Ich vs. Wir

After missing out initially on the last release by my favourite indie band from Germany, I made sure I got in the game with this one right away. I ordered the deluxe pre-order edition months ago and was anxiously waiting for it to arrive. And the LP doesn't disappoint. The last LP had to grow on me a little bit, but this one hit home right away. With every record Kettcar has become more pop and less indie, but the lyrics are as good and politically minded as back when some of the members still were in one of German's finest punk bands ever ...But Alive. Great record that has already received a lot of play these last few days.

Pink G.I.

The last pick up from the Battery show in Leipzig is this pink copy of Government Issue's G.I.'s First Demo. A buddy of my mine is in the process of weeding out his collection and he told me (and a few other friends) that he was bringing one or two boxes of LPs and 7"s with him to the show. So a bunch of my friends and myself were huddling around the trunk of a car flipping through records, in the middle of the night and in 5° Celsius weather. Hardcore kids / record nerds are truly a special kind of people... He had a bunch of records and some rare items I was interested in, but I was watching a very special record on eBay at the time and had to hold my funds together. Anyway, I did pick up one record because it's by a great band, it's on my favourite vinyl colour and it came at a very reasonable price. G.I.'s first demo was pressed way after the fact, namely in 2004, and there have been a few pressings since then. This pink copy out of 100 is part of the 2nd press.

Stabbed

Nowadays you're kind of forced to order at least two records when ordering from the States to get your money's worth. So when my buddy asked me if I wanted to order the new Cutting Through LP with him, I said sure, but I also made him order the latest Drug Control 7". I liked the first one and I also like this one. I went for the purple one, because next to pink I think purple is one of the nicest colours for vinyl. Especially when it's marbled like this one. 600 copies.

A Will To Change

Another pick up from the Battery show in Leipzig. A buddy had ordered a copy for me and he brought it along to the show. The Cutting Through debut on New Age Records was a release I'd been really looking forward, because I was really into the demo. But for some reason, this record hasn't clicked with me yet. I can't even put my finger on why that is, it just hasn't hit me. I hope that'll change. 77 copies on this clear vinyl with the green labels.

There's Always Room For One More...

When I went to see Battery, there was yet another reason why I was looking forward to the evening. A few weeks prior to the show I'd received a message by a fellow collector on Instagram. He contacted me because he has a strong Spirits collection and knew that I also collect Spirits. While exchanging messages, we found out that we had traded before back in the days of messageboards. Funny, how things go sometimes. Back to the trade. The other party had posted a picture of this version of the Spirits/Die Faster split 7" I'd never seen before. I commented on the picture and it paid off some time later, because he had picked up a another copy for a buddy of his, who didn't need it, so it was made available to me. There are only 17 copies as you can see in the second picture. Technically, this is not really a Spirits variant, because as far as I know they never played at United Blood festival. But whatever. Really glad I managed to pick up this one and to meet my trading partner in person after so many years of knowing him.

Close up of the backcover.

Battery

Battery played a bunch of shows in Europe recently and for the last of theses shows at Conne Island in Leipzig there was a special press. A buddy had told me a few weeks before the show that something was in the works, so I was even more looking forward to the show. The whole show had everything a great show needs: fun road trip, great food, meeting old and new friends, record trading, record buying and of course a band that played an awesome set and had a message. Man, that was a great evening. To top everything off, there was the aforementioned limited version of Battery's debut 7". The label putting out this repress has done a really good job with these. You also get a flyer explaining the relationship between band and venue. Looks like this might be a new collecting thing: venue/Conne Island presses... 200 copies on white vinyl, 100 copies on gold vinyl for friends and crew.

You Can Stay Here

Iron Chic have done it again: They delivered an awesome record. It must be really tough for bands to keep going after one of the members has died, but I guess it can also be therapeutic. You Can't Stay Here is a little darker, understandably, but still catchy in its own way. I don't like it as much as their previous records, but this one could very well be a grower. The artwork is really cool and the gold foil on the cover is a very nice (and expensive) touch. 2000 copies on gold vinyl.

For The Rejected By The Rejected

Picking up a copy of this LP was long overdue. With the Battery shows in Europe coming closer, I finally picked up a copy, and what can I say, the band and Rev have done a great job. Even if you already have everything by this band on vinyl or CD, this releases is worth picking up alone for the booklet. Incredibly well done.

One Two One Two This Is Just A Test

A few weeks back I posted about the new Spirits LP and how I struck out at getting a test. Thanks to Instagram and its group of record collectors I was able to acquire one much sooner than I'd hoped for. I'd commented on one of my pictures and another person's that I was still looking for a test press and out of nowhere I got a message from a fellow (Spirits) collector who told me that one of the labels doing the tape release for the new LP still had one or two tests and were willing to sell. Less than two hours later I'd completed the transaction and a few days later the test press was already on my doorstep, again much sooner than I'd expected. Thanks, dude. I'm very grateful you helped me out. #16 out of 20.

If you follow my blog regularly, you have probably noticed that Spirits always go all out for the packaging for their releases. Of course they did that for the tests as well, which means these come with a special spray-painted cover and inner jacket.

Funny sidenote, I've never seen the use of test pressings explained on the back of a sleeve.

Unrest On The East Coast

To keep things interesting for us collectors, Spirits came up with a little something for a short tour on the east coast a few weeks ago. Special inlay for the picture frame cover, plus the inner sleeve comes with spray-painted art work. If you look closely, you can make out the number on the label underneath the right leg of the X. My copy is #23 out of 50 copies total. Love it.