Long-lost DC Punks Chalk Circle Get the Reissue Treatment

BY Josiah HughesPublished Feb 11, 2011

From 1981 to 1983, Washington, DC's genre-defining hardcore scene had their first all-girl punk band in Chalk Circle. Despite offers from various men, including Henry Rollins, the band were strictly female-only. Aside from some obscure compilation appearances and demos, however, they never really broke out from the early DC scene. Fortunately, Post Present Medium and Mississippi Records are teaming up for a retrospective anthology.

The release is called Reflection and is due on March 29. It compiles the band's compilation appearances, live recordings and previously unheard songs. The record also includes a 16-page booklet with the complete Chalk Circle story as told by Chalk Circle founder Sharon Cheslow.

As a press release explains, "Chalk Circle, although personally part of the birth of hardcore as friends and fans of the Dischord scene, musically never fit in to the stringent rules of that scene. They sound like they were from a time where experimentation was rewarded, where new ideas were examined and transformed by people who were curious and excited to fit with the moment."

The full tracklisting is below, along with a live video of the band courtesy of Pitchfork. Reflection is available for pre-order now over at Insound.

Reflection:

1. "Reflection"
2. "Uneasy Friend"
3. "Scrambled"
4. "Private Lie"
5. "Turning Up the Collar"
6. "The Look"
7. "The Slap"
8. "Run So Far"
9. "Side by Side"
10. "Easy Escapes"
11. "High Stress"
12. "Subversive Pleasure"

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