Big Dreams

A record I have fallen totally in love with again over the last couple of years is Hoop Dreams by Big Kids. I listened to the record a ton when I got it and I put a variety of songs on . I managed to pick up a pink copy and a red copy last year, so of course I needed to get an orange copy eventually, and thanks to Marcus I finally managed to get one from the US. The pressing info on Discogs is kinda vague and just states ‘random mix (blues and oranges)’ for part of the first press, so there might be many different shades out there. 

Time for a nice family picture. Look at all those beautiful variants. Ah, the good old days… Getting a test press would be the cherry on top, but I doubt that will ever happen. 

6ft 12“

Hard to believe that the Mil-Spec demo came out 10 years ago. They still feel like a new band to me, even though they have a lot of releases under their belt - and I like all of them. So when I saw that they had a new record out, I wanted a copy right away. I didn’t want to order in the US directly, so I had to be satisfied with whatever version showed up in Europe, so black it was. And it works pretty well with the cover, which itself is not that great, but also strangely fascinating. 

The new record has four new songs that make me very happy. I wish there were more songs, then again, those four songs leave me wanting for more, so marketing-wise, the band did a great job.

1st Press on Black on Young Blood /???

Erer

The new Glitterer record - I still call it new, even though it was released in November of last year - picks up where the band left off. Which is exactly what I wanted the record to be. So good. 

The red vinyl really shouldn’t really work with the cover, but somehow it does. Weirdly, the record plays at 33rpm, even though the label says 45rpm. 

1st Press on Red on Purple Circle /1100

This Is Boston

This is the final piece of the repress of Bane’s Boston, 6:58pm. Originally it had been released as a 7” on Triple B, but Equal Vision repressed it last year as a 12”. The other versions were fairly easy to obtain, but this one proved to be very difficult to track down. For the longest time my circle of Bane collectors wasn’t even sure whether or not this version actually existed. It had been announced but no copies popped up anywhere, which was very weird because this the ‘retail version’. But then a friend of mine in Australia picked up a copy, thus confirming it was actually real.

Repress on White (‘Retail Version’) on Equal Vision /500

Here’s a nice family picture, minus the test press, which will be damn-near impossible to track down. Let’s play a game of ‘spot the nice version’, shall we…? 

Blood

In 2023 Bane’s classic album Give Blood was repressed by Equal Vision. I’ve picked up a few copies since then, but I still have a long way to go to catch up with all the variants. Initially, I’d been weary to pick up all colors because there were just so many, but the one I’d wanted from the beginning was the white/red cross one because it looked pretty cool in the pictures. The only problem, this particular variant never really popped up in Europe. Luckily, it was Marcus to the rescue and I was finally able to get one. Actually, Marcus helped me out big time with getting a bunch of records I’m going to post about soon and also the DTN record I talked about in my last post. A big thank you!

This variant is even sicker in person. The colors are chosen well, and not only is the pattern itself cool, but I also love how the red cross pattern of the vinyl aligns pretty much perfectly with the axes of the red cross on the label. 

2023 Repress on White/Red Cross on Equal Vision /500

Down To Six

Down To Nothing were one of the best bands from the 2000s. They released a bunch of great records and were even better live. Their debut vinyl release was their s.t. 7”. The regular version comprised three songs, which absolutely rip. However, there was an alternate version that comes with six songs. It only took 24 years for me to pick up this version. Granted, there are only 34 copies of the clear variant, but that’s still a long time. There are also 16 copies on pink and 5 test presses of this version, which you can take a look at over on Endless Quest. 

Alternate Version on Clear on Dead By 23 /34

G.L.O.W.

I didn‘t plan this, but when I generated the link, I noticed that exactly one year ago I posted about the G.L.O.W. demo. In my post I wrote that the band plays oldschool hardcore with some wave influences. For their vinyl debut, they definitely cranked up the wave influences and there are some interesting vocal choices in particular. I really enjoy the record and I’m also a big fan of the artwork. Keeps in tune with the artwork for the demo, but it’s been changed enough to keep it interesting. I wonder if they’ll continue with the theme and end up telling a story that way. 

1st Press on Black on Kink /???

Fever

I‘d been really looking forward to the Feverchild LP, but ordering a copy proved rather difficult. I was stuck between ordering an ugly copy for an okay price or a nice looking copy that would cost an arm and a  leg. But, sometimes you get do get lucky. I managed to find an exclusive version for a German label, so I ended up with an extremely nice looking record for a really good price in 2026. Oh yeah, and the record itself is really, really good. Somewhere between emo, post-hardcore and indie - just right up my alley.

1st Press on Red Galaxy on Sunday Drive /100 (‘Thirty Something Records Exclusive‘)

What Counts

Band name inspired by Have Heart - check. Hooded Mosher - check. YOT inspired x‘ed up fist - check. Sometimes that‘s all it takes to make you buy a record. And yes, you get exactly what you‘d expect. And sometimes that‘s actually all you need. 

1st Press on Black on Delayed Gratification /200

Hell Of A Record

I‘ve been a big fan of Sunstroke ever since I first listened to Bloom At Night when it came out in 2019. The music is just right up my alley, very melodic, but it still has this hardcore punch to it. What’s more, they always put in a lot of effort with their artwork and packaging, which is something I really appreciate. It reminds me of later 7 Seconds records like Soulforce Revolution and Praise aesthetics as far as the vibe goes. Love all the stickers, too, and you can never go wrong with a Seinfeld inspired sticker. 

Hell of a Year for Daisies came out some time last year, but I only got the record recently, which is how things are with records these days. The only thing I have to criticise is that there are only two songs. I do appreciate bands still releasing 7”, but please put more than two songs on them. Flipping records after just one song is such a drag, and of course I would have loved to listen to more new songs by Sunstroke. 

1st Press on Baby Blue on Sky Valley ‘Rev Exclusive w/ Alternative Cover‘ /115

Total Soul Ignition

2026 is almost half way through and I‘m just getting records released in 2025, which I had actually pre-ordered. I was born to late to experience hardcore in the 80s and I‘m kinda bummed that the waiting for ages for records part is the one I get to experience almost 40 years later. 

Anyway, I’ve been really looking forward to finally getting my copy of Method of Doubt’s new release and it’s a banger for sure. I love the cover and especially its color scheme. The second press, which has just come out, was pressed on purple vinyl, which looks so nice with the cover. If I’d known that, I would have just waited to order the record and would have ended up with the much nicer color, but it’s just as well. I really hope there’ll be another release soon. 

1st Press on Black on Scheme /271

It‘s A Beautiful Record, What A Beautiful Record

Skinhead is a weird band name and it had kept me from checking out the record(s) for some time. Had I only seen the cover (without the band name), I for sure would have listened to it right away. It took the folks over at Axe To Grind podcast talking about this band and comparing them to Fucked Up to trigger my interest, and I can definitely see the similarities. This is a really good record and apparently I’m not the only thinking that because for a record that was released only last year to be already on its fourth pressing by now, is quite remarkable. Now I need to check out their debut LP. 

3rd Press on Mint Green on Pure Noise /700

God Save The Gun

Militarie Gun have had a great run so far as a band as far as I’m concerned, so when I heard there was a new record about to be released, I was pretty stoked. Then I heard someone on some podcast draw comparisons of the record to Angel Dust, which made me a little hesitant to order the record, because I’m not really into Angel Dust. But my inquisitiveness got the better of me and I decided to order a copy. I only managed to get my hands on a black copy, which is the most common colour for the first press, but I actually like how this works with the cover. Extra props for the gigantic poster of which you can see only two-thirds because it is so big. 

I’m really glad I decided to buy God Save The Gun, because this is an excellent record. It flows really nicely as a whole and is just a fun listen. I’ve been listening to the record daily since I got my copy and usually it didn’t leave my record player after only one listen. Maybe I need to listen to Angel Dust again, just to be able to compare the music myself. But be that as it may, Militarie Gun delivered another really, really good record. 

1st Press on Black on Loma Vista /???

Manic Perfection

I love anniversary presses, well, I love anniversary presses that give you something besides the actual record. And Quicksand and Iodine went above and beyond. I’d be hard pressed to say what you can do actually better with an anniversary presses. 

Manic Compression is a great record - Landmine Spring is a phenomenal song and one of the best songs in Walter Schreifels’ extensive catalogue - and the artwork is just so awesome. One of my favorite album covers of all time. Despite the fact that I love the original art work, I really like how they made this bascially a black and white cover, gives it a totally different vibe.

The red/orange swirl looks pretty sick and works really well with the adapted cover art. For once I’m glad I had access only to the most common variant.

30th Anniversary Press on Red/Orange Swirl on Iodine /1500

The book is done so incredibly well. Lots of information, quotes, flyers and pictures. It was so hard to choose a page, but I went for Walter Schreifels in a Minor Threat shirt. 

Now I’m really bummed that I didn’t get a copy of the 30th anniversary presses of Slip, because those reissues are pieces of art in themselves. 

Hurricane

The last record I bought in store is a copy of Bob Dylan’s album Desire. I mainly bought because it contains one of my favorite songs of his, Hurricane, which I didn’t have on vinyl before. It’s such a great song musically and since Mr Dylan is also a formidable story teller, so are the lyrics. I enjoy the other songs as well, but the opening track is the one.