***This collection gathers all the Sleepytime Trio's studio material in one place. Numerous songs have been remixed (at the correct tape speed) by J. Robbins and everything has been remastered by TJ Lipple. Sleepytime Trio was a post-hardcore band that formed in 1995 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Originally a side project of the band Maximillian Colby, the original trio featured Drew Ringo (guitar), Ben Davis (bass), and Jonathan Fuller (drums). The 3-piece quickly took off as they played shows around the mid-Atlantic region; building a reputation for their volatile, emotional sound and unpredictable live energy. In the summer of 1995, when Maximillian Colby abruptly ended, Dave Nesmith joined the trio on 2nd guitar and Sleepytime Trio, now a four-piece, became the main focus for all involved.By the summer of 1996, the band was playing extensively and shared bills with bands like Shotmaker, Rye Coalition, Tristeza, Lungfish, 400 Years, Hot Water Music, Frodus, Regulator Watts, Boys Life, Men’s Recovery Project, The VSS, Great Unraveling and many more. Sleepytime Trio shows were notorious for exploding into controlled chaos. They were a cacophony of tangled limbs, busted gear, and a visceral sense that everything might combust in a split second. In 1998 the band went on an extended hiatus. During that time the other members went on to form other bands like Engine Down, Rah Bras, Bats & Mice, and Milemarker.The definitive Sleepytime Trio discography to date packaged in a gatefold LP sleeve with complete lyrics. Also includes an 8-page zine/booklet featuring an extensive...
LP WHITE $28.75
10/17/2025
***Sometimes, the best things take time to finish. In 2012, two of the founding members of the seminal punk trio Bats & Mice stepped into the studio to start work on their follow-up to 2010's Back In Bat EP. Then, between babies and careers, life happened, and the project went dark for almost a decade. Bats & Mice is a band that has quietly crept through the music world. Three members of Sleepytime Trio originally formed the band: Jonathan Fuller (Engine Down, Denali), Dave NeSmith (Rah Bras, Committees) and Ben Davis (MileMarker, Committees). They began writing songs together in a new style that pursued their hardcore roots coupled with a more dark and winding sense of melody. However, the music still maintained the energy and drive of their previous efforts. This lineup produced Bats & Mice's first work, a self-titled EP released on Lovitt Records in the fall of 2000, to critical acclaim. Friends Daron Hollowel and Ash Bruce from the band 400 Years joined for a stint in which 'Bats' wrote and released the full-length album entitled, Believe It Mammals, on Lovitt in the spring of 2002. That lineup toured to support the LP across the US, playing with Fugazi, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, 90 Day Men, Denali, and Gregor Samsa. In 2004, Luke Herbst joined the band on drums, and the band toured Europe in support of a new EP titled A Person Carrying a Handmade Paper Bag is Considered as a Royal Person. Jonathan Fuller rejoined...
LP $23.75
05/31/2024
***Emerging in the late 1990s, Division of Laura Lee quickly established them- selves with a unique blend of post-punk and alternative indie rock. Celebrating their rich musical heritage, Lovitt Records has released the 25th anniversary edition of their seminal 1999 album, "At the Royal Club." This special edition is a thoughtfully curated compilation of tracks from the band's first two years, inviting both long-standing fans and new listeners to experience the album’s visceral intensity and the band’s trailblazing spirit. Previously only available on CD, this reissue of "At the Royal Club" has been expertly remastered for vinyl, bringing a renewed vibrancy to the original recordings. This release not only breathes new life into an iconic collection of tracks but also honors the enduring spirit and influence of Division of Laura Lee. Pressed on limited edition clear coke bottle with black blob vinyl.
LP $26.95
05/31/2024
***Paddan's Sigtryggur Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen are lifelong friends from Kópavogur, Iceland, who started as mates on the local football team, then graduated to making music together as teenagers, and even later as young men doing time in the experimental punk collective KUKL, from 1983 - 1986. KUKL was populated by survivors of the post-punk scene in Iceland in the early 80s, which is well documented in the film Rock in Reykjavik from 1982. The band was released by the Crass collective in London and featured members, apart from Birgir and Sigtryggur, like Guðlaugur Óttarsson, Einar Melax, Björk and Einar Örn, some of whom would become better known later in outfits like the Sugarcubes and their respective solo work and other collaborations. Sigtryggur has a long career in music, having worked with among others, Emiliana Torrini, Howie B, Les Negresses Vertes, Tomas R. Einarsson, Petur Ben, KK, Kaktus Einarsson, and many many others. He also produces an award-winning documentary music show for RUV called Hljómskálinn. Birgir Mogensen is a classically trained classical guitarist and bass player who has worked through the years with artists ranging from KUKL to Killing Joke to Spilafifl and Inferno5. Birgir and Sigtryggur formed Paddan during the 2010s, and are now preparing to release their EP Fluid Time, which has been inspired by their perception of time and space. Recorded, produced, and arranged by the pair, Sigtryggur and Birgir play basses and drums along with various other instruments. All recordings are played on live instruments except...
LP $23.75
05/31/2024
***We're all familiar with this story: the pandemic struck, and people found themselves confined to their homes, left alone with their thoughts. Amidst various musical projects, Shelby Cinca reached out to his former bandmates with the idea of creating and instrumental album in the style of Frodus—a desire that had never materialized during the band's active years. Despite the challenges of life and logistics, the project began to take shape as Nate and Shelby brainstormed and organized their ideas. They recalled an offer from their fellow DC friend and prolific musician, Aaron DC Edge, to provide raw drum tracks. Shelby accepted Aaron's offer to kickstart a rhythmic foundation, and soon the project came to life. Some tracks remained faithful to the original demos, while others underwent substantial editing. Eventually, songs began to take form in an organic manner, despite the geographical distance between the collaborators. Conceptually, the group aimed to craft a soundtrack for a post-human world, inspired by a cryptic phrase hidden in the artwork of Frodus's last album: "when man dies, we become wolves again." These songs conjure images of overgrown and ruined cities, the return of wildlife, and the interplay of light and darkness, peace and savagery, coexisting in the after- math of humanity's downfall. Without the prominent narrative of anguished vocals, the vistas emerge in the mind's eye without barriers, allowing for a more subtle and profound exploration of the themes.
7" $8.05
05/31/2024
Known for her delicate compositions, soaked in dream-like surrealism, Icelandic musician Sóley has attracted a huge following since launching her solo career back in 2010. Her 2012 single ‘Pretty Face’ went on to generate an enormous amount of buzz, and quickly became a viral sensation. Now, with three solo LPs under her belt, Sóley is preparing to debut a completely new sound via the release of her new concept album, Mother Melancholia.. Described by the artist as "Nosferatu meets Thelma and Louise in a vampire church under the watchful eye of David Lynch", Mother Melancholia is the soundtrack to the end of the world as we know it. As a self-confessed news addict, Sóley became obsessed with the idea that the world is ending. Having surrounded herself with real-life stories of global warming and patriarchal politics she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to die. This feeling was so all encompassing that it sparked the idea for a new project. Could there be a soundtrack for the last days of humans on earth? How would that sound? “I read books about possible dystopian worlds and started writing poems about irrational and in love characters who live in gray and cold imaginary loneliness. In each other’s burning arms. Walking in circles with no way out” she explains. “After all, the album reflects our life here and now. Our life and reality is a kind of dystopian world.” Whilst writing the album, which serves as a tongue-in-cheek...
LP $25.75
11/05/2021
***CHECK STOCK!!! Received a 7.2 rating from Pitchfork. Almost every song on Of The Sun—the magnetic fifth album from the Polish quartet TRUPA TRUPA—lands like an anthem, with barbed hooks driven by an italicized rhythm section and a chimera of crisscrossing harmonies. Throughout its propulsive 12-song sequence, this is an album that never lets up. From the relentlessly pulsing “Long Time Ago” to the deep glisten of “Longing,” Of The Sun is an unbroken string of hits in Trupa Trupa’s idiosyncratic, self-made universe. The setting of Gdańsk is a crucial philosophical and aesthetic touchstone for Trupa Trupa. A city with a convoluted history of German and Polish rule and self-sovereignty, it is itself a living testament to the turnover of human toil. Of The Sun is a portrait of great effort and pathetic failure, of strain sublimating into nothing. Along with the notions of Beckett, hints of Syd Barrett, and the knotty complications of Wire, these emotions ripple through Of The Sun, a radiant album about the damnation of mortality. Trupa Trupa has grown inordinately in both confidence and execution during the last half-decade. Spurred on by a democratic process, where no one is the real leader and all ideas and influences are funneled into the same rich sound, Trupa Trupa channel a multiverse of feelings into captivating four-minute spans. Throughout Of The Sun, they stare into the dark and summon a light of their own, making the struggle feel not just tolerable but deceptively triumphant. Of...
LP $19.00
09/13/2019
***A reissue The Mercury Program’s third full-length, A Data Learn the Language, on 2xLP. Long out of print and extremely hard to find on wax, the record has been recut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service and pressed on 180 gram vinyl with a gatefold sleeve. Originally released in 2002 on CD by Tiger Style, the vinyl version of A Data Learn the Language was left to Counterflow Records. However, as that label became caught up in legal and financial difficulties the bulk of the pressing mysteriously disappeared. Fewer than 100 copies wound up making it into circulation. Formed in Gainesville, Florida in 1997, The Mercury Program released music on Boxcar, Tiger Style, and Kindercore Records and toured heavily through the early ’00s. Now split between distant locales—with members spread between New York, Gainesville, and Palm City—the band has become slightly hiatus-prone as of late. A seven year gap divides the band’s two most recent records, Chez Viking (2009) and New Myths (2016).
2XLP $38.25
12/07/2018
***DIVISION OF LAURA LEE are a musical tornado from Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2003, Lovitt and Division of Laura Lee teamed up to release the compilation album 97-99, which compiled early singles and hard to find tunes. Now, twenty years later, it’s time to do it again. This will be the band’s first release since 2013’s full-length, Tree. ”Year 2018. To be fair, we haven’t made an awful lot of noise lately. Our last album went by quite unnoticed, and some folks even thought we’d closed shop. To straighten things out we decided to record some new sounds. The first tune revealed is called Hollow Pricks. A song about staying true to your beliefs. Written in the same fashion as usual, just like we have been doing it for twenty fast years. We are also thrilled that it is released in the US by Lovitt, based in Washington, D.C., our home away from home. The world needs a new haircut. This just might be the first song from our new album.”—Jonas Gustafsson. Pressed on limited edition yellow vinyl.
7" $7.75
05/25/2018
***A split single featuring Washington, D.C.’s ESCAPE-ISM and LIGHT BEAMS. Escape-ism is called "the found-sound-dream-drama", "the grieving widow of rock 'n' roll", the "press play and run away group". The strrrripped down sound machine starring IAN SVENONIUS of CHAIN & THE GAMG, THE MAKE-UP and NATION OF ULYSSES. Its a single occupancy combo, a one banana bunch, the gestural rock 'n' roll provocation which combines cave person poetry with beats and melody translated incorrectly from hieroglyphs found in arch-pharaoh Cheops' triangle shaped record collection. Escape-ism is a bid at inciting longing for a past behind an IRON CURTAIN, and hope for a future in flames. Light Beams began in 2015 when JUSTIN MOYER (PUFF PIECES)—-influenced by '80s-era freestyle music and Sheila E.—started playing sampler and timbales with SAM LAVINE, the longtime drummer of D.C. hip-hop mainstays the CORNEL WEST THEORY. With the addition of bassist ARTHUR NOLL, the resulting polyrhythmic melange, sometimes called "zap-tone" or "block rock," reinvents late-20th century dance-pop using the tools of the 21st. Includes a download with an extra track by each band. (STREET DATE - 9/29/2017)
7" $7.75
09/29/2017
***Dear listener, This 7” is the third release from D.C. art-punk band "Puff Pieces". Each side of the record holds one song. On the A side, you will find a morbid tune of gloom and doom titled "Born 2 Die." On the B side, "Born 2 Die" is electronically transformed into a vigorous dance track titled "Born 2 Cry." The band was recorded by Ian Mackaye and Don Zientara at Arlington Virginia's legendary Inner Ear studio. I truly hope you are able to find some element of interest in this music. Sincerely, Mike Andre, (member of Puff Pieces)
7" $7.75
06/02/2017
***Recently reunited synth-punk/post-hardcore band MILEMARKER deliver a new album via Lovitt Records. Coming a decade after their last full-length release, Overseas is notable for being a focused and cohesive effort. Fans of early 2000s releases like Frigid Forms Sell and Anaesthetic will find a clear sonic continuity in the angular, aggressive guitars, tense melodic vocals and soaring keyboard hooks. New members KENA KILKKA (synth, vocals) and EZRA CALE (drums) deepen the krautrock and electronic tendencies, pushing the sound in unexpected directions. The album was recorded in Berlin and Hamburg, Germany (where the band is now located), with Electrical Audio studios’ GREG NORMAN (Russian Circles, Godspeed You Black Emperor!) behind the board. Formed 1997 in Chapel Hill, NC by AL BURIAN, DAVE LANEY and BEN DAVIS, Milemarker quickly gained recognition in the independent music scene for their explosive live shows and adventurous instrumentation. The band became known for its combination of post-hardcore punk with new wave electronics, and grew to include singer/synth player ROBY NEWTON, as well as drummers SEAN HUYSICK and NOAH LEGER. Milemarker played nearly 1000 shows in support of their releases Frigid Forms Sell (Lovitt, 2000) and Anaesthetic (Jade Tree, 2001), touring extensively in North America, Europe and Japan. In 2009, guitarist Dave Laney moved to Hamburg and bassist Al Burian moved to Berlin. Milemarker reformed in 2014 and returned to the stage in 2015 with Lena Kilkka on keys and vocals and Ezra Cale on drums. This summer, the band will embark on their first U.S....
LP $17.75
08/26/2016
CD $11.00
08/26/2016
***Originally released by Lovitt Records in the year 2000, MILEMARKER's Frigid Forms Sell was the album that realized the band’s potential and introduced them to a slew of new fans. Coming after two well-received but still musically embryonic albums, Frigid Forms Sell was a monumental creative step forward, blowing many minds and breaking the mold of ’90s hardcore. Featuring driving synth hooks, angular guitars, melodic male/female vocals, and more crystallized song structures, the album is aggressively experimental (the opening techno jam still shocks punk rockers), yet at the same time insidiously accessible. Formed in 1997 by DAVE LANEY, BEN DAVIS and AL BURIAN, Milemarker developed into a 5-piece outfit by the time of the FFS recording. With the enigmatic and electrifying synth-player/vocalist ROBY NEWTON and powerhouse drummer SEAN HUSICK on board, the band was poised for perhaps its most prolific and critically successful phase. Milemarker embarked on strenuous touring in support of the album, dissolving relationships, breaking rental contracts, and traveling to Europe, Japan and around North America several times in their ardor for spreading the message. Lovitt Records is proud to re-release the vinyl version of this out-of-print classic post-hardcore LP. The download comes with never before heard demo versions of the record. The band will be touring the US and Europe around the reissue of the record.
LP $17.75
06/24/2016
***New Myths is the fifth full-length by THE MERCURY PROGRAM. Formed in Gainesville, Florida in 1997, The Mercury Program released music on Boxcar, Tiger Style, and Kindercore Records and toured heavily through the early ’00s. Now split between distant locales—with members spread between New York, Gainesville, and Palm City—the band has become slightly hiatus-prone as of late. The quartet’s previous LP, Chez Viking, arrived seven years ago, in 2009. Another multi-year break divided that record from its predecessor, A Data Learn The Language. Meanwhile, shifting obligations have made it harder to occupy the same room, much less write and record new material. However, even though their time together has become more rarified, the band has retained its distinctive style and voice. As per Mercury Program’s previous releases, the music on New Myths is lush and consonant – a combination of nuanced rhythms, minimalist riffs, and hazy atmospheres. Melodies are gracefully swapped and shuffled between guitar, vibraphone, and Rhodes piano. The music is serene and often hypnotic. New Myths was written and recorded during five distraction-free days spent in Northwest Vermont with the band’s friend and touring sound engineer, PETER BARTSOCAS. Sketches from previous sessions were further refined and new songs quickly took form. The Mercury Program emerged from the trip with a nearly complete set of songs, with only “Constant Static” realized later, as drummer DAVE LEBLEU wove together and expanded on snippets of unfinished material. The record is the product of a week’s worth of studio time, but many...
LP $17.75
05/20/2016
***The debut record by the band PUFF PIECES. The album includes 11 songs recorded by the group and by DEVIN OCAMPO in Washington, D.C.. Composed of drummer AMANDA HURON, guitarist JUSTIN MOYER, and bassist/singer MIKE ANDRE, who have performed in such notable area bands as CAUTION CURVES, VERTEBRATES, SUPERSYSTEM, ANTELOPE and E.D. SEDGWICK, the band intends to cast itself as mere modern shrimps perched upon the shoulders of their gigantic (and benevolent) punk forebears. The record has been pressed on translucent yellow-colored vinyl.
LP $17.75
04/01/2016
***While working on the layout for the reissue of FRODUS’ final LP, And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea, guitarist/vocalist SHELBY CINCA stumbled onto a note that bassist NATHAN BURKE had given to him in 2001. The letter contained thoughts around a possible Frodus reunion and about Weapons, which had—after a long delay—only just then been released. Along with the letter was a tape, which contained Burke’s cover of the early Frodus tune, “Tzo Boy,” which he had recorded on a four-track in 1995, two years before joining the band. Nathan’s rendition takes a grungey teenage Frodus song and turns it into a heartfelt shoegaze gem, with the last lyrics hauntingly ringing, “I’m never coming back…”. That song and letter provide the A-side and cover art of this single. The B-side is a demo of the Weapons track, “There Will Be No More Scum,” which was recorded at the legendary Pirate House in Washington, DC by JUAN CARRERA. It’s a raw and intense take on the song, put to tape a year before the sessions for the full-length. This 7” is a must for Frodus completists, as it closes out the story of this era of Frodus and reveals heartfelt inner workings of the band as they truly washed their weapons in the sea.
7" $6.75
11/24/2015
***Originally released in 2001, And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea was the final release by Northern Virginia-based “mech-core” trio, FRODUS. Recorded in the summer of 1999 with BRIAN MCTERNAN at Salad Days Studios, Weapons is a depiction of life in the late 20th century at the cusp of a major technological and lifestyle transition. It’s an album that documents the times, displaying within the music the undying human element that remains glowing amongst the constant hum of the world. Since the initial release, the album has continued to build a die-hard fan base, despite the group’s inactivity. Countless bands have named Frodus as influencers to their sound and the landscape of experimental hardcore music. In 2009 the band reformed to play select shows and even recorded a new 7" with Liam Wilson from Dillinger Escape Plan on bass. Now, after over 10 years out of print, Lovitt Records is reissuing Weapons on vinyl with expanded packaging, including original lyric sheets/journal entries and candid photos from that last year of Frodus.
LP $17.75
11/24/2015
***MILEMARKER was formed in 1997 by DAVE LANEY, AL BUIRIAN and BEN DAVIS. The band became known for its combination of post-hardcore punk and new-wave electronics, releasing their definitional album, Frigid Forms Sell, on Lovitt Records in 2000. In 2009, guitarist Dave Laney moved to Hamburg, while bassist Al Burian moved to Berlin. A re-ignition of the band in Germany seemed inevitable; Milemarker returned to the stage in 2015 with MANUEL CHITTKA playing drums and LENA KILKKA on synthesizer and vox. The first recording released by this line-up is a two-song seven inch. “Conditional Love“ is a robotic, hypnotic electronic rock anthem. “Recognition“ explores the band’s sensitive and optimistic side. The band will be touring the US and Europe over the next year. A new LP and an reissue of Frigid Forms Sell is coming soon.
7" $7.75
11/24/2015
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Made up of various members of MAPS & ATLASES, SUNS, JOAN OF ARC and GYPSY BLOOD, WEDDING DRESS are about as Chicago as it gets. Dreamt up as side-project / outlet for Maps & Atlases guitar player ERIN ELDERS, songs were written between tours and slowly released during his "math-pop" band's fleeting downtime. Wedding Dress is a distinctly different type of band, though. It is more layered, plaintive and measured than anything in Elders' previous catalog. The songs involve patient, textured narratives. The instrumentation is restrained, a well-tuned hybrid of real and virtual instruments.The songs themselves are beautiful in their sparseness, the palate is selectively lush, and the rotating set of players—both recorded and live—patiently flesh out Elders' haunting vocals and evocative lyrics. As Elders' primary project comes out of a busy record cycle—including over 9 months of touring and support dates with Broken Bells, Frightened Rabbit, Circa Survive and Death Cab For Cutie—he is shifting gears to Wedding Dress. The band’s lineup has been increasingly firming up and now features MIKE RUSSELL & MATT LEMKE (Suns), BOBBY BURG (Love of Everything / Joan of Arc) and CHRISTIAN DAWSON (Gypsyblood). (STREET DATE - 11/18/2014)
LP $17.75
11/18/2014
CD $11.00
11/18/2014
***Made up of various members of MAPS & ATLASES, SUNS, JOAN OF ARC and GYPSY BLOOD, WEDDING DRESS are about as Chicago as it gets. Dreamt up as side-project/outlet for Maps & Atlases guitar player ERIN ELDERS, songs were written between tours and slowly released during his "math-pop" band's fleeting downtime. Wedding Dress is a distinctly other affair—it's more layered, plaintive and measured than anything in Elders' previous catalog. The songs are textured narratives. The instrumentation is restrained and, in many ways, the project stands as a perfect counter-point to the sometimes spastic Maps. That's not to say its a dull affair. The songs are beautiful in their sparseness, the palate is selectively lush, and the rotating set of players—both recorded and live—patiently flesh out Elders' haunting vocals and evocative lyrics. (STREET DATE - 4/19/2014)
7" $7.75
04/19/2014
***In 2012, at the behest of MIKE ANDRE, a reluctant JUSTIN MOYER (E.D. SEDWICK / SUPERSYSTEM) and AMANDA HURON (WEED TREE, CAUTION CURVES) were conscripted into helping Mike play and record some unrealized songs he had floating around. After a series of precarious fits and starts, the band coalesced into a semi-stable entity known as PUFF PIECES in 2013 and began playing shows. Based on their experiences in various now-defunct bands (Amanda and Mike in VERTEBRATES, and Mike and Justin in ANTELOPE), and long-term involvement in D.C.'s punk and noise scenes, Puff Pieces strives to destroy the bland hegemony of their city's condo-crazed culture with a mix of melody and nervous dissonance. This 4-song limited 7" was recorded by DEVIN OCAMPO (Medications/Faraquet) at his home studio in Washington, D.C. The band has been receiving rave reviews for their live show and will continue to be playing out while also working on new material for a full length. (STREET DATE - 4/19/2014)
7" $7.75
04/19/2014
***GLÖS began as a collaboration between KEELEY DAVIS and CORNBREAD COMPTON, both former members of ENGINE DOWN. Because they were living in different cities at opposite ends of the country—Davis in Richmond, VA and Compton in Los Angeles, CA—the songs were developed on computer, with the pair swapping files back and forth through the internet. After completing 20 songs, Davis and Compton decided to invite Keeley's sister, MAURA (former frontwoman of DENALI), to join the project and to add her beautiful, sultry vocals to music that already seemed perfect for her. The band released some of those songs as a full length entitled Harmonium on Lovitt in 2007. In 2008 and band wrote and recorded 4 more songs via the same long-distance file-swapping method. Maura Davis contributed more on this release, penning her own melodies and lyrics. One song in particular, "Sunshine," is a very personal response to a recent loss of a beloved young family member of Keeley and Maura's. Originally released as digital purchases through social networking site that has now, sadly, gone bankrupt, this is the first time the four songs have been released in any kind of physical form.
7" $7.75
03/18/2014
***To say AIMEE ARGOTE is a prolific songwriter is a complete understatement. She's constantly creating and touring and you shouldn't miss an opportunity to see her perform live. Sometimes, those shows are loud—Aimée blowing up the room with a backing band and a wall full of amplifiers. Not always, though. Just as frequently, she plays acoustic, dialing the volume back to an intimate, living room-appropriate level. This is one of those performances. The 9 songs on this 12" were recorded live on WXDU 88.7 by ROSS GRADy in January of 2010 and were performed by a solo DES ARK—that means it's just Aimée with her guitar and voice, backed occasionally by guitarist JOHNNY WARD (PYGMY LUSH). The vinyl is a coke bottle clear color and the cover art features a two-color screen-print. This is a reissue of the Paramnesia Records version which is now out of print. (STREET DATE - 11/19/2013)
LP $17.75
11/19/2013
***Lovitt Records is pleased to announce the release of a 7” split between THE OFFICE OF FUTRE PLANS and DARIA. OFP is the most recent project by former JAWBOX and BURNING AIRLINES frontman, J. ROBBINS. The band, which also features cellist GORDON WINTERS, bassist BROOKS HARLAN, and drummer DARREN ZENTEK, released its self-titled debut LP last year on Dischord. In 2012, Daria and Office of Future Plans met in person while playing the Saint Feliu festival in Spain. Though they live on seperate continents (Daria is from Angers, France), the bands are linked via their experiences working with the late producer Iain Burgess. During the early ’90s, Burgess recorded Jawbox’s second record, Novelty. After he relocated to France, he also worked with Daria. Sadly, Burgess passed away in 2012. The idea for the 7" + EP came about as a nod to Burgess's work and his role in shaping the "Chicago Sound" of the ’90s, which went on to influence Steve Albini and much of guitar-based indie rock. The 7" contains two new originals from each band, but there are 4 digital bonus tracks, too—2 of each band covering the other, and 2 other covers in honor of the late producer Iain Burgess. OFP covers Rifle Report's "24 Doors" and Daria covers Leatherface's "I Want The Moon." Both bands churn through their respective songs, playing with the kind of passion and depth that is reflective of their mutual admiration one another and their respect for Burgess.
7" $6.00
04/20/2013
***A stunning collective of DC hardcore/punk scene vets, REGENTS members include DAVID NESMITH, DREW RINGO, LUKAS PREVIN and JASON HAMACHER. Their collective band credits are enough to stagger any ‘90s hardcore, punk and emo fan. These groups include FRODUS, BATTERY, SLEEPYTIME TRIO, THURSDAY, MAXIMILLIAN COLBY and MEN’S RECOVERY PROJECT. Regents can also boast the inclusion of the legendary J. ROBBINS (JAWBOX, BURNING AIRLINES) who handled bass duties on the album as well as production. Speaking of his work with Regents, Robbins says “The Regents album includes some of the fastest and most chaotic songs I've ever played on. Their energy is haywire which I enjoy as a listener and if you are going to call yourself a hardcore band, that energy makes sense to me. Once we started recording and they were in-between bass players, the opportunity to play on the record was too much fun to pass up.” Musically, Regents is at once spastic, furious and emotional while side-stepping any overt metal or grind elements. Within their sound are elements of the “off the rails” aggression of early Gravity Records and the socially-minded viewpoint of classic Dischord Records. (STREET DATE - 11/20/2012)
LP $17.75
11/20/2012
CD $11.00
11/20/2012
***AUXES is the brainchild of DAVE LANEY, a founding member of the bands MILEMARKER and CHALLENGER. Initially conceived as a solo project, the first Auxes LP, Sunshine (Lovitt Records, 2007), was a one-man show, with Dave handling all instruments and even engineering the recording sessions himself. When it came time to translate Auxes into the live domain, he enlisted help from friends BEN DAVIS (Milemarker, SLEEPYTIME TRIO), MIKE TRIPLETT 9Fin FANG FOOM), JOHN CROUCH (CALTROP), and JAY-BUSS BOWLMAN (RIGHTS RESERVED, EAGLE BRAVO). Eventually, the live band grew into an ever-shifting entity of musical collaborators, taking on a life and unique momentum of its own. Auxes’ second LP, Ichkannnichtmehr (Gunner Records, 2010) represented a shift in approach and in the life of its principal protagonist. In mid 2009, Dave Laney made the move overseas and is now residing in his newly adopted hometown of Hamburg, Germany. In 2012 the band’s third full length, More! More! More!, was released on Gunner Records as 13-song full length, and on Lovitt Records as a 4 song 7” called Mehr! Mehr! Mehr!, which includes a download of all 13 songs. Musically, the new songs have a stripped-down, aggressive punk rock sound- fitting for a city where cop cars are routinely set on fire. Citing rough comparisons to Wipers, Hot Snakes, Agent Orange, and pre-Rollins-era Black Flag, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Have a listen and decide for yourself!
7" $7.75
10/23/2012
***Chicago "sultry dirge" duo REDGRAVE release their debut National Act this summer via Lovitt Records. Vocalist/guitarist ANGIE MEAD and drummer STEPHEN HOWARD generate a massive sound thanks to Mead's powerful, soaring voice and sludgy open tuned guitar blasting out of multiple amps backed by Howard's refined rhythmic stomp. Redgrave's songs have the sort of smoldering intensity shared by PJ Harvey and Led Zeppelin alike that is hard to categorize, but immediately easy to feel. National Act was recorded by revered engineer GREG NORMAN (Russian Circles, Pelican). Mead started writing and recording Redgrave songs in marathon stretches beginning August 2010 from her home in Chicago after furniture was moved into storage and replaced with recording equipment, drums and guitars. She sent these demos to Chicago musician Stephen Howard, whose work she'd admired as baritone guitarist and drummer in PINEBENDER. A working musician since the age of 13, Howard had grown up playing local Chicago blues clubs; his teachers included Willie Smith, John Primer and Eddie Clearwater, his classrooms in music included stages across the U.S., Europe and Africa. Being a lefty, Mead has always played a right-handed guitar upside down—a backwards mimicking of Albert King that roughens up her sound. But through playing with Howard, she discovered a way of singing that made her voice crest above his gale-storm drumming. They've been playing together as Redgrave since January 2011.
LP $17.75
06/19/2012
***SOCCER TEAM is comprised of RYAN NELSON and MELISSA QUINLEY, friends who met years ago when working together at Dischord Records in Washington, DC. Slowly discovering numerous shared tastes in music, art and popular culture, the two would occasionally retreat to Ryan’s house in southeast DC to record sounds on Ryan’s 4-track, and then, a 1/4” 8-track machine that Ryan acquired in 2004. Slowly, a collection of songs that Ryan recorded both on his own and with Melissa was amassed, and Ryan proposed the notion of putting them out as a record. Dischord was kind enough to facilitate the idea, and in 2006, Volunteered Civility & Professionalism was released to rave reviews worldwide. in 2006 Soccer Team retreated into Ryan’s basement once again (now called “The Studio”) and laid to tape the framework for three sizzling tracks that would lie dormant for the ensuing four years. In 2010, in a fit of nostalgia, the two reunited and Soccer Team magic prevailed once again: together, they finally completed the earlier recordings with Melissa’s husband Dennis Kane.
7" $7.75
11/22/2011
***REDGRAVE is ANGIE MEAD (guitar, vocals) and STEPHEN HOWARD (drums), a swamp blues, heavy rock duo that is already being touted in the Chicago media as the next band on the horizon to watch. One year ago the band never existed and the two players, Angie Mead and Stephen Howard, were mere acquaintances. Today, they are poised to release their first EP and have earned unexpected admirers from top tastemakers like Jesus Lizard frontman DAVID YOW (who did the art for the record) and Califone’s TIM RUTILI (who guests on guitar). Necessity made this happen. Mead is a behind-the-scenes veteran of Chicago’s music scene as a musician, talent buyer and publicist. Those roles allowed her fandom of PINEBENDER, Howard’s flagship band, to flourish. She gave away Pinebender albums to friends to spread the word about the now-famed indie trio. She heard in Howard’s baritone guitar and distinct drumming style the kind of gnarled beauty that gave her songs clarity. On sale 5% until 10/11/2011.
7" $7.75
09/27/2011
***REGENTS, whose members hail from a 200 mile stretch of I95, are veterans of some of the most influential hardcore bands of the ‘90s including MAXIMILLIAN COLBY, SLEEPYTIME TRIO, FRODUS, THE EXPLODER, MEN’S RECOVERY PROJECT, ad COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN. Band mates DAVID NESMITH, DREW RINGO, DAN EVANS, and JASON HAMACHER have come together to form a brutal and heavily charged punk band. Regents formed in the summer of 2007 when NeSmith and Hamacher were playing as a keytar & drum duo called REGIONS. The following year Ringo and Evans moved back to the East Coast and both separately approached David about playing music. NeSmith called a meeting and the three quickly realized their mutual goals. A call to Hamacher turned Regions from a duo into a quartet. A misunderstanding on Ringo’s part changed the band name from Regions to Regents and the rest is history. Drawing inspiration from years playing in basements, squats, and living rooms, Regents crafted four songs of pure ferocity laden with heavy hitting drums, distorted ringing guitars and blood curdling screams. On sale 5% until 10/11/2011.
7" $7.75
09/27/2011
***CHECK STOCK!!! Received a 7.4 rating from Pitchfork. During the last decade AIMEE ARGOTE has had more bands called DES ARK than she has albums under that name. She’s howled and jerked in sweaty houses and rock clubs, backed by a drummer, another drummer, yet another drummer and a second guitarist, and a small symphony. She’s brought big crowds to a whisper with nothing but her voice and a banjo or a tiny guitar that kept slipping out of tune. But, a stack of radio sessions aside, Des Ark only has one LP, 2005’s Loose Lips Sink Ships, and a collaborative split with Ben Davis, 2007’s Battle of the Beards, to call its own. Don’t Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker—the band’s brilliant second LP—makes up for the time lag and the lost members. “On the record, I wanted to put on tape whatever it was that I heard in my head, which I can never do live. And that doesn’t matter,” says Argote, walking to her job making crepes in Philadelphia, where she’s lived for the past several months. “It’s my project, and I wanted it to be what comes out of me when I do it how I imagine. It was a fun experiment.” The experiment took its time. Sink is a record of extremes—heavy and roiling during “Ashley’s Song,” twinkling and tender during “Howard’s Hour.” As such, Argote couldn’t do everything in one place or one room. She began recording the quiet tunes in Richmond, VA with...
LP $17.75
05/03/2011
CD $11.00
05/03/2011
***The Cold World/Guilt 7-inch contains two soul-crushing and beautiful PYGMY LUSH “quiet-songs,” which were recorded by KURT BALLOU in Salem, MA, to be on Old Friends, but did not fit onto that album. Dark in the truest sense of the word, the two songs use relatively minimal instrumentation and a clever use of space to create a haunting atmosphere. Adding to it are the fantastic vocal deliveries by JOHNNY WARD and AIMEE ARGOTE (DES ARK), who lends her vocals to one of the tracks, as well as beats by new drummer ERIC KANE (STRIKE ANYWHERE). (STREET DATE - 5/03/2011)
7" $7.75
05/03/2011
***Acoustic strums, beautiful vocal harmonies, pianos, keyboards, and swelling ambient noise— not the kind of music one might assume would come from a band made up of veteran punk musicians, on a veteran punk record label. This is just the next step in the journey of Northern Virginia’s PYGMY LUSH, one that has been marked by redefinition and rebirth. The sound of this record is one that’s come only with age and experience, after thousands of miles have been logged in cramped touring vans. They’re following a path that many punks seem to follow as the years go on; The need for quiet, the need for space, for reflection and introspection, but the same amount of need for honesty, passion and expression. These feelings get put into something tangible in an old farmhouse near a far out Washington DC suburb, where Pygmy Lush live, write and practice, tucked away. They’ve tried to carve out a niche of solace in the middle of endless sameness, a place where they can stand. A lot of the songs are about friendships and connection, unsurprisingly. The things that bind us together through the years, and the things that split us apart. A couple of new members help to seal the deal on Old Friends. AIMEE ARGOTE of DES ARK; friend, tourmate, labelmate, and now honorary member, contributes vocals to over half the tracks, and some piano as well. You might have seen new drummer ERIC KANE over the years, serving up a fast paced...
LP $17.75
05/03/2011
CD $11.00
05/03/2011
***After spending years playing around the world with acclaimed bands, the FRODUS CONGLOMERATE INTERNATIONAL(FCI) decided to dissolve their partnership in 1999. Ten years later, JASON HAMACHER and SHELBY CINCA decided to reunite in Hamacher’s Washington basement and attempt to play a set list from 1999. Hamacher photographed the reunion, and Cinca posted a photo online. Within hours, the band was offered a show at SXSW. The duo reached out to former FCI bassist, NATHAN BURKE, but when scheduling did not work, Hamacher contacted long time friend LIAM WILSON of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, thus beginning a new FCI era. After devastating SXSW and playing a handful of shows on the East Coast, this FCI incarnation entered the Frodus Sound Laboratories and produced two aggressive, sophisticated,and complex songs, a combination of aggression and subtlety. Hamacher and Cinca have since decided to create a series of sonic experiments under the moniker FRODUS SOUND LABORATORY. Each experiment will have a revolving cast of musicians, friends, and associates with the core members as Hamacher and Cinca.
7" $7.75
11/23/2010
***Six years, several personnel changes, and a lengthy hiatus later, BATS & MICE (members of SLEEPYTIME TRIO) have re-emerged with its original members. The release of their latest 7-inch, Back in Bat, is an extension of the haunting themes and soaring harmonies of their prior releases. Energetic and refreshed, Bats & Mice enter a future that looks bright. A steady approach to song writing and plans to tour the USA and Europe in the summer and fall of 2010 contribute to a new chapter in the history of this group. Bats & Mice are working on new material for their next LP record, and a reinvigorated enthusiasm has infected the band, a good omen for the group and fans alike.
7" $5.60
09/28/2010
***When you’ve been as deep in the scene for as long as BEN DAVIS has, you end up with some pretty bonkers stories. Road stories, recording stories, stories of things that have happened to you, your friends, and friends of your friends. Tales of addicts, cheats and liars with hearts of gold that are also doing their best to create, love and survive—yarns spun out of broken guitar strings, epic mishaps that must be retold in such a way that the actual persons involved are not mentioned by name, exactly. But, when the tale is told, those involved know exactly who they are, or the listener know friends of friends who fit the archetype, who have lived the same tale-worthy days, weeks, months, years. Charge It Up!, Davis’ third solo full-length (and the fourteenth album on which his solo work has appeared) is packed to the gills with the kind of frenetic, danceable, shoutable, undeniably beyond catchy hard pop that has flowed like a river of hot lava through his entire catalog. It is a tremendous, itch-scratching record that makes you jones to see Ben Davis & Co. live, asap. Everything’s there: Davis’ crunchy, fuzzed-out, sun-bright riffage, the unstoppable percussive energy, the soaring rock melodies that are so sick they should be in a hospital.
CD $11.25
11/24/2009
***The term “monomyth” refers to a pattern that underlies mythical narratives from various cultures: the hero ventures out into the world, contests with forces beyond his ken, and emerges victorious—but also transformed. For many bands, titling a record Monomyth would seem a grandiose statement, but for FIN FANG FOOM, who’ve been currying a global fan base from their home of Chapel Hill for thirteen continuous years, it verges on plain fact. If you’ve never heard Fin Fang Foom, or just think you know what they’re all about, Monomyth is an ideal moment to catch up. Not only is it their first new record in six years, it represents the pinnacle of their craft—the interplay between MICHAEL TRIPLETT’s pensive yet powerful guitar, EDDIE SANCHEZ’s rumbling bass guitar, ominous keys, and restrained singing, and MIKE GLASS’ dynamic drumming has never been more subtle and powerful. The legendary BRIAN PAULSON’s production captures every nuance of quietude and volume, beauty and menace. The title track sums up the current Fin Fang Foom sound, sturdily transitioning from airy piano keys to searing guitars—they favor the hard-won climax over the forced eruption.
LP $17.75
11/24/2009
CD $11.25
11/24/2009
***After a lengthy hiatus, Florida's THE MERCURY PROGRAM return to the musical forefront with Chez Viking, a seven-song CD/LP released by the band's new label, Lovitt Records. Undoubtedly, The Mercury Program have established themselves as one of the most exciting bands who place a premium on intricate song craft and mesmerizing live performance. Formed in the summer of 1997, they have reemerged with a bracing mix of angular guitars, rhythmic bass lines, jazz-influenced drumming, and ethereal vibraphones.
LP $17.75
11/24/2009
CD $11.25
11/24/2009
***STEPHEN HOWARD has, in recent years, cut his teeth as a team player, offering up his considerable talents playing bass with indie darlings DENALI and Capitol Records "droppies" AMBULETTE, and playing baritone guitar as a member of the self-proclaimed slowest band in Chicago, PINEBENDER. With the completion of QUIETING SYRUP, Howard steps out of the shadows with a solo record that is as harrowing as it is beautiful. A total of twelve songs written over a period of 12 years, it focuses almost exclusively on his health battles and subsequent emotional fallout following the ebb-and-flow cycles of affection, addiction, and ailment. It also acts as a collection of love songs put to paper during Howard's continued recovery after a lifelong struggle with various illness. The record is filled to the brim with a quiet desperation, written from Howard's hospital bed but reflectively sung from his thrift store couch. Howard's hopeful voice is one of defiance and faith and the songs offer an innocence and buoyancy, filled with the heartbroken confidence of a man who has just let go, sweetly singing himself to sleep in order to face the day again tomorrow.
CD $11.25
09/21/2009
***To Chicago! To North Carolina! To Chicago! The path between locales has been a well traveled one for DAVE LANEY, the creative force behind Chicagoʼs CHALLENGER and Chicago/NC-based MILEMARKER. Building on both townsʼ penchant for driving, emotionally propelled indie rock, Laney returns with AUXES’ debut: Sunshine (Laneyʼs first official release since Milemarkerʼs 2005 Ominosity). Sunshine features Laney playing virtually all of the instruments himself. Recorded by Laney and mixed by BRIAN PAULSON (Slint, Archers of Loaf, Wilco, Beck, Dinosaur Jr.). A new all-star lineup has all ready to hit the road in support and will be touring non stop.
CD $11.25
10/13/2008
LP $17.75
10/13/2008