The self-titled first album by Your Academy has been described by its label as “the resurrection of Memphis power pop.” Now, anybody who knows the basics of Memphian music history will recognize that as a statement of boldness bordering on pure chutzpah. However, the label is Black & Wyatt, whose motto is “Always Memphis Rock & Roll,” so it’s a declaration made from a foundation of solid historical knowledge. Listening to the ten songs (plus one bonus track) that comprise the record, it’s clear the label hasn’t oversold the contents. It’s available on 180 gram fluorescent green vinyl and digital now.
Your Academy is Chris Gafford on guitar, bass guitar, and percussion, Adam Hill on guitar, vocals, and percussion, Brandon McGovern on vocals, guitar and piano, Johnny Norris on bass guitar, and Dan Shumake on drums and vocals, with their union initially spurred by Norris’ desire for his band crash into june, who released a pair of CDs in the late 1990s-early 2000s, to play a reunion gig on his birthday in August 2019.
The story is fleshed out in much greater detail on Black & Wyatt’s website (and expanded upon even further on Your Academy’s Bandcamp webpage for the album), but suffice it to say that the lineup above, save for Hill, played that gig, with the show going so swimmingly that recording fresh material commenced. Thusly, Your Academy was born.
They don’t tap into the essence of Memphis power pop by accident, as Gafford and Shumake played on crash into june’s ’99 debut from blind to blue, and are additionally both recent members of Stephen Burns’ enduring power pop outfit The Scruffs (formed in the mid-’70s), while Memphis scene fixture McGovern (Madison Treehouse, solo) has recorded with power pop legend Dwight Twilley.
Madison, WI | Sugar Shack Records to close in April: The Atwood Avenue shop is the latest Madison record store to face displacement. After 41 years and six Madison locations, Sugar Shack Records on Atwood Avenue will close its doors for the last time at the end of April. That is if there’s no buyer for the business. We’ll get to that in a minute. Owner Gary John Feest’s decision to close, he says, “wasn’t really mine.” The store’s landlord called Feest last September to say the building, at 2301 Atwood Ave., was for sale. Soon thereafter, realtors appeared in the store, showing prospective buyers around the space to the sounds of Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. In January, the building owner accepted an offer and told Feest to pack up and move out by April 30. There’s talk of the storefront becoming a wine shop. “I kind of figured it would be coming sooner rather than later,” the soon-to-be-70-year-old Feest says. “I’m kind of resolved, but 
Wakefield, UK | Vinyl countdown… Wakefield record shop’s move to make it ‘one of the best in the UK:’ Wakefield’s independent record shop is moving to bigger premises, and owner Alan Nutton is confident it will become one of the best in the UK. Wah Wah Records is bucking the trend when it comes to high street trading, and will move from its small Brook Street premises to Cross Square in the coming months. Taking over the former Wool N Stuff shop, it is a stone’s throw from the current shop. Owner Alan Nutton says there it will double the space he has at the current shop, and will fill it solely with vinyl records. He told the Express: “It’s really exciting, we’ve got a blank canvas to start again. It’s going to be 
Norwich, UK | ‘Rare albums are at the highest price ever’ – CD revival hits Norwich: First it was vinyl but now a CD revival is alive and kicking in Norwich’s record stores. But forget getting big bucks for Britney Spears – only rare and alternative albums in vogue. It comes after online music marketplace, Discogs, reported a 37pc rise in CD sales during 2020, with the NME confirming earlier this week that the revival was on. But many of Norwich’s record retailers say the revival has been going on for some time perhaps even as long as vinyl. John Naylor of Beatniks in Magdalen Street said the store had seen a steady stream of CD sales since music lovers made the move back to the physical format in the early 2010s. He said: “When downloads and streaming became popular sales for 
Wheeling, WV | Molly: Co-Owner, Nail City Records: Molly is a force, we’ll just say that first; she came to the US from Tunisia, speaks three languages, has an IT background, plus co-owns and manages Nail City Record in Wheeling, WV. Nail City is a record store with new and used vinyl, turntables, CD’s, cassettes, vinyl care, and music memorabilia. It’s a place where people of all ages can go to discover music from across every genre, decade, and media style. When Molly isn’t at work, she’s, doing “more work, lol!“. She is also a part time manager at another small business in town, a wine & import shop with a French bakery. She is passionate about wines, enjoys tastings, and is a foodie who loves to cook. “…I just knew how to build and run a business and 
Palmerston North, NZ | Mobile record store comes to Palmerston North: Palmerston North has a dedicated record store again – albeit briefly. A mobile music store, a van jammed with vinyl and CDs, has pulled up in the city for a weekend for a spot of trading and no doubt a few conversations about favourite bands. The city has been without a dedicated record shop for almost a decade. Marbecks devolved into a cafe in 2013, while Mango Music closed in 2010. Herb’s Mobile Record Store is the creation of Benjamin James, the former owner of Evil Genius and Deathray Records in Christchurch. He bought a truck, loaded it with records, and has set off across the North Island. Herb’s is parked up at the corner of Taonui and Cuba streets. It looks like an old green Mitsubishi box truck from the outside. But inside, it’s a record store worthy of Auckland’s K Road or Cuba St in Wellington, with a vibe and atmosphere that is fiercely independent. And 
Golden Valley, MN | Boom in vinyl records goes bust for Minnesota acts facing delays in manufacturing: A rise in demand has stymied acts like the Cactus Blossoms, who hit the road next week without LPs in tow. Minnesota’s favorite recording artists are starting to pay for the resurgence of vinyl. That includes the Cactus Blossoms, who have a new album out Friday and are anxiously returning to the road to promote it after two years of tour postponements from COVID. One more problem, though: Vinyl copies of the record won’t be available from the pressing plant until May. “We hope a lot of our fans still have a CD player in their car,” said Page Burkum, co-leader of the retro-country harmonizers. Delays in vinyl manufacturing are stymieing the music industry worldwide. Pressing plants — many of them antiquated or shut down altogether during the heyday of CDs — have been maxed out due to the 
And there was always plenty of fantastic original Crenshaw music to hear: “Someday, Someway,” “There She Goes Again,” and “Cynical Girl” and his co-written super-hit, “Til I Hear it From You” with the Gin Blossoms, a tune that was inescapable on rock radio during the 1990s (and beyond). He was also always writing and working. During the ’90s, Crenshaw forged a partnership with Razor & Tie Records, releasing several albums with the label.
