Hello and welcome to another edition of the Sorry State Records newsletter! We’ve had a busy week shipping out tons of Rudimentary Peni records, getting things together for the many upcoming releases on our label, and pricing up big used collections for all of you. We’re just having your typical good time here at Sorry State HQ. There’s plenty of cool news for you, so keep reading to get it all!

Rudimentary Peni: Death Church 12” (Sealed Records) Sealed Records has gotten Rudimentary Peni’s first album, Death Church, back into print and the world is rejoicing. Writing a description of Death Church feels a bit like trying to write something about Damaged or Walk Among Us or Never Mind the Bollocks… it’s all but universally heralded as a great album, so what can I add to the conversation? Probably nothing, so I’m not going to try. The album is available on the Sealed Records Bandcamp site and all streaming services, so if you haven’t heard it, it’s easy to rectify that problem. The record will blow your mind. However, those of you who are novices in the world of Rudimentary Peni might wonder why the album’s re-release has gotten so much fanfare. The short version of the story is that Rudimentary Peni is a band that people care about deeply. But why? One thing that separates Rudimentary Peni from most of their underground punk peers is their talent for building an immersive world around their music. There are some bands—Black Flag, Misfits, the Stooges, the Ramones—whose music, lyrics, visual aesthetic, and everything else surrounding the art clicks together so perfectly that it almost seems like a world you can step into. Indeed, many people try, listening to these bands’ music obsessively, trying to dress, talk, and write songs like them. Rudimentary Peni, though far less well known, has a similar thing going on. Rudimentary Peni’s world seems like it was ahead of its time, even better suited to 2022 than 1983, when Death Church came out. Singer Nick Blinko’s engagement with mental health / mental illness in particular seems prescient, since not only has the discourse around mental health become so much bigger in the decades since then, but nowadays it seems like everyone is on some mood-altering drug or another (I’m a Lexapro person, myself). The changing informational and economic landscape has also helped to balloon interest in Rudimentary Peni. As far as I know, Rudimentary Peni had no domestic releases in the US in the 80s and, hence, no promotion. Even in their native England, the band only played live a few times and remained a mysterious presence. The grand digitization of the 21st century has done little to remedy the sense of mystery that surrounds them. (I remember Usman excitedly showing me a radio interview with the band that surfaced on YouTube a few years ago.) Since Rudimentary Peni was pretty hard to find out about and really good, the people who found them in the pre-internet era developed a profound reverence for them. I remember when someone put “Teenage Time Killer” on a mix tape for me when I was a teenager… it sounded so weird, but so interesting, that haunting lead guitar line drawing me in like a siren’s song. On the rare occasions when I would come across one of their records in the years after that, I would always buy without question, exploring the group’s discography haphazardly as I came across the records. I’m certain I heard The Underclass and Archaic well before I ever scored a copy of Death Church. Speaking of which, the internet era has made Rudimentary Peni’s records extremely collectible. Much like G.I.S.M., Rudimentary Peni was a band that was pretty hard to hear before the internet. Once people could hear the music, it made them want the vinyl, but the records had been out of print for years, occasionally appearing as bootlegs but largely unavailable. The value of Rudimentary Peni’s vinyl went through the roof, and over the past few years I’ve seen copies of Death Church sell for hundreds of dollars. It’s unsurprising that someone stepped into that gap in the market, but I’m very glad that it was Sealed Records who did so. Their reissue of Death Church satisfies both the intense fan and the astute record collector, the vinyl having been cut from the original master tapes (it sounds great) and the packaging a meticulous reproduction of the original record’s incredible fold-out poster sleeve. Because what would a Rudimentary Peni record be without a pile of incredible Nick Blinko artwork to feast your eyes on? So, whether you’re a collector who needs something to keep a spot on your shelf warm while you hunt for an original, or you’re just a punk fanatic who wants to experience this landmark record in all its glory, now is the time.

Next week Zorn is going on tour! They’re making a big loop through the South and Midwest, so if you’re in those parts of the country, check the flyer for dates! If you need info about a particular show, consult your local punk oracle or maybe hit up the band’s Instagram (@zorn_philly) if that doesn’t work. Zorn’s live show is not to be missed, so I encourage you to jump on the opportunity if you have it.

If you’re in New York, Zorn is playing at Trans Pecos TOMORROW, February 18, with Melissa and Dieja.

Zorn fans also may want to know that the band has completed their debut LP for Sorry State! We’re going to do our best to get it into your hands and ears as soon as possible.

You may remember me being super into the debut single from Australia’s Romero back in 2020. It was one of my favorite records of that year, two perfect sides of power pop. Now Romero is back with their debut album, and our buddies at Feel It Records are putting it out here in the states! Better yet, they’ve allotted us a chunk of the limited cream-colored vinyl, and it’s up on Sorry State’s site for preorder now. The street date on the album is April 8, but Feel It is hopeful the vinyl will be in at least a little before that. Sam at Feel It was kind enough to hook me up with an advance test pressing of the record, and I can confirm it lives up to expectations!

If you’d like a taste, check out the band’s video for the title track, “Turn It On!”

Golpe’s La Colpe É Solo Tua is back in stock! This pressing is 400 copies on clear red vinyl and 100 copies on clear red and black swirl that are only available from Sorry State. The first pressing sold out so quickly that we weren’t able to devote many copies to wholesale, so if you have a store or a distro and want wholesale copies please get in touch! And if you haven’t heard the record yet, what are you waiting for? Get over to the Sorry State Records Bandcamp and check it out.

There is a new 7” by Brazil’s Lasso! We’ll be co-releasing this new EP with our good buddies in the UK, Static Shock Records, and we’re hoping to have the vinyl in time for the March 18 street date. Lasso will also tour Europe in May, so watch for info on that soon!

For this week’s edition of HC Knockouts, Usman gets back to his roots with some good old-fashioned Swedish hardcore. This one is tighter than I expected. I fuckin’ love Headcleaners, but the Shitlickers 7” is untouchable. One of the greatest records in the history of hardcore.

Cast your vote in the next edition of Hardcore Knockouts on our Instagram stories next Tuesday!

My pick from Sorry State’s Discogs listings this week is this collection LP from Mourning Noise. This is the same version that we have for sale on Sorry State’s site, but since I never got around to writing about it for the newsletter, I figured I’d give it a nod now. Mourning Noise was from the Misfits’ home town of Lodi, New Jersey, followed in that band’s footsteps, and features a young Steve Zing, who later played in Samhain and Danzig.

Remember, you can always combine your order from Sorry State’s Discogs site with your order from our webstore and save on shipping!

1. Rudimentary Peni: Death Church 12” (Sealed Records)
2. Axe Rash: Contemporary Ass 7” (Not for the Weak Records)
3. Necro Heads: Mindless 7” (Kill Enemy Records)
4. Insect Warfare: World Extermination 12” (Iron Lung Records)
5. Reckoning Force: Broken State 12” (Not for the Weak Records)
6. Dissekerad: Inre Strid 12” (Desolate Records)
7. Golpe: La Colpe É Solo Tua 12” (Sorry State Records)
8. Tempter: S/T 12” (Quality Control HQ)
9. Nag: Observer 12” (Drunken Sailor Records)
10. Bootlicker: S/T 12” (Neon Taste Records)

Here’s your weekly rundown of the best sellers at Sorry State! It’s unsurprising that Death Church sits atop the list; it’s probably going to stay there for a minute, at least until we run out of copies. There are some shake-ups elsewhere in the chart too, as y’all are excited about the new Axe Rash EP and the Insect Warfare reissue on Iron Lung.

This week we have an expanded reissue of the lone 7” by 80s Finnish punks Sekaannus, filled out with six additional tracks. Check out Usman’s staff pick for more info on this one.

We have three new titles this week from Open Palm Tapes: a new EP from Chicago’s Deodorant, a tape from Northwest Indiana punks Counter Control, and a ripper from Germany’s Ex-Dom.

The Bad Brains’ official reissue campaign continues with 1989’s Quickness. This may be past the Bad Brains cutoff point for many, but there are plenty of people who ride for it. I know I’m pleased to see it back in print and on the shelves.

Philadelphia d-beaters Instinct? have a vinyl pressing of their Pray to Death cassette, which had a few releases, including a US one on Jeff and Usman’s label Bunker Punks.

We also just got in Red Eye Reprisal, the second album from Ventura, CA crust band Hidinginsidevictims.

Finishing up with a couple of cool hardcore punk demos, we have a tape from Kansas City’s Foil and a ripper from Hattiesburg, Mississippi’s Fumes.