Bath, UK | New independent record shop to open in Bath: The record show is being launched by an independent label that helped launch a number of popular bands. A new independent record shop is opening in Bath next month. Chapter 22 Roots and Records is opening on Broad Street where Share and Repair used to be. The store’s Facebook page said: “Iconic 80’s record label is alive and well, The independent label that helped develop bands like Balaam and the Angel, The Mission, Pop Will Eat Itself, Neds Atomic Dustbin and Dawn After Dark”. A poster has appeared in the shop window saying the store will open mid-September and there are part-time opportunities available. Share and Repair, which used to occupy the spot, has moved to George Street as part of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s vacant units action project, which finds new uses for empty retail units as part of a programme of support to help the recovery of the city centre following the coronavirus pandemic.
New York, NY | How Rough Trade has kept its soul after midtown move: With the popularity of vinyl records still going strong, Rough Trade has moved its New York store from Brooklyn to the crowded streets of midtown Manhattan. As part of The Drum’s Retail Deep Dive, we explore whether it can it reach a broader audience while keeping its precious indie image intact. One of the quirks of the contemporary music industry is the enduring popularity of vinyl records. Despite streaming – and when we talk about music streaming, we’re almost always talking about Spotify, which enjoys double the market share of its next competitor, Apple – having long displaced physical media as the dominant form of music consumption, the vinyl comeback is still going strong. That trend has enabled Rough Trade, the record brand and recording label, to expand beyond Britain in recent years. In 2013, it opened Rough Trade NYC in the heart of hipster Williamsburg. Why then has the company shuttered its Brooklyn location in favor of a Manhattan pitch in the Rockefeller building? And can it court a larger crowd while keeping its indie image?
Pittsburgh, PA | The Government Center finds a new location and a new vision: After opening its original location on East Ohio Street in January 2019, The Government Center has quickly become a favorite for Pittsburgh record collectors. But it’s not just a place to buy and sell music, the shop also doubles as a venue for local and traveling bands. Now, the record store has moved a few blocks away to a new, larger space on East Street in the North Side, and the move has resulted in big things coming. For owner Josh Cozby and events coordinator Derek January, the changes are welcome and exciting. Cozby says they were presented with the opportunity to buy a building that would allow them to have more financial flexibility, which was important in their decision to move to East Street. Their new location is a lot larger than their previous spot, which was a big deciding factor. That means they now have even more space for records. “But more importantly, we got space for a stage where we can properly host live events,” says Cozby. “And then in our building, we’re also putting in an espresso bar. There’s a tenant space for what, eventually, we think, will be some sort of bar and small food operation.”
London, UK | The tiny shop that’s turned Kingston into London’s answer to Glastonbury: This small record shop has been behind intimate shows from Billie Eilish, The Who and more. If you’re ever destined for a day trip in Kingston upon Thames you’ll likely be told to check out Banquet Records. Located on Eden Street in this pretty corner of South West London this small record shop has become something of a local treasure. See, while you’ll definitely be able to pick up a vinyl or two at the shop, you may also get the chance to see an international superstar perform live or meet a British music icon. Banquet Records labels itself as a “concert and clubs promoter”, hosting more than 200 events at venues around Kingston during a regular year (as you’d expect, it’s been a bit quieter there recently, thanks to Covid-19). Past performers include local resident Stormzy, Gen Z superstars Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes and Scottish funnyman Lewis Capaldi. Yep, that’s right – Billie Eilish has performed in a Pryzm.
Philadelphia, PA | Celebrate 50 Years Of Philadelphia International Records’ Iconic ‘Phillysound’ Soul Music: Philadelphia International Records celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and the iconic “Phillysound” that it made famous. But the legacy of Philadelphia International Records is also its influence on other music genres and artists far beyond its birth city. As part of Under The Radar’s ongoing summer series, we’re humming some of Philadelphia International’s biggest hits, and asking: Exactly what is the sound of Philadelphia?
Ten years is a long time. Certainly not in the grand sweep of history, but the statement still rings true; we denote blocks of ten years as decades, and a decade is how long Smog Veil has been working on Peter Laughner. Ten years can build up a whole lot of anticipation, and by extension, unsurmountable expectations, but that’s not how it transpired here.
West Babylon, NY | From records to CDs and back again: Looney Tunes Record Store celebrates 50 years: For as long as Karl Groeger can remember, music has been a major part of his life. He fondly recalls bonding with his father over favorites like a Beatles album, which was easy enough to do, as Groeger has spent most of his life working at his dad’s record store, Looney Tunes. Since 1971, Looney Tunes Record Store has been a staple in the West Babylon community for everyone looking for good music, and the medium of choice these days is a throwback to the store’s beginnings as well. “It’s amazing over the 50 years how much has changed. We use to sell records only in the ’70s and then no records, and now it’s 50 percent of our business again,” said Groeger, who took over the store in the 1990s with his brother, Jamie. “We’re pretty happy that we’ve been able to hold onto our family heritage here for 50 years.” Indeed, 
El Paso, TX | New record store in downtown El Paso brings back the nostalgia: Sound Decay, a new record store near downtown El Paso, is putting a spin on what your regular record shop is supposed to look like. Located at 1314 Magoffin Ave., this nostalgic shop is almost hard to spot as it is set in an old house, making the place a home for all music lovers. Danny Alcantar owns the store with his brother. They’re both local DJs who started their vinyl collections as young children. “Music is a part of our life. And we were, like, constantly surrounded by it, so might as well, maybe, make a living off of it,” said Alcantar. Sound Decay opened in early July, and Alcantar said it is seeing customers of all ages come in and browse their offerings. “There’s a whole new generation, not older people that are into it, but definitely ranges like from teenagers [to people] all the way up into their ’60s, ’70s, but 
While he is currently playing drums in dad’s band, Elroy also has a brand new album out and it is simply titled, 
Bozeman, MT | Cactus Records’ storefront in downtown Bozeman up for sale; vinyl shop now looking for new home: The long-standing Cactus Records, a downtown vinyl and gift shop, is looking for a new home. Its location in the Hathhorn Building is up for sale. “We will be moving sometime in the next couple of months,” said owner Mike “Bueno” Good. The retail condo that Cactus Records occupies was put on the market on Aug. 9 for $1.8 million. It’s listed by McKenna Adams Commercial Realty. The unit has about 3,100 square feet of retail space and 1,700 square feet of office and storage space, according to the listing. Units in the Hathhorn Building, at 29 West Main St., are all owned separately, said real estate agent Katie Adams. Cactus Records has been downtown since it opened in the early 1970s. Its first storefront was on the corner of Babcock Street and Willson Avenue, said Barbara Allen, who is selling the downtown storefront. …Selling the space “
Norwich, UK | ‘Still like kid in a sweet shop’ – 35 years running city record shop: When Eric White first started working at Out of Time records in 1986 he felt like “a kid in a sweet shop.” He had gone from regular customer to salesman after growing disillusioned working at what was then Bonds so after a short while soul-searching took up shop owner Paul Wardell’s offer of a job. Now, 35 years later he still feels the same enthusiasm for the shop on Magdalen Street in Norwich, having risen through the ranks to first become manager and now partner at the business. This month, 57-year-old father-of-two Mr White marks three-and-a-half decades at the second-hand record store having seen the music industry transform around him over this time. In his time at the shop, vinyl has gone through phase after phase, from almost disappearing completely to going through a huge revival – but the one constant has been 
NEW RELEASE PICKS: Lung, Come Clean Right Now (Sofaburn) On the Cincinnati-based Lung’s third album (and the first I’ve heard), the sound reminds me quite a bit of the Alt-indie-grunge ’90s. This will surely not be an enticing proposition for some, but let me add that the lineup consists of cellist-vocalist Kate Wakefield and drummer Daisy Caplan. Other than some guest vocals on “Wave” by Paige Beller, it’s just the two of them throughout, which lends distinctiveness to the record to be sure, though it’s impressive how stretches of Come Clean Right Now conjure the heavy forward motion of a full band. Seriously, a couple times I thought of Helmet, and once, Lung’s thud even brought the Melvins to mind. They complement the rumble and pound with songwriting and singing that’s decidedly art-rocky, but to circle back, in a very ’90s way. The record is also a consistently strong listen, likely because it’s not too fucking long, which is a ’90s-era facet they wisely haven’t adopted. That makes Come Clean Right Now a far more satisfying listen than a whole lot of records people are known to swoon over nostalgically. A- 
Los Psychosis, Rock and Roll Dreams (Black & Wyatt) Featuring Javi Arcega on lead vocals and guitar, the Memphis-based Los Psychosis came to me described as Latinx psychobilly, which I’ll confess had me a little worried purely in genre terms, as most psychobilly is about as personally appealing as getting a can of baked beans shoved up my ass. I’m not talking about The Cramps, a band that I adore, and who I don’t consider to be psychobilly, anyway. For that matter, Los Psychosis don’t remind me of psychobilly either, as they are far too stylistically broad, while keeping a firm handle on the rootsy and also punked-up spit and fire. There’s a swampy aura to much of this set leading me to suggest that fans of The Gun Club and The Flesh Eaters will find Rock and Roll Dreams to their liking, but additionally, the druggy quality of tunes like “Hoppin and Jumpin” and “Ana” tempts me to call this psychedelic-billy, which is a sound I totally support. Plus, “Dionysus Wave” hits like a self-released new wave single from ’79, and “El Vacio” delivers some scuzzy Tex-Mex action. Some of the singing even reminds me of Darby. Weeee! A-
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: Hocine Chaoui, Ouechesma (Outre National) This and the record directly below are the first releases on this label out of Montreuil, a commune located in an eastern suburb of Paris, though there is a connection to a distribution company of the same name that handles such heavyweights as Subline Frequencies, Superior Viaduct, and Akuphone. This LP delivers a remastered version of a cassette that was first released by Oriental Music Production, a French-based Algerian label (now defunct but with a slew of tapes still available), that specialized in reissuing some of the country’s regional output from the ’70s and ’80s. Like this killer serving of the Berber style known as Chaoui, which originated in the Aurès region of Algeria, first recorded in the ’30s and updated here by Hocine Chaoui with drum machines and modern production. The driving nature of the programmed rhythms intensifies a style of music that was clearly quite powerful already. Along the way, horn lines fervently wiggle as the singing is appropriately emphatic. Altogether a fine kickoff to Outre National’s discography. A-
Henri Guédon, Karma (Outre National) This is the first-time vinyl reissue of a 1975 LP, the second album from Guédon, a versatile artist (musician, painter, sculptor) from the Caribbean island of Martinique. With Karma, Guédon cooks up a potent dish of Latin Jazz that’s noted for its frequent injections of vintage synth, courtesy of Jaky Bernard. While this aspect of the band’s overall thrust is undeniably dated, that’s not to the album’s detriment. To the contrary, those spacy reverberations (splurts and flatulence that wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack to a late-’70s exploitation flick) do add significant value, though without the band’s collective rhythmic moxie and Michel Pacguit’s skills at the keyboard, the synth would be little more than a novelty. Along with leading the band and adding percussion on a variety of instruments (from cowbell to balafon), Guédon sings, and if he’s not a powerhouse vocalist, he gets the job done. This was originally released on the La Voix Du Globe label out of Paris, where it flew under the radar a bit, it seems. In other words, this is a worthy reissue. A-
