The Liberation Hall label has, of late, been a haven for interesting and unusual reissues from exciting corners of the post-punk scene. (They've also been active during Record Store Day, recently releasing a box set of albums by The Blasters and an anthology of work by Clarence White of The Byrds.) Here's a look at three noteworthy releases that have been or will be in stores soon.

The label in April released an expansion of the debut album by Pearl Harbor & The Explosions, a provocatively-named San Francisco punk/new wave combo formed by singer Pearl E. Gates (a onetime backing vocalist for The Tubes), guitarist Peter Bilt and the brothers John and Hilary Stench on bass and drums. After the single "Drivin'," released on the stalwart early '80s alternative label 415 Records, became a regional hit, the quartet inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records, reuniting with "Drivin'" producer David Kahne (a 415 mainstay who'd produce beloved albums for Romeo Void, Wire Train and The Bangles). That self-titled debut (perhaps hampered in part by the band's provocative name) would prove to be their only: Gates wanted to further pursue a rock sound, while her bandmates were more interested in jazzier ideas. (She'd quickly cut a follow-up as Pearl Harbour -a name change reflecting her relocation to England - from sessions that featured most of the members of The Clash, including then-husband Paul Simonon on bass.) This expansion of Pearl Harbor & The Explosions follows up an earlier, out-of-print reissue on the Blixa Sounds label, including the unreleased live tracks from that disc, both sides of the group's original 415 single and a non-album B-side. (A vinyl edition will also be available, offering that Warner-era flip, "Busy Little B Side," as a bonus track.) Joel Selvin pens new liner notes in a package that features the album's original U.K. cover art.

That same thriving Bay Area scene - and the impact of 415 - powers Liberation Hall's next release, the CD debut of a pivotal live recording by alt-rockers Translator. This 415 mainstay benefited some from the label's eventual distribution deal with Columbia Records, making 1982's "Everywhere That I'm Not" an early college rock favorite. But four years and four albums later, the band - singer/guitarists Steve Barton and Bob Darlington, bassist Larry Dekker and drummer Dave Scheff - were beginning to feel the band had gone as far as they could go. And so, a 1986 hometown show at San Francisco venue The Farm, featuring all their best-known songs, a few unreleased cuts, and a closing cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," would be their last for decades. (They released a fifth album in 2012 and toured in 2015, supporting of a release of demos through Omnivore Recordings.) Beyond Today: Live At The Farm - San Francisco 1986 marks its physical CD and LP debuts through Liberation Hall, having been made available to stream by the band during the COVID-19 pandemic. (The discs include an extra treat in the form of two brand-new studio recordings from the group.) It's available tomorrow, May 9.

Looking ahead, Liberation Hall will next offer two releases from the short-lived, transatlantic dance-rock outfit Vivabeat. Featuring members of Human Sexual Response (guitarist Alec Murphy) and L.A. punk group Backstage Pass (keyboardist Marina del Ray), Vivabeat got their break when del Ray passed a demo tape along to Peter Gabriel, who recommended the group to join the roster of Charisma Records, the U.K. label he was signed to. (Fans have also noted a similarity between the group's international dance hit "Man from China" and Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers," both propelled by whistling in the refrain.) The band's sole album, 1980's Party in the War Zone, and the compilation The House is Burning: The Best of Vivabeat (1979-1989), will be released by Liberation Hall as CD titles, not long after they became among the final titles released by Rubellan Remasters. The expanded Party in the War Zone will have fewer tracks than Rubellan's version did, focusing mostly on non-album tracks of the era (including "The House is Burning (But No One's Home)," an early MTV favorite featured in the Brian De Palma film Body Double). But career-spanning compilation The House is Burning actually expands on Rubellan's offering, with three previously unreleased songs. The compilation will be available June 6, while the expanded Party starts July 11.

Pre-order links and full track lists to each title are below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Pearl Harbor & The Explosions, Pearl Harbor & The Explosions (Expanded Edition) (Liberation Hall LIB-2125/6, 2025)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

* CD bonus track

1. Drivin'
2. You Got It (Release It)
3. Don't Come Back
4. Keep Going
5. Shut Up and Dance
6. The Big One
7. So Much for Love
8. Get a Grip on Yourself
9. Up and Over
10. Busy Little B Side
11. Drivin' (Single Version) *
12. Release It (Single Version) *
13. Let's Eat (Live @ Zellerbach Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley, CA - 4/24/1979) *
14. Black Slacks (Live @ Zellerbach Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley, CA - 4/24/1979) *
15. I Can Feel the Fire (Live @ Zellerbach Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley, CA - 4/24/1979) *
16. 1979 Radio Spot *

Tracks 1-9 released as Warner Bros. BSK 3404, 1980
Track 10 released on "You Got It (Release It)" single - Warner Bros. WBS 49143, 1979
Tracks 11-12 released as 415 single, 1979
Tracks 13-16 released on expanded CD - Blixa Sounds ETA 820, 2019

Translator, Beyond Today: Live At The Farm - San Francisco 1986 (Liberation Hall LIB-2105/6, 2025)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. Beyond Today
2. Necessary Spinning
3. Everywhere
4. Nothing is Saving Me
5. Gravity
6. Standing in Line
7. Drum/Puzzles/Favorite Drug
8. O Lazarus
9. New Song
10. These Old Days
11. Everywhere That I'm Not
12. Roll Over Beethoven
13. These Days to Come
14. With Your Dreams

All tracks previously unreleased on CD
Tracks 1-12 recorded live at The Farm, San Francisco, CA - 7/12/1986. Released as streaming exclusive on Translator-Band.com, 2020
Tracks 13-14 are studio tracks recorded in 2023-2024

Vivabeat, Party in the War Zone (Expanded Edition) (Liberation Hall LIB-2137, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Working for William
2. From the Bop
3. To the Heart
4. Not Dead Anymore
5. Pop Girl
6. Man from China
7. Wild World
8. Enemy Fire
9. I Know Your Room
10. Jet Set
11. The House is Burning (But There's No One Home)
12. The Good Life
13. On Patrol
14. The Power of Love

Tracks 1-10 released as Charisma CL-1-3102, 1980
Tracks 11-12 released on The Good Life 1979-1986 - Permanent Press PPCD 52717, 2001
Track 13 released on "Man from China" single - Charisma CS-301, 1980
Track 14 released on expanded edition of album - Rubellan Remasters RUBY52CD, 2023

Vivabeat, The House is Burning: The Best of Vivabeat (1979-1989) (Expanded Edition) (Liberation Hall LIB-2138, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

* previously unreleased

1. The House is Burning (But There's No One Home)
2. Tents
3. Gray Gray Gray
4. Shine
5. Napalm Springs
6. Blue Guitars
7. Man from China
8. The Wonder of It All *
9. The Last White Man
10. Angry Red Planet
11. City of Industry *
12. The Girl the Wind Goes Through *
13. Henry James
14. What We Talk About (When We Talk About Love)
15. Dreaming of Tigers
16. 2000 Light Years from Home

Tracks 1-3, 5-6 and 13-16 released on The Good Life 1979-1986 - Permanent Press PPCD 52717, 2001
Track 4 and 10 released on Party in the War Zone (Expanded Edition) - Rubellan Remasters RUBY52CD, 2023
Track 7 released on Party in the War Zone - Charisma CL-1-3102, 1980
Track 9 released on original vinyl version of this compilation - Rubellan Remasters RUBY53LP, 2023