Some B9-affiliated bands (Alcoa, Defeater & Terror) are in the 2023 Furnace Fest lineup, and a ton of friends! September 22nd through the 24th in Birmingham, Alabama. Get info and grab tickets HERE!
Derek Archambault (Defeater, Alcoa) Opens 'Maxwell's Barbershop' in New Hampshire
Derek Archambault, of both Defeater and Alcoa, has opened his own barber shop in Manchester, NH on Stark Street, called Maxwell’s. Named after Derek’s son, the shop is an awesome spot with classic barber chairs and Red Sox and New England memorabilia on the walls. Services include haircuts, beard trims, and straight razor face or head shaves. Congratulations on the opening, Derek!
Alcoa Announce Tour Around Bled Fest
After nearly two years off the road, Derek Archambault’s (Defeater) Americana outfit Alcoa will be bringing its barebones, bleeding heart folk to stages across the country with a gamut of East Coast and Midwest shows. Check out all the tour dates below.
What began as Archambault’s relief from the bareknuckle hardcore of Defeater has become a formidable roots outfit boasting two albums and a flurry of EPs and singles.
After nearly a decade of being relegated as a side project, Alcoa realized its current form in 2013, when Archambault enlisted a troop of collaborators (including his now wife, Alyssa Archambault) to create the band’s proper debut, Bone & Marrow.
Alcoa followed up the triumphant entrée with 2015’s Parlour Tricks, a thin-skinned, big band dive into the trials of illness, toxic relationships, and the thrill of new love. If Alcoa fans have learned anything from the band, it’s that good things come with time—this tour is no different.
See Alcoa on tour this spring and stay tuned for more news to come soon.
ALCOA, ON TOUR:
05.19.17 Lancaster PA @ Lizard Lounge w/ Spur
05.20.17 Philadelphia PA @ Boot & Saddle w/ Spur
05.21.17 Wilkes-Barre PA @ The Other Side w/ Spur + No Spill
05.22.17 Richmond VA @ House of Abe w/ Jake Clarke
05.23.17 Asheville NC @ The Odditorium w/ Jake Clarke
05.24.17 Nashville TN @ That 70’s House w/ Jake Clarke
05.25.17 St Louis @ The Firebird w/ Jake Clarke
05.26.17 Chicago IL @ Subterranean (Basement) w/ Jake Clarke
05.27.17 Bled Fest in Howell MI
05.28.17 Cleveland OH @ Mahall’s (Locker Room) w/ Jake Clarke
Alcoa are playing Bled Fest this year!
Alcoa are playing Bled Fest this year! Head over to bledfest.com for more info.
Also be sure to follow them for more info!
Facebook - @Alcoaxo
Twitter - @AlcoaTheBand
Instagram - @DerekArchambault
*Photo by Nick DiNatale
Alcoa announce split 7-inch with Choir Vandals: new song + pre-order
Defeater frontman Derek Archambault's alt-country solo vehicle, Alcoa, teams up with Midwest indie rock up-and-comers Choir Vandals for a split with never-before-heard material from both acts. Alcoa contribute a pair of B-sides from the sessions for his fantastic 2015 sophomore full-length, 'Parlour Tricks', while Choir Vandals provide two brand new songs, on the heels of several well-received EPs, including the recent 'Bedroom Songs (Demos 2014-16)'. Both Alcoa and Choir Vandals will be touring together overseas in support of the release, which hits stores on November 4th 2016. Pre-orders are now available at the B9store.
Stream Alcoa's 'What a Fool' over at Substream Magazine, here!.
Tracklisting:
1) Alcoa - At Home
2) Alcoa - What a Fool
3) Choir Vandals - Lucifer Yellow
4) Choir Vandals - The Center
Ireland/Uk/Russia tour dates w/ Choir Vandals and Alex Green :
November 5th Hanger / Dublin*
November 6th Sanctuary / Basingstroke
November 7th Factory / Manchester
November 8th Broadcast / Glasgow
November 9th Busker's / Dundee
November 10th Mulberry Tavern / Sheffield
November 11th Blue Line / Bourmemouth (Matinee)
November 11th TBA (Evening)
November 12th TBA
November 13th The Flapper / Birmingham
November 14th Boston Music Room / London
November 15th Backstage / St. Petersburg *
November 16th Jack Jane / Moscow*
November 17th Plavuchy Dol / Murmansk*
November 18th Art Vorota / Kaliningrad*
*Alcoa ONLY
Amazon digital specials for February
$6.99 ALBUMS [until 2/26]:
Candy Hearts - All The Ways You Let Me Down
Give Up the Ghost - Year One
Goodtime Boys - Rain
$5 ALBUMS [until 2/12]:
Ruiner - Hell Is Empty
Alcoa - Bone & Marrow
$3.99 ALBUMS [until 2/26]:
Ceremony - Covers EP
Antidote - Thou Shalt Not Kill EP
Paint It Black - Amnesia EP
$0.69 SONGS [until 2/26]:
H2O - "True Romance"
Polar Bear Club - "Living Saints"
Bridge Nine 2015: A Year in Review
Bridge Nine's 20th anniversary came this year, but aside from some retrospective goodies for long-time followers of the label, we stayed busy putting out fresh releases (with a few reissues sprinkled in). Here's a look at our slate of releases from B9's platinum year in chronological order along with some personal thoughts.
At the bottom, check out a free sampler via Bandcamp and Spotify with tracks from all our artists with 2015 releases.
BRIDGE NINE 2015: A YEAR IN REVEW BY BRIAN SHULTZ
January
13th: BoySetsFire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years [vinyl reissue]
BoySetsFire's bold and ambitious fourth album is one of my favorites of theirs, with anthems like "Requiem" and the bravely horn-addled yet intense "So Long and Thanks for the Crutches", so it was cool to have a hand in its release history with this new reissue. I remember seeing them live for the first time touring on it almost a decade ago and despite the small crowd at the time, they played their hearts out. This unintentionally almost-10th anniversary reissue is basically mandatory for fans--it looks good on complementary teal and white variants and includes a big poster insert.
27th: Caravels / Octaves - Split EP
This split EP is a rare co-release from B9, as we teamed up with Topshelf Records and their band Caravels to release new material from them and our own Octaves. Neither band had come out with new stuff since 2013, so it was nice to have two acts that play unique strains of modern post-hardcore in harmonious ways deliver fresh songs.
February
10th: War On Women - War On Women
Our first proper full-length release of the year was a total powderkeg: a fierce and volatile album that garnered quite the reaction--some ignorant Facebook users, sure, but mostly spiritual liberation as summed up by this one fan's feedback: "HELL FUCKING YEAH! EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH HARDCORE MUSIC!". The co-ed Baltimore punk quintet made their first huge musical statement, releasing a record that, per their name, tackled a wide array of contemporary feminist issues in both confrontational and humorous ways without skimping on Propagandhi-style aggression or riffs. There's an occasional theater to this record that revives Dead Kennedys' necessarily over-the-top social critique, too, while also melding punk, metal, and hardcore influences in newfangled ways.
24th: Alcoa - Parlour Tricks
Alcoa's sophomore full-length is actually a strong contender for my personal favorite album we released this year, so it's natural to say it deserves more recognition. Derek from Defeater has been quietly progressing this project since its genesis in the mid-2000s or so, and it's really seemed to peak on his fleshed-out full-length releases, a consistently enjoyable blend of alt-country and more generally alternative pop-rock leanings. His second album here tones down the bright recording of 2013's Bone & Marrow a bit, but the songs are somehow more powerful in subtler ways. I love the earnest, sadder stuff on here, like the stripped-down, darker "always chasing me" and the chamber feel of "come & go". Then there's my favorite track, "for holden", with the best chorus Gin Blossoms forgot to write during their heyday.
March
24th: Agnostic Front - Police Violence EP
Our relationship with Agnostic Front has yielded a prolific amount of cool stuff, including reissues of their classic foundational releases, the United Blood EP and Victim in Pain LP, as well as their seminal Live at CBGB album. This teaser EP we did for their new album, just as we did for their last one in 2011, steals some of the more old-school-leaning, thrashy material from their 11th (!) full-length, The American Dream Died, and includes an anthemic, burly B-side, "Same Old Story", exclusive to the release. The colors are sick, honestly, complementing the EP title and theme in a pretty brutal way (black and blue, pool of blood, and blood spatter).
April
14th: Gallows - Desolation Sounds
We had to sit on this album for a while before finally letting this side of the world hear it, as we helped Gallows get their new record out to U.S. fans for the second time in a row. This is another neat chapter in their evolution, bringing in more of the occult feel they've developed in this stage of the career with an accessibility that make certain moments sound like radio rock from an alternative universe. It's still dark and has plenty of punk bite, though: standout "Leather Crown" is a Fucked Up-style ripper, and the heavy, brooding "Chains" pounds the pavement hard.
May
12th: After the Fall - Dedication
After the Fall are actually old friends of mine--namely singer/guitarist Mike, whose band I've been following and watching play live since at least 2004, before we met. A genuine guy that just values friendship, loves punk and the power manifested in a short, well-written and aggressive but melodic song, it shows in spades on their fifth and newest album, Dedication. The whole thing is a heartfelt memorial to one of their original members, Brian J. Peters, who lost his battle with cancer in 2013. Every song tackles a different angle of Peters' personality or untimely passing, and it all ties together to paint a portrait of a seemingly great guy who touched everyone around him in profound ways, and it does so with a bright, melodic and catchy veneer the band have developed impressively over their decade-plus tenure.
19th: Modern Pain - "Peace Delusions" b/w "Kill Yr. Idols" single
This early version of "Peace Delusions" was the first sneak peak we got from Modern Pain's forthcoming full-length, which was initially self-titled before the band decided to go with the first single's name anyway. There's a slightly different aural aesthetic to this earlier version of the track, giving the short two-track single its own vibe--the exclusive B-side, a cover of Sonic Youth's "Kill Yr. Idols" offers insight into the band's unique approach to hardcore (more on this later), and is pretty spot-on as well.
June
H2O - Four Song 1995 Demo [reissue]
Before we started rolling out promo for H2O's new album, we did this fun little thing that looked back at their very beginnings. This was a reissue for the fans that weren't around the first time in 1995 for the release of their original demo tape, putting all four songs from the Don Fury demo session (recorded just after Christmas 1994) on a yellow tape limited to 200 and hand-numbered by Toby Morse himself.
August
14th: Crown of Thornz - Nothing But Tragedy EP
Holy Christ did this 7" take forever to press. I guess if you were waiting for new Crown of Thornz material, a few more months was nothing at that rate--the NYHC act hadn't delivered new music since 1998. It was very cool to work with a classic and forward-thinking act of the mid-1990s NYHC scene, but it was cooler to have them come back and not just rehash what they were originally doing or pander to fans. These are two longer and still aggressive songs that really are in their own category of hardcore.
September
4th: Modern Pain - Peace Delusions
Modern Pain are another band that have certainly fashioned their own category of hardcore, and it's quite a good one--noisy, fuzzy and blown out, sounding like a lost relic of the '80s underground. This album is sick from start to finish, maintaining a blistering intensity through all its noisy divergences. It's unpredictable and rather hostile, leaving the listener with a weird, unsettling feeling by its end--in a good way. though. At this moment in hardcore, there's no other band out there quite like them.
11th: H2O - Skate! single
This was another teaser single we did, featuring two tracks from H2O's then-forthcoming and looong-awaited album, Use Your Voice, so we could finally get some new H2O out there sooner rather than later. There was a "Skate!" music video that came out around the same time as well, which the band roped in friend and pro skateboarder Steve Caballero for (he plays guitar on the track too!) and which features some pretty interesting footage of a teenage Toby Morse. These are definitely two of the faster songs from the record, making for a quick appetizer, and the limited-to-1000 7" seems to be a pretty sought-after item now.
25th: BoySetsFire - BoySetsFire
BoySetsFire proved their reunion album wasn't a fluke with this new self-titled effort, which also probably came out of nowhere for fans as it was announced just a month-and-a-half in advance. It's packed to the gills with sterling examples of their signature sound, running the gamut from huge anthems ("Savage Blood") and desperate-sounding numbers ("Cutting Room Floor") to upbeat, Rise Against-style cuts ("Heaven Knows") and juddering, Snapcase-esque hardcore ("Coward"), all with their incensed, politicized rage retained.
October
9th: H2O - Use Your Voice
H2O hadn't released a studio album of new material since 2008, so Use Your Voice was a long time coming--luckily it was worth the wait. The band came back hard with this jubilant and honest album that touches upon every enjoyable stripe of the melodic hardcore and punk spectrum while elaborating on all sorts of topics clearly important to frontman Toby Morse's heart. He expounds on the pure joy of skating as a young misfit, his love of pop music, social unrest, and even an ode to his wife (which mixes things up a bit, offering a different chorus tone from the band than we normally hear). They definitely cut 11 tracks any fan of H2O should love without pandering or phoning it in.
November
20th: Malfunction - Fear of Failure
The phrase "demo submission" has become sort of a misnomer, as most bands who get in touch with the label about working with us tend to offer fully-formed, finished releases without a home (and they're often terrible, or make no sense for us to release). Malfunction was the rare case of a demo submission being an actual demo submission, from a band that had been on our radar for some time, and also, actually good. They gave us three pre-production demos that showcased an exciting new chapter in their musical evolution, and the resulting album, Fear of Failure, fully delivered. Their first full-length is harsh, heavy and uncompromising, a fantastic entry of '90s metallic hardcore revival that pulls a little bit from an often overlooked scene.
BRIDGE NINE 2015: A YEAR IN REVEW BY BRIAN SHULTZ
January
13th: BoySetsFire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years [vinyl reissue]
BoySetsFire's bold and ambitious fourth album is one of my favorites of theirs, with anthems like "Requiem" and the bravely horn-addled yet intense "So Long and Thanks for the Crutches", so it was cool to have a hand in its release history with this new reissue. I remember seeing them live for the first time touring on it almost a decade ago and despite the small crowd at the time, they played their hearts out. This unintentionally almost-10th anniversary reissue is basically mandatory for fans--it looks good on complementary teal and white variants and includes a big poster insert.
27th: Caravels / Octaves - Split EP
This split EP is a rare co-release from B9, as we teamed up with Topshelf Records and their band Caravels to release new material from them and our own Octaves. Neither band had come out with new stuff since 2013, so it was nice to have two acts that play unique strains of modern post-hardcore in harmonious ways deliver fresh songs.
February
10th: War On Women - War On Women
Our first proper full-length release of the year was a total powderkeg: a fierce and volatile album that garnered quite the reaction--some ignorant Facebook users, sure, but mostly spiritual liberation as summed up by this one fan's feedback: "HELL FUCKING YEAH! EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH HARDCORE MUSIC!". The co-ed Baltimore punk quintet made their first huge musical statement, releasing a record that, per their name, tackled a wide array of contemporary feminist issues in both confrontational and humorous ways without skimping on Propagandhi-style aggression or riffs. There's an occasional theater to this record that revives Dead Kennedys' necessarily over-the-top social critique, too, while also melding punk, metal, and hardcore influences in newfangled ways.
24th: Alcoa - Parlour Tricks
Alcoa's sophomore full-length is actually a strong contender for my personal favorite album we released this year, so it's natural to say it deserves more recognition. Derek from Defeater has been quietly progressing this project since its genesis in the mid-2000s or so, and it's really seemed to peak on his fleshed-out full-length releases, a consistently enjoyable blend of alt-country and more generally alternative pop-rock leanings. His second album here tones down the bright recording of 2013's Bone & Marrow a bit, but the songs are somehow more powerful in subtler ways. I love the earnest, sadder stuff on here, like the stripped-down, darker "always chasing me" and the chamber feel of "come & go". Then there's my favorite track, "for holden", with the best chorus Gin Blossoms forgot to write during their heyday.
March
24th: Agnostic Front - Police Violence EP
Our relationship with Agnostic Front has yielded a prolific amount of cool stuff, including reissues of their classic foundational releases, the United Blood EP and Victim in Pain LP, as well as their seminal Live at CBGB album. This teaser EP we did for their new album, just as we did for their last one in 2011, steals some of the more old-school-leaning, thrashy material from their 11th (!) full-length, The American Dream Died, and includes an anthemic, burly B-side, "Same Old Story", exclusive to the release. The colors are sick, honestly, complementing the EP title and theme in a pretty brutal way (black and blue, pool of blood, and blood spatter).
April
14th: Gallows - Desolation Sounds
We had to sit on this album for a while before finally letting this side of the world hear it, as we helped Gallows get their new record out to U.S. fans for the second time in a row. This is another neat chapter in their evolution, bringing in more of the occult feel they've developed in this stage of the career with an accessibility that make certain moments sound like radio rock from an alternative universe. It's still dark and has plenty of punk bite, though: standout "Leather Crown" is a Fucked Up-style ripper, and the heavy, brooding "Chains" pounds the pavement hard.
May
12th: After the Fall - Dedication
After the Fall are actually old friends of mine--namely singer/guitarist Mike, whose band I've been following and watching play live since at least 2004, before we met. A genuine guy that just values friendship, loves punk and the power manifested in a short, well-written and aggressive but melodic song, it shows in spades on their fifth and newest album, Dedication. The whole thing is a heartfelt memorial to one of their original members, Brian J. Peters, who lost his battle with cancer in 2013. Every song tackles a different angle of Peters' personality or untimely passing, and it all ties together to paint a portrait of a seemingly great guy who touched everyone around him in profound ways, and it does so with a bright, melodic and catchy veneer the band have developed impressively over their decade-plus tenure.
19th: Modern Pain - "Peace Delusions" b/w "Kill Yr. Idols" single
This early version of "Peace Delusions" was the first sneak peak we got from Modern Pain's forthcoming full-length, which was initially self-titled before the band decided to go with the first single's name anyway. There's a slightly different aural aesthetic to this earlier version of the track, giving the short two-track single its own vibe--the exclusive B-side, a cover of Sonic Youth's "Kill Yr. Idols" offers insight into the band's unique approach to hardcore (more on this later), and is pretty spot-on as well.
June
H2O - Four Song 1995 Demo [reissue]
Before we started rolling out promo for H2O's new album, we did this fun little thing that looked back at their very beginnings. This was a reissue for the fans that weren't around the first time in 1995 for the release of their original demo tape, putting all four songs from the Don Fury demo session (recorded just after Christmas 1994) on a yellow tape limited to 200 and hand-numbered by Toby Morse himself.
August
14th: Crown of Thornz - Nothing But Tragedy EP
Holy Christ did this 7" take forever to press. I guess if you were waiting for new Crown of Thornz material, a few more months was nothing at that rate--the NYHC act hadn't delivered new music since 1998. It was very cool to work with a classic and forward-thinking act of the mid-1990s NYHC scene, but it was cooler to have them come back and not just rehash what they were originally doing or pander to fans. These are two longer and still aggressive songs that really are in their own category of hardcore.
September
4th: Modern Pain - Peace Delusions
Modern Pain are another band that have certainly fashioned their own category of hardcore, and it's quite a good one--noisy, fuzzy and blown out, sounding like a lost relic of the '80s underground. This album is sick from start to finish, maintaining a blistering intensity through all its noisy divergences. It's unpredictable and rather hostile, leaving the listener with a weird, unsettling feeling by its end--in a good way. though. At this moment in hardcore, there's no other band out there quite like them.
11th: H2O - Skate! single
This was another teaser single we did, featuring two tracks from H2O's then-forthcoming and looong-awaited album, Use Your Voice, so we could finally get some new H2O out there sooner rather than later. There was a "Skate!" music video that came out around the same time as well, which the band roped in friend and pro skateboarder Steve Caballero for (he plays guitar on the track too!) and which features some pretty interesting footage of a teenage Toby Morse. These are definitely two of the faster songs from the record, making for a quick appetizer, and the limited-to-1000 7" seems to be a pretty sought-after item now.
25th: BoySetsFire - BoySetsFire
BoySetsFire proved their reunion album wasn't a fluke with this new self-titled effort, which also probably came out of nowhere for fans as it was announced just a month-and-a-half in advance. It's packed to the gills with sterling examples of their signature sound, running the gamut from huge anthems ("Savage Blood") and desperate-sounding numbers ("Cutting Room Floor") to upbeat, Rise Against-style cuts ("Heaven Knows") and juddering, Snapcase-esque hardcore ("Coward"), all with their incensed, politicized rage retained.
October
9th: H2O - Use Your Voice
H2O hadn't released a studio album of new material since 2008, so Use Your Voice was a long time coming--luckily it was worth the wait. The band came back hard with this jubilant and honest album that touches upon every enjoyable stripe of the melodic hardcore and punk spectrum while elaborating on all sorts of topics clearly important to frontman Toby Morse's heart. He expounds on the pure joy of skating as a young misfit, his love of pop music, social unrest, and even an ode to his wife (which mixes things up a bit, offering a different chorus tone from the band than we normally hear). They definitely cut 11 tracks any fan of H2O should love without pandering or phoning it in.
November
20th: Malfunction - Fear of Failure
The phrase "demo submission" has become sort of a misnomer, as most bands who get in touch with the label about working with us tend to offer fully-formed, finished releases without a home (and they're often terrible, or make no sense for us to release). Malfunction was the rare case of a demo submission being an actual demo submission, from a band that had been on our radar for some time, and also, actually good. They gave us three pre-production demos that showcased an exciting new chapter in their musical evolution, and the resulting album, Fear of Failure, fully delivered. Their first full-length is harsh, heavy and uncompromising, a fantastic entry of '90s metallic hardcore revival that pulls a little bit from an often overlooked scene.
Throwback Thursdays: Defeater, H2O, Have Heart, Polar Bear Club, more
Throwback Thursdays are now up! You may noticed we've doubled up this week. From here on out we'll be offering eight records, three at regular price and the rest at specially discounted prices. Grab 'em at B9Store.com.
B9R107 - Defeater - Travels - 3rd pressing - gray/red swirl/909
B9R092 - H2O - Nothing to Prove - 1st pressing - yellow/1,200
B9R075 - Have Heart - The Things We Carry - 9th pressing - yellow/1,000
B9R110 - Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear - 1st pressing - dark red/400
B9R198 - New Found Glory - Kill It Live - 1st pressing - clear (Hot Topic exclusive)/800
B9R182 - Alcoa - Bone & Marrow - 1st pressing - clear w/ gray smoke/700
B9R193 - Alpha & Omega - No Rest, No Peace - 1st pressing - dark green w/ black spatter/700
B9R121 - Soul Control - Cycles - 1st pressing - blue/800
Throwback Thursdays: Terror, Alcoa, Ceremony, Strike Anywhere
Throwback Thursdays are up! Get 'em at B9Store.com/rare!
B9B001 - Terror - Live and Death EP - 1st and only pressing - black/500
B9R182 - Alcoa - Bone & Marrow - 1st pressing - translucent red w/ black smoke/200
B9R098 - Ceremony - Still Nothing Moves You - 3rd pressing - green/1,000
B9R174 - Strike Anywhere - In Defiance of Empty Times - 1st pressing - yellow/300