Punk | Hardcore 127 Items

New York City hardcore legends Sick Of It All aren’t slowing down with age; the long-standing quartet are still pissed off & have plenty to say, and remain a beacon of continuity, integrity, and resolve. Since forming in 1986, Sick Of It All have traveled the world many times over, played in front of hundreds of thousands, and released 11 acclaimed full-length albums. Their latest Wake the Sleeping Dragon! is both riotous and anthemic.

Hailing from Los Angeles and coated in a layer of warbled analog glory comes the debut full length album from Smirk, the solo project helmed by Nick Vicario (Public Eye, Crisis Man). These 11 meticulously crafted tracks originally appeared on two small run cassettes in 2020 and have since been remastered at North London Bomb Factory and paired with fresh artwork from Smoking Room. A trebly & wiry punk sound comes into effect straight out of the gate, reminiscent of the early Dangerhouse Records singles as well as the “Bloodstains Across...” comps (to be more precise). But there's far more to Smirk —with great songwriting, precision, and instrumentation that seem to emanate from a past that never was, bursting any preconceived sub-genre bubbles from this reality and those parallel to it. ‘lp’ is a tour de force of bratty, pissed off punk energy.

After several years of relentless travel up and down the West Coast circuit, Oakland’s Smokers has finally completed their blistering 15 song debut album The Rat That Gnawed the Rope. Inspired by favorite bands like The Stranglers, Minutemen, and early Replacements, Andy Asp (Nuisance, The Pattern), Cyrus Comisky (Black Fork, Drunk Horse), Jim Nastic (Talk is Poison, Year Future) and Omen Starr (St. James Infirmary) met up with lead engineer Phil Becker (Pins of Light) at San Francisco’s historic El Studio to put together the songs that became The Rat. The sessions progressed swiftly, and sonically define the band’s tough but thoughtful compositions. Highlight tracks include the driving ‘The Irish Tenor,’ ‘East of Oakland,’ and the reflective Covid-era song ‘The Strand.’ Fans of garage rock, East Bay punk, pub rock, and vintage street rock will find something here in this succinct, powerful collection. Smokers have played with The Avengers, Jawbreaker, Samiam, Subhumans, Murder City Devils and countless others.

40 YEAR VETERANS OF THE CALI PUNK SCENE WHO ARE STILL TOURING TO THIS DAY. THIS ALBUM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THEM ON THE PUNK-ROCK MAP, A RAW AND RAGING CLASSIC.

"Before I made my home in & became Tanzania's #1 acknowledged periodontist, I was a busking girl throughout the UK. From early 1978 until the mid 80's I squatted everywhere; Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, Hastings & finally London. Music was our currency-mostly crude folk, DIY punk or amateurish, Klaus Schulze inspired synthesizer buzzings echoed off the walls wherever I chose to lay my hat. Admirers of records from this time know all too well that many compilations-mostly regional-flooded Britannia in those lean years, perhaps my favorite being one entitled Scaling Triangles. It was the first female forward collection I'd come across; three women artists, each tracking three songs. Only The Petticoats I was familiar with as she'd released a 7" ep on her own. The other two-Sole Sister, Sub Verse-seem to start & end here (Sub Verse contributes a track to the 'Compilation 1' lp on Starforce Studios-4th Wall ed). And as such, it is a diverse panorama of 'Le Beau Sexe' flexing wooly muscles. If this is from a particular scene I cannot say, but if you want taunt (Sub Verse), aggro (Petticoats) & free (Sole Sister) moving tracks, look no further. Fans of Young Marble Giants, The Flowers, Udder Milk Decay could do worse. Thank you Johan Klemp, it is so great to hear these songs so many years later. Now reissued on Tanzania's #1 recording label! And don't forget to brush your gums!"—Bupi Ramadhani (Tanzania's #1 acknowledged periodontist, Esnan Dental Center, Dar Es Salaam)

This LP is a collection of songs released on various EP and split records. France’s Syndrome 81 started gaining momentum in the punk scene with their 2013 demo tape, drawing comparisons to the plethora of great bands that defined the French Oi sound of the 1980s with a heavy stomp culled from classic Ushc. The band has progressed since then, and the sound is more diverse but also more defined, having filed off some of the American influences and moved in a darker, distinctly French direction that is both melancholy and anthemic, with lyrics being influenced by growing up in Brest, France. The band comes from this dark place and write songs about their personal struggles growing up and growing old. These are songs about watching your friends lose sight and move on while you question why you are still here, haunted by your past and having to look your former self in the eye while you apologize for who you’ve become. These are songs about trudging through a desert you built yourself. 18 songs in all.

Recorded over the course of 1993-1994 in the band’s own "Acre" home studio, the Templars' debut full length, The Return Of Jacques De Molay, introduced the lo-fi DIY sound that would serve as the band's sonic signature over the coming decades. This decision was as pragmatic as it was artistic: the band having endured the loss of their previous master recordings to a failing studio/record label only a year prior. Determined to never again find themselves in that position, the Templars opted for self-recording, and the rest, as they say, is history. The Return Of Jacques De Molay has gone on to influence and inspire generations of Punk & Oi! bands worldwide. While the Templars debut album is held up as one of the the crown jewels of the band's discography, The Return Of Jacques De Molay, is something of a white whale among the fans of this very vinyl-orientated band. Outside of a few limited German pressings, The Return Of Jacques De Molay had previously only been available widely on CD—until now. TKO is proud to present the 30th Anniversary "Grandmaster" edition of The Return Of Jacques De Molay. Featuring painstakingly remastered audio, completely reworked packaging and the overall attention to detail that you've come to expect from TKO / Templecombe reissue collaborations, we can say without hesitation that this new versions presents The Return Of Jacques De Molay as it always should have been. Of course, the Templars lasting legacy arose from more than just the charm of their recordings. The Return Of Jacques De Molay crystalized the songwriting style established on the band's earlier EPs—A sound rooted in Oi! tradition, but unafraid to explore beyond that genre’s boundaries. Oi!’s familiar pro-labor / anti-bullshit approach is on full display, but songs like “The Sixties Are Over” show a willingness to go outside the lines with acoustic guitar and shockingly tuneful songwriting that few of their peers ever matched. Paired with the album's signature fuzz guitars, warmly saturated drums, and deft, melodic basslines, it’s clear why The Return Of Jacques De Molay continues to resonate after the last 30 years.

Last House is the third album from Sacramento’s Th’ Losin Streaks. The album was recorded at Louder Studios in Grass Valley, California, with Tim Green behind the board. Green played piano on several tracks, and Anton Barbeau—a friend of the band since the beginning—plays organ on some cuts. All of the band members—Tim Foster, Stan Tindall, Mike Farrell and Brian Machado—contributed to the songwriting, and the album also features a cover of The Weeds classic “It’s Your Time.” The album cover and other photos were shot by their pal (and Bay Area punk legend) Al Sobrante. "This album is about true love and good times. And bad decisions. It’s about breaking down. It’s about coming apart. It’s about sleeping rough. It’s about Dyer Lane. It’s about shaking it til you make it. It’s about EKO, Silvertone and Supro, Vox (Super Continental) and the Hohner Marine Band. It’s about 2” tape. It’s about the plague, and politics, and war or hands of time. It’s about the ice cream man after the apocalypse. It’s a trans-world punk rave up. It’s about Link Wray, The Sonics and the Downliners Sect. It’s about The Rolling Stones covering Sam Cooke. It’s about Folk Rock. It was about time slipping away (but it’s not now). It’s about bullshit. It’s about being too late, always too late. It’s about getting old. It’s about those who never will. It’s about the person you dream about but never get. It’s about nothing in this world. It’s about surviving T-Minus self-destruction. And about the other side."

Deluxe vinyl reissue of The Meteors' 2012album!

Deluxe vinyl reissue of The Meteors' 2009 album!

There was plenty of genuine discontent in Britain at the tail end of the 1970s, and it had little to do with bin strikes or dark rumours about overflowing morgues. In the world of popular music, the most liberating after-effect of the Sex Pistols was that anyone with something to say now felt they could make a 7” single. “Winter Of Discontent” is the sound of truly DIY music, made by people who maybe hadn’t written a song until a day or two before they went into the studio. It’s spontaneous and genuinely free in a way the British music scene has rarely been before or since.

“Winter of Discontent” has been compiled by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, the latest in their highly acclaimed series of albums that includes “The Daisy Age”, “Fell From The Sun” and “English Weather” ("really compelling and immersive: it’s a pleasure to lose yourself in it" - Alexis Petridis, the Guardian). The era's bigger DIY names (Scritti Politti, TV Personalities, the Fall) and the lesser-known (Exhibit A, Digital Dinosaurs, Frankie’s Crew) are side by side on “Winter Of Discontent”. Mark Perry’s Sniffin’ Glue command – “Here’s one chord, here’s another, now start a band” – was amplified by the Mekons and the Raincoats, whose music shared a little of punk’s volume, speed and distortion, but all of its obliqueness and irreverence.

The discontent was with society as a whole. No subject matter was taboo: oppressive maleness (Scritti Politti); deluded Britishness (TV Personalities); gender stereotypes (Raincoats, Androids of Mu); nihilistic youth (Fatal Microbes); alcoholism (Thin Yoghurts); self-doubt and pacifism (Zounds). The band names (Thin Yoghurts!) and those of individual members (Andrew Lunchbox!) had enough daftness to avoid any accusations of solemnity.

“Winter Of Discontent” is the definitive compilation of the UK DIY scene, and a beacon in grim times.

At Last! a new vinyl edition of the three legendary "Punk and Disorderly" compilations originally released between 1982 and 1983. At the dawn of the Eighties the first volume arrived as a fiery statement from the heart of the British punk scene. Back in the day, the glorious early punk energy was still alive and in the meantime transforming through a wave of new bands coming up with fresh ideas and attitudes. Thanks to a great selection of both originators and newcomers, the whole explosive energy that was at the core of punk movement is perfectly captured throughout these three landmark compilations. An incredible roster of bands such as Vice Squad, Blitz, Chaos UK, Anti Nowhere League, Vibrators, Angelic Upstarts... all original British punk acts except the San Francisco based Dead Kennedys represented here with their seminal hit "Kill the Poor". This is fierce, loud and raw music caught in the midst of transition between punk rock and its next "hardcore" evolution. All three volumes feature brand new tracklists including bonus tracks not available in the first editions.

'Horny Tears From Hell' combines a fusion of sounds from ominous genres that collide together in a dark, hauntingly endearing manner. Hard rock escalating electrocuted riffs slide you back onto your childhood sofa, Guitar-Hero guitar resting on your chest as you hear your pal play 'Through The Fire And Flames' on expert difficulty. Doomy metal aesthetics avalanche you into sweaty, hilariously middle-aged death pits at your local black facaded headbanger joint. Setting up camp in O'tool Studio just outside of Berlin, Wax Legs bugged out to create something that seeks musical integrity. Keeping some natural amp hums and hisses whilst adding eerie noises from worlds we don't want to find.

Big Hotel, the sophomore effort of Winged Wheel, is an evolutionary document. Core members Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Rider/Horse, Expensive Shit), Fred Thomas (Tyvek, Idle Ray), Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Damiana), and Matthew J Rolin (Powers/Rolin Duo, solo) expand their lineup to include Lonnie Slack (Water Damage) and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), and instead of the entirely remote method utilized to create their 2022 debut No Island, the far-flung party convened in person in Kingston, NY for a long weekend of live studio recording.

The results are undeniably compelling. The band’s signature cyclonic energy is simultaneously augmented and refined with the approach of real-time collaboration. After tracking three days’ worth of group improvisations, weirdly-born songs, and other spontaneous creations, the hours of material were edited with a similar intensity. Half-hour jams became three-minute ragers and fragments were looped into infinity, calling on the same spliced aesthetic as some of the most adventurous material by Can, Faust, or more recently the experimental production of the International Anthem camp. The stereo field has been torn apart and sewn together again, rerouted with strange and mesmerizing left turns. Vignettes of ambiguous construction, both tightly coiled and exploding, revolve around themselves, gathering intensity and mass, coalescing into something greater than the sum of its parts.

'Demonstrably False' swells into existence like a motorik tidepool, tossing fauna onto the shoreline where it sprouts legs with a steady gait lying readily in wait within them. The controlled frenzy of 'Sleeptraining' marks a determined dash to a patch of reeds that are given form by the propulsive and minimal 'Clean Blue Shelf,' where lush terror and the balm of shelter seem equally likely to dwell. 'Grief in the Garden' describes itself like the eventual, fleeting triumph of eyeing the sun as it rises to declare the end of a starless night.

'Smudged Textile' seems another gesture from the sun, where it begins its work of burning swaths of cloud away to uncover the stark and perfect sky; it is around here that the sensation of flight becomes all but irresistible. The aerial coolness of 'Aren’t They All' maintains a reassuring pace much more like a heartbeat than a flapping of wings, which flows naturally into 'Soft Hands,' a piece that widens and ultimately splits the perception, somehow evoking an even, landbound march even as it continues to narrate that endless, gliding flight. 'Short Acting' is blissfully ambiguous in its suggestion, managing to hint at the vault of heaven before descending unhurriedly but inevitably back to earth. 'From Here on Out Nothing Changes' completes the vast arc, teeming as it is with the wild and singular energy of conscious life.

Where No Island was born out of distance and murk, these songs breathe and erupt in close quarters. Though the band isn't necessarily concerned with finding new levels of clarity, there’s a newfound power in the steady drive of Shelley’s unmistakable rhythmic style, and the unexpected interplay that builds on this foundation. Big Hotel is the sound of what happens in the rare and intriguing moments when Winged Wheel are all in the same room."—Jen Powers, March 2024

“The origin of this record is a weird one. In 2019, we had just returned from two long European tours when we decided to take a ‘little break’ from the road. You all know what happened next. That ‘little break’ turned into a couple of years and during that time Dane, our drummer, decided to quit the band and music in general (no hard feelings). Sean [Hoffman] and I had a discussion and thought about ending the band as a whole, but I knew I had to go out on my own terms. I had an ace in the hole, though. Jeff Murray, drummer from LA rippers The Shrine. I had been friends with Jeff and The Shrine’s founder, Josh Landau since our ‘Scavenger’ 7-inch came out, around 2012. We had run into them in Berlin a few months back and I knew they weren’t playing anymore. I called Josh first, ’cause asking a dude if you can take his drummer, is like asking your girlfriend’s dad if you can marry her. And Josh said ‘go for it.’ And Jeff was in.

“Honestly if he had said no, that would have been the end. I had written a ton of stuff since our last album but I had shelved most of it. I was trying too hard—basically. Eventually Sean, Jeff and I said, ‘Fuck it, let’s make a ‘Fake Live’ record—like Kiss or Slayer did. John Dwyer from Osees was opening his new studio, Discount Mirrors, and it seemed like the perfect place to record it. We settled on re-recording a bunch of old stuff while simultaneously demoing our new material, as the three of us were now starting to really get in the groove. The result is Strange Masters Vol. 1.

“These are not new songs. These are Zig Zags classics re-recorded with a ripping-ass band that’s old and angry and just wants to get on with it. We are already on to recording the next album of new songs. That one is coming soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this one…while you still can!” —Jed Maheu (guitars/vocals for Zig Zags)