Gatekrashör - Revenge At Midnight (2016)

It was a bit of a surprise and a treat to snag a copy of this Gatekrashör tape at the last record collectors' show. This was produced just for 2016's Metal Fest, and since we weren't there, we didn't think we'd ever stumble across a copy. The tape gods bless'd us tho!

This tape is a treat - it's a leap forward from their first tape, and definitely hints at the stuff that Matt Ries has gone on to do with Traveler. Their original ethos of keeping it unpolished is, well, not tarnished but... shined up a bit? 

Grab the download from the Gatekrashör bandcamp.

Riot City - Live In Newcastle 04.05.23 (2023)

There's this weird thing going on with Calgary metal bands (specifically, those in the more traditional end of the metal spectrum) having their albums released on European labels. Riot City have a couple of LPs under their belts, both on Greece's No Remorse Records... but we opted for this live tape, recorded on the first night of their European tour at  Little Buildings in Newcastle, UK. It's a pretty great recording and the set is a lot of fun (including some very Canadian stage banter, eh?).

We gotta go track down Riot City's LPs... but you can get this limited edition tape from the Little Buildings bandcamp.

Telstar Drugs - Unknown Tape

This is a tape we picked up at one of the record collectors shows last year... it had been sitting on our desk waiting for more info - but we couldn't find anything, so we'll make something up (as usual). We were told this is a Telstar Drugs tape, which checks out - two of the tracks on the A side also show up on a 2014 cassette of theirs (the B side is random bits of noise that sound disturbingly like a failing cassette player), but there's no indication that this is an official release. We're also not sure if this came out before or after their move to Montreal... so we're just going to send you towards the download.

Shrinking Violet - Shrinking Violet (1998)

Thanks to John Hadley for passing us a copy of this tape from Shrinking Violet, a band he played in at one point (though not on this tape, from what we understand). We're not familiar with this band, but some helpful person has posted a bio to archive.org (of all places):

Lisa German (vox, gtr) and Brad Pharis (bs) began playing music together in high school, inspired by the sound of grunge and punk rock. They founded the original incarnation of Shrinking Violet and before long had graduated from playing high school talent shows to opening for bigger acts from the nearby city of Calgary...  Shrinking Violet captured the grand prize in the first-ever Java Sharks Independent Band Challenge, beating 26 other bands and winning among other things, a VW van, and recording time. These sessions led to the release of the "What Matters Most" EP, featuring Jared Schimnosky on guitar and Rob Shawcross on drums... the departure of Schimnosky and Shawcross led Shrinking Violet to take a bit of hiatus, but the band returned, re-vitalized with new additions John Hadley (gtr) and Chris Potter (drms). 

We're assuming this is an early tape of theirs... and we're trying not to make too much of that bitmappy cover art. 

Get it here. 

Leather Jacuzzi - Rumours 2 (2023)

While this year's Sled Island didn't bring the SIDS reunion we've been dreaming of, it did bring back Leather Jacuzzi - who had a new tape in tow. This is another spastic blast of semi-ironic garage punk, anchored by a bunch of folks who know there way around this stuff - and featuring the hi-larious lyrics and delivery of Sarah Ford.

This was a limited edition tape, but you can grab the download over on the Leather Jacuzzi bandcamp.