SURPRISE 015 - SONIC AVENUES - S/T LP

SURPRISE 015 | SONIC AVENUES - S/T LP

Formed in 2006, they've been developing their craft over 4 years...preparing, and finally executing...this is the debut album from the Montreal power pop punk combo. This record originally came out limited to 300 pieces on the great Ottawa based label GOING GAGA and I am happy to repress this with different cover art, again co-released with SABOTAGE.
This album came out of left field and knocked me out of my boots when I heard it the first time... and still does. Powerpop and punk blended together just perfectly. Think of the UNDERTONES and MARKED MEN in one bed and you come very close to how great this record really is. Why can't music always be this great?
Bang on performance, slick punk rock, with a great reverence for pop music songwriting. A totally satisfying sound! A great Friday night solution for any tin-banger, house-spouse or desk jockey!!!
This record originally came out on GOING GAGA RECORDS from Canada in a press of 300. Now available again from both SABOTAGE RECORDS and TAKEN BY SURPRISE RECORDS. First press are 500, 400 on black and 100 on blue wax, available only from the band and labels.

SONIC AVENUES + STEVE ADAMYK BAND 2011 EURO TOUR:

21.03 - Mannheim, Germany - Juz
22.03 - Kassel, Germany - Das Haus**
23.03 - Berlin, Germany - Koma F
24.03 - Leipzig, Germany - Zoro
25.03 - Prague, Czech - 007
26.03 - Graz, Austria - Musichouse
27.03 - Munich, Germany - Kafe Kult
28.03 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Alte Hackerei
29.03 - Cologne, Germany - Sonic Ballroom
30.03 - Paris, France - Bouillon Belge
31.03 - Kortrijk, Belgium - The Pits
01.04 - Meppen, Germany - J@M Center
02.04 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Occii

Download here!

SONIC AVENUES updates here!

Buy it here or here!

Sabo30: Digger Barnes: Time has come

DIGGER BARNES is a German singer/songwriter, performer and sideman of Chuck Ragan (HOT WATER MUSIC) and THE REVIVALTOUR, an annual traveling alliance of the North American folkpunk scene, where he shared stages with Tim Barry (AVAIL), Ben Nichols (LUCERO), Tom Gabel (AGAINST ME), Austin Lucas, Frank Turner, Jesse Malin and others. With his debut TIME HAS COME he recorded a modern americana-album of great diversity and with strong, dark vibes. Style, taste and musical understatement are the secret ingredients of his very own gumbo out of folk, indie, gospel, rockabilly, pop and country. Stories about loners, losers and shady characters of all kinds build the center of the Digger Barnes World which has a visual counterpart in the paintings of PENCIL QUINCY, Digger' s partner-in-crime for many years.

CD comes as digipack, vinyl with badass 350g cover.

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Sabo21: Mönster: Out of Luck 7"

5 new tracks from berlin´s most stupid punks. songs about love, straight edge, rebellion

and friendship. too smart to be meaningless and too funny to take themselves too

seriously. musically between rocking d-beat hardcore and lo-fi blues. some ac/dc riff is

thrown into there as well.

download here

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Sabo19: The Now-Denial: Mundane Lullaby

Finally, 3 long years after „viva viva threatening“ came out, the now-denial deliver their 3rd album „mundane lullaby“. And it´s no surprise, it is a big step forward. They come closer and closer to capture their live-energy on a piece of plastic. The sound is very good, still dirty, but powerful and huge like a bulldozer, with love for the detail, which makes it fun to listen to the record over and over again to smell the diesel and find something new with every listening. Yeah, it´s still a hardcore/ punk record, it´s still pissed off, but the limitations are gone. There is rock every now and then and it suits them well. And it´s good to hear a real 2nd guitar again. On top of 12 great songs, varied in speed and mood,you get a well thought out lsd-influenced cover artwork with rabbits and flowers and lyrics that are far away from your average punk-cliché, but still angry and to the point. A record like a journey on the road to nowhere, armed with a smile and a middlefinger up in the air, always pretending to have an insane masterplan up the sleeve..

Download here

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Sabo17: The Now-Denial: Viva,Viva Threatening LP

This is the Repress of the second album from the Now-Denial wich was originally released on scorched earth policy a couple of years ago. The record brings 12harsh,pissed off hardcore songs. Soundwise the production of this record is much better and more '' in your face'' than on the first record.

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Sabo24:Autistic Youth: Landmine Beach LP

Hailing from Portland, Oregon these 4 youngsters are influenced heavily by classic 80's

bands like the WIPERS or ADOLESCENTS but also more recent outifts like THE

OBSERVERS or THE EXPLODING HEARTS. On this LP they deliver 11 songs of anthemic

and heartfelt punkrock that will make you dance dance dance! The first press will be

1000 copies, 800 on black and 200 on orange vinyl. All of them will have a silkscreened

cover. In cooperation with the cool cat from Taken by Surprise Records

autisticyouth.com

download here

buy it here

SURPRISE 016 | STEVE ADAMYK - DESECRATE 7"

SURPRISE 016 | STEVE ADAMYK - DESECRATE 7"

Steve Adamyk is the guitarist of the band SEDATIVES who I had the pleasure of doing a 7" with last year. He started the STEVE ADAMYK BAND as a solo project and the line-up now includes Emmanuel and Dave from the SEDZ! This is their 3rd 7" following two great smashers on P.TRASH and RED LOUNGE respectively. 3 songs on this one now, if you need comparisons before you click on the download link, ok, I think this sounds like a mix of POINTED STICKS and THE BARRACUDAS. Whoever doesn't like those two bands must feel no joy in life...

SONIC AVENUES + STEVE ADAMYK BAND EURO TOUR:

21.03 - Mannheim, Germany - Juz
22.03 - Kassel, Germany - Das Haus**
23.03 - Berlin, Germany - Koma F
24.03 - Leipzig, Germany - Zoro
25.03 - Prague, Czech - 007
26.03 - Graz, Austria - Musichouse
27.03 - Munich, Germany - Kafe Kult
28.03 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Alte Hackerei
29.03 - Cologne, Germany - Sonic Ballroom
30.03 - Paris, France - Bouillon Belge
31.03 - Kortrijk, Belgium - The Pits
01.04 - Meppen, Germany - J@M Center
02.04 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Occii

DOWNLOAD here!

STEVE ADAMYK updates here!

Sabo33: Dramamine: S/T LP

"Dramamine is a medicament that was converted into active drug usage by

some resourceful junkies decades ago. The effect can be described as some

kind of escapism into an imaginary world, or – in a positive sense –

as some kind of introverted ecstasy. This young band from Germany could be the soundtrack for these specific moods as of now. Loud, noisy, then with a certain pop-affinity, minimalistic, but in the very next second pretentious, doomy and oozing with pathos. A heavy, deep bass, which you will not only feel through your ears; guitars, which you will find hard to classify; a krauty drumming with an obvious love for details – all this put together with resentful, hectic vocals, which will finally leave you asking for more. You’re going to realise very quickly that these musicians have used the years they’ve spend in other bands to learn how to communicate in their

own special language – although the sound that we’re talking about here emanates from a different awareness; this doesn’t sound like an intersection of Press Gang, Idle Hands, etc. Here the instruments don’t get touched, they’re being cleaved to. Experience it live or on record, afterwards everything will be quieter. It’s 2010, and you might think that the creative reservoir of noisy and drugged guitar music has been exhausted for a long time now: Dramamine prove you wrong!"

download here

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Sab011:Echo Is Your Love: "Humansize"

After 8 years, 3 albums and several tours around Europe, Finland's Echo Is Your Love are back with their finest album. Echo Is Your Love was started in early 1998 in Helsinki by four guys who met and were introduced to each others at the first rehearsals. The guitarist´s girlfriend became the singer. The intention was to practice as little as possible and to record almost everything that comes out. After some 7"s and the debut album ("Sheets of Blank Fucking Paper" 2000) the band got bored of droning the same two chords and being compared with Pardo Bond, Dead C and the likes. The band decided to start rocking. With the 2nd album ("8 Hours" 2002) and tours around Europe Echo Is Your Love ended up playing at punk/hardcore shows to almost 100% punk crowds which made the band´s music tighter and more aggressive. On the 3rd album ("Paper Cut Eye" 2004) Echo Is Your Love found its own unique style of mixing hardcore aggressiveness with no-wave guitar madness, post-punk danceability with indie cuteness and pop melodies. “Humansize” is a tight and unique mix of no-wave guitar madness, dreamy indiepop melodies, hardcore aggression and danceable post-punk rhythms. Haunting female vocals, sometimes angry, sometimes heavenly, wash over shards of guitar noise and shuddering drums, like if the girls from the B-52s were invited to sing with the one band that wants to save the world with its noise.
free download here

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Sabo27: Team Robespierre: Everything's Perfect LP

Formed in Brooklyn during the winter of 2005, the members of Team Robespierre were

initially connected by their roots - having all grew up in similar punk rock scenes in New

York, Denver, Minnesota, Texas, Poland and Jersey, playing in bands like Thulsa Doom,

Morning Glory and Hipster Bloodbath. But as Rex, Tom, Ty, Mike and Jim got older their

record collections expanded to include noise, indie, electro and new wave among other

genres. All and none of these genres can be heard in their recordings or live shows. But

what comes across most when seeing these guys is their raw energy and unwillingness to

separate themselves from the crowd. With asound that melds the future and the past,

the Team brings back memories of 80s new wave and 90s hardcore, with the ability to

share stages with bands as diverse as Dan Deacon, Japanther, An Albatross, Leftover

Crack, Parts And Labor, Best Fwends, USA Is A Monster, Japanther and Kylesa. Having

already embarked on 3 tours in 2007, and recently enlisting a live drummer to add

another layer to their complex electro-punk arrangements, the Team felt the timing was

right to record an album's worth of material. With the help of Colin Marston (Orthrelm,

Ghengis Tron, Stay Fucked), Team Robespierre spent most of their summer recording an

album and playing dance parties.

Powered by a dirty punk rock ethos, synth hooks and programmed dance beats, Team

Robespierre has helped resurrect a Brooklyn punk scene that has been waiting to

embrace the raw energy of our nation's basements and late night warehouse dance

parties. With a sound that melds the future and the past, the Team brings back

memories of 80s new wave and 90s hardcore, and after IMPOSE owner Derek Evers saw

them play a show in the spring of 2007, he ended up so drenched in beer and human

sweat that he had to sign these guys – making "Everything's Perfect" the first official fulllength

for both the band and the label.

download here

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Sabo13: Hero Dishonest: When the shit hits the man lp

Finland's hardest working and touring thrash unit, Hero Dishonest, has

released its 4th and by far the strongest album of its 7 years long

career. After around 300 shows in Scandinavia, middle Europe, UK, Russia

and USA the band is tighter than ever and what also sets it apart from the

grey mass of today's hardcore thrash, smart in its song writing.

"When The Shit Hits The Man" consists of 26 minutes and 21 tracks of

raging hardcore punk thrash that doesn't limit itself to just being fast

at all times but also knows when to slow down and to bring in the widest

influences from the 30 years of punk history. The band doesn't just speed

up the old school Black Flag riffs but also nods its head towards both old

and new innovators like Big Boys and Wrangler Brutes.

Download here

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Sabo28: The Estranged: Static Thoughts LP

"PDX 3 piece with a heavy background in the local HC/Crust scenes (members have been/are in bands like Remains Of The Day, Hellshock, Warcry, From Ashes Rise, Coldbringer, and lots more) Icy, ominous post punk ala Wipers, Mission Of Burma, Warsaw-era Joy Division, etc. LPs come with digital download coupon. "

Download here

buy it here

Sabo20: Coldbringer: Lust and Ambition 12"

"Eight song 12" EP. For those of you not familiar with Coldbringer, they feature members

of From Ashes Rise, Hellshock, Call The Police, the Del Toros, and Talk Is Poison. They

play a style of melodic hardcore that draws from influences like Naked Raygun,

Leatherface, Husker Du and the Wipers, but is all their own at the same time."

I’ve been getting a fair number of records these days with hand-screened covers and the

Coldbringer LP has some striking artwork. A stingingly melodic punk sound that sounds

like a cross between Born Dead Icons’ doomy sound with Leatherface’s tuneful

properties. Vocalist John Wilkerson (formerly with From Ashes Rise) has Frankie Stubbs’

timbre, albeit in a lower register. I know comparisons suck but that’s the best way I can

describe it. The people in this band have played in more “crusty” or thrashy bands and

this marks a departure away from D-beat and epic qualities. A warmth along with the

power and vigor.

download here

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Sabo39: Union Town: Blinding lights 7''

The ‘Blinding Lights’ EP contains three new Union Town songs that capture the band’s shape anno 2010. The songs were written in the course of a year and were tested on the crowd in different variations during live shows. Raw takes and jams were carefully reshaped and re-recorded in cooperation with Mark van der Male, a friend of the band. Enriched with the artwork of Mara Piccione, who also worked on Union Town’s debut album, the EP will be released as Sabotage Records #34 in May 2010. Comes with a free MP3 download.

download here:

order here:

SURPRISE 006 | SUSPECT PARTS - MANEATER 7"

SURPRISE 006 | SUSPECT PARTS - MANEATER 7"

Fronted by JUSTIN MAURER of the CLOROX GIRLS and featuring CHRIS BRIEF of ehm THE BRIEFS on drums, SMAIL from THE SHOCKS on bass and SULLI from RIPCHORD on guitar, they deliver great poppy punkgems with a hint of 60s beat. This 7" is the follow up to their great 17 TELEVISION EP on DERANGED RECORDS. MAN EATER on the A-Side is one hell of powerpoppy anthem and on the B-Side the band blasts through MODERN LOVERS' SHE CRACKED. I can't be happier to have them on the label!

Download here!

Order here!

SUSPECT PARTS updates here!

CANADIAN RIFLE - FACTS 7"

SURPRISE 014 | CANADIAN RIFLE - FACTS 7"

Following up one of the best full-length records of last year (Visibility Zero), CANADIAN RIFLE hit it again with 3 more classic punk tunes. A bit more raw and urgent on this recording, Canadian Rifle slash with melodic bitterness on their amazing first track- Blank Trade. One of the best songs they have ever written along with two B-side songs that are the fastest and catchiest songs this band has ever produced. A total killer of melody and speed. This band really can’t do anything wrong! The record is a cooperation between TAKEN BY SURPRISE RECORDS and RESIDUE RECORDS!

Download here!

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Americans order here!

CANADIAN RIFLE updates here!

DEFECT DEFECT - S/T LP

SURPRISE 010 | DEFECT DEFECT - S/T LP

Fighting their way out of the basement comes Portland’s DEFECT DEFECT with their best record to date! After two quality Eps and constant touring, DEFECT DEFECT hit it just perfect with their catchy-as-hell melodic punk style that hits hard with Colin’s spastic and blunt vocal style with Adam’s excellent song writing. Tracks like Stolen Ground and Post Apocalypse are perfect bookends of this argent and essential LP. Featuring ex and current members of THE OBSERVERS, AUTISTIC YOUTH, THE MINDS, CLOROX GIRLS and the excellent ARCTIC FLOWERS this record will stick out over the pile of vinyl coming out in 2010. Do not miss out on this exciting band! Again a cooperation, this time with my friend Andreas THRASHBASTARD. The US version is out now on the outstanding RESIDUE RECORDS out of Chicago, IL and i hear there will be a Brazilian version also on NADA NADA DISCOS!!

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DEFECT DEFECT updates here!

BLOODY GEARS - S/T 7"

SURPRISE 013 | BLOODY GEARS - S/T 7"

Their 2009 selftitled demo was a breath of fresh air, as the folks at MRR put it in issue # 315: "This band already has a sound that's their own, but likely draws from THE OBSERVERS and LEATHERFACE,and there's something very Midwest about these songs as well, making me think of early ARTICLES OF FAITH and HUSKER DU." I can also hear Greg Sage's WIPERS in those songs.Now their first piece of vinyl sees the light of day. 3 songs of dark melodic mayhem. 2 new songs and a re-recorded version of TAKE A RIDE from the demo. 500 pressed on black vinyl.

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BLOODY GEARS updates here!

RED DONS - FAKE MEETS FAILURE LP

SURPRISE 012 | RED DONS - FAKE MEETS FAILURE LP

The '00s or whatever you wanna call the last decade are over, the results are in. Honorable independent publications and the ever growing "blogosphere" outdid themselves with Top 5, Top 10, and Top 100 lists of records that were issued in the last ten years. A common find among these lists was the seminal SO WHAT'S LEFT NOW? LP by Portland, Oregon's THE OBSERVERS released on VINYL WARNING in 2004. The dawn of a new decade is upon us and Doug Burns (Lead singer/songwriter/artist of THE OBSERVERS) has a new band, the RED DONS, featuring Daniel Hajji Husayn, Richard Joachim Preinesberger, and a rotating cast of characters including Justin Maurer (Clorox Girls), Will Kinser (Born/Dead), Zack Brooks (Soda Pop Kids), and Andy Foote (The Physical Challenge). Named after a group of Cambridge professors that operated as spies for the Soviet Union in WW2, the RED DONS continue where the OBSERVERS left off with added elements of Arabic themes in both the artwork and sound. After the much lauded release of their debut album and successfully touring the US, Canada, Europe, and Brazil, the RED DONS entered a Portland studio to record ten new tracks. On this new album FAKE MEETS FAILURE (DERANGED RECORDS / TAKEN BY SURPRISE RECORDS) due to be released in July 2010, the band successfully develops their unique style even further. Coded lyrics about vagabond characters moving back and forth between the lines of the current climate of fear and suspicion that has been brought upon the USA by the war on terror. Again, consistent songwriting and a great production make this record stand out among the current competition. Combining TSOL-like vocals, SoCal punk rage, and the defiant melancholy of Pacific Northwesterners like the WIPERS this powerful release rises above the stack of contemporaries that take on the early 80s punk sound. No retro fashion hype, no flavor of the month. When this year turns, be sure to find this LP in the leading spots of Top 5, Top 10 and Top 100 lists of 2010. This allbum will prove to be unsurpassed in the underground realm of indie, punk, hardcore, and the DIY Rock'N'Roll of today. Though members are now scattered across the globe, the RED DONS will tour the USA in July 2010 and set sail for Europe in the spring of 2010. So What's Left Now? A hell of an aftermath to follow...one hell of a followup record, and one great, fierce force of a touring machine known as RED DONS.

Free Download here!

Europeans order here!

Americans order here!

RED DONS Updates here!

SPECTRES - LAST DAYS LP

out soon on sabotage and new dark age records:

Spectres: ''Last Days'' LP
Spectres were originally formed in 2006 by Brian Gustavson and Steve Hanker in a small town called Coombs, British Columbia. The pair wanted to experiment with peace punk and post punk influences and made a few demos that were mailed out and given away to various friends. Whisper in Darkness label heard one of these demos and expressed an interest in what eventually became the "Cold War" 7". At this point Brian and Steve set about putting together a band to start playing shows, and Heather Szilagyi (drums), Nathan Szilagyi (bass) and Zach Batalden (guitar) were added to the band's roster. Not long after Heather left the band and Steve Gerencer joined to fill in on drums, and this line up went on to make the "Visions of a New World" 7" later that year. The band toured to support this release in the spring of 2008 and Steve Hanker left the band after the tour to persue other projects. Tyler Pilling joined shortly after to play guitar in Steve's place and this line up has been consistently playing shows in the Pacific North West ever since. The band's first LP, "Last Days" began when Spectres partnered with Felix Fung of Little Red Sounds in January of 2009, working in multiple sessions through the next few months to complete their debut full length album. The new record expands the song writing skills from their two previous ep's to include some more angular writing abilies. The vocals are more dynamic and overall better thought out. Being compared to bands like JOY DIVISION and SISTERS OF MERCY is a hard thing to live up to, but they have definitely taken those influences and molded them into something heartfelt and profound. This release is being jointly released by Whisper In Darkness Label in North America and Sabotage Records/New Dark Age in Europe.

download the record here

AUTISTIC YOUTH - IDLE MINDS LP

out soon on Taken by Surprise and Sabotagerecords
Autistic Youth: Idle Minds lp
for a complete download go here


the record will be out in august...this is the european version.. the record will be released on Dirtnap Records and Black Water Records in the USA.

THE ESTRANGED - THE SUBLIMINAL MAN LP

out soon on Sabotagerecords
The Estranged: '' Subliminal Man'' LP
for a complete download go here...
buy it here



the record will be out in august...this is the european version.. the record will be released on Dirtnap Records in the US...

Bruce Springsteen - Two Hearts

Howdy!

We started this blog to give you the opportunity to download our upcoming and current releases for free, keep you updated about the labels and bands. And of course to spread the message of the boss! So keep checking back, we will keep adding free downloads!

Hope you enjoy it!

Franz & Michl

SABOTAGE RECORDS & TAKEN BY SURPRISE RECORDS