Retox "Beneath California"

LP - $17.50
STREET DATE: 4/19/24
CAT#: 31G079
LABEL: Three One G

The world is falling apart one day at a time, and the majority of us sit and watch as if attending a public hanging--more and more, our interest is piqued by the appalling, while our thoughts and reactions remain largely absent. When stripped of the bloated, festering egos that so many cling to in order to feel important, we are nothing more than ugly animals. In a society that is predominantly dormant, Retox brings this reality to the forefront in a forward-thinking way, commanding our ever-rapidly-decreasing attention spans and determined to provoke some kind of visceral response, good or bad.

Consisting of Justin Pearson (The Locust, Deaf Club, Swing Kids), Michael Crain (Festival of Dead Deer, Dead Cross), Brian Evans, and Keith Hendriksen (Kill the Capulets, Virginia Reed), Retox is marked by a speed and sound that seeks to shatter apathy. Since their conception in 2011, they have toured with similarly like-minded acts such as Melt-Banana, Tomahawk, OFF!, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Doomsday Student, physically bringing every bit as much intensity as the music itself incites intellectually.

Coming off of their sophomore album, "YPLL" (Years of Potential Life Lost), Retox have emerged from the collective depths of San Diego and Los Angeles with their latest antagonistic efforts, entitled "Beneath California". Varying styles and sonically experimenting, melding the raw with the refined, the band continuously teases yet never settles on any one genre-- aside from perhaps (as members of the band itself have referred to their work) "annoying". Tracks such as "Death Will Change Your Life" spit cynical lyrics drenched in rapid-fire rhythm: "All those who have died before me, forgot trustees, cleaned streets with parolees/They dragged everything into the sea, the filth and the debris, and hoped none would see."

Overall, Retox simultaneously seems to reflect and defy, using music as a way of holding a broken mirror to the rest of us, exposing different pieces of our own fucked up realities, and forcing the acknowledgement of the inevitable self-imposed apocalypse we are creating for ourselves.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Die In Your Own Cathedral
02. We Know Who's The Prick
03. The Savior, The Swear Word
04. Let's Not Keep In Touch
05. Disappointing Grade
06. The Inevitable End
07. This Should Hurt A Little Bit
08. Death Will Change Your Life
09. Without Money, We'd All Be Rich
10. You're Only A Crook If You Get Caught
11. Wooden Nickels
12. Strong Wrong Opinion

MARKETING POINTS:

• Updated Packaging
• Band featured Justin Pearson (The Locust, Deaf Club, Swing Kids), Michael Crain (Festival of Dead Deer, Dead Cross), Brian Evans, and Keith Hendriksen (Kill the Capulets, Virginia Reed)

FOR FANS OF:
Dead Cross, Deaf Club, Swing Kids, The Festival of Dead Deer

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Couch Slut "You Could Do It Tonight"

LP - $17.25 / CD - $8.00 / CASSETTE - $8.00
STREET DATE: 4/19/24
CAT#: BPR-100
LABEL: Brutal Panda

NYC's resident misfits Couch Slut have played a veritable strain of drug-fueled, incendiary noise rock since 2013. Led by Megan Osztrosits' infernal roar and subversive, vitriolic lyrics, the quintet returns with their fourth full-length opus You Could Do It Tonight, just in time for America's only holiday that matters...4/20.

Recorded amidst the filth of NYC with Uniform's Ben Greenberg (Drab Majesty, Portrayal of Guilt, Metz), Couch Slut subverts the paradigm and ups the ante in every imaginable way across nine vignettes of perverse, true-to-life storytelling layered over the band's singular, dragged-through-the-mud songcraft. This is a depraved style of noise rock that will scare the living shit out of you. With ten full years of pain and suffering under its proverbial belt, Couch Slut sounds more urgent, threatening, nasty and despondent than ever. The perfect soundtrack for 2024.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Couch Slut Lewis
2. Ode To Jimbo
3. Wilkinson's Sword
4. The Donkey
5. Presidential Welcome
6. Energy Crystals for Healing
7. Downhill Racer
8. Laughing and Crying
9. The Weaversville Home For Boys

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Uniform's Ben Greenberg (Drab Majesty, Portrayal of Guilt, Metz)
• On tour with Intercourse this Spring
• On tour with Great Falls this Summer
• "Startlingly unique and contemporary...Unremittingly ugly." -Pitchfork

FOR FANS OF:
Today is the Day, Chat Pile, Oxbow, Cloud Rat, Body Void, KEN Mode, Thou, Full of Hell, Kowloon Walled City, Yautja

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Heavenly Blue “We Have The Answer”

LP - $17.25
LP UPC:791689666112
STREET DATE: 4/12/24
CAT#: SV26
LABEL: Secret Voice

Heavenly Blue are unwavering in their deep punk roots. The artists responsible for crafting a sound now over 25 years old are not only reemerging, but sharing the stage with influenced younger musicians who thought they would never get the opportunity. Heavenly Blue's maximalist approach shows through their 7 member ensemble's composition, their emotional sound and communal style of songwriting across miles and various locations captures the spirit that bands from their era and those past are championed on a philosophical level. In other words, Heavenly Blue are a modern update to an overlooked form, and the title of their debut LP, We Have The Answer, is an apt and promising description of the period in which the sound now finds itself.

The Detroit, MI based septet consists of vocalists Juno Parsons and Mel Caren, guitarists Kris Lane, Maya Chun, and Mac Porter, and a rhythm section consisting of bassist Jon Riley and drummer Andrew Coughlin. From the end of Chun's and Riley's previous band Youth Novel, the pair enlisted a number of Michigan musicians of varying levels of experience, exchanging demos with each other over the course of a year. From there, Heavenly Blue toured with bands like Frail Body, Venus Twins, Blind Girls, and Touché Amoré. Through their connection to Touché Amoré's vocalist Jeremy Bolm, the band produced their first track, "Certain Distance," for a compilation on Bolm's imprint Secret Voice Records. On Heavenly Blue's collaborative spirit and how it has led them to this point, Riley asserts,

"The title invokes an unquestionable certainty, yet without thinking about exactly who or what "we" is, you may miss the point. The process of making this record involved a deeply collaborative process where every single member of the group put their whole selves into the music. The result is a statement I feel is deeply personal of what I want out of a record. Something loud and blistering, but hopefully still visceral."

Heavenly Blue's style is earmarked by screamo's familiar dynamics of harmony and dissonance played both to complement and work against each other. For them, it's about bringing screamo sensibilities to noise rock and post-hardcore. On We Have The Answer, they explore the traditional pairing of heavy/ugly and soft/pretty, but additionally approaches the concept's inverse, playing melodies violently and fast complex passages softly. Heavenly Blue also mixes in hardcore influence with mid-song breakdowns as verses.

We Have The Answer continually begs the same emotional analysis that aggressive music has demanded and rarely received for decades. Tracks like "We Have The Answer" and "Davos" carry the spirit of the band's past while other tracks, like "Heat Death Parade" and "Pando" sit in the realm of Heavenly Blue's noise rock contemporaries. Heavenly Blue demonstrates it can do a more traditional structure, with songs like album single "Static Voice Speaks To Static Me" and the pensive "…And Just Like That A Year Had Passed," while the unexpectedly danceable yet deeply melodic "A Part Of Me, A Part Of You" all offer refreshing takes on the chorus-verse mode of songwriting, while also challenging listeners to contemplate their repurposing of otherwise straightforward rhythms.

We Have The Answer's release through Jeremy Bolm's Secret Voice Records also highlights the intergenerational cooperation that has come to be one of the most exciting aspects of punk in the 2020's. In its own way, it highlights the statement that Heavenly Blue are making with the title of their work. The sense of community within the artists involved suggests a shared idea of purpose that is not common enough in music. If you have to ask what "the answer" is, Heavenly Blue insists upon listening and attending a show near you. Look for the answer within. Hopefully the seed is sown and you'll understand.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Davos
2. We Have The Answer
3. Pando
4. Glass So Clear
5. Certain Distance
6. Static Voice Speaks to Static Me
7. ...And Like That, A Year Had Passed
8. A Part Of Me, A Part Of You
9. Looming
10. Heat Death Parade
11. All Of The Piece Break

MARKETING POINTS:

• US tour with Frail Body in March
• Appeared on the Secret Voice comp "Balladeers, Redefined" in 2022

FOR FANS OF:
Saetia, Jemores Dream, Pageninetynine

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Gemm "Spun Out"

12"EP - $14.00
STREET DATE: 4/5/24
CAT#: PRO-090
LABEL: Protagonist Music

There's something decidedly comforting about 90's music, namely its wellspring of memorable alternative rock. The seismic shift in artistry of those times aside, there is a warm-fuzzy feeling that albums like "Nevermind" and "Siamese Dream" elicit from listeners then and now. Gemm makes a show of that nostalgic evocation, crafting a tone and style that is just as reverent as it is refreshing. Stepping into the studio in Arizona with producer/engineer Zach Rippy (Defeater, Common Wounds, Fleshwater) they created their newest and most fully realized effort yet, "Spun Out." Marrying the tectonic melodicism of The Smashing Pumpkins with the esoteric songwriting of Title Fight or Nirvana, with added dashes of pop sensibility and Alice in Chains grit, their always evolving sound has an almost alchemic quality. Reverential songcraft meets youthful abandon across a group of tracks that will stick in your head for days. Akin to contemporaries such as Basement and Superheaven, the magic of Gemm is poised to twist alt-rock and grunge-pop into ever more eclectic, fuzzy, anthemic forms that are wholly unique to them.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Trying To Feel
2. Fever Dream
3. No Escape
4. Dizzy
5. World On Fire
6. Split

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Zach Rippy (Defeater, Common Wounds, Fleshwater) at Sound Signal Audio

FOR FANS OF:
Superheaven, Title Fight, Basement, Militarie Gun, Silverchair

Xibalba "Aztlán"

12"EP - $17.25
12"EP UPC: 197190225051
STREET DATE: 4/5/24
CAT#: CLCR122
LABEL: Closed Casket Activities

Four new songs from Southern California's own Xibalba. Pressed as a one sided 12" with a screen printed B side and packaged in a matte lp jacket complimented with UV spot varnish. Recorded and Mixed by Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studio and Mastered by Brad Boatright of Audiosiege.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Descending Into…
02. The Place of Fear
03. Death & Revenge
04. Aztlán (FYP)

MARKETING POINTS:

• Recorded and Mixed by Taylor Young
• Mastered by Brad Boatright
• Features Screen Printed B-Side

FOR FANS OF:
Crowbar, Terror, God's Hate

Soul Glo "Songs To Yeet At Then Sun"

12"EP - $17.25
12"EP UPC: 791689666204
STREET DATE: 4/5/24
CAT#: SV17
LABEL: Secret Voice

If you gave Soul Glo a snapshot of what was in store for them in 2020 at the end of their first practice in 2014, you might put the space time continuum in flux. If you were to tell vocalist Pierce Jordan and guitarist Ruben Polo that everything that they had spent their first month as a band joking about, playing shows with artists from punk vets Paint It Black to Kurt Cobain's favorites Flipper; from Memphis underground legend Tommy Wright III to platinum producer Pi'erre Bourne, were to actually happen, they might ask you if your hands were as fast as your jokes were. Despite the constant barrage of setbacks, from member changes, to financial strife, to run-ins with the law, Soul Glo has both repeatedly defied the kinds of odds that would fold lesser bands, not to mention their own standards for what they believed they could endure. Simultaneously, stopping or slowing down has never exactly been on the table for them, either.

"When we were stranded in Missouri, we started to weigh out the pros and cons of relocating there. We weren't just about to leave our mans," Jordan says. "Songs started getting crafted out there that we still have in the chamber."

That said, their next release, Songs To Yeet At The Sun, serves as a perfect respite from the silence in between LP's and the current lull in live performances that the band has become known for nationwide. The five song blessing gives a further insight into the frankly deranged production of bassist/producer Gianmarco Guerra, who served as the sole producer and one of three engineers for the record. Songs like "(Quietly) Do The Right Thing" and "29" continue to show Soul Glo's affinity for speed as a vehicle for their aggression and messages, while songs like "I'm On Probation" and the previously released "Mathed Up" shows the bands love of chaotic-yet-atmospheric noise and the most popular rhythmic vocal styles of today's current rap on top of the pummelling heaviness of the drums of TJ Stevenson. The band continues to showcase the rhythmic synergy existing between the entirety of the ensemble throughout the record, while the song "2K" features the straightforward rap production that peeked through on crowd-favorite songs "31" and "32" on the bands previous record The Nigga In Me Is Me, and also features a verse with instantly quotable lines from Richmond, VA artist Archangel.

All things considered, in a year where it feels as though quite literally anything could happen at any given moment, a record like the one that Soul Glo shorthandledly refers to as Yeet, one that features a violent and compelling sonic fusion that only they are capable of, is deeply necessary to times in which we currently find ourselves. In times where we are simply trying to survive from one minute to the next, one day to the next, it feels good in its own way, less lonely perhaps, to have music that reflects that uncertainty and fear.

TRACK LISTING:

1. (Quietly) Do The Right Thing
2. 29
3. 2k featuring Archangel
4. Mathed Up
5. I'm On Probation

MARKETING POINTS:

• One Sided 12"EP w/ Silk Screened B-Side
• Mixed and Mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away)
• Touring History with Touché Amoré, Gouge Away, Jeromes Dream
• Secret Voice Label is owned and operated by Jeremy Bolm, vocalist of Touché Amoré and Hesitation Wounds

FOR FANS OF:
Denzel Curry, Jeromes Dream, Gulch

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NØ MAN "Glitter and Spit"

LP - $17.25 / CD - $8.00
LP UPC: 724399772453
CD UPC: 724399772460
STREET DATE: 3/29/24
CAT#: IOD-59
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

"Will you die with your eyes open?"

Washington D.C.'s NØ MAN is a necessary and much-needed voice in modern hardcore. Formed in 2017, the four-piece punk band has been alchemizing the personal and the political from the jump. Composed of members from Majority Rule, the band's current aims go hand-in-hand with their past, sonically and thematically.

Their upcoming album Glitter and Spit is the band's third full-length LP, solidifying their furious hardcore into a weapon of a record. Album opener "Eat My Twin" twists and refracts a mid-tempo riff into a sonic hammer, cracking open the record's heaviness to come. Singer Maha Shami has fully come into her own as a frontperson, snarling out the most vicious vocals of her career on "Poison Darts."

As the daughter of refugees, returning home to Palestine included witnessing first-hand the casual atrocities inflicted on her family. Though written before the current conflict's boiling point, Glitter and Spit synthesizes the 70+ years of systemic violence carried out against Palestine and her own lived experiences. From school teachers and classmates telling her Palestine doesn't exist, to being humiliated by soldiers at checkpoints when she visited her family, these many moments fuel the album's lifeblood, coalescing on "Can't Kill Us All."

"They want to silence us," Shami said at a recent benefit show in D.C. "We will be louder. We aren't fucking going anywhere. Because Palestine will never die." Glitter and Spit is a much-needed fire of an album, fueled by the anxieties and anger of the now, erupting in a cathartic inferno.

The band's members Matt Michel (guitar/vocals), Pat Broderick (drums) and Kevin Lamiell (Bass) helped lay the foundation for hardcore and screamo in Majority Rule from 1996 to 2004. Alongside the band, vocalist Maha Shami has been a longtime friend, giving a "cameo" guest vocal performance on Majority Rule's "Packaged Poison" in 2004. When Majority Rule reunited in 2017 to perform multiple benefit shows, it ignited a desire to keep creating, and no one was better equipped to step in as front person than Shami.

Their energy and spirit have brought them together on tour with bands like Portrayal of Guilt, Darkest Hour, FAIM, Entry and more. In 2023 they collaborated with former tourmates and fellow iconoclasts The HIRS Collective on the song "Sweet Like Candy." They've also contributed to Secret Voice's (the label of Touche Amore frontman Jeremy Bolm) compilation Balladeers, Redefined.

Glitter and Spit was recorded and mixed by Matthew Michel at Viva Studio, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Eat my Twin
2. Glitter and Spit
3. Poison Darts
4. Eye Spy
5. God's Neighborhood
6. March of Ides
7. Can't Kill Us All
8. Monument to Pleasure
9. Burning Skulls
10. Damaar

MARKETING POINTS:

• Features ex-members of Majority Rule
• Guest vocals from Kat Lanzillo of FAIM
• Previous touring history w/ Portrayal of Guilt, Darkest Hour, The Hirs Collective, Strike Anywhere, Pg.99, Jeromes Dream, FAIM, and more.
• Previous album "ERASE" listed as one of the Best Punk Records of 2020 by Brooklyn Vegan
• Mastered by Brad Boatright (The Armed, DRAIN, Code Orange, Defeater)

FOR FANS OF:
Gel, Tragedy, Gouge Away, Nausea, Scowl

Instagram | Facebook

Leaving "Liminal"

LP - $14.65
STREET DATE: 3/29/24
CAT#: PRO-095
LABEL: Protagonist

Leaving, who hail from Oakland, CA, meld the heavy distortion of doom metal with the ethereal textures of shoegaze, forging an audio landscape that is devastatingly hypnotic and dripping with sorrow. Founded in 2021, they are a seasoned group of sonic architects who include members of Noothgrush, Amber Asylum, Graves at Sea, Lycus, and Funerary among them. Leaving weaves a musical tapestry that plunges listeners into the abyss with shadowy vocals adding emotional depth and somber undertones to their enormous sound. Lyrically they delve into themes of desolation, depression, loneliness, introspection, and the shadows that lurk within the human psyche. Leaving’s music paints a bleak but vivid, almost gossamer picture of a world consumed by decay. This interplay of light and shadow, coupled with an underlying heaviness, creates an atmosphere that is bound to envelop the listener in a shroud of mesmerizing gloom. With each note, the band invites you into the liminal space they’ve crafted – a space between worlds, emotions, and musical genres. Anticipate a profound sonic journey as Leaving sets the stage on their debut album, promising an immersive exploration of the thresholds of emotive heavy music. Are you ready to leave?

TRACK LISTING:

1. Slow Motion Collapse
2. Broken Flame
3. I’m Just Resting My Eyes (Interlude)
4. Downturn
5. Hollow Ache
6. Liminal

MARKETING POINTS:

• Featuring members of Graves at Sea, Noothgrush, Lycus, Funerary, Amber Asylum.
• Recorded by Greg Wilkinson (Deathgrave, Autopsy, Graves At Sea, Necrot) at Earhammer Studios.
• Mastered by Nick Basset (Whirr, Nothing)
• Cover painting by the late Mariusz Lewandowski.

FOR FANS OF:
Nothing, Holy Fawn, Windhand, Hum, Grivo, Whirr

Frail Body "Artificial Bouquet"

LP - $17.25 / CD - $8.00 / CASSETTE - $8.00
LP UPC: 723314784113
INDIE LP UPC: 791689666150
CD UPC: 723314784106
CASSETTE UPC: 723314784120
STREET DATE: 3/29/24
CAT#: DW240
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Frail Body is a three piece band from Rockford, IL.

"Artificial Bouquet" is an eleven song album by Frail Body. Produced, engineered, and recorded by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording, and mastered by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden (Deafheaven, Joyce Manor, Loma Prieta).

Opening track "Scaffolding" explodes out of the gate with dizzying speed before descending into a wash of discordant melody. "Berth" and "Critique Programme" then inject pulse-pounding tempo shifts and unorthodox heavy riffing into the fray. "Devotion" plays as a stunning ebb and flow epic that shows method to their musical chaos. "Monolith" and "Refrain" then blur the lines between post-hardcore and melodic black metal in their frantic approach. These lead to "No Resolution" and "Runaway"; two slow build numbers that showcase the otherworldly dynamics Frail Body possess. "Horizon Line" follows this path as it builds to a bone-shaking crescendo. Lastly "Another Year Removed" serves as an instrumental bridge to closer "A Capsule In The Sediment". A song that empties the emotional tank for all to bear witness. All of it so raw and beautifully out of control.

Without question, "Artificial Bouquet" establishes Frail Body as leaders within the modern "screamo" movement. A shining example that the once dormant sub-genre continues to evolve and thrive for all the world to see.

Lowell Shaffer - Guitar, Vocals, and Piano
Nic Kuczynski - Bass
Nicholas Clemenson - Drums

Recorded at Bricktop Recording
All Songs Written and Performed by Frail Body
Produced, Engineered, and Recorded by Pete Grossmann
Mastered by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden
Artwork & Design by J. Bannon

TRACK LISTING:

1. Scaffolding
2. Berth
3. Critique Programme
4. Devotion
5. Monolith
6. Refrain
7. No Resolution
8. Runaway
9. Horizon Line
10. Another Year Removed
11. A Capsule In The Sediment

MARKETING POINTS:

• US Tour scheduled for March w/ Heavenly Blue
• EU Tour scheduled for April w/ Knoll
• Artwork by J. Bannon (Converge, Cave In, American Nightmare)

FOR FANS OF:
Deafheaven, Touché Amoré, Jeromes Dream, Liturgy

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Bastard Noise "Incineration Prayer - Self Righteous Suicide"

LP - $15.95
STREET DATE: 3/29/24
CAT#: AL-041
LABEL: Armageddon Label

Bastard Noise is a noise project founded in 1991 by musicians Eric Wood, Henry Barnes, and W. T. Nelson. The project started as a type of sister band to the trio's previous group Man Is The Bastard. Man Is the Bastard broke-up in late 1997 but Bastard Noise continued on as it's own entity and has been Wood's ongoing project.

Early recordings from the group's extensive discography were mostly self-released and predominantly featured only electronics and vocals. Since its formation, however, Bastard Noise has made releases with underground labels such as Three One G, Relapse Records, Gravity Records, Deep Six, Vermiform Records, Robotic Empire, among others.

During live performances, Wood often recruits other musicians to perform with him, the likes of which have included Merzbow, Justin Pearson, Keiji Haino and many other collaborators.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Incineration Prayer
02. Self Righteous Suicide

MARKETING POINTS:

• Bastard Noise is a noise project founded in 1991 by musicians Eric Wood, Henry Barnes, and W. T. Nelson
• Bastard Noise has made releases with underground labels such as Three One G, Relapse Records, Gravity Records, Deep Six, Vermiform Records, Robotic Empire and more

FOR FANS OF:
Merzbow, Man Is The Bastard, Masonna, Incapacitants, Neanderthal

Official Site

Deaf Club feat. HIRS Collective / Fuck Money "Split"

7"EP - $6.50
7"EP UPC: 667758960971
STREET DATE: 3/22/24
CAT#: 31G142
LABEL: Three One G

For this split, The HIRS Collective combine chaotic forces with Deaf Club on an original track, "Biblical Loophole" as well as a Nirvana cover of "Tourette's." The HIRS Collective exists to fight for, defend, and celebrate the survival of trans, queer, poc, black, women and any and all other folks who have to constantly face violence, marginalization, and oppression. They are "a collective of freaks and faggots that will never stop existing. Infinite and never ending. No one is going to kill us, we are going to live forever."

Deaf Club is a savage sound bath dripping with sardonicism: a blastbeat-centric hardcore punk assault channeling crust, thrash, and grind (un)sensibilities. Justin Pearson (The Locust, Dead Cross, Planet B), Brian Amalfitano, Scott Osment (Glassing, Planet B), and Jason Klein (Run With The Hunted), approach music as an opportunity to confront our collective sicknesses.

Fuck Money is an American scrape rock band based in Austin, TX. The group debuted in October 2021 consisting of members TaSzlin Trébuchet, Alton Jenkins, Bill Kenny, and Jeremy Humphries. Their sound draws on punk rock, noise, industrial, extreme music and other transgressive subgenres. The merciless & melodic stick-work of Alton Jenkins paired with the visceral intensity of frontman TaSz Trébuchet guides listeners down a path of challenging yet awe-inspiring sonic behavior.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Biblical Loophole - Deaf Club feat. HIRS Collective
2. Tourette's - Deaf Club feat. HIRS Collective
3. Alley Tricks - Fuck Money
4. Rat Queen - Fuck Money

MARKETING POINTS:

• Deaf Club & Fuck Money EU tour 4/4 - 4/27
• Deaf Club & HIRS Collective West Coast tour this summer

FOR FANS OF:
The Locust, Nirvana

Blanket "Ceremonia"

LP - $20.65 / CD - $11.35
STREET DATE: 3/22/24
CAT#: CRR214
LABEL: Church Road

Building on the success of their critically acclaimed album 'Modern Escapism,' Blanket solidify their place as one of the UK's finest with their latest album 'Ceremonia'.

'Ceremonia' is a testament to the band's artistic evolution, seamlessly blending elements of post-rock, shoegaze, and alternative rock. Drawing inspiration from bands such as Cave In, HUM, Swervedriver, and Ride. Blanket have managed to craft their own musical identity that is both ethereal and powerful, resonating with fans across the globe.

The band's previous release, 'Modern Escapism,' garnered widespread praise for its innovation and emotional depth. With 'Ceremonia,' Blanket continues to push their creative boundaries, exploring new sonic landscapes while staying true to their essence.

"We were trying to capture an excitable vibe in the room with the 4 of us jamming, in the past when writing in studios and on laptops it can all change once we're playing those tracks live, so we wanted to capture that.

We wanted to capture the music we loved as kids like britpop etc and make it heavier.

A new method for us going into this album at Motor Museum Studios, Liverpool (Al Groves, BMTH, Elvis Costello, Ian Broudie) was to track the album song by song. This gave us the ability to really mess with tones and vibes to suit each track instead of having a record which all sounds the same. The feeling we wanted to capture is an Indie Rock band loud in a room, which I think comes across well in "Ceremonia".

Lyrically the content on Ceremonia really ranges from tracks like "Nuclear Boy Scout" which is about a kid in America that made his own nuclear reactor in his Mums back garden, to tracks like "Porcelain" and "Sea Of Bliss" which are more focussed on a feeling or emotion. To be honest I'm really proud of what I wrote for this album and lyrically it has one-upped Modern Escapism for sure. " - Bobby Pook [Vocals/Guitar]

TRACK LISTING:

1. Nuclear Boy Scout
2. Ceremonia
3. Porcelain
4. Kaleidoscope
5. Sea Of Bliss (reprise)
6. Loom
7. The Lucky Ones
8. A Sea Of Bliss
9. Euphoria
10. Final Call

MARKETING POINTS:

• Vinyl features a slip case die-cut cover

FOR FANS OF:
Cave In, Hum

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Modern Life Is War "Tribulation Worksongs"

12"EP - $17.25
STREET DATE: 3/22/24
CAT#: DW243
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

"Tribulation Worksongs" was recorded by Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studios, mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The session was originally released as a series of three 7"EPs between 2018 and 2021. In their initial presentation, the lyrics/credits of each song were typed by vocalist/lyricist Jeff Eaton on his 1950's Royal "Quiet De Luxe" typewriter. These were later hand stamped on the front and back covers of the EP by artist J. Bannon, making each cover totally unique. The labels of the vinyl were also hand stamped before final assembly by the people at Deathwish.

For 2024, Modern Life Is War present the "Tribulation Worksongs" sessions as a one 12"EP/Digital album. This release combines all three 7"EPs with "End Times Dub", a dub version of "Feels Like End Times", reimagined by Urian Hackney (Rough Francis, Iggy Pop, The Armed, etc). The packaging of the release is a combination of visual work from Jeffrey Eaton, Thomas Hooper, and J. Bannon.

Credits:
Modern Life Is War is: Jeffrey Eaton, Chris Honeck, John Eich, Luke Rauch, Bo Becker

Recorded by Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studio
Mixed by Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studio
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Engineering

Matt Hoffman played guitar on Feels Like End Times, Revival Fires, and Lonesome Valley Ammunitions.
Piano on FEELS LIKE END TIMES by Ben Driscoll
SURVIVAL lyrics adapted from Marcia Griffiths, Queen of Reggae. A Protest Song for the ages...
Backup Vocals on SURVIVAL by Sarah Cram Driscoll and Brooks Strause
I WANNA BE YOUR DOG written by James Osterberg, Scott Asheton, Ronald Asheton, David Alexander
Otherwise known as THE STOOGES...2021 Motor City is bleeding...
END TIMES DUB mixed at The Box, Burlington VT by Urian Hackney

Dove Artwork by Jeffrey Eaton
Paintings by Thomas Hooper
Design by J. Bannon

TRACK LISTING:

1. Feels Like End Times
2. Revival Fires
3. Survival
4. Lonesome Valley Ammunitions
5. Indianapolis Talking Blues
6. I Wanna Be Your Dog
7. End Times Dub (Urian Hackney At The Controls)

MARKETING POINTS:

• Assembling all tracks from their "Tribulation Workings" EPs + a bonus track
• Supporting Hot Water Music on select dates in May

FOR FANS OF:
Bane, American Nightmare, Blacklisted

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Holydanger "The Ethereal Beauty"

LP - $17.25
STREET DATE: 3/22/24
CAT#: SDR-116
LABEL: Sunday Drive

Somewhere along an intersection between new-wave, post-punk, and indie rock, lies Holydanger. The band formed in Paris, France in 2021, and in little time, already formed their full-length, debut LP, "The Ethereal Beauty". They recorded with UK producer, Jim Spencer (New Order, Electronic, The Charlatans) and the songs were mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by engineer, Frank Arkwright (Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura). After a year or so, the LP came to fruition and resulted in a refreshing take on this sound. Approaching new-wave/post-punk from the members' hardcore perspective gives even the softer songs a bit of edge, and ensures that each track has a catchy hook. Tracks like the opener, "Nowhere Near Prepared" or "Radiant You" showcase this the best, showing the range of an anthemic pop song to an emo-inspired ballad song. "The Ethereal Beauty" was released in the fall of 2023 independently, and is now being reissued on Sunday Drive Records, and available for the first time on 12" vinyl.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Nowhere Near Prepared
02. Acting Real Nice
03. 700m²
04. Satin Fields
05. Zeinot
06. Radiant You
07. Mausoleo
08. Vacation From Ourselves

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Jim Spencer (New Order, Electronic, The Charlatans)
• Abbey Road Studios by engineer, Frank Arkwright (Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura)
• Reissue of the LP, available on vinyl for first time

FOR FANS OF:
New Order, The Cure, Blitz

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Prisoner "Putrid | Obsolete"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 765464057099
STREET DATE: 3/15/24
CAT#: VIS010
LABEL: Persistent Vision

In the six years since Richmond VA quintet Prisoner released their first LP, "Beyond The Infinite", the entire world fell apart. Already somewhat apocalypse-curious, the band decided to ride the current wave of doom as far as it would take them, adding synth player Adam Lake in order to bring a greater emphasis on noise, samples, and electronic sound textures. The result is their new full-length, "Putrid | Obsolete", which layers the nightmarish crust/hardcore and blackened metal of their earlier material in a thick coating of harsh industrial noise and gloom.

Floating amid a polluted sea of atonal samples and ominous synth soundwaves, crunching guitars lay down brutal 100mph riffs over a powerful rhythm section crunch, even as multiple demonic voices unleash anguished roars. With apologies to TS Eliot, this is the real way the world ends: amid an unrelenting wave of industrial metal/punk brutality.

"Putrid | Obsolete" was produced, recorded and mixed by Ricky Olson at the Ward (Enforced, .GIF From God) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Flesh Dirge
2. Pool Of Disgust
3. The Horde
4. Shroud
5. Leaden Tomb
6. Pathogenesis
7. Entity
8. Nanodeath

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Ricky Olson (Enforced, .GIF From God) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (From Ashes Rise, No Man)
• PR Campaign by Curran Reynolds at The Chain PR
• Decibel Magazine premiered first single "Leaden Tomb"
• Prisoner will be doing select US tours in March, June, and September 2024

FOR FANS OF:
Neurosis, Nails, Candy, Godflesh

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Gouge Away "Deep Sage"

LP - $17.25 / CD - $8.00 / Cassette - $8.00
LP UPC: 791689665672
INDIE LP UPC: 791689665962
CD UPC: 791689665689
CASSETTE UPC: 791689665696
STREET DATE: 3/15/24
CAT#: DW249
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Deep Sage, Gouge Away's third studio album, started coming together in 2019 during sound checks and in small pockets of downtime between tours. In early 2020, they demoed with Brok Mende in an unassuming storage unit in Orlando. They pulled influence not only from the nostalgia of the bands they grew up listening to but also developed the sense of urgency, noise, and introspective lyrics they felt most represented them. Those demos helped shape the songs into the finished record that Deep Sage would become.

Then everything came to a halt in 2020 when a full year of plans were canceled in an instant. With the rug pulled out from under them, their backs against the wall, and no way to change the situation they were in, the members of Gouge Away had no choice but to go on a hiatus. They moved to different parts of the country and focused on their personal lives, accepting that those songs were never going to see the light of day.

But the songs lived as files waiting to be rediscovered and every once in a while, they'd get the urge to listen to them again. On New Year's Eve just before 2022, they decided to reconnect and finish writing the album with Portland, OR becoming their new writing location. While everyone was in town for a writing session, Militarie Gun had a show down the street at Mano Oculta and invited Gouge Away to play a couple of songs during their set as a surprise. It was the first show the band had played in three years and the live debut of "Maybe Blue". Energized by the reaction, the band finished writing. They had an overabundance of material, slashing songs from the final tracklist left and right. They not only elaborated on the urgent and abrasive qualities they were known for but broadened their melodic traits too.

Deep Sage was recorded with Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden East in March 2023 completely analog and almost entirely live. The band recorded together in a live room while Christina was in an isolation booth. Her vocals projected from a monitor so the band could hear her. The goal of recording live was to sound like five friends playing in a room together, just like where they started in Florida. Unpolished and far from being over-produced, this is what the heart of Gouge Away has always been.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Stuck in a Dream
2. Maybe Blue
3. Idealized
4. Deep Sage
5. A Welcome Change
6. Overwatering
7. No Release
8. The Sharpening
9. Spaced Out
10. Newtau
11. Dallas

MARKETING POINTS:

• First new music since 2020
• Produced by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker)

FOR FANS OF:
Drug Church, Fiddlehead, Angel Du$t

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Greed Worm "Ritual Onslaught"

LP - $13.35
STREET DATE: 3/15/24
CAT#: PRO-093
LABEL: Protagonist Music

At the violent intersection of tech noir and old-school metalcore is where we find Greed Worm, a Chicago-based quintet in the business of serving dank, mean-spirited riffs for the disenfranchised since 2021. With "Ritual Onslaught" they've fused outright ignorant doses of musical dissonance and noise with lyrics condemning the artificial constructs that create and perpetuate human suffering. This approach conjures an almost mechanized brutality across the album that sees fit to reflect, and in turn, destroy, our collective societal malaise. Featuring Mike Lundin from Sarin, Karly Soto from Snuffed, and Nick Ayala from Break the Cycle, this is Greed Worm's most anticipated and mature release yet.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Pirate Signal
2. Chaos Theory
3. Hand Over Your Flesh
4. Ritual Onslaught
5. Machine Learning ft.Nick Ayala
6. Crypto Fascist Arcology
7. Holographic Prison ft. Karly Soto
8. Broadcast Diaspora
9. Reap & Devour ft. Mike Lundin
10. Survive The City

MARKETING POINTS:

• Features members of Crowning, Snuffed, Shrivel Up, Modern Nun
• Recorded and Mastered by Pete Grossman (Frail Body, Mouth For War, Gates to Hell, Inclination) at Bricktop Studios

FOR FANS OF:
Disembodied, Slipknot, Cult Leader, Pig Destroyer, Nails

Shock Withdrawal "The Dismal Advance"

LP - $17.25 / CD - $7.50 / Cassette - $7.50
STREET DATE: 3/15/24
CAT#: BPR-99
LABEL: Brutal Panda

Death metal newcomers, SHOCK WITHDRAWAL, make extreme music for extreme times. Comprising a trio of diehards from the heavy music scene (Maruta, Mos Generator, Nitesoil, etc.)

TRACK LISTING:

1. Constant Fear of Annihilation
2. Sullen
3. Autonomian
4. Built to Suffer
5. The Dismal Advance
6. Oblivion Seeker
7. Unfit For This World
8. Resentment
9. Nightmare Conduit
10. The Luxury of Accepting Failure
11. Pain Absorption Threshold
12. Misery Calibration
13. No Closure

MARKETING POINTS:

• Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Cavalera Conspiracy, Code Orange)
• Artwork by renowned gore photo collagist Adam Medford (Cadaver, Fester Decay, Lymphatic Phlegm)

FOR FANS OF:
Pig Destroyer, Gorguts, Rotten Sound, Discordance Axis, Cattle Decapitation, Soilent Green

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Hollow Suns "Free Fall"

12"EP - $15.30
STREET DATE: 3/8/24
CAT#: SDR-115
LABEL: Sunday Drive

Following their debut 2022 LP, "Otherside", Hollow Suns returns with the EP, "Free Fall". Tokyo band, Hollow Suns are no strangers to U.S. hardcore/punk and have always had elements of it in their music. For the most part, Hollow Suns pulled more from 90's alternative rock bands like Foo Fighters or Jimmy Eat World; creating catchy guitar-hook-driven music. On "Free Fall" which is still present, however, Hollow Suns are diving more into the post-hardcore mix of things, pulling inspiration more from bands like Quicksand, Jawbox, and Helmet. This is a natural evolution in sound for Hollow Suns, which primarily shines on the title track, 'Free Fall'; while a track like, 'No Progression' displays their talent for writing a perfect guitar alt-rock song. Like their previous LP, "Free Fall" is also mixed and mastered by Will Yip, which adds his signature touch on each of these songs, with artwork from Kyle Niland (Scheme Records) to present these songs with a nod to 90's post-hardcore artwork. "Free Fall" is available in the USA from Sunday Drive Records and on Ice Grill$ in Japan.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Free Fall
2. Fear
3. No Progression
4. All You Got

MARKETING POINTS:

• Mixed and mastered by Will Yip
• Upcoming Japan tours with Koyo, Superheaven and Citizen in the winter and spring

FOR FANS OF:
Quicksand, Foo Fighters, Jawbox

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Fange "Perdition"

LP - $17.50 / CD - $8.00
STREET DATE: 3/1/24
CAT#: THRT091
LABEL: Throatruiner

France's FANGE has navigated through their most active year yet defending "Privation", engaging in two European tours and making multiple appearances at festivals throughout 2023. Far from dampening their creative fire, the band was in parallel writing "Perdition" -- six new tracks and a creeping cover of Bernard Lavilliers. The entire recording and production process was executed by the band, with mixing and mastering duties once again handled by Cyrille Gachet and Alan Douches.

Conceived as a spiritual successor to 2020's machine-driven "Poigne", "Perdition" expands upon the concept of a less riff-focused release while also embracing the cleaner, more desolate atmosphere explored on "Privation". Built and refined during the summer of 2023 upon foundations made of mutilated death industrial loops and grievous melodic guitars, the album serves as a testament to the band's distinctive identity, placing emphasis on the gloom and the martial -- spleen and discipline.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Césarienne Au Noir
2. Mauvais Vivant
3. Toute Honte Bue
4. Foudres Fainéantes
5. La Haine (Bernard Lavilliers)
6. Lèche-Béton
7. Désunion Sacrée

MARKETING POINTS:

• Mixed by Cyrille Gachet (Year Of No Light, Verdun, Chaos Echoes)
• Mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan)

FOR FANS OF:
The Body, Author & Punisher, Youth Code

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