Shufflepuck - Album LP (/100)

 

Self Released (2024)

Shufflepuck wasn't a band on my radar at all and I'm not sure they would have ever been picked up my my aging radar system if it wasn't brought to my attention by Servo from Bloated Kat records.  However, once I became aware of them I wasn't sure how I could survive without them.

Let's get into the lore.  It's a tale as old as time.  1990s pop leaning rock band gets picked up by a major label, major label doesn't do anything with them to the point where the record doesn't ever really officially come out.  Band fades into the background and life moves on.  You can thank Interscope for this one as Shufflepuck was all set to release their debut full length in 1996 only to have it delayed, pushed back and not put out.  There were advances, singles, promos and then nothing.

Fast forward to 2024 and the band decides to press up 100 copies of this album on vinyl, and the result is Album, a perfect little slice of that major label rock and roll sound that I have such a soft spot for.  This is going to fit right in you collection next to other luminaries like Pluto, 30 Amp Fuse, Fig Dish, Summercamp, Kara's Flowers and other bands that were great bands, but seemed destined to be the best CD in their respective used bin.

Every song on this album is a crunch guitar, hook filled blast from the alternative nation.  Are there echoes of Weezer? Of course there are and and they're the best sort of Weezer echoes.  Top to bottom this album, is just flat out great and while it is a shame that I was robbed of 30 years of listening to it, it's also pretty cool to hear what is essentially a brand new record sound this great to my old man ears.  Highly, highly recommended for being that perfect slice of the 90s.

Shufflepuck - Album:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/album/1757952753

Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet 2xLP

Gang Starr Enteprises / TTT / INgrooves (2019)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

When I started to type up the label name and release date, I was kind of shocked that this record is seven years old already.  It's been sitting in my 'to write about' pile for almost as long.  As I've mentioned before, I'm trying desperately to get through a backlog, particularly of hip hop records, so I'm doing my best to focus on the ones that have been sitting around for a while.  I'm not sure that anything in my pile has been sitting as long as this.

Part of the reason is not really knowing what to say about it.  This was released in 2019.   Guru from Gang Starr passed in 2010.  There's this whole drama where Premier didn't have access to Guru's archive for a while and it's kind of a convoluted mess that I don't feel like trying to explain right now., in part because I'm not even positive that I understand it completely.  He did eventually get access and pieced together this album using the vocal material available to him.  He paired his production to the vocals that were available and brought in guest appearances to flesh out everything until there was enough for an album.

As a technical marvel and a final tribute to the legacy of Guru, I don't want to disparage what everyone was able to accomplish.  I'm glad they did it.  For me, just judging it as an album and forgetting the extra emotional baggage, it's only OK.  The production is solid, but not remarkable.  As much as I love Gang Starr and Premier's production, I have always preferred the sounds he was crafting in the early 90s.  The later we get, the less it connects with me.  It's not like I'm saying Moment of Truth wasn't a well produced record, but I don't think it holds a candle to Daily Operation or Hard To Earn.

The rhymes that they were able to get from Guru's archive are strong.  I've always found him to be underrated as an MC with Premier's production getting so much of the group's attention.  Guru has always been a master at a laid back, confident conversational flow and this material is no different.  The problem is there's probably not enough for a full album, thus the many, many guest appearances.

It's tough to not be the old man saying "back in my day, hip hop albums only had one or two guest appearances and the main MCs did the rest of the heavy lifting," but I have to say it.  I don't buy a Gang Starr record to hear someone else rapping.  Sure, it's cool if Jeru shows up for a song, but when that is one of a dozen features, it turns into a compilation and that's too much for me.  Not to mention that many of the MCs brought in don't really have much to do with Gang Starr and it's a little jarring having them pop in on a verse or drop down a bizarre hook that doesn't have much to do with what Guru was rhyming about.

Still, the fact that it exists at all is a great thing, as a tribute to Guru and Gang Starr and as a bit of hopeful closure for DJ Premier.  Not to mention that there are moments on here that are truly great.  They are unfortunately only just moments though.  Worth a listen if you are a fan if nothing else.

Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mfOxmtWGvvX7ehOGD9IlGqOPgZqSk5P8U

The Arrivals - Payload LP - Yellow Vinyl (/250)

Recess (2026)

The Arrivals popped onto my radar with their 2010 album Volatile Molotov.  I remember reading such incredible things about it and the fact that Paddy from Dillinger Four was on bass pushed me over the edge to pick that album up.  And I was underwhelmed at first.  Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but it didn't really grab me aside from the closing track "Simple Pleasures in America."  But that song did a lot of heavy lifting.  Its strength kept me going back to the record and it did that thing that a lot of great records do.  It grew on me.  A lot.  Today, I can say I unequivocally love that record and I've been waiting 16 years for a follow up that seemed like was never going to arrive (heh).  Well, it finally has.

I had very lofty expectations for Payload upon its arrival (OK, I'll stop now).  And having spent some time with it over the past few weeks, I'm sort of in the same boat as I was with Volatile Molotov at first.  It's unquestionably a very good record and I enjoy listening to it, but it's not knocking me over or providing any 'holy shit' type moments.  This time out, I have a different perspective on the band based on how the last record grew on me, so I've been patient and that patience is paying off.   I still haven't had that 'holy shit' moment yet, but every time I listen to this record it gets better than I thought it was the previous time.

Part of that is probably because of the lyrics and how it takes some listens for the ideals and imagery to sink it.   This is a band that is actually saying something and if you're the the sort of person where lyrics aren't the initial thing you pay attention to when listening to an album (for me, it's never been the first time I focus on), you're going to miss some of the subtleties and messages.  But after a while, the way these stories are woven into very catchy working-class punk rock start clicking and for me there's another click every time I put this on the turntable.

Like Volatile Molotov, I fully expect this to end up being one of my favorite records of the year.  Truthfully, it already is, but by December I expect to be singing its praises from the highest mountain.  It's a grower and I'm being patient and giving it the time it needs.

The Arrivals - Payload:

https://recessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/payload

Diamond D And The Psychotic Neurotics – Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop 2xLP

Get On Down (2014, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Diamond D (Or Diamond as he's billed on this particular album cover for whatever reason) is part of the Diggin' In The Crates (DITC) crew and has hand on the production side of classics throughout the 90s.  He also can step up to the mic with the best of them as he proves on his debut album from 1992: Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop.  I've written before about my never ending love for 1992 as far as being one of the most under appreciated years in hip hop, but I haven't written about this album before.

Part of the reason is that for whatever reason, l I didn't hear this album back when it was released.  I was neck deep in hip hop at the time, but whether it was from lack of funds or lack of awareness I didn't check this album out until quite a few years later.  I've also had this on vinyl for absolute AGES, but kept passing it over to write about something different over and over.  The funny thing is it's because I love this record and don't want to inadvertently give the impression that I don't.

How could that happen? It's mostly because of one track, "Sally Got A One Track Mind."  I just don't like this song.  It's slow, it's kind of a downer and it's sitting there at track three, just grinding the album to a halt before it even begins.  I know it's a song that people point to as being one of the great cuts here, and I will never try to convince someone not to like anything, but this is one of those songs that has never clicked for me personally.  Once I get past that, this is a record that just dishes out classic after classic, but "Sally" is a buzz kill for me every time.  Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about Diamond D as the double threat that he is.  

Diamond D produced almost every track on this in addition to handling the vocal duties.  On the production side, you can almost hear Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop forcing its way out of the 80s sound and laying the blueprint for what the 90s would become.  The sound is perhaps a little more sparse than what was to follow, but you can hear the progressing as new ideas and samples take hold as you move through the track list.  When it comes to rhyming, Diamond can hold his own there as well.  He has a smoother flow that I find similarities with Lord Finesse in.  When you combine the vocals and the beats, it's just another bonafide 1992 classic.  I have no idea why it took me so long to write about it, but it's essential, both as a standalone album and a crucial building block on 1990s golden era hip hop.

Diamond D And The Psychotic Neurotics – Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop:

https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCymQzV2rUMuXj7jd3Dnww2g

Hooper - Carry Your Own Saints 12"

 
Snappy Little Numbers (2026)

It seems inconcievable to me that the first time I wrote about Hooper was 14 years ago.  I picked up a 7" of theirs and it not only kicked off my fandom of the band, but opened the door to the world of the entire Snappy Little Numbers label. It was definitely an important record that I acquired up over the years and it's led me to so many great things, not the least of which are the various Hooper releases that have come out in the intervening years.  The news one is in the form of a 12" EP called Carry Your Own Saints.

Now, longtime readers may or may not remember that I am predisposed to dislike 12" EPs.  I cannot explain exactly why I find them annoying, but I do.  If you don't have enough songs for a full album, either wait or just put out a 7".  That's just one of my weird rules that I don't expect anyone else to follow, but there's just something so much more satisfying to me to have a full album to listen to.  But enough whining about other people not doing the exact, weirdly specific thing that I want, there's new Hooper songs to discuss.

I was a little worried at first as the EP doesn't really start off with a bang.  "Dulouz" is a pretty slow song, that kind of keeps grooving to its lower-mid tempo energy and just sort of stays there.  There's no big hook or anything to really smack you in the face and announce their arrival.  It feels like the band is setting the table for the songs that follow, which would work better on a full length than it does on an EP where there's a much smaller table to set.

Luckily, things pick up immediately for the second track, "92U."  Here we have the fuzzier, more energetic Hooper that I have known and loved all of this time.  The rest of the EP carries on in this tradition.  This isn't to say that the other four songs are all fast ones, but they have the energy and the hooks that I'm used to getting from this band.  

Each time Hooper puts out a release it's never really the same thing that you've gotten before.  While the band usually has a certain tone that they stick to, the songs themselves tend to be pretty varied overall.  I can always point to my favorites from each album and can also find a couple that don't connect with me quite the same way.  I'm not going to lie, I prefer it when they are uptempo, but as long as they sneak in a good hook, I can get down with something more subdued as well.  I also want to call out the cool little lyric booklet/zine thing that this EP comes with.  It really stands out as a nice addition to the whole package.

Carry Your Own Saints is a good EP.  With "92U" and "Farther" you have 2 songs that would be standouts on any of their albums.  "Arclight" and "Lurid Blue" slow things down a bit, but still have the hooks and energy that I'm looking for.  "Dulouz" isn't really my bag, though I think it would probably make more sense to me in the context of a full album (yes, I am going to beat that EP stuff into the ground today, sorry).  All in all, it's a fun release and definitely worth grabbing if you're a fan of the band.  

Hooper - Carry Your Own Saints:

https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/carry-your-own-saints

Rough House Survivers – Straight From The Soul 2xLP +7"

90s Tapes (2025, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I wrote about the original pressing of this Rough House Survivers record a couple of years ago and looking back on it, I spend more time writing about what a great year 1992 was in hip hop than I did the actual record.  To be fair, I still don't think 92 gets the credit it deserves, but in some ways I didn't give Rough House Survivers the credit they deserved while trying to make that point.

Luckily I get another swing at it because hip hop's best reissue label has reissued this classic as a double LP (with a bonus 7"),  As usual, the pressing g sounds incredible and really highlights what I love most about this album, the incredible production work.  This is an album full of jazz based loops, be, fat drum beats and the sort of accompanying horn accents that set off the whole package.  There's a good, solid tempo throughout the album.  It never gets super fast or frantic, but it also never drags or becomes too slow to keep things interesting.

In addition to their DJ Swinn, Rough House Survivers have 3 different MCs taking turns on the mic,  As is the case with a lot of multi-MC crews that don't spend a lot of time identifying themselves, I won't pretend that I always know exactly who is providing the rhymes at every turn but whether it's Dread One, Kev or Roberto, all three rise to the occasion that the production provides.  You're never going to get a subpar bar.  That fact is even more impressive when you see the rogue's gallery of guest appearances with microphone killers like Grand Puba, CL Smooth and Sadat X dropping by to further light up a few tracks.  That the main 3 MCs are never overshadowed is nothing shot of remarkable.

Once again, I cannot say enough great things about the amazing work that 90s Tapes puts into their release.  I wish they were allowed to handle every hip hop reissue, though that sort of workload might be a tad overwhelming.  I can only be grateful for the classics that we do get to have and their Rough House Survivers reissue is a perfect example of how to treat an album.  While the group may not have gotten the attention and accolades that they deserved at the time, at least they have a incredible version of their album to put on the shelf.

Rough House Survivers – Straight From The Soul:

https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/straight-from-the-soul