Another Bandcamp Friday, another $100 in music

Tim, Mike, and Lee from Concrete City (from Facebook)

I swear to the maker I didn't plan on dropping much money on Bandcamp Friday this month. Sure, I had things on my wishlist I planned on picking up. But I figured my big purchase would actually be the three tapes I ordered last night from Sorry State Records (more on that later). Instead, I get announcements of two records I've been waiting for from Bitter Lake Recordings. Thanks, Adam. You've totally fucked me with your exquisite reissues.

I learned about Bitter Lake due to their reissue of the Grave New World LP, "The Last Sanctuary" earlier this year. I've spent a fair amount of the pandemic diving into the underworld of Japanese hardcore/crust/industrial/punk, and when I learned that Grave New World was what Crow did after he split up his eponymous project. I was really stoked on the MP3s I heard, and happily plunked down the bread on a record/t-shirt combo. Sadly, that order is hiding out in a USPS COVID hole, a casualty of Herr Trump's attack on mail-in voting. But it didn't keep me from ordering the following tonight.

I've read Kyoufu Shinbun (恐怖新聞) described as Japanese crust channeled through early 80s J.G. Thirwell. That sounded pretty alright by me. The vocals are super dubby and distorted, like U-Roy fronting Nine Inch Nails. If I'd been introduced to this when it initially came out in 1993 and 1994, I probably would have shit my pants; it makes Ministry sound like Boston. Bitter Lake has collected the entire output of keyboardist/sampler/vocalist Proletariat Honma on this 3 x LP box set, entitled "Death Training". It's a total of ten tapes and a flexi 7", all intially released on Honma's Integral Label label. If you're into synth-punk, industrial, or noise, this is probably right in your wheelhouse.

I wasn't expecting a second announcement from Bitter Lake, but I couldn't pass up a chance to pre-order the Pipyu LP + 7". Pipyu (ピッピュ) was an ultra-obscure band from Tokyo, circa 1985-87. They made a demo, a split 7", and appeared on a few Japanese comps before more or less disappearing. I'm struggling what to liken this to. Can you make D-beat with a drum machine? Can you make deathrock without direct exposure to the American West? What I do know is I like this...a lot. It's a remarkable mix of new wave and hardcore and noise; there's no way I could sleep on this.

Concrete City gets it: 1) release a new single every other month on Bandcamp Friday, and 2) profit. Their fourth single of 2020 has another great pair of sing-alongs in "Don't Do It, Man" and "Same Things". I've been meaning to put together a playlist of all the songs they've recorded and released this year to see how they fit together as a larger body. Individually, though, they've been spectacular. Some wise soul is going to collect everything of Concrete City's, release a physical copy and make a million thousand spacebux.

I like to take a wag on something new every Bandcamp Friday, and this month it's the new single from Richmond's Haircut. Their new 7", "Cake", came out in August on hometown label 11 PM Records, and is a full-blown ripper. Featuring ex-members of Charlottesville's Animal Planet (a band I dug during their short existence), this is the kind of short/fast/loud burner that's revved my engine since the 90s. The difference maker is Juliana Viana on vocals. Her delivery reminds me a lot of Henry Rollins in State of Alert. It's hearing something like this that makes me wish I still lived on the East Coast...and, you know, there wasn't a pandemic on.

Silent Era's newest record, "Rotate the Mirror", was a last minute preorder during the last Bandcamp Friday, but I think it's appropriate to add it here. I was familiar with the bands the members had been in (Neon Piss, Deskonocidos, the Slits), but hadn't checked out Silent Era before snagging this. This is a pretty awesome mix of SF-style hardcore and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, with wonderfully sung vocals. I'm hearing more bands reference that metal scene in non-metal music, and I think it melds well.

I normally wouldn't tack this on, but I read it around 11:45pm on Thursday, so I'm adding it to Bandcamp Friday. If you're not signed up for it yet, head on over to Sorry State's website and sign up for their newsletter. It's like getting a zine's worth of reviews and recommendations on what's new and good in the punk/hardcore/indie/metal scenes. Sorry State carries damned near everything worth carrying, and their mailorder is top notch. For example, I learned Thursday that Usman at Sorry State had tracked down copies of the Anti Cimex "Live!" reissue. Originally released in the mid-80s as a limited Swedish cassette, this has been newly reissued by Charlie from Anti Cimex and Gianluca of the UK's Godzilla Records. It looks like Sorry State might be the only place in the States to get copies. I managed to nab one, along with the new demo from Artificial Joy and Krigshoder's "Krig I Hodet" cassette. These sort of releases are rarely in stock for long, but I keep going back because, even if what I initially was there for is out of stock, I still regularly find good records for a fair price. And isn't that what record stores should be about?

What we're buying this Bandcamp Friday

I'm not going to say that Bandcamp Friday stands in opposition to Record Store Day, but I will say that I enjoy the former much more than the latter. I like that more of my purchase is going to the band, and that it pushes me to pick up more new music, instead of a reissue, or something I already own on digital or CD. It's pretty rad that, since starting this in March, it's generated over $75 million dollars (!!!) for independent bands and labels. That shows real support for a scene that's hurting bad from a pandemic-induced shutdown. So here's what I'm planning on picking up today.

I'm a big fan of the former bands of each member of Truth Cult: Joe Biden, Post Pink, Protester, Pure Disgust...these are the sounds of DC & Baltimore from the last ten years. I've held off on picking up their demo tape from 2018 for a while. But now that Truth Cult has a new LP, "Off Fire", that came out in May on Pop Wig, the time is right to snag both records. "Off Fire" has a great vibe to it. It's hardcore with a snotty edge to it, very danceable, just fun.

I picked up last year's demo from Portland's All Hits in July, and I really liked their speedy, post punk. It's super primitive, reminding me a lot of Chainsaw-era Sleater-Kinney, but with shouty, Oi!-style choruses. Anything that's that floor tom heavy is going to get me hyped. Iron Lung put out their first full-length, "Men and Their Work", in June, and no less than Rough Trade named it their record of the week. If you can find the vinyl, snag it; it was limited to 500 pieces, and it's been pretty tough to track down.

I would have never guessed that Downcast would have put out a new record in 2020, or that Ebullition Records would have a hand in releasing it. Their 1991 self-titled record was the first record on Ebullition I ever picked up, and it's held an honored place in my collection ever since. "Tell Me I'm Alive" came out via 31G and Ebullition back in February, and it's time I moved from the occasional stream to buying a copy. They've held their political edge, a trait I'm thrilled to hear is strong as ever.

Sticking with Ebullition releases for a minute: they also released the first record from Portland's Visions. This self-titled 12" features 3/4 of Dead Cult and Sara from Vicious Pleasures on vocals; what I've heard reminds me of a gothier Terrible Feelings. I've found myself being increasingly drawn to deathrock and other goth-influenced punk in recent years; blame a band like Arctic Flowers, who I really got into, or finding cheap Gun Club records in the wild.

I had meant to grab the newest Concrete City single during last month's Bandcamp Friday, but I forgot to add it to my wishlist, so I overlooked it. "Smash the Old World & Pink Shirt" is their SEVENTH digital release in 14 months, and they remain not only prolific, but probably the best rock band in Baltimore right now. This is their second pandemic-era release, along with a live on WTMD session from 2019, and the quality shows zero fall-off. This is top notch power pop from folks who have playing longer than some of us have been alive. Now if only we can get a bit of physical media out of these kids.

Philadelphia's Soul Glo's 2019 record, "The N***a In Me Is Me", hit me like a ton of bricks. It's what I had always heard Death Grips described as, but never actually experienced. Their fusion of hardcore, hip hop, noise, breakbeat, and lo-fi is unlike a lot of what I've found in recent years, and made me wish I lived back on the East Coast so I could see these dudes with some great regularity. I've had their "Live at WKDU" session on my wishlist longer than anything else. I think it's time to pony up and see how their incredible sound translates to a live in the studio recording.

Arizona's King of the Monsters was always a label to watch for me. They put out heavy music, had an awesome design aesthetic, and they were always priced inexpensively. That's 3 for 3, in case you're counting. They put out a discography for grind/crust masters Unruh about 5 years ago, and it's apparently been uploaded to Bandcamp this week. I knew about Unruh via their split with Creation is Crucifixion and their appearance on "Cry Now, Cry Later Vol. 1 & 2" reissue. When I listened to them, I wanted to grow out dreads and headbang. "Tomb" everything Unruh ever put out, and, at $12.50, is a lot cheaper than trying to track everything down. Hell for $25, you can get the box set itself. That's a good price!

There's obviously a ton to find on Bandcamp, and the digging can be the best part. I'm certain, as with previous Bandcamp Fridays, that there'll be some cool, limited edition releases posted up, so be sure to take a look.