Wet The Rope / Icepield "Split"

LP - $14.00
STREET DATE: 10/6/23
CAT#: PRO-078
LABEL: Protagonist Music

On this split album we find California represented in two bands that are deeply connected to the experience of 90's emotional hardcore, while firmly establishing relevancy for the current times. Northern California's Wet The Rope approach their second vinyl release by quieting their angular, off-kilter hardcore just slightly and focusing their work on exploring aging, loss, and death. Their sound is plaintive, urgent, and melodic, bringing to mind acts such as Ignition, Pot Valiant, and Swiz. San Diego's Icepield follow up their cassette EP with tracks that bring to mind their hometown flavor a la Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, while a closer listen reveals touches of 80's dark post-punk and alternative rock as well. Their anxious and chaotic melody along with cryptic, introspective lyrics, combine for a driving and ultimately catchy result. Wet The Rope boast ex-members of Amber Inn and Downcast, while Icepield have ex-members of Stickfigurecarousel.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Wet The Rope - Let the Rain Fall Forever
  2. Wet The Rope - Appalachian Dusk
  3. Wet The Rope - Suffocation
  4. Wet The Rope - Alarms are Obsolete
  5. Wet The Rope - Bring Us Back
  6. Icepield - Truth Decay
  7. Icepield - The Glove
  8. Icepield - Brutal Holiday
  9. Icepield - Please Send Hell
  10. Icepield - Open Presence

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Wet The Rope is ex members of Amber Inn, Downcast
  • Icepield is ex members of Stickfigurecarousel
  • Album mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Graf Orlock, Joyce Manor) at Atomic Garden

FOR FANS OF:
Amber Inn, Ignition, Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Swiz

Hexis "MMXXI KAL. OCT."

Flexi 7"EP - $6.00
Flexi 7" UPC: 727785442329
STREET DATE: 10/6/23
CAT#: VIS04
LABEL: Persistent Vision

The latest from Denmark's HEXIS, a limited edition clear flexi 7" featuring two live songs from their appearance at Soulcrusher Festival in the Netherlands, in 2021.

Formed 2010 and known for their DIY approach, Copenhagen road warriors HEXIS merges blackened hardcore and sludge with black metal, post-metal, and dark ambient passages. Their last album 'Aeturnum' garnered widespread acclaim, noting their ability to deliver "sheer brutality and power", and drawing comparisons to peers such as Oathbreaker and Celeste.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Opacus
  2. Molestus

MARKETING POINTS:

  • On tour from September - December 2023 with 100+ shows across Europe, Canada, Latin America and United States, including dates supporting Amenra and others
  • Relentless touring has taken them to nearly every corner of the globe, playing roughly 1000 shows since 2010
  • Their last album 'Aeturnum' garnered widespread acclaim and positive reviews, the latest in a series of well-received releases which includes a split with Primitive Man
  • Pressing is limited to 300 copies on clear vinyl flexi

FOR FANS OF:
Oathbreaker, Celeste, Amenra, Converge

Instagram

Private Hell "Days of Wrath"

CASSETTE - 10/6/23
CASSETTE UPC: 721352025021
STREET DATE: 10/6/23
CAT#: VIS06
LABEL: Persistent Vision

The latest from Richmond, Virginia's PRIVATE HELL, "Days of Wrath" blends influences ranging from 80s punk and extreme metal to 90s crust and hardcore. Their abrasive new six song EP follows up their 2021 demo, and loosely centers around reflections on loss of time, life, and hope.

Recorded and mixed by Jordan Greenough at NFTW Records (Reckoning Force).

Comes packaged with full color j-card and red shell cassettes.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Prometheus Bound
  2. Days of Wrath
  3. Progress
  4. Tower of Silence
  5. Agony
  6. The Final Torment

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Have toured the East Coast extensively headlining and supporting shows for Cro Mags, Enforced, Poison Ruin, Final Gasp, Brain Tourniquet and others
  • Recorded with Jordan Greenough at NFTW Records (Reckoning Force, Lethal Means)

FOR FANS OF:
Doomriders, Coliseum, Black Tusk, His Hero Is Gone

Instagram

Best Ex "With A Smile"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 724399772293
STREET DATE: 10/6/23
CAT#: IOD-35
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

The heart of singer-songwriter Mariel Loveland has always been her DIY spirit. As a teenage poet, she taught herself guitar in an attempt to put her words to music, writing her first songs in the margins of her notebook during math class. Not long after, with little more than a rusted-out van and a handful of home recordings, the songwriter hit the road with Candy Hearts, a wide-eyed punk band rooted in early ‘00s nostalgia.

Within two short years, Candy Hearts went from playing in basements across the East Coast to sharing the stage with pop punk heavyweights like Man Overboard, New Found Glory, and Weezer. Math class became MTV and the microphones she set up in her mother’s basement became an LA recording studio. After a stint on Vans Warped Tour, Loveland found herself wondering: what happens after your childhood dreams come true? It turns out, you start all over again. Enter: Best Ex.

With her solo endeavor, Loveland has managed to maintain the diary-like introspection and biting sarcasm of previous releases, swapping out energetic guitars for fuzzed-out synths and dreamy acoustics. Her previous two EPs—Ice Cream Anti-Social (2017) and Good At Feeling Bad (2020)—were met with critical acclaim from publications like Billboard and Alternative Press, even landing airplay on BBC Radio 1. After inking a new record deal, Loveland is gearing up for Best Ex’s full-length debut.

“With a Smile” is full of sardonic emo-tinged indie-pop songs about breakup and heartache. The album is a concept album about the ways in which the world tells women to smile. "We’re expected to be a million things, but one of those is always pleasant in public. We’re supposed to suck up our issues with our mental health (lest we get labeled hysterical or over-emotional). We’re expected to shrug off the injustices we see in the world. We’re expected to just smile through our own abuse and never say a word. And of course, sometimes we smile for good reason. We fall in love, people make us laugh, the sunshine in the summer feels healing. Good things do happen, there is still beauty in the world. I’m not a total cynic, I’m just an exhausted introvert." - Mariel Loveland / Best Ex

TRACK LISTING:

  1. With a Smile
  2. Tell Your Friends
  3. Give Me a Break
  4. Salt On Skin
  5. I Promise to Ruin Your Life
  6. Stay With Me
  7. Die For You (feat. Luxtides)
  8. Cut Me Out
  9. What The Hell
  10. Joyride
  11. The End
  12. Daylight

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Features Mariel Loveland from Candy Hearts (Bridge 9 Records) debut full-length LP
  • Produced in part by Gary Cioni (Hot Mulligan, Crime in Stereo)
  • Mastered by Jack Shirley (Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor)
  • US Tour to include festival dates in 2023/2024

FOR FANS OF:
Candy Hearts, Rico Kiley, Death Cab For Cutie, CHVRCHES

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