[engl]  It’s been seven years since SHORT DAYS first full length, seven years during which these tireless people from Lille have never stopped traveling the roads and playing shows. These punk hyperactivists are also playing in shitloads of great bands from the effervescent Lille scene.The band has finally found the time to return to the studio during the year 2023 and it’s with great pleasure that we share with you “Direction Nowhere”. This second album offers you no less than 14 new songs and if the punk recipe remains the same, time has done its work and it is today more elaborate. Once again Barreto, the band’s drummer, has taken care of the artwork and it’s brilliant.

[engl] Another wild down-tuned synth-riddled cut and paste ride through the devolving post-apocalyptic ocean of a maniac's mind. Get in the barge and rip ass through the rolling waves of Spits/Voodoo/Reatard/Can infused space punk that tackles such heady subjects as night creatures, Darwinian caregiving, space labs, paranoia, Reptilians (real) and perusing a selection of perfect sperm for purchase (shrinkwrapped for freshness of course, hahaha). Choose wisely.

[engl] With the debut album "Parents + FBI = Cahoots", Shrinkwrap Killers out of Oakland bring a load of paranoia and conspiracies to the picnic table. The sun may be shining, but the melodies in the guise of 80s Dark Wave / Synth Punk are eerily beautiful enough to darken the sky. Yes, you can dance to this, cry, drink and smash the goddamn State to this. All at the same time. A perfect mixture of The Spits, Wipers & Brat Farrar. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you!"

[engl] By 2016 a teenage Drew Owen had put himself on everyone's radar releasing a whopping 19 records (and that was just under the Sick Thought moniker) on pretty much every punk label that mattered over a span of three years. At the time I thought of him as a teenage novelty, an endearing sometimes pesky younger punk sibling who I kept telling "NO YOU PUT OUT WAY TOO MUCH STUFF." However in 2016 Drew sent me what became the "18 & Free" single and had me eating my words, eagerly releasing a single for the kid I kept telling never. Now its 2022 and SICK THOUGHTS are back on TOTAL PUNK with a brand new LP. Drew has proven himself far more than a novelty and here I am eagerly footing the bill again. The shitty attitude is still intact and the songs are still about breaking stuff but the ramshackle production and rough edged tunes of early Sick Thoughts are gone. 13 scorching riff heavy tracks that run the gambit from Stiv fueled Power Pop to ‘Cherie Love Affair’ style Sleaze Rock all masterfully recorded by Drew and Michael Hohan with Drew playing all the instruments. Great music for licking knives or lighting your wallet on fire. Nasty, catchy as fuck, and 100% TOTAL PUNK!!!

[engl] First official reissue of the Canadian classic. A monster rarity from the inception of Punk Rock on the West Coast was actually a soundtrack to a film of the same name. 1978's Commercials For Free is a 20 minute DIY film about a young man leaving the suburbs in search for a life more exciting. It's a film full of chain-wielding punkettes, broken dreams, getting ripped off and also some fabulous archive footage of early punk in Vancouver including early Subhumans footage and a wacky storyline that follows Siggy and his experience with the New Wave. Shortly after the film release a small, one-time pressing of 200 copies was released, quickly snapped up by locals. Commercials For Free flew under the radar and was generally an unknown piece of punk rock history complete with false-starts, maniacal singing and raw manic energy. The excellent Smash The State Compilation series drew some more attention to this rare artifact and compiled 3 of its 4 tracks on the 3rd edition, removing some more of the mystery that made up this release.

[engl] Skeleton Army was a legendary punkrock band from darmstadt, germany which existed from 1999-2006. For Fans of Antiseen and Mentors. The Vinyl is strong limited to 100 copies.

[engl] slimy and spooky hardcore punk from Berlin. Bounded together through the first waves of Covid. Featuring members of STINKHOLE, GYM TONIC, TANNING BATS and IMPOSITION MAN limited on 100 copies

[engl] Raleigh, North Carolina’s Skemäta are back with their second 12”, A Bright Shining Hell. While you can still expect the same furious, explosive d-beat hardcore you found on their debut, this time around they’ve dispensed with a lot of the fiddly bits and delivered something a bit more direct and concise, much as Sorry State favorites Sickoids honed and streamlined their sound when they moved from their first LP to their second 12”. It’s not so much that the music is any less complex, but the intricate riffs and rhythms are packed into a smaller space, delivered with a dizzying degree of speed, precision, and power. The result is a pressure cooker of a record that takes the apocalyptic fury of a band like Framtid and fuses it with the catchy songwriting of Totalitär. In a world of flash-in-the-pan d-beat bands that rip off a couple of Cimex riffs and then vanish into the ether, Skemäta stands alone as one of the most distinctive, original, and memorable bands in the genre.

[engl] Cataclysmic punk obituary that basks as readily in the causeways of the sun as it does in stormy, apocalyptic marvel . From the second “Time On Earth” came a clobbering we were returned to the dilapidated, wall-crawling psychedelia that we NEVER saw coming on their five track 7” on LVEUM back in 2017, getting us all buzzy that such a potent cerebral secretion was no one-off and that our beloved Slender would not fall under the axe of Paco’s oft-heralded - “Mate, ANYONE can make a good single” -mantra! Spirits rejoice! SO MUCH to sink into on this debut long haul with the elusive NYC skirmishers. Lean, concise, often juxtaposed songs and interludes are deftly thatched together to make up the majority of Side A, with dense, drowning-world electronics on tracks like “Heavy Weather” clearing the skies for jovial, anthems of the Anthropocene like “New Country” (which for us totally rings the same joyous bells as Yuzo Iwata’s “Gigolo”!!) and the grittier, barnacled basement etherea of “Sleep The Trees”. The restrained fury in the opening minutes of Side B at first recalls the slow-stirring storm clouds on that shadow-cast Blodarna 7”, the thought of seeking shelter only arising as proceedings are adrenalised and escalated into what feels more akin to listening to Amon Düül perform kali ma on the guys from Pelt in some subterranean death church! The closing trio of “So”, “Far” and “Down” tunnels on and takes place as some sorta on-acid-and-caught-in-earthquake rite, that sees the volcanic pounding intensify and whatever THAT sound is (bass guitar?? some demonic synthesiser??!) begin to envelop everything like the swelling of oblivion - any brief interval between tracks serving only as a moment to observe your own mind try to scramble it’s way out of the slowly opening sinkhole. Bonkers. Slender channels the same wild and earthy desire for experimentation as such un-pinnable, sleeping giants as Cro-Magnon, Blumen Des Exotischen Eises, The Fates or Moolah. But far from copying the founding fathers of homemade psychedelia Slender move forward to the caves with their own brand of Neo-Chamber Music. No idea how the inhabitants of earth will express amazement / bewilderment in thirty years time but can imagine some archival psychopath or discogs dweeb digging this one up and ripping a righteous WHAT THE FUCK. (Low Company)

[engl] Debut 6 Track EP from NYC’s Slender after two Demos in 2014 and 2015. Slender is the runt of the litter yet seem to be having more fun than anyone making music for themselves. The EP starts with Suddenly I See which sounds like The Snipers on Crass Records mixed with Warsaw - all tense, basic and rigid. Anxiety follows and has that home recorded Swell Maps feel. There She Goes barely gets to end with a a 4 Track recorded quality and.a Fuck Off records type of experimentation. On the B-Side - there is no let up in the weirdness stakes. It Exists To Make The World Feel Nice has a crazed theremin through the whole song whilst Magic is driven by a Peter Hook style bass line and a sinister vocal. Last track Not Afraid completes the EP with a woozy guitar, theremin and recording quality that just adds to this 2017 outsider music. In twenty years time people will discover this record and still think it’s out there.

[engl] Thought you’d missed out on the chance to scoop up one of the best punk albums of 2017? Luckily for you, here’s another opportunity - the debut album from Dallas’ own Slimy Member is back in print. That first pressing evaporated from stores almost as soon as it was released by Drunken Sailor, and now here it is, just in time for Xmas. So happy fucking holidays, and maybe don’t sleep on it this time, cheez. You know the sound already; a meaner-than-thou blast of ominous power chords and lowdown menace with nods to Rudimentary Peni (obviously), Die Kreuzen and the seething rush of early Saccharine Trust. That title, meanwhile, recalls The Cramps while there are even hints of the Misfits and their horror punk brethren - not least in Cesar Perez’s compelling growl, which alternates between a cathartic croon and conjuring images of someone gargling broken glass in an echo chamber. Either way, it sounds fucking great. With an endless stream of punk bands throwing back to the 1980s and somehow getting it very wrong indeed, you’d be forgiven for reading this dumbass precis and thinking, ‘So fucking what?’ But trust me: this record more than holds its own with the bands it draws influence from. It’s a howl from the gutter set to music that makes you want to pile up your belongings and set fire to them while bricking the windows of your local Conservative Club. Alternatively, it’s WAY existential and it fucking slays. Am I swearing too much? I can’t fucking help it. I fucking love this record. Don’t let yourself miss out for a second time.

[engl] The debut of this all-star Stockholm band featuring: Martin Savage (Martin Savage Gang, Blacks, Murder By Guitar, Holy Rollers, Locomotions, Dixie Buzzards) Manuela Iwansson (Terrible Feelings, Hurula, Manuela Iwansson) HC Andersson (Red Doves, Mitt Hjärta är en Bomb, Trapdoor Fucking Exit)

[engl] Debut LP from the Nottingham, funked up post punkers after their debut 7" on Erste Theke Tontrager. Keep an ear tuned to the underground and it’s odds on you’ll hear some pretty fearsome rumblings. Point your ears in the direction of Nottingham and you’ll find the righteous blast of Slumb Party – a post-punk-skronk party of such hip-gyrating magnitude they’ll make you wanna take a bulldozer to your nearest nightclub and pull shapes on the ruins. Their debut 7” dropped earlier this year via German label Erste Theke Tontraeger, and with this debut LP following so shortly afterwards, you should have a good idea of their natural pace. Fittingly, songs are concise and snappy, with flashes of everything from the rhythms of 80s Athens, GA (Pylon, early B-52s), the soul/punk hybrid of both The Nation of Ulysses and The Make-Up, the hyper-whacked sax rush of the Contortions… plus yer Minutemen, yer Gang Of Fours, yer Shoppings, yer favourite bands with attitude and heads so full of ideas you’ll find yourself wondering why most bands fail to make a sassy combination of arts and smarts sound this fkn essential. Happy Now is the title of the album, as the band ponder everything from day jobs to the passing of time with an existential fury that’s too clever to be anything other than caustic. It’s not a case of ‘how are this band so good’ as ‘who knew anything could be this good?’ One of the best records you’ll hear this year, but you already figured that out. BRB, just quitting my job to follow ‘em round on the road forever.

[engl] "Smarts are a relatively new Australian band who began playing shows around Melbourne and surrounds towards the end of 2018. Combining frantic, yet taut and rapidly-paced rhythms amidst playful, almost child-like riffs and melodies that just about make you want to pull your hair out, Smarts are a sound of their own. The band stemmed out of a bedroom demo that was recorded for fun a year earlier by Billy Gardner (bass, vocals) and Mitch Campleman (guitar) in Geelong. After letting it collect dust for 12 months, they assembled a band to perform the songs live featuring Jake Robertson on drums and Sally Buckley on synth; and released the four-song demo cassette, “Smart World”. Stella Rennex later joined the band, largely filling out the sound with her eccentric saxophone parts. “Who Needs Smarts, Anyway?” was recorded by the band themselves over a weekend slumber in Geelong at the DIY studio setup; The Barracks, with finishing coats added in Melbourne before sending off to mix-master-Mikey Young in Rye. There’s a feeling throughout as if the whole thing could collapse into pieces at any moment, and just when you think it’s about to, Smarts weave their way out and into a new direction. Points of reference could be compared to the quirkiness of LA’s Suburban Lawns or Geza X, as well as citing influence from modern sounds like Japanese band Vodovo and the ever-evolving Midwest American punk scene. It could even be viewed as a refreshing and original extension of the so-called “egg punk” genre. The North American pressing of ""Who Needs Smarts, Anyway?"", limited to 400 copies, comes packaged with a double-sided risograph insert and download code. "

[engl] Smirk is a solo project from Nic Vicario (CEMENTO). Following the release of ‘LP’ on Feel It (US) and Drunken Sailor (EU/UK) earlier this year, Smirk is back with a brand new EP. While ‘LP’ compiled Smirk’s two limited run cassettes, ‘EP’ is seven fresh tracks of wiry well-crafted punk with heaps of hooks. Sharp guitars and anxious one note leads adding tension to the locked in propulsive groove of the bass and drums. Nic Vicario, doing his best ‘man on wire’ routine, exudes cool confidence while poking at the anxieties of modern life. Strutting his way to the apocalypse one jittery jam at a time, ‘EP’ is agitated, catchy, and bouncy as hell. 200 pro-printed clear/clear cassettes housed in a color J-Card inside a Norelco box. Recorded by Nic Vicario. Mastered by Will Killingsworth. Art by Smoking Room.

[engl] Pro-duplicated cassette edition of 150 copies. As the Decline of Western Civilization comes into full focus, our ears turn once again to Los Angeles. The first proper full length from Smirk could very well be the soundtrack to a Decline pt. IV, with tracks like "Living in Hell" and "Hopeless" delivered for a whole new generation of latchkey kids. 'Material' follows 2021's 100% TOTAL PUNK 'EP' and 2020's 'LP', which collected the first two cassettes-de-quarantine that began Nick Vicario's run as Smirk. If you've worn out your copies of those releases, then 'Material' needs no further explanation. But if you're wondering where the magic is - let's start with pure, quality songwriting. Vicario and his revolving cast of Smirk players have really done it this time. It's punk, California, paranoia, guitars, rhythm, and a sense of humor-slash-purpose joining forces to combat reality in the truest sense. Smirk have produced an impressive punk encapsulation of the times across the web of sound on 'Material'.