Lead Spirit

A couple of weeks ago a very good friend sent me a link to a Bandcamp page. I had actually seen the cover of the 7" he sent me the link to before on the website of a bistro I frequently buy from. Live picture plus band name always trigger my interest. It's not groundbreaking artwork, but 9/10 you know what to expect. I also really liked the purple lettering. I decided to listen to the 7" on Bandcamp, which is something I didn't use to do but with prices skyrocketing I have grown to be more cautious with what I buy.  I was hooked right away. Yeah, it is the umpteenth version of Youth Crew with a modern twist, but as long as it's done well - which it absolutely is here - I am onboard. Like I said, I dig the cover and I really like the insert as well. The only point of criticism is the color scheme of the labels. The maroon doesn't really work with the cover in my opinion. But hey, that's just me knit-picking. 

Of course I would have loved to get my hands on a colored copy, but with prices for a 7" already being in the double digits, I have to compromise and make do with whatever version I can get my hands on. 

 

1st Press on Black on From Within /200

Just Shut Up And Take My Money

So here we are again. Yet another Bane record. Give Blood is widely regarded as Bane‘s best LP and while it is an incredible record, it‘s not my favourite of theirs. But it‘s a very close second.  

This particular record on solid white vinyl, not to be confused with the opaque cream version I bought a couple of months ago. Overall I think the label did a much better job with the color choices for the repress of Give Blood compared to the It All Comes Down To This LP. The white, and for that matter also the opaque cream variant, look really good with the artwork. Just keep it simple and I‘m a happy record collector. 

2024 Repress on White on Equal vision /800

Found

Question: Can one ever have enough Walter Schreifels related records? Answer: No. Found was supposed to be the second Rival Schools album, but it never materialised that way because the label didn‘t hear a single. Well, that pretty much should tell you everything about major labels. Some of them songs were leaked or had been played live, but they weren‘t available on vinyl. That was until 2013, so only about 10 years after the songs were written. Fast forward another 12 years and I finally listened to these songs as well. 

In addition to Rival Schools original songs you also get a nice Buzzcocks cover to end the album. I really like the printed inner sleeve with the United By Fate artwork. That‘s a nice touch. 

3rd Press (2024 Repress) on Half Olive / Half Cream on Run For Cover /700

G.L.O.W.

I know that this isn‘t a huge platform, but if I can promote bands by friends, I will use that opportunity. G.L.O.W. are a new band of old(er) people from the area I live in and some of them I have known for 10+ years and also played with together in bands, so, yes, I‘m  biased very much, but who cares. 

G.L.O.W. play 80s style hardcore punk, with some wave influences. Since I‘ve known both people who are in charge of songwriting from their previous and current bands, I kinda can tell who wrote which song. 

I also went to see their second show a couple of weeks ago, which is where I picked up the demo. The show itself was a lot of fun and I really enjoy the demo. I'm really looking forward to hearing their new material. 

Clear Red Tape Self-Released by the Band /50

Your Life And Nothing Else

The first Faim LP, Hollow Hope, blew me away when I first listened to it back in 2020. All the more is the pity that I slept for almost two years on their follow up record, Your Life And Nothing Else. Great name, great art work, especially in combination with this particular vinyl color. The music is fast and ferocious, but then there are also post-hardcore influences. It‘s an interesting combination that works really well for me. This is not a record to listen every day, I have to be in the mood for music like this. But when I am, this really scratches an itch for me. 

1st Press on Solid Pink on Safe Inside /250

No Need To Hide

I‘m the kind of person who really likes surprises in real life. I also like surprises when it comes to music. However, sometimes I just want to get exactly what I expect. Take the cover of Jusitfy‘s Run and Hide 7“ for instance. It may not be groundbreaking and all that exciting, but you get exactly as advertised. Take the best parts of every wave of youth crew bands and you get the songs on this 7“. Some people might read this as a dig at the band, but I mean that as a compliment. Put on your Nikes and get moshing. 

1st Press on Black on Total Supply / Extinction Burst

A Life‘s Refrain

There‘s a million bands out there that I have no idea about, but one of the current bands that gets me really excited is Speedway from Sweden. That‘s what the folks at Revelation Records must have felt as well because it‘s still very rare that they sign European bands. I‘d been looking forward to the debut LP for a long time and the band delivers on A Life‘s Refrain. I could do without some of the leads on some songs, but that‘s me really nitpicking. This is just a great LP and so much fun to listen to. 

And from a collector‘s point of view, I’m happy to say that there are only five versions of the first press. The red or ‘ruby‘ color works really well with the artwork. Great job all around. 

1st Press on Translucent Ruby on Rev /300 (Retail Exclusive)

Holding On

When I ordered the FC Five CD I took a look at the seller's inventory on Discogs. Like I said, I'm still not 100% over being a vinyl snob so I felt I needed to order at least one vinyl record, too. 

In many respects, I‘m a quite simple guy. Put a guy jumping with a guitar on the front cover of a record and you got my interest. Combine it with a classic looking hardcore font and you got my full attention. I‘ve had the second Holding On LP for a long time, but for some reason I never bothered to check out their other material, even though I really like that album. But here we are and I finally listened to the Hoding On demo 26 years after its release. No frills hardcore just the way I like it. 

1st Press on Clear Blue on Looking Back /???

Reasons Not Self-Imposed Rules

Mainly, this is a vinyl only blog as you may have noticed. Tapes get a pass from me, but I can‘t honestly say when I spent money on a CD the last time. It must have been one of those Bane city 7“s that were also available on CD. But after that, I have no idea. 

Now, in the 2000s, there was a phase during which less vinyl was pressed by record labels. Even hardcore labels followed that trend to some degree, which is why there are certain releases from that era that are CD only. For the longest time I was a real snob about this and didn‘t buy albums or 7“s that weren‘t released on vinyl. Well, that was pretty stupid in hindsight. So after decades of ignoring CDs, here we are. 

FC Five were a band from Japan that existed from 2000 - 2012. I saw them twice in the mid-2000s and both shows were so much fun and really memorable. The first time I saw them was the very first Bane show I went to, which itself was such a huge turning point in my life. For some reason, FC Five weren’t featured on the flyer for the show, but I know they played that night. The second time I saw them was a year later when they were on tour with Ritual, a German hardcore band, and they played a local youth club. I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen a band that had more fun on stage and that‘s true for both times I saw them. They seemed to genuinely enjoy playing hardcore shows on a level I‘ve never seen with any other band before or since. And the band having the time of their lives was so infectious. The music was right up my alley at that time, too. After getting this CD, I listened to their whole discography and their records have stood the test of time for me. 

 

Here’s a shot of everything laid out. The band / label certainly didn‘t hold back when it came to the cover and inlays. The only thing that annoys me is that some of the pictures on the left are turned 90 degrees. Hard to tell because, well, it‘s a CD and not a vinyl record. I guess I‘m not 100% over being a little snobbish when it comes to CDs. 

One cool thing about releases from Asia are OBi strips. I‘m a sucker for those for some reason. They just look cool. 

Having said all of this, if anyone were to put out this record on vinyl, I‘d be all over it. But considering that the 20 year anniversary was already two years ago, I don‘t think this will happen anytime soon. 

Big Kids

A while ago a very good friend of mine tagged me in a post on Facebook in which he‘d posted a bunch of emo bands. One of the bands he‘d chose was Big Kids. He tagged me because I was the one who introduced him to the band. As a matter of fact, I recently turned on one of my bandmates to the band when we were on a long drive a couple of weeks ago. Two people in roughly ten years, not bad, but also not great. I‘ve been a longtime proponent time proponent of the band and Hoop Dreams easily makes my all-time top 5 of emo/indie records, but I feel like I‘m one of only a few people who are really into that record and that’s exactly why I‘ll never get tired of singing its praises. 

After my friend had tagged me, I started looking on Discogs what other versions of Hoop Dreams are out there. Looking turned into putting a pink copy into my shopping basket and after I admitted to myself that I was just kidding myself by pretending not wanting to buy it, I clicked on ‘Place order and buy now‘. There‘s only a few variants out there (good old 2000s…) and all of them are cheap, at least until you factor in shipping from the States ($8.75 for the record turns into $56 total…). So that keeps me from buying more copies right now. However, this great looking pink copy was available from a seller in Europe and for less than 10€ I couldn‘t say no. 

1st Press on Pink Marble on Topshelf /250

Wait… Whut?

When the announcement of a 10 year anniversary was made, I heard talks about a very special, special version. While some of the versions that were part of the anniversary press were cool, others fell rather flat. But I had high hopes for the special version and man, I didn’t get disappointed. 

So, this is what the record looked like when it arrived. This is the only record I own that comes with a safety warning. Of course, I cut out the stickers and now I keep the with the record.

Standard shot of the record and the sleeve. Everything looks pretty cool if you ask me. 

10 Year Anniversary Press on Purple Swirl w/ Confetti on End Hits /100

Having said that, when you hold the record up against the light, it looks incredible. Just look at it. The purple swirl would have been a great color for the record on its own, but the rainbow confetti makes it that much more special. Such a beautiful sight to behold. 

Because the record is so beautiful, here‘s another shot against the light. 

End Hits also included a bonus lyric sheet. They really went all out with the packaging. 

Another cool feature is that you can recharge the light. With a simple battery, you wouldn‘t have been able to turn on the lights up eventually, but with the plug-in charger, you should be able to enjoy the lights much longer. Each record was hand-made, which probably took forever. 

When I talked to Marcus about this record and I told him I‘d send him picture, he suggested that a video would probably make more sense and of course he was right. So here‘s a short video of the whole thing. 

This is by far the most money I‘ve ever spent on a new record. It was 99€ in case you were wondering, but the record itself is such a beauty and the packaging is absolutely incredible. No regrets on my part.

Lessons Learrrrrrrrrrrned

Since I really got into Youth Of Today a couple of years ago, I wanted to get my hands on a Can‘t Close My Eyes 7“ on Positive Force. They just looked like a cool record to own. Unfortunately any press of that record comes with a hefty price tag these days. So I waited patiently until I found a rather cheap copy. Here‘s where the lesson learning starts:

#1 Buying from eBay in the US nowadays sucks. While the price for the record was okay, I almost paid the same amount for shipping, VAT and other fees. So, all in all I just could have bought a more expensive copy in Europe and saved me some heartache and money.

#2 Because I was so happy to finally have found a reasonably priced record, I didn‘t check for all of the details of the auction. Which is why I ended up with a record without a lyric sheet. So not only did I pay too much when all was said and done, I also paid too much for an incomplete record. If anyone has a spare copy of the lyric sheet or could provide a copy, I‘d be most grateful. 

I knew that the sound quality of this record was always describe as poor and I am definitely not an audiophile, but this does sound incredibly thin. I can appreciate the record for what it is - a documentation of a band at a certain time under certain circumstances, but I know I‘m not going to listen to this version that often. 

I know this was a rather negative post, which is kind of ironic, but having said all of these negative things, I‘m still happy to finally own a copy. 

4th Press on Black on Positive Force

The B-side label is just so rad. It deserves a picture of its own. 

Pezcore Forever

As much as I love original pressings, sometimes getting a repress is just much more convenient and of course affordable. Pezcore is the debut LP by Less Than Jake and was first released in 1995. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary, Pezcore was rereleased at the beginning of this year. It comes on nice 180g vinyl. The rerelease comes on a bunch of different colors, but the mock ups were all incredibly ugly splatter vinyl and there‘s no way those could have looked good in real life, so black vinyl was definitely the better choice (sorry, Marcus). 

While this is not my favorite LTJ LP, there are some real tracks on this album. I mean, each of the first five LPs has a bunch of absolute hits in my book. All of them are just a good time. 

Close-up of the hype sticker. I‘m not quite sure what makes this the ‘forever version‘, but that‘s ok. 

 

…Home Is So Far From Here

I have a weak spot for emo music (sorry, Ian), be it Revolution Summer style music or 90s emo. I’ll draw the line at what became known as emo in the early 2000s, but I’m still down with the two aforementioned styles. So, when newer bands play music of that ilk, I‘m always willing to check it out. … Home Is So Far From Here is the debut LP by The Arrival Note. The cover has a very 90s feel to it, but with a modern touch. Someone also put in real thought when it came to choosing the vinyl colors. Both, dark blue and white, match the artwork really well. The music is what you‘d expect by my introduction, but the band managed to add a modern touch to it that works really well for me. 

1st Press on Dark Blue Marble on Sunday Drive /200

I Against I(V)

A couple of weeks ago I got to spent a quiet Saturday evening lounging on the sofa, having some TV show I’ve seen a hundred times in the background and browsing for records. I happened to find a listing of the last colored version of Bad Brains‘ I Against I that I needed for a really good price. Since this clear variant  hadn‘t sold in four year on Discogs and I hadn‘t found any other copies on local listening or eBay in the past year, it took me only about a second or two to buy this record right away. 

Time for a family picture of the colored represses from the early 90s, most likely 1990/1991.

I also added the German pressing on white vinyl, just for the fun of it. The German pressing is the only solid color version and comes with different label art as well. 

After I’d taken the picture of the clear vinyl copy and applying the setting I usually use for the pictures on my blog, I noticed that the picture looked different from the ones I remembered posting on here. So, I compared the sleeves and the colors of the sleeves are slightly different. You can see it especially when you look at the band name, the album title and the hair underneath the band name. It‘s like someone played around with the contrast. If the albums were repressed at the same time, why not have thousands of  covers printed? That would be the cheaper option, wouldn‘t it? Or does that mean these colored represses weren‘t repressed at the same time?

Close-up of the covers. Check the band name and the hair color. Top cover = lightest version, bottom cover = darkest cover. The covers of the clear variant and the yellow variant look kinda similar, as do the covers of the green and blue versions, but they’re still noticeably different.

I also checked the back cover to see if there are any differences, but they look pretty much the same to me. They all have the same barcode as well, so you can‘t differentiate them that way either. It all remains sort of a mystery.