DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (The Offspring “Smash” 30th Anniversary, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, new Sludgeworth 7″ & More!)

Up first this week we have the new album from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes ¡Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceanera!. In addition to being the band’s first album in a decade, this is also the first record to feature Strung Out’s Jake Kiley on guitar and CJ Ramone on bass. And like most Fat Wreck releases lately, the colored vinyl already sold out before this week’s Record Radar could go live, which is truly unfortunate. You can still get it on black wax and/or compact disc (otherwise known as CD by those in the trade) here in the US, here in Europe, and here in Australia.

The Offspring’s Smash turns 30 this year and though it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get a reissue with bonus content or anything, the record has gotten repressed on some new colors. So far two variants have been announced: the pearl variant, which is already sold out on the band’s webstore, and the green variant, which is limited to 300 copies and available exclusively at the Punk Rock Museum in Vegas. There’s also the previously announced Record Store Day Essentials “milky clear” color variant that you can get from your local record store, or here.

The MxPx marketing machine thought fast and capitalized on the very short-lived solar eclipse hype. One of many variants of the band’s new album Find a Way Home came with alternate cover art in a die cut jacket showing the printed inner sleeve; you could flip it to show the sun (or maybe it’s an asteroid, idk) or the moon through the cutout. Well they took that same color variant and swapped out the inner sleeve with one that has some solar eclipse art, so that’s cool I guess. You can buy it here if you’d like.

In other MxPx-related vinyl news, some new color variants of the 2018 self-titled album recently popped up on the band’s merch store as well. I’m not sure how limited they are, but can get the record on “Let’s Ride Red” and “The Way We Do Blue” right here. And one last thing before I move on, if anyone involved in the operation of the MxPx Merch Arsenal happens to reading this, you fuckers need to re-enable Media Mail as a shipping option because there’s no way in fuck I’m paying you $14 to ship a single record with USPS Ground Advantage. Sweet Christ.

The friendly people at Mom’s Basement Records are releasing The Young Hasselhoffs‘ The Obsolete Man on vinyl for the very first time, 13 years after its original CD release. This is limited to 50 copies on clear w/ black splatter, 100 copies on white marble, and 100 copies on white w/ black splatter colored vinyl. You can get all three here.

Screeching Weasel side project turned Chicago punk cult favorites Sludgeworth reunited in 2022 and in 2024 they’re releasing their first new music in over 30 years. The band’s new 7″ features two brand new songs, “Together, Not Together” and “Foundation”, and it’s due out May 17th on Red Scare. Check out a live recording of one of the tracks below and pre-order the 7″ here.

Asbestos Records just put some cool records up on their store, the first of which is this first time vinyl release of 2002’s The Least Worst of the Suicide Machines. Like the Young Hasselhoffs record I talked about earlier, this had only ever been released on CD previously. But now you can get it right here on slime green colored vinyl! (limited to 800 copies), or black wax (limited to 100 copies, exclusive to Asbestos Records Subscription Club members (sign up here)), and white vinyl (ltd. to 100 copies). The last one is supposedly a “Ska Fests Exclusive”, see the Suicide Machines‘ upcoming tour dates here.

Also available from Asbestos Records: Spring Heeled Jack‘s new live album Live from the Legendary Toad’s Place. This was recorded at the band’s 2010 reunion shows at, you guessed it, Toad’s Place in their hometown New Haven, CT. It’s limited to 300 copies on orange colored vinyl and you can get it here. SHJ will be playing some shows to commemorate the record release over the next few weeks; go here to check out the dates.

And last up to bat from Asbestos is Sonic Boom Six’s new compilation album Re:Generation. Unlike the orange variant that was released last month in the UK, this US exclusive purple color variant is a 2xLP with a bunch of bonus tracks on that second LP. Add it to your cart before you check out with those Suicide Machines and Spring Heeled Jack LPs, and catch the band touring the US’ east coast this week.

Samiam‘s 2000 album Astray has been repressed on a few new color variants: Smartpunk Records has it on the very wordily named Red/Coke Bottle Clear/Yellow Tri-Split Vinyl which is limited to 300 copies, Down in the Valley Records has 300 copies on Yellow w/ Red/Orange Splatter, and there’s a plain yellow variant you can get on Hopeless Records webstore and probably in record stores once it releases on June 26th – they pressed 900 copies of that one.

Brooklyn’s Radar (no affiliation with the Dying Scene Record Radar) will be releasing their self-titled debut LP on May 17th via Dead Broke Rekerds. Check out the schweet music video for the lead single “Doesn’t Matter” and pre-order the record here.

Also from Dead Broke Rekereds! Another cassette release infiltrates the Record Radar – this time it’s New England punk band Doc Hopper’s career spanning compilation Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blew. Previously released on a very limited # of CD-ROM, you can now get it on a very limited # of green cassette tapes riiiight here (that # is 100, btw). Speaking of cassettes, if you like collecting punk rock on cassettes, Dead Broke has a lot of other awesome punk rock cassettes. So many, in fact, that they dedicated an entire section of their distro to the format. Very nice!

Death By Stereo’s first two records If Looks Could Kill, I’d Watch You Die and Day of the Death have been repressed. The first one’s available on silver colored vinyl right here; the 2019 repress on purple wax is still in stock, too. The latter is back in print for the first time in almost a decade, with a new glow in the dark green color variant that you can buy with money here.

Los Angeles’ Matamoska have a new record coming May 17th (seems like that’s a popular date to put out a new record) on Bad Time Records. The band’s self-titled LP is limited to 350 copied on “Deep Purple” colored vinyl, which you can get here, and 250 copied on “Highlighter Yellow” colored vinyl, which you’ll be receiving in the mail in a few weeks if you’re a Bad Time Record Club member.

And the last release on this week’s record comes from another LA band; it’s the debut LP from up-and-coming street punk band Dogface Bastards. Pride In My Boots is out now on Casualties guitarist Jake Kolatis’ label Charged Records. Check it out below and get it on vinyl here. You’ve got two variants to choose from – Napalm Bastard Splatter (340 copies) and Boot Stomp Splatter (165 copies). Or you can get both. You have autonomy!