My record buying jaunt has been delayed this week. Things to do, people to see, all that jazz. In truth, I had planned to head down to Mono for Battles record signing and pick up a copy of their new album 'Gloss Drop', but I had to work. Luckily I roped my mate Donald into getting me a copy, which was nice! But, that just wouldn't do. That would be like, shopping online at Tesco and missing out on clashing trolley's with old ladies over the last pork pie. Not that I fight with old ladies when buying records, unless it's over the last Daniel O'Donnell LP, but you get the point.
Venue
As I was up that end of town anyway, I popped into LOVEmusic on Dundas Street to browse. I hadn't been in since Record Store Day, and my wallet began to tremble, as it remember the pounding it took that day. LOVEmusic, is formerly Avalanche Records, and it's a great wee record shop. With a selection of new LP's, second hand LP from '60's onwards, and a section with genre specific titles, it's always worth a browse incase something new has popped in since the last visit. They also have a great selection of CD's, and specifically support local artists and stock their new releases. However, twas not a shiny CD I wanted, so I started to flick through the new LP's. It's noticable, that some of them are no longer 'new' as their plastic sleeve each LP is housed in are torn and battle weary. I suppose that's inevitable when so many people do the exact same things as me and flick those the selection. Having choose my LP for the day, I had a gander at the 7"'s to see if there was anything worth picking up there. Again, a good selection of local artist were represented, and LOVEmusic kindly display on the wall adjacent to the till a selection of the most recent releases.
Other aspects of the store worth mentioning is the availability of free music magazines, The Fly, The Skinny and Loud And Quiet. I know I certainly owe a great deal to free music magazines for keeping me relatively in touch with new music, so a record store that recognises that is great to see. And the store always has good music playing, which I suppose is almost a given for independent record stores, but it's still refreshing. I didn't actually recognise what was playing and I forgot to ask, but never mind!
Purchases
After careful deliberation, I chose Wild Beasts album third album Smother. First things first; the artwork. The album cover is a striking diamond against a white background. The diamond is made up of red, green and purple feathers. Inside the sleeve is a lyrics booklet, certainly a rarity these days, a set of 5 postcards, which reproduce the album artwork in a series of different colours, my favourite being the green one. Also included is a larger replica of the two of the postcard designs and the record itself. But perhaps most importantly, and this is a point I've laboured before, free mp3 download codes. Wild Beasts are Hayden Thorpe, Ben Little, Tom Fleming and Chris Talbot. The music itself is striking. Thorpes vocals echo those of Jeff Buckley, falsetto, soaring in places, and aching and hauntingly beautiful. Guitars soar and swoosh throughout, but the album is also home to synth driven tracks such as 'Plaything' and 'Bed Of Nails'. The album drifts easily between the dreamy surrealism of 'Albatross' and 'Loop The Loop' and toe tapping beats of 'Reach A Bit Further'. Wild Beasts were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize back in 2009, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Smother make this years list.
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Showing posts with label vinyl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vinyl. Show all posts
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Friday, 3 June 2011
Super Vinyl Adventure Club
Yeah, I started a club and gave it a childish name. So what if I'm the only member, despite what my wife says, it is big and it is clever! There almost was no super adventure this week. Severe lack of money has scuppered all gig going, and it meant I certainly had no cash to splurge on vinyl. What to do, what to do? Luckily I remembered I still had some HMV vouchers, so the adventure was back on! Here's how I got on:
Venue
So the afformented lack of money forced my hand this week. His Master Voice it was, the Argyle Street branch. Now you don't need me to tell you, that HMV is no longer the force it once was. Music, especially vinyl often takes a backseat amongst the more lucrative markets of video games, blu-ray and DVD's. To it's credit Argyle Street HMV does have a vinyl section, which is already more than most stores. Consisting of three racks, the selection isn't great. And the stock isn't readily replaced, meaning most of the LP's have been there since my last visit. The other drawback is HMV, despite what they may claim, do not want to deal in new music. They want safe, tried and tested music, which will sell. This means most of the vinyl is re-issues or mainstream artists. To my surprise however, I found (I use the word loosely, it was sitting right there) a solitary copy of FOUND's 3rd LP factorycraft. More on that in a minute. Despite the poor selection, and my general disdain for HMV, the staff member who served me was pleasant, and engaged in conversation. He certainly would have been at home in an independent record shop. Soundtracking my whole adventure was Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street, possibly from the Jackie Brown soundtrack, I don't know I didn't ask.
Purchases
As mentioned above, I bought FOUND - factorycraft LP for £20. Certainly more pricey than a CD, however this is standard. I do reserve a special spot for artists that price their vinyl release the same as the CD, but that is few and far between. Like The Seventeenth Century last week, FOUND get brucey bonus points for included free mp3 download codes. The artwork is also pretty nifty. Black and white prints of machine bits against a bold background of simply colour.
The music is very good. I wasn't overly familiar with FOUND, so their experimental style was near enough new to me. Anti Climb Paint - Lead single is a catchy number, and other stand out tracks for me include I'll Wake With A Seismic Head No More, Johnny I Can't Walk The Line and Machine Age Dancing. The album as a whole has a kind of interchangable feel. It's inventive and foot tappingly good at times. It ticks all the right boxes without being pretentious or trying too hard something many other indie rock bands can be accused of. The influences of post-modern rock are there to be seen, but there is also slices of pure pop (a la` The Cure) which break through at times. All in all, a rousingly good album. Have a listen to Anti Climb Paint here.
Venue
So the afformented lack of money forced my hand this week. His Master Voice it was, the Argyle Street branch. Now you don't need me to tell you, that HMV is no longer the force it once was. Music, especially vinyl often takes a backseat amongst the more lucrative markets of video games, blu-ray and DVD's. To it's credit Argyle Street HMV does have a vinyl section, which is already more than most stores. Consisting of three racks, the selection isn't great. And the stock isn't readily replaced, meaning most of the LP's have been there since my last visit. The other drawback is HMV, despite what they may claim, do not want to deal in new music. They want safe, tried and tested music, which will sell. This means most of the vinyl is re-issues or mainstream artists. To my surprise however, I found (I use the word loosely, it was sitting right there) a solitary copy of FOUND's 3rd LP factorycraft. More on that in a minute. Despite the poor selection, and my general disdain for HMV, the staff member who served me was pleasant, and engaged in conversation. He certainly would have been at home in an independent record shop. Soundtracking my whole adventure was Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street, possibly from the Jackie Brown soundtrack, I don't know I didn't ask.
Purchases
As mentioned above, I bought FOUND - factorycraft LP for £20. Certainly more pricey than a CD, however this is standard. I do reserve a special spot for artists that price their vinyl release the same as the CD, but that is few and far between. Like The Seventeenth Century last week, FOUND get brucey bonus points for included free mp3 download codes. The artwork is also pretty nifty. Black and white prints of machine bits against a bold background of simply colour.
The music is very good. I wasn't overly familiar with FOUND, so their experimental style was near enough new to me. Anti Climb Paint - Lead single is a catchy number, and other stand out tracks for me include I'll Wake With A Seismic Head No More, Johnny I Can't Walk The Line and Machine Age Dancing. The album as a whole has a kind of interchangable feel. It's inventive and foot tappingly good at times. It ticks all the right boxes without being pretentious or trying too hard something many other indie rock bands can be accused of. The influences of post-modern rock are there to be seen, but there is also slices of pure pop (a la` The Cure) which break through at times. All in all, a rousingly good album. Have a listen to Anti Climb Paint here.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Super Vinyl Adventure Club
I blame Nick Hornby. Ever since I saw Jack Black goofing around as a record shop assistant, something hooked me. It's got worse over time, and now to the extend that I simply don't buy CD's anymore. My music buying experience, and I do mean experience, these days usually consists of an after work trip to one of Glasgow's fine record stores. Here's how I got on this week.
Venue
Without really thinking about it, I alighted from the train at Argyle Street and headed for Monorail Music. Nested away in Kings Court just round the corner from the 13th Note, it's my favourite record shop in the city. As always the selection is truly eclectic and browsing through the racks always throws something unsuspected. As I got there ten minutes before closing time, my browsing time was severely limited. As for the staff, they are always friendly, though in this instance, my bantering was limited due to them wanting me the fuck out so they can get home! Can't blame them really! I did get a badge, which I have coveted for a while so all in all, I'm happy!
Purchases
As I said, I was limited for time. Not really knowing what I was looking for didn't really help either. Plus money was tight, so that put a few things beyond my reach for this week at least. Starting with the 'New Arrivals' rack I found Arctic Monkey's new single Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair on 10". Not due to be officially released until Monday 30th, this is a bonus. It's an absolute belter of a song as well. Took me a few listens to get hooked, but the grungy feel of this track gets a big thumbs up from me. And I'm also a bit of a collector, and I have every previous Arctic Monkey's release on vinyl, so I took this.
Next up was Glasgow's own The Seventeenth Century and their second EP Part II, released on 2nd May on 10". Firstly it gets a big brucey bonus for having free mp3 download codes. This in my opinion is the way forward for all physical releases, if bands/labels want customers to buy singles/EP's/LP's. Vinyl is making a comeback, but the one drawback for a lot of people is the difficulty, and loss of quality, to transfer vinyl to mp3. Including free mp3 codes with vinyl releases gives customers the best of both worlds. As for the music,
Banks Of Home is the opening track, and best on the EP. Haunting and atmospheric, you can stream it here.
The glares of a shopkeeper who wants to close on time, limited me to my browsing, meaning I never got past the 'C' rack. However, this has it's benefits as it led me to buy Caribou's latest LP Swim. Released back in April last year, I never picked up on it, and I'm glad I have now. An electronic album with heavy influences from techno music, it's a gem of an album, and no surprise it made many 'Best Of' lists for last year. Have a listen to Odessa and get lost in the swooping samples and basslines.
Venue
Without really thinking about it, I alighted from the train at Argyle Street and headed for Monorail Music. Nested away in Kings Court just round the corner from the 13th Note, it's my favourite record shop in the city. As always the selection is truly eclectic and browsing through the racks always throws something unsuspected. As I got there ten minutes before closing time, my browsing time was severely limited. As for the staff, they are always friendly, though in this instance, my bantering was limited due to them wanting me the fuck out so they can get home! Can't blame them really! I did get a badge, which I have coveted for a while so all in all, I'm happy!
Purchases
As I said, I was limited for time. Not really knowing what I was looking for didn't really help either. Plus money was tight, so that put a few things beyond my reach for this week at least. Starting with the 'New Arrivals' rack I found Arctic Monkey's new single Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair on 10". Not due to be officially released until Monday 30th, this is a bonus. It's an absolute belter of a song as well. Took me a few listens to get hooked, but the grungy feel of this track gets a big thumbs up from me. And I'm also a bit of a collector, and I have every previous Arctic Monkey's release on vinyl, so I took this.
Next up was Glasgow's own The Seventeenth Century and their second EP Part II, released on 2nd May on 10". Firstly it gets a big brucey bonus for having free mp3 download codes. This in my opinion is the way forward for all physical releases, if bands/labels want customers to buy singles/EP's/LP's. Vinyl is making a comeback, but the one drawback for a lot of people is the difficulty, and loss of quality, to transfer vinyl to mp3. Including free mp3 codes with vinyl releases gives customers the best of both worlds. As for the music,
Banks Of Home is the opening track, and best on the EP. Haunting and atmospheric, you can stream it here.
The glares of a shopkeeper who wants to close on time, limited me to my browsing, meaning I never got past the 'C' rack. However, this has it's benefits as it led me to buy Caribou's latest LP Swim. Released back in April last year, I never picked up on it, and I'm glad I have now. An electronic album with heavy influences from techno music, it's a gem of an album, and no surprise it made many 'Best Of' lists for last year. Have a listen to Odessa and get lost in the swooping samples and basslines.
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