With the vinyl boom still inexplicably chugging along, 2024 blessed noiseniks with an obscene amount of essential reissues on wax. Labels have pulled out all the stops and inundated the marketplace with lush box sets, quality reissues of hard-to-find classics, and even decades-old unreleased recordings that must be heard to be believed.
Boys Life – Home Is A Highway Box Set (Numero Group)
The Numero Group has been digging up and reissuing some of the greatest treasures of ’90s emo hardcore over the last few years, so it’s especially validating to see this Kansas City quartet receive such a lavishly designed collection of their hard-to-find releases in a 4 LP box set. CDs of these original releases were pretty easy to score back in the day and the bands’ road dog tours of the U.S. built up a fanbase that’s only become more enamored with their version of DC-style post-hardcore over the years. Boys Life played the type of heartfelt and earnest emo that could be taken seriously; the kind of emo that was never found in a Hot Topic at the mall. They were the real deal. Seeing the band at their mid-90s peak was always a memorable and cathartic experience and this collection helps cement their place in the annals of great indie music of the 1990s. While they often were dismissed as Fugazi wannabes, a quick sampling of the tracks here will reveal the laziness of that categorization, as dissonant guitar play ala Trumans Water or Sonic Youth, the dynamics of Slint, or the melodic pop chops that round out the Boys Life sound all add up to something much more interesting than mimicry. The three songs from their 1996 split 10″ with Denver’s Christie Front Drive (tracks 29-31 below) are some of my favorite songs by the band, as they show how the band’s sound evolved from their earlier recordings, applying knotted guitar play to their songs that twist and bend with tension and release, and working up into giant swells of sound. In addition to their demo tape and their two proper albums, this collects the band’s many split single releases and compilation tracks, a handful of live tracks and a 24-page booklet contained in one of the best-looking box sets the Numero Group has done so far, paying homage to the band’s original Hammerpress letterpress cover designs. Very nice work, Numero Group.
The Effigies – For Ever Grounded LP (BFD)
Long overdue reissue of this essential Chicago band’s debut 1984 album, remixed and remastered with reworked cover art based on the original record’s back cover photo. It looks pretty cool and sounds great and makes you wonder why the Effigies haven’t received the ongoing reissue treatment that Naked Raygun has had. They both have that solid, meat-and-potatoes approach to punk rock, and The Effigies, while not as sing-songy and melodic as Naked Raygun, certainly had the hooks and quality songwriting that can make you a fan for life. Perhaps their shorter lifespan explains it, but Big Black also had a six-year lifespan and seemed to keep all their records in print for decades as well. Whatever the reason, it’s great to have this reissue that’s a solid and reliable as The Effigies’ music.
Enslaved – Vikingligr Veldi 2xLP (By Norse Music)
The second wave of black metal from Norway has been well documented and celebrated, even garnering recognition from Norway’s Grammy awards, which is pretty remarkable given its notoriety. The By Norse Music label gave this 1994 classic a proper vinyl release in 2016 and issued this classed-up version for its 30th anniversary and Record Store Day 2024. The packaging features a deluxe gatefold on heavyweight matte paper stock with a high-gloss spot varnish, which highlights its badass helmet art, band photos, and 4 new illustrations by Zbigniew Bielak. The graphics also feature plenty of shirtless Viking-esque metalheads with studded arm bands, swords, and an illegible band logo, which along with the black and green marbled vinyl that evokes Scandinavian forests, really helps set the scene for a legit black metal masterpiece. It’s a major upgrade from its original CD-only release. Musically, Vikingligr Veldi hits like the preceding Hordenes Land EP, staying grim with simplistic song structures and dark tremolo-picked riffs, blastbeats, and troll-like vocals, all accented by majestic synth and war horns. Hints of the progressive metal Enslaved would eventually become known for is especially evident in the 10 minute instrumental album closer “Norvegr”, which has one of those sweeping, majestic riffs that the band has been blasting out at the world for decades now.
Golpe – Subisci. Conformati. Rassegnati. 7″ EP (Sorry State/Static Shock)
A joint release from Sorry State in the US and Sorry State in Europe, this is a welcome reissue of Golpe’s 2019 demo tape, plus a bonus track that’s a medley of 4 hardcore covers recorded in 2023. Overall, it’s a crackling, speedy slab of D-beat rage, perfectly fit for where the world is headed in 2025. The blistering energy here is off the charts, or grooves in this case, with speedy, righteous and 110% raging, mixed raw and in the red. The bonus medley track made up of songs by Indigesti, Nabat, The EU’s Arse, and Wretched features a noticeably cleaner recording, but one that loses none of the momentum built up from the demo tracks. As with any standout D-beat/crust punk band, Golpe’s aesthetic is in full effect here with the gritty chain-frames and black-on-red graphics that are instantly recognizable as the band’s, adding to an awesome audio artillery that lives up to the band’s name, which translates to “Coup” in English.
Legal Weapon – No Sorrow 12″ EP (Mono)
Ever since Italy’s Radiation Records reissued Legal Weapon’s 1982 debut LP, Death of Innocence in 2022, I was hoping that they might dig up this EP as well. Thankfully, two years later, the sporadic Mono Records label saw fit to reissue the band’s No Sorrow EP from 1981, as well as a pair of tracks recorded live at the Mabuhay Gardens in 1980. To sweeten the deal, this reissue also has an 8-page booklet with band photos by Ed Colver and a collection of era flyers featuring the band. It’s a welcome addition to the SoCal punk canon, and shows the band in the same brilliant light that made the LA scene at this time so vital, with a rawness and snarl to their tuneful punk that shows that they would’ve been a perfect fit on the Dangerhouse label with the other cream of the LA punk crop. Kat Arthur’s delivery is especially strong on these tracks and they help carry this release into the upper echelons of essential early LA punk.
Mystic Tide – Frustration (Numero Group)
It’d take a bank account flush with a couple grand and a willingness to drop it all on the singles collected here, all of which fetch hundreds of dollars apiece, to get this legendary set of psychedelic ’60s garage punk stompers. Thanks to the fine Numero Group once again for bringing long lost, highly-sought records to the people. The Mystic Tide were clearly ahead of their time, independently putting out records themselves as the record labels of the day passed on their teenage energy and fire. The minor key harmonizing and frayed guitar churn achieved not by pedal distortion, but by blasting amps at full volume, has left a trail of rabid record collectors in their wake, with their songs popping up on Nuggets compilations, Bomp! Records’ Ear Piercing Punk compilation from 1979, and a decent Cheater Slicks version of their song “Mystery Ship” on their Don’t Like You album from 1995. Fans of The Ventures, the Velvets and The Sonics will certainly appreciate The Mystic Tide, as they hit all all the right notes with finesse and fervor, from eastern-influenced riffs, pop harmonies, psychedelic journeys and a dark strain of the blues. In fact, one of the highlights is “Psychedelic Journey” parts 1 and 2, which originally were the B-sides to two separate singles, but here are joined to make a nearly 10-minute instrumental journey that’s majestic and magnificent, fully pushing past the usual limits of garage rock. Overall, the singles and sequencing make this a solid album in itself and a marvelous way to ride The Mystic Tide. The only thing that brings this release down is the awful photo montage cover, which is a senseless Photoshop job that only detracts from the otherwise stellar design found inside with the info-packed tri-fold insert. In fact, I’ve resorted to putting that in front of the cover design in the poly sleeve to serve as a cover image as it’s a much more tasteful design that’s worthy of the great songs inside.
Rodan – Rusty LP (Quarterstick)
I was lucky enough to see Rodan not long after this, the band’s sole album, came out when they were touring with Rocket From The Crypt and instantly became a fan. Their performance was dynamic, moving, and unlike anything I’d ever seen or heard at the time. So it was annoying to see them often lumped in with Slint at the time, who, of course, were also from Louisville and used similar dynamic extremes and complex song structures, and who I’d also loved, yet who’d completely built their own sound with its own unique vibe and sonic universe. History heaped ample praise for Slint’s masterwork Spiderland (and deservedly so), but I was always ready to offer a “oh yeah, if you like Spiderland, you should check out Rusty by Rodan too” which never seemed to resonate with anyone. Despite my failure to inspire the same rabid fandom in others, Rodan’s legend slowly grew and their cult status as the band that spawned a number of notable indie groups in the ’90s-’00s (June of 44, Rachel’s, Shipping News, The Sonora Pine) has since resulted in a compilation of their non-Rusty tracks with Fifteen Quiet Years being released in 2013 and a live album Hat Factory ’93 released in 2019. To mark the 30th anniversary of Rusty, Quarterstick reissued this remastered vinyl edition with a beautiful champagne-colored pressing. If you’re a fan of any of the bands mentioned above, it’s a safe bet that the investment you make on obtaining a copy of this classic will be paid back with decades of play. Highly recommended, since 1994.
Skullflower – Last Shot at Heaven 2xLP (No Holiday)
I never pulled the trigger on this one when I saw it floating around in CD form years ago, partly because it was sandwiched between a couple of Skullflower releases (1993’s Obsidian Shaking Codex and 1994’s Carved Into Roses) that I wasn’t quite as wild about as 1992’s IIIrd Gatekeeper album, which I still think is the best among their giant catalog. (Side note: IIIrd Gatekeeper also got a reissue as a double album in 2024 with extra tracks.) After seeing it beig passed over in the local record store bins a few times I thought it’d be worth finally snagging a copy and I am so thankful for that impulse purchase, as this monster delivers the fuckin’ goods if you love droning, feedback-surfing, HEAVY psych dirges. Unfortunately there weren’t a ton of these pressed, so if you come across one, snag it immediately, as the vinyl treatment here on smoky clear vinyl sounds as great as it looks and the classy embossed sleeve gives it a weight the original Noiseville CD version never quite could. It’s also available digitally on Bandcamp with a slew of additional tracks.
SSD – Get It Away 12″ EP (Trust)
Dreams really do come true! As I wished upon the hardcore gods in 2023, the fine folks at Trust Records continued their SSD reissue campaign with a deluxe reissue of the bands’ arguably best release, 1983’s Get It Away. As far as I’m concerned, this is the record that made the band a reference point for countless bands that followed in their wake, with ferocious riffs, raging vocal attack, and masterfully energetic songs played wicked tight. In the pre-internet days, I was always scratching my head at the numerous references to this band, as my only exposure to them was the How We Rock LP that was filling up used bins and the unattended recesses of punk rockers’ record collections at the time with middling, metallic guitar noodling. As classic HC record MP3s started floating around early in the millennium, I can still recall finally hearing this fuckin’ beast for the first time, eyes bulging and pulse quickening, finally understanding why the band was so renowned in hardcore punk circles. It instantly found a place on my wantlist where it remained for decades as the pricetag for owning this monster slab climbed well outside my comfort zone. Various bootleg editions would pop up occasionally, but they disappeared quick and commanded hefty price tags as well. Trust Records has done an excellent job restoring SSD’s seminal records and this edition of Get It Away is well worth their modest asking price, as it features a hot vinyl mastering that does these recordings justice, a printed paper sleeve, lyric sheet, sticker, and even a stencil to spray paint SSD XXX SSD all over your town. I don’t have the knees for running from cops that I once did, but I do appreciate the gesture. I also love having a crisp reproduction of a rare Pushead illustration on the cover, one of very very few he’s done that doesn’t feature skulls. If you’re aware of this Boston hardcore classic, you probably already have this, but if you’re not, and you want to hear some of the best ’80s hardcore straight from the source, you really need to check this one out.
Techno Animal – Brotherhood of the Bomb 2xLP (Relapse)
In 2023, Relapse reissued this group’s 1995 Re-Entry release, which put Techno Animal, a project featuring Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu) and Kevin Martin (Automan, The Bug) back into the spotlight. That reissue got me wondering whether a reissue of their swangsong Brotherhood of the Bomb would ever materialize and thankfully in 2024, a very welcome reissue of the double album with new artwork and a bangin’ remaster was released. This vinyl mastering cut at 45 rpm sounds much fuller and gritty than the more widely available CD format of its intial release, delivering all its gnarled and nasty textures up into the red over huge subwoofer-thumping beat work. If you haven’t heard it, it’s a noteworthy abomination of the triphop/illbient movement that was peaking at the time, merging the heavy rumbling aesthetic of Godflesh with dark ambient atmospheres and grime-encrusted hiphop. Cult sci-fi nerds will also appreciate the new artwork’s nod to the insane 1970 Beneath the Planet of the Apes flick. A very nice package celebrating this underrated 2001 masterwork.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – The Funeral Pudding LP (Bulbous Monocle)
The TFUL 282 reissue gravy train rolled on in 2024, this time reissuing the 1994’s Ajax Records release, The Funeral Pudding. While Discogs lists the original release as an EP, it has 9 tracks, which nicely fill out two sides of 12″ vinyl on this reissue quite nicely, so for all intents and purposes I’m calling this an LP. It serves as a nice chapter in the band’s discography, following the expansive quirky universe established on Mother of All Saints, leading up to their most focused and celebrated release Strangers of the Universe. For example, “Flames Up”, an intrumental track that perfectly highlights all the amazing ways TFUL 282 could take violin, horns and eastern scales to make an experimental form of indie rock that was brilliantly creative instead of pretentiously ironic, which most indie rock of the time certainly was. The following tracks “Firing Squad” and “Traffic Mule” (previously known as “***” on the original release) wander along, almost like rough song sketches before the side A closer “Kings Crossing” breaks in with a Morricone-esque stomper that shifts into Polvo-style guitar wrangling and irreverent lyrics. Side B is equally sublime, peaking with the longest track on the record, the improv masterwork “Give Me Back My Golden Arm”, which blissfully drifts from one headspace to the next, never quite losing its way but never quite going in a straight line either. Looking back at the indie rock landscape of 1994 through a twenty year lens definitely reveals how brightly this overlooked release now shines. Thank the Bulbous Monocle label for bringing back this mid-90s gem in fine form, and pray that 2025 brings us more gifts from the TFUL 282 discography.
Alan Vega – Insurrection 2xLP (In The Red)
When I heard the Suicide track “Rocket USA” play in the 2024 movie Civil War, I was struck by how alien and timeless the trailblazing Alan Vega and Martin Rev group sounded. Hearing it in theatre surround sound at full volume probably lent it some immediacy that the CDs I’ve heard the track on thousands of times never quite had, but regardless, the music sounds as out of time now as it was in 1977 when it was first released. Although captured decades later and sans Martin Rev, the unreleased Alan Vega recordings that make up this double album have that same quality, feeling out of time in 2024 even though they were recorded in 1997 and 1998. A 2020 split Record Store Day release on Henry Rollins’ 2.13.61 label and In The Red teased one of the tracks found here, “Murder One”, split over two sides of a 7″ slab, and the Sacred Bones label later released in 2022 a 7″ with the same song and another track found on Insurrection, “Invasion”, both pounding, haunting, raw, minimal electropunk running under Vega’s psyche-shredding street poetry. As with those two tracks, the other nine tracks found on Insurrection feature these qualities with layered sound textures and samples that swirl and clash in tone and time signature, sonically overwhelming in the best way, making a disorienting and decimating listening experience that transcends music into something more akin to sound art at 200bpm. Big ups to In The Red records for packaging these tracks up into a glossy oversized gatefold cover to hold the four heavy vinyl sides. This archival release was the most fascinating and satisfying listen I found in 2024.