{"title":"MiD YEAR ROUND UP 2026","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe asked our staff to pick their favourite five releases of the year so far and they did not disappoint! Most of them are in stock: \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"michael-zulicki-my-mind-wanders-lp","title":"Michael Zulicki - My Mind Wanders LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eLookie lookie! A solo record from Mr. Mad Nanna \/ Monsieur Albert’s Basement, Michael Zulicki! 'My Mind Wanders' features five sketches for bass with guest appearances from Tim Player (Ov Pain) and Hen Mills (Creek Shape) on honking devices. Hand assembled, barcode free “outsider” meditative avant-“blues”(?). Think Jandek, Coleman and Haden’s ‘Soapsuds’, Warm Currency and those more recent Maths Balance Volumes records on Penultimate Press.  Weird and mysterious but also of human felling. - Nic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44514399584438,"sku":null,"price":39.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/PXL_20251226_035154023-700x700_813f69f1-48e1-428f-9081-af712d60f40a.jpg?v=1769043395"},{"product_id":"culture-shaping-violence-echoes-from-the-dark-cs","title":"Culture Shaping Violence - Echoes from the Dark CS","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTo paraphrase a punk meme that I no longer seem to be able to locate, but which immediately came to mind on listening to CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eI don’t like metal-punk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eI see you are afraid of riffs and beautiful women\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhile the above should certainly tell you exactly what to expect from CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE, it also raises the questions: is ‘metal-punk’ a real genre? And if so, if this meme accurately reflects the genre, is it also a clever sleight of hand that avoids the taboo “female-fronted” tag whilst simultaneously signalling the intersectional representational politics that ‘metal-punk’ embodies?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIf this line of thought is as exhausting for you reading it as it is for me writing it, please be assured that CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE are anything but tedious. While they name NAUSEA, ANTISECT and DEVIATED INSTINCT as influences, the similarities between CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE and SACRILEGE (perhaps the platonic ideal of ‘metal-punk’), AYUCABA, LIFELESS DARK and PAROXYS are too obvious not to highlight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe murky production gives this demo a primitive edge, ala HELLHAMMER, while the dual male and female vocals nod to the likes of AUS-ROTTEN. Whatever genre you decide to file CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE under, this recent release from RIP PEACE (DISTORTED SEDITION in the US) is a timely reminder that some tenets of crust aren’t the flogged deceased equines you may think. -Oli\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 340px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2672412082\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cultureshapingviolence.bandcamp.com\/album\/echoes-from-the-dark\"\u003eEchoes from the Dark by Culture Shaping Violence\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44915914899638,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a1227316375_10.jpg?v=1771479658"},{"product_id":"game-set-match-game-set-match-7","title":"Game Set Match - Game Set Match 7\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt would’ve been unfair… Though what the hell, the underground always is, that the two “winners” —tennis slang— that Cammy Cautious And The Wrestlers’ Will Cooke smashed at the beginning of last year with his new side project GAME SET MATCH hadn’t been pressed to wax. But this is where our friend Gabriele puts his superhero cape back on, delivering justice and fixing this kind of outrage through his insane Teramo-based label Goodbye Boozy. The result: an absolute must-have 7” that captures those two killer slices of unhinged Australian punk garage, now joined by a couple of brand-new tracks that will blow your mind and scatter your brains five metres across the floor, making this one of the most catchy and addictive EPs Australian punk rock’n’roll has given us in the last decade. Without a doubt, another \"Game, Set, Match\" for the king of the court. - Tremendo Garaje -\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 274px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2727637294\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com\/album\/game-set-match\"\u003eGame Set Match by Game Set Match\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44922564706486,"sku":null,"price":14.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a4222008055_10.jpg?v=1771806662"},{"product_id":"various-the-world-cant-stand-long-lp","title":"Various - The World Can't Stand Long LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIncredible LP of shambolic garage rock recorded from 1966-1968. Lo fi, sincere, deep, catchy, badass music. Hard to find gems. A must for fans of real deal 60's garage rock. Not for the faint of heart. - Cairo Records\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44936546156726,"sku":null,"price":44.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/images_bfff022d-dd93-49df-9c8d-83a7c5a97a1a.jpg?v=1772164921"},{"product_id":"brandy-dalton-fallen-angel-lp","title":"Brandy Dalton - Fallen Angel LP","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA collection of compositions for the leather BDSM series, Fallen Angel, Dalton’s music draws upon the industrial and EBM sounds of the day. While it sounds distinctly of the time, that doesn’t mean it sounds dated either, almost predicting what I guess we would call “warped techno” today. Dark atmospherics swirl around analog synthesisers and clattering drum machines, one that I’d file alongside Lucy Cliché or Chris \u0026amp; Cosey. – Mitch \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomewhere between heaven and hell…there is Fallen Angel. Dark Entries continues its mission of shining light on a generation of composers and musicians lost to AIDS with Brandy Dalton’s Fallen Angel, his soundtrack work for the award-winning Fallen Angel series. In the late 80s, Brandy teamed up with friends Robert Woods and John Munt to form the band Drance, becoming infamous for their high-energy performances and songs that tackled taboo topics like sadomasochism. While Drance explored the aggressive sounds of industrial and EBM, Dalton continued to produce a wide range of electronica, from abstract sonic textures to techno bangers. The Fallen Angel album collects 16 sweaty, sticky cuts composed for the pornographic series Fallen Angel, a trio of leather-focused films released by Titan Studios. The sounds here span from the fractured cyberpunk-rave of “Swelled” to the tabla-laced trance of “FA2,” taking listeners on a journey through hedonistic recesses, chock full of crunchy digital drum machines and wailing FM synths. This album was originally released on CD in 1999 by Titan Studios, capitalizing on the success of the film franchise. It will be reissued on LP as well as on CD, which features 6 bonus tracks. Artwork for the album, designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh, features stills from the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eFallen Angel film. Also included is an insert with liner notes and photographs. This album is dedicated to Brandy, who passed away from AIDS-related illness in 2006, after battling with the disease for 17 years. Fallen Angel provides a hardcore BDSM ride, in contrast to the lush, analogue sounds that Dark Entries has released on previous archival soundtracks. All proceeds from this release will go to AIDS Project Los Angeles.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e - Dark Entries\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44936553267382,"sku":null,"price":44.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3605893607_10.jpg?v=1772165788"},{"product_id":"brandy-dalton-fallen-angel-cd","title":"Brandy Dalton - Fallen Angel CD","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomewhere between heaven and hell…there is Fallen Angel. Dark Entries continues its mission of shining light on a generation of composers and musicians lost to AIDS with Brandy Dalton’s Fallen Angel, his soundtrack work for the award-winning Fallen Angel series. In the late 80s, Brandy teamed up with friends Robert Woods and John Munt to form the band Drance, becoming infamous for their high-energy performances and songs that tackled taboo topics like sadomasochism. While Drance explored the aggressive sounds of industrial and EBM, Dalton continued to produce a wide range of electronica, from abstract sonic textures to techno bangers. The Fallen Angel album collects 16 sweaty, sticky cuts composed for the pornographic series Fallen Angel, a trio of leather-focused films released by Titan Studios. The sounds here span from the fractured cyberpunk-rave of “Swelled” to the tabla-laced trance of “FA2,” taking listeners on a journey through hedonistic recesses, chock full of crunchy digital drum machines and wailing FM synths. This album was originally released on CD in 1999 by Titan Studios, capitalizing on the success of the film franchise. It will be reissued on LP as well as on CD, which features 6 bonus tracks. Artwork for the album, designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh, features stills from the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eFallen Angel film. Also included is an insert with liner notes and photographs. This album is dedicated to Brandy, who passed away from AIDS-related illness in 2006, after battling with the disease for 17 years. Fallen Angel provides a hardcore BDSM ride, in contrast to the lush, analogue sounds that Dark Entries has released on previous archival soundtracks. All proceeds from this release will go to AIDS Project Los Angeles.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e - Dark Entries\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=796030184\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/brandydalton.bandcamp.com\/album\/fallen-angel\"\u003eFallen Angel by Brandy Dalton\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44936553955510,"sku":null,"price":27.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3605893607_10.jpg?v=1772165788"},{"product_id":"various-future-left-behind-lp","title":"Various - Future Left Behind LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn admirable and downright enjoyable compilation of currently existing harDCore! Washington D.C’s Second Street Records kick off their labels’ existence with a comp that gets the cohesive-yet-varied balance right with 14 tracks from 14 local area bands. In order of appearance… Brain Tourniquet, Reason Why, Expiration Date, Grand Scheme, Inversion, Laughing Corpse, Deliriant Nerve, Pray to Be Saved, Posición Unida, Protester, Retain, Seclusion, Sluggo and White Horses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe obvious historic analogy would obviously be ‘Flex Your Head’ (Dischord Records, 1982) but if anything this one brought to mind the excitement of first hearing ‘New York Hardcore: Where The Wild Things Are’ (Blackout! Records, 1989) for gut-level reasons I cannot explain. For me, navigating Hardcore in the 2020s often feels like a chore, but thankfully ‘Future Left Behind’ makes me believe, with 💯 sincerity, HARDCORE WILL NEVER DIE! — Nic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1498199063\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/secondstreetrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/future-left-behind\"\u003eFuture Left Behind by Various\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e ","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44972787728566,"sku":null,"price":49.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a0908527530_10.jpg?v=1773360224"},{"product_id":"dronraid-who-killed-disfucker-cs","title":"Drönraid - Who Killed Disfucker? CS","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eD-BEAT RAW PUNK FROM NARRM\/MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eV: Del\u003cbr\u003eG: Ed\u003cbr\u003eB: Freddy\u003cbr\u003eD: Noah\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecorded and Mixed by Alicia Cult Ritual Audio\u003cbr\u003eMastered by Noise Room\u003cbr\u003eLayout by Yeap\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 307px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2792549705\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dronraid.bandcamp.com\/album\/who-killed-disfucker-2\"\u003eWho Killed Disfucker? by Drönraid\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44973470089398,"sku":null,"price":9.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a0823023982_10.jpg?v=1773379679"},{"product_id":"hot-palms-muss-blues-songs-instrumentals-2012-14-cd","title":"Hot Palms - Muss Blues: Songs \u0026 Instrumentals 2012-14 CD","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTowards the end of high school someone showed me Emma Russack’s debut album on Spunk Records; a collection of songs that struck me for their honesty, bluntness, and their crystalline lead guitar lines played by this blonde mop-haired guy called Alec Marshall. I learnt those guitar parts by heart (and cribbed them in basically every band I’ve played in since) while starting to link together this constellation of artists playing in Melbourne and beyond: Soda Eaves, The Ocean Party and associated side projects (eg. Ciggie Witch), the splinter groups and solo projects of The Middle East (namely Stolen Violin and Rohin Jones’ solo material etc).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWith each new link in this constellation came another reminder that this group called Hot Palms provided some sort of connective tissue between them. Although living in Sydney meant that I missed out on basically every release of theirs and was often relying on listening to Bandcamp streams to get an idea of what they were about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThis new collection of released songs and instrumentals finally gives an overview of their released output. Initially led by the duo of Marshall and Russack with a loose band of drop in drop out collaborators from this world before Marshall took over the reins on his own, Muss Blues CD captures everything from the open-ended and poetic songs sung by Russack (including a Pip Proud cover and others that would wind up on Soda Eaves’ debut album) to dreamy and drifting instrumental meditations that dip into the psychedelic and lightly dubby in a direct pre-cursor to Marshall’s later Blue Divers project.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAbstract music that draws upon rock traditions but splinters it (some would say, post-rock, but that comes with a lot of annoying baggage!), for fans of Primitive Motion, Tenniscoats, Wilson Tanner, Nagisa Ni Te, and Love Chants!\u003cbr\u003e-Mitch\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eComes with great little zine-liner notes from the one and only Nathan Roche!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2256183200\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whydontyoubelieveme.bandcamp.com\/album\/muss-blues-songs-instrumentals-2012-14\"\u003eMuss Blues: Songs \u0026amp; Instrumentals, 2012-14 by Hot Palms\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44981583708342,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a1651476717_10.jpg?v=1773719977"},{"product_id":"love-chants-shadow-season-12","title":"Love Chants - Shadow Season 12\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe long-awaited return of Australia’s Love Chants. A super group of sorts, made up of three of the country’s decades-long experimental mainstays: Anthony Guerra (Mysteries of Love, Black Petal label, numerous solo and collaborative projects), Matthew Earle (xNoBBQx, X-Wave, Club Sound Witches, Breakdance the Dawn label), and Michael Zulicki (Mad Nanna, Mole House, Albert’s Basement label). Despite the passage of time, David Keenan’s 2013 words still ring true of the group; a “heartbreaking idiot avant at some kind of a-formal peak.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLove Chants music is nearly impossible to categorize. Plodding, slow motion, single chord guitar lines create a steady mood, like oars rising and diving back into the sea. While minimalist leads and melodies help us to drift off into a vast ocean. Guerra’s exhaled-more-than-sung vocals provide the soft moonlight reflecting off the gentle, rolling waves. While freewheeling, almost reckless drums create their own nearly separate trip, but somehow still managing to guide the skiff on its journey back home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe band’s first vinyl release since 2013, Shadow Season continues in their tradition of releasing 12” EPs (their third to date). On this release listeners will find two versions of the title track, separated by the sublime “Sky.” Ultimately though, the record can be heard as a single song with its peaks and valleys proclaiming themselves so effortlessly from one moment to the next, from one track to the next, from take to the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLimited to 200 hand-stamped copies. Co-released with Black Petal \u0026amp; Grapefruit. - C\/Site Records\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 241px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3064188349\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/grapefruit1.bandcamp.com\/album\/shadow-season-2\"\u003eShadow Season by Love Chants\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45018617249974,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/WhatsAppImage2026-04-02at2.31.20PM.jpg?v=1775100826"},{"product_id":"cia-debutante-trespass-lp","title":"CIA Debutante - Trespass LP","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOn the latest missive from the French\/Oz duo CIA Debutante, the murky squall of past dispatches is slowly parting to reveal the substructures behind it. Most evidently, this LP sounds like the most melodic recording of the duo released to date. Tom Lax in the liner notes compares this to a Frankenstein’s monster-style Roxy Music, and it’s not an entirely misleading statement (although don’t despair, still a couple of Dead C-esque guitar freakouts to keep the aurally chaotic happy).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePaul Bonnet seems to be juggling plates here, weaving the usual motorik beats with pulsing synths, a dense layer of atmospherics, a droning clarinet (is this woodwind in vogue at the moment or what??) and these occasional lead lines that seem to get caught in your head.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eEven Nathan Roche occupies the most melodic space I can recall outside of his rock music (and this is a guy that can string together a few notes if I’ve heard it, surely I’m not the one who’s had the riff to Call Back stuck in my head for over a decade now). His vocals still bend and shift in all manner of ways, from a robotic recitation, to a softly French-accented English, to a Mark E. Smithian yelp or even a dry Melchiorian bark. While he doesn’t necessarily bellow out a tune, it does sound like a bit of talk-singing entering the fold here! But even the words have a melodic quality embedded in them. Case in point, perhaps my favourite rhyme all year “Hieronymus Bosch \/ Macintosh” – a music unto itself!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLooking forward to their Avalon in the coming years!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e–Mitch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 439px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3450155762\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/siltbreeze.bandcamp.com\/album\/cia-debutante-trespass-lp\"\u003eCIA Debutante-Trespass lp by Siltbreeze Records\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45055729696950,"sku":null,"price":44.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a1540992794_10.jpg?v=1776132395"},{"product_id":"soul-various-jazz-records-presents-power-pop-american-power-pop-for-the-now-generation-1977-81-lp","title":"Soul Various - Jazz Records Presents: POWER POP! American Power Pop For The Now Generation 1977-81 LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eTracklist\u003cbr\u003eA1. Ambulance - It's All Up To You A2. Dow Jones and The Industrials - Let’s Go Steady A3. Hot Dates - I Can't Stay A4. Nastyfacts - Drive My Car A5. Pointed Sticks - What Do You Want Me to Do? A6. The Normals - Hardcore A7. Shoes - Tomorrow Night\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eB1. The Reactions - It's Our Turn Now B2. Puppet Rulers - Outta My Mind B3. Testors - Together B4. The Scruffs - You're No Fun B5. The Reruns - So So Alone B6. The Wigs - You Say Ono B7. The Fingers - Isolation B8. The Reactions - In Society\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MGM Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45055915589814,"sku":null,"price":64.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/418467312569_800_9fd0cb4b-1ba6-40d6-897c-bb307e7ed077.webp?v=1776133789"},{"product_id":"alex-macfarlane-gleams-louring-lp","title":"Alex Macfarlane - Gleams \u0026 Louring LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eHappy release day to Alex Macfarlane, a figure in independent music we are grateful to have shared proximity with for many years. For those who don’t know Alex is\/was a member of The Green Child, Faceless Burial, The Stevens, Francis Plagne Band, Chateau and many more. He also runs Hobbies Galore, who have released his new LP ‘Gleams \u0026amp; Louring’. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mode Macfarlane is in on this one is a progressive and subtly freaky folk music for guitar, voice, synthesizer, and is that a silky smooth fretless bass I hear in the mix? (Damn son, when’d you get that!). Alex has been building his unique world of sound and song with numerous (mostly) cassette releases over the last decade and here on LP he has leveled up. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt would take me a lot of time and brain power to justifiably contextualise and extrapolate on Alex’s latest release and legacy. Maybe I’ll get there one day, but for now, as always with AM and HG productions, we stock it and you buy it before it’s too late! — Nic\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45056018940086,"sku":null,"price":39.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3919423815_10.jpg?v=1776134893"},{"product_id":"the-gnomes-more-12","title":"The Gnomes - More 12\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne-sided 4-track EP\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll exclusive songs: \"Thinking Of Me\", \"Don't Worry\", \"Magic Man\", \"Matter Of Time\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecycled green-marble vinyl.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Magnetic South","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45057778778294,"sku":null,"price":42.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/unnamed_3.png?v=1776147860"},{"product_id":"the-moles-instinct-lp","title":"The Moles - Instinct LP","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"Description_reasons-to-buy-wrapper__0CthD\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Content_description-wrapper__XbO9z\" data-is-open=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Content_inner-wrapper__xBJ2L\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Description_truncated-text__yUXZD\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Description_descriptionBody__bEN2t\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Description_descriptionText__Lgv7A\" data-testid=\"description-product\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack on vinyl after 3 decades,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eInstinct\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis The Moles' cult masterpiece from 1994, with new liner notes by main man Richard Davies. A courageous baroque pop gem filled with yearning and coming-of-age psychedelic folk angst. This album is dazzling baroque and unique psych pop. Pressed on colour vinyl with faithfully restored artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Default_reasons-to-buy-wrapper__6l44E\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Header_header-wrapper__pnVhR\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"fb-like fb_iframe_widget\" data-href=\"https:\/\/recordstoreday.com\/SpecialRelease\/19971\" data-layout=\"standard\" data-action=\"like\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-share=\"true\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rocket","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45062040387766,"sku":null,"price":64.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/00174859.webp?v=1776303307"},{"product_id":"earl-sweatshirt-mike-surf-gang-pompeii-utility-2cd","title":"Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE \u0026 SURF GANG - POMPEII \/\/ UTILITY 2CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s hard out there for a contemporary Hip Hop curious physical media Unc!! (note: this is gen z\/alpha slang for someone who displays “uncle like behaviour”) I haven’t really stopped listening to MIKE’s ‘Renaissance Man’ and Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Some Rap Songs’ since acquiring them a couple of years after their 2018 release. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePersonal listening preferences (I like albums and want to escape phone\/computer world) and music industry dynamics have stopped me from being nearly as engaged with new Hip Hop as I would like to be. Still, I’ve been following the release press cycle of Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE \u0026amp; SURF GANG’s ‘POMPEII \/\/ UTILITY’ and love the energy they have been projecting into the world. Some profoundly funny, heartwarming, and insightful thoughts have come out of their unassuming and open media appearances. Their affirmation of friendship and tight knit creative partnerships as a way to block out the anxiety-inducing outside forces that usually strip music of its unique flavour is one of the great messages. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think ‘POMPEII \/\/ UTILITY’ has been somewhat polarising, and I get why, but I’m firmly on team “It’s incredible!”. Getting a little old-head here but both rappers remind me of the unhinged and offbeat flow of Sensation, Kool Keith, Sir Menelik, or a 12” you might’ve bought on Fondle ‘em or Rawkus Records, but along with Surf Gang’s production they fold in cassette-only era Southern Hip Hop bangers and post-boom bap experimentation (sorry for writing that) but in a way that feel specifically located in the post-Gucci Mane\/Lil’ B era. I am sorry about the price tag and will save my more in-depth frustrations about Hip Hop physical music distribution for another time.  – Nic \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=295955437\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/mikelikesrap.bandcamp.com\/album\/pompeii-utility\"\u003ePOMPEII \/\/ UTILITY by Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE \u0026amp; SURF GANG\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"Inertia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45123234693302,"sku":null,"price":54.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/0044028296_10.jpg?v=1778724804"},{"product_id":"belexum-belexum-lp","title":"Belexum - Belexum 12\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe traditional-metal-imagery-meets-Nigerian-film-poster cover art (courtesy of Devin Toye) and skerrick of content provided by the labels’ press release had me highly intrigued by the debut from New York \/ Canadian death metal group Belexum. The music within well and truly exceeded that anticipation. What an exhilarating display of anguished human emotion and intense musical precision!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApparently there’s some hardcore\/crust credentials from the members, and I can feel a proximity to punk (especially the darkness of Flux\/Peni\/Amibex), but this isn’t some dumbed down death metal dabbler stuff. There is a vision and imagination here beyond conjuring the energy and assembling some one dimensional junk food riffs. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelexum fills the void left by Bay Area’s Succumb whose ‘XXI’ (The Flenser, 2021… will they return?) remains a favourite of mine and also brought to mind Finland’s Aedes debut EP ‘Odious Imprecation’ (Blood Harvest, 2024) in how they pair a dense and bamboozling riff labyrinth with hardcore\/crossover energy. A great sounding recording too, there’s a band-in-a-room feel, a collective unhingedness and weird metaphysical air to the extremely disciplined performance like, say, Gorguts, Krallice and Faceless Burial. So sick, we should have ordered more! – Nic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 307px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2690841158\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/transylvanianrecordings.bandcamp.com\/album\/belexum\"\u003eBELEXUM by BELEXUM\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45133286801590,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3366224677_10.jpg?v=1779160023"},{"product_id":"simon-joyner-tough-love-2lp","title":"Simon Joyner - Tough Love 2LP","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI recently came across a quote from the writer Mikal Gilmore on Lou Reed written for Rolling Stone in 1979 that seemed just as applicable to Simon Joyner’s work:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Lou Reed doesn’t just write about squalid characters, he allows them to leer and breathe in their own voices, and he colors familiar landscapes through their own eyes. In the process, Reed has created a body of music that comes as close to disclosing the parameters of human loss and recovery as we’re likely to find. That qualifies him, in my opinion, as one of the few real heroes rock \u0026amp; roll has raised.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe characters in Joyner’s songs are not so much squalid as they are flawed, complicated, and most of all, human. He steps into their voices with a generosity that brings to life thoughts, motivations, decisions, and a la Gilmore’s read on Reed, comes even closer to tracing the parameters of human loss and recovery in song. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter the autobiographical Coyote Butterfly from 2024, Joyner has largely returned to a more familiar fictional form of songwriting. Songs detail sibling falling outs, strained relationships, urban feelings of isolation, mourning deaths, sifting through the traces and remnants of others (the track Two Black Irises feels like the mournful response to Ryan Davis’ junk drawer metaphor - or am I reading too much into this?), etc. (Another aside… I realise that rattling off the broad subject matter of some of these songs might make this LP feel like a bit of a grim affair or a difficult listen, but love here is both tough and a saviour from a tough life). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll this in a manner that you could say evokes the best Cohen LPs which foreground his voice and the lyrics with a minimal backing where every instrument and note carries weight, here ranging from Stonesy lead guitar licks through to Kath Bloom \u0026amp; Loren Connors-esque fragility, to a post-VU pulse, to some understated string arrangements c\/o Megan Siebe. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTough Love is crowned by the side-long title track, another piece in the autobiographical mosaic constructed from the last LP. Loosely recalling the song cycle of Lou Reed’s Street Hassle (see, the Gilmore quote carries even more weight), a twenty-minute almost spoken word piece that is told from the perspective of his son amidst an imagined confrontation with him. Centred around a single guitar riff, it gradually expands out from tense string arrangements to a cathartic field of synths, string drones, and lightly twinkling piano. About as devastating, confronting, and beautiful as music can get!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e–Mitch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1299632920\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com\/album\/simon-joyner-tough-love\"\u003eSIMON JOYNER \"Tough Love\" by Simon Joyner\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sophomore Lounge","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45142748528822,"sku":null,"price":62.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3278618630_10.jpg?v=1779762292"},{"product_id":"ace-of-spit-ace-of-spit-ii-lp","title":"Ace Of Spit - Ace Of Spit II LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eI’m probably saying the same crap about Ace Of Spit – II (WombatCock Records, 2026) as I did when endorsing Ace Of Spit – I (Sophomore Lounge, 2022), which is absolutely fine as this record satisfies all the same stipulations, and better yet improves upon them. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis St. Louis groups’ latest contribution to the canon of low-brow culture is a form that’s one of North America’s greatest legacies, the minimal-frills rock ‘n’ roll record. ‘II’ is a fusion of rock’s intoxicating and primitive beginnings paired with punk’s liberating energy. It’s a feeling previously performed by Panther Burns, Dead Moon, The Cramps, Electric Eels, The Hunches etc. Here it’s free from schtick, as if psychobilly and Burger Records never happened. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile this surely is a garage rock album, there’s a certain nuance and attention to detail in the hypnotic and psychedelic potential of minimalist guitar grooves that I can’t help but want to push this onto enjoyers of Emily Robb, The Double and Henry Flynt. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey have the knack, and they don’t do anything silly or unlikeable (actually there’s one song I don’t like, but even that is a warm misstep), there’s even an outsider tactile charm to the record sleeve and insert I don’t encounter too often. This type of thing doesn’t often get this great! – Nic \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2377529017\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/aceofspit.bandcamp.com\/album\/ace-of-spit-ii\"\u003eAce of Spit II by Ace of Spit\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45142834872502,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/border.png?v=1782957670"},{"product_id":"the-unknowns-looking-from-the-outside-lp","title":"The Unknowns – Looking From The Outside LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Unknowns are back with their third LP and definitely their strongest. Unsurprisingly given the group’s previous releases and their firm link to The Chats, who The Unknowns members also grew up with, the punk and garage vibes are strong with this latest full length outing. This a record that wears it's heart on it's sleeve, influenced by the likes of the Ramones, The Meanies, Cosmic Psychos, Radio Birdman, or any band orbiting in those vicinities; but one thing The Unknowns are adept at, is burrowing into your serotonin and carrying you into their hooky, upbeat sonic world, and they deliver in spades on this record.\u003cbr\u003eThe first single 'Thunder In My Head' is streaming everywhere. It's the summer of The Unknowns. – Drunken Sailor \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3188852907\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/looking-from-the-outside-lp\"\u003eLooking From The Outside LP by The Unknowns\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"La Vida Es Un Mus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45146201227446,"sku":null,"price":44.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a2137306546_10.jpg?v=1779933521"},{"product_id":"double-date-double-date-cs","title":"Double Date - Double Date CS","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first release by Sydney's DOUBLE DATE is a six-track cassette recorded at the Boom Boom Room by Sam Foster. Members of the band previously played together or separately in groups such as BASIC HUMAN, EX-COLLEAGUE, DORA MAAR and countless other projects going back to the late-2000s. Playing together since 2023, many of these tracks were initially formed around drums, bass and synth, the latter of which was replaced with guitar prior to their first show. DOUBLE DATE is Verónica’s first time singing, Lauren’s first time drumming and Del’s first time on guitar, with Max joining on bass, with sounds recalling locals like NAKED ON THE VAGUE and RULE OF THIRDS to international contemporaries BARRERA and SPECIAL INTEREST. Themes of anxiety, heartbreak, and escapism are at the root of these six songs, clocking in at a neat 17 minutes. – Boom Boom Room Records\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDOUBLE DATE are\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVerónica - Vocals\u003cbr\u003eDel - Guitar\u003cbr\u003eLauren - Drums\u003cbr\u003eMax - Bass\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 340px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1700899853\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/boomboomroomrecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/bbr002-double-date-cs\"\u003eBBR002: Double Date CS by Double Date\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45152595804342,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/doubledatecs.jpg?v=1780293051"},{"product_id":"love-chants-marigold-b-w-wild-and-blue-7","title":"Love Chants - Marigold b\/w Wild and Blue 7\"","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhen it rains it pours! After a decade of no new music, this is the third Love Chants release of the year (if you count the micro-run Live on Cockatoo Island cassette as well). Two more cuts of the kinda Love Chants you know and love!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMarigold centres around a kind of audio illusion conjured by Guerra and Zulicki, beginning with one guitar playing a set of four double stops and the other playing in unison before breaking off for a solo and a series of bends that cuts across the chord progression to modulate, a bit like the rubber band that wholes the package together. At least, that’s what I THINK is happening here, my music theory sits somewhere between rusty and non-existent. Whatever is going on, I can’t stop listening to it!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWatching Love Chants at Nag Nag Nag last month I couldn’t help but think that that set was the most Crazy Horse leaning I’d seen them live. While I don’t think they played the B-Side of this record (Wild and Blue), it feels like the best demonstration of their approach even-looser-than-Crazy Horse shredding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI realise that I haven’t said anything about Matt Earle’s drumming in this review yet, which is criminal considering he’s one of the best and most intuitive drummers going. Here he seems mysteriously lower in the mix, not in a crappy way, it just makes you wanna bury your ears deeper in the tracks to get even closer!\u003cbr\u003e–Mitch\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45178957430966,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/FV0702-LoveChants-02.jpg?v=1780971260"},{"product_id":"simon-joyner-tough-love-cd","title":"Simon Joyner - Tough Love CD","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI recently came across a quote from the writer Mikal Gilmore on Lou Reed written for Rolling Stone in 1979 that seemed just as applicable to Simon Joyner’s work:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Lou Reed doesn’t just write about squalid characters, he allows them to leer and breathe in their own voices, and he colors familiar landscapes through their own eyes. In the process, Reed has created a body of music that comes as close to disclosing the parameters of human loss and recovery as we’re likely to find. That qualifies him, in my opinion, as one of the few real heroes rock \u0026amp; roll has raised.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe characters in Joyner’s songs are not so much squalid as they are flawed, complicated, and most of all, human. He steps into their voices with a generosity that brings to life thoughts, motivations, decisions, and a la Gilmore’s read on Reed, comes even closer to tracing the parameters of human loss and recovery in song. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter the autobiographical Coyote Butterfly from 2024, Joyner has largely returned to a more familiar fictional form of songwriting. Songs detail sibling falling outs, strained relationships, urban feelings of isolation, mourning deaths, sifting through the traces and remnants of others (the track Two Black Irises feels like the mournful response to Ryan Davis’ junk drawer metaphor - or am I reading too much into this?), etc. (Another aside… I realise that rattling off the broad subject matter of some of these songs might make this LP feel like a bit of a grim affair or a difficult listen, but love here is both tough and a saviour from a tough life). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll this in a manner that you could say evokes the best Cohen LPs which foreground his voice and the lyrics with a minimal backing where every instrument and note carries weight, here ranging from Stonesy lead guitar licks through to Kath Bloom \u0026amp; Loren Connors-esque fragility, to a post-VU pulse, to some understated string arrangements c\/o Megan Siebe. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTough Love is crowned by the side-long title track, another piece in the autobiographical mosaic constructed from the last LP. Loosely recalling the song cycle of Lou Reed’s Street Hassle (see, the Gilmore quote carries even more weight), a twenty-minute almost spoken word piece that is told from the perspective of his son amidst an imagined confrontation with him. Centred around a single guitar riff, it gradually expands out from tense string arrangements to a cathartic field of synths, string drones, and lightly twinkling piano. About as devastating, confronting, and beautiful as music can get!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e–Mitch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 472px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1299632920\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com\/album\/simon-joyner-tough-love\"\u003eSIMON JOYNER \"Tough Love\" by Simon Joyner\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midheaven","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45195228577974,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a3278618630_10.jpg?v=1779762292"},{"product_id":"tongue-dissolver-mountain-simulator-lp","title":"Tongue Dissolver - Mountain Simulator LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"The punk\/tech trio Tongue Dissolver has long existed as a force in Naarm’s underground, defined by presence, collaboration and shared momentum....\" Sabine Lee-Cook, FBI album of the week review. Read on \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.radio\/articles\/album-of-the-week\/tongue-dissolver-mountain-simulator\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 439px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1914255311\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/tonguedissolver.bandcamp.com\/album\/mountain-simulator\"\u003eMountain Simulator by Tongue Dissolver\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"Direct","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45212905570486,"sku":null,"price":44.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9119\/8390\/files\/a1207985799_10.jpg?v=1782271413"}],"url":"https:\/\/repressedrecords.com\/collections\/best-of-2026-so-far.oembed","provider":"Repressed Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}