Topshelf Records

Pre-orders are now up for A Great Big Pile of Leaves’ follow-up album You’re Always On My Mind!

Listen to a new song from the album “Pet Mouse” (featuring Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre) over on Purevolume.

Today was an exciting one here at our office as it saw the unveiling of two very special, near and dear records and our first foray into putting out a book (even if it has 200 pages and probably less than 200 words, haha). The humbling feeling of validation when you see something you believe in getting such widespread praise and support is something I hope everyone gets to experience at some point or another, even if in just some simple small way. The response to these records going on sale today — the culmination of years of planning, writing, setbacks, collaborating, personal sacrafice, etc. — is just that. So I’m sure when I say thank you for your support I speak for Hilary, Evan, everyone here at Topshelf and everyone in The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, collectively.

So now, I am faced with the difficult decision of acknowledging that Whenever, If Ever is actively leaking a month before it’s release date. You can probably Google for it right now and get it.

This is arguably the biggest release we’ll have all year as a label and this spoils a lot of planning we had in place over the last few months, but these things happen. This also forces me to acknowledge the real-world truth that yes, records cost money. This oft-avoided subject in our community is a reality for everyone who tours or postpones real life to make music in nearly any capacity. It’s a thing. This record is no different.

So against my better judgement, we’ve made Whenever, If Ever available to:

• stream on Youtube for free.
• download on bandcamp immediately for just $7.
• listen to on bandcamp for free.
• listen to on soundcloud for free.
• and, of course, order physically on CD or vinyl.

Anyone who has pre-ordered the record already — thank you, sincerely — you’ll be getting downloads as soon as I can get everything set up (we weren’t planning on sending them for another month after all).

So, I’m appealing to you all to please use the above URLs to share, acquire and experience this record. I understand it’s 2013 and you can download and share this for free (and we’re not going to stop you) but I’m not doing my job if I don’t ask. Heh, I don’t have a job if I don’t ask.

Thanks, you guys.

“Let’s hope that this works out; this has got to work out”

-The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, “Fightboat”

Ever since first hearing Distal in 2011 we’ve been hooked on Crash of Rhinos. The Derby, UK natives have written a record — entitled Knots — that is exactly what I ever want to listen to. So when we were asked to get involved with releasing it, it was kind of a no-brainer. Sonically, it fits perfectly with our catalog and if you’re typically a fan of records we put out, you’re gonna like this.

Photo by Dan Wheeler

We’ll be pairing up with Big Scary Monsters in the UK and To Lose La Track in Italy to bring this to y’all. Expect a late summer release. We’ll have pre-order details and an exact release date soon! 

Have a listen to a new song, “Opener”, from their forthcoming full length right below and give ‘em a follow on Twitter and Facebook.

Excited to share with y’all that we’ll be releasing the newest EP by The Saddest Landscape entitled Exit Wounded. The band recorded the 5-song EP this past winter with Jon Taft at New Alliance.

The EP will be released on 12 Inch vinyl and digitally on June 11th. Per usual, the packaging’s gorgeous and the band continues to get better with age. Look out for pre-order, track info and album art next week!

• 06/13/2013 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
• 06/14/2013 - Greenville, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
• 06/15/2013 - Charleston, SC @ The Oasis (late)
• 06/15/2013 - Murrells Inlet, SC @ Suck Bang Blow (early)
• 06/16/2013 - Atlanta, GA @ Wonder Root
• 06/17/2013 - Savannah, GA @ Taco Abajo
• 06/18/2013 - Jacksonville, FL @ Burro Bar
• 06/19/2013 - Orlando, FL @ Wills’ Pub
• 06/20/2013 - Pembroke Pines, FL @ The Talent Farm
• 06/21/2013 - Tampa, FL @ Epic Problem
• 06/22/2013 - New Orleans, LA @ Big Top June
• 06/23/2013 - San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven
• 06/24/2013 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk
• 06/25/2013 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
• 06/27/2013 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Gasworks
• 06/28/2013 - Meza, AZ @ Nile Underground
• 06/29/2013 - San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe w/ Adventures 
• 06/30/2013 - Highland Park, CA @ Growing Up Is dumb Fest w/ Defiance Ohio
• 07/01/2013 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Ratchet House
• 07/02/2013 - Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go Records
• 07/03/2013 - Eureka, CA @ Placebo
• 07/04/2013 - Portland, OR @ Garfield House
• 07/05/2013 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon Lounge
• 07/06/2013 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder
• 07/07/2013 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Shred Sled
• 07/08/2013 - Denver, CO @ Circle Music Collective
• 07/09/2013 - Kansas City, MO @ Art Closet Studio
• 07/10/2013 - St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
• 07/11/2013 - Peoria, IL @ Broken Tree Coffee
• 07/12/2013 - Chicago, IL @ Swerp Mansion
• 07/13/2013 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Turtle Den
• 07/14/2013 - Ann Arbor, MI @ 907 Lincoln
• 07/15/2013 - Indianapolis, IN @ Hooiser Dome
• 07/16/2013 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Mr. Roboto Project w/ Adventures
• 07/17/2013 - Williamsport, PA @ West 4th
• 07/18/2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire w/ Daylight
• 07/19/2013 - Alexandria, VA @ The Lab w/ Daylight 
• 07/20/2013 - Brooklyn, NY @ Suburbia w/ Daylight
• 07/21/2013 - New Haven, CT @ Bethesda Lutheran Church 

Elsewhere on the internet:

• You can also catch them on a Canadian tour with Cerce and Dads soon.
• The band also recently announced their debut full length, Whenever, If Ever due out this summer.
• Listen to their song “Beverly Wyatt” from their 4-way split with Code Orange Kids, Tigers Jaw & Self Defense Family.

If my memory serves me correctly, my first ever interaction with Evan Weiss was over a Twitter DM in 2010. Super professional. Since then, we’ve become really good friends (you eventually get used to the smell). So, it was with equal parts necessity, obligation and friendship when I decided to jump in the van in Fall of 2012, as Into It. Over It. — more commonly known as the tirelessly touring, outgoing, short-shorts sporting, beard-wielding acoustic guy that everyone loves to love — took to the road for the first time with a full backing band to Fest and back.

(Photo by Hilary J. Corts)

Along for the ride with the band and myself was Hilary Corts who diligently photographed the entire tour, capturing the great, hilarious, mundane and truly special along the way. The result is a 200-page full color, hard cover book featuring her photographs and an accompanying live 7” record to commemorate the tour which will be released June 25, 2013. The takes on this 7” sound great and breathe new life into songs Into It. Over It. fans are already well familiar with.

You’ll soon be able to pick that up in our store but for now, Greenvans put together some footage from the tour — which made pit stops at both CMJ and The Fest — and you can view it directly below:

(video by Zac Suskevich)

We’ll have more details including pre-order date, pressing info and track listing shortly.

Thanks, y’all!

Slingshot Dakota w/ Taking Meds:

• May 20, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ Golden Tea House
• May 21, 2013 - Arlington, VA @ The Lab
• May 22, 2013  Huntington, WV @ The Elimination Chamber
• May 23, 2013 - Nashville, TN @ The Owl Farm
• May 24, 2013 - Indianpolis, IN @ Hooser Dome
• May 25, 2013 - Howel, MI @ Bled Fest
• May 26, 2013 - Toronto @ TBA
• May 27, 2013 - Rochester, NY @ The Bugjar

Slingshot Dakota w/ Owen:

• June 17, 2013 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
• June 18, 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
• June 19, 2013 - Richmond VA @ Church of Abraham (w/o Owen)
• June 20, 2013 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
• June 21, 2013 - Greensboro, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
• June 22, 2013 - Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Laundrolounge
• June 23, 2013 - Murrells Inlet, SC @ Rockin’ Hard Saloon (w/o Owen, w/ Hostage Calm)
• June 24, 2013 - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
• June 25, 2013 - Atlanta, GA @ Under the Couch  (w/o Owen)
• June 26, 2013 - Nashville, TN @ The End 

Slingshot Dakota w/ Allison Weiss:

• July 17, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary    
• July 18, 2013 - Baltimore, MD @ Charm City Art Space
• July 21, 2013 - Altoona, PA @ Archway Center    
• July 22, 2013 - Rochester, NY @ Dubland Underground

The band is also currently on the tail end of their full US tour with Frameworks so be sure to catch them on those dates incase any of the ones listed above aren’t near you!

• June 07, 2013 - Altoona, PA @ Archway Center
• June 08, 2013 - Toledo, OH @ Frankie’s
• June 09, 2013 - Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Dome
• June 11, 2013 - St. Louis, MO @ The Demo
• June 12, 2013 - Omaha, NE @ The Sweatshop Gallery
• June 13, 2013 - Salinas, KS @ Indian Rock Lodge
• June 14, 2013 - Denver, CO @ 7th Circle Collective
• June 15, 2013 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Shred Shed
• June 16, 2013 - Boise, ID @ Boise Venue
• June 17, 2013 - Seattle, WA @ El Corozon
• June 18, 2013 - Portland, OR @ TBD
• June 20, 2013 - Stockton, CA @ Plea For Peace Center
• June 21, 2013 - Los Angeles, CA @ Cobalt Cafe
• June 22, 2013 - San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
• June 23, 2013 - Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
• June 25, 2013 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Underground
• June 27, 2013 - Midland, TX @ The Pinebox
• June 28, 2013 - San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven
• June 29, 2013 - Austin, TX @ Beale Street
• June 30, 2013 - Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall
• July 02, 2013 - Memphis, TN @ The Abbey
• July 03, 2013 - Nashville, TN @ Owl Farm
• July 04, 2013 - Birmingham, AL @ The Forge
• July 05, 2013 - Atlanta, GA @ TBD
• July 06, 2013 - Savannah GA @ Sweet Melissa’s Pizza
• July 07, 2013 - Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
• July 09, 2013 - Pembroke Pines, FL @ Talent Farm
• July 10, 2013 - Jacksonville, FL @ Burro Bar
• July 11, 2013 - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
• July 12, 2013 - Virginia Beach, VA @ TBD
• July 13, 2013 - Baltimore, MD @ Charm City Art Space
• July 14, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
• July 16, 2013 - Bay Shore, NY @ Eleven Flow
• July 17, 2013 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
• July 18, 2013 - Albany, NY @ Boges
• July 19, 2013 - Montreal, ON @ Stack Your Roster HQ
• July 20, 2013 - Ottawa, ON @ TBD
• July 21, 2013 - Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck Bar
• July 23, 2013 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme

Fresh off the release of their long awaited and fantastic debut full length, Lacuna, Caravels will be hitting the road later this spring en route to and from this year’s BLED Fest with Octaves, Frameworks, I Kill Giants & Old Gray in tow. Dates and info are below (heh, that rhymed):

• 05/08/2013 - Las Vegas, NV @ Cack Shaq w/ Octaves
• 05/09/2013 - Tempe, AZ @ Casa Cha Boi w/ Octaves
• 05/10/2013 - Albuquerque, NM @ Gasworks w/ Octaves
• 05/11/2013 - El Paso, TX @ The War Room w/ Octaves
• 05/12/2013 - Denton, TX @ Dave’s w/ Octaves
• 05/13/2013 - Austin, TX @ The Annex at 1808
• 05/14/2013 - San Antonio, TX @ The Korova
• 05/15/2013 - New Orleans, LA @ House Show w/ Frameworks
• 05/16/2013 - Tallahassee, FL @ St Anger House w/ Frameworks
• 05/17/2013 - Birmingham, AL @ TBA w/ Frameworks
• 05/18/2013 - Atlanta, GA @ WonderRoot w/ Frameworks
• 05/19/2013 - Greensboro, NC @ TBA w/ Frameworks
• 05/20/2013 - Richmond, VA @ TBA w/ Frameworks
• 05/21/2013 - Frederick, MD @ The Rat’s Nest
• 05/22/2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ Thirst Mountain
• 05/23/2013 - New York, NY @ Public Assembly w/ The Saddest Landscape
• 05/24/2013 - Pittsburgh, PA @ 222 Ormsby w/ Old Gray / Prawn / Have Mercy / I Kill Giants
• 05/25/2013 - Howell, MI @ Bled Fest
• 05/26/2013 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Milhouse w/ Old Gray / I Kill Giants
• 05/27/2013 - Chicago, IL @ Bikini Bottom w/ Old Gray / I Kill Giants
• 05/28/2013 - Milwaukee, WI @ Michael Jordan’s Skramz Dunk Arena w/ Old Gray / I Kill Giants
• 05/29/2013 - Peioria, IL @ Broken Tree Coffee w/ Old Gray / I KIll Giants
• 05/30/2013 - Nashville, TN @ The Hymen House
• 05/31/2013 - St. Louis, MO @ The Radskeller w/ Old Gray / I Kill Giants
• 06/01/2013 - Kansas City, MI @ Art Closet Studio
• 06/02/2013 - Denver, CO @ TBA
• 06/03/2013 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Shred Shed

So, so, so stoked to announce this right now, you guys! We’ll be working with Kilcoole, Ireland’s Enemies to release their new full length record Embark, Embrace on vinyl in the US (it’s brilliant).

In the spirit of DIY, Embark, Embrace was recorded and visually designed by the band themselves, with engineering handled by a close friend, James Eager of The Hive Studios. The album will be the first release on the band’s own label, Heavyweight Records with Topshelf handling everything in the US.

The title Embark, Embrace comes from the bands decision to set aside careers & college degrees and focus on touring as much as possible — an opportunity that has not been available to the band until now. Enemies are just back from a three week tour of Europe and plans to tour Asia & America are already under way.

The band recently made “Executive Cut” free to download from their bandcamp site. Details for the album are below:

Tracklist:

• 1.) Intro
• 2.) Executive Cut (feat. Conor Adams)
• 3.) Unit Shifter
• 4.) Beacher
• 5.) Indian Summer
• 6.) Coral Castle
• 7.) Nighthawks (feat. Heathers)
• 8.) Moesha
• 9.) Love Unlimited
• 10.) North West  (feat. Oisin Murphy)

We’ll have pre-order info soon, but for now, give the guys a follow on Facebook & Twitter and have a listen on their bandcamp.

Easily one of our most anticipated releases of this year — and certainly one that’s long overdue — Whenever, If Ever will mark The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die’s first foray into releasing a full length record. It’ll be released by us on CD, vinyl and digitally on June 18, 2013. So, I dunno. about time, right?

photo by Carly Hoskins.

I think this band has evolved into something that demands to be heard over the course of a full length record; and we’ve all been given glimpses of the potential of what that can be over the last few years’ EPs and splits — but believe me, they fucking deliver, you guys.

We’ve been listening to demos, roughs, instrumentals, mixes — and finally — masters. It’s been a thrill to see this record get made and will be well worth the wait.

• See them on tour right now with Hostage Calm and Turnover.
• See them on tour soon with Dads and Cerce.
• Listen to their new song, “Beverly Wyatt”, from their split with Code Orange Kids, Tigers Jaw & Self Defense Family.

We’ll have more details on pre-orders, album art and track listing in the coming weeks.

Thanks, y’all.

Perhaps my favorite thing about running a record label is that we’re music fans and geek out about this shit just as much as anyone else. So weeks like this are just the best, y’know?!

We premiered two new songs today. Two really, really, really good songs. Do yourself a favor if you’ve got a few minutes:

Tigers Jaw is going out with a bang — they’ve got a full US tour with our favorites, Pianos Become the Teeth, and a monster of a split that we occasionally can’t believe actually is even happening. I know Tigers Jaw aren’t fans of punctuation, but this one puts an exclamation point to the end of a great run.

Listen to their new song “Fake Death” below and pre-order their split with Code Orange Kids, Self Defense Family and The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die in our store.

Weatherbox is a band that’s a household name in our office. This band can do no wrong. They’re underrated and underappreciated but there’s absolutely no way that trend’ll continue if they keep pumping out songs like this (and they always do and always will, so yeah). If you’re a fan of the Topshelf catalog but not familiar with this band, I implore you to take a moment and give this song a listen — you’re gonna like it.

In a niche where bands come and go (see above ): ), these guys are journeymen with absolutely no quit. They’ve been at this forever and just keep getting better. They’ll be out on tour this summer with The Front Bottoms and I can’t properly convey enough to you to make it out to a show and see them if you get the opportunity — they’re great.

You can pre-order their split with Sainthood Reps right now in our store.

Lastly, the newest and youngest band on our roster, Have Mercy, premiered a new track from their debut full length album this week and it is — by all accounts — incredible. Melodies and hooks for days, you guys. They’ll be at BLED Fest next month… schedule accordingly, people.

I’m not the only one who loves it:

“…Shimmering cascades of guitar noise and harrowing vocals. We’ve been playing it on repeat for so long that our friends are starting to worry.”

-MTV Buzzworthy

“…an emotional powerhouse that’ll remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place.”

-Absolutepunk

You can pre-order their new record The Earth Pushed Back now in our store.

EDIT: Keep an eye on the internet tomorrow right now BTW.

Thanks, you guys.

Fresh off their split with Fake Problems, You Blew It! will be hitting the road this summer with Mixtapes, Light Years, Modern Baseball and Last Call — dates and info are below:

• 6/27/2013 - Richmond, VA @ Kingdom*
• 6/28/2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ Barbary*
• 6/29/2013 - Brooklyn, NY @ Webster Studio*
• 6/30/2013 - Bayshore, NY @ Evenflow Bar and Grill*
• 7/1/2013 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Upstairs*
• 7/2/2013 - Buffalo, NY @ The Waiting Room*
• 7/3/2013 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
• 7/5/2013 - Tinley Park, IL @ Centennial
• 7/6/2013 - Minneapolis, MN @ Station 4
• 7/7/2013 - Rock Island, IA @ BlackHawk Room
• 7/9/2013 - Denver, CO @ TBA
• 7/10/2013 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Shred Shed
• 7/12/2013 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
• 7/13/2013 - Portland, OR @ Backspace
• 7/15/2015 - San Francisco, CA @ 1234 Go!
• 7/16/2013 - Canoga Park, CA @ Cobalt Cafe^
• 7/17/2013 - San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe^
• 7/18/2013 - Las Vegas, NV @ Eagles Hall^
• 7/19/2013 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater Underground^
• 7/20/2013 - Albuquerque, NM @ Gasworks^
• 7/21/2013 - Tulsa, OK @ Eclipse Cultural House^

* w/ Modern Baseball
^ w/ Last Call

We’ve also re-stocked the You Blew It! beanies in our store if you missed out on them the first time around.

Heyoo! Today we’ve got some pretty awesome news! Have Mercy’s debut LP The Earth Pushed Back is up for pre-order right now in our store and MTV is currently featuring the band’s new video for “Let’s Talk About Your Hair” on their Buzzworthy blog — they also had this to say:

“…Shimmering cascades of guitar noise and harrowing vocals. We’ve been playing it on repeat for so long that our friends are starting to worry.”

-MTV Buzzworthy

If that’s not convincing enough, Absolutepunk had this to say about the record:

“…an emotional powerhouse that’ll remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place.”

-Absolutepunk

Recorded with J. Robbins this winter, The Earth Pushed Back will be out May 21, 2013. To check out the pre-order packages we have available for it, head on over to our store.

Thanks, you guys!

Starting June 1, we’re gonna need some new help so we’re looking for summer interns now. Not just any interns, you guys. Good ones! That are reliable, focused, and have some goals — stuff like that. Let us help you help us to help you while you help us, k?

Position 1: Mail order help. We’re looking for someone who has a good feel for us and the bands we work with to help out with packaging, shipping, organizing & assembling inventory, site updates, email, general mail order, data entry, etc. You’re able to make it to our office 2-4 times every week. We’d also like you to come help out on the following dates of the Vans Warped Tour with us:

• July 11 - Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
• July 12 - Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
• July 13 - New York, NY @ Nassau Memorial Coliseum
• July 14 - Hartford, CT @ The Comcast Theatre
• July 16 - Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion

Also, people from all over ask about relocating to the Boston area to work with us and every time we’ve ever agreed to it, it always ends up a mess (though well-intentioned). So we’d prefer to only field applications from people already living in the area this summer. Thanks for understanding! 

So, with that said, Mandatory: You live in or around (or can reliably get to) Peabody, MA — specifically this location (our office): 

To apply, please email info at topshelfrecords dot com with the subject “TOPSHELF MAILORDER INTERN” — if you don’t include that in the subject I won’t look at it! Please include a little about yourself and any relevant experience you may have.

Position 2: Graphic Designer. You are now entering a chump-free zone. You downloaded CS6 and just learned how to use ~filters~ and don’t know what kerning means and don’t have an understanding of basic design principles? Please move right along. I’m not a teacher. What I am is someone who can help you get your feet wet with designing for print and web, working with real-life deadlines and constraints, gaining understanding and perspective for the role design plays within our niche of the music industry and prodding you to get good results out of a skill set you know you’ve already started to hone. If you think you have some chops, please read on.

We’re looking for someone who has a good feel for us and the bands we work with to help in designing adverts (print & web), merchandise, promotional items, album packaging, web layouts, etc. Here are a few examples of work previous design interns have done.

Mandatory: You live in or around (or can reliably get to) our office in Peabody, MA (see position 1) or my studio in Boston, MA 2-4 times a week:

To apply, please email info at topshelfrecords dot com with the subject “TOPSHELF DESIGN INTERN” — if you don’t include that in the subject I won’t look at it! Please include a little about yourself, any relevant experience you may have and a link to your work / portfolio. You’ll need your own laptop because we don’t have an extra machine for you. Bonus points for HTML / CSS / JS knowledge.

Position 3: Videographer. We’re trying to get weird here. I’ll be honest, I don’t know a lot about video. I know what looks good to me and what looks natural to me; not forced or contrived. I can appreciate good work and hopefully you’re capable of producing it.

We’re looking for someone who has a good feel for us and the bands we work with to help create high quality video content. You should be very, very available for this position. Able to get in a van and document a tour for a couple days, able to make it out to shows around the area, able to work with our bands when they come through the area and work closely with us to create some great stuff. Speaking of the area, you should be able to make it to the location(s) listed above 2-4 times a week.

To apply, please email info at topshelfrecords dot com with the subject “TOPSHELF VIDEO INTERN” — if you don’t include that in the subject I won’t look at it! Please include a little about yourself, any relevant experience you may have and a link to your work.

I should also note that we can accomodate college credit or co-op for any of the aforementioned positions; just mention that it’s something you’d like to pursue.

Lastly, don’t worry about being overly formal or uptight or whatever. We’re just some hangin’ out dudes that like weird stuff and somehow this is our job. We have fun with it and want you to as well.

Thanks!