30 years of knowing: This week at South Records

The Messthetics, featuring Brendan Canty and Joe Lally - best known as the rhythm section of Fugazi - join forces again with acclaimed saxophonist James Brandon Lewis for Deface the Currency, a powerful, wide ranging set shaped by the energy of constant touring, where angular compositions and open improvisation push the group into new territory. Sugar’s 90s catalogue is back on vinyl, including Copper Blue, Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening, capturing Bob Mould’s blend of melodic power pop and driving alternative rock.

Also new: DISCOMBOBULATED from Hen Ogledd, the collaborative project of Dawn Bothwell, Rhodri Davies, Richard Dawson and Sally Pilkington, their most expansive and emotionally direct work to date, available on pink vinyl with booklet and download. Soul Jazz classic 600% Dynamite! returns on colour vinyl for the first time, a deep dive into reggae, rocksteady and dub favourites and rarities. Manchester’s Bruise Control round things out with a limited Dinked Edition capturing their fast, chaotic and hook filled DIY punk.

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Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? finds NoMeansNo at their most precise and unpredictable. Released in 1993, it sharpens their signature mix of hardcore intensity, complex rhythms and dark, offbeat humour into something leaner and more direct. It’s one of the band’s most accessible records and a perfect entry point into their strange, powerful world. We have a first pressing in currently, find it here.