Releases
Milliseconds - So This Is How It HappensOctober 13, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR108
Many moons ago, Joe Easley (drums) and Eric Axelson (bass) were in the Dismemberment Plan, and met Leigh Thompson (guitar), who was in the Vehicle Birth -- fourteen years later, and thanks to broadband, we now have Milliseconds. The DNA of the Dismemberment Plan, the Vehicle Birth, and Statehood are clearly present in So This Is How It Happens, but as a three-piece, part of the Milliseconds journey was reenvisioning the sonic landscape -- trying to figure out how sonic space was filled or left open. A large portion of that experimentation took place during the production of the album with heralded producer J Robbins. Milliseconds evolved and grew organically over time, and as a result, the band's debut release covers a wide sonic territory swerving not only through the band members' previous projects, but also through the haunts of bands like the Replacements, Hot Snakes, and the Kinks.
Traindodge - The Alley ParadeSeptember 22, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR105
After two decades of timeless records, Oklahoma City’s Traindodge continues their post-hardcore dynasty with the release of their eighth LP, The Alley Parade, on Spartan Records. Yet, while the band’s collection of canonized albums have become required listening for every budding heavy band since the 90s, and their legacy of hundreds of shows (sharing stages with the likes of Mudhoney, Cursive, Avail, and Botch, to name a few) has impacted thousands, perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding Traindodge is how under-the-radar this band has flown throughout its prolific career. Whether it be a nod to the band’s integrity or an unwillingness to conform for commercial success, as journalist Jason Heller put it, “Unlike the hordes of post-hardcore wannabes who think screams, noise and posing make the band, Traindodge synthesizes brainpower and horsepower into a contorted, rock-heavy wallop that’ll leave you scratching your head as much as banging it.”
Sisters - LeecheaterAugust 25, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR106
As the dust settled on prolific runs with influential projects, Jason Blackmore (Molly McGuire) and Mario Quintero (Spotlights) found themselves entering the pandemic era with an abundance of creative fuel left in the tank. United under a new moniker, Sisters, Blackmore and Quintero have joined forces to bring the best elements of their respective previous projects together to create something new and menacing. The band's debut LP, Leecheater, is an amalgamation of brooding nuances, driving rhythms, and distorted guitar riffs that distinctly showcase the stylistic fingerprints of both Blackmore and Quintero. Self-described as sonically resembling an old Minor Threat album that was recorded through a Queens of the Stone Age machine, Leecheater is a gripping and immersive listening experience that showcases the band's ability to create massive sonic landscapes that press the limits of modern rock.
Ghost Work - You'll Be Buried WithMay 5, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR103
Ghost Work's 2020 debut album You'll Be Buried With marks the first steps of the post-punk supergroup's foray into a collective musical awakening. Featuring Aaron Stauffer (Seaweed), Sean Husick (Milemarker), Erin Tate (Minus The Bear), and Dustin Perry (Snapcase), You'll Be Buried With is melodic, brooding, and cinematic. Fully remastered and available for the first time on vinyl, the record is a perfect blend of DNA derived from the band's past projects paired with the clarity of a fresh musical vision. With a delicate balance of both nostalgic sentimentality and restored adrenaline, You'll Be Buried With resonates deeply with longtime fans and first time listeners alike.
Low Coast - Existing The DreamMay 26, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR102
After more than two decades with the fan-adored band Gameface, Jeff Caudill returns with a new band, Low Coast, and a debut album, Existing the Dream. Low Coast is a departure from the SoCal melodic punk rock world and a foray into the direction of bands like Wilco, Gin Blossoms, and Death Cab For Cutie. What began as a stripped down solo record, soon began to amplify as the individual songs took shape and after sharing some demos with friends Mike Fratantuno and Terence Yoshiaki (who spent the early part of their career touring and recording with numerous artists, most notably Black Eyed Peas), they came on board to form the bands rhythm section. Soon after, Low Coast's roster was solidified with lead guitarist Dave Hemann and keyboardist Brian Lapin. The band’s debut release arrives amidst a melee of disarray, but evokes the simple notion of understanding. Step outside yourself, even when living feels like it's been diluted to merely existing.
The Van Pelt - Artisans & MerchantsMarch 17, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR104
After twenty-five years of anticipation, The Van Pelt have returned. Reunion show soundchecks revealed that this band has a voice that was prematurely muted by their inability to see clearly in the thick of their rise. More than two decades later, The Van Pelt has returned to explore what was left behind with a new collection of songs, Artisans & Merchants. This is not a reunion album. This is vindication. For lovers of The Van Pelt, listening to Artisans & Merchants is like hearing the voice of a dear friend you haven't seen in years -- a friend you used to share countless beers with over banter that went nowhere other than delivering a solid night. Your friend is older, they've changed. In some ways you're worried for them, looks like they might be teetering on the brink of something. In other ways it's the same old them, a nugget of a soul too unique to ever be altered. It's for those unfamiliar with The Van Pelt though for whom we should be truly jealous. This is a stand-alone album, with incredibly vital songwriting in and of itself regardless of the band's long and storied history. The climax of the single "Image of Health" perhaps describes the beautiful desperation best: "And you never felt more alive / Than when the priest came to read you your rites!"
Unwed Sailor - Mute The CharmFebruary 10, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR087
After two decades of critically acclaimed and fan-adored releases, Unwed Sailor has become a fixture within the indie rock/pop landscape. A familiar and unceasing tide. A steady hand through turbulent channels. In many ways, the band’s forthcoming release Mute The Charm represents an exercise in addition by subtraction – creating a layered emotive experience through more organic means. At its core, it is a pop rock record with chiming guitars, melodic bass, and rock solid drums – more aligned with the accessible sides of artist influences ranging from The Sundays, Joy Division, and The Stone Roses to Led Zeppelin, Lungfish, and 90’s indie rock band, Seam, than the band's previous and more ambient releases. Mute the Charm is all-at-once a love letter to specific cities and scenes, a longing retrospective on relationships with people and the past, a nod to formative artists and trailblazers, and a hopeful look ahead towards a less tumultuous future.
Knapsack - This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right NowFebruary 3, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR085
The remastered final album available on vinyl for the first time in the US since its original release in 1998. Includes the out-of-print bonus track “Less Than.”
Knapsack - Day Three of My New LifeFebruary 3, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR084
The remastered sophomore album available on vinyl for the first time in the US since its original release in 1997. Includes the out-of-print bonus track “Drop Kick.”
Knapsack - Silver SweepstakesFebruary 3, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR083
The remastered debut album available on vinyl for the first time in the US since its original release in 1995. Includes the out-of-print bonus track “Don’t Mind.”
Allen Epley - EverythingJanuary 6, 2023 · Spartan Records · SPAR097
Spartan Records proudly presents Everything, the debut solo LP from Allen Epley (Shiner, The Life and Times). As a child, Epley spent hours imprinting his parents' record collection on his psyche. Giant headphones secure, he would pore over the cover art and liner notes and enter the world wrought by the giants of AM Gold — Bread, James Taylor, Carol King, Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat and Tears, 5th Dimension. Yet the music he would make in the 90’s and 00’s with his highly influential bands doesn’t reveal these easy-listening origins. Shiner and The Life and Times reflected more opaque images of bands like Swervedriver, Slint, early Smashing Pumpkins and Failure. The smooth grooves and discernable lyrics about love -- found and lost -- of the 70’s songsters of his adolescence hadn’t come back into view for him until 2018. While working on a batch of compositions for film/tv, Epley realized these ghosts had never left him but instead had embedded themselves in his subconscious. The result of this retrospective journey is Everything, a record that begs and rewards repeated listenings. It’s a rich production that echoes the AM Gold of his childhood but reaches into artistic territories that were generally reserved for Elliott Smith and Sea Change-era Beck.
Calm Collapse - Mirrored NatureNovember 25, 2022 · Spartan Records · SPAR092
Spartan Records proudly presents a collective sum of historic parts. Featuring a roster of indie rock nobility, Calm Collapse is comprised of Doug Lorig (Roadside Monument Patrol, Raft of Dead Monkeys) on guitar/vocals, Rob Smith (Traindodge, Museum of Light) on drums/keys, and Jon Pease (Medicine Bows) on bass. The creative forces that shaped so many formative and fan-adored records have rematerialized and reassembled with their debut record, Mirrored Nature (produced by Matt Bayles [Mastodon, Foxing, Isis]), a heavy and melodic journey taking cues from a perfect storm of prior projects but decidedly exploring a new and dedicated direction. The punch of Mastodon, the grind of Melvins, the melodic discernment of Chavez, and the ethereal tendencies of Grails and Black Mountain. Calm Collapse represents another evolution for the trio and a chance to disassemble the artistic past, evaluate what worked, and reassemble with a new perspective