Spleen & Goad

Just over three years ago I picked up an album by Iron Monkey ('9-13'), which it turned out came out six years earlier. Well, here I am buying their next one, but I'm starting to get a bit quicker as this one only came out two years ago, in 2024. That's pretty much yesterday.

'Spleen & Goad' was released by Relapse Records in April 2024. I remember seeing it at the time and thinking to myself that I would get around to tracking down a clear vinyl ('not available to the public - Friends of band and label only') copy at some point, which I have now finally done.

I remember being surprised at how good the last record was. Based on that one, I really shouldn't be surprised by this one, yet I am. This is incredibly good, and really reminds me of their early material from when they were a new band in the late 90s. This band is often described as 'sludge' and whatever you think of that term, it does seem kinda apt when I'm listening to this, and it seems like the perfect soundtrack to this time of the year, with the evenings starting to get dark and cold.

Interestingly, it looks like they haven't played live at all since this came out. I hope they do at some point. Would be good to hear this stuff live.

Vanity Spawned By Fear

Hot on the heels of my last two posts about Ceremony albums released in 2026 is another Ceremony record that came out a few years ago that I am finally getting around to listening to. 'Vanity Spawned By Fear' is a two song 12" that came out in 2022, three years after the last album 'In The Spirit World Now'. I had absolutely no idea that this even existed until recently, although I think it's fari to say that I had well and truly written Ceremony off a few years before this came out anyway, so now I'm playing catch up. It seems kinda crazy to be buying a 12" that contains only two songs, but my first impression is that this thing looks really cool.

Just like all Relapse Records releases, this is one of only 100 copies on clear vinyl ('not available to the public - Friends of band and label only').

Even though I have really enjoyed the last two Ceremony albums, I was slightly horrified when I first heard this. The first song sounds so incredibly 80s, but not in a hardcore way. It just sounds like some typical 80s chart/dance song, even down to the female backing singer and saxophone (!) solo. By contrast, the second song is just so minimal that it barely counts as a song. I was thinking 'what the hell is going on?'. A week on, however, and I'm loving this, especially the second song ('California Poppy'). I can see that this may have been off putting to even die hard Ceremony fans, so interested to hear what others think.

Live At The Hollywood Paladium

The last couple of years have seen me elevate my appreciation of Ceremony to a new level. A few years back I wrote them off and gave up on them, and now here I am confidently saying that they are one of my favourite current bands. Every record sounds different but they're all great. There really isn't much else to say.

That said, however, it's always a test of loyalty when a band you love comes out with a live LP. Do I love Ceremony? Yes. Do I want to buy a Ceremoney live double LP? Well, not really. But would I be more interested if I had a chance to get one of the copies on clear vinyl limited to 100 copies ('not available to the public - Friends of band and label only')? Oh, go on then...

This was recorded live at the Hollywood Palladium on February 24th 2024, and was released this year two years to the day from the show taking place. The show was a celebration of the 2010 LP 'Rohnert Park' (which incidentally I decided was my record of the year in 2010) There's a photo on the insert of the venue on the day of the show, which I think is a nice touch.

This is a double LP (or, more accurately, a 'one and a half' LP as the second disc is one sided). The first record is basically just the 'Rohnert Park' album played live in its entirety, in order. Apparently the capacity of the Hollywood Paladium is 3,700 to 4,000 people, and you can kinda tell when you hear the crowd singalongs at various points.

The second record contains a random selection of other songs from other records, including 'Kersed' (the first song from their first 7") which is a top notch hardcore song in my book.

The flipside of the second record is a screen printed picture of the bass drum. It's not overly exciting.

This is a well put together live record, and I would think that this is a perfect souvenir of a great night out for anyone who actually went to this show. I listened to it once, and it was ok, but the reality is that I probably won't need to listen to this again. Pretty standard for a live LP of a show you weren't at I suppose.

Tell Me Your Dream

My last two posts (Deadguy & Staticlone) were 2025 releases from Relapse Records. I was insistent on owning these on clear vinyl, which is always the most limited and nicest looking colour of anything they press, especially given that they press everything at my least favourite pressing plant. All clear vinyl copies are limited to 100 copies which are (quote) 'not available to the public - Friends of band and label only'. So when I picked those up, I decided to make a play for a few other Relapse releases on clear vinyl because, as all self-respecting record nerds know, there's no point in buying one record from someone when you could buy several. It's just not an efficient use of the postal system. So I made a list of Relapse releases that I wanted, which turned out to be quite a long list and added up to a decent wedge of cash. I tried to reduec the list down a bit, but in the end I just ended up pulling the trigger on the whole lot.

At the top of my list of wants was the new album by Ceremony. In early 2025 I fell in love with their 2019 LP 'In the Spirit World Now', so I was excited to hear their latest offering as soon as possible, rather than sit back and wait for six years or so to pass.

This one is titled 'Tell Me Your Dream' and was released on 7th August this year. It's their 7th album in twenty (!) years.

Back in April one of the songs from this LP ('Other Hells') was put up online. It sounded like (and was being touted as) a return to their more hardcore sound. Given every Ceremony record sounds like a different band, I was expecting something very different with this record, and possibly a bit of a step backwards to a 'Rohnert Park' type sound. But no, that's not really the case. Aside from that one song, this sounds just like the last album to me, and it has taken hold of me in a similar way. I cannot stop listening to this at the moment and it's definitely going to be a strong contender for record of the year for me.

Better Living Through Static Vision

Yet another release from 2025 that I wanted to pick up on vinyl but it has taken me a while to get around to it is the debut full length from Staticlone, a Philadelphia band that feature George Hirsch and Dan Sausages from Blacklisted. For most records, I don't like to listen to them until I have acquired a physical vinyl copy, but for some reason I downloaded this one and listened to it quite a bit last year, especially when I was driving around California in June & July.

This was released by Relapse Records and, as usual, there were 100 copies on clear vinyl ('not available to the public - Friends of band and label only'), so that's the version I was holding out for.

To me, this just sounds like later Blacklisted. But I think it's because George's vocal is so distinctive and recognisable that it's difficult to not just assume you're listening to the next Blacklisted record. I would imagine that anyone who liked the direction that Blacklisted were heading in their later records is gonna like this.

That said, I'm not entirely sure if this band is still going or not, as the two dudes from Blacklisted who started it also started another band since this record came out (Colossal Rains - whose debut release I picked up earlier this year). I guess time will tell.

Near-Death Travel Services

Another of my outstanding wants from 2025 was the 'Near-Death Travel Services' LP by the newly reformed Deadguy. I had watched a Deadguy documentary at some point a year or so ago, and they seemed to enjoy being in each others company for the first time in years, so it was no real surprise that they decided to get back together and record some new music. However, even after watching the thing I watched, I was still surprised when this album was announced. It just seemed to come out of nowhere, and it seemed really exciting. I knew it was going to be good, and I wanted a copy. Yet somehow it has taken me a year and a couple of months to get one.

Part of the delay was that this was released by Relapse Records, and I knew that there was only going to be one colour that would be acceptable for me to own - the clear vinyl version. Throughout the life of Relapse Records, they have always made 100 copies of every release on clear vinyl, which (in theory) you can't buy. The label's site always includes the clear vinyl in the pressing info, next to which it states 'Not available to the public - Friends of band and label only'. Clear copies will usually surface for sale at some point, but sometimes you gotta bide your time. Initially a few clear copies sold to some lucky people, but then the well appeared to run dry. Hence the wait.

I hadn't listened to this until I received the vinyl. Most of the time, this is how I like to play the game. If I listen to something before I have the vinyl then chances are the incentive to buy one will reduce, and in some cases I definitely do not want that to happen. So I literally only got around to hearing this for the first time about two weeks ago. But this is, so far, what I hoped it would be. Firstly, it sounds like Deadguy. Well, I guess you could also say that it kinda sounds like No Escape, Bitter Branches or Kiss It Goodbye, as Tim Singer's voice is so distinctive. But it's Deadguy. Thirty years on from the release of their first full length, they've come back onto the scene with another monster. I'm sure that in time this won't be as highly regarded as 'Fixation On A Coworker', but right now this sounds both fresh and new and old and familiar at the same time.

There Near

A few weeks ago the latest Dinosaur Jr LP dropped. Given I have been a fan of this band for longer than I have been buying records, I was always going to buy one. Of course, this being 2026, there were quite a few different versions up for sale from various different sources. To date, there are ten different versions listed on discogs, but several weeks ago it was really hard to figure out as the discogs listings hadn't been created. I was struggling to figure out not only what existed, but also which was the rarest or nicest looking. In the end I got bored and went for one that the 'deluxe' version that came with a bonus 7".

This 7" only seems to come with this particular colour, and contains two songs that are not part of the album, but are previously unreleased.

Unless my count is wrong, I think this is their 13th studio album. Somehow it's been five years since the last one ('Sweep It Into Space') came out which I'm really struggling to comprehend as I would have sworn it was about three. Anyway, I wasn't overly excited by this one the first couple of plays, but armed with the knowledge that there is no such thing as a bad Dinosaur Jr record, I have persevered, and I'm now at a point where I'm loving it. Hardly a surprise really.

Trawler

This post feels a little later than it should have been, as I spent most of July and August listening to this record, so I'm not exactly sure why it's taken me until nearly the middle of September to put it up here.

Back in May I met up with a frind who I bought some records from, and he was keen to get me to check out the second LP by Australian band Melvic Centre. I'd not heard of them, and wasn't hugely excited at the prospect of checking them out. But I was told that it was the best release of 2025, which made it intriguing. Plus I was offered it for a very fair price. So I decided to play along and take it home.

This record was released last year (2025) by an Australian label, Evil Tone Records. This version is a UK pressing put out by Brassneck Records, of which there were 254 copies on 'prawn orange' vinyl.

Whilst I don't think that this would have been my favourite release of 2025 if I had actually heard it in the year, this is without doubt a great record. It's generally what I would describe as a 'melodic punk' record, but tat would just be a ballpark description and a bit of an over simplification of what is going on here. There are certain songs that remind me of some band that I couldn't quite put my finger on, so I opted to read a couple of reviews to see who others thought this sounded like, and I found references to UK bands Mega City Four and Neds Atomic Dustbin, as well as mentions of Farside, The Lemonheads, Big Drill Car and even Teenage Fanclub. Personally, I don't think it really sounds like any of those bands individually, but I totally get the references. Those are bands that were all doing something vaguely similar but adding their own thing, and that's what's going on here.

Very glad I let myself get talked into this one. Thank you!

Government Issue

I feel like I started a whole bunch of new collections these past couple of years. There are some bands that I started buying records by that I wasn't previously too bothered about, and then I set myself a goal to pick up whatever by them. One of them is Government Issue. It all started last year when I ended up picking up 6 of their LPs from a UK seller. I then figured that I would keep an eye out for any that I was missing. Here we are a year later, and I recently picked up another to help move this little collection one step forward.

The latest acquisition is the 3rd studio full length. This one is self-titled, and was originally released by Fountain Of Youth Records in 1986.

According to discogs, this red vinyl version is a slightly later press from 1988 on the same label. But it's the earliest colour vinyl pressing that there is, so it's the one I wanted.

This one definitely sounds different to the previous records, and I think is my favourite so far. It's a good balance between hardcore and melodic. It also sounds (and looks) very 80s, which for me is a good thing. These days I generally love anything which looks or sounds 80s, which is in stark contrast to how I used to think in the 90s (which was that anything from the 80s felt very dated). Go figure.

Anyway, this now means that I only have another one to find ('You') and possibly a live LP which I am less bothered about.

Blood Pact

Here's another release from last year that I only got around to spending some time with this year. This is a 7" by Urban Sprawl, who previously had a 7" come out on Rev about four years ago. Back then I wasn't massively impressed by them, but I have ended up returning to them quite a lot over the years. So when I saw a new 7" was out, I decided to check it out.

There were 100 copies on this gold/red vinyl, which I think looks pretty cool and is a nice match to the cover art. The cover is also similar to the Rev 7" on Rev, which I like.

This sounds just like their past material, and I'm happy about that. I was also curious about whether the band is still going, and it turns out that they played in the UK a couple of months ago. As ever, I am completely out of the loop and have no idea what is going on.

Skin Yard

Back at the start of the year I picked up a Skin Yard LP, hot on the heels of picking up their Sub Pop 7". The band features Jack Endino, who produced a lot of classic Sub Pop / Seattle bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Tad, etc. Skin Yard were around from the mid 80s to the early 90s and play 'grunge' that is typical of that era. I have been keeping my eyes open for other records by them, and recently ended up finding a clear vinyl copy of their first LP.

This was put out by C/Z Records, which was another label based in Seattle, and released in 1986. I'm not sure of the pressing information, but for sure the majority of copies were on black vinyl, with this colour being more limited.

I was stoked to pick this up as it's quite hard to find these days, and I figured that their first LP would probably be a bit more raw then the later ones. However, I was slightly disappointed when I played this, as it doesn't quite sound like the other stuff I have heard. After some online research, I came across their bandcamp page, and it has this disclaimer about this record:

This is the first full length released by Skin Yard and is the the version of the band when Matt Cameron was their drummer. This record is notably different from all of the subsequent records that Skin Yard recorded and released: It is much "artier" and more cerebral than their other records.

So at least it's not my imagination. But of course, in my own typical way, I decided to stick with this as I often grow to like what is acknowledged to be the worst release by any band I like. And I'm now starting to dig it. It reminds me a little bit of early Faith No More in places, a bit like the mellower Bad Brains songs, and and also a bit like the band Outface who had a record on Rev's sister label Crisis many years ago. It's maybe not what I'd usually go for, although I seem to be saying that so much these days that I should probably acknowledge that I pretty much like everything now.

Exit English

Another one of my new(ish) collections that I started these past couple of years is Strike Anywhere LPs. I had one from back around the turn of the century when it came out, and even though I played it a bit and liked it, I never really felt hugely into the band. Well, I picked up two more LPs in the last couple of years for $10 each when on trips to the States, so I then decided I'd go after the others I hadn't heard. Recently I found a white vinyl copy of their second album, 'Exit English', which was released by Jade Tree Records back in 2003.

As far as I can tell, there were two colours of vinyl for the first press, being white and yellow. This fits with my memory of the period, when Jade Tree would generally do two different colours of vinyl for each release. Of course, additional colours have been pressed in the years since, but this is definitely a copy from the first pressing.

I stil wouldn't say I am hugely up on this band, but I get the feeling that this is regarded as their best record, and even though I'm new to it, I can see why. It sounds a bit more polished than their first LP but withuot sounding too clean. A great record for sure, and this definitely makes me want to hurry up and find the other two records of theirs that I am now missing.

Cannonball

Back on 17 October 2025 I placed an order for the latest Youngblood Records release. I think it was originally supposed to ship in March or April. But after almost forgetting about this record completely, it turned up at my door a couple of weeks ago on 20 August 2026. That's 307 days from order to delivery. Apparently there was a pressing plant delay. Whatever.

When the pre-order launched, most copies seemed to sell out in a couple of hours or so. At least, that's how I remember it. I ended up picking up one of the copies sold by the band directly on red with black splatter, which is apparently limited to 100 copies. I'm not a big fan of splatter, but this colour does kinda sit well with the artwork I think so I'm ok with it.

The band are from the UK and members hail from both Sheffield and Liverpool. I read a short article in which they say that their favourite era for hardcore is Lockin' Out bands from the early 00s like Righteous Jams, Mental, The Wrong Side, Rampage etc. I can hear that influence in this record for sure. The band is uncompromisingly straight edge, and this record hits like a whirlwind. There are eight songs which are done and dusted in just over 10 minutes, which does feel very short even by hardcore standards. Still, I'd rather it be over quick than too long and boring, and there's no chance of that here. Overall, a fun listen. The kids are doing alright.

The Sky Is Falling And The Missing Neighbours

Did you ever completely ignore a record and make a conscious decision not to listen to it, only to then change your mind 35 or so years later?

Back around 1992 or so I ordered a few things from Alternative Tentacles Back then they had an office in London over here in the UK, and I ordered a few t-shirts and a couple of records. I was into Dead Kennedys, Lard and Tumor Circus. Yup, all the Jello Biafra bands. Except for some reason I was not remotely interested in the records that he did with Nomeansno or D.O.A. and as at right now, I don't really know why.

Well, a few weeks ago I stumbled across the Jello with D.O.A. LP on ebay UK, and the text description said that the seller would throw in the Jello with Nomeansno LP for free. It wasn't the best listing, so I figured I could have a good chance at getting the two for a good price. And yes, I won the two for roughly the price that one of them would usually sell for.

'Last Scream Of The Missing Neighbours' was released in 1990. It contains six songs, of which the first five are about 3 minutes each, and the final song is nearly 14 minutes and takes up one side of the record. This copy is one of the UK pressing copies with a UK address on the sleeve.

'The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy' is the title of the LP that Jello recorded with Nomeansno which came out a year after the LP with D.O.A.

This is also a UK pressing. I'd rather have US pressings of each, but these will do for now.

God only knows why I avoided these records for so long. Both are really good, and even though I hadn't heard either of them until recently, listening to these feels very nostalgic, reminding me of the early 90s when I used to listen to Dead Kennedys, Lard and Tumor Circus a hell of a lot. I definitely prefer the D.O.A. LP of the two, but both are fun listens, even if I am 35 years or so too late.

Little Kings

This is the third post in a row in a mini series of old Epitaph Records releases that I have stumbled on in recent weeks.

I was running down an Epitaph discography that I found online, and I was particularly curious abuot earlier releases. Turns out that they didn't actually release too much in the 80s. Seems that they put out mainly Bad Religion and a few psychdelic records. But the one that stood out for me was the 'Head First' LP by Little Kings. It was the 9th release on Epitaph, put out in 1989, with the band being described as a garage punk band from Los Angeles, California. With a copy for sale in the UK for £5, I figured I'd give it a go.

I really like the photo on the back cover. It just screams 1980s, and helps to date the record perfectly.

I was going to say that this is not the usual kind of thing that I would listen to, but these days that's probably not true. But even though this is described as 'garage punk', it just sounds like kinda typical 80s rock n roll to me. Not bad at all. Just not something I would have guessed in a million yers was on Epitaph.

Pablum

My last post asw about the band Coffin Break, and I mentioned that after recent discovering two of their albums released in the early 90s by Epitaph Records, I decided to look at the label's discography to see what else they had put out that I had never heard of.

One name immediately stood out and jogged my memory as I remembered hearing of Claw Hammer back in the early 90s. I'm pretty sure that they had a song appear on an episode of the 411 Skate Video Magazine. So out of curiosity I checked a song out online and was instantly nodding my head and thinking how damn catchy it was. Next stop was discogs where I found a sealed copy for sale in the UK for £7.50. It's almost as if it was put there just for me.

The band was from Long Beach, California and active between 1987 and 2000. Their bio on discogs describes them as 'a U.S. avant blues rock group'. That's not really a genre I am overly familiar with, and not something that I would really be too motivated to check out. However, this is a really interesting record, mainly because it sounds just so different to anything, largely due to the vocal. The singer sounds like the chracter 'Zed' from 'Police Academy' films trying to sing like Axl Rose. Sounds weird right? And yes, it is. But also strangely addictive. Check out the song 'Vigil Smile' if you're remotely curious.

Coffin Break

Another Sub Pop 7" that I was missing was the Coffin Break 7". It's not really that hard to find, but I knew I wanted a colour vinyl copy and I just had to wait for one to pop up in the UK for a reasonable price. Eventually it happened. This is SP85 and came out in September 1990.

Despite this being on SubPop, this isn't grunge. The band are described on discogs as 'hardcore punk', and on their bandcamp page as 'metal/punk'. Whatever it is, this was one of those records where it was an instant hit after one play and I wanted more. I immediately hit up the internet and quickly found two full length LPs for sale in the UK for only £10 each, so I grabbed both.

Both records are later releases. Also, both are on Epitaph Records. As we all know, a lot of bands on Epitaph became very popular over time. Coffin Break are one of the exceptions. I mean, of course they were relatively popular, but less so than other Epitaph bands of the same era (Bad Religion, NOFX, Rancid, The Offspring, Pennywise etc.).

'Crawl' is their third LP, and was released in 1991. A lot of this record is what I would call 'melodic punk', which is more in line with what I'd expect on Epitaph. Regardless of what you might call it, this is my favourite record at the moment.

'Thirteen' is the fourth LP, released in 1992. So far I'm less into this one, although it may be because I haven't listened to this one as much yet.

There are two albums that came before these two that I now really want, but sadly they aren't readily available at a decent price. So onto the wants list they go.

This made me curious about what other less known bands / records Epitaph may have put out. More on that in the next post...

A Couple More Sub Pop 7"s

I'm slowly continuing with my Sub Pop collection. Still regularly searching for the things I want. Recently I found a couple of different colours I was missing of a couple of 7"s I already have. Nothing overly rare or exciting.

First up, a clear red vinyl copy of the Afghan Whigs 'Conjure Me' 7" (Sub Pop 142). This is my fourth copy of this one, and there are two more I still need after this.

The other one is a green vinyl copy of the 'Deeper Road / R.K.' 7" by Rein Sanction (Sub Pop 160). This is my second copy of this one, and there's only one more to find.

Note to self - I need to put together a want list of all the Sub Pop 7"s that I am missing that I want. It's easy to lose track otherwise.

Mirrorless

Even though 2026 is almost two thirds done, I'm still chasing records for 2025 releases that I didn't manage to pick up in the year for various reasons. In my end of 2025 post on here, there were a total of 11 records that I was lacking vinyl copies of. I have managed to pick some of those up this year, although there are still four more to go. But here's the seventh one that I have managed to acquire, and it's one that I feel has flown way under the radar to this point.

The record is the self-titled, six song 12" by Mirrorless. I was immediately interested to hear this when I heard about it, as the band features people from some great 90s & 00s Louisville bands, most notably Chris Higdon who used to sing for Falling Forward, Elliott and Frontier(s).

I could have picked one of these up quite easily last year but decided against it as I didn't want this vinyl colour. But in the last twelve months or so I changed my mind. Even though I'm not really a fan of these splatttery colours, in the end it occurre to me that this colour is by far the best match to the coer art, and therefore for that reason I figured it would be the right choice.

Also, I like that the sleeve has some cut out bits, so part of the cover art is effectively bits of the inner sleeve which are exposed. The exact same style was used on the first Elliott LP and the first Elliott 7". I love these kind of things and noticing them, and wondering if anyone else has. Details for the nerds.

WHilst I don't think this is as good as Falling Forward or Elliott, it's still a good record, and I'm really glad to see Chris still making new music. Sonically this sits closer to some Falling Forward songs than anything by Elliott, as most of the songs are quite fast and hard and the vocal sounds close to screaming in places. Overall a great record and I really hope that this isn't just a one off.