Ahoy! Things were going so well here in the Updates section for a minute, but it all slipped away. I’m still trying to adjust my time management due to my new job, but we’re here and I’m taking the victory that this didn’t take several months like usual.

Where did I last leave off? Oh yeah, duh: reliance is here and up for pre-order! Thanks to everyone who listened to tommy oeffling‘s latest and those who already pre-ordered a copy. We’ve got a limited supply of zines for those early birds, and I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased. It’s full color, with lyrics, photos, and some in-depth commentary on the record by Tom. It’s going to be a real cool package. I’ve been listening to the test tape all week, and copies should arrive at Sludge Manor shortly.


Grounded by Company Calls is here! They came out great, and the whole package is a real treat. I’ve become re-obsessed with the album again, which seems to happen to me every couple of weeks. They’re up in the Merchtable shop now, and also on Bandcamp we’re running a 3-tape bundle with cardigan hate train and the reliance pre-order for $30.

Remember when I teased these? Well, now you can buy ’em! We are fast-moving motherfuckers. We are women and men of action. and Keep Dreaming by The New Trust are on cassette for the first time! Last year, both these albums celebrated big anniversaries (20 and 10 years, respectively), and that achievement deserved celebration. I’ve probably bugged Josh about doing tapes from the first moment I started releasing tapes, and we were finally able to make something happen. I loved TNT for at least 19 of those years, so it’s a huge honor to add to their cassette discography. I have all of their other tapes (when they released Get Vulnerable on tape in 2008 or 2009, it was one of the first in my meager collection. I thought it was so cool). I saw Josh 2 weeks ago when he was in town, and there was talk of future reissues; let’s hope it pans out! You can purchase Fast-moving… here and Keep Dreaming here. Thanks to the fans who got theirs on day one; it’s great to know that there are other like-minded people out there.

That should do it. I posted about this on Instagram and Bandcamp, but The Pains of Being Pure at Heart s/t tapes came in and they had an audio glitch that was pretty heartbreaking to discover; otherwise, they were perfect. I had to send them back to be reduplicated (huge thanks to my manufacturer for being so cool about the whole thing, it’s insanely appreciated), so we all have to wait just a smidge longer. I sincerely apologize and thank you for your patience, but I promise they’re worth the wait. Beyond the audio, the art, shell, and j-card came out so damn great. I already miss looking at them, and eagerly await their return.