https://sicko.bandcamp.com/album/laugh-while-you-can-monkey-boy-remastered
Friday, November 22, 2024
Sicko - Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy - Green Vinyl (/250) & Green w/ Black and Yellow Splatter Vinyl (/250)
https://sicko.bandcamp.com/album/laugh-while-you-can-monkey-boy-remastered
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Saafir - Boxcar Sessions 2xLP
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nF_92fKa1mZnO-YO4kHnbOg0UeA8AZFGo
Monday, November 18, 2024
Pinhead Gunpowder - Unt LP - Yellow w/ Red and Teal Splatter Vinyl (/1000)
1-2-3-4 Go! (2024)
I certainly wasn't expecting a new Pinhead Gunpowder album as 2024 started wrapping up, but here we are with Unt. Yes, Unt. I've read more than a few 'hot takes' on this album in the last few weeks since it has been released and there are definitely people with opinions. Shocking for the internet, but true. I do realize that by writing this I am adding to it, but I'm not sure my take is as hot as most others.
What it boils down to is that I like this record. It's fun to listen to and it has good songs on it, for the most part. Is every song on it a smash hit? No, but there's much more to like about this album than to dislike about it, I think. It starts off particularly strong with "Unt," "Difficult But Not Impossible" and "Scum of the Earth" being particularly strong. Maybe I don't like songs like "Oh My" or "Green" quite as much. And while I can understand the sentiment behind "Hola Canada," it's a pretty goofy song.
I lot of what I've seen is from people saying that this album isn't as punk or aggressive or angsty as their albums from 20-20 years ago. That's true. But I'm also not as punk or aggressive as I was 30 years ago either. It feels like a record aimed at someone a little older, like me. And for that reasons I can relate to it more as a new album that's being release now as opposed to something being released purely to try to drum up feelings of nostalgia. I have plenty of records from that era that make me feel nostalgic, I'm perfectly happy with a new record that's just fun to listen to with 2024 ears.
Pinhead Gunpowder - Unt:
https://pinheadgunpowder.bandcamp.com/album/unt
Friday, November 15, 2024
Sicko - You Can Feel The Love In This Room - Red Vinyl (/250) & Red w/ Black and White Splatter Vinyl (/250)
Top Drawer (2024, Reissue)
In the 90s, Sicko was part of my holy trinity of pop punk bands. The Mr. T Experience, Zoinks and Sicko were always the ones that I was constantly obsessing over. I spent so much time in a pre-Discogs world hunting down records by them. The fact that so many are now available with the simple click of a mouse is as exciting as it is unfair.
30 years after their first full length was released, Sicko is reissuing all of their albums on vinyl and CD. These boys have put out some really important records to me and over the next four Fridays (fingers crossed that I can stay on schedule) I'm going to be writing about each of them. Maybe not on Black Friday, but we'll see how that goes.
First up is the first Sicko full length. You Can Feel The Love In This Room was originally released in 1994 and I was completely unaware that it came out. My entry point to Sicko was their next album Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy, but we'll talk more about that next week. I had to backtrack and pick up You Can Feel The Love In This Room a year after the fact. I think for that reason I honestly never really bonded with it as strongly as the others, which always felt more 'current' to me. It's kind of absurd to say that about a record that came out 30 years ago vs. the next one that came out 29 years ago, but again, during the time it felt different to me than the other three.
That's certainly not to say I don't thoroughly enjoy this record and I've listed to it more times than I can count. Just not quite as many times as the others. It is jam packed full of hits and it's really hard to argue how great songs like "The Sprinkler" or "Wisdom Tooth Weekend" are. The times I've seen Sicko live, these songs sound just as great as the ones off of other albums that I have a bit more nostalgic feelings for.
Before I talk a little bit about this specific reissue, I do need to call out how absolutely, completely fucking insane it is that all four albums were rereleased AT THE SAME TIME. That is madness and while as a fan it's sure nice to get them all without having to wait, just thinking about the logistics of making that happen makes my head hurt.
You Can Feel The Love In This Room was remastered for this rerelease and you can tell the difference. I played the first few songs off of my original LP that came out on eMpTy before putting this new version on and it's a big improvement. First off, everything is a little bit louder and a little bit fuller sounding, but where this reissue really shines for me is how much better the vocals sound. They're a little more forward and it sounds great.
There are also two bonus tracks on here, "Pain in the Ass" from their first demo and "Kathy's Dance" from the Count Me Out 7". Where are the other songs from those releases? Who knows. Maybe we're going to get a fancy pants reissue of A Brief History... one day. Rather than have both songs at the end, "Pain In The Ass" is at the end of side A of the record, which is a little jarring as I'm not used to that song being their when I've listened to the record for the past 29 years.
This is the best that this record has ever sounded and even though I already had the original LP and CD, of course I needed to have both versions of the new vinyl. Here they are, in all of their glory. I may be in the minority (as I do understand that the splatter is probably more impressive looking), but I think the solid color is the winner here, it just looks the business to me.
Sicko - You Can Feel The Love In This Room:
https://sicko.bandcamp.com/music (I have been assured that the remastered versions are coming to Bandcamp imminently)
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Souls Of Mischief – 93 'Til Infinity (The Remixes) 2xLP
Monday, November 11, 2024
Lync / Pedro The Lion - Split 7" - Blue Vinyl (/300)
Suicide Squeeze (2024)
This is an odd little release. It's a split 7" with Lync and Pedro The Lion on each side playing the Lync song "b." This version is on blue vinyl and was limited to 300 copies. There's also a purple vinyl version, but I haven't seen that for sale online anywhere, though admittedly, I haven't really looked all that hard as I'm not sure I need another copy of this. Though the Lync collector in my head often disagrees.
The original Lync version of this is from 1994's These Are Not Fall Colors album. It's probably my favorite by Lync, which is saying something considering how much I love pretty much all of their songs. It's the one that grabbed me by the ears in 1994 and never let go, fully establishing that Lync wasn't 'a band with those guys on the Beck album.' Which was, of course, how I stumbled across them in '94. I can't ever say enough good things about this song, this album and this band. Sam Jayne forever.
On the flip is a newly recorded version of this song by Pedro The Lion. I've never really been a fan, their records have always been a little too slow and sleepy for me. Their take on "b" doesn't really do anything to change my opinion. It's a solo acoustic take that is so slow and has such low, deep vocals that I thought I was playing it on the wrong speed. To call it a melancholy take would be doing a disservice to melancholy things as it's just borderline depressing. If this means that more folks get to hear the Lync version of the song, then this 7" is a worthwhile endeavor. But for me, I don't really need a slower, sadder version of one of the great indie rock songs of all time.
Lync / Pedro The Lion - Split 7":
https://lync1994.bandcamp.com/album/b-2