Together We Win

I picked this up on eBay for a few pounds a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't thought about this band for years in fact I couldn't really remember what they sounded like, I just knew that I'd once owned it on CD and they had something to do with Ten Yard Fight. It's weird I guess, sometimes I remember every little detail of information about the most obscure bands and then bands like this I barely remember a thing about.

Stand & Fight - Together We Win

This came out in 2004 on Bridge Nine and I'm surprised I don't remember more about the band because it's good youth crew hardcore stuff. They did indeed have a Ten Yard Fight connection too in that Wrench sang for both bands.

This grey and blue swirl vinyl looks really nice, I love how side A has the deep blue inner before the grey suddenly appears over the top. Alas though this is actually the most common variant of 770. Another 330 were pressed on purple.

Rounding up the 45's

My LP and 7" intrays are out of control right now, and whilst I'm to the untrained eye looking at the piles and shaking my head, obviously dear collector friends I'm secretly happy as a pig in the proverbial!! More of those lovely slabs of wax to listen to and write about! Bonza!!!

Anyway, in a bid to at least get rid of a few of the 7"s I grabbed a small pile.

Slant 6 - What Kind Of Monster Are You?

My bro over at Donotconsideryourselffree (link at the side) posted about this one a couple of weeks ago and being a bit of a sucker for girl groups that rock I couldn't resist investigating.

Rise and Fall - Clawing

Love the look of this one, the artwork is great and the blue and pink vinyl looks sweet as hell too. Out of 300.

Magic Mazes - Magic Tommy Jackson

Jonah Matranga could release a LP of him humming 80's pop hits in the shower and I'd probably pick up a copy. Moral Mazes is his new group with J. Robbins from Jawbox. This is the blue vinyl version out of 300.

The Nation Of Ulysses - Birth Of The Ulysses Aesthetic

1991, Dischord Records, awesome!

Shai Hulud - A Profound Hatred Of Man

Usual story, bought it on CD back in the day so was missing from the record collection, found it cheap and corrected my stupidity! Shai Huluds best work?

Madball - Rebellion

Seems to have taken a ridiculous amount of time for me to get a copy of this one. White vinyl.

Collateral Damage

Wow, has it been so long? I haven't blogged in ages. I need to get back in it big time. Let's start with a record I got a while ago and didn't get round to listening to for weeks.

Rude Awakening - Collateral Damage

I hadn't rushed out to buy this record on release, I'd got a couple of the bands 7" releases in the past and whilst on the whole liked them, I had found the band a little hit and miss. So I just added this to a Rev order I made a couple of months ago casually, not expecting much from it.

Truth be told though, this is a good record. Rude Awakening have harnessed their sound a bit and deliver a solid record with no clunkers, just 10 good tracks of angry hardcore in the Expire vein with some massive riffs. Shame I waited so long really as this white vinyl version is out of 1000, the other two version are on much cooler colours and limited to 150 and 350.

The only thing I would criticise with the record is the less than brilliant cover. I get the intent but the graphics themselves are pretty poor. They look like something Matthew Broderick would have knocked up on his computer in War Games!

Pretty Low

Expires 'Pendulum Swings' was one of my favourite records of 2012 and one of my most played hardcore records of recent times too. Such a great record. So when the follow up 'Pretty Low' was announced, I approached it with the usual apprehension given to any bands follow up effort. Especially when they've blown up a bit like Expire (deserved) have.

Expire - Pretty Low

I needn't have worried. From the opening monster riff that brings in the opening album titled track it's clear Expire are back and have produced another banger!! If anything this record seems harder and vocalist Josh sounds more pissed off than he did on the bands debut! Awesome!!

I like that this follow up record has a similar feel layout and cover wise to Pendulum Swings too without completely aping it. Nice touch. I got the half Brown / half Purple version of the record out of 700. Works well with the cover I think.

The lyric insert is backed by this huge Expire poster and as usual it's great that Bridge Nine took the time to add a quick note of thanks and lob in the usual free CD! Great work by all involved.

Expire Live

Last month I wrote about two Expire records I'd picked up. In doing this I realised via discogs that there was only one Expire release I didn't have a version of, a live split with Soul Control. The record was given away free by Bridge Nine last year, I can't remember how you went about getting your grubby mitts on one but needless to say I missed out. I'd have to correct that.

Fast Forward a week or so and I was looking at a list of records someone had for sale and noticed it was there. I sent the guy an email and he fired one back saying he didn't really wanna sell that one and also he'd feel like a dick charging me for a record he got for free - bummer! However it didn't end there. He went on to say he would be at the Bridge Nine offices that weekend and would get me a copy and send me it for the price of postage! Turns out the guy is Leigh who plays bass in Bridge Nine signees Goodtime Boys! Legit good guy! True to his word he did nab me a copy. Thanks Leigh.

This is the Black version of 600, there's also a clear version of 100. Sonically this thing sounds fairly terrible but I had to have it.
I'm contemplating a stab at getting all versions of every release by Expire now.

Expiring Finds

I didn't do a best of 2012 list, but if I had of done you'd have found Expire and their debut LP Pendulum Swings in the top three, maybe even right at the top of the pile. Expire have been getting better and better through their releases and they have been pretty much on tour non stop for the last few years so they deserve all the plaudits they are now starting to get.

Speaking of touring non stop I picked this up recently and have to say I was stoked with it. A 2011 Euro Tour version of Suffer The Cycle.

I missed this tour of course (and this years) because I'm an old man and seeing shows these days now revolves around work commitment and being able to find a baby sitter, so when I saw it on eBay I knew It might be my only chance to score it. I put in a decent but not ridiculous bid and won it.

 

The cover it's self is just a paper photo copy and the red ink is marker pen, so it's a pretty DIY release from either the band or label.

 

 

This one is numbered 27 of of 100

 

 

My proper copy of Suffer The Cycle is on White vinyl so it's sweet that this one is on clear green.

 

It was a good day for rare Expire vinyl because about 40 minutes later I also scored this Live At Sound and Fury 7"

 

 

Limited to 500 this record was given away by Bridge Nine with their 2012 'Mystery Boxes'. I was pretty bummed not to score one of these when the boxes were available to order. I knew Bridge Nine were giving away an exclusive live record but didn't bother ordering a box as I presumed it would be New Found Glory or some other shit I didn't care for. I opted to take advantage of their 5 records for $20 offer or what ever it was they had on instead.

 

 

Although not mega limited I'm pleased to have got one of these finally to add to the Expire collection.

 

 

The guy I bought this off on eBay was a chap called Richy who also threw into the package a copy of his fanzine 'Pre-Show Burrito'.

 

 

This was such a fun little read that I'm including this here too. Along with reviews of where to score the finest pre-mosh Mexican nosh (that rhymed) are some other interesting things including a nice little interview with Losin' It. If you see this at a show I recommend picking one up.

 

 

Bridge Nine lot

I'd been meaning to pick up this record for ages. I'd had it on my iTunes for quite some time and like it a lot but for some reason I just kept stalling on pulling the trigger. No idea why, I've spent money, more money even on stuff I like less, just something about the price I kept seeing it for. Anyway when I saw that Bridge Nine had it on their web store for $5 I knew my patience had paid off.

Mother Of Mercys - Symptoms Of Existence LP. This is the Black/Gray/Blue Swirl Vinyl limited to 700. There is also a Black and White swirl version (1000) but I think the pressing plant messed up as the two colours are so similar Bridge Nine had to put a blue Mother of Mercy stamp on the record inner sleeve to differentiate between the two. Good record anyway and at that price it's a STEAL!

Whilst buying this I also noticed Bridge Nine had a special '4 for $20' deal on that weekend. 4 LP's sadly of their choice for $20. Well that sounds like a deal to me and I needed to make the postage worthwhile so I added the deal to my cart eager to see what would show up.

First record I pulled out was this. Death Before Dishonors - Better Ways To Die. Again this was an LP I had on my iTunes and liked but didn't have on Vinyl so I was pretty pleased with it. This is the 2nd press on red limited to 500.

Next. Bridge Nines Summer Compilation from 2009. Meh! The record looks nice and there is some good bands on it but it's a compilation at the end of the day.

DYS - More Than Fashion: Live From the Gallery East Reunion. It's DYS it's limited to 300. I didn't previously have it. Decent Result.

And finally. Polar Bear Club - The Redder, The Better. Bit cheeky this one as it's not an LP it's an EP, it only has 5 songs. Nice glossed and embossed cover though. I haven't listened to it yet and can't remember if I like Polar Bear Club or not.

So yeah not bad for $20. A lot of the better stuff on Bridge Nine I already have as I'm fans of the bands in question and the worst case scenario was that they sent me 4 records I already had. \luckily they didn't. As usual Bridge Nine threw in stickers and a free CD too so they get my thumbs up regardless.

Expire...again

Records don't fit through your average letter box. I dare say some people are smart and get them delivered to work or something? I don't. When I get home from work I usually find a card telling me somethings being held at the local collection office, it's ten minutes drive away, I got home 10 minutes before it closes, I jumped back in the car and went to get it, Royal Mail don't rob me of a nights listening, HELL NO!

Same band two posts in a row. In my last ramblings I talked about Expire and the 7" teaser for this record that came today, their new album Pendulum Swings. Now granted I've only had three listens through and one involved my four year old daughter 'singing' along but its actually a bit bloody good.

 I know a few guys like myself had felt the 'Suffer The Cycle' 7" was a little uninspiring but this already sounds like a real leap forward. The opening shout of "Everything is going fine" brings things crashing in well and the record doesn't let up from that point on. There's some banging riffs on offer here and whilst they aren't reinventing the wheel musically or anything, there is definitely enough to have you furiously nodding along with a big old grin. My only criticism is that the vocals seem a little low in the mix, although maybe it's my levels I dunno.

As I didn't pre-order this or select it from Bridge Nine, I have the 'Coke Bottle Clear' version as it's simply the one that came through. I'm guessing it's the most common version, as there was a 'Coke Bottle Clear w/ Black Splatter' pre-order and also a Gold version. Can't say I'm at all fussed though as I like how this looks (I think I say that about every record I get haha), and it seems to work with the cover.

 So whilst I have to explore this record more yet, I'd definitely say if you'd dismissed Expire previously this record might just change your mind. Check out 'Just Fine', 'Spit Out' and 'Abyss' as instant choice cuts.

Due to EXPIRE

I got a beauty of an order through from Bridge Nine a few days ago. Now the main thing I ordered I'm not going to write about for a little bit, and I'll explain why when I eventually do (ohhhh the suspense) but one of the other records that came through was this 7" - EXPIRE - Sink With Me.

 I have to admit I added this to my order just to bulk it up a bit and make the postage costs worthwhile, not because I don't like Expire, but mainly because this 7" is basically just a one track sampler of their new album Pendulum Swings. That track is entitled 'Abyss' and it's actually a bit of a barnstormer and has really wet my appetite for that upcoming album. The B Side is a Sick Of It All cover 'The Pain Strikes' from Just Look Around.

I have the half white, half black version but it's also available on clear vinyl. No idea of pressing numbers as Bridge Nine haven't updated it in their discography yet. That back cover is pretty apt with the watch as it's 2AM here, does everyone else blog at a more sensible hour??

I don't seem to be able to feature a record without adding something else I also have by the band. With that in mind....

I have this from Expire too. Suffer The Cycle which came out on Six Feet Under at the beginning of 2011 I think. The four tracks here are really good too, in fact I just had a listen again for the first time in a while and don't know why I haven't listened to this more, although buying too much music (is that possible?) might have something to do with it.

This is the second press of 400 I believe. The first press was all on black and as that white vinyl goes really well with the the rest of the record I'm fine with that.

'I never wanted this

I'm really sorry Miss

I pulled you down with me

into the abyss

Sink with me'