amazing

June 19, 2024 by David Norman

The two bangin’ Animal Faces EPs have been released on one 12” and they are selling well. I’ve seen a few people that hadn’t heard of this band before and it was nice to see them flip out. Yes, Animal Faces are that good. Sounds like the Lautrec and Caravels comparisons were helpful.

‘I don’t watch sports anymore’ 12” lathe split between Charger Port and Serling was just released! Check that mathy goodness out below and be sure to snag a ridiculously limited /50 lathe with special jackets by Josh from Vamonos Tapes! The black jackets are the regular covers, but there are a few alternate versions that will be randomly inserted into a few orders! Click on this text for the Serling premiere from This Noise Is Ours that I didn’t have chance to post before today.

Softseed Music released Smush’s debut LP ‘if you were here i’d be home now’ with a 12” pre-order this past Saturday. We’ve got some in the ZBR U.S. store despite the band being Canadian and on Softseed cuz goddamn it’s just so good. Heavy shoegaze/alternative/noise rock that is as powerful as it is beautiful.

Operation X-Ray did a great episode recently with a double dose of Softseed Music featuring both Smush and Leavs. Check out the Leavs music video below!

Exclaim gave both Smush and Terry Green some love with the “8 Emerging Canadian Artists You Need To Hear In June”, and honestly right now these are CanaDave’s two favourite records of 2024. Click on the pic or this text to go to the full post.

Everything Is Noise ran through their fave records of May and two of ours ended up on said list. Demersal and Niboowin have both been selling very well and are killin’ their live shows. Check it out by clicking on this text. I embedded the Niboowin album below for ya.

Our beloved Adam from Terry Green was on the Metal On Metal podcast which is linked via this text. 12”s are so fucking low. Canada/International is out of splatter with only 4 quad left and the U.S. store has like 6 copies total left.

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: TENUE = We got tapes coming for this next release, check out this epic new music video/song!!!

2024 - 05 - 13 /// Widowdusk tape stragglers go up tomorrow!

May 13, 2024 by David Norman

Widowdusk tapes went up already and sold the fuck out, but we wanted to play it safe and kept back a few of each variant. So we’ll put those up for sale tomorrow May 14th at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST for those who didn’t find out in time or just plain missed out. There were some comments about how we were sold out immediately but PLEASE remember that Bandcamp is not our primary store, we have about 75% of all stock in the US store, followed by 15% for the Canada/International store, and 10% for Bandcamp.

Click here for the full article/interview!

Niboowin’s ‘Giving In’ has been receiving high praise, and our bundles have almost bled us dry of their first output aka the ‘Breathing’ 12”LP. The recently band spoke with Moshpit Nation and gave the story of how they had to record some of the songs for ‘Giving In’ three fuckin’ times! Read it via pic above or this text. Jam/buy below.

Demersal had a great review from Rebel Noise! If you are itching for more Telos (that band broke up btw) then Demersal is the closest you’re gonna get, but holy smokes are they their own beast. Boasting lullaby post-rock to searing metallic hardcore, these 12 tracks have it all. Click on this text for the review. Buy/jam below.

Operation X-Ray covered our newest Niboowin and Demesal releases plus a ton more!

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: GIL CERRONE + LETTERBOMBS split = Woah this came outta nowhere and rocked my face! Thanks No Funeral <3

2024 - 05 - 10 /// Demersal and Niboowin kickin' butts!

May 10, 2024 by David Norman

Niboowin is out! Discounted bundles with the band’s debut 12”LP ‘Breathing’ are moving hella fast. Screamo and black metal meet atmospheric amazingness from these veterans.

Demersal’s 2024 self-titled full length ‘Demersal’ is out and shipping next week! 10 tracks of unique, versatile, and cathartic screamo/metallic hardcore from Denmark. Easily their best work yet! We’ve only got 25 copies so don’t expect them to stick around for long!

The Chicago Reader did an interview with CanaDave a few weeks before the fest and it came out after he arrived in Chicago so we’re just posting this now. It blatantly answers the question as to why no more ZBR Fests in BC, among other things. Click on the pic above or this text to take a gander!

Tomb Tree’s Constrain was on the (((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))) podcast with CanaDave and it was a blast. Their new EP ‘Welcome to Club Vampire’ sees the light of day May 21st, 2024 on cassettes that I’m test dippin’ today! Click on the text to go to the full article or just listen below.

Usurp Synapse got some additional love from Brooklyn Vegan in their review round-up. We have a few tapes left but more like 15% of our total stock. Hurry if you want a specific variant cuz some are already gone! Click on the text to go the full review list and/or jam/buy that shit below!

Edie from Middleman Records and Coma Regalia and The Human Machine does the Spark X Magazine that you can buy for $10 and includes a cd! CanaDave did the Scene Report for Canada in this issue. Hard recommend!!! Idioteq.com did a feature on it which is linked to this text.

MOURN RECIF vic show Hillsboro Bok Suna.jpg

Both videos from Mourn Recif’s first show in Duncan are now up for viewing, and the band has two upcoming shows in May with Hillsboro and Bok Suna, including this newly added Duncan show on May 25th (event page here)

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: REIA CIBELE = Friends of Hetta are friends of mine <3

2024 - 05 - 08 /// aaaaaand we're back!!!

May 08, 2024 by David Norman

Niboowin kicked ass at ZBR Fest 2024 a few days back and releases their new 12”LP ‘Giving In’, which has been in the works for half of a decade. It releases tomorrow at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST on 200 black 12”s. The band has half of them on sale at shows now and we’ll have the rest online. It’s amazing!!!

Gossip’s long awaited debut EP ‘Coals of Juniper’ released and the band were awesome at ZBR Fest 2024. 125 are on black/white 3-color stripe with purple splatter and the other 125 are on a color-in-color purple/pink/bone. We’ll have promo pics up later this week as we’re currently trying to ship a ton of shit out.

Click here for the full premiere and tour dates!

Lower Automation had another song premiere happen almost a week back (but we were kinda busy) so here’s the ‘Hookworm’ jam in case you missed it. You can learn more about it in the Heavy Blog Is Heavy article linked to this text and the pic above. Full release of ‘Welcome to My Deathbed’ cassette EP on May 20th at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST.

Click on this pic for the Brooklyn Vegan article/premiere!

Usurp Synapse was released the day of the ZBR Fest 2024 pre-show with a stream from Brooklyn Vegan as well as an additional bump from Stereogum. Tapes are also available but most of ours are already gone, so if you want to get the only AssIIAss version that’ll ever come out you best move that…uhhh…what’s the word?…behind. Yeah. That. Click on this text for the Stereogum article, click on the pic above for the Brooklyn Vegan premiere, and you can jam/buy it below!

Demersal’s self-titled 12”LP releases on Friday! Our copies will go up with the digitals, probably overnight/morning on May 10th. You’ll find an early premiere tomorrow from Brooklyn Vegan, but you can check out an interview and review now from the always awesome Veil Of Sound. Click on the text here to go to the article, and/or watch the video interview below.

Colacon’s ‘Throes of Inundation’ 12”LP released on Friday before their pre-show performance, selling out days before in our stores. Luckily, we were racing around getting the fest ready so we ended up having a few extra copies that are now up in all stores. I think we moved almost 40 copies in one day…the last 10 are now up for sale! Tomb Tree bandcamp (linked below) and the two ZBR stores have a few each!

Operation X-Ray ZBR Fest edition featuring Gossip, Colacon, and Usurp Synapse with a bonus jam from Lower Automation! Thanks Andre <3

Mourn Recif had a second video titled “Our Kids Are Orchids” surface from their first show, and we now have the poster for their next show on May 24th in Victoria with Hillsboro and Bok Suna (two Softseed Music bands). Poster above by https://www.instagram.com/thekirbyguy

Johnny’s Reco-mmendations: KIOWA = This debut EP is fucking incredible! EP of the year contender without a doubt.

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!