DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (Bad Religion, Descendents, Unwritten Law, Mustard Plug & More!)

November 17, 2024 | 1:00 pm

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by Punk Rock Radar:

Bad Religion is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Stranger Than Fiction with a colored vinyl reissue, and compared to most reissues they’re showing a lot of restraint limiting this to just 2 color variants. The Infected Splatter variant is clear w/ red, black and grey splatter and the 21st Century Splatter one is white w/ transparent purple, white, black and silver splatter. Both are limited to 1,000 copies and you can get them here.

The ALL / Descendents split live album Live Plus One has been released on vinyl for the first time, 23 years after its original release on the once-beloved compact disc format (which, for the record) is still beloved by yours truly). Epitaph pressed two variants of this double LP: Sky blue w/ yellow splatter (1,500 copies) and Green / Blue (500 copies). The second one’s already sold out; you can still get the splatter variant right here.

Unwritten Law’s Elva joins the “early 2000s records getting reissued” club with a yuge 5 color variant drop. These are super limited and have already sold out for the most part; you can still get the “Babalon” from Smartpunk, but their exclusive “Evolution” (ruby & blue w/ yellow & black splatter) and “Hellborn” (yellow / magenta / black swirl) are long gone. The Alternative Press exclusive milky clear w/ orange splatter variant limited to 200 copies has also sold out, and from what I can tell Parting Gift Records’ webstore is closed so even if you wanted to buy their exclusive “Seein’ Red” variant you’re SOL. Quite the conundrum!

Though Fat Wreck Chords hasn’t officially announced it themselves, they will be doing a 25th anniversary reissue of Cigar’s 1999 cult skate punk classic Speed is Relative. If you’re impatient you can pre-order it on black vinyl from Amazon and various online record stores such as Skeletunes. If you’re patient, hold out for the inevitable color variant(s) to come from Fat Wreck direct. Street date looks like December 13th.

Ska-punk legends Mustard Plug are following their 2023 album Where Did All My Friends Go? with a new 8-song EP called Hey!. Limited to 300 copies on maroon colored vinyl, this features four brand new songs, their cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room”, and a few other goodies. Get it here and catch the band on tour this winter.

Buffalo’s The Abruptors are another ska band that just put out a new record last year, and they’re staying hot with another full-length record coming next month on Asian Man Records! Everything You Know is Wrong was produced by MU330’s Dan Potthast and features 11 brand new tracks. It’s limited to 600 copies on random colored vinyl and you can get it here.

We’re going three for three with awesome new ska records on the Record Radar, but this ones different (in the best way possible). Keep Flying’s guitarist Dustin created a super cool LoFi version of the band’s Daylight EP. Check it out below 👇 and get one of the 100 copies they pressed on vinyl from their merch store.

SoCal melodic punk band Dogwood’s 1997 album Through Thick & Thin is getting its first-ever vinyl release thanks to People of Punk Rock Records. You can get it on three color variants – gold, orchid, and gold / orchid split – as well as CD right here.

Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg is releasing… something? It’s a record! Exactly what’s on that record? No fuckin clue. There’s no tracklist or anything on the product page, just the promise of a “New studio album by MARKY RAMONE with his band MARKY RAMONE’S BLITZKRIEG, in which he covers all-time classics in the Ramone style”. Limited to an unknown # of copies on 180g transparent vinyl. Get it here. And before you get sticker shock, the price is in Argentinian Pesos, not USD 😉

Ramones disciples the Huntingtons’ 1998 album High School Rock is back in print once again thanks to Hey Suburbia Records. They pressed 500 copies on this beautiful yellow w/ blue splatter color variant and you can get it right here.

Slam Dunk Festival is doing something pretty cool this year and releasing exclusive color variants of records by bands who are playing the fest in 2025. The latest to join the club is this 20th anniversary Dropkick Murphys’ The Warrior’s Code reissue on green and white pinwheel colored vinyl, which you can get right here. One of the previously announced exclusives that I missed somehow is this bad ass Sum 41 Heaven :x: Hell splatter color variant.

Our friends at Thousand Islands Records are keeping their eternal hot streak alive, adding Massachusetts melodic punk band Oh the Humanity!’s new album Ground to Dust to their list of bad ass upcoming releases. Check out the brand new single “Gutted” down there 👇 and pre-order the record on translucent blue colored vinyl here and/or “black ice” wax from Sell the Heart Records (US) and Engineer Records (UK).

And we’ll put a bow on this week’s Record Radar in an unconventional manner: with a cassette release! The good people at Tapehead City scored a big time exclusive with this 25th Anniversary reissue of The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused. This is limited to 1,000 copies on an awesome looking UV printed (I had to look up what that means and I’m still not sure) cassette. Dust off your Walkman and pick up a copy from Tapehead City. They did a reissue of Operation Ivy’s Energy a few months ago; I recommend picking that up, too!

Well, that’s all, folks. Another Record Radar in the books. Short one this week! As always, thank you for tuning in. If there’s anything we missed (highly likely), or if you want to let everyone know about a new/upcoming vinyl release you’re excited about, leave us a comment below, or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, and we’ll look into it. Enjoy your weekend, and don’t blow too much money on spinny discs (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next time!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

by Staff Writer Screeching Bottlerocket

Tags:

Post a Comment Cancel reply

DS Staff Picks: Karina’s Top Ten of ’22

December 31, 2022 | 10:58 am

Hey, fam! Let me give you a quick introduction to myself. I’m Karina and the newest addition to our little, but growing Dying Scene family. I’m the one that spams our newsfeed with bands, festivals, and more stuff to come from the Danish scene.
But to give you a better insight into my music taste, you’ll find a bit of everything and often my music taste is based on my mood and what I catch myself listening to continue throughout the year. You’ll find a bit of hardcore, some indie rock, a little bit of bubblegum-infused pop-punk, and a ton of punk either way. So, on the off chance you read this list, I hope you take your time to listen to all ten bands.

# 10 The Flatliners – New Ruin

I’ve had a weakness for The Flatliners since I can even remember, and this album is really great. Like many of their previous ones. But since it’s on everybody’s list? What more can I say except, They are playing at Manchester Punk Festival in April.

Top songs to listen to: It’ll Hurt, Big Strum, Heirloom and Oath.

# 9 NEXØ – False Flag

This band is what happens when you’re angry and you know how to make good music. Having had the year of their lives, being supporting acts for Anti-Flag AND Dead Kennedy’s when they visited Denmark. This band isn’t one to ignore, so do yourself a favor and deep dive into their music. You’ll only regret not adding them to a “Get Hyped” playlist.

Top songs to listen to: Truthicide, Anger, The Kids Aren’t Alright and 404

# 8 The Wonder Years – The Hum Goes On Forever

Holy smokes, this album had me in tears from the first track. For some, it’s been a rough year and that includes myself. So this album came at a perfect time in my life, and the emotions that I needed to face this year, were only pushed to the surface thanks to this album. Being a mother of two amazing kids, ‘Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)’ has a very special place in our home and a song the three of us often put on to dance to.

Top songs to listen to: Wyatt’s Song (Your Name), Oldest Daughter, Cardinals II and You’re the Reason I Don’t Want The World to End

# 7 Martha – Please Don’t Take Me Back

If Martha hasn’t made it to your ears, you and I haven’t spoken enough. This album is GREAT. The power pop infused sound to this album, makes it’s so catchy and I am not even talking about the lyrics. The melody’s on each song, will having you humming them to yourself when you’re a bit bored.

Top songs to listen to: Beat, Perpetual, Baby, Does Your Heart Sink, I Didn’t Come Here To Surrender and You Can’t Have a Good Time All of the Time.

# 6 Slowly Slowly – Daisy Chain

Is this punk? No, it is not. It’s indie and welcome to my playlist. Slowly Slowly took me by storm back in July, but not without effort in 2021 when I heard their previous album and was a bit to fast to dismiss them by saying “I need something a bit more faster and angrier”. So what has changed? Everything. But this album has been holding me hostage since it was released and every chance I get I’ll talk about it. If you’re looking for cool music with amazing lyricsm, this is for you and your bottle of wine, if you’re anything like me.

Top songs to listen to: Blueprrint, Nothing On, God and Papier-Mâché

# 5 PUP – THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND

Do I think that anything PUP releases is a flawless? Hard yes. Even though this album has a direction change, I still love it and everything about it. From writing a song about a guitar (Matilda) to their cool music videos. PUP put on one of the best concerts I had been to this year and they deserve the award for the most sweetest Canadians ever. I need friends that enjoy these guys, so we can get trashed together.

Top songs to listen to: Totally Fine, Waiting, PUPTHEBAND Inc. Is Filing For Bankruptcy and Grim Reaping

# 4 Forever Unclean – Best

Probably the cutest band Denmark has to offer, this is a band where you want to take everyone of them home and feed them cookies and ask them a million questions about how they are doing. Jokes aside, these guys decided to pull a fast one on us and release this album while we all were hungover or still trashed from New Years Eve. Yes, this album was released 1/1/22 and nearly a year later, this album is still highly ranked on my list. I did a review for DS a few weeks (months?) back, but they are playing at Nasty Cut Records Fest in Copenhagen in May, if anyone needs a vacation.

Top songs to listen to: Dream, Mandy, Kold and Smile

# 3 The Chats – GET FUCKED

Another band all the way from the down under, The Chats returned with GET FUCKED. Again keeping it real with their songs, and making it to my “I don’t have time for anything but listen to this” playlist and continually seem to make me come back to the album. And I’m not the only one feeling this band. Even children’s favorite band The Wiggles (HI GUYS, I STILL LOVE YOU. THANK YOU FOR SHAPING MY PAINFUL CHILDHOOD), covered The Chats at Falls Festival in Australia. I love it.

Top songs to listen to: Panic Attack, The Price Of Smokes, Dead On Site and I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane

# 2 Cigar – The Visitor

We are nearly done with the list and it wouldn’t have been a proper list without remembering to add Cigar. My mad crush on this band started for many years ago and I always wondered if they’d be back AND THEY CAME BACK. I wouldn’t be lying if I said that this album was played nonstop for three weeks. And after those three weeks were up, my children could even sing along (or try) to their songs. Between this album and my number one, I felt very conflicted and torn about having to decide which one it would be. But this album slaps and I love it.

Top songs to listen to: Move On, Classic You, Forget You and We Used To

# 1 Sarchasm – Conditional Love

It probably comes as no surprise that this is my number one choice, if you’ve read my review. Having been a fan for ten years, and making this album their final one. Lyric wise this album hits you like a train and I did finally come to terms with a lot of things ending thanks to this album. It’s a beautiful album to end twelve years of great music on and for me, closing a chapter on my life. And also, special shout out to Sarchasm for making my boyfriend feel attacked with ‘Therapist’.

Top songs to listen to: 1227, Sertraline Daydream, Conditional Love, Therapist

Here’s some Honorable mentions:

11. Sic Waiting – “A Fine Hill To Die On”
12. Petrol Girls – “Baby”
13. Pulley – “The Golden Life”
14. No Trigger – “Dr. Album”
15. Cold Years – “Goodbye to Misery”
16. Too Bad Eugene – “Distance”
17. Straightline – “Keep Your Cool”
18. Venerea – “Euro Trash”
19. Old Wives – “Mega Low Manic”
20. Counterpunch – “Rewire”
21. Handheld – “A Candian Tragedy”
22. No Fun at All – “Seventh Wave”
23. Wasting Time – “One More Time Without Feeling”
24. The Interrupters – “In The Wild”
25. A Wilhelm Scream – “Lose Your Delusion”

by Staff Writer Karina Rae Selvig

Tags:

cigar Punk punk rock sarchasm staff picks

Post a Comment Cancel reply

DS Staff Picks: Dylan’s Top 10 Albums Of 2022

December 3, 2022 | 5:44 pm

Hello, friends! My name’s Dylan, but you might know me better as “Screeching Bottlerocket”. I write stuff for Dying Scene. I also write snide replies to your comments on our Facebook page. For some reason you’re supposed to care what my favorite albums released this year are (at least I think that’s why you clicked […]

#10 Cigar – The Visitor

Remember how Duke Nukem Forever took like 20 fucking years to come out? This album’s kinda like that, except it doesn’t blow complete ass like Duke Nukem Forever. Cigar released their debut album Speed is Relative in 1999 and kinda just peaced out. Then they came back and released some demos of new songs… and kinda peaced out again. Then they signed to Fat, and we finally got this skate punk beast. They haven’t lost a step. This is a great record. For more eloquent analysis, read my full review here.

#9 No Quarter – Fear and Loathing on the Pacific Highway

One of my favorite things about the revival of Dying Scene has been seeking out lesser known bands and, in turn, discovering some great albums nobody’s talking about. No Quarter‘s Fear and Loathing on the Pacific Highway is one of those albums. These Australians don’t fuck around. If you’ve got a hankering for fast, melodic, no frills skate punk, listen to this. “Long Distance” is the best song.

#8 Friends With the Enemy – Divide & Conquer

Two Australian bands. Band to back. What’s going on down under? Those Aussies make some great music! I like this Friends With the Enemy album a lot. These guys (and girl) have been around a long time, but this is by far the best thing they’ve ever done. I’m a sucker for riffy melodic punk, and that’s exactly what Divide & Conquer delivers. I reviewed this album, too, so you can read that here if you’d like.

#7 OFF! – Free LSD

Look, it’s another album I reviewed! Are you seeing a pattern here? Anywho… OFF! makes their triumphant return after eight years without releasing a new album. Keith Morris is one of the best do ever do it, folks. Their new drummer Justin Brown is pretty fucking awesome, too. This is OFF!’s best record.

#6 The Flatliners – New Ruin

After years of being a hardass about not listening to The Flatliners‘ non-ska output, I finally decided to give them a shot with New Ruin. And you know what? It’s a great album! I also went back and listened to Inviting Light, and you know what? That’s a great album, too! I’m usually not a fan of slower shit, but I’ll make an exception here. And on an unrelated note, I think New Ruin‘s cover art is really cool. Kinda reminds me of Insomniac.

#5 Pulley – The Golden Life

Pulley has never released a bad album, and The Golden Life certainly doesn’t buck that trend. This is the veteran SoCal melodic punk band’s seventh LP, and their first with Sean Sellers of Good Riddance on drums. It’s not radically different from their previous output, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Pulley still kicks ass! (oh yeah, I reviewed this album by way).

#4 Screeching Weasel – The Awful Disclosures of Screeching Weasel

In case my username isn’t a dead giveaway, Screeching Weasel is one of my all-time favorite bands. The Awful Disclosures of Screeching Weasel sounds a lot like First World Manifesto and Some Freaks of Atavism. And that’s a very good thing, because I love those records. I enjoy this album a lot as well. That’s why it’s in my Top 5 (and also why I gave it quite the positive review).

#3 The Manges – Book of Hate for Good People

Alright, folks! We’re in the Top 3. No more fucking around. On the cusp of their 30th anniversary, Italian pop-punk mainstays The Manges released their best album ever. Book of Hate for Good People is a near perfect pop-punk record. “Lucky Tiger”, “Back to Bangkok”, “High On Stress”, “The Hate Parade”, “I’m Not A Sissy”, “Red Flags”… all bangers. If you have not listened to this, you’re a god damn idiot. Read my fuckin’ review, too, while you’re at it.

#2 The Windowsill – Focus

I thought I had my Top 10 list locked in about a month ago, then I found out The Windowsill had a new album coming out in December and I knew my list was about to be blown up. My fears were confirmed when I hit play on Focus for the first time. Dear lord, this album is incredible! I’ve listened to it at least once a day since it came out. This album deserves to be on a lot of Top 10 lists. Did I mention that I reviewed it? Because I did.

#1 No Fun At All – Seventh Wave

No Fun At All is one of the greatest skate punk bands of all time, in my opinion. Seventh Wave is the band’s seventh full-length album, and I think it’s one of their best. This is right up there with their 90’s output, rivaling classic records like Out of Bounds and The Big Knockover. NFAA never disappoints. Seventh Wave is easily my favorite album of 2022.

READ MY REVIEW!!!

Honorable Mentions

Rehasher – Open Roads (single)

In case you didn’t already know, Less Than Jake‘s Roger Lima has a killer side project called Rehasher. They came through with a new single in the 11th hour of 2022. “Open Roads” is excellent. Shit sounds like Motorhead gone skate punk. How bout a new ‘Hasher record in 2023, Roger?

Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!

I like Megadeth. This is a pretty good Megadeth album. I think Anthony Fantano gave it a bad review, but fuck that guy. Long live MegaDave!

Florida Men – Self-Titled

What’s that? You thought I was done plugging my album reviews? Think again, motherfucker! I thoroughly enjoyed Dutch pop-punk band Florida Men‘s self-titled debut album, and gave it a glowing review. Perhaps you, too, will enjoy it.

Handheld – A Canadian Tragedy

2022 saw Canadian skate punks Handheld making a triumphant return with their first new album in 14 years. I had actually never heard of these guys before, but when I saw they were on Thousand Islands Records, I knew A Canadian Tragedy would probably be a good record. I was right!

The Bruce Lee Band – One Step Forward. Two Steps Back.

Mike Park does it again! The latest album from the revived Bruce Lee Band also features Jeff Rosentstock, MU330‘s Dan Potthast, and former Chinkees drummer Kevin Higuchi. Best ska record of 2022 right here.

I REVIEWED THIS ALBUM 🙂

Thanks for reading all that bullshit. Here’s a neat little Spotify playlist with a song from each of these albums!

by Staff Writer Screeching Bottlerocket

Tags:

bruce lee band cigar Florida Men friends with the enemy handheld

Post a Comment Cancel reply

Album Review: Cigar – “The Visitor”

September 9, 2022 | 11:37 am

Remember that time your dad went to the grocery store to get milk and never came back? That’s the exact heartbreak us skate punk fans have felt since Cigar released Speed is Relative 23 years ago and disappeared into the ether shortly thereafter. Good news! Dad’s back, and he got the milk! Or, in this […]

Remember that time your dad went to the grocery store to get milk and never came back? That’s the exact heartbreak us skate punk fans have felt since Cigar released Speed is Relative 23 years ago and disappeared into the ether shortly thereafter. Good news! Dad’s back, and he got the milk! Or, in this case, Cigar’s back and they’ve got an awesome new record.

The wait was long, but it was worth it. With their Fat Wreck Chords debut The Visitor, Cigar picks up right where they left off on Speed is Relative. This record delivers more of the crazy fast, ultra melodic punk that earned the band’s 1999 debut its deserved status as a cult classic among skate punk diehards. Actually, I think this record might even be faster than the first one! Yes, two decades have passed, but these guys have defeated Father Time. They still have the same youthful energy that originally drew me to their music; I’m confident it will win many new listeners over as well.

Cigar wastes no time getting out of the gate, as “These Chances” kicks off The Visitor at a breakneck pace, and immediately rolls into the equally speedy “Legacy of the 7 Piles”. Right off the bat, drummer Jon Sortland is firing off like a fucking machine gun on drums; seriously, this guy is a lunatic. New bassist Jonathan Hischke shows off his chops with riffs that will make your fingers bleed just listening to them. Frontman Rami Krayem turns in a great performance once again, with some creative guitar parts and equally impressive vocal range.

I loved the album’s lead single “We Used To” when I first heard it a few months ago, and that’s still the case. This song has “instant classic” written all over it. But when trying to pick a favorite track, it’s a complete toss up for me. There are no stinkers to be found here. “Gone Wrong”, “Classic You”, “Forget About Me”, and basically everything else on this record is on par with the fan favorites of Speed is Relative.

The Visitor‘s closing track “Knocked Down” is introduced with an a cappella intro, and for a brief moment in time, you get the impression that Cigar might actually slow down. But this glimpse into a seemingly softer side of the band is short-lived. They quickly hit the gas, opening up the circle pit one more time with a rapid fire skate punk anthem to rival “Mr. Hurtado”.If you like punk rock fast enough to set a land speed record, The Visitor is the record for you. With any luck, Cigar won’t keep us waiting another 23 years for the next one!

Buy The Visitor
Physical / Digital

by Staff Writer Screeching Bottlerocket

Tags:

cigar Fat Wreck Chords skate punk socal speed is relative