood. Layers of guitars and voice sway and surf in a smog of memory and melody, punched up with curveball rompler samples (metallic percussion, monster growls, UFO sirens), then processed through a cheap Zoom FX pedal to tie it all together. The result is a hazy alien odyssey of fever dream pop, flashback glam, and lo-fi teleportation, rippled by sunset breezes across the Adriatic. Mastered by Jared Carrigan. Design by Britt Brown.

Hulder

Verbolgen

20 Buck Spin

Answering the call of the ancestral fires and forest spirits, Hulder returns with its third full length statement Verbolgen. Over the course of those three albums, Hulder has evolved from the vision of a solitary black metal entity into something more expansive and collaborative, though still guided by the strident vision of its creator and namesake. On Verbolgen long-time session member Necreon steps forward to join Hulder as full-fledged co-conspirator, amplifying the duos sweeping solemnity.Across nine tracks, Verbolgen deepens Hulder’s characteristic balance of scathing black metal and windswept melancholy through increasingly layered arrangements and ritualistic atmosphere. Whether with the brutal immediacy of “View from Nemeton” or the ceremonial mid-paced summoning of “In Blood and In Earth,” Hulder’s signature sound is more immense and malevolent than ever. Joined on session drums by both Vapula (the band’s live drummer) and Vrolok of the legendary Aeternus as well as live second guitar player Keld (Majesties, Obsequiae), who here contributes additional leads, keys and hurdy gurdy, the Hulder universe widens its collaborative disposition to a new creative level.As with the previous album Verses In Oath the mix has been handled by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studio in Finland, giving the album an earthy resonance befitting its obsessions with blood, landscape and spiritual inheritance. Verbolgen also features cover art created by Morrigan of Aeternus, her first cover work since contributing art for the earliest Aeternus LPs nearly thirty years ago. The result is a towering and immersive work that cements Verbolgen as the most...

Lew, Hannah

Hannah Lew

Night School

“One foot out the door, another in the otherworld...” So begins Hannah Lew’s debut, self-titled solo record, soaked in imperious, wide-eyed pop songwriting and a girl-group/post punk aesthetic that belies the artist’s history in the U.S. underground. A towering, hook-laden album, it’s infused with an optimism and surrealism that conversely deals with the times we find ourselves in. Recorded at home in Richmond, CA and in The Best House studio with Maryam Qudus in Oakland CA, with the assistance of a crack team of West Coast musicians, this album sees Hannah Lew stepping out from behind the legacy of her two groups Grass Widow and Cold Beat. While musically bearing similarities with her previous work, Hannah Lew is a bold leap into direct pop territory, making ample use of a vocal style that teases out the inherent melancholy in her melodies. Mastered by Sarah Register, each song is a perfectly honed nugget that frequently pulls the heart in two directions at once. Themes of change, breaking up, shattering old ways of being are shot through the record. For the front cover, a photograph of the artist’s face was printed, ripped up and re-assembled, resembling the creative process embarked upon by Lew for her first “solo” material. The album feels instinctual, almost dream-like in its assemblage of sweeping synths and pulsating, propulsive drum machine beat patterns with Lew’s vocal performances sensitive and caressing over the top. Increasingly relying on the subconscious and dreams to guide her creative process, Hannah Lew frequently...

Team Work

Somebody's Gotta Do It

Feel It

"We've almost forgotten what it feels like, the internet internetting in old-timey ways. Ways where people from far away places meet over a shared interest, and truly meet. Team Work formed this way. They found each other via the soundcloud accounts of their bands, Lise of Maraudeur texting from Leipzig and Ronni of Marances from Baton Rouge. And while it sounds cliché, somebody's gotta do it really does feel like they have been playing together all their lives.There are muscular bass lines, crunchy, wood block injected drum patterns, softly delivered vocals, often dubbily processed, scroungy guitars and the juiciest tape loops you’ve ever heard. The span of dynamics on this record is huge: i burnt my tongue with f-icience this morning is a dance punk banger, bringing hues of ESG and the extremely likeable concept of not spelling out the forbidden f-iciency word. would we have a would-workshop feels like a 90ies acoustic guitar r’n’b classic, but thrifted, with sampled clock sounds as genius percussion replacement. Drones with beautifully sampled horns, unison vocal lines and a slo-mo motor beat as on the piper has a flashlight and organically complex riffs on three lung group chat, surprisingly empty cart and (bring more this time). And in between, field recordings turned tracks.On horse eating an apple, Team Work sings 'if you think of making it perfect you will only lose your words'. This debut feels like the living proof of tricking your brain into letting the magic happen. Humble and badass at...

Guppyboy

Jeffersonville

Dust and Memory

Originally released in 1997, Jeffersonville is a hidden gem of late-'90s American indie rock, blending heartfelt songwriting, melodic guitars, and the raw charm of the DIY underground. Formed in Burlington, Vermont, Guppyboy served as an early creative home for musicians who would later go on to form The Sixth Great Lake and The Essex Green, making this album an important chapter in the story of American independent music.This deluxe double LP edition presents Jeffersonville in its most complete form to date, featuring previously unreleased and non-album tracks not included on the original release. Expanding on the original album while preserving its intimate, homespun spirit, this definitive edition shines a new light on a long-overlooked cult favorite.With its blend of indie rock, power pop, and timeless melodic songwriting, Jeffersonville offers strong appeal to fans of the Elephant 6 universe and the wider American indie underground.

Biafra, Jello And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine

Audacity Of Hype

Alternative Tentacles

***BACK IN PRINT ON BLACK OR LIMITED SOLID BABY BLUE VINYL!!! In the twenty or so years since his brainchild, The Dead Kennedys, officially disbanded, Jello Biafra has made a career of spoken word gigs interspersed with musical collaborations with some of the most compelling figures in underground music. Recording projects and touring with the likes of Melvins, NoMeansNo, DOA, Mojo Nixon, and Lard (with Ministry's Al Jorgensen) among others have kept his "punk as political weapon" message sharp, but the lack of his own band made these collaborations usually short-lived and left Biafra with a ton of songs that never saw the light of day.Inspired by The Stooges gig on Iggy Pop's 60th birthday in San Francisco, Biafra laid plans for his own 50th birthday party and finally decided it was time to start a band of his own. After cramming practices for a month, the four-piece dubbed themselves Jello Biafra and the Axis of Merry Evildoers! and featured Biafra, Ralph Spight (Victims Family, Freak Accident, Hellworms), Jon Weiss (Sharkbait, Horsey), and Billy Gould (Faith No More) The band took the stage in a sold-out two-night stand at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. Flush from that exhilarating triumph, nine months of rehearsal and writing followed; they added ace guitarist Kimo Ball (Freak Accident, Carneyball Johnson, Mol Triffid, Griddle), and christened themselves Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. The Audacity of Hype was produced by Biafra and engineered by hip hop producer and longtime co-conspirator Matt Kelley...

Burnside, R.L.

Too Bad Jim

Fat Possum

***BACK IN STOCK!!! R.L. Burnside's album Too Bad Jim is a record worth owning. “I didn't mean to kill nobody ... I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head.

Kimbrough, Junior

God Knows I Tried

Fat Possum

***BACK IN STOCK!!! "...we went into the backwoods of the Delta, where there was an illegal Sunday Juke Joint run by Junior Kimbrough, who was a contemporary of Muddy Waters...The whole thing was extraordinary - like an IV introduction to the blues." - Bono (of U2)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

s/t (Black Vinyl)

Fat Possum

***BACK IN STOCK ON BLACK VINYL!!! UMO was initially conceived by New Zealand native, Ruban, to release some tracks via a Bandcamp page to promote his limited addition vinyl in 2010. He pieced a band together, with a skilled producer, Jake, on bass and a brilliant teenage drummer named Julian to fill out the band. They are based in Portland.

Ultha

Belong

Vendetta

***ULTHA's ninth release in five years and features two extended tracks—"No Fire, Only Smoke" (17:04) and "Constructs of Separation" (21:07). “Ultha have done it again, somehow. Converging Sins is the sort of album that any band would be lucky to release once in their career, but with Belong, Ultha proves that they are among black metal’s most inspired forces. This is atmospheric black metal, with strong elements of doom intertwined now and again, that you do not simply listen to—no; you feel it. Ultha are communing with some unseen force, and through their dense sonic tapestries, they afford us the same opportunity. Recommended!”—Ippocalyptica

Totalitar

Sin Egen Motstandare

Prank

***BACK IN PRINT!!! Sin Egen Motstandare was originally released in 1994 on CD-Only By Finn Records. A reunion album of sorts, the reconstituted band sought to get back their original hardcore roots, while at the same time sparking a direct reaction to the rising right wing political climate of time in Sweden. One of the all-time most rampaging Swedish Punk albums, it affirmed the band's template of D-beat hardcore that they continually challenged and re-imagined for another decade and a half of releases, and inspired a legions of bands worldwide. This 30th Anniversary edition is a 1-time press at RTI with a stoughton tip-on gatefold with spot gloss, new liner notes from the band, unique center labels for the release, a printed inner sleeve, a reprint poster of the flyer for the original CD release show.

Amp

Stenorette

Kranky

***The third album from this UK dream'n'drone duo returns to the drifting sound of their first album with an emphasis on rhythms, lock stepping, and clattering percussion to move the music through. Many of the songs were composed on the piano for a more delicate sound to loop drones, grooves, guitar and vocals around. Twelve dreamable tracks.

Water Damage

Repeater

12xu

***"There is something really special about music based on drones. Whether it's the vocals of Pandit Pran Nath, the ARP 2500 of Eliane Radigue, or the nearly-blown amps of Sunn O))), by changing the listeners's focus on details to one that favors flow, drones are uniquely capable of transporting our brains far far away. The debut LP, 'Repeater', by this loudly droning Austin septet is a goddamn splendid example of how the process works. Using the motto, “Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation,” Water Damage create glowing fields of post-rock lava that pretty much suck you right in and boil you alive. Water Damage, while technically a septet, actually operate in various configurations, with the proviso there should always be two drummers and two bass players on hand. They prefer if each of their sonic ideas takes up a whole reel of tape, and once they start they don't look back. Everything proceeds towards an imaginary end point that is only achieved when the tape starts flapping. What a way to run a railroad! But the folks in the band are all vets of various projects—Spray Paint, USA/Mexico, Marriage, Black Eyes, Thor & Friends, among others—so let's assume they know what they're doing. And why not? They sound fucking great. Their approach to the form is less front-loaded than most of their peers, and the surface of their sound is sometimes ruffled by aural events of an un-drone-like nature. But the main gush is usually a blend of harmonic tones and textures pointing towards...

Sex Messiah

Metal Del Chivo

Nuclear War Now

***Sex Messiah returns from the Satanic brothels of Japan to satiate our depraved appetites for morally-corrupt black metal with four new tracks and five live tracks. Although their overall sadistic formula remains consistent with prior atrocities, their language of choice has shifted to Spanish, providing a new vehicle to spread their gospel of fornication and degradation.

Carter, Daniel / Evan Strauss / 5-track / Sheridan Riley

The Uproar In Bursts Of Sound And Silence

577 Records

***The Uproar in Bursts of Sound and Silence is a sort of emergent collage that came together over four years of composition, improvisation and production. The foundations for this album were initially recorded in 2018 by producer/engineer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Skinyard) at Soundhouse in Seattle, WA with myself (Evan Strauss, electric bass and upright bass), 5-Track (Guitar) and Sheridan Riley (Drums). The initial foundations of this music consisted of my long-form graphically notated conceptual compositions based on the calls of the Veery songbird (Catharus fuscescens), the astrological transits at the precise time of the recording session and some thematic elements from Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Dispossessed.   In 2019 the album was given the working title Bird Songs for the Stars and I commissioned the cover art, Night Fisher, from Jeane Cohen. Also around this time, Daniel Carter had emphatically told me, “I’m going to become a rapper by the time I turn 90.” So, a few weeks later Daniel and I were hanging out, recording music and eating stir fry in my Ditmas Park apartment and I convinced him to make some progress on his goals by recording his voice into a microphone. Daniel began by recording an excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s The Waves and continued by recording some of his own poetry.  The recordings of Daniel from that afternoon would eventually make their way onto this album alongside my own experimentations in production inspired by Lee Scratch Perry, J Dilla and Ingram...

White Lightning

Thunderbolts Of Fuzz

Riding Easy

Standout favorites of Riding Easy Records’ Brown Acid compilation series, White Lightning’s stellar discography of rare and under-appreciated heavy psych, proto-metal rock gets a vital revival for new generations to learn how swinging, swaggering and often blazingly fast rock’n’roll is done. White Lightning was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1968 by guitarist Tom “Zippy” Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich after leaving garage psych band The Litter (themselves popular standouts from the Nuggets and Pebbles series of garage rock rarities.) Originally a power trio, the band later expanded to a five-piece in 1969 while shortening its name to Lightning. The quintet’s brilliant and rare 1970 self-titled album on Pickwick International’s P.I.P. imprint provides six of the ten tracks on Thunderbolts Of Fuzz. The original White Lightning trio only released the one 45-rpm single “Of Paupers And Poets” during their existence (on local Hexagon label in 1968, later reissued by major label ATCO Records in 1969.) A long out-of-print posthumous album released in 1995 gathered unreleased recordings, three of which are found here. This rounds out this collection of recorded highlights from the band’s rocky history. Taking their name from a particularly potent type of LSD, White Lightning laid out from the start that it was not cute and cuddly ’70s rock. In fact, the band’s aggressive tempos are like punk rock way before punk. However, their dirty blues groove and musical prowess shows the band was more than unrefined ne’er-do-wells, they had true versatility.

Ruth, Rich

I Survived, It's Over

Third Man

***Recorded under a loft bed in the guest bedroom of his Nashville home, MICHAEL RUTH aka RICH RUTH's I Survived, It’s Over starts in a humble space. And while many contemporary music projects are produced in such an environment, I Survived, It’s Over sets itself apart in its transformative properties as well as its transparency. What we have here is honest sound exploration, session musician-level instrumentation, and a true love for nature run through the fingers of a dude who can channel some acute and undeniable magic. Underneath the swell of the strings and the shredding of the guitars, this record has hard working, rustbelt, drum-heavy roots all over it (which makes sense as Ruth hails from outside of Toledo, the album was mixed by JOHN MCENTIRE from Chicago band Tortoise). Many of the flutes, saxophones, pedal steel, and other instruments were recorded remotely because we live in the future, but this only adds to the collage of sampled and sample-able material that Rich Ruth has to offer. The organic relationships between the artist and other musicians on the album is evident even in the compilation style sampling that needs to occur in putting such a project together. I Survived, It’s Over is a record you should buy for your friend, your foe, and yourself. It’ll sit perfectly on your shelf between Alice Coltrane and Hiroshi Yoshimura.

Dead Void

Volatile Forms

Dark Descent

After some silence since their magnificent demo, Dead Void return from the depths to bestow a crushing debut album—Volatile Forms—upon the world. Drawing in on doomy, yet certainly not meek, atmospherics—the sheer monstrous tone of which will pin one to the wall—it is clear this is something unwieldy. Murmuring bass seeps through buzzing guitars in a manner that sounds profoundly unwelcoming, while the daunting vocals and crashing drums give no alleviation from the bludgeoning force. While the hostile and claustrophobic sounds of this record cannot be ignored, equally impactful are the grooves which hit like a hammer of pure malice when carefully spliced with the caverns of eerily contorting death metal. When the pounding drums break through the guitars, they have a real hard tone, while the seeping filth of the strings is not overshadowed. Clearly the three demos and spacing between them have allowed the band to develop into the best version of themselves, as on this debut album one hears a refined but unpolished and inhospitable cut of truly awesome music taking form. Moving forth, the hooks, the grooves, the expanses of doom and desolation, all conjure something inescapable and dread-tinged while the malignant hammering of pure old school violence is not lost or forgotten, as warped riffs and blast-beats meet gutturally-spewed vocals and occasional lead oddities. Contrasting often nuanced moments with an assault of bestial ferocity, there is no predictability or obvious pattern, rather a chaotic and honest approach to all of the songs. These tracks move...

Warmers

s/t

Dischord

***The Warmers' full-length record, released in 1996.

Juliff, Simon

Stars

Dog Meat Records

Much-loved Melbourne rock 'n' roll label Dog Meat Records returns with first solo release from former singer/guitarist/songwriter of The Roys and God / Hoss / Powder Monkeys associate, Simon Juliff The first new Dog Meat release in over a quarter of a century is the new single “Stars”, taken from the forthcoming album of the same name, from reticent Melbourne pop-rock singer/songwriter Simon Juliff. Juliff, who was singer/guitarist/songwriter for Melbourne band The Roys in the ‘00s, was a friend of many of the ‘90s Melbourne bands on Dog Meat and nearly a Dog Meat signing with his first band The Evil Dead. Produced by long-time friend Joel Silbersher (God, Hoss, Tendrils etc) and featuring backing from members of Hoss and Kim Salmon & the Surrealists, “Stars” – both the new single and the forthcoming album - combines brightly dappled glimmers of classic pop-rock melodicism with a darkened, frazzled vibe.

Doomsayer

Awake In Darkness

Nuclear War Now

***In celebration of the 30th anniversary of their sole demo from 1992, Awake in Darkness, NWN is proud to present Doomsayer’s legacy on LP for the very first time! This burning triumph- described as “Pestilential Death Metal” by the band back in the early ’90s when they were establishing themselves in the Italian extreme metal scene- combines all of the power of their varied influences, giving both a perfect snapshot of the heavy metal and occult tinged nascent scene in their country as well as an image of a power, creative band that managed to create a single work that still resonates now decades later. Though Doomsayer fits squarely in the saga of other cult Italian bands, it has plenty of its own voice to offer and fans of early extreme metal will be pleasantly surprised at the strength of this long-hidden obscurity. For fans of Varathron, Sadist, and Necrodeath.

Owners, The

s/t

Dischord / Red Room Records

***THE OWNERS are a band from Washington DC, featuring DANTE and CATHERINE FERRANDO, ALEC BUDD and LAURA HARRIS. Over the years, they have played in bands ranging from IRON CROSS, GRAY MATTER, THE SHIRKS and EX HEX. Their first full-length is a split between Red Room Records and Dischord The vinyl is a limited edition pressing on splatter vinyl.

Raffa, Ryan J

4 e and a

Group Tightener

***4 e and a is about the infinite spaces between. As a classically trained percussionist, RYAN J RAFFA has sat in front of a metronome for the majority of their life. In their mind, they would play with the spaces between those clicks. In especially challenging times, they would attempt to expand and stretch those spaces into forever. Just existing in the between. This record is about these moments (and places) living in those infinite spaces. The title "4 e and a" is a play on words, in reference to counting and subdividing rhythmic patterns. Ryan would need to play these patterns on a drum as a child. “4 e and a” is also a reference to a country or a place with a name. Like Argentina is a place, "4 e and a" (said run all together) sounds like a country. A place we all know about and sometimes go to because it's beautiful and full of spirit, but it also can be a bit unnerving, uneasy, and eerie when we explore new places there. In mathematics, we have Cantor's diagonal argument and the understanding that the infinity between each integer (such as between 1 and 2) is larger than the infinite space that every integer that exists can fill. Like, one infinity is larger than another infinity? Huh?! When you start subdividing time (like 1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a), you start creating those ever-expanding spaces, one larger...

Paranoid

Satyagraha

Paranoid Northern Discs

***PARANOID's first album is a manic, noise-drenched d-beat assault. 10 tracks that capture us at our rawest and most aggressive period up to this date. Part of the band's First Ten Years 2012-2022 vinyl reissue series. "Whether you’re the old guy at the bar with the Discharge tattoo, or the 14 year-old who just discovered punk, Paranoid will bring out your inner discontent. D-beat is an interesting genre, either you do it well, or you don’t. Paranoid, dare I say, have completely mastered the genre and everything from their tone to their album artwork embodies what it means to be in a d-beat band. There is no bullshit attached to this record"—CVLT Nation

Amba, Zoh + William Parker, Francisco Mela

O Life, O Light Vol. 2

577 Records

***New York-based Zoh Amba first cultivated her musical passion in the lush forests of the Appalachian mountains, playing to the woods around her home, before she studied at classical conservatories. Her music honors her roots, full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, repeated incantations and powerfully-executed Free Jazz. Her sound is courageous and bold, soaring from muted hums to squeaky trebles, producing a confident sound imbued with an innate spirituality. On this project, Zoh Amba is joined by legendary artists William Parker (Bass, Gralla) and Francisco Mela (Drums), named the 2021 musician of the year by The New York City Jazz Record, who temper her daring saxophone with a lush percussive foundation and a steady bassline.

Fossilization

He Whose Name Was Long Forgotten

Transylvanian Recordings

***Ritualistic, Primeval Death Metal from Brazil. Featuring members of Jupiterian. For fans of Dead Congregation & Portal.

Black Witchery

Holocaustic Death March To Humanity's Doom

Nuclear War Now

***Fifteen years ago, Black Witchery and Conqueror, both still virtually unknown outside of a small cult of maniacal blasphemers, united for the split release entitled “Hellstorm of Evil Vengeance.” Exploring a style that few North American bands dared approach at that time, Black Witchery and Conqueror inherited their extremist tendencies from the likes of Blasphemy and Sarcofago among others. Looking back, the release can now be regarded as something of a statement of intent in that it signified the establishment of a second wave of Bestial Black Metal and set the course for the future of the genre. Although external circumstances would necessitate the termination of Conqueror’s mission immediately following the release of the split, J. Read continued treading the path of the Superion with Revenge and R. Forster was initiated into the ranks of Blasphemy. Black Witchery also persisted through the years, assuming a well-deserved, prominent place among the bestial legions. Since the split release in 2000, Black Witchery and Revenge have shared numerous stages all over the world and maintained a united front within the underground. Similarly, NWN!, which also began its campaign of atrocities in 2000, established its dominion over the chthonic depths of the Bestial Black Metal underground. Having settled into their respective roles as progenitors of a particular faction of extreme metal, it is time to assemble the unholy triumvirate of Black Witchery, Revenge, and Nuclear War Now! once more. For this release, Black Witchery turn in one of the band’s most primitive and punishing...

Darts, The

Snake Oil

Alternative Tentacles

***NOW ON LIMITED GREEN VINYL!!! Note new price.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!

V/a

Heroes of the Night Vol. 2

Reminder

***The sequel without equal: the second installment in the Heroes Of The Night compilation universe is now here! Picking up exactly where the first volume left off and featuring a cast of twelve of the best and scarcest D.I.Y., powerpop, punk and new wave 45 tracks from the likes of JACKIE, L’HOMME DE TERRE, BRENDA PRESCOTT, AQUILA and more. Something for the girl with everything or the boy who thinks he’s heard everything, Heroes Of The Night Volume 2 continues Reminder Records’ campaign to showcase the talents of post-punk’s female musical innovators and pioneers.

Kimbrough, Junior & Soul Blues Boys

Sad Days Lonely Nights

Fat Possum

A reissue of the infamous late Kimbrough's second album. Raw rocked, and laid bare blues recorded at Junior's juke joint and produced by Robert Palmer.

Militia

Regiments of Death / No Submission

Nuclear War Now

***Though they were a favorite around their hometown of Austin and nearby San Antonio, Militia received scant attention outside of Texas during their short-lived existence from 1984-1986. Formed in 1984 when bassist Robert Wellingham (who, at the time, neither owned nor knew how to play a bass) met drummer Phil Achee, Militia’s origin is inseparable from the story of the heavy metal scene in and around Austin, Texas during the 1980s. With the inclusion of vocalist Mike Soliz, whose powerful, Halford-esque shrills became a defining feature of Militia’s sound, the band established itself as a fixture of the regional metal scene, sharing members and performing live with many notable acts around the area, including Watchtower, Wyzard, and S.A. Slayer, among many others. Militia swiftly progressed, writing original material and perfecting their live performances. During the three years they were together, they recorded two demos—Regiments of Death and No Submission released in 1984 and 1986, respectively—and the highly coveted MLP, The Sybling, privately pressed by the band in an edition of just 100 copies. The two demos, the band’s first and last recordings, depict Militia’s evolution during its brief lifespan. On Regiments of Death, Militia displayed a unique fusion of skill and passion, an amalgamation of the most potent elements of aggressive speed metal and melodic power metal. The second demo, recorded in the wake of several lineup changes, displayed a more “progressive” approach, drawing inspiration from early Queensryche and other similar acts. Now that NWN! has established its permanent base...

Underground River

Life Cycle, Delicate Song

Nudie Records

***Underground River is the solo project of Johnson City, NY based artist, multi-instrumentalist, and recording engineer, Hunter Davidsohn. On his album, Life Cycle, Delicate Song Hunter weaves a sonic tapestry combining elements or baroque pop, chamber psychedelia, and left field recording techniques to take the listener on a surprisingly romantic journey through heartbreak and self reflection. The whole affair is anchored by Hunter’s unmistakable and singular baritone voice that washes over you and sends you adrift. From the Syd Barrett-esque stroll of “Pour Some Tea” to the tormented and clear eyed beauty of “It Continues” the album moves through styles effortlessly without ever feeling like anything less than a cohesive and exquisite portrait by a rare artist. In the words of Hunter, “It’s an album for people who have been saved by music” and we couldn’t agree more.

Abhorrent / Thyabhorrent

Occultus Brujeria

Nuclear War Now

***Abhorrent formed in Sarpsborg, Norway in 1989, during a period in which the now-famous black metal scene was developing in the same area. The most renowned of its founding members was Stian “Occultus” Johansen, who has also been active in Perdition Hearse and co-founded the infamous Helvete record store in Oslo with Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth (of Mayhem notoriety) and Geir “Thrasher” Bratteli. In fact, Occultus was also briefly an official member of Mayhem following Dead’s untimely demise. Abhorrent recorded one live and one studio demo in 1990 before adopting the moniker of Thyabhorrent for an EP and another demo in 1991. Their music reflected the transitional nature of the moment and location, as the more traditional form of death metal assumed an increasingly evil nature, while black metal was taking hold of the Norwegian underground. “Occultus Brujeria” documents this obscure entity’s existence as a compilation of the band’s “Occultus Brujeria” demo, which also includes the same three recorded tracks from its “Death Rides at Dawn” 7″, and some additional bonus tracks. Given that these recordings have not been officially available for well over two decades, “Occultus Brujeria” is an overdue reissue that is sure to satiate all appetites for early Norwegian extreme metal.

Les Lullies

Mauvaise Foi

Slovenly

****As smokin’ as they are, previous releases from LES LULLIES were rushed through with impossible deadlines and little time to consider the ends. Mauvaise Foi—their new LP with resolutely French title (and their first record almost fully sung in the tongue)—takes a more laid back approach to manifest the desired energy, finding the boys swimming in a sea of change from their usual methodology. The result is streamlined rock’n’roll with a new purpose: a stark contrast from yesterday’s news while remaining truly Lullies. Mauvaise Foi sounds more personal and fleshy, dabbling in influences from Phil Spector to the Real Kids, classic punk from the Normandy scene (Fixed Up, Dogs, Sub Kids), and brimming with subtle, headphone-worthy layers and details. Mauvaise Foi (“Bad Faith”) as a title sums up this full-length with accuracy. Sometimes tackling somber subjects with tongue planted firmly in cheek, has no qualms breaking free to resonate with hilarity and their trademark cockiness like a brakeless derailing bullet train. Contained herein are stories about real-life characters sung by slightly mendacious rock’n’roll adventurers.

50 Miles Of Elbow Room

Issue # 2

50 Miles of Elbow Room

***The second issue of this "lively and thoughtful" magazine is a 112-page book with extensive features on HAMID DRAKE (11,000 word historical and philosophical interview), OTHA TURNER (excellent interview wth the 90+year-old fife player), REVEREND CHARLIE JACKSON (untouchable '70s gospel guitar scorcher), LOUIS MOHOLO (WILLIAM PARKER interviews the great South African expatriate drummer), JUNE TYSON (a hail to SUN RA's righteous and radiant singer, dancer, and violinist, includes PHIL SCHAAP's never-before-published interview from '87), and ROBERT PETE WILLIAMS (retrospective on this blindingly original improvising bluesman). 8" x 8", perfect bound.

Afterhours

Collaborations of Sound And Visuals

Afterhours

***Japan’s Afterhours Magazine celebrates twenty issues with a special book-and-CD issue. Includes collaborations between fifteen international illustrators and fifteen international musicians with beautiful visuals and wonderful sounds. Includes music from MICE PARADE, ISAN, MONTAG, JOSHUA LA RUE, MUM + ADAM PIERCE, ULTRA LIVING, LONESOME ORGANIST, HIM, SPOOMBUG (aka KEV HOPPER), and more. Japanese import.

Svenonius, Ian F.

Supernatural Strategies For Making A Rock’n’Roll Group

Akashic

Badaboom Gramophone

Issue # 5

Ba Da Bing!

***The long-anticipated fifth issue comes out cracking with a wide range of subjects, including Cognitive Abnormalites Relating to Music, RAYMOND SCOTT, the newly discovered "No Exit Act II" by JEAN PAUL SARTRE, Twisted Village Records, MATMOS & FRANKLIN BRUNO, DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, a Consumer's Guide to ROBERT CHRISTGAU's Consumer Guide, and more. Includes a tribute to Raymond Scott CD with unreleased tracks from SOLEX, CEX, AROVANE, GEOMETRIC FARMS, ENSEMBLE, TELSTAR PONIES, BOGDAN RACZYNSKI, and more.

Blank Forms

Blank Forms, Vol. 3: Henning Christiansen: Freedom is Around the Corner

Blank Forms

Brother Jt

Black Journal / Non Compos Mantis

Brother JT Inc.

***The Brodge's second book of "Spirit Transcriptions and Advice For Living" is a spiffy, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, 148 page, b&w expressway to the Id. Much the same in spirit as the larger, more colorful (and pricey) Orange Journal, Black Journal's main departure is the extensive use of typeface instead of direct scannings from the hand-scrawled journal, so as to make the maddening gibberish a might bit easier to read. Of course there are still some pages left un-transcribed for authenticity's sake, and many original and collages as well. Automatic writings, drawings, collages, and pure BROTHER JT magic. Companion CDR, Non Compos Mantis, which derives many song lyrics from Black Journal, is also included.

Mr. Pottymouth

Pussy Pow Wow

Chronoplastics

***The long-awaited (?) testimonial of the enigmatic MR. POTTYMOUTH, frontman for the rock outfit ARAB ON RADAR. A volatile collection of depraved poetry, lyrics and prose, delivered with candor, emotion, retarded adolescence and twisted morality.