Smush & Animal Faces are next

June 10, 2024 by David Norman

It is with unbridled enthusiasm and childish glee that we are announcing the SMUSH and SOFTSEED MUSIC partnership. After hearing the two singles, Vancouver Island's Softseed Music clamored to get on board with Vancouver-based shoegaze band Smush, at which point the two realized they were on the same wavelength. This BC alliance is showcasing its strength on Friday June 15th, 2024 when the debut full length 'if you were here i'd be home now' by Smush will release with a 12"LP pre-order!!! This Softseed Music release will be a minimum run of 100 copies on colored vinyl, with the final number being determined by the pre-orders that take place over this weekend. Softseed also runs Zegema Beach Records, which has a U.S.A. store for those south of the Canadian border, and will be fulfilling US orders at a fraction of the shipping cost! Oh happy day.

Speaking of happy days, this Saturday is the release show at Green Auto Body in Vancouver which Softseed Dave will be attending (perhaps with some goodies) so please come out and show your support for the band! 12" pre-orders open at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST with orders shipping early-mid August. If you haven't heard Smush yet, check out the two music video singles that have been released (in our bio) and submerge yourself in the beautiful-yet-heavy shoegaze that swirls around influences Slow Pulp, Low, and Helmet. See you on Friday <3 <3 <3

Oh shit would you look at that? That’s the new Animal Faces 12” art that releases next on ZBR. As you can plainly see, it houses both early EPs by Toronto’s ultimate screamo band. We made 100 12”s on eco-mix that release June 17th at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST! Check out the music video for “Forward Through” below!

A week after Animal Faces sees the release of the new Fallingwithscissors EP ‘the birth and death of an angel’ on cassette. The glitchy, chaotic metalcore is phenomenal and sounds like a clusterfuck of early Meth., Deftones, Sectioned, and .gif from god.

Demersal’s new album is down to less than 5 copies over our 3 stores so don’t sleep for much longer! No Clean Singing gave their self-titled some much deserved props in their latest ‘Thing You May Have Missed’ segment. Click on this text for the review, jam/buy it below.

Gil Cerrone from Australia have something new coming next month and this Friday is their first single so keep an eye out! We are down to our last copies of their previous EP cassette.

Vibora also got some love over the weekend from Crossed Letters. Anyone who was at ZBR Fest 2024 knows how incredible this band comes off live, and not having a copy of this phenomenal record is damn well near screamo blasphemy. Second press out now. Click on this text for the full 9/10 review!

Operation X-Ray played some serious jams on Friday including a brand new Serling song from their upcoming split with Charger Port! That releases next Wednesday June 19th on 50 12” lathes and it’s fuckin’ awesome. There’s also some Smush, fallingwithscissors, and Terry Green on the episode!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: MALIŠA BAHAT = Croatia’s best band is finally ready with their debut full length and holy shit it does not disappoint!!!

2024 - 04 - 27 /// In Her Head 'Doves EP' + Usurp Synapse art

April 26, 2024 by David Norman

As mentioned last post, we got that sweet sweet…wait…we got that dark’n’dirty Usurp Synapse EP comin’. It’s called ‘Polite Grotesqueries - AssIIAss edition’ and it features seven new jams that the band recorded back in January of 2024. We’ll have a streaming premiere on May 2nd along with a single rare variant before doing the full release on May 3rd at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST and then if you make it to the ZBR Fest pre-show you can catch them play the entire thing live! And also buy more tapes, cuz this is a super limited run of 128 with alternate art that will not be made again.

Niboowin new album ‘Giving In’ releases May 9th on ZBR but we got those 12”s in already so the band will be slingin’ them at their shows as well as (obviously) at ZBR Fest (cuz they’re playing). Insanely long in the making, this was nearly a cursed record but we got that thing lifted cuz it would have been a travesty for these incredible songs to have not seen the light of day. Jam a strawberry below.

In Her Head’s new release ‘Doves EP’ just dropped on Tomb Tree. Three tracks of breakdown-heavy sassy metalcore in the vein of SeeYouSpaceCowboy and ‘Frailty of Words’-era Hopesfall. These tapes literally just came in so the cases aren’t finished yet but will be good to go by Monday. We’ll start shipping them sometime next week, only 29 copies in total: 20 swirled, 5 blue, and 4 test dips w/matching swirl case.

Speaking of Tomb Tree, they’ll have the Colacon pre-orders for the band’s debut 12” on Monday at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST!!! More info to come over the weekend.

2022’s ZBR Fest was a return to form as we moved that sucker outta Canada and into Chicago where US Dave resides. It kicked off in epic fashion and was the first of many to come in Illinois, as that is ZBR Fest’s true home. This first Chicago-based fest was called ZBR Fest Mid-West and you can check out all the links and videos on the OMSB post by clicking on this text. Full recap video below!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: MY HANDS YR HEART = Unfortunately a band with almost the exact same name released a demo about a month ago, but fortunately this kicks ass. Yay two new sick bands!

2024 - 04 - 22 /// Usurp Synapse EP + Venus Twins LP

April 22, 2024 by David Norman

2024 - 04 - 20 /// It must be 4:20

April 20, 2024 by David Norman

Entwife surprise 4/20 release! 100 cds on Tomb Tree, 50 with us, 50 with the band. LOTR-themed stoner/sludge/doom metal with lotsa screaming. Featuring Robbie from Eyelet and mnwa! CDs are only $4.20 today then they’ll do up at least a buck.

Crossed’s ‘Vida Queita’ 12”EP is out! We’ve said it before, but we’ve never had stock for this band last more than a month…and they play ZBR Fest in 2 weeks! Pick one up now before you have no choice but wallow in self-pity.

A reminder that we had a massive distro update that included Moment Of Collapse releases (most notably Cranial, Meraine, and Black Table) and all of the Ostraca 12” releases. Check the full stock in the U.S.A. store here and the Canada/International store here. A few select things that CanaDave is pumped about are embedded below:

MERAINE - Meraine (12")

CA$20.00

For fans of: Pianos Become The Teeth and Past.

Driving German hardcore with enough melody to catapult them into post-hardcore territory. Never heard of them until this debut, very sick!

12” comes in gatefold jacket on ocean blue. 9 songs.

Listen here:
https://meraine.bandcamp.com/album/meraine

Add To Cart

sold out

CRANIAL - Dark Towers / Bright Lights (12")

CA$25.00

For fans of: Omega Massif and (early) The Baroness.

Ex-Omega Massif! Oh my god I loved that band so finding out this is similar made my fucking day. Epic as fuck blackened post-metal. Released on Moment Of Collapse.

Black 12” comes in a gatefold jacket w/download code. 4 songs.

Listen here:
https://cranialband.bandcamp.com/album/dark-towers-bright-lights

Add To Cart

sold out

KADDISH - What World Was Still (12")

CA$25.00

For fans of: Daitro and Massa Nera.

Scotland’s gods of screamo’s newest release and first time in our stores, only 2 copies in this store!!!

12” on black vinyl with lyric insert. 10 songs.

Listen here:
https://kaddishuk.bandcamp.com/album/what-world-was-still

Add To Cart

Vibora’s ‘Zaldi Beltza’ and it’s beautiful second press is out! Clear with blue blob, and we’ve only got 50 in North America. Also, this band will be killin’ it at ZBR Fest 2024!!! There are also some pins and patches available, embedded below the digitals.

VIBORA - Scythe'n'Tears (pin)

CA$6.00

Color:

White Black

Quantity:

Add To Cart

VIBORA - Scythe'n'Tears (patch)

CA$6.00

Quantity:

Add To Cart

CanaDave continues to reminisce about ZBR Fest, this time it’s the very first fest we did, and we did it back in Toronto in 2017 over three days. Pre-show day, poorly attended (cuz we were contending with Daughters) but it was sick. Day 1, exceeded all expectations and was awesome. Day 2, repeat. One of the most gratifying and incredible experiences/surprises of my lifetime. Check out a short recap video below and if you want more info/links/videos just click on the full day link above each recap video.

Pre-show: An Ant And An Atom, Nanette, Terrible As The Dawn, Worst Days, and Hiera. = https://openmindsaturatedbrain.blogspot.com/2017/06/zegema-beach-records-fest-pre-show.html

Day 1: Growing Fins, Sarin, Communovere, The Ultimate Screamo Band, Terry Green, Massa Nera, and Respire. = https://openmindsaturatedbrain.blogspot.com/2017/07/zegema-beach-records-fest-day-1.html

Day 2: Fraera, Lessener, People’s Temple Project, Crowning, What Of Us, The World That Summer, and Foxmoulder. = https://openmindsaturatedbrain.blogspot.com/2017/08/zegema-beach-records-fest-day-2.html

Burial Etiquette’s 12”LP is almost gone. I’m not gonna remind you again (okay maybe 1-2 more times) but I will definitely bump this sick Everything Is Noise review of it. Click on the pic above or this text to go there.

This Noise Is Ours continues their ZBR Roster Review series with the Curtains + New Ruins split cassette. Click on the pic above or this text for the read, or listen below for the pummeling.

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: KIOWA = Jesus, add another sick-ass band to Cali’s roster. This debut fucks.

2024 - 04 - 18 /// Usurp Synapse music + Venus Twins 12"s!!!

April 18, 2024 by David Norman

Venus Twins 12”s release on Monday via Softseed Music. The band has a bunch of copies, Softseed will have about 20 of each variant, the US ZBR store 10 of each variant, and this store 5 of each variant.

FRIDAY: 11am CST Crossed 12”EP releases / Distro update

SATURDAY: 4:20pm CST Entwife cd releases on Tomb Tree

There’s new Usurp Synapse material! A new video was just premiered over at the (((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))) blogspot. Remember the band is playing our May 3rd ZBR Fest pre-show!!! Tickets available here.

Double feature! First, Vibora’s ‘Zaldi Beltza’ has their 2nd pressing that we’ll upchuck in our stores this Friday alongside the distro update and Crossed release. Second, Hiding In The Outpost is back! We’ve been so busy with other stuff that I just didn’t have time for it…well now I’m makin’ time! Right in time for the aforementioned second pressing of their acclaimed and highly awesome ‘Zaldi Beltza’ I happened across a single copy of the first press! Snag it from our bandcamp below.

ZBR Fest 2024 is right around the corder (May 3rd-5th, to be exact) so it’s high time for me to start reminiscing about the other fests that we’ve put on over the last decade. It started in 2014 with this Hamilton-based and poorly attended mini-fest. It featured the likes of Respire, Edhochuli, Old Soul, Black Love, Terry Green, and more! You can click on this text for the full recap with tons of extra videos and links. Below is a Love Lost But Not Forgotten cover played by Old Soul.

CanaDave’s new band Mourn Recif is having their first show on April 27th on Vancouver Island in Duncan at The Space Time Continuum (send us a msg for exact location). Poster below. They’ve also got Facebook and Instagram pages now so click on the respective name to go to said Mourn Recif page. First recordings happen in a month or two. 7 songs down.

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: OPPOSITION DOLLS = Very cool stuff from Florida that sounds like I Hate Sex, Roman Candle, and a chilled-out Blind Girls.