Sunday 29 April 2018

Inhaler

A year and a bit ago I got back into Tad bigtime. I picked up a shitload of Tad records and then a little later I got around to downloading a couple of their major label LPs that I had completely ignored when they came out in the 90s. I guess they came out at a time when I had moved on to straight edge hardcore, so Tad was not cool with me anymore. But this was a time when vinyl sales were shrinking and major labels were starting to pull out of pressing it, and any that they did press was probably not in large quantities. So basically, when I decided that I wanted these records over 20 years after their release, I found it surprisingly difficult to find them either in good condition or for a good price.

'Inhaler' was the band's major label debut, and came out in 1994 on Giant Records (the label that released the Dag Nasty 'Field Day' LP). I added this to my discogs and ebay searches over a year ago, and finally one came up for sale at a low-ish price. It was also in the UK, meaning cheap shipping.

It also turned out to be a promo copy, with a press kit (aka a piece of paper).

It's funny, but I kinda expected that this would be pretty weak compared to their previous efforts on Sub Pop, but I was wrong. This thing is like a juggernaut. I'm glad to add it to the collection, albeit 24 years after its initial release.

So this got me to looking for a couple of other Tad records that I was missing. I managed to pick up a reasonably priced copy of the split 7" with a band called Pussy Galore.

This 7" was released as a part of the Sub Pop Singles Club back in 1989. There were 2500 copies, all on black vinyl. Each band covers the Black Flag songs 'Damaged I' and 'Damaged II'.

There are still more Tad records I don't have, so hopefully those will feature on here before the year is out.

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