Rations is/was a punk band from Long Island, NY active between 2008-2013. Rations Noise is an electronic offshoot formed in the aftermath. Contact us by email at wells@86drec.com or by mail at P.O. 501 East Setauket, NY 11733-0501 U$A.

​The 50% off sale continues... 24 April 2020 I've updated the store with a bunch of stuff. Most notably test presses from a bunch of Traffic Violation and 86'd releases. Also found some odds and ends around to restock long sold-out titles from both labels. Browse till you drop:

86'd Records releases (GO WHITE BRONCO, UTTER FAILURE, RATIONS, BOILERMAN)

Traffic Violation Records releases (IFARM, LATTERMAN, ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES)

Distro (HEWHOCORRUPTS, some great compilations)

Test Presses (OTMOP, GO WHITE BRONCO, RATIONS, BOILERMAN) Thanks, Wells/86'd

First round of reviews back for RATIONS NOISE / URD, second pending 13 June 2019 A bunch of reviews of the RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split LP/CS have started popping up online and in print. Scroll down to peep 'em. Still waiting on MRR and Bad Transfer (Nate Wilson, Matt Average, more). Psyched for those. Also, I've got about 10 more copies set aside to send out for reviews. Any ideas? Email me or hit me up on Twitter. Let's fuckin' go *Infest voice*: First up is the venerable Razorcake zine. An abridged version of CJ Miller's very humbling review appeared in both print and online. After the magazine came out she posted the full review on Instagram. Here's the full text: “Whatever you want to read in this first sentence that will make you listen to this split - imagine you have just read it. This is an important album. No hyperbole. Complex, emotionally affecting, fiery, equally cathartic and despair resounding, politically agitating and agitated clarion. I will preface with the fact I am a huge fan grrl of Rations and all of their previous releases. You should listen to them as well. But that has only some bearing on my feelings per this release (Unknown River Driver includes members and frequent collaborators of Rations - Brian Donnelly, Tia Meilinger, and Christopher Lamagna - and Rations Noise seems to be a new iteration of two Rations members, Beaker and Wells, delving into sonic territory different from their bands previous incarnation.) This release is incredible and stands on it's own very confident feet. The Unknown River Driver side is powerful, grit and gravel, guitar based punk presented with profound honesty and sensitivity of expression. Painful personal content with thoughtful social and political nuance. All of the songs expand and contract, saturated with sadness and note bends. Standouts for me are two of the more catchy contributions - "Isaiah" and "Misery & Liberty". The latter begins with a captivating and dance-able drum beat/hand clap hook which acts as a lovely counterpoint to the lyrics and emotional tone of the guitars/bass. "It worsens until I don't feel." The song is a dynamic and incendiary representation of feelings I've known so well in my life - when we live so long with suffering it becomes familiar; when pain and despair dwell so comfortably in our hearts and bones and bodies our awareness of them dulls. The misery becomes so familiar we no longer notice it. Now for the Rations Noise side. A lesson for me in so much. Firstly - to refrain from preconceptions before taking anything into myself. Based on this being a noise project centering on drone warfare I expected something far more aggressive, dissonant, sonically dense and brutally oppressive - especially considering the horrific subject matter. Instead what unfolded was a beautiful, often gentle and pensive, cinematic and sweeping piece of experimental music. I will almost always refrain from using other bands as reference points in reviews or critiques because i think it promotes narrow mindedness and homogenization of thought/style but I want you to listen to this and sometimes drawing comparisons to other bands seems to help draw new listeners in - so if you imagine a collaboration between Explosions in the Sky and 3RA1N1AC you'll perhaps have an idea of what transpires here. The arrangements are sparse and oscillate between tones of hope and of melancholy. The piece opens with grinding metal formed into a pulsing beat and bubbling, glitching patterns of sound reminiscent of computer processing. I believe this serves to establish a sonic theme relating to drone operation and the computerized language of these war machines - the technological vector/buffer that allows for detached execution and destruction from operator to victims. Dramatic and melodic guitar swells behind these patterns, setting a surprisingly hopeful tone. A layer of two slightly robotic voices - one low, one higher pitched, evocative of traditional masc/femme vocal presentation quote Jack Gilroy's poem "Hancock Litany for Good Friday". "Men of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing. Wo men of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing. Men and Women of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing.” - CJ Miller, Razorcake

Next up is a review from Yellow Green Red Blog (Matt Korvette from Pissed Jeans). Here's a screengrab:



And here's a review from Jersey Beat!

And a couple from Svbterranean and Apathy and Exhaustion respectively. Thanks for reading all, Wells/86'd

​Tabula Rasa for 2019 21 December 2018 Dear friends, customers, vendors, competitors, bots, trolls, lurkers, etc.,

This is a heads up that I’m leaving SOLID MFG at the beginning of the year to focus on other stuff. Solid, which has already been running at the A TO Z MEDIA offices in NYC since July will continue running the company as SOLID MERCH. SOLID MERCH will remain focused on short run vinyl products with even quicker turns and new suite of products for bands and labels. Questions for Solid-related stuff can go to solid@atozmedia.com. As for me, I’m not exactly sure… and it feels great. ALBUM ARTWORK STUFF I’ve been lending a hand to people (mostly friends) for album covers, ad layouts, social media graphics, more and more over the past year-or-so, and I’m going to make it more official in 2019. You can check out stuff I’ve done for my own label and bands here, here, and here. Here’s a good example of an album layout (that also included posters, social graphics, etc.) that I did for a friend. I’ve also successfully (and joyfully) recreated LP layouts using only original printed CD covers for a couple of vinyl reissues on STUNTMAN and TREEPEOPLE on Gravy Lane Records. I’m going to formalize this as a set of services in the new year. I’ll offer both à la carte and package deals. The idea with the package deals would be include layouts for posters, social graphics, etc. In the meantime, if any of this interests you please hit me up. MUSIC STUFF I’ve been doing a lot of music stuff lately. Firstly, RATIONS NOISE has a split 12” LP/CS coming out UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER on 1/11/19. Peep the vid.

Second, RATIONS (as in the band, not the noise) has been practicing again with altered lineup. We’ve recorded four new songs, one of which will be appearing on a 2xLP compilation to be announced in 2019. Also, the two RATIONS 7”es from 2011 and 2013 are available for the first time on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. as well as being re-licensed as CC0 for sharing and re-use. Very much looking forward to jamming, playing and recording more in 2019. SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE POLYVINYL CHLORIDE Thanks to all the people who helped me make Solid MFG what it is (quick list: Andre, Karin, Shannon, Cory, David, Chris, Tasha). Big thanks to Sarah, Scott, and Rich at ATOZ for being great friends and the best in the biz. Yours in friendship, Wells

UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER streaming track "Isaiah," plus more news up at Scene Point Blank 19 November 2018 I'm very happy to point you to Scene Point Blank to check out the new track from UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER. The song will be appearing on the upcoming split LP/CS with RATIONS NOISE on January 11th.

The bands used the occasion to announce the lineup of co-releasing labels and single out some favorite releases. Peep the whole spiel here.

Traffic Violation Records digital reissues 8 October 2018 At long last, it's the first round of Traffic Violation Records digital reissues. Available as lossless downloads with PDF files of the full artwork directly from our site or at 86drec.bandcamp.com. This round features releases from Contra, Splurge,The Insurgent, and Sometimes Walking, Sometimes Running, plus a 7" compilation from 1999 featuring Jan Cux, On The Might Of Princes, Porcelain Decay, The Insurgent, and Mad Cow Dizeaze 182. Shop Traffic Violation Downloads

Poke around the nascent discography section I've also scanned and snapped pics of some old Long Island punk/hardcore and Traffic Violation Records stuff that I'll be posting to the #tvrchives at instagram.com/86drec. So stay up to date on stuff there, eh?

RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split 12" LP video debut on NoEcho.net 30 July 2018 86'd Records is overjoyed to finally announce the upcoming RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split 12" LP. Test presses are approved, artwork is finished, and we're now looking for a handful of like-minded record labels to help us release it around the world.

We made a minute-long video about the record that you can watch at NoEcho.net. As in the past we're aiming for a multi-label split release w/ labels from different parts of the world chipping in to handle decentralized distribution. Our goal is to get small quantities of the record to a handful of local scenes and to encourage hand-to-hand purchases and trades among DIY labels and distros. As usual, our hope is to use this occasion as an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with the international DIY punk conspiracy and to help further connect the network of ideas, music, and trade that happens outside the mainstream. On board so far is Farsot Records in Sweden and Tor Johnson Records in Providence, RI. We're planning on pressing around 300 records with label shares being around 20-30 units each. Interested labels can hit up wells@86drec.com. To sign up to be notified when the record is released visit this link. Thanks! Wells/86'd





Boilerman show, Vinyl and CD bundle deals, 25% off everything else 22 August 2017 BOILERMAN is playing a show today at Room of Requirement in Chicago with Boxsledder and Bywater! Ask a punk! But more importantly, peep the bundle deal for big savings on B-man stuff. Vinyl Bundle $25 - BOILERMAN "Doing Great" single - Clear vinyl 7" - BOILERMAN "Feel Ways About Stuff" LP - Black vinyl 12" - BOILERMAN s/t one-sided 10" - Clear w/ Mix Splatter Japanese Import CD Bundle $10 BOILERMAN "Loss Leaders" CD - Compact Disc BOILERMAN "Feel Ways About Stuff" LP/CD/DL - Japanese Import CD Add an 86'd Records tee shirt for $5. Or if you don't like Boilerman you can just take 25% off everything else (applied at checkout). This bundle deal is over! Thanks! Wells/86'd