Big SST re-stock

Few independent labels have left a mark as deep or as lasting as SST Records. Founded in Hermosa Beach in 1978 by Greg Ginn, guitarist of Black Flag, SST began as a tiny operation pressing punk singles in the back of an electronics shop. Within a few years, it had become the gravitational centre of the American underground - a loose, sprawling community of bands who shared an ethos more than a sound. Fast, loud, weird, principled, and completely self-reliant, SST embodied the do-it-yourself spirit that would go on to define alternative music for decades to come.

The label’s early catalogue reads like a blueprint for modern independent rock. Black Flag tore through the boundaries of punk with Damaged and My War, records that swapped pure aggression for creeping heaviness and emotional honesty. Hüsker Dü evolved at lightning speed, moving from the hardcore blitz of Metal Circus and Zen Arcade into something melodic and introspective, pointing toward what would later be called “indie rock.” Minutemen rewrote punk as artful minimalism on Double Nickels on the Dime, fusing funk, politics, and poetry into something singularly American.

Then came the next wave: Descendents, injecting caffeine and heartbreak into punk’s bloodstream with Milo Goes to College; fIREHOSE, formed in the wake of D. Boon’s death, carrying the Minutemen’s spirit forward in more free-flowing, melodic form; and countless others - Meat Puppets, Saccharine Trust, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. - all finding a home under the SST banner at some point. What united them wasn’t a sound but an attitude: creative freedom at all costs.

SST’s catalogue remains one of the most adventurous bodies of work ever assembled by a single label. Its records were pressed on a shoestring and toured on fumes, but their reach was enormous - shaping everything from grunge and emo to post-rock and the modern indie scene. Listening now, they still sound immediate, human, and alive, full of rough edges and real conviction.

We’ve just had a fresh batch of SST classics back in stock - including albums from Hüsker Dü, Minutemen, Black Flag, fIREHOSE, and Descendents - all back on the shelves and ready for you.