#amrep

[iknowthesugarplumfairy]

Fierce photos of Kristen Pfaff performing with Janitor Joe at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis 1991

Photos by Brian Garrity

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

12 CHOICE CUTS OF PURE UNSANITY -- ONLY ON MAN'S RUIN RECORDS.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on complete package art to "Amrep Xmas," the fierst live album by American noise rock band UNSANE, released in 1997 through Man's Ruin Records. Sleeve art/package design by the late, great Frank Kozik (1962-2023).

ALBUM OVERVIEW: "Recorded live to a mobile unit in St. Paul, MN, in late 1996 for the Amphetamine Reptile Records Christmas party, "Amrep Christmas" was UNSANE's first foray into live album territory, later bested by "Attack: Live in Japan," an import-only set recorded in Tokyo.

Noise rock doesn't always translate well from the stage to tape, what with the unpredictable dynamics of small clubs and the difficulty in getting clean recording out of overdriven amps. Accordingly, this album is rather uneven. It certainly captures the manic intensity of the band performing live, but there are a few glitches, including tape drop-outs, an ill-timed reel change, and some small errors in song execution.

Such phenomena also indicates that, unlike many (perhaps most) big-budget live albums, there were no overdubs -- this is strictly plug in and play, live to tape. Tonally, Spencer's chugging Telecaster guitar is on target, even if his voice shows decided road wear. The set, while focusing primarily on the "Scattered, Smothered, and Covered" album, contains a few gems from "Total Destruction" and the band's infamous version of LED ZEPPELIN's "Four Sticks.""

-- ALLMUSIC (review by Patrick Kennedy)

Sources: www.discogs.com/release/533184-Unsane-Amrep-Christmas & Allmusic.

[jessiangravelblr]

Multifemale || Bad Blood

[schismusic]

SCHISMUSIC'S YEAR-END LIST OF BEST MUSIC 2024 NO CLICKBAIT NO VIRUS

This year was spent mostly on giving some time to stuff that I hadn't listened to on release, or that I'd actually listened to in the past but hadn't quite given my full attention. If I had to name names, I'd have to mention Drain Gang (specifically E by Ecco2k) for the first category, and Killing Joke or early Sunny Day Real Estate for the second one. It has still been a long year full of events and releases, some of which I have discussed in the past on this blog – you'll know them when you see them, or link to the main post for more in-depth opinions – and as such it feels appropriate, now more so than last year, to cook up a best-of year-end list.

I don't intend to exactly tie into any specific hype cycle, but neither will I be entirely out of hype in general. The idea is, these are records released in the year 2024 I've spent a lot of time with, usually not in a begrudging way for the most part. That is basically the sole principle by which a record gets picked for this list, because I don't really have the authority to evaluate records any other way. I just listen to a bunch of shit and if I like it, it's great for me and much less great for you, what can I say.

Pyrrhon - Exhaust

Nothing to do with the zeitgeist, nothing to do with good manners and common sense; it's death metal but played with as much boiling rage as any given band on AmRep in the '90s, entirely written and recorded live – which helps the single songs stay solid, consistent, eyes-on-the-prize, no-nonsense.

Tracks that hit like a jackhammer:

Out of Gas

Concrete Charlie

Not Going to Mars

Ulver - Liminal Animals

Third pop record (if we're only counting full lengths, which we shouldn't, since Sic Transit Gloria Mundi back in '17 was as much a certified banger as Assassination) by the Wolves of the North. This one benefits from a slightly less postmodern outlook and approach than the last two (or three), which makes it especially better than Flowers of Evil, and feels animated by a genuine sense of terror.

Tracks that spent a lot of time in my queue for a bunch of reasons:

The Red Light

Nocturne #1

Ghost Entry (honorable mention for the simple-yet-stunning Autechre remix)

Rude Cinno - Bassa qualità

This is, partially, shameless self-promotion, considering Rude Cinno have been more active as publicity agent for my own band than we ourselves were. This being said, the record is actually very good, sporting a very clear Sleaford Mods influence but playing the interesting card of Emilian folk music and dialect interspersed throughout the record. The result is a cute retrofuturist approach that makes it sound like William Gibson grew up in Castel Maggiore.

Tracks that made me laugh a bit, cry a lot, think very hard:

Curati

Titolo mancante

Miglior tempolinea

Sunrise Patriot Motion - My Father Took Me Hunting in the Snow

This record was already discussed in my worried music post, so that's a more in-depth treatment of it. For the purposes of this post, suffice it to say that this up-and-coming Noughties revival has, if anything, one good thing: the revelation that nu-metal in the right hands can be more of a toolbox than a music genre or a set of conventions. This and the sheer quality of the recorded performances (Andy Chugg on vocals especially shines with his anguished, horrified, eldritch yelling) simply tramples all criticisms.

Hard to pick any standout tracks, since this is a very short EP with two dungeon synth interludes out of four tracks. Works better in tandem with Sunrise Patriot Motion's first LP.

Resfeber - domani il sole

Deeper shade of shameless self-promotion here, in that Rebecca, singer for Resfeber, is also the singer for NUMBERS and the Operators, but the tracks featured here are more than competently written, arranged and played. Smooth jazz-funk that feels natural and lived in, elegant and direct. Short and sweet. (v)incenso, as a title, made me laugh quite a bit, and fortunately I do quite enjoy the track.

Shellac - To All Trains

Let's be real: this would have made this list even if it sucked royally. It does not suck royally, to no one's surprise. It sounds like a Shellac record (that is, it sounds great), it's played with consummate savoir-faire if not straight up somewhat bothered, it's got that ironic thing that Shellac as a band have been masters of since the very first seven-inch records. I don't think it would be warranted of anyone to ask anything more than this.

Tracks that made me realize these guys had still got it:

Scrappers

Chick New Wave

I Don't Fear Hell (RIP)

HONORABLE MENTION: Charli xcx - Brat

The entire media/publicity operation around this record has been played so much and for so long that it's impossible to cut it any slack at all by now (admittedly, not entirely through Charli or her own PR entourage's own faults). The remade record with the guests is impossibly bad and useless. The record's merch utilises the meme so much that it becomes absolutely tedious if not actively enraging if not shameful, plain and simple. The music takes the liberty to utilize a sound palette that's been pioneered by trans and nonbinary creatives – in Charli xcx's own music as well, sure – and then takes that sound palette to write a ballad about marrying a man and having children. The true miracle amidst all of this mess is that if you absolutely ignore all the noise around it and go back to the record, and by that I mean the actual recorded music, all of this ceases to be a problem when the record works as intended (usually during the noisiest, messiest bits of it all). RIP SOPHIE <3

AOTY: Ben Frost - Scope Neglect

On the nineteenth anniversary of his early breakthrough Theory of Machines, after A U R O R A yet again took the world by storm ten years ago and after 2017's The Centre Cannot Hold had some of the critics merrily proclaim that Ben Frost had "already given what he had to give", this guy comes out and at least tries to redefine his own main sound palette. I mean, realistically this all ties extremely well in his established MO so far – Steel Wound was heavily guitar based, Theory of Machines ostensibly and repeatedly sampled Swans, By the Throat translated black metal aesthetics into a heavily organic form of dark ambient that had more in common with John Carpenter's The Thing than it did with Transilvanian Hunger or any Burzum release, A U R O R A took that same sonic violence and applied it to the sounds of the hippest dancefloors on the Internet. This is really just the next logical step: Greg Kubacki's guitar work, on paper quite in line with what he usually does with Car Bomb, sears and maims throughout the whole forty-minute runtime and firebrands every second into the listener's brain. The electronic backdrop (as well as Liam Andrews from My Disco, offering his bass guitar for bludgeoning purposes) recontextualizes the whole affair from simple heavy onslaught into levels of aural violence that feel quite literally reality-bending while listening.

[rastronomicals]

4:20 PM EST February 21, 2025:

Cherubs - "Cockpit - Kiss The Shine" From the album Heroin Man (1994)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Mine is Amrep's 2017 reissue, that's for sure

--

  <600x600>

[lemonpoppyseedmuffin]

The way the distortion swells in the second half like an explosion in slow motion it’s amazinggggggg

[goodbysunball]

Laughing with the gods

A couple latecomers in 2023 that ought not to be missed. Happy New Year, in February.

Drifting, Dream Autopsy (Förlag För Fri Musik)

A welcome sign that the Discreet Music-adjacent actors continue to find grey skies and grimy alleys to haunt. Drifting is an overseas collaboration between Form Hunter's Weston Czerkies and Gothenburg's own Julia Bjernelind and Dan Johansson. Both Julia and Dan are in Amateur Hour, and Dream Autopsy ends up around the same neighborhood as the underrated Kr​ö​kta Tankar och Br​ä​nda Vanor double LP, but Weston reorients Drifting with a strong emphasis on tape hiss and mechanical noise. Within this space, Julia's voice acts more as a poltergeist haunting the proceedings; there are probably proper lyrics, but long song titles are colorful enough, and the keening vocals provide instrumental contrast to the rather bleak, often caustic rumblings below. A few brief respites are found across the album: the beginning of "Kill Them All at Once," for example, is a catchy yet eerie vocals-and-keyboard snippet, and the very end of "Narratives In Music Is a Fuck (In Two Parts)" rides distantly groaning tape loops with Julia's sickly-sweet vocals. The push-pull between the gentle vocals and the tape noise is presented as organically as possible, playing out as two sidelong tracks devoid of any clunky transitions or jarring cuts. Dream Autopsy doesn't come as much of a surprise in terms of the sounds within; the label's own "sublime tape music" descriptor fits. But how effectively the sounds are rendered makes it feel more intentional than just a meeting of the minds. Shocking how much this one sticks once it's over, and even more shocking that it's still widely available - scoop now and avoid regret later.

Mount Trout, Petrol Bush (Albert's Basement)

Praise be to Albert's Basement for putting the new Mount Trout album on wax, something I've daydreamed about doing for both Screwy and Shelter Belt but never had the connections, know-how or gumption to do. The warm-sounding, naturally imperfect vinyl format is readymade for Mount Trout's brand of detuned, shambling and spacious music, a tradition the guitar-bass-drums trio continues on Petrol Bush. This one feels like the most approachable of their three albums to date, with tracks like "Dan's Bar," "Aquatic Waltz" and "No Wrong" featuring sparkling guitars and gentle tempos that could slot in next to Devotion-era Beach House on a playlist. True to form, there's some grit and sinew buried in the mix, a couple curveballs lest you get too comfortable in the late day sunshine conjured by certain tracks. I'll let you decipher the lyrics to "Dreams," and "Find a Man" and "Shoveller" simmer with a nearly AmRep level of angst. "Find a Man" is particularly jarring, coming after the daydreaming "Aquatic Waltz,” where the lyrics ("Find a man, find a man/who can be my lover") become drawn out and more menacing as the song goes on. The lyrical efficiency on "Find a Man" is a new refinement for the band across Petrol Bush, and one need look no further than the first track here for proof. The lyrics are made up of little more than "Laughing with the gods/I don't know/if things are really good," slipping a splinter under the fingernail during some Dionysian afternoon. It's the space Mount Trout has always lived in, looking for comfort or peace (possibly found on "No Wrong") but embracing the pain, injustice and shame pervasive in the world. Petrol Bush, like Shelter Belt, puts me in a contemplative, somewhat melancholy headspace, but everything here feels warm, gently baked in the sun; it sits somewhere between Low and Palace Brothers, but with enough needling from the lyrics to sidestep any self-pity. The LP was released late last year, and didn't land here until late January, otherwise it might've taken the top spot in my year-end list for 2023. Highly, highly recommended; put it on and simmer in it while the great thaw beckons.

ssabæ, Le Roi Est L'oiseau (Few Crackles)

Blink-and-it's-gone release from mid-November 2023, courtesy of France's intriguing and selective Few Crackles label. ssabæ released Azurescens one year before and was favorably reviewed by some shops and writers I respect, and while I managed to grab a copy from Technique Street (fave shop/distro, big ups), at the time it felt a bit too refined and stately for my taste. Still, there was something present in the music that made it past the sparkling reviews and limited edition pressing, and stuck in my craw long enough to make checking out this new album a priority. Glad I did, because Le Roi Est L'oiseau is even better. The loose collective running about 12 members deep, according to all of the names on the sleeve, takes elements of jazz, folk, field recordings and chamber music to make this hushed, spare music that only works with the rapt attention of the listener. On one hand, this is a collection of influences and sounds that pops up a lot these days, either from contemporary outfits or reissues, and it's not really a priority for me to make space for all of it; on the other hand, a track like Le Roi Est L'oiseau's "Le Premier Soir du Monde" comes on, sits you down and makes apparent the potential of this amalgamation of sounds in the right hands. There is an almost alchemical, mystical element to ssabæ, the austere presentation giving the impression that these sounds are sacred and deeply spiritual. The sounds here live in darkness, stillness, away from any light pollution; where notable contemporaries use repetition to transcend this sphere, ssabæ conjure shadows and voices in isolation. The stunning title track could fit on the Twin Peaks soundtrack were it devoid of kitsch, and there've been more than a few late nights where the voices at the end of the track get under my skin. Quintessential late-night soundtrack, near-perfect in presentation and execution, and hopefully an album the label sees fit to make available again.

Stress Positions, Harsh Reality (Three One G)

I caught Stress Positions at a last-minute show booked here in Knoxville last December, knowing only that (a) Iron Lung reissued their demo on vinyl, and (b) the Chicago band was mostly made up of former members of C.H.E.W., who also had an LP and 7" on Iron Lung. The band went on to tear apart my flagrant indifference and put on one of the best sets I saw all year, drawing mostly from their just-released LP on Three One G, a label that I had no idea was still active. It's getting harder for me to differentiate hardcore punk, let alone get excited about analyzing why some bands are more convincingly pissed off than others. Stress Positions make it easy with acrobatic drumming courtesy of Jon Giralt (check "White Leech"), meaty riffs smeared with righteous anger, and the performance of Stephanie Brooks, a vocalist that can easily shift from rapid-fire to menacing. It doesn't hurt that the songs tackle politically-induced pervasive poverty, white privilege and police brutality with pointed lyrics and the appropriate high level of rage and indignation. The band does the fast stuff as effectively as they can do mosh-worthy: "No Sympathy (For the Police)" is the most fun you'll have stage-diving to hating cops, and "Performative Justice" fits an impressive number of movements in its grinding 25 seconds. It's after "Performative Justice" that things begin to depart from the norms of hardcore; "Sunken Place" has the same feel as the rest of the record, but the lyrics are more opaque ("Hell is a sunken place/in awe of its power/a subtle spasm flirts with desire"), and the crawling closer "Ode to Aphrodite" lumbers with a violent Life Time-era Rollins Band level of menace before the raging close. It's a jaw-dropping ending, both musically and lyrically anomalous for hardcore, the lyrics tackling the repression of sexual desire tangled within a hollow morality. Powerful record; here's hoping they stick together to tease out the ideas in the last two tracks into another recording.

[dreamsofconsciousnessmetal]

Bacon Wagon skronk it up in a classic AmRep way. Back with their first release in over a decade, their full-length debut Trauma Cake will be released on June 6th by Reptilian Records.

Instagram

[amrepincblogs]

AMREP Mexico – Automotive Quality Inspection & Supplier Oversight

AMREP Mexico plays a vital role in ensuring quality and compliance across the automotive supply chain in Mexico. From Tier 1 to Tier 3 suppliers, our expert inspectors perform rigorous product inspections, supplier audits, and process verifications to help global automotive brands meet stringent industry standards.

Whether you’re sourcing in Monterrey, Saltillo, or Guanajuato, our boots-on-the-ground teams deliver reliable quality control, reduce defects, and safeguard production timelines.

Explore more: https://www.amrepmexico.com/industries

[blobfishhhhhhh]

[infraredmag]

GOD BULLIES: BrooklynVegan Premieres “I Am Mighty” Video From Michigan Noise Rock Kingpins; As Above, So Below, The Band’s First Album In Thirty Years, Nears October 4th Release On Reptilian Records

“…’I Am Mighty’ picks up right where GOD BULLIES left off, bringing that classic AmRep sound right into the 2020s.” – BrooklynVegan As Reptilian Records prepares to release As Above, So Below – the first LP from noise rock kingpins GOD BULLIES in thirty years – BrooklynVegan is hosting the exclusive premiere of the band’s new video/single, “I Am Mighty.” Originating in Kalamazoo,…

[rastronomicals]

11:30 PM EDT April 13, 2025:

Cows - "Allergic To Myself" From the album Orphan's Tragedy (September 9, 1994)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

★★★★

File under: Amrep

[fmarkets]

Amrep Corp Reports Alarming -45.173% Revenue Downturn in Recent Fiscal Period $AXR #NYSE

[nuovaalta2]

$AXR #Stocks

During the past 5 trading days Amrep stock has improved by 9.32%. Amrep is due to release second quarter of 2023 Earnings Report. https://csimarket.com/stocks/at_glance.php?code=AXR&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[pushermania]

(Pushermania Network)

SEASON 3 BONUS WEEK HAS BEGUN! Well three days at least. Today starts the ERIE EDITION of Talk So Real. I spent a good part of the summer in my hometown of Erie, PA and meant to do way more podcasts, but I did get with three of the people who were HUGE in the formation of who I am today. These are LITERALLY my day one dudes (Day one starts after I got out of high school because school was a TRAP) and in those daze right after High School man, I accomplished A LOT with this particular dude.

Brian Diplacido aka A Bullet for Fidel was the singer for the first band I ever booked a tour for, Lost from Erie, PA. I will never forget the first time I saw them live at the Continental Ballroom in 1989 on a local bill with My 3 Scum and Backwash (Alex Lewinger from Submachine's old band also RIP Danny Perry). Lost was way more my speed than a lot of things happening those days. I love pure punk rock and the old school and all that but in my late teens I was way more Touch & Go/Amphetamine Reptile/Sub Pop than I was like, for lack of a better term, pure punk. Actually I'm tripping I liked everything but let's just say seeing a band like them hitting like that coming out of Erie (nee, Harborcreek) was huge for me. (And they were really not like T&G, AmRep, etc I don't know what I am saying. As the kids say today, they hit different).

I approached them after the show and probably bought a tape and a shirt and if memory serves me right I ran into the drummer Pete at Record Country and we talked and all became friends. It was at that show that I decided that I wanted to try my hand at throwing shows, and on these Erie podcasts we talk about how all that went down.

I toured the US multiple times with Lost, sometimes for six weeks at a time, and then in 1991 Brian and I backpacked around Europe for the first time which changed my life in a major way as well. So much to talk about.

Later in life Brian became a solo songwriter called A Bullet For Fidel and released records on the excellent label SCAT RECORDS. And in 2023 he has some new music about fin to drop! Also on Scat Records. Man the way life moves is really crazy man for real for real. Here we are 30 years later still doing thangs and having some real talks!