If you're interested then check out my stories from previous Record Store Day's
So vinyl Christmas has rolled around again, this time garnering more hate than it ever has before. I've seen more hate than love for it this year and I just have one question for them people. What other day of the year has people queuing down the street for hours, sometimes days, before the shop even opens. Nonetheless, my old man came with me this year - giving my girlfriend a well deserved rest from early hours queuing - and as we rocked up to Ignite Records in Birmingham at 6:30 we found that we were in the top 10 of the line of glazed eyed people. Bonus! As the sun started to shine over Birmingham and the chat was flowing in the queue we were surprised to see that the doors opened a few minutes early. At this point you just know it's a good day, especially when you're so close to the front of the queue! I got one hell of a haul this year because it was just such a great list for me, so check out what I got below starting with the 7"s...
Mac Demarco & Shamir - Cover Beat Happening
I've become obsessed with Mac Demarco recently, and with 2 of his records on the list this year it seemed the perfect opportunity to pick up some of his stuff for the first time before I start trawling through all of his previous stuff in the coming year. I've not had chance to listen to this record yet, however I know it's going to be great. I've heard a few Shamir records and he's not someone I'd particularly go out of my way to listen to and I've never heard a Beat Happening song so I'm really looking forward to giving this 45 a spin.
Jake Bugg - A.L.C.O.H.O.L.
I've been the fan of Jake Bugg for the longest time, and on his latest acoustic tour he covered two songs over the course of the setlist which were "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" and "Witchita Lineman". Both songs I'm not all too familiar with but they were excellent live, so when I saw this on the list I knew that I had to pick it up, this should sound fantastic on wax!
Wolf Alice - Don't Delete The Kisses EP
If I had to pick a favourite song of last year it would be this, without question one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. Lead singer, Ellie Rowsell, vocals are brilliant in this. I love the lowkey verses and the big chorus. I already have Visions of A Life twice on vinyl, but this was one of those must-haves for me this year. I've given this a spin already and the track sounds so much deeper and purer on wax. This is a fantastic pressing! Anyway, the Charli XCX remix is TERRIBLE! That auto-tuned singing she does throughout is crazy annoying, it's no evolution of the song. The last remix on the B side is equally as bad, if not worse! There's some questionable decisions with these remixes but I'm glad I bought it nonetheless
The High - Say It Now / Sugarpuff
The High are a band that were born out of The Stone Roses, and with their slow, melodic britpop they captivated me from the moment I listened to them. It's a shame they only ever released one album in the 90's... until now! This is the first single that is the beginning of an album campaign that should see them release an album this year. This is a pretty average pressing, no better or worse than most of my 12"s.
U2 - Lights of Home
Aside from the slightly wonky picture (my fault okay!) This is a beautiful looking record, it's what encouraged me to put this on my list. I mean, just look at it! I'm not the biggest fan of picture discs, because for all of their prettiness they also have a lot of sound quality issues. I guess we'll find out when I get around to listening to this, I'm really looking forward to hearing the Beck remix though - that promises to be something quite special!
Sigrid - Don't Kill My Vibe EP
I remember listening to this EP on its day of release, and I was enticed by her raw and unique vocals. Because she's Finnish she puts a slightly different twist on her accent and it makes for some interesting listening, alongside that she makes really catchy and very listenable pop music - the title track of this EP comes to mind! As you can see below it come on beautiful red vinyl which matches the cover perfectly. Can't wait to slam this on the decks.
Tim Burgess - As I Was Now
This release is so bittersweet to me now. Because I thought this was going to be exclusive to record store day, but Tim posted on Twitter today that a black variant is going to be released sometime in the near future. Which grinds my gears a little bit because I'm not the type of person to buy fancy coloured vinyl for no reason (It's why I didn't get Catfish's "The Balcony" last year). Anyway, this was the main reason I got up at 5am on a saturday which is why it hurts so much. I'm still looking forward to listening to this album through though, I love The Charlatans and Tim Burgess so this release feels pretty special despite what I said before.
David Bowie - Bowie Now
This was probably one of the other things I purposely got there at 6:30 for. A repress of the promo that was sent over to America during the Berlin trilogy era. Probably one of the most widely recognised greatest trilogies of all time, much like Lord of The Rings. This is pressed on beautiful white vinyl with a """rare""" photograph of David Bowie (you can see it below, it's not all that great... it's not even in focus!) Nonetheless, this looks absolutely beautiful from the cover to the vinyl to everything! I'm absolutely chomping at the bit to put this on the turntable, should be exquisite! The only reason I haven't yet is because it's the sort of record where I want to sit down, with a nice cuppa and just soak it in.
David Bowie - Welcome To The Blackout
Is it even record store day if you aren't rinsing the vault to sell all of the unreleased stuff from recently passed away artists. I fall for it hook, line and sinker though. I'm a huge Bowie fan, so when they keep releasing these live albums and things I just lap them up because I can't get enough of them. I got Cracked Actor last year which is a truly magnificent live album, as this is 4 years later we've hit the Berlin era and there's a new and improved set list. What I love about Bowie live album is that he doesn't just smash out all of the hits, he does whatever he does and the crowd are going to love it.
Mac Demarco - Old Dog Demos
This Old Dog was a fantastic album, it was a little bit more progressive for Mac but wasn't ridiculously out there, the true signs of a maturing artist. I love the cover to this, with the mandarin above the picture and just how minimal it is. I'm excited to get a listen to this, apparently the B-Side is only instrumentals but I'm sure they'll still be a riveting listen. Once again, this is sit with a cuppa kind of music.
Prince - 1999
Prince is just one of those artists where I've always loved the hits, but these past couple of years I've really come to appreciate his genius. He then sadly passed away too early and last years RSD decided to just print Prince 12"s to their hearts content, some of which I still find in record stores to this day. This right here is the second part to 1999, which Prince originally planned to be a double album but the record company blocked it, some countries did get the double disc though and this is that disc. This is really something quite special and I love the story behind it.
The Courteeners - St. Jude
I struggle to understand how this record hasn't been repressed yet. But yet here it is, finally added to my collection on luscious red vinyl. I wasn't going to get this until I was going over my list and realised that this should be on my list no matter what because it's such a fantastic album. "Not Nineteen Forever" is of course a classic but so are the other songs on this album. I've gave this half a listen and it sounds brilliant. Love that I have this on vinyl now.
And now for some freebies...
Rich at Ignite is a great guy, and he was giving out some 7 inches to people who spent excessive amounts of money (which I clearly have), I've not had a chance to give these a listen but I'm sure it'll be good. Comes on this beautiful swirl vinyl.
And finally, the last thing I got from Ignite was the exclusive #MysteryLP that I got for being in the first 10 in the queue, I think? I'm not quite sure how these were handed out because my Dad was behind me in the queue and in the top 10 and didn't get one so I didn't know if you had to break a pay barrier maybe. Anyway, I've given it a listen and it is meh at best, it's just a way of getting people to listen to the less known artists on Warner Bros' label.
Swordfish
And that was it at Ignite for another year, I didn't get a grand total of 4 things on my list which were:
- Baxter Dury - Miami
- Girls Names - Primitive Desire
- Dermot Kennedy - Keep The Evenings Long
- Sparks - You've Earned The Right To Be A Dick
As we were walking up to Swordfish we walked past a bloke who looked at us and said "If you're heading to Swordfish lads, don't bother because they've barely got anything left". We sort of smiled at him and carried on, we were still going to Swordfish because it's record store day and if you don't find anything then that's your bad luck! We queued for about half an hour to get in, and they do it differently at Swordfish where they place everything on the racks, so it was time to get digging and these were the things I got...
Baxter Dury - Miami
So I ticked one more thing off of my list at least! I'm yet to have a record store day where I get everything on my list but I got so damn close this year! Baxter Dury's music has enticed me as of late, after finding out he was supporting Noelly G on his upcoming tour I decided to go and listen to his music and I fell in love with this song in particular. Very reminiscent of his dad, Ian Dury, with his spoken word, no holds barred delivery. And this looks majestic on white vinyl as well.
Gaz Coombes - The Oaks
I wasn't going to get this, purely because I'm seeing him at Rough Trade on it's day of release where he'll be signing copies of the album which I've preordered. Nonetheless, I saw this on the shelves in Swordfish and I couldn't help myself, I'm a huge fan of Gaz Coombes and I just couldn't pass up on the opportunity. I've gave this a listen and the song isn't the greatest in the world but I can tell it's a grower, I'm looking forward to listening to the Leftfield remix.
The Liminanas - Dimanche
The Liminanas make the kind of music that was destined for vinyl, I've not bought any of their albums yet but this 7 inch seemed like a great purchase as they are two songs that I very much like. I've not given this a listen yet but I already know the songs and I'm excited to see how good this pressing is. Why do they never shrink rap 7 inches on record store day?
Public Image Limited - Concert (Live at Brixton)
Public Image are better than Sex Pistols in my opinion. I know that's not a popular but their album... "Album" is one of the best of all time, Johnny Rottens vocals are at an all time high and it takes on more melody than Sex Pistols songs, making it a more enticing listen on a more regular basis. I was REALLY surprised to find out that this hadn't sold out already as reams of people poured into the shop, as confusing as that is I'm glad they didn't. I was umming and arring over whether to put this on my list before the day, I'm so glad I got it now.
That's my lot for this year, big love goes out to everyone who celebrates and supports their record store. Bigger love to Ignite and Swordfish, they smashed it this year with their stock... how many days until RSD2019?! Let me know what you got on all my social medias, just search KMMReviews!
If you're interested then check out my stories from previous Record Store Day's
