The Bed Is In The Ocean

One of my favorite discoveries of an old band in 2023 was the band Karate. The first record I got to know was their self titled debut, which I fell in love with head over heels. Luckily, all of their records have been repressed somewhat recently, although I had to wait what felt like forever until one of the distros I order from frequently had them back in stock. I’m usually not a big fan of striped vinyl, but it somehow works with this sleeve. The Bed Is In The Ocean is a Karate’s third LP and it’s also really good. It’s a little more jazz-influenced I guess, but that also makes it very interesting. 

2022 Repress on Numero Group on Lego Tri-Colour /???

As most records, this record also came in shrink-wrap. Personally. I hate shrink wrap. I get why labels do it, but I could do without it. It’s a waste of plastic and sometimes it deforms the records. In this case, the printed shrink-wrap this record came in left a permanent ink mark on the back of the sleeve. At least I’ll never forget this sleeve was printed in Canada. 

Spaced Jams

A few weeks ago I saw that Spaced had a new record up for pre-order. This reminded me of how much I liked their first LP. So I went to my record shelf to grab the record and listen to it, but I searched in vain. I checked my spreadsheet and lo and behold, I'd never bought the record. I could have sworn I got it shortly after it was released, but apparently my memory had played a trick on me. 

Luckily, Genet Records, the label that put out Spaced Jams in Europe, still had copies in their webstore, so I quickly added a copy to my shopping basket and bought it right away. As I said before, I really like this album. Gives me strong Turnstile vibes. The vinyl color looks great and this variant is even numbered on the A-side label, so what else could a collector ask for? 

1st Press on Turquoise on Genet Records #73/110

I Against II

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a gold vinyl copy of I Against I that I’d picked up recently and now I managed to find a copy on blue vinyl from a seller in Germany for a fair price. 

The record is not in mint condition because one owner, I’m guessing the original owner, put his address on the A-side label and also wrote his name on the dust sleeve. What’s more interesting though is that he also wrote down a date: February 19, 1991. I’m guessing again that this is the date he got the record. I checked on Discogs and the colored versions are listed as represses. However, there’s no release date listed on Discogs for any of the represses on colored vinyl. The sleeve of the records says 1986, but I’m not sure if the colored records were pressed back then as well. If the original owner actually got this record early in 1991, the coloured represses, or at least the blue one, was probably released sometime in 1990. Obviously this is just guess work. The Flex Discography doesn’t provide any information on this either unfortunately. Does anyone have more info on this? 

13 Chambers

I don't remember exactly who I saw posting about this record on Instagram, but when I saw a picture of this, I knew I needed to get a copy. And yes, I know (now) that this has been around for 10+ years, but apparently I do live under a rock so this was news to me. I've never really listened to mash ups and I'm sure it's pretty easy that those can turn horrible, but in this case, I just love the result. This is by far my most listened to record in 2024 so far and I don't see that changing any time soon. 

 The "worst" part about this record is the vinyl color and even that isn't that bad if you take a look at the whole package. The music on 13 Chambers is awesome. The tracks are put together so well. But it's not just that. The names of both "band" and album are perfect, as is the cover art, right down to the "promotional copy" fake stamp and the labels, which are are fake stamped as well I guess, but it looks dope. 

2024 Repress on Black and Gold Swirl /1000

Somewhere, Sometime

Meant To Let You Down by Kill Holiday is one of my all-time favorite songs. However, the first time I listened to their sole LP Somewhere Between The Wrong Is Right, I did not like it. I guess, I wasn’t ready for it. Plus, the sound is so different from Meant To Let It Down. Over the last few years I though, I listend to more of the music that inspired this record, and when I decided to check it out again, it clicked. Now, none of the songs on this record comes close to Meant To Let You Down, but I can totally appreciate this record for what it is on its own. 

RSD 2016 Press on Purple Vinyl /717

Love Your Friends

There are so many different reasons that make me pick up certain records and many of them only make sense to me. Peace Of Mind was a hardcore band from Germany in the 90s and I’d probably have never heard of them if it wasn’t for a podcast I listen to regularly. Shout out Und Dann Kam Punk. One of the hosts mentioned that he’d played in this band (and dozens of other bands, most notably probably Highscore, who you should definitely check out if you’re not familiar with them). 

Anyway, I was browsing through some bins at the local record store when I came across this one. The cover intrigued me, the name somehow rang a bell and when I read the back of the cover, one of the band member’s name caught my eye. All of this made me want to pick up the record and it definitely helped that it was very cheap. The music is 90s hardcore alright, but truth be told, it’s not that great. Maybe it’ll grow on me. 

2nd Press w/ Different Artwork #531/500 (?)

Buy In Bulk II

I managed to fill some more holes in my collection curtesy of the same seller I got the last two 7“s from. I was always a big fan of those Soul Control 7“s, but for some reason I never picked up a copy of Involution. This record is such a flashback to the mid-2000s. The music can definitely be pinpointed to that era, but there‘s always been some element of weirdness about Soul Control‘s music, which I just love. The color scheme of the vinyl and the swirl itself is very much off the time as well. And of course Rivalry Records was one of the premier record labels back then. 

1st Press on Red / Orange Swirl on Rivalry Records /200

This particular record had been on my want list pretty much since it came out. I don‘t actually remember which Blacklisted record I heard first. Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God or No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me since they only came out a year apart, but I do remember being completely in awe by what I heard on either record. No One… still takes the top spot for me in the Blacklisted catalogue, but Heavier… is a very close second. I had a copy of the European pressing on Reflections Records on blue vinyl I got when the record was released, but as soon as I saw a picture of this variant, I wanted to have this one. It looks simply amazing in my opinion. It‘s not a particularly rare record, but for reason this variant was hard to find in Europe, at least for a reasonable price. 

My friend who had tipped me off to this collection actually collects Blacklisted and had already bought this record from the seller, but since he knew I really liked this colorway and he didn‘t have the blue variant I had either, we did a quick trade. Mike, you‘re the best!

1st Press on Blue w/ Black Haze on Deathwish Records /1500

Buy In Bulk

I love when friends text me after finding a record collection for sale or an online seller that they want to order from, but since they're good friends, they look out for you, too. That's also how you spend even more money on records you hadn't necessarily planned on buying. 

I've been listening to a lot of Undertow these last few months after ignoring the band for a couple of years almost completely. That's how it goes sometimes. So when I had the chance to pick up a missing piece for cheap money and shipping, I jumped at it. The orange vinyl works pretty well with the cover. Well done, Indecision Records. 

Clear Orange on Indecision Records /345

I also picked up a copy of Dirty Money's No Escaping This. I got hyped on Dirty Money when High Vis covered the Dirty Money Intro off the demo. I knew the band existed when it was around but I don't think I ever listened to them back then, which clearly was a mistake, but hindsight is always 20/20. Unfortunately, there's no pressing info on Discogs for this variant. If anyone can help me out with this, I'd appreciate it. 

First Press (?) on Grey Vinyl /???

Australian Hardcore

A few weeks ago I received another care package from my mate in Australia as part of our ongoing open trade. There are some great bands going on down under and I'm always thankful to get records from bands I otherwise wouldn't probably know about. 

First up is a 7" by Engage, aptly called Eight Songs. This is really good meat and potatoes hardcore for those of you who like their hardcore a little bit more on the punk side. But there's also a youth crewish element to it. 

Last Ride Exclusive Colour on Recycled Vinyl /50

All In crank up the youth crew a couple of notches on What Remains. Everything you expect from a youth crew record, fast parts, mosh parts, and plenty of singalong. Seeing them live should be a lot of fun I expect. Love the full color eight page lyric sheet / booklet. 

Purple Marble / Recycled Vinyl /50

Extortion are an older band from Australia, but not as old as their sound might suggest. Degenerate was released in 2006, but could have been released in the early 80s as well. Just look at the cover and you get the idea what they might sound like. I'm guessing at least two people in the band have a Black Flag tattoo and the majority also likes a lot of power violence. 

There are many variants listed on Discogs, but unfortunately not this one. 

If you like Down To Nothing, definitely make sure to check out No Peace. I've been a fan since my friend sent me their 7" and they don't disappoint on Something More. There are few bands out there that sound like DTN, at least that I'm aware of, so this is very welcome to me. 

Transparent Orange /100

Best for last. This has definitely been the highlight of this batch of records for me. I'd never heard of Division before, but I was hooked from the first note. Fragments is their debut release and the first band it reminded me off was Give. But of course you could also go further back and cite Revolution Summer bands as inspiration. Unfortunately there aren't many copies and the band doesn't have an online presence where you could listen to their music, but if you have the chance, check them out.

Black Vinyl /150

     

Funky Kingston

There‘s a used record store in the bigger city close to where I live and I try to go there as often as I can. It‘s just nice to flip through actual record bins instead of clicking or swiping to the next page. I don‘t always find something I like, but from time to time I do find a record or two I need to pick up. Funky Kingston by Toots & The Maytals had been on my want list for quite a while and I’m really happy I managed to get a copy from an actual record store. This is just a perfect reggae record. After picking up this record it was on repeat for days while I was working in the office. 

UK Press on Trojan Records (“1976“ on the sleeve and “1974“ on the labels)

Bare Faced Cheek

Why only buy one record by a band you like if you can buy two? Another early Toy Dolls LP that for some reason I didn‘t own yet. Not their best work, but there are some hits on there. Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead and Fisticuffs In Frederick Street are the highlights for me.  

Idle Gossip

A few weeks ago I was both feeling nostalgic and like I need something fun to listen to, so I reached for a couple of Toy Dolls records and sort of fell into a wormhole. When checking my records I noticed that I didn't own all of their early records, which was a big surprise to me. Luckily, their records aren't that hard to find and don't cost an arm and a leg. 

I realize that The Toy Dolls are very silly, but sometimes you need something silly in your life. At least I do. Also, it's sort of an accomplishment in itself to have what feels like 50% of the band's catalogue dealing with the lives of soap opera characters. Having said that, Olga is such a phenomenal guitarist, and while the subject matter is rather silly in itself, the lyrics are constructed quite cleverly.

Their Live in Tokyo record sounds like a ton of fun and I'm seriously contemplating going to one of their shows if they happen to play not too far from where I live. I also might read the band biography again. Silly me. 

Bleach

Nirvana have been part of my life for many decades, but only sort of. I caught the tail end of their career on MTV and I remember reading about Kurt Cobain's death in some teenage magazine shortly after it happened. I liked the songs I heard on MTV, but since the metalheads at my school wore their shirts and sweatshirts, I never bothered to dive deeper into their music. Which obviously is a very stupid move, but hey, teenagers aren't always know for their smart choices. A couple of years later I dove headfirst into punk and hardcore and grunge seemed not that exciting and rather boring. Also, all my money went into skateboards, skateboard videos and punk and hardcore records, and I didn't even think about buying records from other genres. Some time ago, I made the conscious decision to finally check out the band's catalogue and after almost 30 years of knowing the band, I bought my first Nirvana record. 

2019 (?) Repress

The Crew on Blue

I am sort of breaking my own self-imposed rules, because I'm not posting in strict chronological order, but first of all I wanted to keep going with the 7 Seconds theme, secondly, I haven't been this stoked about picking up a record in a long, long time and lastly: reasons not rules make us strong. 

So, on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago I was having a lazy winter morning. The kiddo let us sleep until 8am, we had a long breakfast and I found some time to check for records early in the morning. I even had enough to take the full tour on Discogs, local listings and eBay. Rare occasion that actually paid off.

I found a record that I thought might interest Marcus, because he'd just picked up a bunch of records by this band. Then I shot him another message because I'd found this 7 Seconds record, but for an absurdly high price. The message consisted of the link and my comment "White whale for me, but that price is ridiculous.", to which he agreed. I left it at that because the price was way out of my league and I had an important date to go sledge riding with my son later that morning. While I was out with my son, all of a sudden I received a message from the seller offering an incredible discount on the record. My brain was spinning and I had to do some serious thinking on the way home. When I was back, I shot the seller a counter offer and miracle of miracles, he accepted it. I couldn't believe that turnaround. Oh yeah, and the seller was from Germany as well, so I didn't have to worry about customs either. 

A few days later I received the record and couldn't believe I’d managed to find a copy of this record, but there it was - The Crew on blue vinyl. It doesn't look like much in the first picture, even though it doesn't look exactly like black vinyl either as I had always thought. You can see that there is some color involved. However, when you hold up the record against the light, you can actually see this incredible shade of blue. It has somewhat of a green tint to it, but it's clearly blue and it just looks awesome. 

I love 7 Seconds and The Crew is easily their best output. Owning this record in this particular colorway is a collector's dream come true for me. Nobody knows exactly how many copies there are of this colorway, but the Flex! Book says there were 250 copies pressed. The book also states there's a red colored vinyl version, but I've never seen one of these. This is one of the top 5 records in my collection for sure. I'm sorry I'm gushing, but I'm just so stoked about owning this record. 

Whenever someone asks me why I buy records, I'm going to show them this record. Well, maybe I'll show them only the picture, but still. 

Repress on Blue Vinyl on BYO Records /250 (Source: Flex! Book)

Soulforce Revolution

From the same seller I bought New Wind, I also got Soulforce Revolution. 7 Seconds go even more pop, but I'm still onboard. I don't think the more pop influenced songs would work well with many other hardcore bands, but Kevin Seconds' vocals have always been very melodic and somehow they pull off these songs. Also, this record has my second favorite artwork of all 7 Seconds records. 

Standard Pressing on Black Vinyl on Restless Records (Printed in Canada)

New Wind

Whenever bands change their sound, this can be highly controversial. 7 Seconds noticeably changed their sound after Walk Together Rock Together was released. They went more pop and not everybody liked this. I wasn‘t witness to that first hand, but that‘s what I was told and read. Now, this is admittedly not one of their best records, but it‘s not as bad as people made it sound. I for one am happy to add this to the collection. 

Score - The Sequel

So, a few months ago I made a rather big record score. There were a bunch of records I had to leave behind at the time, because, well, you know, money and so on, so I was more than happy that some of the records I didn’t buy initially were still available a couple of weeks later. Not all of the, but I’m still very happy with the second haul as well. 

I managed to pick up the record release edition of Go It Alone’s Histories LP and I’m equally as happy that I managed to pick up a copy that was made for Sound And Fury Fest. Hard to fathom nowadays that a band, even a well established one, would make 100+ copies of a record just for one festival. 

Sound And Fury Edition #18/110

I picked up this 7” because it was a gap in my New Age collection, but it is anything but a gap filler. Good 90s hardcore that ended up on New Age for a reason. 

1st Press on Opaque Green w/ Blue Labels on New Age Records /150

I also picked up this limited variant of the s.t. Reserve 34 7”. When I first heard this record eight years ago, I immediately fell in love and all those years later, it still holds up. If anything, I like this 7” even more these days. 

Red Vinyl w/ Limited Sleeve on Moo Cow Records #25/101 

Soar

Another old band I got into last year was Samiam thanks to Marcus. He posted about this band, which piqued my interest, then I saw a bunch of pople posting about seeing Samiam live at the end of the year. So I decided to check them out and bought their third LP Soar. The reason why I chose this as a starting point for their LPs was simply that this one was readily available at a mail order I frequent regularly. This is a fun LP and I‘m definitely going to check out more of their catalogue. 

Also, as stated in my previous post, vinyl is just a beautiful thing. The blue in blue looks so awesome in person. I know that streaming is the more convenient way to listen to music in 2024, but listening to vinyl is a whole different experience. 

2023 Repress on Blue in Blue Swirl on New Red Archives

Karate

One of my favourite new discoveries of an old band last year was Karate. I picked up their s.t. LP after reading the description in the webstore of a mailorder I regularly order from. It sounded really interesting and I didn‘t get disappointed at all. There was a time, when all I listened to was this record. I just kept flipping it over and over and over again. Also, that green marble colour is awesome. It matches the artwork really well and if you hold the record up against the light, you can see that it‘s slightly transparent even though it looks solid when it lies flat on a surface. Just beautiful. 

The only drawback is that I haven‘t managed to get my hands on any more releases because they‘re sold out everywhere I looked. Oh well, I managed to spend decades without listening to this band. I guess, I‘ll manage for another few months. 

2022 Repress on Green Marble on Numero Group

Marathon

This is one of the records that could have easily made my best of 2023 list, but I didn‘t get to spend enough time with it last year as it was sort of hard to get copy. Best of list or not, this is a really good record. Mil-Spec just hit that sweet spot for me when it comes to melodic hardcore. Obviously I‘d have preferred a copy on purple vinyl, because coloured vinyl is so much more beautiful and purple is one of the best colours for vinyl, but for now this regular version on black vinyl will have to do. 

1st Press on Black Vinyl on Lockin‘ Out Records /550

Record Collector Blues

A few weeks ago I missed out on a Bane test press. 6131 Records / Wanna Hear It Records sold a bunch of second hand records and Marcus was kind enough to notify me of what was up for sale. But by the time I got to the web store, it had already sold. For some reason I hadn‘t checked my e-mails for a couple of hours, which would have told me about the test press being for sale right away. But that‘s how life goes.

So, what does any record collector do whenever they miss out on a rare record? Well, actually, I can‘t speak for all the collectors out there obviously, but what I do is go to Discogs, local listings and eBay to scour the Internet for rare records. Usually that means even more disappointment (I was thinking of a sports metaphor, but couldn‘t think of any), because 99/100 times I don‘t find anything. However, in this case I did get lucky and came across a Good Clean Fun test press for a really, really good price. Probably because only two people still care about collecting Good Clean Fun records in 2024 and I happened to stumble across this one at the right time. 

This is a test press for Phyte Records #16, the Let‘s Go Crazy 7“, which has Mr Issa dressed as Prince sitting on a motorcycle on the cover/artwork for the picture disc 7“. This is definitely not on the level of a Bane test press, but since I do collect Good Clean Fun records and I‘d never heard of a test press for this release, I‘m more than happy to add this to the collection. 

Test Press out of ??? on Phyte Records

I Against I

Sometime during fall last year I was sort of obsessed with Bad Brains and more particularly their third LP I Against I. Now, there are maybe individually better songs on their earlier recordings, but I Against I is the album that flows the best as a whole. I was listening to that LP over and over again, and at one point I decided to check out which different versions there are out there. There are a bunch of different pressings on coloured vinyl, so I thought it‘d be fun to start collecting those. Let‘s see how this will go. 

Repress on Gold on SST Records

Out Of Outtakes

One of the bigger news last year was that Minor Threat were going to release a new record. It is not a reunion record (luckily), and the songs aren’t new either. The songs you get on this 7” were rediscovered a coupled of years ago and they were recorded around the time when Minor Threat recorded their one and only LP, as the name Out Of Step Outtakes suggest. You get an instrumental track called “The Addams Family” and re-recorded versions of In My Eyes and Filler as a five piece.

                                         

Back cover and the flip side of the insert because everything related to Minor Threat rules. 

Right around the same time as I received the record, I also got this photo book by Glen E. Friedman, a photographer who witnessed the birth of skateboarding, hardcore and hip hop through his camera. The man has seen it all and more importantly, he also documented what he saw. Some of the pictures in the book were already known, some hadn’t been published before. Perfect combo with the 7”. 

Am Piano

Rio Reiser is most likely unknown to most people reading this blog, but he was a key figure of the German left of the ‘68 generation - in an artistic sense. In the early 70s he was the co-founder and singer of Ton Steine Scherben, which was THE political band back then when it came to leftist politics. To say Ton  Steine Scherben lyrics were very political would be and understatement, at least on their first few reocrds. The lyrical focus changed on their later records, but even the more personal songs often had a political message lying underneath. The band also coined a lot of leftist catchphrases that are used at demos to this day. 

Musically the band had nothing to do with proto-punk or heavy music that was starting around back then, their music was very rock driven and they used a wide range of instruments. Some songs really test my personal tolerance for how long a song should be, but since the rest is so good, I usually make it through them. His vocal delivery could count towards pronto-punk on some songs, but that might also be a stretch for some people. 

Later on, he enjoyed a somewhat successful solo career and even had some hits in the German charts, even though he mainly wrote those songs because he was in trouble with the IRS and had to get money. Must be nice to write a hit song or tow when you need to, haha. 

On this album, Rio Reiser plays old Ton Steine Scherben songs and his own solo songs on the piano, hence the name ‘Am Piano’ (for the non-German speakers). He also covers songs form the 50s and 60s. There are better versions of him playing some of those tracks on the piano out there, but for the most part I enjoy the songs on here and they provide an interesting insight into what music influenced his as an artist. 

Satisfaction

Whenever someone played Hatebreed for me on trips to shows or at home, I tended to shift my attention to something else and play some other tunes in my head. I didn’t like a single thing about the band: stupid band name, stupid band logo, horrible artwork, they already only played big shows at the time and I didn’t care for the music at all. Fast forward a couple of decades. Some of the people of the band I play in performed a Hatebreed cover at one of our band practices with the help of a friend. I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason I thought the song didn’t sound half bad and I decided to check out some of the Hatebreed material. I went further down that rabbit hole when I compiled a 90s hardcore playlist for a longer trip to a show and there I was, buying my first Hatebreed record 26 years after it came out. I’m not saying there’ll be more and it hasn’t be come a go-to record, but from time to time I can enjoy Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire. 

2023 (?) Repress on Black on Victory Records 

Myself In The Way

A couple of years ago, some friends and I did a Mosh Madness for the 2010s, a period in hardcore whose first half was a dark age for me. I wasn’t a big fan of the change in sound back then and consequently didn‘t check out that many new bands back then. During the Mosh Madness I was exposed to a lot of bands I‘d never given a chance before and I actually discovered a lot of bands that I really liked. Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess. 

One of those bands was Turnover. Not a hardcore band at all, but I really fell for their indie / pop punk tunes. Very relaxing music I enjoy listening to while working at home. Myself In The Way is their 5th full length and while it‘s not their best material, I really like this record. 

First Press on Cream /unknown quantity according to the RFC website

As you can see, the record sleeve comes with a bunch of random holes, but once you insert the ‘dust sleeve‘, you get the actual cover. 

                                          

Kicker

Sometimes I have this weird thing with bands that I love. Something To Write Home About by The Get Up Kids is one of my all-time favourite emo records, probably one of my all-time favourite records - period. That record and the Red Letter Day 10“ are so incredibly good )Four Minute Mile is also really good, but not as good as those records I mentioned previously) - and yet I didn‘t really follow the band after that. I bought their There Are Rules album a couple of years ago, but I wasn’t impressed back then and I don‘t remember when I listened to it the last time. 

At some point last year I went through a phase where I mostly listened to current and 90s emo bands and I decided to check out records I wasn‘t familiar with by bands that I actually really like. Kicker is only a 12“ EP. I‘m saying only because I‘d have liked more songs in that vein. I don‘t know if this record marks a return to 90s form or if the band had taken this step previously, but Kicker is really good. 

You can expect some more emo content soon. 

European Pressing on Black Vinyl on Polyvinyl Records /300

Random

A few months ago I hit up a record store close to where I live together with a good friend of mine who came to visit with his family for a few days. I go to that record store every so often, but more often than not I walk out empty handed because the selection doesn‘t usually cater to my taste. But sometimes I do find something, as was the case when I went there with said friend. 

I‘d never heard of Surface before, but judging by the cover I guessed 90s hardcore and after giving it a spin in the record store I was proven right and just grabbed the thing. The music was decent enough, I really like the metallic ink used on the cover and, well, it was dirt cheap. 

Black Vinyl on March Through Records 

Like I said, sometimes there are some good and/or interesting hardcore and punk records available at that store. Together with the Surface 7“ I also picked up this Struggle 7“ that just sat in one of the racks. I‘d meant to buy this record anyway, so not having to pay shipping for once was a welcome pace of change. 

Black Vinyl on Ebullition Records

Buds

One of my favourite discoveries of an older band was Ovlov, curtesy of the Spotify algorithm. Buds is their the band’s third album. Wikipedia tells me they’re a rock band. To me they don’t sound like a typical rock band though. There’s some emo, some indie, some post-hardcore. Maybe that mix will get you a rock  band these days. There is a saxophone in one of the songs, so maybe that tips the scale towards rock. Whatever category they might fall in, I really like the songs on this album. Great music to listen to while getting some work done. 

2022 Repress on Orange on Epxlosions in Sounds

Punk Note

A couple of years ago, the Bad Brains started re-releasing their own catalogue. Of course there are many different colored pressings, but the really cool thing - to me - was that they re-released their records with a special cover and label art work paying hommage to legendary jazz label Blue Note Records. The band and label have done an excellent job with these re-issues and I really dig the aesthetic. 

Another thing that the band has changed is that the song Don’t Blow Bubbles comes as an instrumental song. When Quickness was released originally, Bad Brains faced criticism for homophobic language. This sort of tracked because there had been a well-documented incident with The Big Boys in the early 80s. I read a bunch of statements by band members expressing their views on things back then and what might have changed in their way of thinking in more recent years, so changing the lyrics makes sense. 

1st Press Punk Note Edition on Bad Brains Records

Walk The Wheel

The first Truth Cult record, which was released in 2020, took me by complete surprise then and ended up on my top 10 list for that year. Their 2023 records Walk The Wheel almost made my list for this year if it hadn‘t been for some really hard competition. That doesn‘t take away anything from how good of a record this is. Part post-hardcore, part indie, part emo, part weird. Just a very interesting mix to my ears. 

1st Press on Black w/ White and Red Splatter on Pop Wig Records /250

One Day

Over the last few years I listened to a lot of Fucked Up. I have to admit there was a time I felt out of touch with the band, mainly because I was a little overwhelmed since they such a productive band and I felt it was hard to keep with everything they put out. But, like I said, in recent years I listened to them a lot, especially their David Comes To Life LP. To be honest, nowadays I focus mainly on their albums, because they are still a prolific band churning out several releases a year. 

I hadn’t been aware that they were going to release something new, but upon seeing their new album being advertised by a mailorder I frequent, I ordered it right away. And what can I say, Fucked Up don‘t disappoint. One Day is a great listen. It‘s crazy how long that band has existed by now (23 years) and how they still deliver great releases despite having this incredible discography already. 

First Press on Blue Jay in Milky Clear on Fucked Up Records /3500

Drink Deep

2023 is over, but I still have some cleaning up to do. As I wrote in my last post, there some excellent releases last year that didn‘t make my top 10. This is one of them. Drink Deep is a hardcore band from Berlin, but they‘re also sort of an international band when you take a look at the members. Drink Deep had released a really good demo in 2022 that I really enjoyed and after seeing them play a show last year, I knew I was going to buy whatever they‘d release next. It came as a pleasant surprise when the band announced a 7“ not that long afterwards. And the band didn‘t disappoint. Somewhere between early later Minor Threat and Revolution Summer, the DC hardcore influences are undeniable. The singer‘s voice also remind me of Ian Mackaye. So what’s not to like? 

Clear Vinyl on Refuse Records /110