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4 track unreleased studio EP recording from their Mushi era. The fact these tracks exist, and are as good and as high quality as they are truly the stuff dreams are made of if you are a fan of the Stalin. These aren’t demos, but full-fledged, intentionally recorded studio tracks that just never saw the light of day. This originally came out in 2023 in Japan to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the Mushi LP, and sold out in mere hours, and remains prohibitively expensive on the second hand market. This is a one-time overseas pressing on General Speech, and includes identical artwork to the Japanese release, by Keizo Miyanishi who drew the cover of the Stalin’s “Trash” LP, and English liner notes from Inundow covering the discovery of these tracks. Truly essential to any fan of Japanese punk.
Our take: General Speech does the world’s population of Japanese punk lovers a huge solid by reissuing this archival release by the Stalin. As General Speech’s description notes, this release is a dream come true for fans of the Stalin: four undiscovered studio tracks recorded in 1983, a few weeks after the band completed their third album, Mushi. Many people unwisely sleep on Mushi; that it was released primarily on picture disc and ends with a ten minute long song are both red flags, but it’s a great album, primarily carrying forward the sound of the all-time classic Stop Jap, but adding just a hair more each of complexity and restraint. These four tracks sound like they could be outtakes from that album, with a very similar writing and recording style, and just as much power and conviction in the band’s performance. As the liner notes explain, no one seemed to realize this recording session existed or knows what the songs were intended for, though if I understand correctly, one track appeared with some additional guitar overdubs on the Welcome to 1984 compilation. I’m particularly thankful for the format they chose for this release. They could have tacked these on as bonus tracks to a reissue of some previously released material that fans would have had to buy all over again at an inflated price, but instead we get this lean 7” EP, priced reasonably and featuring an awesome cover illustration by the same artist who drew the cover of the Stalin’s first album, Trash. When these songs first came out in Japan in 2023, the edition sold out quickly and immediately started selling for a premium on the second-hand market, and since General Speech says this is a one-time pressing, I strongly urge you to lock down your copy before the same happens with this pressing.