LULU'S SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

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Featured in this newsletter:

DIRECT FROM THE USA: FEEL IT RECORDS...

LIFE STINKS I LIKE THE KINKS - "#6: KRIMINAL KINKS" ZINE

MULCH - "TWO" BOOK

MONT ICONS - "DMX" BOOK

GOVERNMENT WARNING - "NO MODERATION" LP

V/A - “WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH... DON’T MOVE HERE” LP

CRUCIFIX - "DEHUMANISATION" LP

DOLLAR COUNTRY - "TEN COUNTRY SONGS ABOUT DRUGS" ZINE

DEMYSTIFICATION ZINE - "ISSUE #3" MAGAZINE

We’re back bbys,

And on and on and on again... as the never-ending two-week lockdown continues, don’t get thinking that we’re here resting on out laurels or NOT putting in all the effort required to bring YOU the hottest hits of the modern worldwide underground. Because you know we are.

Please see exhibit a, b, c through z for another month of beautiful gems exhumed from bedrooms, basements, and back alleys both local and worldwide.

Of particular note this month is a disgustingly huge crate (well, 7 crates tbh) of US Gold sent to us via the eternally dependable Feel It Records outta Richmond, Virginia. Included in that batch is full restocks of the entire in-print Feel It catalogue, including some brand new, never-before-heard slabs that have come hot off the presses.

Alongside that we have dispatches from NYC via the Demystification zine (so hot), Pittsburgh via Cruel Noise Records, and Louisville, Kentucky via the incredible curation efforts of Dollar Country.

On top if that we’ve got MORE exciting news from the LSD Club dropping later this month, alongside the long-awaited release of Mikey Young’s “Curtains” on the 24th. LSD Club subscribers watch your mailboxes, this month will be coming in hot :) :)

As always, so, so much love,
Lulu’s xoxo

NEW ARRIVALS

DIRECT FROM THE USA: FEEL IT RECORDS...

For those who aren’t familiar, Feel It Records are an independent label based out of Virginia and we feel them. Comparable to Anti Fade and Cool Death in Australia, they wear on their sleeve a true belief in local artists and their potential to be heard and loved by people around the world. With the 2020 release of Sweeping Promises’ “Hunger For A Way Out” (undeniably one of the top punk adjacent releases of that year) Feel It announced themselves as a leader in worldwide underground music. Lulus has and will continue to have their titles available for all hungry and stuff inquisitive ears in Australia and New Zealand. In stock now: SMIRK, SPREAD JOY, LYSOL, SWEEPING PROMISES, SPLLIT, QLOWSKI, LEOPARDO, MORWAN, THE ZITS, WASTE MAN, THE COWBOYS, COLD FEET, SILICONE PRAIRIE, THE TOMS, SMARTS, DAYS OF A QUIET SUN COMPILATION, AND FASHION PIMPS & THE GLAMAZONS.

NEW FROM MONT PUBLISHING HOUSE...

LIFE STINKS I LIKE THE KINKS - "#6: KRIMINAL KINKS" ZINE

This is a collection of writing from autumn 2021 under the influence of The Kinks song ‘Autumn Almanac’. It includes writing on The Kinks, Scott Walker, class war, football, roast beef, Steve Goodman, Yanka Dyagileva and polio. Written by DX. 100 copies, stamped and hand numbered.

MULCH - "TWO" BOOK

“I learned that it’s okay to be dumb
so long as you stand for nothing
which is why I reckon Home and Away
is better now than it’s ever been”

MULCH “TWO” is a new collection from Perth based poet Theo. Mont Publishing House presents the second edition of this absurd and brilliant work.

From the author: “Mulch is a cry for help and attention from a sad and professionally unfulfilled man.”

100 copies only, hand numbered and stamped. 72 pages A5 saddle stitched card cover.

MONT ICONS - "DMX" BOOK

“X doesn’t rap, he preaches sermons for broken people from broken places.” From A Howling Prayer: Ode to DMX by Mahmood Fazal.
 
A scrapbook of lyrics, photos and art contributed to MONT FC anonymously by worldwide obsessives.
Includes an essay by Mahmood Fazal.

Limited to 100 copies, hand numbered and stamped.

GOVERNMENT WARNING - "NO MODERATION" LP
Grave Mistake Records

No Moderation is an album that changed the game when it came to punk hardcore music in the 2000’s. Emphasis on the PUNK sound here, where the majority of bands at the time had been losing sight of those four almighty letters. I bought this on CD from a distro table at an AA show in Camberwell, after being urged on by Aaron from Jaws and Simon from Washed Up that I absolutely had to hear it. They were right. This changed the trajectory of my listening forever. It threw my attention into the hotbed Virginia punk scene of the time (No Way Records, Grave Mistake etc - No Way Fest was arguably the precursor to the premiere underground punk festivals like Chaos In Tejas that are now a staple of scenes worldwide) which helped inform my sense of punk, DIY, aesthetic, drumming, songwriting. Everything. And I’ll tell you with a straight face that it holds up. Yeah, Kenny’s voice sounds like a very young Davey Havok, and if you ask me that rules, but the rocked out riffing and psychoquick drumming are absolutely peak. The anthemic quality of killer cut “Fat Nation” was surpassed only by their all time classic from a few years later, “Arrested”. You’d be dead wrong to overlook this record, and you’d be right on to throw it on the stereo and embrace the spirit of punk. Never gonna stop! Rest In Peace Brandon.

V/A - “WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH... DON’T MOVE HERE” LP
Cruel Noise Records

Whenever you think of US hardcore, contemporary or other, the regular offenders come to mind – New York, Boston, Chicago, parts of California…I doubt you’ve given Pittsburgh any time of day. This compilation contains bands from the last decade that have burst out of Pittsburgh, their huge sound ripping through international waters, including HEAVY DISCIPLE, LOOSE NUKES, WHITE STAINS and S.L.I.P. A neighbouring city to Cleveland at two hours drive away, their kinsmanship is evident not only in sound but the goofy and snotty artwork seen on the cover as well as the zine provided in place of an insert.

Released in limited amount through Cruel Noise Records, who also does a record store in Pittsburgh and a punk radio show which you can find online (with currently over 200 episodes!)

The story behind the title of this record; Pittsburgh has a punk fest weekend called “Skull Fest” that’s happened almost every year from the last decade, organised by a few locals including Jimmy (from EEL and ANNIHILATION TIME amongst others) and John (who runs “Cruel Noise” label and also plays in a bunch of bands, including LEIBESTOD an DRUG SWEAT). The sound behind the fest was mostly crust, raw punk and hardcore. Punx from all over would come for the fest and end up moving there under the presumption that that weekend defined a punk life in Pittsburgh (like other cities that have a cool punk fest). Instead, it just diluting the scene with people that contributed nothing to the scene but complaints. The local punks there resented it and so “Welcome to Pittsburgh. Don’t move here”.

CRUCIFIX - "DEHUMANISATION" LP
Kustomized Records

Stop torture, see through their lies, it's your choice: peace or annihilation!

Quality reissue of this classic USHC LP. Sounds huge! Crass records style fold out poster artwork and anarcho-punk aesthetic suggest peace punk, but sophisticated ears will hear nothing but stars, stripes and corned beef in this very American hardcore record that has more in common with Warzone or Agnostic Front than Rudimentary Peni or Flux.

The single minded take on war - no! - will appeal to Discharge fans, while the bombastic move from breakneck pace into murdario breakdowns will have the most ardent pacifist swinging a rat-in-a-sock in their bedroom while chanting . Which is to say, this is a hardcore record for every home!

DOLLAR COUNTRY - "TEN COUNTRY SONGS ABOUT DRUGS" ZINE
Dollar Country

Compact and straight to the point, the author of this zine – who can be found online as “Dollar Country” - gives a short history of ten artists and a song of theirs that – you guessed it – are all about drugs. Also included are full lyrics to the song for you to sing along to, and a picture of the 7” single it was taken off of. I’m sure you can name ten songs off the top of your head that centre around drugs, but Dollar Country has a collection of thousands of obscure country 7” singles so pick up a copy and have a chuckle at some cookers that were flying high before you were even born.

DEMYSTIFICATION ZINE - "ISSUE #3" MAGAZINE
Demystification

Fuck yeah, a new issue of Demystification! Straight from the mutant melting pot of underground and independent culture that is the big NYC.

This issue contains a HUGE (almost half the magazine, kind of huge) on the infamous “Hooded Mosher” which grew out of the 80s NY SxExHxC scene and has continued and evolved over the years, some of which is covered including short interviews with artists inspired by the hooded mosher style, different record covers and t-shirt designs, as well as submitted fan art of the hooded mosher!

There’s a whole bunch of other neat content like an incredibly inspirational and insightful interview with the duo behind HAPPY99, interviews with artist Diana Lozano and band Ribbon Stage, writing on artist Cielo Félix-Hernández, a memorial to NY YANKEE DOG, one with the stars, writing on lightbulbs, teenage girl gangs, a single punk archivist, romance and ads by independent businesses you want to know about (not shit shoved down your throat by the algorithm).

In summary, these are things I love about “Demystification” – they allow opportunity for public involvement, it makes it more a magazine for everyone instead of something cool and exclusive you don’t feel you can aspire to. They keep it real, acknowledging and keeping to their roots of the underground culture they’ve grown out of, while running with things that are happening now regarding fashion, music styles, art, as well as online content and social media. It’s fucking tasteful and it’s fucking cool and you need a copy.

LULU’S DIGI MIX: SEPTEMBER 2021

Yas is back at it again, putting together another mix of gorgeous, Lu Approved™ trax for your pleasure. Sp***fy freakz can cop it here...

...whilst those not jacked into the matrix can find the same content at...

Full tracklist below; as always everything is currently available in the racks :)