Sledges "Losing Pace"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 199350098802
STREET DATE: 7/18/25
CAT#: QP017
LABEL: Quiet Panic

From San Diego California Sledges is a four piece Alt-metal/Heavy-shoegaze band that blends genres like Grunge, Metal, Shoegaze, Emo/Post-Hardcore, and alternative to craft songs with catchy hooks and big riffs. The band's goal is to create emotional/ heavy songs that you can sing along to. Sledges is Philly Gomez (vocals and guitar), Alex Angulo (bass), Julian Romero (guitar), Mason Haidar (drums) Sledges’ origin starts in mid 2020 taking place in the area of Chula Vista California. From the boredom and freetime during the pandemic Sledges started as a three piece and wasted no time writing original material. During 2020 Sledges recorded and released their first single “Melting Lives” which helped them start playing shows in San Diego and grow a local fan base. The group recorded and released more singles throughout 2021-2023 and added a fourth member to play lead guitar. Some notable singles during that time include “Headwinds” (2022) and “Disgusting” (2023).

In mid 2023 Sledges began to record their EP Losing Pace with Mike Kamoo who engineered, mixed and mastered it at Earthling Studios. Losing pace is a four track EP that is catchy and ambitious yet heavy. The group took inspiration from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Nothing, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Hum with its heavy but lush wall of guitars while adding their own flavor. Sledges experimented with acoustic guitars, melodic choruses, drum samples and My Bloody Valentine-esque leads. The group wanted to simply write strong songs that can stand on their own. Singer/songwriter Philly Gomez says Losing Pace is about a period when he felt broken from the struggles of balancing life and in the process realizing you are falling apart. With heartfelt lyrics and contagious riffs, Losing Pace was released on May 2nd 2024. With great reception the EP led the band to get signed by the label Quiet Panic and open for larger bands like From Autumn to Ashes, and Ringo Deathstarr.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Stumbling As I Fall
02. Losing Pace
03. Weightless
04. June is Better than July
05. Fading
06. Letters

MARKETING POINTS:

  • First time on vinyl

FOR FANS OF:
Smashing Pumpkins, Nothing, Sunny Day Real Estate, Hum, My Bloody Valentine, From Autumn to Ashes, Ringo Deathstarr

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DROUGHT "Souvenir"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 724399772774
STREET DATE: 07/18/25
CAT#: IOD-88
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

While many hardcore bands focus their fury outward, Drought turns inward—channeling personal struggle to chart a different path. Formed in 2022, the Bay Area band—guitarists Eric Nakano and RJ Rabe, drummer Ray Avila, and vocalist Viggy Ram—found common ground in shared influences like Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutYou, and Title Fight to overcome personal hardships and isolation. After recording a three-song EP in 2022, Drought brought their emotionally charged live shows to stages alongside Jeromes Dream and vs self before catching the attention of Iodine Recordings.

Now, Drought returns with Souvenir, recorded to tape by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away) at Atomic Garden Studios. The result? Souvenir sounds less like a debut and more like an established act. These thirteen songs channel moods and emotion with conviction, shaped by years of perspective. Guest vocals from Patrick Flynn (Fiddlehead/Have Heart), Eric Butler (Mom Jeans), and Alex Rudenshiold (Infant Island) lend further weight to Souvenir, weaving with the band’s dynamic arrangements and situating the record firmly in the evolving world of post-hardcore and emo. Against a background of balanced melody and dissonance, Viggy Ram’s lyricism is as introspective as it is existential, as he sings on the first single ‘We’re the Flora’: “They say all flowers in time bend toward the sun, so when I find the light, what will I become?” 

Souvenir arrives July 2025 via Iodine Recordings.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Introduction
02. An Invitation
03. Abattoir
04. We're The Flora
05. Proof of Life
06. Compass/Needle
07. Saint
08. In the Glass Room
09. One of Me
10. Two of Me
11. Old Seed/New Grain
12. Wayfinding

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Debut LP from bay area quintet
  • Features guest appearances by Patrick Flynn (Have Heart/FIddlehead) and Eric Butler (Mom Jeans)
  • Produced by Jack Shirley (Jeromes Dream, Loma Prieta, Gouge Away)
  • 7" EP debut sold out on first press of 300
  • Summer and Fall shows planned
  • Appearances at New Friends Fest, Yr Renaissance Fest, and more!

FOR FANS OF:
mewithoutYou, La Dispute, Pianos Become The Teeth

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Starling "Forgive Me,"

LP - $17.90
STREET DATE: 7/18/25
CAT#: SDR-135
LABEL: Sunday Drive

Confusion, frustration, love and loss are all expressed throughout the first album, “Forgive Me,” from Los Angeles alternative band, Starling. Written over the course of about a year, the LA band recorded themselves in various sheds, apartments, and garages. The record was mixed by drummer, Erik Sathrum Johnson, artwork was shot by the band and their friends, and then mastered by Greg Obis (MJ Lenderman, Wishy, Duster).

Songs like “Quiet” start off with a slow and delicate melody, and then explode in sound halfway through. The guitars in the song were recorded in the middle of summer in a garage with no AC—a physically intense, almost spiritual experience that bleeds into the recording. The lead single, “I Can Be Convinced” is a sad and yearning song, with a need to be still; yet ironically, it’s one of the most upbeat songs on the record.

The album closes with the nearly seven-minute “Keep It” a track Starling had been performing since early 2024. Lyrically charged with frustration, it builds tension through eerie, hushed verses that give way to a loud, distorted chorus—showcasing the band’s ability to channel emotion through dynamic contrast.

With “Forgive Me,” Starling has crafted a deeply personal and fully DIY record, shaping every sonic detail themselves. The result is an album where every melody, rhythm, and raw feeling is intentionally placed and unmistakably theirs.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Quiet
02. I Can Be Convinced
03. My Love
04. 25
05. No Frown
06. Slow Down

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Debut release on Sunday Drive Records
  • Previously supported Cryogeyser in the US
  • US fall tour TBA

FOR FANS OF:
Mazzy Star, The Sundays, Rainer Maria

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