Former records in the distro....
A good amount of new records are coming in to the MATW webstore and going through the stuff had got me thinking. I first had started doing the trading thing back when I was working on Special Forces Records with Aaron Leonovich in the mid 90's. I remember some records that I picked up on trades that I was psyched to get that I had a harder time unloading to the NJHC crowds back then. Below are some recollections of records I managed to pick up that either are some underappreciated gems in the mid to late 90's hardcore work, or that even would fly out of the box now if I had them. Back then, they moved slower...
Fairfuck- s/t 7"
This record first came to me on cassette with a copy of the cover. The accompanying letter made comparisons to Void and asked for a trade. Void comparisons are a tall order, and while this record didn't quite have the same teeth as Void, it did have some crazy guitar noise and a distinctly harDCore influence. It was a winner for sure, so I snagged some copies up of this-- it might have been that the cover looked more like something you'd have envisioned on an emo record, or even the weird name, but it wasn't snagged up en masse by the NJHC crowd at the time who were still enthralled by all things youth crew. Still, I managed to convince some friends of mine it was a damn fine record and worthy purchase. Of course this wound up being the original pressing of the first release on Kicknpunch Records, the great Danish label that gave us many now-classic bands like Young Wasteners, Hjertestop, Gorilla Angreb, Amdi Petersens Arme, and more. This record was also later issued in a US pressing by Underestimated Records.
Amdi Petersens Arme 7"
A great debut record by a great band that made a pretty big splash on these shores, thanks in large part to Havoc Records' support. When that second 7" hit people took some serious notice, but I remember people passing over it many a time in the record box. It was frustrating, too. Imagine picking up a record with 7 or 8 songs on it, on a new-ish label from a foreign country where the kids in the pictures look like they studied the S.O.A. 7" for fashion tips. Mandatory buy!
Crucial Section 7"s....
Maybe on the westcoast when the whole "bandana thrash" revival thing was going on, Crucial Section records were pretty hyped. A California tour and a record on 625 probably helped. On the east coast, not too many people knew who they were.... I had the good fortune to do a handful of trades with Dan Doh Records and snagged up a good amount of Crucial Section records. They were a fun, goofy band more influenced by the likes of American and European thrash than anything Japanese.
Outlast- Throw a Spanner into the Works 7"
For a while, anything vaguely "youth crew" would do pretty well, and folks were willing to take a chance with it. What's rather ironic is that in retrospect, public opinion is such that European youth-crew revivalist hardcore doesn't command the respect of their US counterparts. Outlast was arguably one of the better bands of that era and style. A Swedish band with a definite Youth of Today influence and some additional speed, they kinda remind me of a posi-version of Tear it Up. While the varsity font should be a dead giveaway, I was more likely to sell something with a whole bunch of X's in the title than this one, or the even better 10" they did (which I might still have an extra copy of).
No Side- Depressing Day 7"
No Side might be known now for the great split they did with Out Cold. John from Out Cold was hip to this noisy japanese outfit early on. Again, more US-influenced than japanese-sounding on this 7" on HG Fact, but they tear through a good number of sloppy hardcore tunes.
OAC- Dukowski's T-shirt 7"
I was really psyched to get copies of this one. This was self-released right on the heels of the 7" they did with Pushead. Totally off-kilter hardcore that's all over the place, like an early Meat Puppets record. As you can see, the packaging is a little unorthodox for a hardcore record, and I'm sure it threw a lot of people off.
Fairfuck- s/t 7"
This record first came to me on cassette with a copy of the cover. The accompanying letter made comparisons to Void and asked for a trade. Void comparisons are a tall order, and while this record didn't quite have the same teeth as Void, it did have some crazy guitar noise and a distinctly harDCore influence. It was a winner for sure, so I snagged some copies up of this-- it might have been that the cover looked more like something you'd have envisioned on an emo record, or even the weird name, but it wasn't snagged up en masse by the NJHC crowd at the time who were still enthralled by all things youth crew. Still, I managed to convince some friends of mine it was a damn fine record and worthy purchase. Of course this wound up being the original pressing of the first release on Kicknpunch Records, the great Danish label that gave us many now-classic bands like Young Wasteners, Hjertestop, Gorilla Angreb, Amdi Petersens Arme, and more. This record was also later issued in a US pressing by Underestimated Records.
Amdi Petersens Arme 7"
A great debut record by a great band that made a pretty big splash on these shores, thanks in large part to Havoc Records' support. When that second 7" hit people took some serious notice, but I remember people passing over it many a time in the record box. It was frustrating, too. Imagine picking up a record with 7 or 8 songs on it, on a new-ish label from a foreign country where the kids in the pictures look like they studied the S.O.A. 7" for fashion tips. Mandatory buy!
Crucial Section 7"s....
Maybe on the westcoast when the whole "bandana thrash" revival thing was going on, Crucial Section records were pretty hyped. A California tour and a record on 625 probably helped. On the east coast, not too many people knew who they were.... I had the good fortune to do a handful of trades with Dan Doh Records and snagged up a good amount of Crucial Section records. They were a fun, goofy band more influenced by the likes of American and European thrash than anything Japanese.
Outlast- Throw a Spanner into the Works 7"
For a while, anything vaguely "youth crew" would do pretty well, and folks were willing to take a chance with it. What's rather ironic is that in retrospect, public opinion is such that European youth-crew revivalist hardcore doesn't command the respect of their US counterparts. Outlast was arguably one of the better bands of that era and style. A Swedish band with a definite Youth of Today influence and some additional speed, they kinda remind me of a posi-version of Tear it Up. While the varsity font should be a dead giveaway, I was more likely to sell something with a whole bunch of X's in the title than this one, or the even better 10" they did (which I might still have an extra copy of).
No Side- Depressing Day 7"
No Side might be known now for the great split they did with Out Cold. John from Out Cold was hip to this noisy japanese outfit early on. Again, more US-influenced than japanese-sounding on this 7" on HG Fact, but they tear through a good number of sloppy hardcore tunes.
OAC- Dukowski's T-shirt 7"
I was really psyched to get copies of this one. This was self-released right on the heels of the 7" they did with Pushead. Totally off-kilter hardcore that's all over the place, like an early Meat Puppets record. As you can see, the packaging is a little unorthodox for a hardcore record, and I'm sure it threw a lot of people off.
Labels: amdi petersens arme, crucial section, fairfuck, no side, oac, outlast
posted by danscheme at 6:18 PM
2 comments
