Browse by Label: S.S. RECORDS

Artist:	KRYSMOPOMPAS
Title:	Heute Schlafen - Morgan Aufwachen
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	2LP
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	SS 038LP

"We are proud to announce the vinyl debut of the Berlin-based four-piece Krysmopompas. Not only does their name come from the mysterious terrorist group featured in the German sci fi/trash film Kamikaze 1989 (starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder), but so does their sound. They are influenced by Fassbinder's ideas the writers Rolf-Dieter Brinkmann & Eugene Ionesco, and the music of Neue Deutsche Welle bands such as EA-80, Fehlfarben, and Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, classic Krautrock like Neu and Can, as well as Wire, The Units, and Devo. Since 2004, they've played a number of live shows and released two limited edition CDs - Mitmachen beim Abbauen (2006), followed by Mehr Kilometer pro Leben (2007). We liked the CDs a lot and, when they went instantly out of print, convinced our Berlin buddies to let us put them on vinyl. And so we have Heute Schlafen - Morgan Aufwachen, a double album of neo-NDW sounds. The foundation is a Wire like simplicity but throughout the records you hear all the groups mentioned above. Yann and Felix both take up the vocals, cool German poetically intoned over their post-post sound. We are excited to introduce the world to Krysmopompas. Heute Schlafen - Morgan Aufwachen is a double album. The pressing is 550."

Artist:	OZZIE
Title:	The Parabolic Rock: 1975-1982
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	2LP
Price:	$23.00
Catalog #:	SS 039LP

"It is 1971 in a small town near Santa Cruz, California. Three friends from Sacramento have just polished off a bottle of cheap wine to the sounds of Captain Beefheart's Strictly Personal and wander on to the beach with a couple of harmonica and a guitar. For the next couple of hours, they howl out some Beefheart inspired blues yuck. Thus begins a musical relationship that would become the band Ozzie. From their wine-soused, Magic Band obsessed roots to their art-rock/new wave end some ten years later, Ozzie made some fantastic music. They built up substantial followings in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. They were a Mabuhay Gardens regular, sharing the bill with bands like the Weirdos, The Sleepers, VOM, and the Nuns. In Sacramento, they played with everyone from the Rutabaga Boogie Band and the Talking Heads to the Nerves and the Fleshtones. However like many bands of the time, their limited output (only three 7"s during their lifetime) and difficulty fixing them to one musical subgenre led to their obscurity and ultimately them being forgotten. In the early 90s, S.S. stumbled upon Ozzie's 1977 debut single, Android Love, and flipped. He tracked down one of the band's main members, William Fuller, and struck up a friendship with him. A decade later S.S. tosses Fuller the idea to reissue Android Love single with a different B side. Fuller digs out some reel to reel tapes, an act that starts a multi-year odyssey through the Ozzie archives, recordings and print material spanning from the mid 70s to the early 80s. The proto-punk meets glam wildness what made Android Love (produced by Public Nuisance/Twinkeyz David Houston) such a great song was present in the tapes, but there was more: Massive doses of Blue Oyster Cult inspired hard rock brilliance, Roxy Music glam drama, Sparks-like art, Bomp! Records-worthy power pop, edgy new wave that recalls the Suburban Lawns, and mid-Seventies-style underground rock sounds that thrill any collector of private press obscurities, all with a Keith Moon/Jethro Tull inspired drummer. By the time, S.S. was done digging through the archives, he'd assembled a solid double album worth of unreleased and live material, as well as alternative tracks and a few gems from Ozzie's previously released stuff. Complete with a full history of the band, lots of photos, and archival images The Parabolic Rock: 1975 - 1982 is the definitive document of Sacramento's forgotten band, one worthy of mention with Sacto underground icons Public Nuisance, the Twinkeyz, and Tales of Terror." Gatefold sleeve with 6-page insert.

Artist:	LOW RED CENTER
Title:	Low Red Center
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	10"
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 040LP

"S.S. Records is really happy to release vinyl debut of Low Red Center. While their sound centers around electronics, to call them a minimal synth band or electronica or post-punk is selling them short. Low Red Center not only have a great sound, but they have great songs, and a couple of ace singers. Originally a studio project, in 2004 Low Red Center morphed into an improvised group. Containing members of Voxtrot, Oblong Boys, Pataphysics, Spoon, NonoBangBang, and other Austin bands, LRC staged shows that involved heavy costuming, theater, dance, and, of course, music. Eventually, many of these improvised pieces were molded into songs. In the words of Chad A., 'The object of Low Red Center is an exercise in improvisation and communication. Surprising ourselves as musicians by experimenting and discovering on stage, in front of an audience is of our goals. Restraint and listening are our approach to playing. A dedication to succinct presentation prevents unwanted jamming and convinces the audience that what we are performing are practiced, pre-written songs. The sound we have in mind is minimal and somewhat alien, with a vague film noir feel. This tension is frequently broken with a faster, more jagged post-punk approach. The recordings present a studio translation of our live principals, but with the luxuries of production embellishment and craft. Everything was performed (no sequencing) on analog electronic synthesizers, acoustic instruments, and electric guitar and bass. All the drum machines were actual individual organisms, breathing with us in the studio--nothing was sampled and rearranged. No computers were used.' Influenced by Cluster, John Foxx, Tuxedomoon, Bruce Haack, Crash Course in Science, Silver Apples, Raymond Scott, and Goblin, you can also hear Relando & the Loaf, Devo, the Plastics and others in their sound."

Artist:	NOTHING PEOPLE
Title:	Late Night
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SS 043CD

"The Nothing People's second album hit vinyl in 2009. On Late Night the band's sound shifts moodier, darker, and creepier. Hints of Dream Syndicate's Karl Precoda, the later head-screwed work of Scott Walker, the bad vibe side of Syd Barrett, and bits from that obscure subterranean world where psych met glam on a downward loop infects the record. This album does sound like a late night, on a deserted highway, maybe somewhere around the farm town of Orland, CA. We thought Late Night a very special record. The band's many fans and reviewers felt the same. Like Anonymous (and Soft Crash, which followed), Late Night mobbed the year-end lists. Being that Late Night is a favorite in the S.S. Records catalog, we decided to put it on CD and that is what we've done. Along with the ten songs that appeared on the original vinyl (including a great remake of Syd Barrett's 'Late Night'), we've included six more. Three of the songs previously appeared on now hard-to-find 7"s, three haven't been heard before. Included in these songs are covers of Roxy Music and Fuck. The CD issue of Late Night is packaged in the digipak format, using the original art work by Ilth."

Artist:	NOTHING PEOPLE
Title:	Late Night
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 043LP

"It's been ten months since the Nothing People's debut album Anonymous came out and since then we've heard nothing but praise. In fact, the record wound up on many a Best of 2008 list. We are thinking that Late Night, their second full length, is gonna make even more people happy. From the sci-fi, psych, proto punk bombast of the first, the Nothing People shift gears into a moodier, darker, and creepier existence. Here you get the influence of Dream Syndicate's Karl Precoda and the later f-ed up work of Scott Walker. The record does sound like a late night, on a deserted highway, maybe somewhere around the farm town of Orland, CA, where these three -- nope four (they added a former Monoshock keyboardist!) -- are from. And that cover art? It is by Ilth. The Nothing People have released singles on S.S. and HozAc, as well as the aforementioned Anonymous, which is now in its second pressing."

Artist:	MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE, DAN
Title:	Thankyou Very Much
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	2LP
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	SS 044LP

"The name Dan Melchior should register in the minds of anyone paying attention to 'independent' music. His collaborations with Billy Childish and Holly Golightly are well regarded; however, Dan's music doesn't stop there. Yeah, he's been pigeon-holed as a garage mook, but, really, his work comes from a lineage of Brit underground rock songwriters which starts back with Syd Barrett and Vivian Stanshall, continues through Mark E. Smith and Dan Treacy, and has been taken up by the Country Teasers' Ben Wallers and our man Dan Melchior. When Dan proposed doing a record for S.S., we jumped on it, as we've been big fans since his excellent records on In The Red Records with the Broke Review. Dan sent 40 songs and we narrowed it down to 16, making a rich double album's worth of material that rivals last year's fantastic Christmas For Crows LP -- a staple in many Best of 2008 lists. We expect Thankyou Very Much to be cited as one of 2009's best."

Artist:	EL-G
Title:	Tout Ploie
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 046LP

"So...a couple years back, one of my favorite French labels -- Le Villain Chien -- released a single by a guy going by the name of �l-g. I picked up a few -- record unheard - for our mail order and when they arrived, gave one a spin. The sound was a combination of world-weary French pop and mellow psych. The record lived on the turntable for a few weeks. When the Belgian label Kraak announced it was putting out an �l-g album, I said sign me up for some. I got a very small handful and offered them for sale. Of course, one found its way to the record player and what came out of the speakers was one of the best records I'd heard in quite a while. Like the 7" I previously dug, this album strode through French pop styles and dreamy psychedelia, but this thing was much better than the seven inch. It had a classic sound. I wasn't alone in liking it. David Keenan of Volcanic Tongue called it 'Ass-flatteningly great' and said it 'combines the decadent French ballad style of Serge Gainsbourg with warped acid folk settings, industrial electronics and the kinda schizophrenic approach to genre that defines much of Thierry Muller and Philippe Doray's work.' Clive Bell at the Wire said �l-g's'freak flag is exhilarating.' And the few people who got the record from me, wrote and asked for more. After spin number 50, I said to myself, 'Damn, there's a whole lotta people on this side of the Atlantic that are gonna miss out on this demon, one of the best records of the last five years, me thinks.' So I wrote �l-g and Kraak and asked if I could do an American pressing and they said 'Sure good thing' and here it is. So what you get is all the above -- with guest performances by the lovely Charlene Darling and Ignatz and Phil Todd of Ashtray Navigations. This edition on S.S. Records was remastered excellently by Paul Gold of Salt Mastering and has a slightly different cover and insert. And it is available at a domestic price."

Artist:	NOTHING PEOPLE
Title:	Soft Crash
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 047LP

"Lots of bands, lots of records and usually by record two most bands crap out. Not the Nothing People. Since their first EP was released on S.S some four years ago, every subsequent Nothing People/S.S. release has gotten better and better. Soft Crash is no exception. And like the jump between their first album (Anonymous) and their second (Late Night), Soft Crash both expands and secures the Nothing People's sound. A proto-punk pulse mixes with a dark synth throb for something that sounds both of yesterday and tomorrow or in the words of Z Gun's Ryan Wells, 'These guys are science fiction!' Sci fi? As in Chrome, Von Lmo, and Simply Saucer? 'Natch.' And the man is right. However, unlike the ton of bands who get rifled in with classic underground names and cannot deliver, the Nothing People do their comrades justice. 2009's Late Night LP made a ton of year end 'Best Of' lists. The year before Anonymous hit a bunch of 'Best Of's. Soft Crash to your 'Best of 2010' list. Soft Crash is a great record. Includes download code."

Artist:	CHINESE RESTAURANTS, THE
Title:	River Of Shit
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$6.00
Catalog #:	SS 048EP

"Like a child captured by wolves, the Chinese Restaurants might live in New York City, but they really don't have a home. Though their roots are the Tucson, Arizona garage punk scene (home of the Fells!), LF Restaurant (AKA Acapulco Rodriguez) and Keith Restaurant (ne Redgerson) started the band long distance, from posts in Albany, New York and rural Connecticut. With Keith's 11 year old Garfield-loving brother on drums, they threw song ideas over the phone and would play impromptu shows -- often without rehearsing -- including one via conference call. (When playing over 21 venues the Restaurants recruited Bunnybrains genius Malcolm Tent to play drums.) Of course, the sound was pure chaos, but over time and with infusions of American underground sounds like Beefheart, the Sun City Girls, and various Euro art pranksters the Restaurants started to find themselves. A name change to The North American Free Jazz Agreement lead to a Euro tour and an opening slot for Arthur Doyle. And it should probably be expected that the next step for our Restaurants was to reemerge as 'a grotesque, sexually inappropriate Doors cover band.' Come 2010 and the Chinese Restaurants are finally committing themselves to vinyl. With the help of sonic saboteur Mattin (Billy Bao, Josetxo Grieta, NMM), the Restaurants created 'River of Shit,' an underground state of the state of the nation of sorts. A deft commentary on the Age of Obama or just another smart ass prank, we don't know, but it sounds good. And the flip of 'Work is a Drag' and 'Queen of the Skanks' is a skanking sludge fest that would do both Flipper and No Trend proud. S.S. is very happy to say that we served the first helping of Chinese Restaurants."

Artist:	MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE, DAN
Title:	Visionary Pangs
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 049LP

"It's been over a year since the world has heard an album's worth of fresh material from Dan Melchior und das Menace. So if you've been jonesing for some of Dan's great music, we have the cure. On Visionary Pangs, Dan presents four short songs and two long song-cycles. It's a great sequence, which allows our 'relatively modest-sized man' to delve a bit deeper in his sonic explorations and pimp a bit of his guitar skills, which are as strong as his song-writing. Since the mid-1990s, Dan has released some 30 albums and singles, and it has been a good run. However, the best of the bunch started emerging in 2007 with his Pink Scream EP and has continued with the excellent Christmas for the Crows LP and S.S. Records' Thankyou Very Much double album. We are very confident in saying that Visionary Pangs sits with the aforementioned trio as one of Dan's best to date. If it doesn't wedge into your brain that Dan is one of the best songwriters going, a member of a proud tradition of English underground tunesmiths which includes Mark E. Smith, Syd Barrett, and Dan Treacy, we don't know what will! 500 pressed."

Artist:	A FRAMES
Title:	333
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	3LP
Price:	$34.00
Catalog #:	SS 050LP

"For S.S. Records' fiftieth release we are very, very, very proud to announce the A Frames 333 triple album. Back in 2000, when SS, Sr. first saw the A Frames, he knew he had to start a new record label to release their stuff. And with the help of SS, Jr., that is what he did. From the Plastica 45 to two critically acclaimed full lengths and a couple more 45s, the A Frames/S.S. relationship remained so solid that when the A Frames jumped to Sub Pop records, the S.S. production team of Chris Woodhouse and Scott Soriano went along for the ride. So now, after years of talk, SS and the A Frames have gathered their singles and EPs together with a whole bunch of demo recordings, outtakes, and unreleased tracks for a 42 song, triple album set. From the onset the A Frames have blown away fans and critics. Their first two singles received much praise, setting up their 2002 debut album for many mentions as the record of the year, called 'one of the few great American rock records' by Thurston Moore and Byron Coley. Their second album received even more praise, as did the handful of singles they after, as well as their third album, Black Forest. The A Frames are one of the few bands never to have released a bad or mediocre record. We thought about that when assembling 333, for we didn't want this one to be a dud. We are very confident that like the neutron bomb that blasted the A Frames off, we have one hell of a post-punk explosion here." Tri-fold sleeve.

Artist:	SPERM WAILS
Title:	Lady Chatterley
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$6.50
Catalog #:	SS 051EP

"The band is the Sperm Wails. While prominent in England's 'Camden Noise-core Scene' and having toured with the legendary My Bloody Valentine, the Wail's 'sister band,' the SW didn't get much of a listen outside of Merry 'Ol. Their three records (Boy Hairdresser 12", Carry-On 7", and Grim/Stroke flexi disc) were self-released and never got the run they deserved. And as far as I know, they never made their way off of Monkey Island. If you would have asked the S.S. Records brain trust about the Sperm Wails, you would have gotten a blank stare. That is until the Lady Chatterley surfaced. Propulsive punk rock with post-punk chops and one hell of an edge, 'Lady C.' showed a band that could have held their own to any of the era's heavyweights (Big Black, UT, Sonic Youth, etc.). S.S. figured 'Gotta have record.' Problem was finding it. 'Lady C.' had been released but in short run as a freebie with some obscure fanzine. The song was crammed on the record with three tunes by others and that was not right! Former members of the band were tracked down and begged for the right to release 'Lady Chatterley' in proper form, as the A-side of a 7". After much searching some Wails dug up an unreleased gem called 'Mr. Wonderful,' a twisted piece of Fall-pop. And that we called the B-side."

Artist:	CHINESE RESTAURANTS, THE
Title:	Summer Romance
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$6.50
Catalog #:	SS 052EP

"On the surface you wouldn't hear 'Summer Romance' as a pop song, but let the needle ride and you will hear hooks galore, a tune that references summer classics by Television, ? and the Mysterians, Joy Division, Mungo Jerry, David Dundas, and others. The flip is a stirring rendition of the Mexican classic 'Nunca Jamas', a strum happy dirge that brings to mind The Ex and their take on folk songs from the Spanish Civil War. The Chinese Restaurants are from New York City and are helmed by El F. Restaurant (AKA Acapulco Rodriguez) and Keith Restaurant ((ne� Redgerson) with assistance by Bunnybrain Malcom Tent, Kemp Boyd, and others. This is their second 7". 300 press."

Artist:	BANQUE ALLEMANDE
Title:	Eins, Zwei
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	SS 053LP

"Banque Allemande has a relentlessness that reminds me of the Gordons and Rema Rema, the thuggish charm of Feedtime, and some 1-2-3-4 yucks of 'I dunno, name some late '70s Euro punk out' -- but that's me hearing them. Their background is in the bands Discounter, Trumpf As, and Moser Indian. Their ears are atuned to the hammering beats of Boys Noize. Or as they describe their sound: minimalistic, cut-down songstructures -- yes please. Rough sounds, straight beats -- yes please.. If what comes out is called 'punk' -- whatthefuck."

Artist:	PRISONERS GO GO BAND
Title:	Live! At The Butchery With Special Guests On Fire
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	SS 054LP

"Prisoners Go Go Band's one and only record is a remarkable thing. It was created in the early 1980s in a South Africa under apartheid, which was not only hostile to 'race mixing,' but culturally conservative, as well. While punk and alternative music existed, it received scant attention by major labels and no radio airplay. Distribution through record stores was limited to commercial music. Certainly, a mixed-race band influenced by Can, Red Crayola, Pere Ubu, Henry Cow, and Derek Bailey was not prime for mainstream hearing. Nor was Johannesburg in 1981 exactly the most inviting place for such a band to release its own record. But that is what the Prisoners Go Go Band did. In 1979, Yunus Momoniat, Iqbal Momoniat, and Neil Goedhals formed a friendship which lead them to playing music. They called themselves the Prisoners Go Go Band. They never played a live show - neither the music they played nor the ethnic make up of the group allowed for that - but they did record their music. In a desolate part of Johannesburg, in Yunus's DIY recording studio, the three drafted some friends (the 'special guest on fire') and recorded hours worth of songs and sounds. From that they came up with an album and had it pressed up as a LP. However, through mishaps and circumstance, it was a record few people got to hear and even fewer possessed - less than 100 copies were circulated. It was one of those records that belonged on the Nurse With Wound list and in every Mutant Sounds fans library. And it certainly would have a good home on S.S. Records. Four years ago we started to make that happen, and now it exists. Live! At the Butchery with Special Guests on Fire has been mastered from one of the few clean copies of the original record. The original handmade packaging has been recreated to be as close to the original as possible. Liner notes telling the story of the record, culled from the words of one of the band members, are included. This pressing is of 330."

Artist:	LOS LLAMARADA
Title:	Gone Gone Cold
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SS 055LP

"Gone Gone Cold marks Los Llamarada's third and final album. Since their first album on S.S., The Exploding Now!, Llamarada has made some of the most striking psychedelic punk of the last decade. In the spirit of Red Crayola and 13th Floor Elevators, Llamarada approach to psych is devoid of rules, trends, or convention. Like Mars, they feel their way through sound, finding songs in the playing. However, while The Exploding Now! and their second album, Take the Sky, reflect the band's (then) excitement with their future and possibility, Gone Gone Cold looks at present day Mexico and it's never-ending drug war. On Gone Gone Cold, fans of Los Llamarada will hear their oft-noted claustrophobic sound, but the songs a less settled than before. Confusion trumps structure, until a riff or pulse builds in intensity and the song enters into panic. Or a song starts at a panicked pace and unravels into a single phrase. There still is the subverted surf-guitar and male/female chant/vocals, but the drums are stronger and keyboards more insistent -- sounds desperate for a way out."

Artist:	VA
Title:	FM-BX Society Tape 001
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 056LP

2011 repress. "S.S. Records is pleased to present the first vinyl edition of the FM-BX Society Tape Vol. 1. Originally released in 1981 only on cassette, with a limited run of 200, FM-BX V1 was the first in a series of compilation tapes released by the staff of a radio station in Brussels, Belgium. Needless to say, not many tapes made it around, and very few survive today. I'd say that is a shame but with this vinyl release, the word will get out about the bands on this tape, albeit a few decades after its initial release! FM-BX V1 features three bands, two from Belgium, one from Scotland. The Belgium bands are Isolation Ward and Unit 4. Isolation Ward are known in underground synth collector circles, as they had a bit of a run after their debut on this release. Bleak and futuristic, Isolation Ward fuse post punk with early 80s synth sounds and a DIY approach. The stars of FM-BX are the all-woman foursome Unit 4. Little is known about the band or their current whereabouts. No problem because their music is all you need to tell you that they had something special going. By their sound, the influences are obvious: Kleenex, Delta 5, and the Raincoats all reverberate here though less 'slick' than any of those bands. Unit 4's aesthetics are more akin to the Petticoats and, at times, the Shaggs. This is truly wonderful punk rock. From Scotland comes the Topplers. Great stuff. Teens with an ear towards the TV Personalities, The Times, and Subway Sect. Housed in a sleeve cobbled together from the original cassette release."

Artist:	LOS LLAMARADA
Title:	The Restless Night
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$6.50
Catalog #:	SS 057EP

"To start, Llamarada gives us their jump on 'Rezo Por Voz', a classic by Argentinian rock legends Luis Alberto Spinetta and Charly Garcia. In the Llamarada way, what you hear of 'Rezo Por Voz' in 'The Restless Light' are hints and dustings of the original. This is no straight cover, but a psych punk romp of claustrophobic proportions. Flip the single over and we have 'A Current,' an original taut and moody, a guitar drones spaghetti western style over a tense plain. Drop this into the opening scene in El Topo and I wouldn't complain. Cover art by Herla Alarcon. 500 pressed."

Artist:	DUCHESS OF SAIGON
Title:	Duchess Of Saigon
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SS 058LP

"Formed in 2001, the Duchess of Saigon were Mary and Richard. Two artists, they met at UC Davis, started seeing each other and then formed a band. Though Richard had been in a handful of Sacramento bands (Rick & the Young Rogues, Sir & the Young Men), Duchess was Mary's first band. She was handed the drum duties...and good thing, too! Because she was unencumbered by formal lessons, Mary developed a unique drumming style in which she would keep the beat with her feet and play the melody with her hands. The unconventional approach to percussion, as well as her ethereal backing vocals, gave Richard's VU-influenced garage-pop songs an excellent twist. Byron Coley of The Wire likened them to the Carpenters if played by the Shaggs. This limited edition contains 16 songs culled from sessions recorded by Chris Woodhouse from 2002 to 2005. 300 pressed."

Artist:	LENZ
Title:	Leaving (The 21st Century)/Feeling
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$7.00
Catalog #:	SS 059EP

"S.S. Records was tossing about for good San Francisco Bay Area bands to check out so we reached out to Budget Rock/Terminal Boredom/MRR music freak Mitch Cardwell. Mitch had one word: LENZ. He wrote that LENZ is a new band with Andy Jordan (The Cuts, Time Flys, Andy Human) and Ray Seraphin (Nobunny, Epic Sessions, The Impediment) and that they were the best unknown band going. He wrote that in LENZ you could hear 'Roxy Music, UK post-punk/DIY, and glam-infused Kraut-Rock a la Neu's 'Heros.' Finding a live shot on the internet and wrote Andy for some tracks. He sent 'Leaving' and 'Feeling' which in my mind translated to 'A side' and 'B side.' I booked them on SS10, the label's tenth anniversary fest and offered to put out their debut single. They said yes and this is what you get -- two great songs which harken back to the glory days of UK glam and the spacey days of Seventies Sci Fi punk without falling victim to copycat-ism or nostalgia. Here's two great rock & roll songs from the here & now. 330 pressed."

Artist:	SIGHTINGS
Title:	Michigan Haters
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SS 060LP

"When Sightings second album not only crushed everything that they had done prior, but revealed the band to be sonic explorers of Magellanic proportions. Sightings' overblown intensity was joined by abrasive twists and subtle unconventionality, a combination of sounds which one reviewer likened to 'a storm of knives.' Or something like listening to Terry Riley and Steve Reich through a Big Muff at 110 decibels. With Michigan Haters, Sightings started on what would become nearly a decade long reinvention of the rock & roll song. First through volume and now through invention, Sightings has given up a series of great albums: Absolutes, which clearly builds on what Michigan Haters created, Arrived in Gold, the coolly brilliant Through the Panama, and the fantastic City of Straw. Originally released on CD in 2002 by Psych-O-Path, didn't get a proper vinyl release. So after years of Sightings and SS talking about doing a single, I finally said 'Hey, Michigan Haters needs to be on vinyl. Let me do it!'"

Artist:	HANK IV
Title:	Bellyfull Of Slugs
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	7"
Price:	$7.00
Catalog #:	SS 061EP

"What I heard was hints of Crime, Chain Gang, Viletones, Styrenes, punk rock that hearkens back to the dark grunt of late '70s Frisco punk but brought to the now. I tracked them down and asked if I could put out a single by them, but Hook or Crook already hit them up for an album and Plastic Idol had snagged a 7". After those records they slid over to Siltbreeze, where Hank IV released two critically acclaimed LPs. While I was organizing SS10, the label's tenth anniversary festival, the Hanks and I got to talking about doing a single. 'Sure thing!' When they sent me their heavy, urban street swamp version of Kim Salmon & the Surrealists's Bellyfull of Slugs, I replied with 'A side!' Soon after 'Cold Equation' came my way and I knew that this punk ripper would be a great B side. And here we have Hank IV's first record on S.S., five years later than I wanted but well well worth the wait. 330 pressed."

Artist:	YONKERS WITH THE BLIND SHAKE, MICHAEL
Title:	Period
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SS 063CD

"Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons is not only a great collection of punk-induced psychedelia, as heavy as anything can be without sludging to death; it was also the best thing Yonkers had done since Microminiature Love, and a high point of the Blind Shake. A few years later Yonkers and the Shake got together for a brief split/collaborative album on Learning Curve Records. Good stuff but not quite as powerful as the two aforementioned monsters. Now comes Period, Michael Yonkers and the Blind Shake's first full album together since Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons and their best yet. Like Yonkers and the Shake's previous work, Period is tuneful and heavy and punk and psychedelic, but there is also something more. The album has an energy which is dark but not sinister. Yonkers' lyrics are intense, even painful, but his voice is strong. The swirl of sound created by his homemade guitar is other worldly, and when woven into the guitar/baritone guitar/drum throb and punch created by the Blind Shake, Period is nothing less than great. Seriously, after six straight months of listening to Period, I rank it up there with such classics of heavy weirdness as Von Lmo's Future Language, High Rise II, and Monoshock's Walk to the Fire. Period is even worthy of a listen next to Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum. Period by Michael Yonkers with the Blind Shake will stand as a classic. The CD version is in a digipak."

Artist:	YONKERS WITH THE BLIND SHAKE, MICHAEL
Title:	Period
Label:	S.S. RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SS 063LP

LP version. "Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons is not only a great collection of punk-induced psychedelia, as heavy as anything can be without sludging to death; it was also the best thing Yonkers had done since Microminiature Love, and a high point of the Blind Shake. A few years later Yonkers and the Shake got together for a brief split/collaborative album on Learning Curve Records. Good stuff but not quite as powerful as the two aforementioned monsters. Now comes Period, Michael Yonkers and the Blind Shake's first full album together since Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons and their best yet. Like Yonkers and the Shake's previous work, Period is tuneful and heavy and punk and psychedelic, but there is also something more. The album has an energy which is dark but not sinister. Yonkers' lyrics are intense, even painful, but his voice is strong. The swirl of sound created by his homemade guitar is other worldly, and when woven into the guitar/baritone guitar/drum throb and punch created by the Blind Shake, Period is nothing less than great. Seriously, after six straight months of listening to Period, I rank it up there with such classics of heavy weirdness as Von Lmo's Future Language, High Rise II, and Monoshock's Walk to the Fire. Period is even worthy of a listen next to Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum. Period by Michael Yonkers with the Blind Shake will stand as a classic. I am sure of that. Vinyl copies of Period are housed in a Stoughton 'old style' tip-on sleeve."

Previous Page Index of Labels Next Page