But you can still get it from Green Noise and other fine distros.

Pending orders will still get shipped… or if you talked to us about holding records, we’ve got you covered.

AIRFIX KITS:
“Playing Both Sides” b/w “Leaving” and Flex Time: 7” EP
Ten years ago, I sneered at the idea of “singer songwriters,” casting them off into the Yacht Rock camp of Loggins and Messina or post-Wings McCartney. But, as in this often cicada-short lifespan of many punk bands, it’s a worthy enterprise tracing particular folks through their various bands, discovering which of their fingerprints were on the steering wheel of a particular musical conveyance. Airfix Kits emerge from the Giant Haystacks cocoon, vocally led by Allan, a British ex-patriot. The Airfix Kits shed many of the Haystacks’ Minutemen-isms. Charming noodling is replaced by tighter, bouncier songs. And the reason I’m intentionally covering two 7”s in the same review is that they have a nice “snapshots of a time” feel to them. The 7”s work great by themselves, but played one after another, it’s like several short stories—think of author Alan Sillitoe, if that helps—telling a larger one: of a man emotionally betrayed, a man trapped by his lack of ambition, a man who’s surrounded by friends making bad decisions. It’s reminiscent, in the best ways, of early Who, early Jam, and Gang Of Four: specific, but universal narratives played like actual lives are at stake… with a beat you can snap your fingers to. –Todd Taylor (Dirtnap, Deranged)

http://www.razorcake.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22247

Airfix Kits live in Oakland but sound like a British band. This is partly because their singer, Allan McNaughton, is a Glaswegian ex-pat; but also because their songs are winningly jagged and calcified, the sound of the slow bleed from Wire and Gang Of Four circa their first LPs to the mid-80s Britshambles that John Robb just did a book about (Big Flame, Bogshed etc). The cover art to ‘Playing Both Sides’, their new seven on Dirtnap, is a photo of two youngsters leaning over their cans of Oranjeboom to get off with each other in a takeaway. ANY 11” PIZZA ONLY £2.90 tells you the location, and perhaps that of McNaughton’s head. His previous band, Giant Haystacks, sounded pretty similar to this minus the Oi-ish vocal backups; they were superb and if they had had even the slightest interest in ‘getting big’, it probably would have happened. Likewise Airfix Kits; I mean, post-punk is like totally over and McNaughton is probably sick of imbeciles in bars telling him his accent is really hot and just like the guy from Franz Ferdinand, but… he writes killer pop songs.

http://thequietus.com/articles/03730-new-column-the-best-in-punk-hardcore-review

I know what you’re thinking: they’re still going? Apparently so, if only online. This is what they said about the “Playing Both Sides” single:
Airfix Kits contribute two very tight pieces of guitar rock with snarled vocals and a cool, throwback vibe, ala Mission of Burma or Gang of Four. Both tracks have a similar sensibility, with the A side being a bit stronger. “Playing Both Sides” has a more memorable hook than the noisier, more angular “Leaving”. Both efforts come and go quickly, and if you are a fan of post punk’s first wave, you may want to check this out.

Jersey Beat

Hemlock Tavern, Feb 19th 2010

It’s a free show… 2 of our favourite bands in SF…
We get paid a percentage of the bar so don’t be drinking the cheap shit.
It’s a work night, but it should be over by 11:30 or so…

/////RANK/XEROX/////
\\\\\LA CORDE\\\\\

We got this nice review from Eric, King of the Gigabitches:

“Airfix Kits – Flextime. This was described to me as Minutemen meets Gang of Four, and I can see where that comes from. This EP is three excellent “post punk” songs that move along at a really fast clip. Flextime is an ode to a shitty job that let’s you come and go at your leisure and about how almost anything in your day is worth it for that freedom. I’ve never worked flextime but yeah it sounds pretty heavenly. There’s a strong pop element with clap percussion and background “la la la” that will have you happily bopping along at your current, non-flextime job. Rounding out the B-Side are 80s Aesthetic, which I took to be kind of ironic given their sound. The final track is 21 Hot Knives, a song built for screaming at the top of your lungs at concerts spilling beer over your hands as you dance around manically gripping a pint and smiling manically. I got my copy from Sorry State Records but it’s available directly from the band for $5. I’ve ordered the other EP they have and looking forward to it.”

Thanks Eric.

If you poke around on YouTube you can find clips from Shannon & The Clams, Vaccuum, and Acephalix as well. It was a great night. Thanks to YouTube user juump for posting!