Clay Birds out, Mau next

May 13, 2025 by David Norman

Emma Goldman’s ‘all you are is we’ is tearing shit up, as well as already nearly selling out of the 1st of two variants, Anthony Fantano did a review video on The Needle Drop which is fucking huge to have someone that big pick up on an underground screamo record. Watch above, listen/buy below!

Clay Birds released last week and like 95% of copies are sold out. I think there are 5 copies left in the U.S. store but everything else is gonezo. Absolutely amazing release, wicked people, and sick as fuck live.

Máu 10”s for ‘Anthesis’ will release this Thursday! I snapped a few promo pics of this as the b-side is etched and the entire package just looks hella cool. And the music…my god the music! Incredible stuff from these Cali homies. We’ll have 50 copies of the 300, with the rest being with the band. 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST.

Nuvolascura’s ‘As We Suffer From Memory and Imagination’ was the most recent topic of Out Past the Rings #193. Not only that, but with a new album on the way in late July the band got an extra bump from Brooklyn Vegan with their lead single “and in the end, you threw it all away”. Click on the pic above or this text to go there. Watch the OPTR below.

Joyzine reviewed the Avery Friedman album which you can check out by clicking on the pic above or this text. Release show is this Thursday! Buy the 12”s below.

Sutras got some love from Destroy//Exist which you can check out by clicking on this text or the pic above. Listen/buy below!

Coup D’etat, Emma Goldman, Shibuya, and Llewelyn got a shout-out and play from the always reliable Operation X-Ray.

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: TELOS = Listen and weep cuz it’s so good but the band is so dead :( We got tapes of the LP left, snag’em now (by clicking on this text) or forever hold your peace.

2025 - 05 - 09 /// Important news, Sleep//Process, and Clay Birds tomorrow!

May 09, 2025 by David Norman

ZBR Fest 2025 is over and it was absolutely incredible. If you missed it, I apologize, as it is the last Chicago ZBR Fest for the foreseeable future. 2026 will be going down in Vancouver as we’re bringing it back to Canada due to the US government being fascist fucks. The hope is to alternate between Chicago and Vancouver but we’ll see what happens.

We’re back at it and shipping the backlog of orders, please give us a bit of empathy as we attempt to be dads, work jobs, and also ship hundreds of orders.

The Process//Sleep ‘Wherever You Think You Belong, You Probably Don't’ cassettes just released on Tomb Tree a few minutes ago. The tapes are /53 but we only have about 25 for sale. 5 variants, all sick, pictured above, with digitals and links embedded below. A truly incredible debut for fans of Swan Of Tuonela, Closet Witch, and Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead.

Clay Birds cassettes for ‘a separation from vanity’ release tomorrow at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST. These will be gone in a matter of minutes so if you’re keen get to the stores before the drop time. This band is bursting with absolute sweethearts that played a truly excellent set at ZBR Fest 2025, with this EP definitely being their best and most cohesive work to date. We are truly lucky to be involved with this release.

Shibuya released in full a week ago but as we were busy with ZBR Fest we didn’t have it out until yesterday. 12”s are nearly gone so if you like screamo with hella emotions and variety (especially of the Spanish/Italian sounding variety) you’ll likely love ‘Bravura y Firmamento’. Copies come on blue and pink.

Lástima had their final song premiere before the May 16th release of ‘a pain bloomed from my lungs’ which will see 100 black 12”s seeing the light of day. The epic screamo/black-metal/post-hardcore includes extra instrumentation and members/ex-members of Capacities, Sonagi, Witching, What Of Us, etc. Everything Is Noise did the premiere which you can access by clicking on the picture above or this text. For fans of Respire, Portrayal Of Guilt, and Tenue.

Coup D’etat released a new split with Lakeside Amusement Park. There are no physicals for this yet, but don’t worry we’ll be doing something later this summer/fall. Catch them tonight at the Emma Goldman release show!

Avery Friedman had a massive piece on Idioteq.com and you should definitely check it out by clicking on the picture above or this text. Jam/buy below, pre-orders should be halfway over so snag a Stupid Fancy while you still can!

Llewelyn has a new EP that is coupled with their first EP releasing on The Ghost Is Clear Records, but we also released the debut EP and have tape copies left, so I figured now is a good time to share the piece that Idioteq.com did on the band. Check it out by clicking on the pic above or this text. Jam/buy the debut self title below!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: EYES = This Denmark band has a new album and it’s a trip!

2025 - 04 - 29 /// Emma Goldman out, now it's ZBR Fest time!

April 29, 2025 by David Norman

Emma Goldman’s ‘all you are is we’ is officially out and ready to make you revolt, dance, scream, and have your mind blown all in the same instant. Easily a contender for screamo album of the year in the year of our Skramz 2025. 12 tracks of self-described “gabber skramz”, and hot damn that genre mash holds up nicely. Get absolutely ruined below and pick up either a transparent yellow w/red blob (/150) or opaque red (/150) 12” vinyl.

This is the last post before we buckle down for ZBR Fest 2025, so no shipping orders, updates here/facebook/Bluesky. Check out Instagram to stay up to date and this news page will be updated after the fest is over and the Daves get some sleep. Check out 2022 and 2023 recap videos of every band below, and snag the last of our tickets above. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you live in Chicago…cuz you’ll never know when we won’t be doing them there anymore. Click on this text for tickets. Check out 2023’s fest above and 2022 below.

Click here for the full premiere and interview!

Not Just A Phase just premiered the final Social Caterpillar release via their split 12” with Waunband. It releases on Softseed Music on May 2nd but as CanaDave will be a little busy with the fest and not in Canada, he will have it up upon his return May 8th. Jam it now though by clicking on this text or the picture above. Check out their final full length below (which we still have 12” copies of).

Click here for all the links you need and the podcast!

CanaDave did a podcast with Dan of Satsuma (and Suck City…and The Reptilian…aaaaaaand Seventeen Again) which you should check out by clicking on this text or the pic above. We’ve got a total of 3 tapes left for ‘this is my outside voice’ in the stores linked below (where you can also jam it).

No Depression gave the Avery Friedman album a lotta love so be sure to check that out and for science’s sake check out ‘New Thing’ if you haven’t already! Click on the pic above or this text for the review, jam/buy below.

Sutras has so many reviews it’s ridiculous, but I totally understand why. Here’s a new one from Punk Rock Mag which you can access by clicking the pic above or this text. Jam/buy below.

Operation X-Ray played brand new jams from Emma Goldman and Nuvolascura among countless others.

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: ORPHANED = New album coming soon plus we still have tapes of their previous EP (embedded below). Wicked atmospheric black metal with great lyrics.

2025 - 04 - 25 /// Emma Goldman and Nuvolascura premiere!

April 25, 2025 by David Norman

CanaDave has been saying for a very, very long time that no one is prepared for the Emma Goldman 12”LP ‘all you are is we’, and you can finally weigh in on Monday when we release the beast. 12 tracks of violent-yet-sassy screamo/emo-violence that has beautiful moments and a helluva lotta precise, mathy, and intense ones. There are even some breakcore/rave interludes that are straight up incredible songs. Check out their full most recent performance at Red Gate below via YYJcore. We did 150 of each variant for a total of 300 12”s which is a ZBR-exclusive release. The band has 100 of these copies and has their record release show early May.

Click here for the full write-up and song premiere!

Nuvolascura revealed their first new song (pretty much) since their 2020 LP, and I can’t say enough incredible things about ‘how this all ends’ because it breaks down the barriers they previously set for themselves. They don’t push the envelope as a band, they torch it and find a completely new mode of delivery. You can listen to “and in the end, you threw it all away” below and get more info from Idioteq.com by clicking on this text or the pic above.

This year’s ZBR Fest will be very special but you won’t find out until after why it is so. And no it’s not the special stage setup with the Daves in tubes. Check out all of last year’s videos below with the documentary recap. If there’s a year you wanna see it in Chicago…this is THE year.

Sinema 12”s for ‘After the Flatline’ came and went in less than 12 hours but the band will have some copies at ZBR Fest! Check out the sick live set from the WKDU studio above as it’s made me even more stoked to see them perform at the fest.

Click here for the full podcast and links!

CanaDave did a podcast with Avery Friedman after the release of ‘New Thing’ which has had resounding compliments thrown at it for the last week, so many so that I can’t post them all lol. Regardless, 12”s are at the plant and should arrive in July. Click on the pic above or this text to go to the podcast and/or jam/buy below!

Click here for the full quarterly review!

Sutras got a shoutout from The Obelisk in their spring gathering of sweet releases. Check it out alongside heaps of other sick albums by clicking on the pic above or this text. Snag a tape below before we run out!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: LASTKISSTODIEOFVISCEROTH = LKTDOV is back with a new EP and it’s amazing!

2025 - 04 - 21 /// Sinema 12"s tomorrow!!!

April 21, 2025 by David Norman

Sinema is tomorrow. TOMORROW! These won’t last so this is your second-to-last reminder to get in the stores before 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST tomorrow April 22nd. ‘After the Flatline’ is /250 all on black 12”s. They also play ZBR Fest and I’m fucking so goddamned excited. Look at that new stage setup!!! (thanks Josh!)

Lastima is releasing on 12” on May 16th via Tomb Tree, and the band has recently released their first single “Al Cerro Ancón”. Tape/cd orders from Liminal Dread Productions open single vinyl releases with album. Wicked post-everything that dabbles in the waters of Respire’s early material with more flute and viola and less trumpet.

Operation X-Ray played heaps of bangers including Blue Youth’s “Defeatist” and Sinema’s “Stutter”. Glad your kid is doing better Andre <3

The amount of incredible press that Avery Friedman’s ‘New Thing’ has received is both prodigious and deserved. Her debut album is up for pre-order on Softseed Music as well as tape from Audio Anti-Hero. Expect a podcast with CanaDave next! Click on the pic above or this text for the full interview with The Line Of Best Fit.

Destroy//Exist did a little write-up for Blue Youth’s only single that can pretty much be applied to the rest of the album. Check it out by clicking on the pic above or this text. Jam/buy the ‘Defeatist’ 12”LP below!

Idioteq.com interview/track-by-track with duo Sutras following their ‘The Crisis of Existence’ release on Tomb Tree. Check it out by clicking on the pic above or this text. Jam/buy below, and remember it’s a low run of just 35 tapes!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: YA BUNAYYA = I only just heard ‘Beyond the Numeric Time’ by this incredible band. Can’t wait to see what they release next.