For Closure "Cliffside Serenades"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 198588656297
STREET DATE: 11/8/24
CAT#: MPR011
LABEL: QP Distro

With decades of experience performing in bands throughout the Southern California punk rock scene, the fivesome of For Closure are unquestionably seasoned musicians who have racked up countless days in hundreds of studios and venues, recording dozens of albums and touring across the country in their various projects.

However, For Closure itself is a relatively new venture for these veterans, launching in 2023 and affording them the opportunity to present themselves as a clean-sheet design, with fresh ideas and novel approaches to the music genres of power-pop and punk rock that they've been performing for decades.

The genesis of For Closure stems from the dissolution of the longtime San Fernando Valley-based band For Sale, which ran its course in the early 2020s, some thirty years from its inception. At the terminus of For Sale, vocalist Gizz Lazlo (former drummer for Dr. Know, U.K. Subs, The Freeze) and guitarist Luis Estefania (F.Y.P., Rhythm Collision, Buford) still had a stack of unrecorded material as the band's primary songwriters, but no band with which to perform it all. Enter the creation of For Closure.

After connecting with producer/drummer Wal Rashidi (Jr. Juggernaut, Turning Violet, Sleep Pod Two) to lay the groundwork -- and soon thereafter joining up with bassist Steve Wilenkin (Dead Man's Life, I.D.K., Life in a Burn Clinic) and guitarist Marc Maxey (Sloth Fist, The Killing Flame, Justice League) -- the group engaged in recording sessions at Studio in Redlands, California, yielding its first single releases ("Carousel," "Moon at Noon," "No Condition"), its most recent single ("Hazy Mourning") and ultimately assembling its forthcoming yet-untitled, full-length album, to be released in 2024 via Mindpower Records.

And that was supposed to be the end of the story: a collection of recordings done, an album released and maybe one live show to prove For Closure existed.

However, freshly out of the studio and armed with the inspiration to hit the stage, the quintet began rehearsals and subsequently launched into a string of live dates in their Southern California region, playing venues throughout Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Soon thereafter, For Closure also hit traction on radio in early 2024, with its "Moon at Noon" single declared as the "Coolest Song in the World" by SiriusXM's "Little Steven's Underground Garage" radio show, which provided For Closure incredible exposure to audiences far outside its SoCal locale.

For Closure is now a full-fledged project and plans for more shows and songs are well in the works. While this highly experienced group holds enough musical credentials to fill reams of pages on its collective resume, the grand opening of For Closure has since commenced -- and that offers a chance to write another chapter in the collective musical history of its members.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Carousel
02. Moon at Noon
03. Hazy Mourning
04. No Condition
05. Water Fountain
06. Careful What You Wish For
07. Last Breath
08. Repetitive Motion
09. One More Day
10. Heard It All Before

MARKETING POINTS:

• "Moon at Noon" - "Coolest Song in the World" on Little Steven's Underground Garage on SiriusXM
• West Coast tour November 2024

FOR FANS OF:
Doughboys, Alkaline Trio, Samiam, Lemonheads, Goo Goo Dolls

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Jr. Juggernaut "Another Big Explosion"

LP - $18.75
LP UPC: 198588088913
STREET DATE: 9/27/24
CAT#: MPR013
LABEL: Quiet Panic Distro

In an era in which technology, computerization, mobile media and its associated artifice pervades all forms of creativity, it's refreshing to remember that sometimes an excellent album can still be comprised of the most simplistic and honest elements: guitar strings, drumsticks, tube amplifiers, crash cymbals, and songs crafted by inspiration and intuition.

What Los Angeles-based power trio Jr. Juggernaut has assembled for its fourth full-length album, Another Big Explosion, emanates from a deeply emotional state, coupled with the sheer power of rimshot-splintered drumsticks, speaker cabinets pushed to their breaking point, and an exceptionally current, fresh take on the warm and fuzzy sounds of '90s style alt-rock. Were MTV's original incarnation of "120 Minutes" still on the air, the ten songs found on Jr. Juggernaut's latest would all be contenders for Buzz Bin video status.

Most of all, Another Big Explosion unquestionably lives up to its name. From the brightly melodic and driving cuts of "Hang On" and "Lonely Boy," to the overcast, ominous closer "Total Darkness," everything on the album is bold and expansive, yet finely tuned for maximum guitar-drenched attack. Singer/guitarist Mike Williamson had a mix of melody and noise in mind while composing the album. "For this record, I landed on an alternate tuning that let me play thick power chords while the top strings continued to ring out, like a shiny chime on top of a chugging locomotive," says Williamson. "This informed the entire soundscape of the album and gave us what I think is simultaneously our heaviest and prettiest album yet."

Co-produced by Williamson and Jr. Juggernaut drummer Wal Rashidi, Another Big Explosion is the first Jr. Juggernaut album to also feature bassist Noah Green (of L.A.'s The Pretty Flowers). It's also the first Jr. Juggernaut release to appear on Mindpower Records.

"We're excited that we could connect with Mindpower for this album's release," says Rashidi. "The band had discussed a long list of labels, but Mindpower kept rising to the top of the list of options. I think it's a win for both ends."

While some artists continue to lean on the latest in technological advances to further their efforts, Jr. Juggernaut realizes that its creative output can be distilled to the basics: Marshall half-stacks set to stun, brass snares shimmying with every hit, and songs penned purely from the heart.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Come Break My Heart
02. Hang On
03. Everything I Touch
04. Take Alone
05. Inclined
06. After Tonight
07. Million Miles
08. Lonely Boy
09. I Believe
10. Total Darkness

MARKETING POINTS:

• West Coast tour Aug/Sep 2024

FOR FANS OF:
Bob Mould, Dinosaur Jr, Husker Du, The Replacements, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Buffalo Tom, Goo Goo Dolls, Supercrush, Cloud Nothings, Superchunk, Hold Steady, Lemonheads

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Sloth Fist “Mothman Is Real”

LP - $14.00 / CD - $8.00
LP UPC: 759992729153
CD UPC: 759992729146
STREET DATE: 12/2/22
CAT#: MPR007
LABEL: QP Distro

Hailing from Dallas, TX, Sloth Fist are a 5 piece punk / rock ‘n’ roll band that combine the melodic sense of The Descendents and Teenage Bottlerocket with the fierceness of bands like Motorhead and Turbonegro. The result is an eclectic mix of songs that will satisfy anyone who likes their music hard and heavy, but still catchy with hooks galore.

The brainchild of songwriter / vocalist Eric Daniels (Bullet Machine, Black Habits, Responsible Johnny), the band also features Rafael Genovez (Responsible Johnny) on drums, Marc Maxey (Justice League, The Killing Flame) on bass, Matt Thomas (Slave One, Neighborhood Villain, Bullet Machine) on guitar, and Cody Shavers (Blanche Davidians, Perdition) on guitar.

Sloth Fist formed in 2018 and quickly began playing shows around the DFW metroplex, including a show at the legendary Three Links in Deep Ellum with Japan’s Mugen Hoso. Daniels, Genovez, and Maxey recorded and released their debut EP, “Live Slow, Die Whenever” in late 2018 as a 3 piece.

Soon after the EP release, Matt Thomas was recruited on guitar and the band played a handful of shows as a 4 piece, including a show with Boston’s Moving Targets with both Daniels and Thomas on guitar. With Daniels’ desire to focus on vocals, the band recruited guitarist Alex Casanova to round out the lineup. More shows followed with the likes of heavy metal legends Thor, and Dag Nasty spinoff Field Day. These 5 hit the studio in late 2019 to record the “Mothman is Real” LP. Twelve blistering tracks were mixed by Andrew Berlin at The Blasting Room in CO and mastered by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust).

Four videos were released from the LP including one for “Sloth Fist Will Be Annihilated”, filmed in quarantine times, with each member shooting their own footage at their homes and / or practice space. For the end, however, dozens of fans and friends submitted their own videos of themselves singing along to the song’s end chant “Live Slow, Die Whenever – SLOTH FIST”. Some notable faces include Jeff Caudill (Gameface) and Peter Cortner (Dag Nasty / Field Day).

TRACK LISTING:

1. Sloth Fist Will Be Annihilated
2. All I Know
3. Mothman is Real
4. Rock 'n' Roll Ain't Nice
5. Nicotine
6. This is a Blot Out Song
7. NESterday
8. Go Away
9. Tell Me Why
10. Hangover Song
11. Lycanthropy
12. White Rabbits

FOR FANS OF:
Descendents, Turbonegro, Motorhead, Teenage Bottlerocket

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Weak "A Guide To Adult Despair"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 196626850584
STREET DATE: 11/4/22
CAT#: MPR010
LABEL: QP Distro

Formed in 2018 by Fangui (singer & guitarist), Tote (guitarist & vocals), Fon (bassist) and Meri (drums), WEAK is a punk-rock band based in Madrid (SP). You can tell they grew up with NOFX, Lagwagon and No Use for A Name tapes blaring on their Walkmans as their sound could be defined as a passionate homage to the Californaian punk rock bands of the nineties. Their first studio album “The Wheel”, co-released in 2019 by several national and international labels (La Agonía de Vivir, Morning Wood, Bcore, Waterslide...), has led them to tour extensively through Spain and Europe that same year. Later that year, Tote (guitarist & vocals) leaves the band and Diego Martínez (guitarist & vocals) replaces him, closing the line up again shortly after. In 2022 the band recorded their second studio album, “A Guide for Adult Despair”, fully recorded, mixed and mastered at Ultramarinos Costabrava by Santi García and Victor García. The album was released in summer 2022. The band has already been confirmed on acknowledged European festivals such as Tsunami Xixon and is planning their second European tour.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Last Settlers
2. Battle Royale
3. The Tide
4. Riffs & Songs
5. My Friendless Year
6. A Long Year to Regret
7. F.T.A.
8. Lame
9. Not a Regular Love Song

MARKETING POINTS:

FOR FANS OF:
NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, Pulley, Bad Religion

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