Random Green Heart

For over half my life I collected Cave In records. I enjoyed all of their different eras and just kept picking up more records, to the point where I had virtually every version of every record, including a lot of (but not all) test pressings. And then in 2022 they issued their latest LP 'Heavy Pendulum' which immediately came out on 15 different colours of vinyl, and I said 'fuck it, I'm done' and bought one copy. After 25 years the goal of a 'complete' collection was finished..

I have always thought that trying too hard to define yourself is a pointless endeavour. Labels can be restrictive. So when I saw this green and grey vinyl copy of 'Until Your Heart Stops' there was a moment where I thought to myself 'but you don't collect Cave In records anymore'. But I just wanted it. So I bought it. I guess I'm just a sucker for green vinyl.

This is part of a pressing from 2018 which was on random colours of vinyl. They were pressed shortly after Caleb Schofield passed in order to raise money for his family. I didn't manage to get one at the time, but always kinda wanted one as this record has always ridden high up in my favourite record list (which does not actually exist). Quite a lot of copies seem to be on blue or red, which are very similar to the first pressing, so I was always hoping I could find one on a very different colour. So this green and grey copy ticks all the boxes.

Many Miles Long

Despite trying my best to avoid buying discographies these days (I successfully swerved the Lincoln and Encounter 12"s), there are always exceptions. I recently picked up this One Up record simply because it was cheap. I got this brand new for $2.99. It costs more to pass wind these days.

This record is titled 'Many Miles Long • 2002-2005' and was released by New Jersey label Hellminded Records in the Covid era of 2021. Despite putting out some great records back then (Shades Apart, No Escape, Crossed Keys) it seems this label has now folded.

I always liked One Up, and even though I have multiple copies of their two 7"s, this is well worth the price of admission as it includes several songs that were not previously released on vinyl. What you get on here is:

SIDE A:
2 previously unreleased songs... which I actually think are the best two songs on here.
'The Single' (2 songs, previously released as a 7")
'The More Things Change' (6 songs, previously released as a 7")

SIDE B:
'It's Time To Believe' (8 songs, previoulsy available on CD only)
The Demo (5 songs, previously released as a 7")

Overall, a good record well worth grabbing even if you have to pay a more normal price.

Hand It Over

Despite me being a fan of Dinosaur Jr since I first heard them back in 1990, there are still records of theirs that I have never heard. Not many, mind. But one that I completely missed out on back in the day was 'Hand It Over' which is their 7th album, released in 1997 via some nonsense major label that had also released their previous three full lengths. Until the last couple of years, this record had completely passed me by. But when it came to my attention, I got lucky and bagged an original vinyl copy cheap on eBay.

I'm not sure how I had no idea about this for so many years, although I suspect that back when this came out in 1997 I had moved on to new things. Twenty two year old me had entered the grown up world of work and was listening to Earth Crisis 'Gomorrah's Season Ends', Integrity 'Seasons In The Size Of Days' and Kiss It Goodbye. At this point in my life, Dinosaur Jr seemed like old hat. The past. Even if I knew that this had been released (which I may have done), I would have ignored it.

Whilst I'm not sure whether I did know about this at the time, ignored it, and then forgot about it, or whether I had no idea it ever came out, I also can't be sure exactly how I became aware in the last year or so that it did actually exist. But I'm glad I did. Whilst not their best work, this is still undoubtedly Dinosaur Jr, and twenty eight years after it appeared it sounds good to me. Shame about the front cover though.

More Rev Repress LPs

Every few months I catch up on the latest batch of Revelation represses. Ten years ago I decided to give up on the Rev repress game. It didn't last long. I think I needed something to make me focus and realise that Rev is my number one priority. So I soldier on, picking up every version of everything. Here's the latest bunch of records that I already own several times each.

Shown in the photo are:

Top Row (left to right):
Sinking Ships 'Disconnecting' - Grey vinyl (2024 press /550)
Drain 'California Cursed' - Clear with red & blue splatter vinyl (??? press /?)
Planet On A Chain 'Culture Of Death' - Blue vinyl (2nd press /500)

Middle Row (left to right):
Battery 'Whatever It Takes' - Clear vinyl (2024 press /660)
Battery 'For The Rejected By The Rejected' - Coke Bottle Clear vinyl (2024 press /768)
Ignite 'Past Our Means' - 'Transluscent White' vinyl (2024 press /530)

Bottom Row (left to right):
Chain Of Strength 'The One Thing That Still Holds True' - Coke Bottle Clear vinyl (2024 press /500)
Chain Of Strength 'The One Thing That Still Holds True' - 'Transluscent Silver' vinyl (2024 press /526)
Gorilla Biscuits 'Start Today' - Baby Blue vinyl (2024 press /1597)

Something Moved Me

Back near the start of the year I was addicted to 'In The Spirit World Now', the Ceremony album from 2019 that I had never heard before which sounds like the 1980s. Well, this made me realise that my Ceremony record collection is bordering on pitiful, so I made a mental note to improve it when I got the chance.

I only had a 3rd pressing green vinyl copy of their second LP, 'Still, Nothing Moves You' which I have always thought looked like utter dogshit, so when I saw a 2nd press grey vinyl copy for sale I figured this was as good a time as any to perform an upgrade.

There were 900 copies on grey as part of the 2nd pressing, and I think it looks way nicer than the green one. This grey copy didn't cost too much, so I think I can cover what I paid by selling the green one, meaning that this will have been a free upgrade.

This came out in 2008 which is somehow seventeen years ago, which seems kinda nuts. But man, this holds up so well and is absolutely ferocious. One of the best opening songs ever.

Fidelity Jones

I feel like I could spend the rest of my life exploring the Dischord catalogue and never actually getting through it all. Without a doubt, some of the Dischord releases are amongst my absolute favourite records that exist (Dag Nasty, Shudder To Think, Swiz) but there are still great portions that I have completely ignored or not got around to checking out yet (Beefeater, Marginal Man, Circus Lupus). At the rate I am going, I may never get there. But recently I ticked another band (and two catalogue numbers) off the list.

Fidelity Jones was a DC band active for a couple of years around 1989-90 ish. They contained a couple of dudes who were in Beefeater and someone who went on to Holy Rollers. I had heard one song on the 'State Of The Union' compilation LP (which I have always liked) but decided to pick up more because these things were dirt cheap.

The 'Piltdown Lad' LP came out in 1989 as Dischord 41.

I also picked up a 7" which came out in 1990 as Dischord 47.

This band is a great example of late 80s / early 90s Dischord to me. It's not really punk or hardcore in the typical sense. It's more a kidn fo funk with a bit of reggae influence, and reminds me of the band fIREHOSE in places. It probably sounds terrible but is actualy brilliant.

I remember when I was first getting into hardcore back in about 1993 and I ended up with some dude's collection who had a lot of the Dischord bands that I have never really gotten into. Back then I found the cover art and the music didn't really fit with my idea of punk or hardcore. But the older I get, the more I am digging stuff like this.

Diaz Brothers

Yet another record that I spent a lot of time playing whilst driving around California, but this one isn't a new release. This is the first album by a melodic punk band from the north of England called Diaz Brothers. I checked them out semi recently after I saw Lins87 posting one of their newer records. It sounded like it could be of interest, so I checked the band out, and was immediately into it, so I decided to invest a few quid in a copy of their first LP.

This record was originally released in 2020 during peak covid times so is now five years old. The band has a new LP that came out recently, but I decided to start with the older one. Sometimes listening in chronological order makes most sense.

This clear vinyl copy is from the 4th pressing, and there are 250 in existence.

This is a really good record, and ended up being the record that I played most on my recent California road trip. I think I played this one every single day, and have continued to do so every day since getting home. Definitely the soundtrack to Summer 2025 for me. Clearly I'm goinh to need to also pick up the new one too before it sells out.

Alien Wondering

Next up in my 'records I listened to a lot whilst driving around California' series is the latest offering from Jonah Matranga / Onelinedrawing. Back in mid May I went to see Jonah perform at a venue that is only about 5 miles from my house, in Windsor. In all of the years that I have lived in this part of the country I have never been to a show in Windsor, and the novelty of being able to drive to a show in 15-20 minutes was very appealing. I hadn't listened to Jonah or any of his bands too much in recent years, although every year without fail I play my Far records.

This new record was put together just in time for the UK shows, and Jonah was clearly very excited about the project, as it is a record and comic book. He talked about how he had always wanted to do a comic book, and finally in 2025 here we are. The record is self released, and has no record label involved. According to Jonah's bandcamp there were 250 copies made, and as I type this there are currently 17 remaining.

The comic book was drawn by an illustrator named Andy Clift, with words written by Jonah. The theme is loneliness and connection, and the songs are also based around this.

Seeing Jonah play live was a really great experience. I was very moved by the performance for a number of reasons. But I will say that I was absolutely obsessed by the man for a few weeks afterwards. The show was small and intimate, with the audience all sat in chairs at tables. Some people had drinks delivered to their table while he played. This is absolutely not the kind of thing I would usually attend, but somehow it fitted the music perfectly. I felt annoyed at myself that I had lost track of his music a little and missed a couple of records over the last few years, which is something I want to fix. For now though, this beautiful piece of art is enough to keep me happy.

So Disappear

Another record that I was playing a lot whilst driving n California was 'So Disappoear' by a band called Hingada . The band contains Oscar Paz & June Cate who were both in the bands Kill Holiday and Impel in the mid-late 90s, plus a couple of other dudes.

This sounds a lot like Impel to me. Hardly surprising as two of the dudes from that band are in it. If you're not familiar with Impel, think ballpark Quicksand (the 90s version, not modern day version). It's kinda hardcore and kinda rock, but sounds big and tight. To me this is very much a San Deigo sound... which is hardly surprising as so many of the SD bands I am familiar with over the last 20 years or so are really just the same small group of people. But I very much enjoyed blasting this whilst driving around Southern California recently. It's a great record for a sunny day.

This was a very limited vinyl release. There were only 100 copies made in total, all on blue vinyl. I picked up an extra copy for a friend and both copies were on different shades of blue. I spent much longer than I should have done trying to figure out which one to keep and which to part with.

If this sounds in any way interesting to you, it seems that Indecision still have some copies for sale HERE.

At Peace

Another record that I spent a lot of time listening to the last couple of months is the new album from Propagandhi. Released in May this year, 'At Peace' is the band's 8th album and even though I picked up their first when it originally came out, I only really got around to listening to anything else that they have done a couple of years ago. And whilst I wasn't aware that this one was coming, after seeing a few people post it on instagram, I was interested. Something about the cover art and the vinyl colour just made me want one.

This colour is called 'Cloudy Pink & Blue' and this is a UK and Europe exclusive. To me this looks like what would have been referred to as 'marble' in old fashioned speak. It also looks nice with a lightsource behind it.

The first time I played this I was asbsolutely blown away by the opening song which is really powerful and sounds nothing like I have heard this band sound before. I read something at some point that said that they have basically become a 'prog punk' band, and whilst I don't agree, I kinda get what was meant. However you want to describe it though, this is a really good record, and makes me realise that there is a whole lot of Propagandhi back catalogue that I need to delve into.

Are We All Angels?

I'm moving on from posting about records that I picked up on holiday to talking about other things that I spent time listening to whilst there. The trip saw us drive from San Diego to San Francisco via several towns and cities along the way, which meant we had a lot of hours in the car. Before the trip I loaded a bunch of new records onto my phone and ended up playing each of them several times throughout the trip.

Scowl released a new album at the beginning of April this year titled 'Are We All Angels'. Initially I wasn't really that interested. Back when they first appeared on the scene in 2021 it felt that they were new and exciting and it seemed that everyone I knew thought that Scowl was the future of hardcore. But then as time has marched on, I feel that I have suffered from Scowl overload, and every time they pop up in my instagram feed (which seems to be practically every day), my first thought is 'oh for fucks sake, not Scowl again'. Well anyway, one day curiosity got the better of me, and I thought I'd check out the new record. Halfway through and I was instantly hooked and knew I wanted to buy a copy.

Of course, being 2025, there seemed to be a bunch of different colour vinyl options out there, none of whic seemed particularly well suited to the cover art. I went to discogs and found the colour that I thought looked best (clear pink), but the only problem was that it was available as part of some subscription club, so you couldn't just go and buy a copy from a store or label. I had to wait for one of the subscribers to punt their copy online, but thankfully that didn't take too long.

The evolution of this band has been interesting to watch. They started out as a basic hardcore band, and have now morphed into a kind of alt rock grunge band... which is absolutely fine by me. It felt that things were going this way on the last record, and I can well imagine that a lot of people will be turned off by this, but it's their loss. Without doubt this will be one of my top 3 records of the year.

Another Year

Another record that I picked up on my recent trip to California, and I had paid for this a few weeks prior, so it was just sat there waiting for me to collect it from a friend when I arrived in town.

This is a test press for the In Control 'Another Year' LP. The band were from Oxnard, and I bought this from the king of Oxnard himself, Fred Hammer.

This record was released by Indecision Records back in 2001, in the days of the yellow Erika Records standard test press labels seen on many (now classic) hardcore records that are now considered classics.

I bought this from Indecision Records when it came out back in 2001. Back then Indecision was absolutely on fire, putting out stuff by bands like Count Me Out, The Suicide File, Over My Dead Body, The Promise, etc and as a result this album got kinda lost in the mix a little for me. Seeing this test press for sale made me go back and revisit this record recently, and I think it holds up really well. I also still love the artwork and vinyl colour of the regular pressing of this LP, which I took down from the shelf for the first time in probably twenty years.

And The Sadness Prevails...

On my trip to California in 2022 I picked up a great compilation called 'Nardcore For Life'. It was a comp of bands from Oxnard, and my stand out favourite was a song by a band called No Motiv, who at the time I knew absolutely nothing about.

Well, on my last trip to California last month, I visited Oxnard for a very short amount of time one day, and briefly stopped in a record shop called Salzer's Records (which the internet tells me is actually in Ventura, not Oxnard). I found one record that I wanted, which was a No Motiv LP. I had previously looked for this on the internet and knew that the price they had it for was good, so I grabbed it quicksmart.

This is the band's second album, and it originally came out in 1998 on Vagrant Records, a label most known for blowing up at the end of the 90s due to bands like The Get Up Kids and Saves The Day. Musically, No Motiv are in a similar ballpark I would say, and listening to this over 25 years later, it's strange to ponder how this record didn't blow up in quite the same way.

This version here is a 20 year anniversary pressing of this record from 2019. There were only 300 made, so I feel pretty stoked to have found a sealed copy for new record price. The only slight niggle is that this is self released. It isn't actually on Vagrant Records. So I kinda still want to get an original first pressing copy, even thought they are all just on black vinyl.

When Words Are Not Enough...

When the Berthold City 'When Words Are Not Enough' LP was released in early 2022, it felt like it sold like hot cakes. I remember being in Programme Skate & Sound in California and talking to the guy who played bass on it. Three years later and I got around to picking up a copy whilst on my California trip last month.

When this came out I remember all the colours looked pretty ugly, and it was enough to put me off completely from buying a copy. But fast forward two years, and the label made a limited sleeve which was sold at the Rev market on 14th April 2024. A friend of mine went and picked one of these up for me and a little over a year later I was able to collect it in person from the exact place that it was sold (RevHQ). There were only 25 copies made, and this is number 10.

Truth is that I was never overly excited by this band when they appeared out of nowhere back in 2018 or so. At the time I thought the name was kinda stupid, and it just felt like they were trying to be as generic a straight edge band as possible. But finally getting around to listening to them, and I can see why their records seem to sell lightning fast. They do straight edge hardcore, but they do it well, and I guess there really aren't too many bands doing this style these days. So if you enjoy drawing fat X's on your hands with black marker pens, this could well be the band for you.

So Much Seething

Towards the back end of last year, Mike posted about the new Bent Blue LP, and his words got me interested. I feel that Bent Blue is a band that I have been wanting to spend some time with for a long time, and I have never really gotten around to it. I saw them play live once a little over three years ago, which was before they had any records out, and at the time I wasn't exactly blown away... although, to be fair I didn't actually pay them too much attention. Still, Mike made it sound like the LP was a bit of step up from the previous 12"s, so I made a mental note to check them out, and then I eventually got around to it about seven months later.

The record is titled 'So Much Seething' and was released by Indecision Records in October last year. There are two colours of vinyl available - the purple I picked up (150 made) and also green vinyl (350 made). I just went with the more limited one.

Picking this up at Indecision HQ, I was also able to walk away with a test press, which comes in a nice handmade sleeve.

I only started listening to this one a few days ago, but right now this is possibly my favourite record. It does strike a good balance between 'hardcore' and the more typical DC Revolution Summer type sound. Mike talked about the song 'The Other Half', which really reminds me of Have Heart, and the song 'Your remains' really reminds me of Fiddlehead. If I were to say that this record stands halfway between both of those bands then that at least gives you an indication of whether it may be of interest or not. But right now this is ticking the boxes and is exactly what I want.

Vendetta

I picked up a few releases from Indecision Records about three months ago and had been working my way through them before my California trip last month. One record that I was enjoyng was 'Death Grip', a full length from a band called Vendetta. I'd never heard of the band before, and picked this up purely because it was on Indecision, and the bio told me that the band come from Oxnard, which has a rich history of great hardcore bands.

The title of the record and the cover art gives you a clue that this isn't some kind of melodic punk or emo record. This is a hardcore record by a band that it turns out has been going for over twenty years. Their last release was in 2007, so I guess this must be some kind of comeback record. It's mosh hardcore and it's good. It really reminds me of another Oxnard band (Retaliate) who I also really like when I want something that makes me want to feel like punhcing a wall.

The more common vinyl colour is red, which I think probably goes better with the artwork. I was sent this red with black splatter, which is the more limited colour and out of 150 copies.

So I'd been enjoying this record a few weeks before my trip, and then wHen I visited Dave at Indecision HQ and had a quick look in his record room, he dug out a test press of this record and gave it to me. I was very grateful.

I like how it comes in a simple sleeve, and how the sleeve is red to match the artwork of the record. Simple designs are always better.

Californian Ritual

On my recent trip to California, there was a day when I popped round to visit Eva and Dave at Indecision Records HQ. I needed to pick up the Power Alone test press that I wrote about in my last post, but after a short chat and a quick look around the house to see what had changed in the last three years, I also got a few minutes to grab a small handful of records.

A couple of years ago Indecision reissued the first Unbroken LP, 'Ritual'. This record was first released by New Age Records in 1993, and despite Unbroken moving their catalogue to Indecision a long time ago, this record hasn't been pressed with the original artwork since the 90s. I didn't pick one up as I am genuinely trying to reduce the number of represses / reissues that I buy, but I really liked the look of this test press in a custon sleeve and was keen to take it home with me.

I also have a test press of the original pressing of this record on New Age which I traded for nine years ago, and even though I am not the biggest Unbroken collector, it's kinda cool to have tests of both versions.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Somehow it was three years ago that I picked up a record by a California hardcore band called Power Alone from Indecision Records HQ and it single handedly pulled me out of a three month pop punk phase that I had been in. Man, I loved (and still love) that record so much. Heavy and political, it strongly ticks the boxes of what a hardcore punk record should be.

Well anyway, I got excited a couple of months ago when a test press appeared for sale on discogs, especially as the price was not ridiculous. The only problem was that the listing mentioned a couple of creases on the cover, so I messaged the seller to ask for photos. The front cover was fine, but the back cover had two creases which were slightly offputting. This is the photo I was sent:

Well, I was torn on what to do. I wanted the record, the price was ok, but the creases... I figured that they would irritate me for the rest of my life. But then I came up with an idea to turn the situation around. I got in touch with the vocalist of the band, Eva, and asked if I could have the record sent to her so that she could do some custom art to hide the creases. She was initially worried that she might make the cover look even uglier, but I assured her that having a personalised version that was different to the other copies would make mine superior... to me at least. So she agreed to do it, and it then tured out that the seller was someone she knew, so I didn't even have to pay for postage. And then a few weeks later, I ended up picking up the record from her when I was in California last month.

As the photo shows, the creases have been really well hidden, and I am stoked as hell to have a test press of this record, and one with such unique artwork.

Face The Nation

I've had a break from this thing for over a month because I went on holiday and then have been too tired or busy to do anything since i got home three weeks ago. It's been tough getting over the jet lag and having to jump back into real life. But I finally feel that I am pretty much back to normal, so it's time to get stuck into my huge backlog of records that I had bought before my holiday and those that I picked up whilst away.

So I went to California and the main reason for booking the trip was to go to the Big Frank Harrison memorial show in Orange County on 22 June. I wanted to see Farside play, but there were also lots of other cool bands on the bill too, some of which were really old and hadn't played together in decades. It promised to be, and was, a great show and a day I will always remember.

One of the older bands that I was very keen to see was Carry Nation, a band fronted by Dan O'Mahony and which was also composed of Big Frank Harrison, Gavin Oglesby (No For An Answer) amd Steve Larson (Insted). A true 80s California supergroup. Their total output was a four song 7" back in 1989. They broke up in 1990 and played a reunion show in 2009, and the show last month was their first since.

In order to try to generate some additional money, as the proceeds of the show were set to go to Frank's daughter, Carry Nation repressed their 7" with revised artwork and on orange vinyl. And of course, if a band is going to repress a 7" on a new vinyl colour and with new artwork I was going to be first in line to buy it.

I have to say, but this is a very fitting tribute to Big Frank, with pictures of the man himself on each label and on the back cover. I always liked this record, as I am a fan of everything that Dan O has done, so it's cool to pick up this revised version.

Well, as another nice surprise, Carry Nation also pressed a new 7" that was also sold at the show. Now, admittedly these are not new songs. This 7" features a five song live set from 1989 recorded at the Country CLub in Reseda, CA. One of these songs was released years ago on a compilation 7" ('No Control At The Country Club' which was released by Big Frank's label, Nemesis Records). Well, now you can hear the full 5 song set on one handy 7".

This was a rare occasion that I actually put a record on the record player, as I couldn't find any digital version of this online. I have to say, the sound quality is very good, and it very much does remind me of listening to old live compilations back in the early 90s. It's also cool because this record contains an extra song that was not on their 'Face The Nation' 7", 'Thinking Of You'.

Overall I think these two records are a nice tribute to Big Frank, and it was also nice to see how much the band seemed to enjoy playing again, and putting some new energy into an old project. It seems doubtful that they will play again, so I am glad to have been there to see it, and very happy to have these records as a momento of the show.

Home Truths 2

So in my last post I talked about how much I had been enjoying the band The Living Memories, who hail from Baltimore and count Stephen St. Germain (from The First Step) as one of their members. Mike turned me onto them a couple of years ago because it sounded like something that I would like, even though he hated it (although I think we all know that these days, he would love it).

Well anyway, when I got around to asking whetherit might be possible to buy a test press of the second record, I also asked about a test press of the first record too, and ended up doing a deal. Stephen also fished out a spare one of the regular covers to put it in, which was very much appreciated.

This test has hand written labels, which is a nice touch.

So, same as the other record, when I had agreed to buy a test I also figured that it would be kinda stupid to not then buy the other colour vinyl copy. I got a good deal, and I'm glad I picked it up as it looks great. This is one of the 200 copies on 'orange' vinyl (which is clearly yellow):

I pulled out the clear copy that I was donated a couple of years ago to take a pic of the complete collection:

This is so good, and I would advise you give it a minute to check it out. Especially now we're in the summer. If you are into it then it looks like there are still colour copies of this record available from the band / label, although the webstore doesn't allow you to choose which colour you want.