Sister Cylinder

Sister Cylinder boutique vinyl and tapes, home to Old Moon, Swan Wash, TRANS FX, Babies in the Bardo, and more

WAVE

Don't tell him, but before I returned his bass, I figured out "So Slowly" (Daytrotter version, believe it) and had a lit...
01/03/2026

Don't tell him, but before I returned his bass, I figured out "So Slowly" (Daytrotter version, believe it) and had a little EDM/Jonny Yuma fantasy camp moment.

day.miners

Very excited to announce that SIS016, our reissue of Blue Livingroom's 2021 debut "For Keeps," is now shipping! Before s...
11/12/2025

Very excited to announce that SIS016, our reissue of Blue Livingroom's 2021 debut "For Keeps," is now shipping! Before songwriter Warren Ard cooked up the vivid alt-rock sweep of DETECTS, there was Blue Livingroom, Ard's excursion into refracted, romantic reverie via bittersweet but optimistic, futurist synthpop a la vintage Clan of Xymox, "Black Celebration" era Depeche Mode, or early TRANS FX. Simultaneously melancholic and driving, the ten tracks of "For Keeps" take the listener on a diaristic journey through loss and hope, Warren's lightly submerged vocals conveying the effect of one side of an impassioned phone conversation heard from the next room, meanings clear even when specifics stay hazy.

I hold "For Keeps" close as one of my most treasured Bandcamp discoveries, and I couldn't be prouder to bring this previously digital-only release onto a physical format, our limited edition of 50 white cassettes with blue imprint and a gorgeous J-card design and layout by Warren Ard. Getting to know Warren throughout the planning of the release has been a joy, and I look forward to more projects on the horizon from this prolific voice.

We're having a Bandcamp listening party for the tape next Wednesday 11/19 at 8PM EST, so whether "For Keeps" is new to you or already part of your personal canon, we'd love to have you join us as we chat with Warren about the release. RSVP link is in our bio, as is a link to order the cassette. See you soon, see you all the time!

-Scott F.
livingroom

10 years ago, Sister Cylinder released the debut LP from Worcester MA's Secret Lover. A fully unique presence on the DIY...
09/30/2025

10 years ago, Sister Cylinder released the debut LP from Worcester MA's Secret Lover. A fully unique presence on the DIY basement circuit, Secret Lover had come to my attention when they offered to host Kam K**a as we braved the moody backroads of New England. Their arresting blend of musical theater and garage-psych reminded me of Jefferson Airplane, Modern Lovers, and Pulp by turns. I couldn't believe they weren't fighting off labels, so I stepped in to do the honors.

Sally, John, and Dave all lived in a sprawling 3-story punk mansion known as the Distant Castle, on the frighteningly steep Forbes St. (Lars lived offsite but managed to be the life of the party.) The DC was something born of a dream, replete with grand dining table and looming staircase framed in stained-glass features. Reports conflicted as to whether a ghost had or hadn't been spotted on the stairs. There were at min 15-20 people living there, a veritable beehive of bohemian comings and goings. Despite the bustle, the same quiet cubby you had slept in the year before would remain unoccupied, waiting for you at whatever wee quiet hour you crept to the top floor. There was magic at work. Chatting about the history of the house, an unnamed boarder reassured me that "we all just live here, it's not a movement or anything." But I wasn't so sure. I always had the impression walking through the front door that I might never again emerge into mundane daylight.

As the first non-Bloomington act on the label, separated by a gulf of 1000 miles, I never got to know any of the SL gang quite as well as I would have liked. But their bright group halo of adventure, ingenuity, and optimism left its mark on my imagination. And for some reason they entrusted me with their beloved songs, which still means more to me than they could know.

Sally Horowitz directs theater in London as . Dave Paquette builds amps as DAP Amplifiers. carries on the family biz at Paulson Stained Glass. John Guida paints in San Francisco, still immune to the Internet. Whether in this life, the next life, or the very prison of passion's ancient vision, I hope to see them all again someday.

-Scott F.

Spinning all various kinds of discs tomorrow on with Jade and Pat at their gracious invitation. We're doing post-punk/...
07/29/2025

Spinning all various kinds of discs tomorrow on with Jade and Pat at their gracious invitation. We're doing post-punk/shoegaze and things are gonna get funky! Yes, I will be forgoing Bauhaus for solo Peter Murphy. Yes, there will be a Comsat Angels Peel session.

If you don't know, it is my deep regret to inform that this month we lost Jeffrey Runnings, singer/bassist/bandleader of...
03/23/2025

If you don't know, it is my deep regret to inform that this month we lost Jeffrey Runnings, singer/bassist/bandleader of the decades-running, sublimely wonderful For Against.

1-3) My shots of Jeff/FA, Duffy’s Tavern, Lincoln NE, 9/24/05 (Paul Engelhard on drums and Harry Dingman just out of frame)
4) Jeff’s gtr case…the tipoff to Deception Bay is still appreciated
5) Jeff’s setlist…”Broke My Back” and “Clandestine High Holy” were cut when the set ran long
6) My fave FA pic, Karl Stephen 1987 (yes that Swan Wash pic is a shameless rip)

Seeing FA play in Nebraska the same night of a 12-hr drive remains fully unique for me. I introduced myself before the show, and Jeff generously made a point of inviting me to chat outside for a good 20-30 minutes. I hung on every word, thrilled to learn "Mindframed" was one of his own favorite FA songs as well as mine, and fascinated by his theory of canon post-punks making mission statements with the second LP as opposed to the first (The Sound, Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes...but NOT The Banshees, he took care to point out). He also recommended The Comsat Angels.

I'm still grateful for the rush of the short hang and small glimpse of the person behind the songs and words that were my favorite secret, the one I tried not to keep. Looking back on that pilgrimage, I see myself trying to crack a code, to peer at my mysterious favorite band long enough to really understand, to see what it might mean to be that way. Jeff just remembered my name and handed me a guitar as he broke gear down in a half-panic when he realized their set had run over into The Prids' time. There was no code to crack, just a slow dawning that if it mattered enough and you kept at it, the work might eventually be its own reward.

Outside Duffy's, Jeff said that some of the classics from the early-80s pantheon of his youth were difficult for him to listen to, loaded as they were with memory and association. I nodded but in truth found it difficult to relate...surely these gems of perfect obsession could never fall under such weight? I understand now what he meant. Rest easy, Jeff. Your voice is in our heads and hearts always.
-Scott F

We have 20 or so distro copies of TRANS FX's 2013 debut "Transfix" available at Bandcamp as of today. These were acquire...
12/06/2024

We have 20 or so distro copies of TRANS FX's 2013 debut "Transfix" available at Bandcamp as of today. These were acquired directly from the label that originally released the LP, and as far as I know we're the only ones slinging them at this point.

"Transfix" is key to my personal constellation of 2000s-era DIY goth records, right up there with secreted classics by The American Jobs and Blessure Grave. I made contact with Chris and ended up releasing 2016's "The Clearing" based on my obsession with this debut. The project has gone on to build itself into a small empire of its own, with numerous spinoffs and releases on big-shot labels like and . I've been honored to witness the journey and happy to remain the steward of this mysterious slab of deathly gloom-punk that counterintuitively lit the whole thing up. This thing is RAW, dripping greenish-black blood all over the mind and heart of the receptive listener.

Head to the Bandcamp link in our profile to check it out, this isn't available on streaming platforms. There's a bundle deal to add "The Clearing" too, while stock remains...

-Scott F.

Was delighted to stumble over this so-bad-it's-poignant pic of I have no memory of taking the first time I saw them, at...
10/23/2024

Was delighted to stumble over this so-bad-it's-poignant pic of I have no memory of taking the first time I saw them, at in summer 2014 on their "Under Color of Official Right" tour. I had heard just enough tangential talk about the band that I just barely decided last-minute to go check it out. A brief 5-10 minutes of befuddlement gave way quickly to enchantment, and for a decade now they have reigned unchallenged as my favorite "new" band. I'm hard-pressed to think of anything under the 21st century rock umbrella more creatively actualized and so completely immune to any imitation. Just the fact that I took a picture of them speaks volumes. I never take pictures.

It's nonsense to play the "I prefer the earlier stuff" card with Protomartyr, and I never would, but "Under Color" is such an inscrutable, unlikely slice of pure Gestalt that it breaks my heart more with each passing year, and seeing this photo kind of throws me. But that being said, work your way backward, forward, or sideways through their discography, or just pick one record at random and live in its loamy world forever. You can't go wrong.

-Scott F

Excited to announce that we will be releasing a limited cassette edition of the .livingroom full-length "For Keeps." One...
09/24/2024

Excited to announce that we will be releasing a limited cassette edition of the .livingroom full-length "For Keeps." One of our favorite digital-only finds of the last few years, Blue Livingroom would eventually become the jumping-off point for mastermind Warren Ard's band . Neither a footnote nor a dry run, however, "For Keeps" stands as its own singular vision, a collection of wistful synth-pop removed from time and place into the surreal interior space of its namesake. These are déjà vu songs, built from the rare melodies that follow from dreams into the first moments of waking, daring us to sing them back under our breath as we move through our day.

Follow Sister Cylinder on Bandcamp (link in bio) for updates.

They never exactly flew off the shelves, but alas we find ourselves down to our last 15 or so copies of the Kam K**a "Pa...
09/13/2024

They never exactly flew off the shelves, but alas we find ourselves down to our last 15 or so copies of the Kam K**a "Passer-By/Joseph Stride" 7-inch. I never imagined a time when I wouldn't have a half-full box of these in the basement, and seeing their newly endangered status got me a bit reminiscent. I pulled some photos to share here, all taken during our summer 2013 tour with Ray Creature to promote the record. When I think of this trip I mostly recall us frantically reaching for the dials anytime the first half-second of "Man in the Box" played from the Alice In Chains best-of CDR that was haunting Clarke's minivan. We did however really enjoy "Would?" and even found some of the lyrics relatable. Hope to tour by speedboat again someday.

1) Jon rousts Kam K**a from slumber for a valuable photo opportunity in the deep dark heart of NOWHERESVILLE USA.

2) Jon wields grimmest death as Jim remains none the wiser (Distant Castle, Worcester, MA)

3-4) Jon takes us tubing in North Jackson, OH. I am off-camera begging for him to take us around for one more go. I think this is the last time I've been tubing to date. I hate water and most times light, but I love tubing. The struggle continues.

5) Ray Creature performs at Cedars, Youngstown, OH. I think they're doing a The The cover in this shot.

6) Clarke pretends he wasn't just driving, Cafe Bourbon St, Columbus, OH

7) Clarke catches up with Hannah, Cameo Gallery, Manhattan. Hannah was very kind to put us up last-minute since we weren't big on actually planning little details like where to sleep.

8) Kam K**a plays final show of the tour at Do317 Lounge (Murphy Building), Indianapolis, IN. Awesome show with (Landing) booked by the gracious

9-10) The humble little 45rpm reason for the season, the "Passer-By" single.




In August 2020, not quite on this day but awfully close, we proudly released the self-titled cassette from solo project...
08/15/2024

In August 2020, not quite on this day but awfully close, we proudly released the self-titled cassette from solo project Babies In The Bardo. At once a debut and a retrospective, the cassette collects Jonny's favorite selections from an extensive, formerly online-only recording project that he had once thought completely lost but was finally rescued from optical media and remastered for release.

These hypnogogic, instrumental love letters to the foundational years of labels like Factory, 4AD, and Independent Project soundtracked many a long, listless day at the desk in the late aughts for me, eventually slipping out of my reach but never my memory. I couldn't be prouder that I badgered Jonny consistently enough to finally prevail in relocating the Babies In The Bardo material and getting it out into the world in a more permanent form. And I think the tapes look pretty cool too...cooler than the two of us looked sitting in front of my work computer brainstorming layout ideas, for sure. Check out BITB at the Bandcamp link in our bio. He's way too nice to ever take the credit, but if Bloomington has its own Durutti Column, Jonny is it.

For any fans of Christian Death or 80s goth generally, I wanted to give my full-throated recommendation of Constance Red...
07/18/2024

For any fans of Christian Death or 80s goth generally, I wanted to give my full-throated recommendation of Constance Redgrave's recent memoir "Black Box." Having been obsessed with the band's 1984 "Catastrophe Ballet" LP ever since I special-ordered the (awful) Cleopatra reissue from a friendly Blockbuster Music back in the day, Constance's understated, eerie playing became a central pillar for me as a bass player well before I was ever conscious of its importance. Interview nerd that I am, I was always flummoxed by never turning up any interviews with Constance from any period, and by what seemed to be her disappearance from the subcultural memory after playing on this one brilliant record and exiting the band.

Needless to say, when I idly searched for Constance interviews again a few years ago and saw that not just an interview but an entire self-published MEMOIR about her time in CD had dropped out of the sky, I was taken aback. Her story is conversational, engaging, and disarming, and the insights provided into the personalities and processes of this sorely underdocumented creative peak for the band (Rozz/Valor team-up, hello) are humanizing in a way I have never encountered with Christian Death, and don't expect to again if I am honest. The extent to which abject youthful naïveté plays into the narrative is a revelation, humbling in its relatability. Anyone into this rock doc kind of thing should check it out, and don't sleep on it just because it's an e-book. Also, if you don't know "Catastrophe Ballet," run don't walk to fix that. Thank you to Constance for finally sharing her story - I always figured it would be good but I didn't know the half of it.

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