Glass Hits - Better Never Than Late

Okay, there are a few ways I can go with this one; immediately noting the fact that I honestly did not think I was going to like this record, at least within the first few seconds.  But that's the humorist version of this post; perhaps the more interesting one to begin with. Ultimately, and to be clear, I applaud this album, especially after taking in side-b and having the intensely arresting track "Crawl" blast out my speakers. 

To set the stage: it's early Sunday morning, and I don't often stay up late.  However, last night was an exception to the rule, putting me in a position of only having a few hours of sleep; I'm by default an early riser, regardless of how raging the party was.  I am stumbling about the house, my cat is clawing at my feet, demanding a bit of 'kitty-time,' and I have yet to determine if I am even awake.  She always likes to play fetch at the brink of dawn with her fake mouse toys;  a game we call "mouse" (that she responds to).  As I often like / try to do during my hours of solitude, I reach for the 'review pile' of vinyl and look to take in some new tunes to discuss with all of you.  Chuck Coffey from Snappy Little Numbers has had a very impressive 7inch catalog to date with his record label, and I have been meaning to dive into a few of his full length 12inch albums that he has released; what better time than today.

Glass Hits' Better Never Than Late ends up being my selection.  As I hold the traditional black vinyl record in hand, I prepare the turntable for a 12inch LP.  What happens next, meaning what comes out of my speakers, is very likely not what Glass Hits or Snappy Little Numbers had intended for us to hear... but it is an experience that I strongly recommend you allow yourself!   Crude, deathly, conquering, massively impressive - Better Never Than Late played at 33-1/3 rpms is its own dark creation, perhaps a subconscious expression for Glass Hits, but certainly not what they set forth to capture in the studio (yet one completely worth exploring - just not first thing on a Sunday morning).

I was shaking my head (now awake), thinking, "Oh no. I really like Chuck, and his label, and what he's doing. I was really hoping to share some more good news about one of his records, but man... what am I going to do with this?"  As my blurry eyes began to gain focus,  I thankfully caught wind of the "45 RPM" noted on the rotating center label.  At this exact moment, our cat, Kickflip, furiously ripped through our living room, as if she was frustratingly calling me an idiot for not having noticed the rotational directions given for this record; funny how cats are often more aware of our own human reality than we are.

"You're the Icing on a Cake That Never Should've Been Made in the First Place" takes off accurately, opening Better Never Than Late, and now I understand where we should have been: this is a quintessential punk rock record.  I don't often listen to (or like for that matter) punk rock music (perhaps I should clarify: newer modern day punk rock,  or what a lot of people call punk rock).  For me, punk rock is Dischord Records, Alternative Tentacles,  and SST Records (circa 80's and 90's).  Being that punk rock is more of a state of mind, less of a music genre, punk rock is going to be different for everyone,  and that is okay / that's the beauty of it.  So on this crisp, early Fall Sunday morning, Glass Hits are my punk rock.

One of my favorite harder / heavier albums is The Crownhate Ruin's Until the Eagle Grins (Dischord Records 1996).  It has always been an album I use to measure other like minded records against.  I'll never forgot buying it; I was a fan of Dischord Records at the time, in general, but did not really buy a lot of their stuff.  The cover art is solely what attracted me to even pick up The Crownhate Ruin.   It's a beautiful weathered navy blue rough cardboard jacket, delicately screen printed with silver ink.  The liner notes are elegantly similar, only with a blood red canvas.  I bought the album on the spot without ever listening to it.  The design always reminded me of the romantic nature of The Rachael's undeniably unparalleled release, "Music for Egon Schiele;" both albums of which inspired me to create this blog.

I immediately fell in love with The Crownhate Ruin. It did not matter how much indie pop or shoegaze I was getting into at the time (it's was the 90's); the energy, the passion, the perfection - it was all too gripping, never to let go (and still hasn't).  Now, for the second time in life, I am getting that same feeling again about an expression I often don't understand.  Better Never Than Late is a punk rock album that too will stand the test of time; it defies all trends - an honest manifesto.  Sonically, it is an absolute A++; flawless and precise. 

The liner notes and center labels are my favorite part of the overall packaging.  The refined clarity equals the voice of Glass Hits.  And I appreciate their common sense to include lyrics. I've always felt that if a band has so much emotionally drive behind their message, let's here it (read it) then.  Thanks, Glass Hits. 

I am just so happy my turntable plays at both 33-1/3 and 45 rpm speeds.

Deathfix (self-titled)

As the needle drops into and finds the grooves of the wax, a fuzzy guitar lead opens Deathfix's first track, "Better Than Bad," and takes off, followed by the beat as the first rift completes.  Immediately, you are digging through your record collection, somewhere between the "B" or "C" section, hunting down a copy of either Big Star's (the original) or Cheap Trick's (a cover; theme song for That 70's Show) version of "In the Street."  (Damn it!  I don't have either one; that would have been an excellent song to follow Deathfix in a DJ set.)

Their self-titled album continues on a stupendous rock 'n' roll journey, sticking to their guns of excellence,  but not particularly with one pattern.  Deathfix's free will keeps it alive for the duration of a very respectful seven song album.   Yes, kids of the digital age, a proper album, such as this, should only be seven to eight solid tracks that actually say something; cut the crap and save the others for b-sides to your 7inches.

Handsomely designed, the jacket boasts with a silky gloss finish that is either telling me to caress this shit out of it (perhaps due to the erotic heart for an "a" and "x" used to dot the "i" in the hot Deathfix logo - yes, this is a Dischord Records release, people - on the front cover), or it is begging me to lick-lick-lick it, from top to bottom, side to side, edge to edge (all the heck over), 'cause it's like freaking candy.  Candy, I tell you; candy.  (Pause; I'm hungry now, and I think I need to take a cold shower.)

I'll tell you, glossy finishes can either make or break a cover (for me).  When they are done right, as Deathfix and Dischord did with this release, damn... it can bring a man to tears.  But don't get all glossy-happy on us now, record label people; make sure you've got a good photograph and/or design that calls for it.  Christopher Green really did a bang-up job with such a simple photograph of what looks to be either the band's practice space, recording studio, or the scene from a DIY show (taken by lead singer and guitarist, Brendan Canty, I am guessing), and utilizing the dreamy Deathfix logo, designed by Linas Garsys.  I love how the photograph/design fades to black as it wraps around the spine onto the back panel, giving just a subtle hint of your proximity to the Red Light District.

The sleek black theme is extended inside to the inner sleeve.  Silhouettes of Deathfix on one side, and well placed credits and lyrics on the other; this is the kind of (anthem) music you would want to sing along to, so study up, boys. The only thing I can't quite figure out is why did the vinyl record come in its own white paper sleeve, while the liner notes are printed on a proper cardboard inner sleeve; meaning you could put the record inside the sleeve that the liner notes were printed on, and save yourself from including the white paper sleeve.  The only thing I can guess would be perhaps they wanted to give the buyer the option; maybe some vinyl purists feel the cardboard inner sleeve could be damaging to the record itself, and they prefer to use the white paper sleeves.  Possibly there was an added cost from the manufacturer due to liner notes arriving after the vinyl was pressed and put into paper sleeves.  I don't know, but I swear this is becoming a (welcomed?) trend.

With a traditional silver faced center label on black vinyl, something I would have thought was a standard for all Dischord releases (but it's not; I just got up and checked a bunch of other Dischord records I have), Deathfix's self-titled release is a great, inviting rock 'n' roll momemto for all ages.

The Zookeepers - True To These Times / Signals - ...And Those Times, Too

This split 12inch release between The Zookeepers and Signals, brought to us by Cellar Hits Records, exemplifies what I love about indie rock music: youthful, fearless, boisterous, divergent. I had high hopes from the minute I held this minimally designed record, and The Zookeepers and Signals certainly delivered.

The record jacket itself is a standard plain white cardboard sleeve, similar to one you might buy for that naked John Coltrane 12inch you found at the thrift store last Sunday. There is no actual printing on the white jacket, but a 6" paper square with the cover art has been glued onto the cardboard in the top right corner. There is nothing on the backside, and there is no spine with title information either to help you find this gem once you've filed it in between your Neil Young and ZS, or Tracy Shedd and Silk Flowers records; depending on which side you chose to file by.

Inside the jacket you will find a standard 8.5"x11" sheet of 20lb. white paper with liner notes and lyrics for each band, printed in black photocopier ink. Additionally, there is photocopied sheet music with what appears to be hand-drawn Sharpie-marker artwork, and photocopied receipt-tickets with the message "We designed this for you. All the mistakes were on purpose." repeated. There is a math worksheet, seven pages torn out from a book, information about a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that took place in California in 1994, a random piece of foil, a Pocket Monsters game card, and my favorite... photocopied miniature US currency totaling $22.00. The actual vinyl record appears to be the randomly selected mixed colored vinyl that manufacturing plants often offer at a discounted rate, cheaper than even your standard black vinyl.

Somehow between the medley of propaganda and lack of commonly expected features most consumers and collectors would be seduced by, I could sense The Zookeepers and Signals put a lot of heart behind this release. It's so obvious when someone puts a lot of money behind a record, by gusto is only visible when you close your eyes and open your mind.

This record, and the fact that it was pressed on vinyl (the fact that someone chose to invest the money that it takes to press it on vinyl), demonstrates one of the many shining examples as to why music should truly only exist on vinyl: vinyl records separate the men from the boys. Bands that are serious about their music want it on vinyl, understand what vinyl represents, and will do whatever it takes to make their music available on vinyl, even if that means releasing it with a generic white sleeve and glueing a 6" square on one side to provide you with some satisfaction of having artwork to find the record in your collection. Bands that only release their music via digital outlets, and even worse: online for free, simply have no balls. Bands that work with CDs might at least have a left nut, since a CD is a physical medium and the audio quality does somewhat resemble the actual sounds from the instruments. But when a band releases their music on a vinyl record, and its obvious that it was a financial struggle just to get the music on wax, on top of having to be creative to keep you visually entertained with packaging, it speaks highly about their character, dedication to their craft, and pursuit of artistic expression.

It's like a kid with a lemonade stand who is competing against the aggressively marketed Coca-Cola brand that is hyped through illustrious, trendy adverts. The average Joe would rather purchase an accessibly fashionable beverage at one of many places immediately nearby than drive 25-mph through some adolescent-infested neighborhood where baseballs, bicycles, and bb-guns are threatening their newly purchase used IROC-Z to support that 9-year old kid that picked lemons in the blazing sun the day before from his side-yard and made fresh lemonade with his 98-year old Great-Grandmother to sell today from a table made of a cardboard box. Those kids peddling their homemade lemonade never let me down when the needle hit their records, and neither has The Zookeepers, Signals or Cellar Hits Records with this release.

CDs, digital music, and the internet made it so easy for anyone to compete with the Coca-Cola caliber of musicians; promoting what appears to be an equal product, but not. These outlets have allowed people (not necessarily musicians or even artists) to over saturated the music industry. Vinyl records hold the (financial) bar high enough to keep the riff-raff out. In the past twenty-five years of collecting vinyl records, I've found that when a band is barely paying the entry fee to having their music pressed on wax, its always worth checking out. Bands that strive for this medium, no matter what the cost or sacrifice, always have a lot more to say than those that settle for the bargain-bin way.

This is not to say that all music on vinyl, and especially all music released with low-fi packaging, is going to be ground breaking. But in the case of The Zookeepers and Signals, ...from the hair-raising scream that opens the first track, "Welcome Nancy," on The Zookeepers side, to "Mommy Issues" and "Monster Party 2," with their sickly infectious beats delivered by Jacob Cooper (AKA: Jacob Safari of Wavves, The Mae Shi, Bark Bark Bark), that concludes Signals' side, this split 12inch is full of fresh lemonade made from local, organic, sustainable, GMO free, carbon free, gluten free, grass fed (and whatever else) lemons, and I'm going back for seconds.