Winds Of Change

I'm really not a big fan of compilations. I am, however, a big fan of REACT!. Therefore, I had to put my prejudices aside for their latest release, the Winds Of Change 7 inch comp.

Once again, Ev and the REACT! crew deliver. This time, they highlight six up and coming bands from today's Hardcore scene. Each one impresses me, and having really only heard Violence To Fade and Enough, I'm looking forward to what the others will bring to the table with future releases.

350 pressed on red vinyl.

All of the bands on this comp are great, but that Violence To Fade song is absolutely amazing.

150 on "smoke" colored vinyl, or more commonly known as "grey".

The packaging on this 7 inch is very well done. With the six panel spread, allowing to change the the band on the cover to whichever one you wish, and wrapped in a screen printed OBI strip, the label continues to deliver quality releases. Another job well done.

500 pressed on black vinyl.

Shortly before the regular pressings shipped, Ev posted on the REACT! Facebook that there was a test press available and hidden in their webstore. Like a bloodhound, I sniffed that bad boy out! The price was a little higher than I would have wanted to pay, but damn, with it staring me in the face, it was too much to resist, and I quickly added it to my cart and checked out.

Nice and clean look, with the white cardboard sleeve and the black and white screened OBI strip.

Number 24 of 24. Doesn't get much better than that.

Test press count for 2014 is at six.

Enough From Sandwell - Good Dudes, Part 1

There are a few records that I've recently received solely based on the kindness of good dudes. I figured that I'd highlight those that have helped strengthen this blogging brotherhood with their good deeds.

Over the past couple of years, I've gotten to know Sandwell over at Couch Slouch pretty well...well, as much as you can really get to know someone over the internet. The guy has some great taste in music, and has turned me on to a ton of great bands...from Iron Chic to Midnight. His blog doesn't see much activity these days, which is too bad, as I always enjoy seeing his new purchases.

Back in July, Mark was heading out to see Enough back in July on their European tour. He knew that I was collecting records from the band, and he sent me a message asking if I was interested in any special tour press that Enough may have with them. I was grateful for the opportunity, and gladly took him up on his offer.

Enough typically do special rip off covers, so I was surprised to see the Euro summer tour cover has just a simple, clean design. I like it.

Numbered and limited to 100.

While Assault Records handled the European pressing, Fat Sandwich Records held things down over here with the US pressing. 200 on red.

Enough have just gotten tighter and tighter with each release, and the Discontent 7 inch is much like their Common Visions LP...no frills Youth Crew inspired hardcore.

100 on white vinyl.

Enough Euro Tour

If you haven't heard Common Visions from Enough, you are missing out. They don't seem to be a big name that people tend to throw around. They aren't on a big time label like Triple B or Back To Back. But after releasing a demo, two 7 inches, and then dropping an LP last year...why are you still not paying attention to this band?

Enough released their album through Assault Records last year, and followed it up with a European tour...and with a tour, you know that you've got to have a special tour pressing.

Another solid rip off design! With their last 7 inch, Enough gave a nod to Crippled Youth with their pre-order cover, so it is only fitting that they take on Bold's Speak Out cover for the LP.

Numbered and limited to 75.

When I pulled out the vinyl, it looked like there were bits of paper stuck to the record. I tried to wipe it off, but to my surprise the paper wasn't on the record, but actually IN the vinyl. It doesn't affect the play of the record, but it looks as though some scrap pieces of paper fell into the wax when the pressing plant was in the process of making the records.

Common Visions Of Enough

Enough have got to be one of the most productive bands in Hardcore, right now. A demo in 2010, two 7 inch records in 2011, and then a full length LP in 2012. Impressive.

The new album, Common Visions, is head and shoulders above all of their other releases. The production, the songs, the packaging...all top notch. I was lucky enough to catch this band in Boston a while back, and I would love for them to make a stop on their next tour.

Baby blue vinyl was used for pre-orders. Dust sleeves were stamped and numberd out of 98.

400 pressed on clear vinyl.

Euro Enough

While Iron Mind Records handled the regular US pressing of the new Enough 7 inch, Assault Records did a small run for the Euro pressing.

I really wasn't impressed with the layout for the Iron Mind release. It seems too small for the front cover...like there was some mistake, and the label didn't send the finished artwork to the printer. Thankfully the Assault pressing fixes this, and it looks so much better.

100 pressed on red vinyl. 200 pressed on blue.

Yeah, I'm missing the gold vinyl from the Iron Mind pressing, but for a new band that I started collecting last year, I've got to say the vinyl output has been pretty impressive.

Never Enough

There are a bunch of newer Straight Edge Hardcore bands kicking around right now. Man, it is a good feeling to see that kids are still keeping this music alive. Enough are one of these bands, but after releasing two 7 inches this year, you better sit up and take notice.

Their second 7 inch, Something We Can Build, was released on Iron Mind Records, and landed in my mailbox a couple weeks ago. While I'm not a big fan of the record cover and I think that the production is pretty rough, I'm loving the songs from the 7 inch.

There is something about Enough that reminds me of Fastbreak from the Youth Pride demo days. The band matches that level of youthful enthusiasm and raw energy.

Iron Mind released the Something We Can Build with a special preorder cover that rips off the Crucial Youth 7 inch. It's a good look.

94 pressed on orange, 200 on black, with 50 of the black getting the Crippled Youth rip off sleeve.

Enough Is Enough

Enough were one of the great Straight Edge surprises in 2011. They released one great 7 inch, When You Don't Think You Can, and have another one ready to drop soon. Throw in their demo that saw a vinyl release this year, and that's a pretty impressive output for a band that I hadn't even heard until about 6 months ago.

Enough played some Southeast Hardcore fest recently and made some limited covers for the 7 inch of their 2010 demo. I'm not a huge Green Day fan, but I can appreciate the Dookie rip off sleeve that they designed. Leftovers from the fest were put up in Enough's webstore, and I quickly grabbed a copy.

Hand numbered and limited to 20.

I've Had Enough

Okay, this is my second draft of this post. The first time I typed this thing out, Blogger didn't autosave and then shit the bed, leaving me to have to write the whole thing again. Okay, here we go again...

Enough are a Straight Edge band out of Tennessee. They play a classic style of Youth Crew Hardcore, but more importantly they play with a ton of passion. I stumbled across this band when I was downloading some new music from Keith Alert's great blog, The Price of Silence. Keith posts up a bunch of demos and stuff from newer bands, and helps keep me in touch. Enough are just one of the recent demos that Keith has posted a download link for, but for me, they stand above most of the stuff he has recently posted.

Enough self released their debut EP, When You Don't Think You Can, and it marks a nice improvement over their 2010 demo. This 7 inch has a sound similar to early Mental, but I also get a great '97 Youth Crew Revival vibe from these songs. I can see this record being a great fit with what Youngblood was releasing around that time.

You can download it HERE, and when you agree with me about how great they are, you can order it HERE. 85 on pink colored vinyl, 100 on tan/marble, and 105 on black.

The band put up a couple test pressings of this record in their webstore. I would have definitely picked up a copy, but unfortunately, I was out of town, on vacation with the family, at the time, and therefore missed my opportunity to grab one. Damn.

While I was picking up Enough's new 7 inch, I also grabbed a vinyl copy of the demo that they had available as well. I don't have the pressing info for this, but I believe there were around 200 pressed.