Hassle 31 Items

Leicester punk sextet Jools have just released their new single '97%', a provocative track spotlighting the ubiquity of sexual harassment in the lives of women. This comes alongside the band's announcement of signing to UK indie label Hassle Records (Brutus, The Used, Casey), and the release of this double A-side 7" single in June.A collective of musicians - Mitch Gordon and Kate Price on vocals, Chris Johnston and Callum Connachie on guitar, Joe Dodd on bass, and Chelsea Wrones on drums - spread between London and Leicester, Jools found each other as much by accident as design in the earliest days of 2023. Together, they serve as a creative confluence for inspirations that move from the punk and post-punk of The Smiths, Fontaines DC, Iggy Pop, Amyl & The Sniffers and PJ Harvey, through the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, and into territories marked metal, rap and pop.

Described as a "day-in-the-life journey of a depressed, anxiety-ridden person" by vocalist Bert McCracken, the tell-all record shares the highs and lows of depression and addiction through a cohesive body of work, speaking to the ever-changing headspace that he was experiencing at the time of writing. "This record is quite tough for me to listen to," he adds, "because it's a reflection of times in my life that have been some of my lowest ever."Absorbed front-to-back in its finished form, Toxic Positivity pulls from every facet of The Used's definitive sound. There's the buzzsaw riff of "Pinky Swear (Save Me)"; the sweeping, arena-sized chorus of "Headspace"; the riveting hooks of "The Worst I've Ever Been"; and the underlying pop sensibilities of "I Hate Everybody." Displaying a depth of sonic variety while never allowing an inch of slack into its taut cohesiveness, this is the past, present, and future of The Used represented in 11 tracks that combined barely break the half-hour mark.

'wine red' Color Vinyl pressing in a gatefold sleeve, with spot gloss finishMadmess are a band who know the value of doing things the hard way. Having established themselves among the outliers of Porto's fertile, close-knit underground music scene, by 2017 it was clear that they had the potential to go much, much further. London, and its bigger, more merciless leftfield circuit beckoned. In a city full to the brim with bold and brilliant bands, the bar was significantly raised. Risks were many, but so too were opportunities. Now, after years of slog - gruelling gigs, punishing recording sessions, not to mention a momentum-sapping pandemic - bassist Vasco Vasconcelos, drummer Luis Moura and guitarist Ricardo Sampaio, have emerged the other side with Rebirth, a debut album of rare intensity, released via Hassle Records. Their stripes earned, their teeth well and truly cut, it's a record worthy of all that hard work, crushing riffs colliding with sweeping waves of overwhelming noise for a listen both beautiful and brutal.As the pandemic eased in late 2020, at least temporarily, the band found time to escape to Foel Studios in the Welsh countryside, formerly used by iconic psych rock forebears Amon Düül and Hawkwind among others, to start work on their new LP. They were intent to build on the solid foundations they'd set with their EP the previous year. "We tried to do something more complete, more punchy," says Sampaio. The sessions ended up being more intense than they were anticipating - the band record everything live, and when you're playing the kind of complex epics that populate Rebirth there's not much margin for error. "The shortest track is eight minutes, and they're almost all more than 10," says Sampaio with a wince. "The songs on this album are really complex, there were some stressful times, some harsh moments, but we managed to get through it."

The critically acclaimed, unique Norwegian quartet Blood Command are back with brand new album 'Praise Armageddonism' via Hassle Records. Celebrating a brand new chapter for the band, this new album is the first featuring Nikki Brumen, formerly of Pagan, is now fronting the band and taking over lead vocals.With a distance of 10,000 miles between Nikki (based in Melbourne, Australia) and the rest of the band (in Bergen, Norway) - 2020 didn't quite go to plan. With initial recording plans in Norway having to be put on hold, the band made a decision...

Time is supposed to mellow us, but for Petrol Girls it has distilled their feminist politics into an ever more potent cocktail. Fitting, given that their logo from day one has been a flaming molotov. Since their formation in 2012, the band has been known for playing fast-paced, chaotic punk that takes aim at everything from sexual violence to immigration policy, but over the last few years their sound has evolved in a more nuanced direction. Their 2016 debut album Talk of Violence was a blast of pure political rage, while 2019's Cut & Stitch saw vocalist Ren Aldridge exploring familiar themes from a more personal perspective. Now their latest offering, Baby - to be released through the London-based independent label Hassle on June 24th - sees the band turn another new corner. This time, by embracing irreverence. "We wanted [this album] to be less epic and less preachy from day one," Aldridge says. "I hate sanctimoniousness. Like, really fucking hate it. But I also know that I have been mega preachy, and felt very pressured to be sanctimonious, because we've always played in a very political punk scene. I lost my fun side, and I really needed to come back to that." Recorded with Pete Miles at Middle Farm Studios in Devon, Baby embraces a more playful sound. A focus on groove and repetition - driven by guitarist Joe York, drummer Zock and bassist Robin Gatt - give the songs a Talking Heads feel, while retaining the band's formative post-punk energy. The lyrics, too, are a departure for Aldridge. While she continues to address heavy topics like burn out, femicide and police violence, the lyrics balance directed anger with tongue-in-cheek humour where appropriate. Angular opener "Preachers" puts the self-aggrandising nature of call-out culture on blast with lyrics like "feeling dead important in the comments", while lead single "Baby, I Had An Abortion" is intentionally puerile from title to finish. On the flip side, tracks like "Violent By Design" see the band kicking back against carceral feminism in the wake of a news cycle dominated by Black Lives Matter protests and PC Wayne Cousins' brutal murder of Sarah Everard. Similarly, "Fight For Our Lives" - a harsh, borderline industrial song - was lyrically co-written by activist and vocalist Janey Starling. Aldridge deliberately wrote the verses to sound like a manifesto, and the lyrics reference Starling's Dignity For Dead Women Campaign with Level Up, which successfully called for the UK media to change the way it reports on fatal incidents of domestic violence. Baby saw Petrol Girls working in new ways - scrapping entire songs rather than trying to force things that didn't feel right, recording to tape for the first time, and deliberately leaving in imperfections. It was a more carefree process, which Aldridge - having gone through a particularly bad period of mental ill-health at the start of 2021 - welcomed. "Our whole thing for a long time, and a big focus of the last record, was

We Are The Ocean's third album 'Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow', pressed on vinyl for the first time in celebration of the 10th anniversary of its original release.Limited opaque cream pressing.

Indie exclusive! Recycled Colored Vinyl with alternative sleeve. 24" x 24" Fold out poster / lyric sheet included Formed in 2012 out of a mutual love of metallic hardcore but despair at its lack of ambition, Ithaca exist to challenge everything you thought about what a band that makes heavy music should look and sound like. A glitter-covered nailbomb, Ithaca seamlessly blend the brutality of Relapse Records metalcore with blackgaze, 90s industrial metal, 70s prog and even tinges of 80s power pop. Their influences stretch beyond the musical - this album comes with a clear vision and aesthetic: drawing from members' different ancestral heritage, queer/non-conforming identities and iconic figures in avant-garde, new wave and post punk culture. Their upcoming second album 'They Fear Us' is the sound of a band healing from trauma - standing in their own, unapologetic voice. Furious and wildly inventive while also being more coherent and accessible, this album will introduce Ithaca to a wider audience than they've ever had before. To quote the band - 'those who oppose us; your sins will catch up to you. You will fear us'.

Recycled Color Vinyl.24" x 24" Fold out poster / lyric sheet included Formed in 2012 out of a mutual love of metallic hardcore but despair at its lack of ambition, Ithaca exist to challenge everything you thought about what a band that makes heavy music should look and sound like. A glitter-covered nailbomb, Ithaca seamlessly blend the brutality of Relapse Records metalcore with blackgaze, 90s industrial metal, 70s prog and even tinges of 80s power pop. Their influences stretch beyond the musical - this album comes with a clear vision and aesthetic: drawing from members' different ancestral heritage, queer/non-conforming identities and iconic figures in avant-garde, new wave and post punk culture.Their upcoming second album 'They Fear Us' is the sound of a band healing from trauma - standing in their own, unapologetic voice. Furious and wildly inventive while also being more coherent and accessible, this album will introduce Ithaca to a wider audience than they've ever had before. To quote the band - 'those who oppose us; your sins will catch up to you. You will fear us'.

Mysteries of the heart, and those of the great hereafter, have rarely been far from Stake frontman Brent Vanneste's busy, offbeat brain. Never broken by the weight of grief or existential dread, however, he uses those feelings as fuel for a musical fire that's as boldly unconventional as it is bracingly alive. "This band is about all my inner darkness and demons, and finding a peaceful place in my head," he grapples, preferring his songs to do the talking. "I'm not going to be able to erase them, but making music is a great way of arranging them and surviving this crazy life." That process began when he was just 13 years old. Forming Steak Number Eight in honour of his recently deceased brother Tobias Vanbrabant, Brent channelled the most aching personal tragedy into a set of songs that made the whole European rock scene sit up and take notice. A 2018 rebrand as Stake (and accompanying album Critical Method) concluded the "mourning process" by moving away from that unwieldy original name - a song-title from Tobias' band Voidpoint - the last few years have proven that you can never really leave these things behind. The new album Love, Death And Decay is testament to that. If Critical Method showcased the Mastodon-influenced riffy technicality of their sound, the isolation and desolation of Love, Death And Decay leans more towards the Deftones and Tool textural end of the sonic spectrum.

Mysteries of the heart, and those of the great hereafter, have rarely been far from Stake frontman Brent Vanneste's busy, offbeat brain. Never broken by the weight of grief or existential dread, however, he uses those feelings as fuel for a musical fire that's as boldly unconventional as it is bracingly alive. "This band is about all my inner darkness and demons, and finding a peaceful place in my head," he grapples, preferring his songs to do the talking. "I'm not going to be able to erase them, but making music is a great way of arranging them and surviving this crazy life." That process began when he was just 13 years old. Forming Steak Number Eight in honour of his recently deceased brother Tobias Vanbrabant, Brent channelled the most aching personal tragedy into a set of songs that made the whole European rock scene sit up and take notice. A 2018 rebrand as Stake (and accompanying album Critical Method) concluded the "mourning process" by moving away from that unwieldy original name - a song-title from Tobias' band Voidpoint - the last few years have proven that you can never really leave these things behind. The new album Love, Death And Decay is testament to that. If Critical Method showcased the Mastodon-influenced riffy technicality of their sound, the isolation and desolation of Love, Death And Decay leans more towards the Deftones and Tool textural end of the sonic spectrum.

Time is supposed to mellow us, but for Petrol Girls it has distilled their feminist politics into an ever more potent cocktail. Fitting, given that their logo from day one has been a flaming molotov. Since their formation in 2012, the band has been known for playing fast-paced, chaotic punk that takes aim at everything from sexual violence to immigration policy, but over the last few years their sound has evolved in a more nuanced direction. Their 2016 debut album Talk of Violence was a blast of pure political rage, while 2019's Cut & Stitch saw vocalist Ren Aldridge exploring familiar themes from a more personal perspective. Now their latest offering, Baby - to be released through the London-based independent label Hassle on June 24th - sees the band turn another new corner. This time, by embracing irreverence. "We wanted [this album] to be less epic and less preachy from day one," Aldridge says. "I hate sanctimoniousness. Like, really fucking hate it. But I also know that I have been mega preachy, and felt very pressured to be sanctimonious, because we've always played in a very political punk scene. I lost my fun side, and I really needed to come back to that." Recorded with Pete Miles at Middle Farm Studios in Devon, Baby embraces a more playful sound. A focus on groove and repetition - driven by guitarist Joe York, drummer Zock and bassist Robin Gatt - give the songs a Talking Heads feel, while retaining the band's formative post-punk energy. The lyrics, too, are a departure for Aldridge. While she continues to address heavy topics like burn out, femicide and police violence, the lyrics balance directed anger with tongue-in-cheek humour where appropriate. Angular opener "Preachers" puts the self-aggrandising nature of call-out culture on blast with lyrics like "feeling dead important in the comments", while lead single "Baby, I Had An Abortion" is intentionally puerile from title to finish. On the flip side, tracks like "Violent By Design" see the band kicking back against carceral feminism in the wake of a news cycle dominated by Black Lives Matter protests and PC Wayne Cousins' brutal murder of Sarah Everard. Similarly, "Fight For Our Lives" - a harsh, borderline industrial song - was lyrically co-written by activist and vocalist Janey Starling. Aldridge deliberately wrote the verses to sound like a manifesto, and the lyrics reference Starling's Dignity For Dead Women Campaign with Level Up, which successfully called for the UK media to change the way it reports on fatal incidents of domestic violence. Baby saw Petrol Girls working in new ways - scrapping entire songs rather than trying to force things that didn't feel right, recording to tape for the first time, and deliberately leaving in imperfections. It was a more carefree process, which Aldridge - having gone through a particularly bad period of mental ill-health at the start of 2021 - welcomed. "Our whole thing for a long time, and a big focus of the last record, was

Coke Bottle Green vinyl.Who were the first punks? Do The Damned have more of a shout than The Sex Pistols? The Stooges or Ramones? Gregg Deal, the acclaimed visual and performance artist behind his new project Dead Pioneers, is making a claim that Indigenous Americans were the first real punks.Deal suggests that the overarching theme of the album is "an introduction to the band itself". Created with a DIY disposition and the "love of a scene that saves lives", they reel off a roll call of marginalised groups and protected characteristics: "Indigenous rights, Black rights, Brown rights, Asian rights, Gay rights, Trans rights, Workers rights and beyond_". This is central to their identity and focus, saying that "with a North American Indigenous person as the vocalist, being unapologetically upfront on the social, political and cultural side of things doesn't seem necessary, but paramount to the overall tone of the band."This self-titled debut, coming in at a lithe 22 minutes with only one of the twelve tracks exceeding three minutes, is almost over before it begins, but covers a huge amount of ground in that time. Blistering opener 'Tired' sets out their stall; as with the whole album, it is passionate, but never preaching. Capitalised 'Political Music' can be hard to land without coming across as hectoring or earnest, but Deal's literary, humorous lyrics effortlessly cut through complex issues of marginalisation and colonialism.

Neon pink vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Who were the first punks? Do The Damned have more of a shout than The Sex Pistols? The Stooges or Ramones? Gregg Deal, the acclaimed visual and performance artist behind his new project Dead Pioneers, is making a claim that Indigenous Americans were the first real punks.Deal suggests that the overarching theme of the album is "an introduction to the band itself". Created with a DIY disposition and the "love of a scene that saves lives", they reel off a roll call of marginalised groups and protected characteristics: "Indigenous rights, Black rights, Brown rights, Asian rights, Gay rights, Trans rights, Workers rights and beyond_". This is central to their identity and focus, saying that "with a North American Indigenous person as the vocalist, being unapologetically upfront on the social, political and cultural side of things doesn't seem necessary, but paramount to the overall tone of the band."This self-titled debut, coming in at a lithe 22 minutes with only one of the twelve tracks exceeding three minutes, is almost over before it begins, but covers a huge amount of ground in that time. Blistering opener 'Tired' sets out their stall; as with the whole album, it is passionate, but never preaching. Capitalised 'Political Music' can be hard to land without coming across as hectoring or earnest, but Deal's literary, humorous lyrics effortlessly cut through complex issues of marginalisation and colonialism.

Phoxjaw return with their second studio album 'notverynicecream', to be released November 11th via Hassle Records. Written mostly in various states of lockdown, the album addresses themes of depression, addiction, nihilism, nostalgia and suffering, served in a sugary cone. The most eclectic and schizophrenic Phoxjaw release to date, combining progressive and punishing sonics, with hyper glossy pop influences whilst still retaining the organic noisey elements that Phoxjaw have made a signature.

2024 repress, Glow In The Dark Vinyl.Bergen, Norway- Blood Command have announced their new studio album, "World Domination"(Produced by Yngve Andersen) to be released on the 29th September 2023 through Hassle Records. Whilst early singles have cradled audiences with their ethereal death pop sound, make no mistake, the album "World Domination" is 20 rapid bursts of every side the band has to offer. Infectious grooves, blast beats, singer Nikki Brumens powerful screams and riot grrrl chanting, techno interludes and that delicate side which lulls you into a false sense of security before ripping into the listener once more.The record dives into unrequited love, the hatred of the unjust, the power of faith and the darkness of the abyss and never giving up on trying to climb out of it."Like various underground religious groups throughout history, Blood Command's ever growing following, The Awaketeam, is rising around the globe, and we are not stopping until World Domination. So keep your eyes peeled for purple shrouds, three stripes and black and white sneakers."This is Blood Command at its most interesting. Come and be a part of the movement.