Pot Valiant/Vagrants - Discography (1985-1994)

    Pot Valiant was a punk band from El Cerrito, CA who were active from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. The band began as Vagrants; under this name they released three demo tapes and a 7" on Lookout Records. Later on they changed their name to Pot Valiant and released two more 7"s and a 12"/CD. They also appeared on a compilation and reissued a previously unreleased track this year. 

    Their material released under Vagrants is very DIY and a little more punk sounding than their later material under Pot Valiant which became more of a mix of punk/emo/indie rock. Musically their sound could be compared to Squirrel Bait or even The Hated, subtly mixing the emo undertones with straightforward, enjoyable punk characteristics. 

    It's always impressive to me to hear bands going for this kind of sound pre 1990s when it became increasingly popular and really evolved into its own genre. Back in the 1980s there weren't many bands straying from the norm in terms of punk music which makes me really respect the band.

    The Numero group is planning on reissuing Pot Valiant's discography with a wealth of unreleased material , so be on the lookout for that!

Pot Valiant Discography

Cell (Unreleased Single)

Vagrants (Discography So-far)

Vagrants - Gone 7" 1990 (Lookout! Records)

Pot Valiant - Volar 7" 1993 (Sunny Sindicut Records)

Pot Valiant S/T 7" 1993 (Lookout! Records)

Pot Valiant - Transaudio 12" 1994 (Iteration Records)

Kill The Man Who Questions - Discography (1996-2003)

    Kill The Man Who Questions was a political hardcore band from Philadelphia, PA who were active from 1996-2003; when they played their final show. They toured the US and Europe extensively and released two 7"s, a split 7" with the Shoplifters, a spit 7" with Del Cielo, a 12" and a compilation CD of unreleased tracks, comp songs and all the 7" tracks. Members of the band played in many other hardcore bands including An Albatross and Limp Wrist.

    Kill The Man Who Questions is one of the most angry, politically driven bands I have ever listened to. Their lyrics and the inserts that come with their records are seething with rage over gender politics, the injustices of capitalism and the beauty industry; and much much more. Vocalist Niki Long was an incredible front woman for the band, never losing her passionate energy even for a second as she wails over the instrumentals. 

    They're a band that doesn't feel phoney in any way, they have justified reasoning behind the anger of their songs. It's not just about looking tough like a few of hardcore bands I won't name; Kill The Man Who Questions is incredibly passionate about these political issues and shares it in an inspiring and informative manner. 

    I will be updating this post with scans of the 12" and booklet when I am able to. 

Sugar Industry 12"

Industry Document CD

Sugar Industry 12" 1999 (Coalition Records)

S/T 7" 1997 (Bloodlink Records)

Pigeon English 7" 2000 (Not on label)

Kill The Man Who Questions / Shoplifters - Your Backlash Against PC Hysteria Is A Fucking Joke / Pandemonium 1997 (Not on label)

Kill The Man Who Questions / Del Cielo split 7" 2002 (Ed Walters Records)

Industry Document: Singles, Live, Unreleased 2002 (Cheap Art)

The Skies Beg To Differ - Demo (1996)

    The Skies Beg To Differ was a post-hardcore band from Ottawa, Ontario who were active from 1994-1996. They were initially known as Insanity Starts At Lake Eerie but changed their name when they finalized their lineup. Their discography consists of just one cassette demo released in 1996 before they disbanded. 

    The Skies Beg To Differ takes the spoken word element of Indian Summer, Current and Native Nod to a whole new level, opting for a vocal style that is more along the lines of poetry than singing. Mixed in here and there with the spoken ramblings are some noisy, yelled vocals backed up by angular, math rock influenced instrumentals. Sometimes too much speaking in a song makes it difficult to listen to but The Skies Beg To Differ really makes it work. The bands left-field instrumentals and spoken vocals also sound very reminiscent of Slint but with a touch more of an "emocore" influence. 

    It seems not many people know of this band which is a shame because they're really interesting and were really doing their own thing in the scene back then. There is some clear influences in their music for sure but they struck me as unique as soon as I listened to them. Their songs seem to be telling a story that you can't seem to turn away from.

    Unfortunately I only have the scans taken from Discogs as we don't own a copy yet but this band needs to be shared. 

cassette EP

S/T Cassette 1996 (Not on label)

Kwisatz Haderach - Discography (1998)

    Kwisatz Haderach was an "emoviolence" band from Arlington, Virginia who were active for about a year in the late 1990s. Their discography consists of a self-titled 7" and a split 7" with Encyclopedia Of American Traitors. The band also featured members of Kid Icarus.

    They took their name from the book Dune, where translated from fictional language, Chakobsa, it means "shortening of the way".

    They had an intense, heavy sound with screeching instrumentals and noisy harsh vocals similar at times to Hassan I Sabbah. There is also a clear influence of noise in their songs similar to that of Honeywell but not  quite reaching that level of chaos. There's a sense of tension and anger laced throughout their tracks that is contagious to the listener and just makes you want to move. 

    Their discography is devastatingly small as this band is underrated and had a lot of potential that could have panned out had they released more material before splitting up. 

    I picked up their killer self-titled 7" from Pump Up The Volume Records in Montréal along with so much other great stuff (Native Nod, Kerosene 454, Portrait, etc). Greg who runs the store is amazing, and was equally as stoked as I was to discuss emo music for an hour. If you're ever in Montreal be sure to check it out! They also sell vintage clothes and old band tees!

S/T 7"

Kwisatz Haderach / Encyclopedia Of American Traitors split 7"

S/T 7" 1998 (Not on label)

Encyclopedia Of American Traitors / Kwisatz Haderach - The Case Of Joe Hill 1998 (Not on label)