Premature or prescient? When I poured one out for Brooklyn shoegazers Dirty On Purpose back in May, it was strictly in a “oh hey I remember these guys, maybe you do to?” shout out to my exact musical demographic/generation. Well it turns out that I was far from the only one who had that sense of aughts-hipster-Williamsburg nostalgia, because the band had already gotten back together to put together a reissue package collecting their debut EP Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow and full-length Hallelujah Sirens in a single double-LP package for their 20th (give or take) anniversary – it’s out via Kanine Records on September 5 and limited to 250 copies.

To sweeten the deal, the band have included two unreleased songs. I can’t find any info about the second, “These Days Were For Us”, but the band has plenty to say about the first one, “Ways To Drown”, which is available to stream. Says drummer Doug Marvin:

When the 4 of us got to talking about potential bonus tracks we all thought of ‘Ways to Drown.’ It’s a song that we demoed and were saving for the next record, but the next record never happened. Could we record it now? George lives fully off the grid in northern Vermont. We would have to come to him. So in October 2024 we road tripped up, with producer Rod Sherwood. Hooked the amps up to generators and pressed record. Our first new song in 17 years, available on the Hallelujah Sirens/Sleep Late double vinyl package.

@dirty_on_purpose

It’s not the first time the song has been released, though. A live version appeared on Start Your Own Fucking Show Space, a live album celebrating the late Death By Audio concert venue in 2016.

A live recording from Brooklyn venue Rubberlip circa 2007, a year before the band disbanded, also exists.