
VIA PRESS RELEASE | After wrapping a sold out fall tour with his band, the acclaimed post-hardcore art rock pioneers Shudder To Think, musician Craig Wedren has announced the release of The Dream Dreaming Deluxe on April 10 via his Tough Lover imprint.
The new release from the acclaimed frontman and prolific film & television composer—known to TV audiences as the composer behind the wildly popular series Yellowjackets, among many other projects—is an expanded version of his acclaimed 2024 album which includes the original 11-song album, 5 unreleased tracks, and another 5-song acoustic EP with string quintet, recorded live at the legendary Henson Studios (now Chaplin Studios) in Los Angeles. Today, he also shares the first tease of the deluxe with “Nothing Bad” alongside the official video for the single directed by Craig Wedren, Shon Hedges, and Frank Barrera.
Wedren shares: “Increasingly, we have multiple “at-bats” when putting out a record—the initial release, the deluxe version, plus whatever other clever variations evolve from there. A lot of deluxe releases are bloated and boring, of course. But some of my favorite recent albums have been weirder, redux mutations of the initial, ‘definitive’ product.
I like having access to all of the bonus material that comes with an artist’s output in our current age—it can make an album feel like a dynamic, living thing, rather than a frozen moment in time. I’m happy to sacrifice a little of the mystery that used to be de rigueur for artists, in exchange for insight into process, inspiration, and backstory. That said, the THING is still the music, and if your record sucks, why waste anybody’s time with all the rest of it.


To call Lightnin’ Hopkins the byproduct of rediscovery isn’t inaccurate, but it does risk stripping the contents of its unique story. Unlike Son House, Skip James, Bukka White, and John Hurt (all from Mississippi), Texan Hopkins had only been inactive for a few years when Samuel Charters found and recorded him in Houston, and if he’d been playing since the 1930s, he was still very much in his musical prime.
It’s a sensational show, opening with a triumphal “I Saw The Light” and, to the surprise of many fans, all but ignoring his most recent album, Global, to deliver an oldies-heavy show instead. But he does not seem to be doing it willingly—indeed, early in the show, Rundgren all but castigates his audiences for ignoring his last few decades of work, and clinging only to the old, old favorites.
The results are still bracing, but New Day Rising is friendlier than most hardcore, and more welcoming too. Parts of it are even nice, nice in the way that the iconic album cover (two dogs, one beautiful body of water, a sunrise) is nice.
Buffalo, NY | Black Dots Records & Bar, with Live Music in the “Garage Room.” It takes a lot to surprise me these days. But just the other night I came across an unexpected occurrence that really made me happy. It was Saturday, and my buddy and I decided to head out to have a couple of beers. We started off at one of my favorite bars—Turning Bridge Tavern in Back Rock. From there, we headed to Gypsy Parlor to get some food. At around 10:30pm, we decided to call it a night, and began walking to the car. As we passed by Black Dots Records & Bar, I noticed that they were still open, as people were still
Everett, WA | Apollo Exos, hub for brews and tunes, will expand: When Sotirios Rebelos started collecting records again, he couldn’t stop himself. As a kid, vinyl was an integral part of his life. But when he got busier as an adult and slowed down his record buying, he realized he missed that aspect of his life—something he said kept him in focus. The next thing he knew, he was scrolling through online forums and buying entire collections from people as he built up a massive catalog of records on his own. “I couldn’t stop,” Rebelos said. “And I’m like, might as well open up a record store.” Since it opened in August 2024, his shop, Apollo Exos Records—a beer bar and record shop in Everett’s downtown core—has become 



It was worse! Lights reportedly turned themselves on and off in the studio! Equipment, which fails all the time, inexplicably failed! And what was producer Martin Birch’s punishment for meddling in the dark arts? He was involved in a traffic accident involving a mini-bus sardined with real live nuns. Papal penguin punishers! Who probably had to be restrained from ruler-whipping him to death! And the cost of repairs? £666! And he didn’t have collision insurance!


Liverpool, UK | Jacaranda Record’s ‘huge announcement’ 10 years in the making: Graham Stanley, director of Jacaranda Records, said: “There is currently no facility like it in the UK.” Liverpool’s Jacaranda Records has announced bands, artists and people will be able to create their own vinyl records in the Baltic Triangle location. The collaboration with Fat Monkey Studios, a local vinyl cutting company, has been in the aether for more than a decade. Jacaranda Records will make use of Fat Monkey Studios for its Jac Cuts project, an initiative where Jacaranda works with artists to create unique releases and special editions of existing records. The first release will be exclusive to Jacaranda Records Record Store Day customers. Graham Stanley, director of Jacaranda Records, said: “What this means, any band, no matter how small, can now release
Denver, CO | PigStyle becomes Loveland’s newest—and only—record store: Arjan Shaw launched new business after DOGE cuts affected his career. Arjan Shaw wanted to be his own boss. After he was laid off from his software engineering job when budget cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency canceled work his company was doing for the United States Department of Agriculture, he began to consider what that would involve. He had experience in landscaping, and enjoyed being outdoors in the summer, but that was ultimately just another job, another salary, and he wanted to pursue a passion. He found it in music, and after plenty of effort opened PigStyle, Loveland’s newest, and currently only, record store. “I’ve always been a collector myself, and (the record business) hasn’t been swallowed up by the box stores,” he said. “














































