DETAILS
TRACKS
Side A
- Teenage Angst at 27
- Jehu On A Rollercoaster
- Passing the Crown
- Autobarb
- Goddess (Pt. 4)
Side B
- Radio Agony
- Not A Jerk
- Equator
- Oscar Night
- Bus
RELEASE DATE
02/05/2021
• 1997 album remastered and available on vinyl and digital for the first time.
• Pressed on a limited edition of 300 clear vinyl LPs
Secret treasure of the vanguard queercore and riot grrrl era, Longstocking’s Once Upon a Time Called Now was both the odd duck out and, ironically, the recording with perhaps the boldest natural magnetism. Thanks to the confident, characterful immediacy of guitarist and lead vocalist Tamala Poljak’s pop songcraft and the band’s skilled yet quirky musicianship, it’s got a sound that leaps from the speakers to embrace listeners or shake them by the shoulders. Everyone from Donna Dresch to Vaginal Creme Davis to Phranc adored Longstocking. Today, with a vinyl release featuring new artwork by Portland painter Nathan Paul Rice, this ten-song collection is set to claim the broader, more diverse audience it deserves.
Recorded and mixed in five days for $2,000 on analog equipment, including a vintage Neve console beloved by The Cars, Once Upon a Time… balances dry comedic wit and a wildly enthusiastic spirit without hitting a bum note. It scarcely takes a second to catch breath between songs. Team Poljak benefits from the spiky angularity and skillfully synced surging energy of David Gomez’s bass, Sherri Solinger’s drums and Woody Stevenson’s guitar and backing vocals. As captain of the foursome, Poljak’s words and guitar are personalized and political, expressing queer love (“Goddess (Pt. 4)”; “Not a Jerk”) and loathing (“Autobarb”). Classic harmonies and nuanced countermelodies reign supreme as the album touches upon Catholic oppression (“Equator”), Hollywood conformity (“Oscar Nite”), and musical activism (“Radio Agony”). Poljak has a knack for shorthand touchstones: Shakespeare, Prince, Cyrano de Bergerac and Dracula trade love tips while Mozart, Beethoven, Tom Verlaine, Mario Lanza, Kate Pierson, Donna Summer and Angela Davis signal freedom.
Remastered for turntables in tandem with a collection of demos and singles, Longstocking’s debut LP is a record of 1997 with 2020 vision. In fact, the album’s title could not be more accurate: Once Upon a Time… is ready for right now.
EXPLORE

Adam Selzer
Slow Decay

Hallelujah The Hills
Against Electricity

José Medeles
Art of Slowness: The Halfling Session

Old Unconscious
Sunfort

Motrik
"33"

Christian Kiefer
What You Have Come For Is Death

Boxhead Ensemble
The Unseen Hand: Music For Documentary Film

Hook & Anchor
Hook & Anchor

The Valiant Arms
Swallow The Sea: The Songs of The Crabs

Carcrashlander
A Plan To Tell The Future

Alialujah Choir
The Alialujah Choir

Slow Moses
Charity Binge

Scirocco
Walk To The Moon

Perhapst
Perhapst

The Born Losers
The Born Losers

The Maroons
You're Gonna Ruin Everything

Norfolk & Western
Centralia

Dave Depper
Utrecht Suite

Matthew Hattie Hein
In Search of Lost Hein

No. 2
What Does Good Luck Bring?

Nick Jaina
A Bird In The Opera House

Boxhead Ensemble
Electric Guitar

Kpants
Smile And Nod Accordingly

Eyelids
Slow It Goes

Arch Cape
Arch Cape

Hallelujah The Hills
No One Knows What Happens Next

Annalisa Tornfelt & Gideon Freudmann
Unraveling

Martha Scanlan
The Shape of Things Gone Missing, The Shape of Things To Come

The Hackles
The Twilight's Calling It Quits

Eyelids
Maybe More

Martha Scanlan
The River and The Light

Team Dresch
Team Dresch Bundles

Team Dresch
Team Dresch "Husband" T

Old Unconscious
Lyle

Eyelids
Jay Gonzalez Sings Eyelids Sings Jay Gonzalez Sings Eyelids

Defective AI
A Book Of Coherent Warnings

Marisa Anderson & Tara Jane O'Neil
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

No. 2
You Might Be Right

Team Dresch
Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994-2000

Dave Depper
Europa

Infinite X's
Infinite X's

Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records Bundle

Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records T Shirt

Candy-Ass Records
Candy-Ass Records Hoodie

Red Red Meat
Red Red Meat T

José Medeles
Railroad Cadences & Melancholic Anthems

No. 2
First Love

Martha Scanlan & Jon Neufeld
Last Stars First Light
