Street date: 2010-05-17

Crush Depth is the ultimate encapsulation of this undeniable band's powers. It variously sounds like the soundtrack to a lost episode of Blake's Seven, the best disco Grace Jones never performed at, the inside of a Black Hole and The Apocalypse.

Street date: 2010-04-19

Street date: 2010-04-08

Coming April 2010, Little Annie and Paul Wallfisch return with their latest release Genderful.

Street date: 2009-09-22

Atone reaches into all corners of Americana; Echoes of Harry Nilsson's “Everybody's Talkin'” reverberate through “The Keystone,” as Farina narrates a train ride through the decaying mining towns of Pennsylvania. The acoustic and electric guitars on “Concaves” are woven together like twin fiddles. Matt Pond recently described the deftly-fingerpicked “Just What I Was Thinking” as ‘Bluegrass Morrissey’. There is even a bawling Walter Horton-style Marine Band that punctuates the bluesy “Softly as She Sings.” But for all its pre-punk influences, Glorytellers have their feet firmly planted in 80s and 90s indie music: Had they been plugged into 100-watt Marshall amps, the guitars on “Fours” and “Omni Stars” would be at home on a Pitchfork or New Radiant Storm King record, and the six-plus minutes of “The Coldest War” seethe and simmer like Karate's best album-ending epics.

Street date: 2009-05-18

This San Francisco duo, much praised for their awe- inspiring live sets and loop-heavy soundscapes ,have taken their sonic vision to the next level. After three years of experimentation within their performance, both on-stage and in the studio, the band has developed their craft into an art form. Tartufi welcomed engineer and co-producer Tim Green back into the control room and spent over four months recording and mixing what has become their most ambitious work to date. Further exploring the boundaries of vocal and instrumental layering, poly- rhythmic deconstruction and song arrangement, Nests of Waves and Wire is a lush and weighty mix of the band's compositional sensibilities and sonic capabilities. Having created a sound both entirely refreshing and wholly vital, the momentum behind them shows no sign of slowing. Sounding like a 10- piece band backed by a full choir, NOWAW is a refreshing breach within the realm of today's popular music.

Street date: 2009-04-20

On their new album, the group abandons some of the usual tricks. There are no segue pieces, no recurring musical motifs - just ten songs on an LP. With each track representing a different natural disaster, The Paper Chase leader John Congleton crafts his most startling account of humanity, creating characters frantically trying to survive elements far beyond their control. On Someday, The Paper Chase sounds even more unlike any other band in modern music. With drummer Jason Garner making his recorded debut with the group, the band expands upon its singular vision--a perpetual struggle between conflict and resolution, dissonance and beauty. Utilising a newfound dynamic command, these songs are able to breathe - subtly building feelings of anticipation, yet erupting into violence and chaos as crisis becomes inevitable. The Paper Chase has matured but hasn't lightened up. If anything, by leaving open spaces and allowing melodies to fully develop, the group presents its most powerful work to date.

Street date: 2008-09-08

Islands Of Ayle stands as a notable turning point in follow up to Dollar And Deed. Clearly learning from his mistakes the unclear vocals were replaced with more clarity, thought, and delivery. Listeners will find the lyrical confidence of The Streets or MIA tied up with the vulnerability and beauty of Kimya Dawson. The production is now more intricate and melodic as opposed to the straight ahead beats of the past, not too far from Deerhoof's hooks having a handshake with Peaches beatbox. The basslines are a welcomed bonus, as someone finally lent him a synthesiser! During his 20 month world tour for his last album, Dollar And Deed, Cooler utilized his travel to create an intricate library of samples. From vintage, oscillating melodies, to the chopped up countryside field recording on Zhou Zhong (where the spine of the song is based on field recordings of cows' bells Cooler heard while he was traveling in the Swiss Alps) one thing remains constant: this stands as one of the most refreshing records of the decade. A captivatingly precise ear for sound that bonds with each listener.

Street date: 2008-08-25

The Owl Service was formed by Steven Collins on 6th June 2006 as a vehicle to explore his love of British films and television of the 1960s and 70s, the great outdoors and the sound of the English folk revival. A Garland Of Song was recorded and mixed almost entirely at home, with a group of like-minded collaborators, between December 2006 and June 2007; it fuses traditional British folk ballads with elements of psychedelic rock, occasionally bordering on a doom-laden garage sound, and is interspersed with Steven's original instrumental compositions. It recalls the great acid-folk bands of the late '60s/early '70s but never once sounds contrived or overtly retro - nobody has approached trad folk quite like this for over 30 years. SOME WORDS FROM ITS CREATOR: "...I set out to make the most exciting English folk album since Liege And Lief - I'll leave it up to you to decide whether I actually achieved that: it's certainly a celebration of the tradition, the beginning of a joyous re-telling of our song tapestry and ultimately something I'm incredibly proud of. I sincerely hope you enjoy it." Steve Collins (Leigh-on-sea, June 2007)

Street date: 2008-08-25

Cavalcade could be Bellafea's "call to arms". Recorded over two years during multiple sessions with Chapel Hill engineers Brian Paulson and Nick Petersen, focused on the ideas of plurality and layers, friends and enemies, dedication and rejection, decoding the feeling of fight. Bellafea's urgency and battle cry is apparent; well-known for their captivating sold-out hometown performances, they have gained the loyalty of local musicians/friends John Darnielle (Mountain Goats), Dave Laney (Milemarker), Ben Davis (Sleepytime Trio, Bats & Mice), Daniel Hart (Polyphonic Spree, St. Vincent, John Vanderslice), Eric Moe (Zegota) who all – along with a choir of friends – lend a hand on their debut full-length.

Street date: 2008-08-25

qhnnnl is their third full-length on Southern and is a camouflage affair with ventures into the dark and lighter spectrum of their songwriting. And what we can make out from qhnnnl is exactly that - they are mainly songwriters. Bassist Jay Ryan steps up to the mic on more than one occasion on this album. At other turns, he can be found shouting along with the rest of the band, "...this is how we fight!" Besides the addition of vocals, the band play with more ferociousness in their instrumental moments, such as on the heavy, thudding title track.

Street date: 2008-07-04

God Bless The Drunkard's Dog is the long awaited follow-up to 2003's Remembered. Again employing the powerhouse drums of one Taylor Young (formerly of Young Heart Attack) the duo slug it out in what is definitely his most rounded and complete album to date, all the vintage swagger of Mule at their most cocksure along with the more fragile poignancy of P.W.'s solo songs. The songs here sound urgent, every lyric grabbed by the throat and wrung out over the rattling rhythm. You get a handful of great stories, some secrets, a little insight and some damn fine playing from a guy who knows what he's talking about. What more do you want? God Bless... contains a lyric sheet which P.W. had translated into many languages before back into English, resulting in an interesting, funny and more often than not deeply emotive new slant on each song's meaning. A few of the misheard, mistranslated lyrics finally made their way onto the album proper, adding credence to the adage that there's nothing more beautiful than the accidental.

Street date: 2008-06-30

After the launch of Pre-Emptive False Rapture last year, the press, record buyers and gig goers in the UK have gone bananas for the futuresonic be-robed avatars of Year 3000 Disco, Chrome Hoof. First up, the legendary Graham Massey (808 State) lends some super dirty synths and electronic beats adding an icy chill to the proceedings, whilst man-of-the-moment Herve (AKA Count Of Monte Cristal ) weighs in with a ferocious hardcore lo-fi rework of “Tonyte”. Packaging is suitably maximalist, compared to the mirrorboard simplicity of the album, and features a disco sleeve of live photos of the band in full flight.

Street date: 2008-06-02

Acid Or Blood blasts raw and ruthless molten fury from the Cannon: Bannon into the unsuspecting heads of the musical elite worldwide, and shifts perceptions of what is "heavy," "cerebral," or "arty." The core creative nucleus of Racebannon has remained unchanged, but the music has become deadlier and more destructive. 11 tracks of unchecked emotion (recorded by Mike Bridavsky of Russian Recording and mastered by Bob Weston) unfurl as the band unleashes its working-class destruction without a care in the world for convention or marketability

Street date: 2008-05-05

Helmed by Stuart Dahlquist, formerly of Burning Witch, Goatsnake and Sunn0))), and recorded with the cream of the Pacific North West's rich musical talent, including members of Burning Witch, Mr. Bungle and Earth. This is a lyricless album of immense personal meaning to its creator, giving a very real sense of catharsis for both listener and performers alike. But there's also real hope and resolution at its core.

Street date: 2008-04-21

The Stan Brakhage film Mothlight comprised insects, leaves and other natural detritus fixed directly onto celluloid, creating what Brakhage called 'found foliage'. With their debut album, The Flax Of Reverie, Mothlite reflect both the form and process of Brakhage's work, propelling listeners down the rabbit hole into a world of wilderness and wyrd that is at once English and entirely other. The album's six pieces encompass elements as diverse as choral madrigals cascading with strings, the melody and dissonance of Arvo Part and Moondog and the cinematic, studio-as- instrument manipulations of Pink Floyd, Coil, Cocteau Twins and late period Talk Talk. Woodwind and percussion take their cue from the devotional mantras of Alice Coltrane and Albert Ayler. O'Sullivan's words are of the same bloodline as Jorge Luis Borges, Lewis Carroll and Henry Williamson.

Street date: 2008-01-28

Geoff Farina is probably better known for fronting indie stalwarts Karate and Secret Stars. The guitars on Glorytellers' debut conjure Jim Hall, Johnny Smith, Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Skip James and other of Farina's earlier American guitar heroes. On this first release Farina and collaborator/drummer Luther Gray III balance Farina's abstract harmonies and urgent vocal style on pristine pre-WWII guitar and drum sounds, as bass lines are thumb-picked on acoustic guitar and 50-year-old cymbals sizzle for choruses. Farina delivers lyrics with the same staccato, stream-of-consciousness style that helped define Karate's sound, but these image-laden lyrics are decidedly more narrative. The characters in these dark stories share a positive outlook, and Glorytellers' songs are ultimately about survivors searching for normalcy in the face of tribulation. Glorytellers are musicians' musicians who have been individually mining the dusty bins of 20th Century American music for many years, and revitalize their findings with this unique set of delicate ballads.

Street date: 2007-10-08

595 shows after Karate first stepped on stage together, Geoff Farina, Jeff Goddard and Gavin McCarthy found themselves in Leuven, Belgium, sweating out what felt like just another tight set at the end of a long tour. A recording of this May 5th, 2003 show eventually found its way back to the band, who were surprised to hear the clarity and balance that they strive for in the studio. It became the band's favorite live document, and they considered these performances on par with their best studio records.

Street date: 2007-09-10

Trencher are an absurd casio grind-core trio from London town who have quite the cult following in the UK and around the rest of Europe. Following the release of Lips we at Southern are very excited to announce a re-issue of Trenchers' long deleted album When Dracula Thinks "Look At Me". The songs on Dracula... are short, sharp and penetrating... and somewhat painful, not unlike a long awaited trip to a dentist with rusty instruments. With fewer hooks and a dirtier production than Lips this is a much rawer beast, laying the foundations of what was and is still to come from these out of control flailing zombie boys whilst perfectly honing the genre of one-minute Casio-Metal.

Street date: 2007-09-10

Chrome Hoof have finally managed to compress all the manic energy, tight prog chops and disco-ball hedonism into the most unashamedly enjoyable record you'll hear this year. Part dizzying instrumental mastery, part mind-buggering sci-fi fantasy, part big band ferocity - all incredible.

Street date: 2007-08-27

All sides of Jenny Hoyston are evident on her new release under her own name, entitled 'Isle Of'. Jenny started writing songs including just dirty guitar sounds and drum machine - as is evident in previous recordings prior to her Paradise Island Latitudes release. The Latitudes session helped her to discover new outlets and directions for her songs and she has since expanded to recording in Portland (Oregon), Detroit and San Francisco with a variety of collaborators, she was able to not only concentrate on her electronic side but also full-band arrangements.

Street date: 2007-04-23

To celebrate their impending US tour we managed to corral the unruly beast back into the studio to record three brand new songs for your pleasure and amazement, including a blistering cover of Tacoma Washington's finest sons Karp as the title track.

Street date: 2007-02-12

Trencher are a casio-grindcore trio from London. They play brutally fast, funny and complex songs, all bashed out on bass, drums and a toy keyboard. For the past five years they have built up a fearsome reputation from their incendiary live shows and slew of limited edition releases on weird and wonderful formats. Lips is the band's second album and their first for Southern who became intoxicated with their off kilter rhythmic attack and short, stabby menace and knew that they were the exactly the band that the world needed to hear. This is 9 songs and 25 minutes of controlled chaos of the highest order. Prepare to be amazed and enchanted.

Street date: 2007-02-12

Along with Mr. P.W. Long, Young James Long consists of the venerable Mr. Kirkland James, legendary in North America for his work in Tenderloin (and also dragged out of the education system for our nefarious pursuits), and Mr. Taylor Young, who as we understand it still has a bit of youthful optimism about him, and has done his best to avoid the education system by joining up the Polyphonic Spree and Young Heart Attack. Together these three musicians have distilled their craft down to its most primal and lethal elements, which is to say none of the songs are longer than 2 minutes. Luckily here at Southern we generally agree that if you can't make your point in 2 minutes, it's not worth making anyhow. What exactly Young James Long's point is, we're not quite sure, as Mr. Long insists in yelping and hollering in his trademark mumble and slur technique, but we think it has something do with needing to cross a river and not being able to swim. Quite an appropriate metaphor for our times, we think.

Street date: 2006-10-30

Double vinyl version on southern records. Absence recalls the best parts of Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad, the street poetry of KRS-1, the raw beats of Gang Starr and Mobb Deep, and the fearlessness of the avant garde, like Glenn Branca, My Bloody Valentine and Penderecki. If you're used to emcees boasting about their skills, you might miss the history lesson in urban oppression on "A Beast Caged." And if you can't believe that hip hop music can or should be complicated, emotional and breathtaking, you'll probably want to pass over the My Bloody Valentine - drone bliss of "Ever Somber" or the sheer sonic terror behind "In Midst of Struggle." But then again, if you missed all that rest assured MTV will soon pump out another mindless Hip Hop record that you won't have to worry about. One that won't offend you, or make you think, or challenge your expectations. This is not that record. This is an album of violence, pain and the challenges of life. And they never sounded so good.

Street date: 2006-10-23

When it was suggested, William and Jenny jumped at the chance to record a duets album. They recruited help to add organ, drums, and even a singing saw. These six songs represent two worlds colliding. Two distinct voices, that when singing together, deliver unified beauty. Adopting the twang of the early '70s Nashville country scene (and, dare I say, gospel), one hears echoes of the Cash/Carter classic "Jackson" on "Marrow". The ominous title track, clocking in at 6:30, is an instrumental drone unlike anything either artist has ever attempted previously. At the core of both artists is the need for expression and DIY ethic that punk provided. William's sound is rooted in the early music of America, while Jenny's sound is proof of that music's evolution. Their love for the spirit of early Country music led them to explore this joy and heartache as a team.

Street date: 2006-07-24

William Elliott Whitmore hails from an Iowa horse farm along the banks of the Mississippi River, and his intense love and spiritual understanding of the land is flawlessly conveyed on his albums for Southern Records; a trilogy of albums collecting songs overflowing with mortality, sorrowful joy and attempts to make peace with a conflicted sense of morality. William's voice sounds decades older than his tattered birth certificate indicates, burnished by smoke and drink and full of emotional depth. While comparisons to the gravelly voice of Tom Waits and the lyrical story telling of Johnny Cash are prevalent (and not altogether inaccurate), Mr. Whitmore is clearly doing more than just regenerating the music of the past. Dark tales of life, love, lonliness and loss are the cornerstones for his albums. These universal themes of desperation and redemption served Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Henry Rollins well... and Whitmore has perfected his own unique strain of the rural folk blues with this impressive catalgoue.

Street date: 2006-05-15

The Paper Chase's signature sounds (strangled guitars, bombastic percussion, terror-stricken strings, bizarre samples and crashing pianos) are firmly in place on their latest endeavor, Now You Are One of Us. Here, the Dallas quartet creates the sonic equivalent to George A. Romero's classic zombie films, in which one and all inevitably become "one of them." Songwriter/singer/producer John Congleton examines the way fear can be utilized as an instrument of control, even as it spreads like a plague across the land. Possessed by fear of pacification, domestication and ultimate dissolve, the characters in the songs struggle to retain their identity. Layers of trepidation are aurally peeled away and scrutinized while a looming unknown lies just below the surface. Beyond the fear of death, is the characters' dreadful realization that perhaps they never even existed. The sound of ghostly forces opening and closing squeaky doors becomes eerily significant, and Congleton's trademark desperation is at its most crucial as he exclaims, "We will show this cruel world we were here." Despite the disturbed poltergeists that are its roommates, The Paper Chase sound right at home in their self-wrought haunted house. Over the album's seamless course, the band not only offer battle anthems for those who won't go down without a fight, but also the sadistic theme songs of their bloodthirsty attackers. Another histrionic epic is rendered, but we wouldn't expect anything less from Congleton and his crew.

Street date: 2006-05-15

Vice's ground breaking debut LP, Get Up Resolution: Love!, sold 20,000 copies by word of mouth alone, putting Hawnay Troof on a worldwide tour of 12 different countries including his first shows ever in New Zealand, Australia and Iceland. With such major crossover appeal the tour had him headlining everything from raves, noise, dance and being the exclusive invite to the Jutta Koether and Kim Gordon art opening, The Club In The Shadow. The new album, Dollar And Deed, is the fruit of a mind set loose on the road, the interior cabin fever of a life on wheels. Covering as many topics (nature, sex, war, motivation, love, high school, destruction, politeness, and the work towards eternal happiness) as there are guests on the album (Barr, Mika Miko, Jenny Hoyston from Erase Errata/Paradise Island, Mates Of State, Stereo Total).

Street date: 2006-04-03

Right from the get go Comes To Your House attacks like a kill-hungry bear. Spinning in circles, eyes turned up in its head. TODD have got songs about naughty girls in Berlin, they've got songs about prison fights with chairs, hell they've even got a song about stabbing a dog to death!! HAAAA HAAAAAAA!!!! (Please note... no real animals were harmed in the making of this record) that's right, and it's a true story bub, lyrics written and sung by the one and only Eugene Robinson from OXBOW. TODD kindly provide a suitable backdrop of black hell-noise riffage for this little ditty. After that things get weird, really fucking weird. As soon as you think you've pinned this bitch down as some kind of stoner/noise record they go all fuckin Pussy Galore meets Devo! How is that possible you ask? Fuck knows--just listen to the goddamned thing!! Things then take another bizarre twist in the form of a song called "Council Member". The song bursts off the starting line like a drag racer on fire and within seconds it's gone, only to be replaced by what sounds like like 20 scissors? Yeah, 20 scissors. Snipping away, but why? and it just keeps going ad infinitum, until... BOOM!!! here comes some shit that kind of moves into that repetitive Load Records type territory. After that, Oh Jesus, it's all over the place. You get a tiny little casio toy keyboard that somehow manages to sound like a building falling over. You get some crazy Japanese chicks rambling about fuck knows what over the top of ridiculous ear splitting high end skree, that is so painful you'll feel personally violated, and you get sludge so thick you feel like you just ate an entire jar of family sized extra crunchy peanut butter.

Street date: 2006-02-20

ALREADY TOLD YOU is Geoff Farina's first solo effort since the break up of Karate, the trio that was Geoff's main gig since 1993. With guitar/vocal renditions of three new songs and a fourth that Geoff previously recorded as part of the Secret Stars in 1996, ALREADY TOLD YOU continues in the harmonically-dense, stream-of-consciousness vein of his 2000 Southern Records release, REVERSE ECLIPSE. Like REVERSE ECLIPSE, ALREADY TOLD YOU sets images if bitter New England winters and gray Atlantic tides to weaving melodies and Hoagy Carmichael-era harmonies. Rhode Island's Quakers, incessant mosquitoes and seaside burnouts are the target of "Molasses to Rum," a New Englander's wry take on Carmichael's "Georgia on my Mind." The EP's title track is a kind of meta-love song as Geoff informs his inamorata that he has finally exhausted his catalogue and has nothing left to sing to her. "Femmes Damnees" evokes the intimate bedroom-recordings of the Secret Stars with glimpses of bitter Boston winters, and "Kin of Carbons" recounts a dream of flora reclaiming the environment from the humans who squandered it. Together these songs offer another glimpse through a frosted window of the imperfections of consummate love and other existential ponderings that Geoff has been singing about for the past 15 years.

Street date: 2006-01-23

The Grey CD collects together Lack Of Knowledge's debut EP 'Grey' (originally released on Crass Records in 1983) with their 'Sirens Are Back' LP (originally released on Corpus Christi in 1984). This is the first time that these records have ever been re-issued.

Street date: 2005-05-30

Time is slippery. Memories are almost as hard to hold on to. These inevitable difficulties must be what drives our deluded little species to yearn for tomorrow, to hold on to the hope of the future. Face it: When the cat returns, the mice are fucked. In the quest of documenting the past and calling out to the future, your friends at Southern (that's us!) have put together a brand new label sampler. Over the past 20 years, we've been fortunate to work with many of the finest and most talented musicians on the planet. And we think our current roster of active bands are as crucial as any we've worked with in the past. Punk Rock. Avant Garde. Loud. Soft. Electric. Acoustic. Southern has remained eclectic and constantly in search of new music that moves us. "When The Cat Returns...The Mice Are Fucked" is a 9 song budget priced CD compilation featuring tracks from Southern's current roster of artists. It's the sound of tomorrow...Southern style. Some tracks are from forthcoming Southern releases, some are exclusive to this limited edition CD (only 4000 worldwide!). The packaging and graphic design for "When The Cat Returns..." is just as unique as the music contained therein. Chicago hot-shot Jon Resh designed the 24 page full colour booklet and graphic elements for the cover. Jeff Mueller (The Shipping News, Rodan) executed the intricate embossing and letterpress printing of the custom cardstock CD folios at his own Dexterity Press in Chicago USA. Please consult liner notes for more extensive information about each band.

Street date: 2005-05-02

Crazy When Wet is the unchained debut from Chicago bring-da-party band Tight Phantomz. Following their well-received Nightfool EP (released April 2004), Crazy When Wet is one mother load of a boogie record; complete with a mid-lick swinging drop kick to the face of convention, and a shady hoochie-koo shuffle step that would make the Starchild himself proud. This is fair warning people, oh yes. Tight Phantomz are fresh outta the back of the limo, and are here to flaunt their dirty sinner grind.

Street date: 2005-03-21

Now, if you haven't seen them live, you can be forgiven for the thinking that New York City's Darediablo are a four-, maybe even a five-piece. What is unforgivable is A) not seeing them live, and B) confusing the Southern Records recording artists with any other instrumental band currently slogging it out in the indie underground. The difference? Their instrumental rock rocks! While their peers often substitute bleeps and clangs for raw groove and genuine innovation, Darediablo succeed on the strength of their stripped-down rock three-piece. It's their unbelievable range of direct influences - from the 1950's "organ trio" model to the cock-rock of the 1970s to spaghetti western soundtracks to modern (but not "Nu") metal. And as their latest album, "Twenty Paces", makes clear, damn near everything in between. Jake Garcia's guitar and bass effortlessly trade lead and rhythm with Matt Holford's Hammond and assorted keyboards, inspiring devil horns and raised beers almost as much for their tension-building restraint as for their arena-grade riffage. Laying a truly solid foundation, drummer Chad Royce crafts beats with brawn and brains that don't pull out the rug from underneath Holford and Garcia's menacing and complex rhythmic barrages. From Darediablo's self-released "Tunnel of Fire" in 1999, to 2001's double-EP "Sky Cohete/Subaquatico", on through "Bedtime Stories" in 2002, and their 2003 Southern debut "Feeding Frenzy", they've been compared to an increasingly diverse array of artists, including Deep Purple, The Fucking Champs, AC/DC, Booker T and The MGs, Don Caballero, and the MC5, to name a few. True to their reputation as a relentless road band, Darediablo will set out once again in Spring '05, hot on the heels of their numerous US tours and their recent trek to Europe. And true to their name, Darediablo take chances where others will not, and they burn.

Street date: 2005-02-21

"This is American folk music stripped to its basics but freed of any stultifying reverence. Whitmore writes originals which sound timeless in a voice which doesn't fit his comparative youth." - WIRE William Elliott Whitmore hails from an Iowa horse farm along the banks of the Mississippi River, and his intense love and spiritual understanding of the land is flawlessly conveyed on his second Southern full length, Ashes To Dust. Ashes To Dust collects nine new original songs riddled by mortality and struggling to interpret and make peace with a conflicted sense of morality. William's voice sounds decades older than his tattered birth certificate indicates, burnished by smoke and drink and full of emotional depth. While comparisons to the gravelly voice of Tom Waits and the lyrical story telling of Johnny Cash are prevalent (and not altogether inaccurate), Mr. Whitmore is clearly doing more than just regenerating the music of the past. Dark tales of life, love, loneliness and loss are the cornerstones for his new album. These universal themes of desperation and redemption served Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Henry Rollins well... and Whitmore has perfected his own strain of the rural folk blues. "Midnight", the opening track, was born out of the feeling of displacement and alienation. "Diggin' My Grave" speaks of the need, for some reason or another, to kill yourself slowly. "Lift My Jug (song for Hub Cale)" is a tribute to a beloved drifter William met when he was still a young boy. The finale of Ashes To Dust is the wrenchingly poignant track "Porchlight". It tells the story of Whitmore's father; an elegy to a dying farmer and his last request. William Elliott Whitmore will be touring Europe extensively throughout 2005 in support of Ashes To Dust.

Street date: 2005-01-24

7-10 Live tracks from their final show (Brighton Freebutt - 21/08/04). This final record is a far more introspective effort than these previous releases, the paradigm shifting from the political to the personal, however entwined both find themselves. Their world-weary detonation sound feeding off the rage they once directed at the outside world, now turning within. Yet this record comes as some surprise when one considers it was largely written in an idyllic log cabin on a lake outside Washington DC. Recorded in Philadelphia by friend Steve Roche (Off Minor) after their US tour last April, the album is made up of first takes with no overdubs - a rawness complementing the frustration they felt towards being engulfed by the USA, swallowed by a lie, staring into stark reality. The songs representing their disaffection at conceding that everywhere proved just as hostile as they hoped it wasn't. Musically, 'Blanket Over Your Eyes' is a darker and more apocalyptic recording, more reflective of their intense live performances. 'More Escapism' is an insurgent shard of riotcore, exploring the way individuals are stifled by social convention and the media's persistent mantra of goodwill. While 'Sad For Sale' is an anti-emo anthem, criticising the way depression is coopted by the youth industry. However, the bleak nature of these songs is tempered by the inclusion of four bonus live tracks, taken from their emotional last gig, a defiant reminder that hope is the last thing you should give up. This record provides a powerful testimony of a band in the process of self destruction. Yet this is not to say that it provides an unremittingly bleak experience for the listener. Indeed the final song offers up many a glimmer of hope. For instance it is no coincidence that the final lyrics declare from the rooftops that "We are not powerless!", passing the baton onwards, a call to arms shot across barricade of inert existence. This is an end for Cat On Form, but not the end by no means.

Street date: 2004-11-16

Purity Pledge is Todd's full length debut and their first release for Southern. It kicks ass. Somehow, the band's incredible onstage verve and energy is captured and nailed into a forty minute-long assault on the senses. Todd are fuelled by more than the desire to act deranged and play powerchords - there's a restless intelligence at work, shown in the black humour forcefully delivered in those lyrics: "I write about prostitutes, drug-addicts, alcoholics, wife-beaters, all the typical rock 'n' roll shit... I don't know why I write about that stuff, just dark lyrics to suit the dark music, I guess. I'm not saying anything about myself, these are all characters." - Craig Clouse. A whole range of influences can be picked out in the righteous wall of distortion. They owe a debt to Black Sabbath, but what decent rock band worth listening to doesn't? The thrift-store keyboards played by Clouse's wife Fifi and singer/percussionist Emmylou Sunshine, deliver the same relentless unease that you get from the first Suicide album. The no-wave, hardcore Jesus Lizard and Killdozer influences punch through in the menacing and insistent churning of John Webb and Craig Clouse's guitars. Drummer Francis Axe Handel binds the outfit tightly together.

Street date: 2004-08-23

In K A R A T E's decade of performing and recording they have refined their sound to a streamlined rock hybrid that is hard to pin down, and they have slowly but surely forged a unique sonic identity that is all their own. Pockets continues the project of lacing shrewd rock songwriting with quirky, soulful rhythms that the band introduced with Unsolved. This time around the songs are more concise and the tempos quicker, but Pockets also has its contemplative moments. Case in point is "Water," the song from which the recording's title comes, one that begins with a century-old blues progression and gently meanders into the 8th-note strumming style of the Secret Stars, Farina's other (early-90s) band. While the sparse and trudging "Alingual" sounds straight off one of K A R A T E's early singles, the densely textured "Cacophony" and "Concrete" feature the gritty guitar work of Chris Brokaw (Consonant, Pullman, Steve Wynn, Come, Codeine). Lyrically Pockets is full of stories that make no differentiation between the personal and political: "The State I'm In" aka "Goode Buy From Cobbs Creek Park" chronicles Farina's surreal experiences growing up central Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, hanging out at a local mall that overlooked the prison that held Mumia Abu-Jamal, and seeing Philadelphia mayor Wilson Goode bomb the MOVE headquarters in the city's Cobbs Creek Park region. Likewise "Tow Truck" tells of a tow truck driver who lives in fear of losing his job to immigrants, and "Cacophony" of two people who find justification for excess and solace from the world's problems in the American media's comfortable euphemisms. Together these songs provide a uniquely personal view of the types of political issues that we have all encountered.

Street date: 2004-06-21

Street date: 2004-03-29

Starting only with the name, recording engineer and former Lustre King frontman Mike Lust had an idea for a band - the next band he and Jay Dandurand (former drummer for Lustre King) would play in together. In late 2002 this "Phantom fantasy" quickly became reality, once they met bassist Cale Arthur. Recorded at Phantom Manor, The band's analogue recording facility, Nightfool marks their Southern Records debut. With this 5-song EP, Tight Phantomz employs a rather raw, stripped down rock aesthetic. Nightfool combines the speed and grit of Lustre King with a classic rock n' roll influence. One could say, their musical blueprint could easily be summed up with Aerosmith's Draw The Line and ZZ Top's Waiting For The Bus. In the USA the band have established the reputation of a must-see live act. With Lust at the helm - it's hard to tell what's going to happen! Complete with scissor kicks you thought only Dave Lee Roth could do without seriously injuring himself, the typical Phantomz show often becomes a visual full-on rock assault, in every sense of the word.

Street date: 2004-03-01

Street date: 2004-02-04

"music capable of sending shivers down your spine... velvet-draped baroque'n'roll at its shadowy best" (Kerrang!, Too Late or Too Dead review, September 2003). The term 90 Day Men was coined by author Samuel Yochelson in his book entitled "The Criminal Personality" to describe convicts who were awaiting psychiatric evaluation. Three young men from St. Louis appropriated this for their own and set about making the kind of music whose angular, repetitive, and impossibly disordered textures clearly reflected the origins of their name. Since 1995 the band have changed a great deal. Not least with the addition of Andy Lansangan in 2000, who bought with him the pianos, keyboards, organs and acid-soaked vintage synths which marked a dramatic evolution in the band's sound. Panda Park is the highly anticipated third full-length album by Chicago's 90 Day Men. The album crystallizes the band's growth as artists, maturity as composers and mastery of the infinite possiblities of sound. This quest to push the boundaries of exploratory rock music is the driving force behind Panda Park. The seven songs that constitute the album take the listener on a dark dizzying trip. Drummer Cayce Key's job is a tough one, harnessing the far-flung sounds of bass, guitar and soaring vocals with his rhythmic lattice work of drum patterns. Dense arrangements that many bands would easily muddle and over-do, the Men meticulously fashion together. With all forces pulling in the same direction, Panda Park is an intoxicating hybrid of Slint's emotional claustrophobia and the grandly flamboyant cabaret of David Bowie's Low and other Berlin-period albums. The swirling twists of circular keyboard lines instantly conjure images of mid-'70s strobe lit art rock. It's a quietly grand album full of surprises and hidden corridors. John Congleton (of the pAperchAse) engineered and produced the recording sessions, assisted by Greg Norman and Tim Iseler. Panda Park was recorded during the course of a spring time week in May 2003. Sessions were completed at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studios and John McEntire's Soma Studios in Chicago. Congleton's production is fantastic, in the truest definition of the word. His abilities to arrange the myriad sounds created by 90 Day Men make Panda Park sound like an alternate universe of sonic photo-fantasies.

Street date: 2003-10-20

the pAper chAse + the surrounding estAte = plAntAtion, musiciAns, religion And complete cellulAr structure of life outside. It's wAveform, frequency, velocity And bell is derived from whAt is coined: the subculture - the underground, if you will... 82% cAge-like frAntic desperAtion 3% powdered cyncisim 5% coAgulAted symbolistic discontent 10% smAll boy trApped in A rAther uncomfortAble box it is not unlike Drive Like Jehu, Steve Albini, King Crimson, the Pixies And other noise plAntAtions. However, it's rudimentAry AttAck forte dAtes it to everything from the clAssic rock of Jimi Hendrix And Pink Floyd to jAzz musiciAns such As John ColtrAne And ChArlie PArker. Following up their pAinfully disturbing but profoundly brilliAnt LP, Hide the Kitchen Knives, the pAper chAse serve up a brAnd new EP feAturing one new song, two cover versions And A video for "don’t you wish you hAd some more" from Kitchen Knives. WhereAs New track "everyone knows how this song will end" continues Congelton, DAlton, WeAver And Armstong's weird and wonderful no-wAve journey, "My DeAth" and "Go Fishing" unpick the bAnd's eclectic influences and reveAl their unique tAke on the music of JAques Brel And Roger wAters, demonstrAting just how fAr AheAd of the crowd the pAper chAse reAlly Are. Inspiring, odd And essentiAl. the pAper chAse

Street date: 2003-09-22

"Each song is its own church and one can't help but step inside and share a seat. Expect no judgement, for the judge does not exist." Hymns for the Hopeless is William E. Whitmore's first release. The twenty-five year old was found by Southern Records when he opened for Ten Grand. He had spent a couple of years on the road with Ten Grand as their merch man/roadie. As their sets tended to finish after 20 minutes of full-on raging hardcore, Will offered to open for them to make up the time. His blues songwriting and voice that seemed to be four times as old as the rest of his body may have initially confused the post hardcore kids in their backpacks, but the audience was soon won over by Will's unique talent. Musically, Will combines the traditional blues on which he was reared with an inflection of the hardcore with which he is equally in love. The combination is completely natural and, although it would be easy to treat the blues with contempt, Will handles it respectfully. After all there is an argument to be made that punk is just one of the more recent incarnations of the folk music tradition of which blues is also a part. Lyrically the album is a collection of character studies, murder ballads and gallows songs. Will looks into the hearts of the men he is writing about and sees their wrong-doings from a first person perspective. There is no judgement in his words; though some of his subjects show no remorse as they walk to the gas chamber, he believes they have the right to speak. Will sees that these people have a story to tell, just like anyone else.

Street date: 2003-09-22

Too Late or Too Dead is the first new material from 90 Day Men aka Cayce Key, Andy Lansangan, Brian Case, and Robert Lowe since the release of their critically acclaimed album To Everybody in 2002. The title track "Too Late or Too Dead" is lifted from their forthcoming album Panda Park, which is due for release in February 2004. 90 Day Men are really beginning to hit their full stride, exemplified here with a single that shows maturity in both song construction and experimentation. The stripped down opening, with its impelling piano melody, features spacious guitar strokes, dual vocals from Case and Lansagan, all of which lay atop a pseudo - military style drum march driving the song’s final progressions to include cello and harpsichord. The second track immediately sets itself apart from the opening with the resplendant dual vocal harmonies of Lansangan and Lowe on "Harlequin's Chassis", revealing 90 Day Men at their most melodic and delicate. Closing the single is the more lighthearted and sparse "Eyes In The Road" where we find the band experimenting with loose synthesiser melodies, stumbling-to-melancholy piano and almost impeding drums. What we are left with can best be surmised by the question posed in the last lines of the title track... "Where do we go from here?"

Street date: 2003-08-25

Cat on Form are normal people, four young men and women from the South Coast who make music because it's what comes naturally, they have a driving force inside them to do what they do. They formed with no big plans, but as soon as they got into a rehearsal studio, they clicked musically and realised that they shared a lot of beliefs about how things were and, more importantly, how things should be done. Structure and Fear easily captures Cat on Form's energy and naturalness The band interweave their voices and instruments with some sort of organic telepathy. Each member has their own space within the song, but they connect with each other to form a coherent and focused whole. "I Broke A Nail" starts with a slow clean guitar sound and Eva's smooth, raw, mournful voice, before guitars start to crash and Dan screams in the distance. The song then twists into a new rhythmical format, guitars and bass all holding their own part of the song. "Rock and Roll Song" is more straight forward, Steve's stuttering vocal line over the top of a deceptively simple three chord punk stomp. "Blood Drained" shows a completely different side to them, a sweet, mellow song about coming to terms with the war, with Eva singing and Steve playing drums.

Street date: 2003-06-23

Set Them On Fire With Their Own Matches is the second release on Southern Records from UK band Cat On Form. Taken from their debut album Structure And Fear, it shows the band at their most intense. The band's music is a declaration of their hatred and love for the restrictions and complexity of the world in which we all live in. Rather than wallow in self-pity, the band's music recognizes certain problems that confront them and then looks for solutions. Its message is both cathartic and hopeful. Also included on this single are two live versions of tracks from the album. Cat on Form's live performances are astonishing experiences; the band contort and hurl themselves around the stage with scant regard for their personal safety. The first live track on the single A Whip In One Hand, Gold In The Other was recorded in April 2003 in their native Brighton. The second, Broken Dialogue, dates back to a much earlier gig. Also included on the CD is an MPEG which features footage shot during the course of one song performed live at the Concorde 2 in Brighton.

Street date: 2003-06-09

The story for Answers begins in 1999 when Ui went on tour in Europe; they started writing new songs (some of which appear on the new album) and released an EP in Europe. They continued touring throughout November 1999 and recorded four songs for the Peel Sessions. Returning back home to New York, they continued slowly writing new songs. After playing a show at the Knitting Factory in February 2000, they returned to the studio and recorded several new songs with Greg Fray. In January of 2001, fellow New York musician Erik Sanko (Skeleton Key, Lounge Lizards, Yoko Ono, John Cale) accepted an invitation to join the band, together they started working in a converted thermometer factory in Brooklyn, New York, and successfully got more writing done. After a summer break the band got back together in Autumn of 2001, then went on to record Answers in February of 2002 at a church in Stuyvesant, New York with producer Bryce Goggin (The Amps, Spacehog, Pavement, Ramones). The album was mixed at the New Trout studios in Brooklyn, New York and was finished in May of 2002. After a three year gap since the release of The Iron Apple EP, Ui have delighted us with their return to the public eye, and have come back with a brand new album of twisted, unpretentious instrumentalism. Answers is their sixth release for Southern and sees the fusing jazz, funk basslines, percussion that is specifically designed to make you sway and move.

Street date: 2003-04-28

Ten Grand got together during an "uneventful" autumn in 1998, in Iowa City, Iowa. You can listen to the first few minutes of their debut album however, and discover This Is The Way To Rule on Southern Records is far from "uneventful" beeing powerful yet melodic, harsh yet fun. The band started out life as The Vidablue, and took the midwest of America by storm with their incredibly powerful music and ripping live performances. Later they toured the whole of the USA with the same results. After several years of playing and touring as Vidablue, They found themselves being beckoned by a fellow musician in a nationally well-known band who wanted their name...and wanted it BADLY! After much discussion, they went with the flow and agreed to change their name to what you know them as today, Ten Grand. This brand new signing to Southern Records is about music...Ten Grand's way. This is The Way To Rule is clever, sharp and abrasive yet melodic enough that you'll find yourself with the tune going around in your head! Ten Grand falls between...not quite punk...not quite hardcore. They combine the intricacies of schooled rock delivered with a punk punch that still kicks you in the ass! This band is one of American Midwest’s best-kept secrets! Think the emotion of The Blood Brothers...think whatever you want - just don’t be surprised when we say "We Told You So"!

Street date: 2003-01-20

After releasing the intensely emotional Hide The Kitchen Knives in Autumn 2002 to critical acclaim, Southern will release the band's first album in early 2003. Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know is less distraught than Hide the Kitchen Knives but no less musically inventive or adventurous. Fronted by producer/singer/guitarist John Congleton, the band set about putting the music to the sound of your deepest moments of confusion, the most fractured emotions. Rhythm and melody are sparse, a piano will spit out a note rather than play a tune. The drums echo in a chamber, but the beat will stays tight. The guitar lines sound like they're being made up as they go along, but contain their own unique melodies. The lyrics are similarly slanted and disturbed, more disjointed and oblique than the first release, but no less terrifying. Second track, "These Things Happen", runs along with a stabbing bassy rhythm, with a menacing "anything can happen" refrain. "Neat.Manageable.Piles" sways like a stoned hippopotamus, until a mournful violin comes in to ground it firmly in reality. "Can I Pour You Another Drink, Lover" uses a bizarre array of off screen sounds to twist and turn the original composition into one of the most inventive slices of punk you'll hear all year. The album closes with a cover of Bowie's "Five Years". Congleton and co. turn the song into a sarcastic, bitter paean to love and soured relationships. (The song was of course recently covered by fellow Texans The Polyphonic Spree)

Street date: 2002-10-07

This is a harrowing fucking record. This is a record where blood spilt from the fresh wounds of a recently finished relationship stains every single note. This is a record where the echoes of the last argument are still ringing through every syllable of John Congleton's lyrics. Hide the Kitchen Knives is a fucking harsh listen. Hide the Kitchen Knives is the pAper chAse's second album, their first for Southern. It deals with emotions. Not in the rich kid, college boy, whining-because-you-can't-find-a-girlfriend, way that the current crop of "emo" bands are allegedly dealing in emotions. This deals with REAL emotional purgatory. This is a record that captures the moment at the end of the relationship where you really do wish the other person dead; where once you would do anything for them, you now wish nothing but harm to come to yourself and your former lover. Images of the knives and blades and death and physical pain reoccur through the lyric sheet. All this is screamed by vocalist John Congleton as though it's going to be the last thing that's ever going to come out of his mouth. The music is in as much as an emotional mess as the lyrics. John Congleton's guitar retches and writhes around the song almost at random, though you know everything is premeditated. The arrangements have a no-wave minimalism, without resorting to the PIL/Gang of Four cliches that so many bands fall back on at the moment. Dischords, spikey rhythms and messed up instrumentation (pianos, horns, cellos) makes this record sound like nothing else. This was never meant to be an easy listen. It's an intense glimpse into feelings that you make sure you keep locked away in the depths of your psyche. But persist with it, as with all ugliest things, it's also fascinatingly beautiful.

Street date: 2002-09-09

Songs about familiar record shops in Boston and strange streets in Italy. Songs about alienation from friends and intimacy with the stranger on the sidewalk. Songs about transitions from small town to city, from city back to small town, from functional alcoholism to alcohol functionalism. Songs about bad attitudes that should have been left in the 80s and those from the past that we wish we could conjure now. Some Boots represents the simple ideas that the band, their friends and their listeners deal with every day: simple ideas like siphoning every last bit of inspiration from records purchased a decade ago, balancing new responsibilities against youthful convictions and struggling to share ideas and opinions about the world in a country that is increasingly intolerant of dialogue. Concurrently, "First Release" takes a snapshot of the Boston music scene a decade ago, using a lost-but-not-forgotten recording of a favorite band to represent an unyielding desire for youthful zeal. "Remain Relaxed" contrasts the paths taken by two old friends who have been apart for years. "Ice or Ground"? is a dialogue between two long-time political activists who challenge each others' ideals by responding to Newt Gingrich's recent sentiment that Afghan citizens will be thankful to the United States Government because the (then-) ensuing war will surely result in indoor plumbing for most of Middle Asia. Musically, Some Boots is yet another document of Karate's ever-developing sonic schizophrenia, unabashedly slamming genres together as if they were making a mix-tape for a road trip. The almost pulse-free "South" explores the improvisational style Karate worked into their recent Cancel/Sing EP. "Airport" and "First Release" sport the solid half-time feel of Unsolved's "The Roots and the Ruins~ and "Sever". "Corduroy" is a slow climax reminiscent of "Gasoline" and other songs from Karate's earlier recordings. But don't be confused by this aural palimpsest, because Some Boots is simply a document of three music geeks who like to play whatever the hell they want in any context, and that's just what they do on Some Boots

Street date: 2002-06-10

With the addition of Mitch Cheney (ex-Rumah Sakit), there are now two guitars that toy with one another, coaxing each other with fluid, yet precise lines that eventually meet at massive rhythms and walls of sound. "Going Down Swingin'", their fourth lp, has the dynamic power and the tightness of their live show and touching moments of patience and delicacy.

Street date: 2002-04-01

Millions of Brazilians, Dianogah's third full-length album, sees the band at their finest, with a cohesive set of songs which were written over ten months...a relatively short period of time for the band. Taking an aesthetic leap, the band enlisted John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake and Bastro) to record the new material. McEntire's input filled out the arrangements in a lush way, which contrasts with Dianogah's previous album as they were sharp and straight-ahead documentations of the band (as recorded with Steve Albini). The results are richer, fuller and larger than the relatively stripped-down sound of the previous two albums. The band included vibrato-laden electric guitar, the Fender Bass VI, piano, synthesizers, Hammond Organ and bass clarinet on this record and to some degree attempted to use the studio as an instrument itself, more than they have in previous recordings. Guest musicians Rachel Grimes (Rachels), John Upchurch (The Coctails) and John McEntire also brought their talents into the studio for "Millions".

Street date: 2002-03-04

"Cancel/Sing" represents Karate's foray into longer song structures. The idea was to take the simple structures that Karate has dealt with in past recordings and see how far they could be stretched without destroying their integrity as "songs". "Cancel" is a very simple melody-verse-chorus style song that evolves into an extended improvised section that steadily builds energy until it ends with a free, sound-oriented improvisation.

"Sing" is the more orchestrated of the two. It is centered on a melodic theme that is blurred more each time it is played, together with a long abstract lyrical exposition that is meant to imply or evoke interpretations more than to convey literal meanings. Together these songs represent a more abstract side of Karate, but without completely abandoning the realm of songwriting.

Street date: 2002-02-18

To coincide with the upcoming tour from Les Savy Fav, The Mars Volta and The Apes, Southern is pleased to announce the release of this very special 3 inch CD, featuring a track from each of the bands. The CD is pakaged in a clear case with a clear sticker. Les Savy Fav are signed to Southern Records and recently released their third album Go Forth. Their sheer uniqueness live has seen them garner acclaim across Europe and this is their fourth tour across the continent in 18 months. No once can accuse them of not working hard! "Les Savy Fav are fast becoming one of the most important bands the US underground has thrown up in years" Kerrang! The Mars Volta are on GSL records and feature both Omar and Cedric, formerly of the band At the Drive-In. This band doesn't compromise - ditching any sense of "emo" and developing a sound which takes in Punk, Dub, and Avant Garde. "...on an interstellar journey away from pop and the angular punk of At the Drive-In towards freeform, echo-driven, spaced out punk-dub jams" NME The Apes are signed to Frenchkiss Records (run by Syd of Les Savy Fav). Their debut album, The Fugue in the Fog, was recently released and this will be their debut European tour. Comparisons to the Stooges (with no guitars and with an organ) are not a million miles away from summing up their sound. "their majestic debut album is as wild as the forest they fetishise on its sleeve... it's all-out gorila warfare" Time Out

Street date: 2002-02-04

Six tracks, forty minutes. Second album for Southern. A darker, more developed record. Andy Lansangan's keyboards now take a more prominent role. This record will blow your mind.

Street date: 2002-01-21

Nine tracks, thirty-one minutes. Featuring members of Sweep the Leg Johnny. Imagine Sweep meets indie rock Bryan Ferry vocals.

Street date: 2001-11-05

God Save the ABPK indeed! On this, the band's third Southern Records release, Atombombpocketknife explores more textured compositions due largely to the addition of guitarist Che Arthur. Add the cohesion, frustation and revelation captured in the band's shitty practice space and at the pristine confines of Studio Greg Studios with Greg Norman (technician and engineer at Steve Albini's E.A.R studio) who recorded the album, with Mike Lust of Lustre King who mixed it and you hear many facets of the band's live sound. It is this very sound that left audiences elated and stunned last year while on tour supporting Alpha Sounds. Fans throughout North America were astonished by the contemporary existence of true rock pioneers and by the delivery of decibel, upon decibel, upon decibel. God Save the ABPK emits an immediately detectable dark and disturbing mood, hinging on the mindfuck anbd betrayal of various relationships, neighbourhood gunplay and friends distorted and destroyed by heroin, alcohol and pills - not to mention social and professional tedium. It's been an uneasy year for the band, as they unanimously voted to forego the luxury of sleep to adopt a ridiculous schedule of rehearsals, recording sessions and touring to the rigors of pseudo-everyday life. All four members refuse to remain solely immersed in the shiny and fluffy dream world of The ABPK that usually eclipses all reality, hence they've kept their day jobs...

Street date: 2001-10-08

Recorded at Southern Studios and Moat in London, What Becomes Before represents a leap forward for the band as well as the individuial members. Ditching their noodley past and stretching both the language of what has previously been dubbed as 'post-rock' into realms of heavy rock, jazz, and folk, bringing forth a heavier sharper and more focused sound which will surely foil the pigeon holers and rock intelligensia. What Becomes Before surprises the listener at every turn, never allowing its audience to become complacent.

Street date: 2001-09-24

Attention!!! Les Savy Fav march forward with their latest full-length, Go Forth, produced by the infamous Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, Built to Spill). This eleven song creation is Les Savy Fav's third full-length since the band formed in 1996. The dynamic, art-punk brigade, Les Savy Fav, has created a cult like following for their live shows and are renowned for their energy and atmosphere. Now at last with Go Forth the band has finally captured that energy on vinyl and CD.

Go Forth embodies the inner and outer struggles of this rock-foursome from Brooklyn, New York. The songs range from pulsing dance beats that verge on punk as in "Crawling can be Beautiful", to the haunting tales of the perilous German rave commute captured in "Disco Drive", to melancholy reminisces of a kidnapped youth. Evident on Go Forth is the variety of influences that make up Les Savy Fav.

Street date: 2001-01-29

Two tracks, 6.27 minutes. Two brand new tracks released exclusively as a seven inch single to coincide with their first European tour.

Street date: 2001-01-15

11 Tracks, 30 mins. The Action Time's debut album. Tamla rhythm undercarriage, double-soul screaming, organs, sharp moves, and girls w/ great eyeliner. Make Up meets X-Ray Spex

Street date: 2001-01-15

39.13 minutes, Thirteen Tracks. Geoff Farina of Karate returns with his second album of Plaintive Songwriting, continuing the explorations into Jazz evident on Karate's 'Unsolved'

Street date: 2001-01-15

Specifically for their upcoming European tour, 90 Day Men are releasing the "She's A Salt Shaker" 7 inch to dazzle you with even more art-punk and angular guitar riffs. With these two unreleased songs, 90 Day Men present their style of No Wave meets sexually-frustrated-rock-and-roll, a genre some have termed "Now Wave". Recorded in Chicago's Electrical Audio Recording studio under the careful watch of Greg Norman, long time engineer for the band, these two songs represent the evolution of sound, influence, style and maturity from past releases, to their recent debut album on Southern Records, (It (Is) It) critical band.

With this 7" 90 Day Men hope to rekindle the memory of Europeans who may recall their music from previous exposure on the John Peel show, as well as the release of the "1975-1977-1998" EP on the Rosewood Union.

"She's a Salt Shaker" 7 inch is particularly unusual as 90 Day Men purchased, packed, shucked, stacked and recycled over 1,000 different LP covers that were cut and die-cut exposing only the label of their record. The outcome was the creation of the unprecedented packaging idea you have before you. Each record has its own individual one of a kind cover.

Street date: 2000-12-31

Street date: 2000-11-06

Taking cues for the ideals expressed in British New Wave bands like the Birthday Party and Bauhaus combined, with the haunting allure of New York's late '70s/early '80s No Wave scene, the 90 Day Men began as a project in 1995. Committing these musically entranced boys from St. Louis to the task of writing six songs in eleven days, the 90 Day Men began to harness their outlet for personal, social and romantic expression.

Upon relocating to Chicago and several 7"/single releases later, they teamed up with Southern Records, Inc. to release their first long-player, "(It (Is) It) Critical Band" was released September 25, 2000.

Street date: 2000-10-23

2 Tracks 7 mins. Second 7 inch on Southern, taken from the forthcoming album, the Action Time Versus the World. Party down with London's Tamla Motown Sex Pistols

Street date: 2000-10-23

Street date: 2000-06-05

3 Tracks 13 mins. Varied 7" and CDEP of unreleased tracks from the San Diego band. 1 lonesome heartbreak song, 1 instrumental soundtrack, and 1 drinking song with tuba!

Street date: 2000-06-05

"If this band ever make it to Britain (and there must be a serious doubt over whether any airline would have them), you should sell your Gomez records to get a ticket. They're genius." NME

Recorded in February of 2000 in New York, this is the first recording without two guitarists, and it shows. Gone are the times of blurry guitar pieces, and here are the more minimal songs with the occasional synth sounds and vocal overlaps without loosing the unhinged rock quality of their previous records.

"A mash of bright, trashy guitars, throbbing bass lines, edgy
vocals and enough excitement to make you combust" Rocksound UK

Street date: 2000-05-22

As Nineties media finally disintegrated rock and roll, cultural and social stagnation seemed imminent. Fortunately in the Autumn of 1997, ex Thumbnail guitarist/vocalist Justin Sinkovich and drummer David Burns took refuge under the moniker Atombombpocketknife with other Chicago resident, Allison Hollihan. Becoming the principal catalyst in creating Unrock - the deconstruction of traditional rock principles, then reconstruction of future templates for the new rock and roll renaissance - Atombombpocketknife's mission became crystal. David has since left the band, but luckily drummer Matt Espy had moved to Chicago and ABPK was his undeniable future.

With their first mini album, these three champions of punk `un'rock (what-would-have-been-called-emo-five-years-ago-but-can-now-be-called-rock) delivered six super smart songs whose subtly aggressive pop hooks caused the more learned amongst us to think of Love and Rockets, Wire and Unwound. Alpha Sounds is the band's debut full length recorded at Greg Norman's new home studio on the south side of Chicago during November 1999. Alpha Sounds builds on the unrock foundations laid down by their previous six-tracker adding perhaps a dash of Sonic Youth and Girls Against Boys to their angular atonal pop twistings.

Explain Alpha Sounds?! That's asking for a glass boat in a black river, a source of direction to an infinitely bottomless and obtuse diagram. Alpha Sounds is an equation with more variables than letters in the Greek alphabet. "Alpha" = the first Greek letter, a charged particle spanning the music knowledge of the overexposed and previously unfulfilled salient points. "Sounds" = the effect of tones from vibrations in the air around us - sonic manipulations from the manipulated. The following is a conceptual answer to the turnkey question, "manipulated by what?", with an incomplete explanation of sources leading to the social conditioning of: Allison and Justin and Matt = Atombombpocketknife.

"Twisted guitar genius from Chicago, this bucks and rolls like prime time Sonic Youth duelling with Girls Against Boys" - Rocksound UK 1999

Street date: 2000-05-22

2nd Album and the first for Southern Records. 11 tracks 37.14 minutes. produced by Steve Albini. CD and 180gm virgin vinyl pressing.

Street date: 2000-05-08

There are 5 of them all told though it may seem like more when you hear them on stage or meet them on the street, such is the nature of their personalities, they enthusiastically binge on the american music scene.

Since 1995 Les Savy Fav have been perfecting their concoction of dissonant pop defined by it's driving bass, disco drumming, bratty guitars, and spastic vocals and illustrated by a fist full of 7"s and the cult classic full length "3/5". For the recording and much of the writing of Les Savy Fav's latest record "the Cat and the Cobra" the band was joined by new drummer Harrison Haynes. He, like former drummer Pat Mahoney, met the rest of the band while studying art at the Rhode Island School of Design. That's the school the talking Heads went to. Like the Talking Heads, L.S.F. are commiteed to making idiosyncratic pop music, songs which are deceptively simple and deceptively complex.

Their non-stop commitment to touring led to features in
Alternative Press, Interview, and rave reports in the U.K.'s New Musical Express. Now with the band signed to Southern Records, the band are ready to, in Syd's words "tour their ass off". Look for what the NME have called "the most visceral and nervy rock'n'roll spectacles you'll ever see."

"There are things hidden here. We were wearing camouflage"

Street date: 2000-04-25

Street date: 2000-03-13

10 tracks. 40 minutes. The Lapse were formerly The Van Pelt and this album is the follow up to 1999's "Betrayal!" LP/CD on Gern Blandsten.

Street date: 2000-03-13

10 tracks, 38 minutes available on vinyl as well as cd. Second full-length from the Stratford Mercenaries. "Thrilling, raw and unpretentious" - LA WEEKLY

Street date: 2000-02-14

7 inch, 3 tracks. This London-based six-piece gospel/punk/ trash/soul hitsquad makes its Southern debut like a frantic tagteam match between The Shangri Las and The MC5 !!!!

Street date: 2000-02-14

long awaited posthumous full-lengther from these UK post-hardcore/emo legends. The LP is pressed on 180g vinyl and is packaged in a full color gatefold sleeve.

Street date: 1999-11-01

In 1978 with the release of "Music for Airports," Brian Eno coined the term "ambient music." He included a manifesto explaining "ambient music must be able to accomodate many levels of listening attention without enfourcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." In 1978 guitar players were still the kings of popular music, all trying to outstrut each other through their solos, 2/3 through each song and often at the expense of the song.

On his debut solo album, Jeremy Boyle, computer guy and handyman for Chicago's Joan Of Arc, plucks the feathers from the peacock guitar heros of the 1970's. Through an arduos process of sampling, effecting, and editing brief snippets of guitar solos by the most famous (not best) guitar heros of the 1970's, Boyle creates layers of ambient lulls and drifts, never directly revealing their origins. The manner of constructing the songs could be compared to that of Marcus Popp of Oval, in that the source samples are actually handicaps to overcome instead of a simple recycling.

The intention of the sources sampled completely shift. Complex displays of technical proficiency and vanity become complex layering and thought, not fingering. The most subtle change on one layer can roll the whole song over on itself. Beautiful and simple, left wide open and never revealing itself completely at once, the music allows glimpses of what it could be, activating the ear of the listener, once only a passive spectator to the heroics of guitar players.

Street date: 1999-11-01

2 tracks 45 rpm. Karate-man Geoff Farina delivers two solo slices of acoustic balladry in his own open and inimitable way.

Street date: 1999-11-01

Street date: 1999-10-18

9 tracks, 43 mins. Overdue CD release of the debut from UK emo/post h'core pioneers. With an extra hidden track from their first ever session. "it certainly is beautiful" - NME

Street date: 1999-05-10

A new medalion is around the necks of Chicago, America, and the World. Justin Sinkovich and David Burns, both survivors of the recent derailment of the band Thumbnail, have coaxed Allison Hollihan to join in a quest to destroy the doldrums of this modern day post-rock fiasco. David, Justin, and Allison grew up in the mid-eighties, and after drawing influence from such forefathers of sonic rock as The James Gang, The Who, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, they each learned to play their instruments while listening to teenage angst outlets like Sonic Youth's Sister and Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me. Contemporary historians claim ABPK has created "Unrock," an amalgamation of riff anthems and experimental deconstruction... then reconstruction. Atombombpocketknife has already converted live audiences to the power of "Unrock" by the way of ear bleeding performances throughout the Midwest. Now Southern Records unveils a recording bearing the reward of many people's dilligent efforts. First recorded by Greg Norman and RedRedMeat drummer/engineer Brian Deck at Clava Studio, then mastered by John Loder at Abbey Road Studio, this cdep/10" not only personifies ABPK's live sound, it surpasses it. This record is prefaced by a 7" single released on File 13 Records in April of 1999.

Street date: 1999-05-10

Giddy gorgeous, razor sharp, minute long pop songs. Lungleg have played shows with Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Bis and more recently toured the US with Washington DC's Make Up

Street date: 1999-04-26

Mix The Jesus Lizard, Table and Breadwinner with 4 parts David Lee Roth, 3 parts Bill Murray, 2 parts Duane Denison and 1 part Evel Knieval thrown in for danger.

Street date: 1999-04-26

Street date: 1999-03-08

Taken from the reissue of the "Maid to Minx" lp, out in spring of '99. B-Side is a previously unreleased track. "If I live to be 100..I will never grow tired of them" John Peel

Street date: 1999-02-08

Stuart Dahlquist began working on Futurists Against The Ocean after taking several years hiatus away from the doom/drone music that in earlier years had so entranced him. Dahlquist and his collaborator in Asva Brad Mowen decided to bring musicians in from diverse musical backgrounds including Gamelan and Middle Eastern musics, pop, and contemporary classical. The demos were recorded by Dahlquist over the course of about a week's worth of all night sessions in the basement of a museum and the music was promptly sent off to the other members of Asva - Brad Mowen, Trey Spruance, Troy Swanson, John Schuller, Jessika Kinney, and Randall Dunn, each of whom worked out they're individual voices according to the parameters set by those early demos. The result became Futurists Against The Ocean, a record that evokes a multitude imagery; the stark landscapes and rolling seas of 'Kill The Dog, Tie Them Up, Then Take The Money' and 'Zaum; Beyonsense' lead one on a path to the fragile beauty of Fortune and the resounding triumph of 'By The Well Of Living And Seeing'. Futurists Against The Ocean is quite literally a journey from dark to light, from chaos through to a realization of the self.

Street date: 1998-11-02

The Bed Is in the Ocean is the reissued third full-length album by sadly-missed Massachusetts quartet Karate showcased the band's signature sound to perfection, pioneering a unique strain of what Allmusic.com aptly described as "jazz-indie rock fusion". The strident tone of Geoff Farina provides the centre for these taut exercises in syncopation with delicate ballads, moments of jazz- inflected indie rock minimalism and direct emotional plaints combining to form what is possibly Karate's definitive effort. Seldom has undeniable musical ability been put to such effective use; ambitious but never self- indulgent, always expressive and ultimately life-affirming, most significantly on 'There Are Ghosts', the album's heartfelt tribute to the comforts of nature. The Bed Is in the Ocean was crafted in 1998 at Salad Days Studios in Norwood, MA, then mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. It was released on Southern Records later the same year to great acclaim, NME describing the album as "a beautiful trek... A necessary sonic experience".

Street date: 1998-10-05

Beekeeper from New York City. 12 tracks, 37 minutes.

Street date: 1998-06-29

Street date: 1998-06-29

6 tracks, 20 minutes. Steve Ignorant from Crass's new band. 16 page cd booklet including politically motivated lyrics for all of us in the real world. Confrontational and honest

Street date: 1998-05-25

46 min, 12 tracks. Originally released in 1984, this vinyl has been out of stock for eons. Legendary Anarcho band right up there with Crass (Feeding of the 5000) and Crucifux.

Street date: 1998-04-13

The name of this CD comes from Frank Lloyd Wright's project of the "Usonian" house as it is represented in The Natural House. Wright had a vision of architecture that would create spaces in which all citizens could thrive, provided of course that these citizens were middle class, Anglo-American males.

I read The Natural House in one sitting in a coffee house in Columbia, MO during a day off on one of last year's tours. I remember reading about the building material Wright had developed that would be durable and aesthetically pleasing, yet efficient and cheap enough to be accessible to most. I remember the pictures of Wright's prototypes-- what were essentially life size Legos-- and I compared them to Columbia's gorgeous brick and stone-row houses I could see out the window. I thought about people in nice neighborhoods who had beautiful homes that they never left, and I thought about the homeless man outside the coffee shop window. I thought about my friends: most of them don't have "homes" and don't stay in the place for too long, and they seem not to mind at all.

If I remember the rest of the day correctly, I later took a short nap in the van and imagined the ocean that we would soon visit again, to be sure, one that was a bit surreal, with red foamy water and beaches punctuated by Wright's giant Legos. Later, I crossed the street, sat in front of a church, and started to write the song "Usonian Dream Sequence" that appears on this CD, until it was time to drive somewhere again.

Street date: 1998-04-13

Lifelike is the product of a year and a half of real time playing, recording and mixing, hard disc editing, sequencing, sampling and tape splicing. It has 12 songs and fits on one side of a C-90. More than half of the basic recording for Lifelike was done in May of 1997 at Greg Frey's Graphic Sound Studios In Ringoes, New Jersey. In addition to that, Frere-Jones recorded material on digital multitrack over the summer (in his newborn son Sam's bedroom) and did sampler work at his home studio, Remnant; Wright recorded new parts and new arrangements of horn parts at Graphic Sound in October; and Waldmann recorded extra drum parts with Frere-Jones at Remnant in November of 1997. The last two songs to be recorded - "Exeunt" and "Undersided" - were recorded at Graphic Sound in November of 1997 (including the cornet bit). Working closely together, Frere-Jones and engineer Greg Frey then mixed and constructed the album during November and December of 1997.

The material on Lifelike varies greatly in age. "Blood In The Air" is a song that appeared first in Ui's live set in 1993. "Acer Rubrum" had been played live since early 1996. "News To Go Farther" was quoted on "Skeletons" on The Sharpie and has been around since 1993, and "Molloy's March" is a song dating to 1994. "Exeunt" was written in the summer of 1997 for Lifelike while "Laceria" is a brand new sample bed laid under themes from a song played in the early 1990s by Frere-Jones' previous band, Delores. And so on.

Some material heard on Lifelike was originally intended for other releases. For instance, while working with Stereolab at Southern Studios, London in June of 1996, Ui started recording a drum 'n' bass single entitled "Say", which has never been released in it's original form. Wright wrote and recorded horn parts and Waldmann played drum parts which Frere-Jones sampled and sequenced. In the fall of 1996, Luke Vibert used the rough tracks of "Say" for a remix titled "Unknow", available on United Mutations, Volume One (Lo). As 1996 came and went, the band felt that the window of opportunity for a drum 'n' bass single with long horn melodies had closed, so Frere-Jones and Frey integrated the horn parts into existing songs during the mixing and construction of Lifelike in late 1997.

"Blood In The Air", recorded in August of 1996, was originally intended for the Techno Animal Versus Reality collaborative remix album. When the tune was finished in April of 1997, the band realized it had used none of Techno Animal's music, violating the original concept of exchanging tapes and combining material. In August of 1997, Frere-Jones created a new mix from both band's material, entitled The Next Feeding", for Techno Animal.

Two songs on Lifelike - "Spilling" and "The Fortunate One Knows No Anxiety" - were recorded In February of 1997 and originally intended for an EP on Grand Royal records. But since Samuel Frere-Holmes' expected arrival made it impossible to complete both an EP and a new album before June of 1997, Ui reassigned these two songs to Lifelike.

Street date: 1998-03-30

Street date: 1998-02-16

Street date: 1998-02-16

Sasha Frere-Jones: It was extremely hot in July of 1993. Excello had recently opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the main room, quite large, was still entirely open and unobstructed. Our engineer Stevie McAllister was best known for doing the Corrosion of Conformity record. He had recorded songs for my friend Dave's band, Wider. Wilbo had only recently joined the band. He showed up for the sessions with a pickup filled with instruments I didn't know he played: tuba, timpani, banjo, recorder, etc. It turns out he didn't play them but that didn't stop us from using them.

On July 4, many firecrackers were set off in the neighborhood. We recorded an hour's worth of this sound and some of it can be heard at the end of "I Will Not Make Inconsiderate Requests". We ate mostly what Stevie called "Cuca-Rican" food, which came from a Chinese-Cuban restaurant around the corner. I thought it was Mexican food. Clem slept in the corner a lot and read the newspaper. We were worried about him but everything turned out OK. We recorded 14 songs and used only 7. That made for a pretty expensive EP, which had blossomed from the cheap, black-sleeved 12-inch called "Disco Bag" Justine at Hemiola originally envisioned. She was understanding about the whole process and agreed to do expensive 4-color art even though it ensured no one made a profit.

The mixing was all done at Baby Monster Studios between midnight and dawn. This is, in general, not a great idea if you are awake during the day. We spent the most time on a song called "Young Men And Women". While working on this song, I decided to smoke pot for the first time in 5 years. We were recording handclaps and the tape was rolling but I decided to run out of the room. I hugged the studio manager, who refused to call me a car service. I eventually calmed down. (This song did not end up on the record.)

Stevie was very understanding about our childish desire to be dubtastic, pushing the bass up way too high all the time. He said it would get rolled off when the vinyl was cut and he was right. When mastering the CD in September of 1997, John Loder discovered the original bass levels on the master tape, which we had forgotten about. We realized why Stevie thought we were nuts.

We were happy in 1993 when this record first came out and we are just as happy now.

I don't remember much about recording The Sharpie other than it was the first time we used the very big room at IIWII. Greg Frey's wife, Pat, sings in the background on "Skeletons", half of which had been recorded a year before. We thought we were already behind the curve in 1995 by including our take on drum 'n' bass, as heard on the title track. Oh, what larks.

Street date: 1997-11-17

2 tracks, 7 min. The best stuff they have done to date. Fans of left/field, post rock/jazz, stay tuned for more Sorts releases on Slow Dime records.

Street date: 1997-08-25

14 Tracks, 42:44 minutes. Re-issue on Southern is remastered and artwork is re-typeset. Includes "Third from the Sun" ep which is out of print.

Street date: 1997-08-25

9 tracks, over 44 minutes. Best described as the ghost of Hank Williams haunting three Brooklynites who've been raised on a steady diet of the "post-rock" canon. Beautiful.

Street date: 1997-04-10

Street date: 1997-03-31

"Dropplike" is a 12-inch single containing 3 remixes of songs from the Ui LP Sidelong. The remixes were done in the spring of 1996. "Dropplike" and "Liquid Leg" are remixes by Darryl Moore of Soul Static Sound, operating under the name "D." "Slow Burner" is a remix by the Scottish band Ganger. The artwork is Will Bankhead's "visual remix" of figures by Jim Gallagher found on the sleeve of "The Sharpie" 12-inch by Ui. Will Bankhead does much of the sleeve design for Mo' Wax. Will DJed before an Ui gig in London. Ganger have excellent recent releases on Domino/Series 500 and Vesuvius. If you go to the Rough Trade shop in Covent Garden, Darryl will be behind the counter. He can help you.

Street date: 1997-02-17

8 tracks, 19:33 minutes. Remastered and artwork has been re-typeset.

Street date: 1996-10-07

him is a sound experiment involving the members of rex.

Check out the biography page and find out more about this project.

Here are the details on (and have a listen to) the seven track recording released early in '96.

Him have also recently released a 12 inch single on Southern. You can now have a listen to one of the tracks.

Or in the meantime you can check out their discography so far.

Street date: 1996-10-07

10 tracks, over 66 minutes. "Slash and swoon" inventors create mezmerizing atmosphere with skillful swirling of cello & violin with emotive vocals. A must for Palace fans!

Street date: 1996-10-07

Street date: 1996-03-18

7 very long tracks, 51:37 minutes. A dub project from Doug from Rex, Codeine, June of 44.

Street date: 1996-03-18

This is a repressing of the first release by legendary Boston trio Karate. Containing classics such as "Gasoline", "Caffeine or Me?" and "If You Can Hold Your Breath", which were still played live up until they sadly parted ways in 2005, this is an essential part of the bands legacy and a must for any self-respecting fan.

Since breaking up Geoff and Gavin have formed the band Glorytellers, who released their debut album in 2008 and are set to release their second album, Atone, in Autumn 2009. Jeff and Gavin have formed a bass/drums project entitled Possible Path.

The LP comes on 140g black vinyl in a beautiful sleeve.

Street date: 1996-03-18

"The Waltz EP" (nicknamed The Lovers EP) features four songs from rex with instrumentation from guitar, bass, banjo, drums, dobro, stand up bass, percussion, trumpet, accordion and vocals. The idea for the EP came on the road, traveling for the Red Red Meat/Grifters tour. Possibly rex's biggest fan and official tour chauffeur, Dot, loved the waltzed-timed "High School Dance Hit" and suggested to the band that they should put out an EP of waltz - timed tunes. rex took quite a shine to the idea and began working on the EP when they returned home.

"High School Dance Hit" is a lengthier, heartfelt rerecorded version of the song from their self-titled album. "Blue Eyes You're Not" and "Sorry" were part of the rex set list from the last tour. While "Willow Garden" is a traditional folk song recorded live in one room with mics strategically placed. If you close your eyes and listen to this song, you can picture the piece of straw clenched in between Curtis' teeth while his vocals bend backwards to the point where you begin to cringe, wondering if his voice will crack - it never does. "Willow Garden" will bring you to a barn in the Smoky Mountains, lighted only with kereosene lanterns, and jugs of moonshine at the feet of the musicaians sitting in a circle. I think you get the picture now.
After you hear "The Waltz EP" you won't know whether to dance, love, or cry - but you are guaranteed to feel something!

Street date: 1996-03-18

Formed in 1991, Ui is a band from New York City and Trenton, NJ, featuring Sasha Frere-Jones on bass, guitar and synthesizer, Clem Waldmann on drums, and Wilbo Wright on bass and synthesizer. Sidelong was recorded in December of 1994 and January, August and September of 1995 at Graphic Sound Studios in Ringoes, New Jersey by Greg Frey (Ween, Vaganza). Sidelong contains songs, repetitive patterns, sounds to test your equipment with and impressions of places Ui haven't been to. You are encouraged to manipulate this recording.

Street date: 1995-10-23

Street date: 1995-09-25

Emerging from the basements of Chicago's northern suburbs, came a band that brought refreshing new style to an industry that currently breeds so many mediocre ensembles hoping to be the next eMpTyV buzz clip. The Smoothies "sound" was not so new, (in fact some of the songs were quite reminiscent of Nirvana's "Bleach" days), but rather the presentation. Just four young musicians playing well written, high energy music. The band broke up in fall of 95.

Street date: 1995-09-14

"Faucet is a crude and ugly piece of work. Faucet is a psychedelic warhorse with some jack-hammer riffs and a lyrical attitude somewhere out there beyond the acid fringe. Faucet are: Chris, kinky-headed guitarist with the vocal roar; Ray, the Native American-looking semi-lead guitarist whose nonsensical note choices and chord changes warp at some point with the sideways ponytail and the uncomfortable groove; and Snoopy, the rhythm machine, king of goofdom, and all around dorky nice guy." 'We are the ultimate fill-in band' says Chris, 'We will play anywhere anytime for any price. Hell, we'll play for beer.'" The Austin Chronicle

Street date: 1995-04-03

rex's self-titled debut

The facts say that rex are from New York state, but in another world, on another planet rex are simply from, "Rexville". That is the magical place where they spin tunes that will someday be a codeine induced category of their own - the opposite of grunge - rex. The music of rex is a labyrinthine journey into the subconscious of the group as a whole. Building upon a protean of jams or improvisations, the rhythms intertwine with haunting melodies carried by cello, slide guitar and voice. rex spans many genres and draws influence from a broad mix of sounds, texts and visions. Based in Brooklyn, NY rex is: Doug Scharin - Drums and percussive instruments Curtis Harvey - Guitars and like Phil Spirito - Bass and such Kirsten McCord - Cello Everyone vocalizes in one way or another.

Street date: 1995-04-03

Emerging from the basements of Chicago's northern suburbs, came a band that brought refreshing new style to an industry that currently breeds so many mediocre ensembles hoping to be the next eMpTyV buzz clip. The Smoothies "sound" was not so new, (in fact some of the songs were quite reminiscent of Nirvana's "Bleach" days), but rather the presentation. Just four young musicians playing well written, high energy music. The band broke up in fall of 95.

Street date: 1994-10-31

Street date: 1994-10-10

67 were a London based band formed by long term friends Toby Burton, Michael Wilson, and Gavin Richards... Click on the biography icon for more info They have so far produced three singles for Southern. Click on the discography icon to check out the back catalogue

Street date: 1994-09-19

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