Electric Cowbell Records announces the launch of Richmond Relics, a new archival imprint dedicated to preserving Richmond, Virginia’s rich musical history. Its second release is a sprawling, remastered four-album reissue series collecting the complete recorded output of Alter Natives, originally released on SST Records between 1987 and 1989: Hold Your Tongue, Group Therapy, and Buzz. Also included is the band’s first demo cassette, Friends of the Farm, newly remixed and remastered. The collection features alternate mixes highlighting both the group’s original power trio configuration—guitar, bass, and drums—as well as expanded versions incorporating saxophone and flute. The full catalog will be released worldwide on digital and streaming platforms on February 13, 2026.
Alter Natives were an instrumental band from Richmond, Virginia, active from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. Formed in 1985 by Greg Ottinger, Jim Thomson, and Chris Bopst, and later joined by saxophonist/flutist Eric Ungar, the group developed a fiercely independent sound that fused punk, surf music, hardcore, jazz, and psychedelic rock. Their music has been described as “metal/tropical/surf,” with connections to progressive and space rock, delivered in an unusually concise, powerful, and disciplined form driven by acidic guitar interplay and tightly focused rhythms.
After self-releasing their debut cassette Friends of the Farm, Alter Natives signed with SST Records in 1986 and released three critically acclaimed albums—Hold Your Tongue, Group Therapy, and Buzz—establishing them as a distinctive and influential presence within the American underground…