90s punks HARRIET THE SPY share first single from forthcoming reissue on Solid Brass Records

 90s Kent, OH band Harriet The Spy share the first single today from the forthcoming reissue of their 1997 album Unf**kwithable on Solid Brass Records. Hear/share "Octohelpme" on DSPs HERE and Bandcamp.

From the ashes of other northeast Ohio bands like Throttle Bottom and Velocipede, Kent, Ohio’s Harriet The Spy was born. The earliest incarnation of the band in 1992 was actually a 3-piece. Joel McAdams (guitar/vocals) hung a flyer in Akron looking for a bass player and drummer. Alex Hicox (drums) and Heather Royer (bass) soon joined. In Spring of 1993 Dave Neeson joined on 2nd guitar and by 1994 Alex and Heather left the band and were replaced by Tom Raichel (bass) and Jamie Stillman (drums). 

Harriet The Spy offered a much needed musical departure from many of the bands at that time. Someone once wrote, “…they provided a slap in the face to the sanctimonious nature of 90s hardcore musically, aesthetically and lyrically…” and that couldn’t be more true. Shows in Ohio in the 90s were quite diverse. Metal-infused hardcore bands played with more traditional punk bands and somewhere in this milieu is where Harriet The Spy felt most comfortable. Ben Lines from the blog Canadian Wasteland said they, “...delivered a cacophony of elements that honestly shouldn’t work together but yet, they somehow did, perfectly.” Inspired by bands like Sonic Youth, Born Against, Universal Order of Armageddon, Antioch Arrow and Huggy Bear they were quite prolific in the DIY underground having played well over 200 shows before breaking up in 1998. When they weren’t touring the band were staples at venues like Speak In Tongues (Cleveland), the Neilhouse (Columbus), and local YMCAs and pizza shops. 

If you were lucky enough to see them live you were greeted with, “…spastic, chaotic masterpieces of riff-filled dueling guitars, pissed off vocals, and some of the most pounding drums laid to record using formulas both simple and innovative.” They delivered a visceral punch to what seemed like far too much seriousness at the time. With sarcastic song titles like "Sneaking Peaks at the Will”, “Cold Cock a Dick”, “This Music Festival Sucks” and “Sleeping Through The Money Shot” they wrote songs about being at odds with the scene that embraced them. 

The band lived together in the same house so they were always writing, recording and immersed in their process. They played shows with bands like Three Studies For A Crucifixion, Universal Order of Armageddon, Melt Banana, Thumbnail, Behead The Prophet (NLSL), Palatka, Franklin, Samuel, Fat Day, Bisybackson, and many more. They recorded for labels such as Donut Friends, File 13, Double Agent, and Troubleman Unlimited. In less than 5 years the band churned out 3 cassettes, 5 split 45s, a split 12” with Thumbnail, a 10” EP, and an LP. 

By 1998 fatigue was setting in and the band called it quits. Dave and Jamie went on to start “New” Terror Class. Jamie also continued to play in Party of Helicopters and run Donut Friends Records; releasing more than 50 records before shuttering the label in 2002 and founding the effects pedal company, Earthquaker Devices. Solid Brass will be working with Harriet The Spy on several soon-to-be-announced reissue projects.

Unf**kwithable will be available on LP and digital on November 22nd via Solid Brass Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Artist: Harriet The Spy

Album: Unf**kwithable

Format: LP + Digital

Label: Solid Brass Records (SBR13)

Release Date: 11/22/24

Tracklist:

A1: Forgettable Fire

A2: Show Time at the Apocalypse

A3: Girls in Bikinis

A4: Octohelpme

B1: Paint My Atoms

B2: Androidgeny

B3: When the Shit Hits the Commodore 64

B4: Cum Stomache

B5: Getting on with the Star

SYBRIS stream album with interview & host Bandcamp Listening Party tonight, Absolutely Kosher Records return Gold On Hold out 9/6

“The band seems to exist in a bubble, suspended in the moment between Nirvana and electronica; but its out-of-time quality proves to be an asset.” — Pitchfork

“Sybris isn’t one of those bands with more guitar pedals than bright ideas. Having a sound is easy; Sybris has songs too, and catchy, well-crafted ones at that.” — SPIN

“Gold on Hold isn’t just a lost gem, it’s a resurrection.” — Static Multimedia

"A time capsule of what alternative rock could've been... Showcases the band at their most inventive." -- Psychedelic Baby Magazine

Chicago band Sybris is streaming their first album in 15 years, Gold On Hold early today alongside an in-depth interview with Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Hear & share Gold on Hold HERE. Fans can also join the band for an exclusive early listen and chat via Bandcamp Listening Party tonight, September 5th at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern. 

Apropos of the band's sardonic spirit, the previously released first single, titled "Dead" declared their return, along with the relaunch of label Absolutely Kosher Records. Watch/share the "Dead" video, directed by Mark Bachara and Ian Merritt, on YouTube HERE. Hear/share "Dead" on all DSPs HERE. 

Think about your favorite record by your favorite band. Not the great debuts, but the records that came later, the ones the bands grew into, that upon hearing them, you were in disbelief at how great it was, how great the band had become. Now imagine if it was never released. The band may not have continued as a band and that record, that indispensable album that became a part of your life, sitting on a dusty shelf unheard. This is what happened to Chicago’s Sybris and their third album, Gold on Hold. Recorded in 2011 and finally seeing the light of day 12 years later in 2023 on the newly relaunched Absolutely Kosher label, every bit as great as it was when it was recorded.

Sybris now is the same people Sybris was a decade ago: Angela Mullenhour (vocals, guitar), Phil Naumann (guitar), Shawn Podgurski (bass) and Clayton DeMuth (drums). Clayton had just joined the band, their third drummer. The new line-up was it, exceeding even the bright early days of the band. That’s the year they went into Waveburner Studio in Ohio and recorded Gold on Hold, their third and best album, with engineer Dalton Brand, a childhood friend of Shawn’s. The results were astounding. The record was always called Gold on Hold, but nobody realized how prescient a title that might be. Later that same year, Absolutely Kosher was forced to close doors due to its own mounting debts. Without a label, daunted by the prospect of starting over, the band members went their separate ways.

To Cory Brown, owner of Absolutely Kosher, Gold on Hold remaining unheard felt like a crime. He’d fallen in love upon hearing “Best Day in History Ever” from their first album and released their strong second record, but it was Gold on Hold that delivered on the band’s promise and early momentum. The moment he knew he’d be relaunching Absolutely Kosher for its 25th anniversary, Angela was his first call. “I can’t believe you’re calling me right now.” A week later, the whole band was in.  

Angela’s voice has always been unlike anything else in modern music and, dusting off Gold on Hold after 12 years, amidst a wave of women vocalists, this is more true than ever. Gold on Hold is like a time capsule of what alternative rock could have been, which makes it all the more astonishing, as if it was aged into something better than what followed its making. From the winding opening riff of the epic “Watermelon” through its crescendo into the Halloween-candy sweetness of “Dead,” and the one-two punch of the gutsy shoegaze-inflected “Sing-Along” and the euphoric, propulsive “Horny,” this is alternative rock, like it used to mean, like it should mean, its post-punk bones fusing with its gothy heart into something unbelievably vibrant and fresh. By the time you get to the tentpole D&D anthem “Stag Party,” you’re under Sybris’ spell. Sybris’ Gold on Hold is buried treasure, a time machine, a favorite record that could have been, and now is.

Gold on Hold will be available on LP, CD and digital via Absolutely Kosher Records on September 6th, 2024. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Watch/share "Dead" video:

Artist: Sybris

Album: Gold On Hold

Label: Absolutely Kosher Records

Release Date: September 6th, 2024

01. Watermelon

02. Dead

03. Sing Along

04. Horny

05. Girl Spice

06. Stag Party

07. Rapture

08. South Dakota

09. Dance

On The Web:

https://absolutelykosher.bandcamp.com/artists

instagram.com/sybris

linktr.ee/sybris

Sybris share "Girl Spice" from forthcoming Absolutely Kosher Records return Gold On Hold

“The band seems to exist in a bubble, suspended in the moment between Nirvana and electronica; but its out-of-time quality proves to be an asset.” — Pitchfork

“Sybris isn’t one of those bands with more guitar pedals than bright ideas. Having a sound is easy; Sybris has songs too, and catchy, well-crafted ones at that.” — SPIN

“Gold on Hold isn’t just a lost gem, it’s a resurrection.” — Static Multimedia

Chicago band Sybris shares a new single from their first album in 15 years, Gold On Hold today via Static Multimedia. Hear & share "Girl Spice" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

Apropos of the band's sardonic spirit, the previously released first single, titled "Dead" declared their return, along with the relaunch of label Absolutely Kosher Records. Watch/share the "Dead" video, directed by Mark Bachara and Ian Merritt, on YouTube HERE. Hear/share "Dead" on all DSPs HERE. 

Think about your favorite record by your favorite band. Not the great debuts, but the records that came later, the ones the bands grew into, that upon hearing them, you were in disbelief at how great it was, how great the band had become. Now imagine if it was never released. The band may not have continued as a band and that record, that indispensable album that became a part of your life, sitting on a dusty shelf unheard. This is what happened to Chicago’s Sybris and their third album, Gold on Hold. Recorded in 2011 and finally seeing the light of day 12 years later in 2023 on the newly relaunched Absolutely Kosher label, every bit as great as it was when it was recorded.

Sybris now is the same people Sybris was a decade ago: Angela Mullenhour (vocals, guitar), Phil Naumann (guitar), Shawn Podgurski (bass) and Clayton DeMuth (drums). Clayton had just joined the band, their third drummer. The new line-up was it, exceeding even the bright early days of the band. That’s the year they went into Waveburner Studio in Ohio and recorded Gold on Hold, their third and best album, with engineer Dalton Brand, a childhood friend of Shawn’s. The results were astounding. The record was always called Gold on Hold, but nobody realized how prescient a title that might be. Later that same year, Absolutely Kosher was forced to close doors due to its own mounting debts. Without a label, daunted by the prospect of starting over, the band members went their separate ways.

To Cory Brown, owner of Absolutely Kosher, Gold on Hold remaining unheard felt like a crime. He’d fallen in love upon hearing “Best Day in History Ever” from their first album and released their strong second record, but it was Gold on Hold that delivered on the band’s promise and early momentum. The moment he knew he’d be relaunching Absolutely Kosher for its 25th anniversary, Angela was his first call. “I can’t believe you’re calling me right now.” A week later, the whole band was in.  

Angela’s voice has always been unlike anything else in modern music and, dusting off Gold on Hold after 12 years, amidst a wave of women vocalists, this is more true than ever. Gold on Hold is like a time capsule of what alternative rock could have been, which makes it all the more astonishing, as if it was aged into something better than what followed its making. From the winding opening riff of the epic “Watermelon” through its crescendo into the Halloween-candy sweetness of “Dead,” and the one-two punch of the gutsy shoegaze-inflected “Sing-Along” and the euphoric, propulsive “Horny,” this is alternative rock, like it used to mean, like it should mean, its post-punk bones fusing with its gothy heart into something unbelievably vibrant and fresh. By the time you get to the tentpole D&D anthem “Stag Party,” you’re under Sybris’ spell. Sybris’ Gold on Hold is buried treasure, a time machine, a favorite record that could have been, and now is.

Gold on Hold will be available on LP, CD and digital via Absolutely Kosher Records on September 6th, 2024. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Watch/share "Dead" video:

Artist: Sybris

Album: Gold On Hold

Label: Absolutely Kosher Records

Release Date: September 6th, 2024

01. Watermelon

02. Dead

03. Sing Along

04. Horny

05. Girl Spice

06. Stag Party

07. Rapture

08. South Dakota

09. Dance

On The Web:

https://absolutelykosher.bandcamp.com/artists

instagram.com/sybris

linktr.ee/sybris