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Hello Fellow Sorry Staters! It’s been a week or two since I have written a blurb on what I have been listening to. Between family vacations and being sick I have not had a whole lot of listening time to check out new stuff, so I figured this week I would just chat about something familiar to me and something you may not know about.

In the early 90s I went to church. A lot of church. Every Sunday morning and Sunday night and let’s not forgot youth group on Wednesdays! Since then, I have grown out of religion as a whole. Being the natural rebellious teenager I was, I always tried to seek out something different. My other brother was playing in bands with friends in high school and he would always let me in on what he was listening to. My parents were also selective about what music we could listen to, so when I discovered Tooth and Nail records, I thought I hit a gold mine. I bought everything that label put out for years. One band stood out to me so much because they differed from bands like Mxpx and Slick Shoes that were out on the label at that time. They were called Ninety Pound Wuss.

Like a lot of the bands on Tooth and Nail at the time, they were from the Seattle area but more specifically they were from Port Angeles, Washington and formed in 1994. Their first full length was 19 tracks of pure non stop thrashy fast punk with some sprinkles of poppy riffs to round it out. Lyrically, the record was about the persecution they faced being hardcore punk in the christian music scene, which at the time I could totally relate to. They only made 3 records, all equally good, but after the first record they started leaning toward post-punk and started to sound like the Blood Brothers.

I unfortunately only saw them once when they toured in the early 2000s at the Christian club in my hometown called “His Place” (lol), and from what I remember it was just me and about 5 of my friends that they played to. I wanted to talk about them in my pick this week because their records are very expensive and very hard to find. I still have my original cassette tape and CD and recently got a call from my brothers and they found a copy of the self titled record and plan to give it to me for my birthday this weekend!

If you are curious about the world of mixing religion and punk rock, check out these bands: Officer Negative, Headnoise, Crashdog, Overcome and No Innocent Victim. Cheers! Until next week!

If you’re a 40-year-old millennial like me, the Interstellar soundtrack might hit a little different than most. Hans Zimmer’s score taps into a sound that mirrors our generation’s own journey—one that blends nostalgia with the awe and anxiety of growing up in an age of constant change. As kids, we grew up on the cinematic epics of the 80s and 90s, such as E.T., Star Wars and Back to the Future, just to name a few. And now, as adults, Interstellar speaks to the complexity of the world that we find ourselves in today.

Zimmer’s composition is more than just background music to a sci-fi movie; it’s a rich, emotional landscape that draws from the vastness of space while speaking to the intimacy of human connection. His decision to build the score around the powerful, resonant tones of a church organ was a stroke of genius. It evokes both the grandeur of the cosmos and the spirituality of time and memory, as if reminding us that no matter how far we travel, we’re still bound by the love and the forces that make us human.

Then there’s “Mountains,” a track that takes the listener to the edge of their seat with its ticking, pulsating rhythm, mimicking the relentless march of time, a theme that hits hard for anyone, like me, in their 40s. The passage of time, both in the film and in real life, feels like something both vast and inescapable. Zimmer uses time signatures that feel like they’re stretching and compressing, just like the plot of Interstellar, and it evokes a very real sense of urgency and existential questioning.

One of the most poignant aspects of the score is how it reflects the generational concerns that have been simmering for millennials. We’re a generation that has been both optimistic and burdened by the realities of a rapidly changing world with climate concerns, technological leaps, and economic instability looming large. Just like the film’s characters, we’re asking the big questions here: What will the future hold? What kind of world are we leaving behind? Zimmer’s score echoes those anxieties while offering a bit of catharsis at the same time. What interesting questions to ponder as we go into the election in a few weeks.

In many ways, Interstellar is the perfect soundtrack for a generation that grew up looking to the stars and is now navigating the complicated, grounded realities of adulthood. Whether you’re a cinephile, a vinyl collector, or someone who just loves getting lost in an epic score, this album is a must-have. Zimmer has given us a score that doesn’t just accompany a film—it’s a sonic journey that mirrors the experience of grappling with time, love and what it means to leave a legacy.

Alright fellow Sorry Staters! It’s finally starting to feel like fall outside and if you’re anything like me, when the world starts to get a little bit darker earlier and the leaves start to fall, you’re probably in the market for something more than just background noise. Something to get completely lost in. Something to match the season changing. And let me tell you, Dummy by Portishead is not just an album; it’s an experience. It’s like stepping into a smoky, dimly lit room where the air is thick and time doesn’t matter. Have you ever found yourself in that space where the world feels surreal, and all you want is to melt into the vibe? This is the soundtrack for that. Trust me.

Now, let’s get real. I wouldn’t recommend putting this record on for just casual listening. No, this is the type of record I recommend for when you’re ready to feel something. When you’ve smoked a little, or let’s be honest, a lot, and you’re in that headspace where every sound feels like it’s crawling into your mind, Dummy will take you there and beyond. Beth Gibbons’ voice? It’s ghostly and seductive, like she’s pulling you into some other dimension, whispering the truths you didn’t know you needed to hear. And the beats? Oh, man. They’re dark, minimal, and just twisted enough to mess with your head in the best way.

Tracks like “Sour Times” have this eerie, seductive pull, perfect for when you’re staring at the ceiling, thinking about every decision you’ve ever made. And “Roads?” That song will have you contemplating the meaning of life, feeling every note as it’s unraveling some deep truth of the universe. The whole album is one trippy ride, where the sounds are as important as the silences in between, and it all washes over you like a dream you don’t want to wake from.

This album has that ‘90s trip-hop aesthetic down, but it still sounds fresh like it exists in its own little bubble of time. It’s the perfect companion for late-night smoking sessions, staring at the stars or just zoning out in your own thoughts. Every track has its own mood, its own atmosphere and if you let it, Dummy will take you on a journey, no questions asked.

So, roll one up, dim the lights and let Portishead guide you through their dark hypnotic world. Trust me, this album will alter your brain chemistry. Don’t just listen—feel it—and you can thank me later.

Hello Sorry Staters! Another week, another pick from yours truly. This week has been busy with incoming preorders and tons of other new releases for you! I also stay busy by making sure that we have new used stuff going out daily. Still listing CDs, so if you are into metal we have a ton of great stuff for you.

One of the new releases that we received recently was Timmy Vulgar’s Genetic Armageddon. Boy oh boy was this one hell of a ride. The A side is an avant-garde electronic psychedelic fever dream. Full of spacey guitars and off beat drums mixed with some synth that sounds like a clan of aliens talking from another planet. It’s a fun ride if you like free jazz.

Side B is another story. It comes off as a poor man’s Bob Dylan, but for me, that’s a really good thing. Lyrically, it’s a depressing song about running out of booze. You can definitely tell it was recorded in a bedroom and for me, that just makes it so much better. You can feel the pain of him running out of booze. We all have been there, right?

This EP is not to be missed. It’s all over the place in the best way and I love it. Do yourself a favor and buy this record. It has two great songs on it that will not necessarily be in your head, but I guarantee you will not forget them.

Hello Fellow Sorry Staters! This week I have been busy working on organizing the chaos of all the pre orders that we have active right now. So many amazing records are up for preorder right now! A few of my favorites are Chain Cult: Harm Reduction 12” on LVEUM and the new Alvilda: C’est Déjà L’heure 12” on Static Shock Records. Go check them out!

This week my listening has been very focused on a genre that I really knew nothing about. One thing I have challenged myself with this year is learning different genres of music that I normally would not have naturally put on to listen to. This week’s genre is funk. I’ve always just put funk into the box of what someone would think about funk commercially. You know, like James Brown or Funkadelic. I wanted to dig deeper and find those super nasty bass guitar hooks and hard-hitting drums with the constant grunts of Ugh! I have come across a few good playlists on Spotify, but recently saw this record at the store and picked it up just from the description on the back alone. The compilation album is called “Tighten Up Tighter: A Choice Collection of Funk 45s” on Pure Records based out of New York. There are some really good, hard-hitting tracks like The Soul Diggers’ Soul Dig Part 1 and Brother Williams’ Cold Sweat.

As I take this journey to learn even more about funk, I know there are some readers that have some great suggestions for tracks I need to check out. If you even have a suggestion for a great playlist or compilation record, please write in and let me know! Thanks again for reading this week and make sure to check out the site, we are always listing new items for ya’ll almost daily! Until next time!

I have recently been going back to the music I listened to in the late 90s. One way I would find new bands is by looking at thank-you notes in other albums I had or borrowed from friends, or I would just find a record label that I loved. In this case, it was Asian Man records. Around this time Asian Man records was putting out some amazing artists like The Broadways, Slapstick, and Link 80 to name a few. I found this band through my love and obsession with the band Alkaline Trio. When I get obsessive over a band, I frantically research and find everything out about the members and, importantly what projects they previously played in. Tuesday became my second obsession due to my love for Dan Andriano’s vocal and bass playing style in Alkaline Trio.

The band Tuesday did not come out with many records at all. Looking back as I write this, it was only a demo, an EP called Early Summer and a full length called Freewheelin’. But to me Freewheelin’ was my entry point into the early 90s/late 00s emo and punk scene. Dan’s voice on this album was raw and gritty and like nothing I had ever heard from an emo band coming out of the scene I was in at the time. If I ever get asked what a good example of putting emotion behind the vocals sounds like, I will always reference this album. Lyrically, this album touches on your typical topics of sadness, losing love, and other typical emo song subjects.

So when the record and EP both came in the store from a recent collection buy, I knew that my high school self would kick me if I did not buy them. If you like Alkaline Trio and did not know about Tuesday, please go check them out. As always, check out the used section on the website, you never know what may pop up. I am still going through and listing that huge CD collection we bought a month or so ago. As always, thank you to everyone who reads these for all of your support!

Welcome again to my little corner of the internet where I get to talk about records that I am listening to on a week by week basis! Hopefully I have encouraged you to buy or listen to a record that you may not have heard of. I know this is something that I look forward to weekly, being able to read about what my co-workers are listening to as well. My week has been pretty basic most days. I fill the online orders that come in and then I work on listing a massive metal CD collection that we got in a few weeks ago. So much good stuff has already been listed and we really have barely begun to scratch the surface of this collection. To give you some perspective on it, I have only gone through almost 2 full boxes and we have 50+ more boxes that need to be listed. So needless to say we will have a ton of awesome metal and extreme music adjacent CDs being listed for a while if that is your thing.

On to my pick this week. I went back and forth with a couple of newer releases that have been on my radar for a while. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is not for everyone. Some people get turned off by the fact that they change their sound with every album. Spanning genres such as electronic, metal, folk and jazz funk. A lot of die hard fans have their favorite album out of the 26 studio albums that they have put out so far. Mine are the heavy and more psychedelic albums like Omnium Gatherum, Petro Dragonic... and Flying Microtonal Banana. The following this band has created in the states is something special. It almost feels like they are Australia’s answer to the Grateful Dead. People plan entire summers to follow them on tour in the United States. They even have parking lots sales before every show with folks making bootleg King Gizzard shirts, pins and stickers among so many other things. I will finally get to experience my first show at the end of month in Asheville. So if you are out there and you see me say hey!

The new KGLW album, Flight b741 is a snapshot back in time to older boogie rock, taking influence from bands like The Doobie Brothers, Little Feat or the Steve Miller Band. It’s classic dad rock but done with the King Gizzard twist. There are huge riffs and endless hooks on this album, which also features all members of the band on vocals at least once on the record, which is something new for them from the albums in the past. One of the big highlights for me was the amount of harmonica on this album. I am sucker for harmonica in my classic rock albums and Ambrose continuously just kills it every time. Overall, this album is a classic and will be a favorite of a lot of die hard fans. If you have never heard King Gizzard before, please go back and listen to the albums that I listed above. Until next week! Thanks for reading!

Another week, another pick! Thanks again for reading week by week and supporting Sorry State records! It’s August, and it’s hot as hell. Who else can’t wait for the fall? Here at Sorry State we have been pushing out so many new releases for you all grab and thus keep us very busy here at the mail order half of Sorry State. It was really hard picking a record to talk about this week seeing how so much great stuff has come out recently. Beach Impediment has been putting out some great records like the Sikm: Now I Must Comply 12” and the Disarm: Existence Demo 1985 12”. For my pick this week I went with a super highly anticipated album for me, Philadelphia’s Poison Ruin: Confrere 12” on Relapse Records.

Poison Ruin’s Confrere is seven tracks of dark and melodic dungeon punk. This album screams of all the best of multiple genres. From the cheesy power metal guitar solos to the overall lo-fi feeling of a poorly produced black metal album and just enough snottiness in the vocals to be considered punk. The lyrical content touches on death, despair, and revenge. Just those 3 words alone can give you a visual of a real life Dungeons and Dragons campaign playing out. Knights fighting orcs to avenge their king. Sounds fun right!?

This album is a step up coming off the release of 2023’s Harvest. The catchy melodies and overall polishing of the bass and guitar tones progress this record into higher standards than Harvest. If I had to say anything bad about this album, it’s that I was surprised it was only seven tracks and not the eleven tracks that Harvest was. Also, if you are into dungeon synth and Poison Ruin, checking out their side project Shadow Knell: S/T 12” is a must. These are the two records you need to take to your next DnD or LARP session to get you pumped up.

Another week, another pick! Thanks again for reading week by week and supporting Sorry State records! This week has been super busy catching up on all the orders that came in over the 4th of July holiday week. Y’all have definitely been keeping us busy. We have tons of great new releases that have come in this week! We got in the new Prison Affair/Snooper split for all the egg punk fans out there and a great hardcore release from Subdued on LVEUM. Definitely something for everyone! This week I decided to continue on my shoegaze/dreampop month with one of my favorite shoegaze adjacent bands, Hum, and their 2nd full length album, You’d Prefer An Astronaut.

Hum is one of those bands that is hard to pin down an exact genre on them, let alone shoegaze or even dreampop for that matter. A lot of bands in the early 90s leaned on what was becoming popular at that time, which was heavy alternative and grunge. Hum blended the heavy guitar riffs of the grunge moment and matched it so perfectly with the ethereal melodies that have made the shoegaze genre famous. Frontman and lead singer, Matt Tallbot’s, lyrics play with themes of love and longing and jump to thoughts of existentialism.

You’d Prefer an Astronaut is a timeless album that continues to resonate with listeners decades after its release. I feel like this album is finally getting the love it deserves with this new wave of shoegaze that is happening in the states. All three records in the Hum catalog have been re-released via Polyvinyl Records after waiting years for a proper repress. The band joined back to do some shows throughout the last few years, but unfortunately, the drummer, Brian St. Pere, passed away in 2021. Since then, the band has not played any new shows, nor have they mentioned anything about finding a new drummer.

Hum’s You’d Prefer An Astronaut, for me, is one of those albums that have made it into my desert island top 5 picks. I always find my way back to this record and it always blows me away like I am hearing it again for the first time. If you came across this record, or hell, any of their records buy them, you will not regret it! I was lucky enough to find an original pressing of this album and it is my pride and joy in my collection. Thanks again for reading!

Hello fellow Sorry Staters! Another week, another pick! We have loads of new releases that came out this past week and even more in the weeks to come! For the month of July, I am going to do something a bit different with this platform. I am going to go through one of my favorite genres, shoegaze/dreampop, and just chat about a few of my favorite albums in the genre. I fell in love with shoegaze through a lot of newer bands such as Whirr, They Are Gutting a Body of Water and Full Body 2.

The first album I’m going to talk about this month is Drop Nineteen’s Delaware. Released in 1992, it captures the essence of the genre with its swirling and reverberated guitars, dreamy vocals, and layered soundscapes by using a myriad of effects pedals. The band went through a lineup change after this album, but couldn’t get it quite right after they released this juggernaut of a record. A little fact about the cover art of this record, the image of a girl holding a gun was replaced by a flower on the 2024 reissues of the album due to the amount of gun violence in the United States. The band donated a portion of the sales to the Artist for Action charity.

This record is often praised for its production, which balances the raw energy and attitude of alternative rock that was done so well in the 90s, with the textured layers typical of shoegaze. The album remains cohesive throughout while exploring different sonic landscapes, from the more upbeat sounds in the song Angel to the more melancholic song like Kick the Tragedy.

This album is a must have for anyone exploring the genre and looking for an album reminiscent of 90s alternative rock and shoegaze as a newer exploratory sound at that time.

Hello Fellow Sorry Staters! Here we are after a brief break while some of the Sorry State crew were on tour. We are in the middle of summer here in North Carolina and boy is it HOT. I think this coming weekend we are supposed to have record-breaking high temperatures in the 100s. Phew! I mentioned in my previous pick a week or so ago that I was very excited about what Convulse records was doing. They are definitely on the forefront of releasing some really good music this past year. Which brings me to one release I am super excited about, Pardoner’s Paranoid in Hell 7”.

This album is all over the place in the best way possible. The tempo and style changes from track to track or hell even from verse to chorus. It’s what makes this record so damn fun and interesting to listen to. This record was recorded in one session in one day. I would not have guessed it on my first few listens. They have done a great job on the production of this record from beginning to end. Paranoid in Hell also has great art from Trey Flanigan (guitar/vocals), who also did some art for Gel and Gatecreeper. A couple of my favorite tracks that really jumped out to me are Distant Star and Instrument of Peace. Both tracks have this almost trickery behind them. They start as one style/tempo but end in something that you were not expecting, from fast and fuzzy punk to poppy super catchy chorus with great memorable lyrics to go with it. On your second listen to this record you would have already memorized the lyrics and the catchy choruses that go along with them.

This band is a fresh face in the alt rock scene that seems to have most bands just fade away. You can hear the influences on this record, from the Dils and Pavement to newer bands like Bugg and Big Bite. I cannot recommend this record enough, easily becoming one of my favorite EPs so far this year.

Welcome Sorry Staters! With Memorial day behind us, we are now in the heat of NC summer, and I can't help but find myself spending more time outside. This past weekend was spent at the farmers market with my wife Molly and my pug pup Prudence roaming the various plant stalls. We fixed up our back patio to enjoy with friends, planted some veggies, hung string lights and got the solo stove ready for a fire. Sunday night was spent with good friends around a fire pit with marshmallows and music blasting from our portable speaker. Summer nights are one of my favorite times to listen to ambient music such as Richard D. James' Aphex Twin. I get a little melancholy listening to the song Avril 14th from the 2001 album Drukqs. Sitting outside, the summer breeze, fire going and laughter with good friends, always reminds me of when I was growing up and spending summers skateboarding in the cul-de-sac with my neighborhood friends. That's the perfect combo for a great beginning to the summer. Now lets get into this weeks pick.

Last week I mentioned how much I loved Convulse Records. Well this week is another Convulse Records pick! As I wait for the new Pardoner 7” to arrive to chat about in another week’s pick, I will talk about how much I love the new Gumm album, Slogan Machine. I heard about Gumm through one of my other favorite bands, Soft Kill. Soft Kill recently took Gumm out on tour with them throughout the midwest as support. Slogan machine is mean as hell but melodic and very uptempo. Right out of the gate on the track “No Frontier” the guitar is heavy but melodic and the drums are pounding at full force. This is the main driving force behind this whole album. It’s danceable, it’s tough and it’s everything you ever wanted from a hardcore record. I’ll leave this blurb with one of the lyrics that stood out to me:

“I want to feel like this world is world worth saving”