Parting The Sea

Touche Amore are a band that I've wanted to get into, but they just never clicked. I initially heard them described as having that 90's emo sound (which I love), but when I checked them out back in 2011, I didn't hear it and quickly moved on. I know that my blogger bud, Doug, was really into them at the time... but I didn't get it... and in recent years, I've heard a Touche Amore song here and there in my brother's car, and while I thought it was interesting, I never followed up to check them out beyond that... but when my good friend, Alex, sent me a link to the song ~, telling me to check it out, I was immediately hooked. Maybe the time was right, or maybe her recommendation meant more... or maybe it was both... but it didn't take me long to dive straight into the full album of Parting The Sea Between Brigtness And Me.

While I didn't really hear that 90's emo sound when I first checked out, looking back at Doug's post were he describes them as "the emotion and angst of the 1995 Ebullition catalog, combine it with a modern hardcore sound and recording quality, and there you have it". He kind of nails it, and I was an idiot for waiting until 2026 to finally get into this band.

Initially, I was thinking this was a good record, but the more I listen to it the more I liked it and it finally got to a point where I knew I needed the vinyl. As I was looking at Discogs to see what I could pick up for the album, I noticed there was a Deluxe Edition option listed amongst all of the other colored vinyl versions. There weren't a lot of photos listed, and I couldn't truly make out what this package looked like... so I had to order one to find out.

This record comes packaged in a nice hardcover book format with some pages of arty photos. It's all really well done, and kind of a cool version to own... but now I can't stop thinking that it would be cool to have a colored vinyl version with the regular cover as well.

See It Through

Somewhere along the way, I saw that New Age was going to be releasing a record from a new band called See It Through. I was hot on New Age a few years ago, but then they suddenly just dropped off my radar. I really liked the Decline record they released back in 2022, but after that... I basically just stopped caring. Nothing the label was releasing seemed interesting enough for me to even check out a song, and I stopped paying attention altogether. When I saw the cover for the new See It Through 7 inch, however, suddenly I found myself curious.

The cover for the Together We Can 7 inch looks like a Mindset record... the red line across the top, the thick block letters for the band name, the live shot... just move the Together We Can text up under the band name and make it red, and it is a nice rip of the Leave No Doubt LP. Hey, if that was the intent, it worked and caught my attention because I rush out to listen to these songs.

It's gonna suprise no one that I'm all about this record. Great straight forward hardcore that reminds me of the glory days of this blog in the early 2010's when bands like Stick Together and Outlast were releasing records and I was buying multiple copies of everything. The vibe that See Through It bring on this record just matches those times for me, so I'm here for it.

100 pressed on transparent blue vinyl.

Vinyl Of The Demon

Pulling another New Wave Of British Heavy Metal record from Tim's collection.

Demon are a strange fit in the NWOBHM as their debut, Night Of The Demon, feels a bit dated for its 1981 release. It feels like it crawled out of the mid 70's and fits better alongside more straight forward rock bands like Kiss, instead of the frantic energy of Iron Maiden and Raven... and because of this I kind of dismiss them and rarely take them out for a spin these days.

I do still really dig the first two Demon albums (even though I tend to enjoy The Unexpected Guest quite a bit more), so when Jeff quoted me a price for Night Of The Demon I figured that I might as well add it to the collection.

How Soon Is Now

My collection for The Smiths consisted only of their two compilations, Hatful Of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs. While I was happy to pick up those two comps, it kind of triggered me to enterain the thought of collecting singles for The Smiths... and I feel like that could be a dangerous road to start down. Still, when the opportunity landed in my lap to pick up a couple of singles, I didn't hesitate to grab them.

My friend Jeff had another batch of records from Tim's collection earlier this year, and my interest was piqued when he said there were a couple of singles from The Smiths in there. He immediately tried to discourage me from the 12 inch single of William, It Was Really Nothing by telling me that it was probably too expensive for my taste. Don't fucking challenge me like that because it will just make me want to prove you wrong.

The German pressing for the William single was on colored vinyl, and apparently it carries a price tag a little higher than the other versions. If I was on the hunt myself for the single, I would have gone for the original UK press, but with the colored vinyl option staring me in the face... I couldn't resist paying the extra money for it.

For the Shoplifters Of The World Unite single I ended up with the UK press, but looking at the colored vinyl German press on Discogs now... damn, it would be nice to have either the pink or the green one to compliment my William single. Fuck. I can't start thinking like this.

Man, I love the six songs on these two singles so much. It's funny how a few years ago I would have told you that I hated The Smiths, and now after writing the post, I know that this is going to be the only thing that I'll be listening to for the rest of the day.

Purity

It has been a while since I dipped into more of the records that I've picked up from Tim's collection. It took some time for Jeff to prep the next batch of records he was selling from the collection, and then I put stuff on hold with him and didn't rush to pay for it and pick it up... but I've got a little stack here now, so let's start to chip away at them.

I really love New Model Army. When I listen to them, I feel like they are all I want to listen to... but then I'll get distracted and for some reason I don't get back to them for months and months. I really only listen to the first few NMA records, but recently I've been feeling the urge to pick up the next one in line, their 1990 album Impurity. As a bonus push to get me to check out that album, I ended up getting the Purity 12 inch single handed to me earlier this year.

This record came from Tim's collection and since Jeff introduced New Model Army to me back in the early 90's, he felt that I should take this piece of vinyl at no cost and just handed it to me.

The single contains the song Purity from the album, plus two songs, Curse and No Sense, that were exclusive to the b side here. I've been having a lot of fun with these songs, and the Impurity album is proving to be great as well. Going to need the vinyl for that one soon as well. Shame that Tim's collection didn't have one available. Guess I'll have to do some work to find a copy myself.

Stiff State Of Summer

There is something about obnoxious snotty punk that just feels perfect for summer. Yeah, warm weather and an "I don't give a fuck" attitude just go great together.

I discovered Stiff Richards last year with their GFC 7 inch and very quickly I decided that I needed more than those two song. I decided to check out their State Of Mind album and it instantly became part of the soundtrack to Summer 2025. It was just so fun.

I tried in vain to pick up a copy of the record, but because the band is from Australia (with labels from Australia and Europe releasing it) it didn't seem to be easily available from a seller in the US. I decided to wait for something to come up here in the States, and then forgot all about it.

A couple of months ago, as the temps were rising and summer was on the horizon, a Stiff Richards song popped up on my Spotify radio and it reminded me how much fun they are. I immediately put the State Of Mind album back into my daily playlists and listened to it a lot. I checked Discogs and was happy to find a copy available in the US and quickly added it to my cart.

Second Oversight

You know I'm a sucker for 90's hardcore right? And the more obscure the better. Like I should probably be out chasing Unbroken's Life Love Regret on blue vinyl, or something else that is equally important and crucial, but instead I'm over here grinning like a nut because I was able to pick up a record from 1992 that I imagine maybe a total of three people care about in 2026.

A few years ago I stumbled upon the band Oversight. They were a hardcore band from the Syracuse/upstate New York area in the early 90's, and I ended up discovering them as I was checking out what other bands Shane Durgee from Framework may have been involved with. I tracked him back to Oversight on Discogs and I was able to quickly pick up their 7 inch, After This Day, on grey vinyl. At the time, I noticed that there were a few other colored vinyl options for this record as well, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to try and collect them all. Well, here we are a few years later and I was excited to find a blue vinyl version available and quickly snapped it up... so yeah, I guess I'm doing this.

Blue vinyl was limited to 100.

I still need that Justice Coming 7 inch from Framework, but until something becomes available, I guess that I'll just focus on my Oversight collection.