News

Notoriously out of step with the salad days of DC's hardcore movement of the early 80s, Maryland's No Trend burst on the scene with a uniquely nihilistic sound that was unmistakably their own.
 

"For The Fun Of It All," from No Trend's 1983 masterpiece, Too Many Humans, has all their defining elements - lyrics both sarcastic and desperate, nauseous waves of guitar distortion, and a cool, rolling rhythm section. Provocative... (read more)

Hey gang, Discogs much? Drag City at Discogs much? Well, you've never done it this way before. Order direct from the Drag City shop on Discogs, kicking off at 9am EST on Sunday, May 10th (and forthwith, while supplies last!). The whole catalog will be there, including a few deep pulls from our archives - no, not test-pressings! That would be like selling our children (or their old onesies, anyway) - some long OOP items are being posted for launch day however, and we'll have... (read more)

Come June 12th, it's a Box of Chocolates for everyone! Ya see, that's the release date of Fearful Symmetry, the lone Box Of Chocolates album that we're grateful to gift to the world's sweet teeth (and everyone with a sense of taste!). The boys in the band have considered what releasing an album right now actually means, and how it can have an impact beyond livening up the day with sweet music, so they've decided to donate their income for the record to local... (read more)

While the world continues to isolate and turn inward, the citizens of Drag City are all invoking their counterintuitive rights by regularly poking their heads out of hibernation to share previously unheard songs or maybe just the latest tunes they came up with due to all the time on their hands!

In this case, it's the first new music from our long-distanced chanteuse, Edith Frost in absolutely (if not quite literally) forever. It's is a cool comfort too - the desired Frost affect pairs... (read more)

"You hear Dope Body's back in town?"

"Wait what... didn't those guys call it quits a few years ago?"

Who knows anymore! What's a fact, anyway? That being said, the fact IS if they want to bring more music, though, who's gonna tell 'em no? Long story short, they were already busy, making plans and other things over the past year or so (again who really knows...?) when this worldwide plague broke loose. But hey when life gives you lemons, make..... music right?... (read more)

These stay-at-home times can really bring out the gift-giving in all of us - maybe it's in the form of baked goods from your neighbor, or maybe homemade masks from your auntie. Our favorite is when the gift arrives in the form of sweet, sweet new music, delivered straight to our digital device, which just happened to occur today with the epic Bill MacKay jam, Scarf!

Scarf, originally only available on a limited-edition cassette of 50 copies back in 2019, has now reemerged. The... (read more)

To help take even the tiniest edge off during these isolated times, we've asked our amazing arists if there's anything they wanna share, shout about, rave up, or simply give fans while we're all holed up in our bunkers.. Happy to oblige is Sean O'Hagan (of The High Llamas, yo!), who has brought some serious goodies along for the whole class to enjoy! Namely: some written reflections on music, a playlist, and a brand new video showcasing Sean and his daughter Livvy performing a song... (read more)

With the digital release date for Goons Be Gone quickly approaching (6/5 for all you noobs), it's definitely time to share another single; dare we say, it's a marvelous night for a "War Dance"! Strafing the listener from the first moment, "War Dance" is the blasted, raging sound of No Age we've come to know and love so dearly. Listen and you'll hear Randy Randall's wigged out guitar whisk the atmospheric tone into a frenzy, leaping into overdrive for the chorus and double-overdrive for the... (read more)

Bill Nace's forthcoming album Both comes to an elegiac conclusion with "Part 8": a lick of vibrato drives a funereal procession of feedback-edged single notes, evoking pensive introspection, perfect to share with you today! Transmitting the boundless creative depths of which artists like Rhys Chatham, Henry Flynt and Ellen Fullman have journeyed, "Part 8" is another night in the far firmament of Both's fantastic solo guitar voyage.
 

Charged particles of minimal techno and neo-dub reverberate through this spare passage,... (read more)

Sheeple! Let go and dance yourself unsick with a pogoing slice of prime ur-punk. Unlike many of the bands that defined their era, No Trend wore their name like a prophecy, and are among the 80s most enduring sounds as a result. With a rolling bassline that would make Public Image Ltd. jealous and nauseous waves of Frank Price's guitar noise, "Cancer" bounces with a perverse energy as Jeff Mentges' vocals sear through the din. As with much of No Trend's catalog, cynical lyrics testify to the knowability of truth beyond the endless corruption of men... (read more)