O-D-EX “Breaker” and The Sleeveens “s/t” both out now!

Martha “Please Don’t Take Me Back” LP/CD Out Now!

ORDER LP (White vinyl sold out, black still available!)
STREAM/DOWNLOAD on Bandcamp


Durham indiepop-punks Martha return with their fourth album, and it 
might just be their best one yet. With their endlessly radiant hooks 
dialled up to maximum setting, paired with another heart-rending and 
relatable lyric sheet that reflects on the universal scars of the 
pandemic years, Please Don’t Take Me Back is the work of a band in the 
form of their life. It’s also an instant classic – one that’s both 
smartly prescient and warmly addictive.

Recorded at Nottingham’s JT Soar by ‘Bad’ Phil Booth (The Cool 
Greenhouse, Rattle, Grey Hairs), Please Don’t Take Me Back is a timely 
collection of deliciously catchy pop songs about ‘resisting the 
feeling that the good days are behind us’.

Two things set these songs apart. Firstly, the sense of resolution the 
band provide by working through these fears to find what positivity 
they can – making this the go-to record for your ongoing existential 
crisis in 2022. Secondly, there’s the effortless brilliance which 
ensures every melody cements itself to your memory from the very first 
listen – album closer “You Can’t Have A Good Time All Of The Time” might 
be their breeziest singalong moment yet, all wrapped up in a song 
about the planet’s ongoing environmental catastrophe. You’ll hear 
echoes of The Housemartins, The Weakerthans, Cheap Trick and Heavenly 
in their sound, but ultimately it sounds like Martha found a way to 
turn their strongest features all the way to 11. What better way to 
process the aftermath of the past two years?

While their previous record – 2019’s Love Keeps Kicking – saw them 
remaining defiant in a world that seemed to be breaking apart, Please 
Don’t Take Me Back explores the scattered fragments of what followed 
and tries to make sense of how we navigate the smoking remains.

First formed in the small village of Pity Me, Durham, in 2011, Martha 
released their debut EP the following year on guitarist Jonathan 
Cairns’ DIY label, Discount Horse. Tours on both sides of the Atlantic 
soon followed, along with two albums for the UK’s much-missed indiepop 
stable Fortuna Pop: 2014’s Courting Strong (also released in the 
United States by Salinas Records) and 2016’s sophomore effort Blisters 
In The Pit of My Heart (via Dirtnap Records in the US). In the 
meantime, the band became figureheads for the UK’s DIY pop scene by 
balancing their obvious talents with a clear set of ethics – 
anti-capitalist, first and foremost – and an open-hearted warmth 
that’s often absent from the foreground of punk rock.

Please Don’t Take Me Back is a fine addition to Martha’s discography; 
their most life-affirming yet and a welcome ripple of light at a time 
when it’s often difficult to see past the darkness. Listen and love: 
the beat perpetual drives on.



TRACK LIST:

1. Beat, Perpetual
2 Hope Gets Harder
3. Please Don’t Take Me Back
4. Irreversible Motion
 5. Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?
6. FLAG//BURNER
7. Neon Lung
 8. Take Me Back To The Old Days (Reprise)
9. Total Cancellation Of The Future
10. I Didn’t Come Here To Surrender
11. You Can’t Have A Good Time All Of The Time

Outside North America? Order from Specialist Subject Records (UK)

More Kicks “Punch Drunk” LP Out Now!


ORDER LP (1st 150 on Yellow/Black Smoke, mailorder exclusive!)
STREAM/DOWNLOAD on Bandcamp
STREAM on Spotify
STREAM on Apple Music

“Punch Drunk” is the second album from London-based trio More Kicks, released on 16 September on Dirtnap
Records (USA) and Stardumb Records (EU). The band’s self-titled debut album was a concise and ragged lesson in pop songwriting dripping in melody, cynicism and energy.
 
‘Punch Drunk’ marks a new era for the band. Heavier, more expansive, more twists and turns. It veers from sparkling harmonies to fearsome riffing in the blinkof eye, with never a second wasted. As with the first record, it was recorded live on to 2” tape. It’s bottled lightning and the sound of a band firing on all cylinders.
 
James Sullivan (Sulli) – vox/guitar; Kris Hood – drums; Paolo Mantovani – bass/vox have cooked up a rare alchemy. The result: a More Kicks song can touchon classic 60s garage, 70s NYC rock and roll, jagged 90s guitar pop – all wrapped in a razor sharp bundle. A glance backwards and a decisive step forwards.
 
 “When the world collapsed in 2020, I realised more than ever how much I rely on music and More Kicks,” says Sulli. “This album became a total obsession and a lifeline. Stuck in one place, the songs all came from
heartbreak, frustration, anger, hope. It feels like a unique set of circumstances that produced this record and I’m really proud of what we’ve done.”
 
FOR FANS OF:
Buzzcocks
Kinks
Exploding Hearts
Guided By Voices
The Replacements

Track List:

1. Hurts Like Hell

2. In Love

3. Animal

4. Terminal Love

 5. Seven Ways

6. Got Lucky Side

7. Come Home

 8. Colour Me Stupefied

9. Good Enough

10. Phoney Middle Aged Art

11. Rest Of Our Lives

 12. Goodnight Goodnight

Outside N. America? Order from Stardumb Records!

Martha “Please Don’t Take Me Back” PREORDER + New video!

Big news! After 2 teaser 7″s, we here at Dirtnap are insanely excited to announce that MARTHA is back with their 4th (and dare we say best?) LP, “Please Don’t Take Me Back” out October 28th on Dirtnap (N. America) and Specialist Subject (UK/Europe)

To celebrate, here’s a brand new video!

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! You can now preorder this masterpiece on US mailorder-exclusive white vinyl! (limited to 300, black vinyl and CD also available!)

Do that HERE.

More Kicks “Punch Drunk” LP and “Animal EP”

Big day for our newest sign-ees, London, UK’s fabulous More Kicks!

First off, the “Animal” EP is out now digitally, with 7″s shipping in a week or so! This 3 song EP features 2 tracks that are not on the upcoming “Punch Drunk” LP, and has a super limited blue-green vinyl variant (black also available) that is strictly limited to mailorder ONLY!

But that’s not all!

You can also pre-order the “Punch Drunk” LP/CD, which will ship in late September! First 150 on transparent yellow/black vinyl, also limited to mailorder only! Trust me, you do NOT want to miss this one!

Both the EP and LP are available in N. America from Dirtnap (of course!) and in UK/Europe from our friends at Stardumb Records!

Ordering links HERE.

Martha “Beat , Perpetual” EP out now!

Martha “Beat, Perpetual” is available digitally NOW from all our favorite streaming/download services!

Vinyl will be shipping last week in July. We only did 500 of these (300 on black, 200 on blue), so do whatever you need to do to secure your copy today!

ORDER 7″ from Green Noise

STREAM/DOWNLOAD on Bandcamp

STREAM on Spotify

STREAM on Apple Music

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