Molly McGuire – Lime (Reissue)

Records Collecting Dust Records

The list of exclusive releases for Record Store Day 2026 dropped last Wednesday, marking the annual collective freakout of the vinyl community as we prepare to spend hundreds of dollars on limited albums for the next two months. RSD is often a dire source for beloved titles getting their first vinyl issue in decades, or, in many cases, the first ever pressing. I personally am looking forward to new deluxe editions of Happy Nowhere by Dog’s Eye View (1995, Columbia), Welcome To My Dream by MC 900 Ft. Jesus (1991, Nettwerk), and Alive In America by Steely Dan (1995, Giant). And yet, with a list of hundreds of records, the early contender for best reissue of the year didn’t appear anywhere on it, but instead came in the form of an announcement late the following day to celebrate the first Bandcamp Friday of 2026: the 30th anniversary edition of Lime, the criminally underrated sophomore album from Molly McGuire.

This has been one of my all-time favorite alternative rock albums since I first discovered it on Twitter, possibly when I was in middle school. The odd single-person moniker and striking album cover drew me in, as I was just on the cusp of my obsession with obscure music. Still, to this day, the only people in the world I know who love this album are even aware of it are myself and the guy who wrote the tweet about it. How, in the last 15+ years, through multiple phases of ‘90s nostalgia running rampant in emo and indie rock, has this record never been namechecked? On the tails of its long-awaited reissue, I hope to right that wrong.

Molly McGuire’s Lime was originally released in 1996 by Epic Records, joining the family of brilliant major-label, post-hardcore gambles like Jawbox’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart (1994, Atlantic), Hum’s You’d Prefer An Astronaut (1995, RCA), and Handsome’s self-titled album (1997, Epic). The Kansas City band had independently released their debut Sisters Of… two years earlier, which is a great album in its own right, but Lime is extremely special. It has some of the best riffs and lyrics of its subgenre, all recorded in the midst of a gut-punching performance from beginning to end. From the opener “Coin Toss” to the 11-minute, three-part closer “Catfish,” Lime is packed with powerful and gritty rockers, my personal favorite being “Wish Number One,” simply one of the greatest emo-tinged songs ever recorded.

The souped-up and absolutely crushing 30th anniversary remaster is available now on Bandcamp, with an extremely limited (300 total copies) now sold-out vinyl pressing that properly spreads the album across two discs, cut at 45rpm for maximum sound quality. Lime’s first and only other vinyl pressing was demoted to a single LP, released by their previous label HitIt! Recordings, and it omits “Catfish” from the album. I would have been prepared to shell out hundreds of dollars for that version, but I’m thrilled this reissue has come along and I got my order in on time. That’s my wish number one.