Oakland, CA’s Lunchbox has been at it for almost 30 years, a long time for a band to stick together; the outfit’s sturdy foundation is indie pop power couple Donna McKean and Tim Brown as they welcome assorted helpers. Pop and Circumstance is their latest full-length, released by Slumberland on LP, CD, and digital May 10, and the title is apropos. Bright with horns and keyboards and loaded with jangle and a bit of fuzz, the album’s catchy rippers draw from bubblegum and mod and the inextinguishable spirit of C86. In short, it’s a grand time.
As part of the 1990s indie pop wave, Lunchbox was prolific with a batch of singles across the decade’s second half, plus an eponymous full-length debut in ’96 and a follow-up The Magic of Sound in ’99. Progress continued in the new century but at a slower pace. That Pop and Circumstance is Lunchbox’s second LP for Slumberland extends a relationship borne from shared longevity and purpose.
Continuing to sharpen and broaden their sound, McKean and Brown dish their songs with youthful punk energy and a psych-pop edge that suggests the early days of Elephant 6. The jangle naturally recalls ’80s indie pop, but it’s delivered with panache that reinforces the ’60s root, a connection that is strengthened through the addition of trumpets and keys.
Opener “Dinner for Two” bursts forth with zest, suggesting that Rob Schneider, prior to recording Fun Trick Noisemaker, became smitten with the work of The Wrecking Crew, and in particular the more sunshiny Los Angeles-based productions that featured those session ringers. It’s over in under two minutes, rolling right into the hard-driving pogo-paced feedback-laced pop gush of “I’m Yours, You’re Mine”; this one spreads out to the “classic” single length of three and a half minutes.
Newark, NJ | Rainbow Records: Behind the scenes of the Newark staple. At Rainbow Records, no two days are alike. Owner Melissa Forsythe and Chrissy Morgan, the store’s main employee, agree on this immediately. In fact, the only thing they can name as a set routine would be coming in and turning the lights on. “It really depends on if it’s a new release day, if we’ve got a lot of new records, if somebody comes in with a collection,” Forsythe said. “But otherwise we’re pricing records, pricing shirts.” It’s not just the employees who never know what the day might hold at the store. With collections of records, CDs, cassettes, posters, magazines, stickers, clothing and music equipment that are added to the store every day, shoppers never know what they might find (though they can get hints by keeping up with Rainbow Record’s social media, where new records are posted daily). From the record currently spinning in the back to the bins of $5 shirts out front, 
Montavilla, OR | New Montavilla Bar Replicant Wants to Become the Record Nerd’s Watering Hole: Replicant Bar and Bottle Shop will open alongside the new location of City Noise Records. Montavilla locals will soon be able to nurse a beer or a glass of Mexican wine while they shop for records. Replicant Bar and Bottle Shop will open alongside the new location of City Noise Records, with an extensive wine and beer selection, nonalcoholic cocktails, and listening stations for folks to drink and listen. City Noise Records owner Gianpiero Milani originally opened his punk-focused record store in November 2021, but he knew he wanted to find a larger space. While he and his partner, Lydia Crumbley, began shopping for new locations, he pitched the idea of opening a bar alongside the store, to make it more of a space for record nerds to connect. “He wanted to grow the community around [the record store],” Crumbley says. “We’re making it 
Comparing the people in Category 3 to the ones in Category 4 is like comparing your average Episcopalian to a clay-eating, rattlesnake-handling Southern Baptist tent revival preacher. I myself belong in Category 3. But let’s pretend for a moment that I fall into Category 4, and prefer listening to Grateful Dead bootlegs to such unessential life activities as eating, sleeping, bathing, screwing and mastering rudimentary social skills. Which would be my choice of best live Grateful Dead recording?
Pittsburgh, PA | From cassette tapes to vinyl records, physical media is trending in Pittsburgh: Cassette tapes brought Veronika Cloutier to Pittsburgh. 
Hawkesbury, AU | Behind the Counter: How One Conversation Led to Owning a Record Shop: The sweet songs of Richmond Records have been serenading the Hawkesbury since the 1980’s, with the store being pivotal to our local music scene. But this year the store is getting some fresh paint, so we would like to welcome to the stage the new owner… Spyda! Spyda, or Paul, is a retired Police Officer of 32 years, who has always held a passion for music. He said he is still “giggin’ around” and that on a typical Sunday afternoon you can find him playing in a band at a local pub, or writing his own music. Spyda becoming the owner of the store seems like it was fate. He told us the story of how he and his wife Laney fell in love with the store in early 2023 while adventuring through Richmond… “Laney said ‘oh look at that cool little shop on the corner!’ so we pulled over, walked in, and just fell in love with it”. With his love of a chat, Spyda got talking to the former owner Mark and his son Zac, and even did an interview with them both. Not long after that day the shop went up for sale, so the pair got talking to Mark again and ended up becoming 
Chicago, IL | Let’s Boogie Record & Tapes: Local record store celebrates the future of physical media: Customers rifle through records and cassettes of their favorite artists in Let’s Boogie Record & Tapes as the morning sun streams through the store windows. Behind the counter, co-owner Jason Keller keeps track of the day’s sales while greeting new patrons. His brother-in-law and co-owner, Phil Lesnik, organizes albums around the shop. The small record store in the Bridgeport neighborhood buzzed with activity Saturday, April 20, as customers and employees celebrated Record Store Day. Started in 2008, Record Store Day is a globally observed celebration of independent music stores that takes place each year. The goal of the holiday is to celebrate these small businesses’ role within the communities they serve while also emphasizing the importance of physical media. In an age when music is available at the tap of a finger, many still opt to support 
Gainesville, FL | After 30 years in business, Hear Again Records owner says the shop is here to stay: There is a music store in downtown Gainesville that’s so old, it saw vinyl make a comeback. In the years it’s been open, Hear Again Records, located on 201 SE First St., has survived two locations, two owners and a pandemic. Now, the store has a milestone to celebrate: its 30th anniversary. The store opened in 1994, first owned by Perry Johnson. Andrew Schaer started working there in 1995 and became the owner in 2006; he’s kept it ever since. “When I started working,” Schaer said, “CD was king.” The store originally sold CDs and DVDs, only switching its main inventory to vinyl when it moved to its current location in 2009. As Schaer explained, sales decreased as the burning of discs became more common. While this was happening, vinyl started to make its comeback. “It was a decision I was 
