September 3, 2021

WHY BOTHER? LP Announcement / SWEEPING PROMISES CS+CDs / New Feel It Tee

Happy (Bandcamp) Friday, friends. It's been a long week for many of us, so I'll cut straight to the new and exciting music. Today, I am thrilled to announce the debut LP from a band from the tiny town of Mason City, Iowa called Why Bother? They are a totally amazing punk group from the actual middle of nowhere, and the title of their album A Year of Mutations, pretty much sums up 2021. We're also unveiling new cassette and CD editions of Sweeping Promises Hunger for a Way Out in advance of their upcoming US tour. And finally, a new Feel It shirt design from our pal Drügface of Man-Eaters (new album coming late 2021!). Be back next week with another new release that I just picked up from the plant last night. It's a secret 7" of sorts, maybe the last single we ever press? Or at least for a long time. Hope everyone is safe out there and ready to enjoy the long weekend. ✌️

Why Bother? - A Year of Mutations LP FEEL IT 64 release date: 10/29/21 In the heart of the heartland, a mere ten miles from where the airplane carrying Buddy Holly crashed into a frozen cornfield, lies Mason City, Iowa. A town so small that it's pre-pandemic punk scene (with 20+ bands) went almost entirely unnoticed. That is, until the music of WHY BOTHER? and the "Punk on the Plains" compilations (curated by WB? drummer Paul), were made available by Tremendo Garaje - one of YouTube's most obsessive gateways into contemporary underground punk music. WHY BOTHER? is Terry on vocals + synth, Speck on guitar, Pamela on bass, and Paul on drums. Their sound takes the classic Midwestern punk approach of The Zero Boys and Toxic Reasons, adding in warm layers of synth and sci-fi thematics ala The Spits and darker post-punk moments in the vein of early Joy Division. Yet there's so much more to this band that defies comparison, for WHY BOTHER? are truly a singular experience. "A Year of Mutations" collects tracks from the first four WHY BOTHER? EPs, all of which were released in limited cassette and 7" lathe cut runs in 2020 and 2021. These have all been remastered, paired with several new tracks exclusive to this release, and repackaged in a fresh layout with artwork from D.H. Strother. WHY BOTHER? have no plans or intentions to perform live, but their basement 8-track recording setup shows no signs of slowing down. Expect more in 2022 & beyond! WHY BOTHER? "Dead Again" single + bonus WARSAW cover (via Tremendo Garaje) Preorder LP directly from Feel It. Listen/preorder on Bandcamp. Spotify. 300 Orange vinyl  / 700 Black vinyl Sweeping Promises cassettes/CDs and upcoming tour! As our friends in Sweeping Promises get ready to hit the road for their first tour in support of Hunger for a Way Out  we have done up the album on cassette and CD. Small format lovers rejoice! CDs are here and ready to ship, cassettes should be in next week. Presale tickets for tour gigs are here. Hope y'all are as excited about seeing SP live when tour starts later this month! new Feel It shirt design! Inspired by a tremendous rear album cover illustration by the obscure British prog rock act SKIN ALLEY (who somehow wound up on the Stax Records '72 lineup)...what more could you ask for than Rat Fink holding out a hit? This design has been given a fresh touch by Drügface of Man-Eaters (new album coming late 2021!) and screenprinted by Lost Woods Print on a high quality Comfort Colors tee. C'mon in and get yourself one. Small-3XL available.