Hazel English is an Australian American singer-songwriter currently residing in Los Angeles, but with a long stretch spent last decade in California’s Bay Area, where she moved from Melbourne in 2013. English has a couple prior EPs that’ve been combined into a longer showcase of her talents, but it’s the brand-new Wake UP! that’s designated as her debut full-length. Smoother and bolder than the indie pop that comprises her earlier work, a byproduct of working with producer Justin Raisen, the tidy 10-song set maintains stylistic continuity with what came before as it serves as a proper introduction for a widening listenership. It’s out April 24 on wax, CD, and digital through the Polyvinyl label.
Hazel English’s “Never Going Home” EP emerged in 2016, released then on vinyl, in fact. The “Just Give In” EP followed the next year, but its wax edition found it combined with the prior EP in a double 12-inch situation by Polyvinyl in the States (the labels Marathon Artists and House Anxiety took care of Europe), with the separation into equally weighted doses, five songs apiece, encouraging the perception of incremental progress within a relatively tight timeframe.
However, when the sets were combined on compact disc and digitally (with a bonus digital-only track missing on the CD but included with the vinyl’s MP3 download) they flowed sweetly enough that its likely a certain percentage of those listening considered the contents as one whole thing, and indeed maybe as her first album.
This is to English’s credit, as is the step forward that’s offered with Wake UP! Part of the progression is rather simple; the new record connects like she’s fronting a band rather than helming a project, which isn’t a knock on the EPs but just an observation of how English’s sound has bloomed. The growth is also beneficial to opener “Born Like” as it alternates a decidedly neo-’60s pop foundation (heard through the dexterous flair of the rhythm section, in particular) with big dream-pop bursts in the choruses.
San Francisco, CA | ‘A devastating loss’: SF record shops lament closures on what should have been Record Store Day: It was 8 a.m. on Record Store Day, and the line in front of Amoeba Music buzzed with anticipation, stretching down Haight Street and around the corner onto Stanyan. Though it was the first time in 12 years that the San Francisco location had opened at such an early hour, manager Tony Green estimates that at least 8,000 people visited his independent record shop that day, eager to get their hands on a limited edition release or sought-after relic to add to their collection. That was last year. Now, the shuttered shop, which would have celebrated Record Store Day this weekend, is depending on online sales as the annual event is postponed until at least June 20. But Green thinks even that seems optimistic. “Of course, it is a certainty that we could not do it the same way we have in the past, with a lot of music fan frenzy and close social interaction,” he told SFGATE, adding, “Our main focus right now is figuring out how the store will run 
Memphis, TN | Local book, record shops ‘essential’ to the city we want to keep: A signed, used hardcover of mystery writer Ross Thomas’ 1989 novel “The Fourth Durango.” A good-as-new used vinyl copy of the Chuck Berry compilation “The Great 28.” A remastered, good-as-new, used CD of The Clash’s 1979 album “Give ’Em Enough Rope.” A new paperback of the Larry McMurtry novel “All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers.” Respectively, those were my most recent purchases at Burke’s Book Store and Goner Records in Cooper-Young, at Shangri-La Records on Madison near Overton Square and at Novel book store in East Memphis, all in the weeks just before our world mostly shut down. There are things I’m missing over the past few weeks: Having my kids in school. Being able to escape to a coffee shop to write. FedExForum “Whoomping” through an unexpected Grizzlies playoff race. Enjoying a bacon-and-egg grilled cheese and hibiscus tea from the Fuel food truck on a bustling Memphis Farmers Market morning. The mere prospect of lying on the lawn for a Levitt Shell concert. Going to the movies. But high on the list is this: Glancing over the stacks or 
On Record Store Day, fans are buying vinyl to support struggling stores: Despite the existence of smartphones and digital players, true music enthusiasts know the magic that comes from vinyl records. Every year, music fans, artists, and record stores all over the world come together to celebrate Record Store Day. The celebration was scheduled for Saturday but, like many, it has been postponed due to the pandemic. Instead, the organization behind the event launched #RSDFillTheGap as a way to encourage music lovers to “buy a record missing from their collection” to celebrate the event while supporting record stores impacted by the virus. “We’re all looking forward to getting back out into the world and 
Kansas City, MO | Wax Poetic: The Secret Life of KC Vinyl. …Looking around the tiny shop, it’s easy to see how one could lose an entire afternoon to space. Sitting in front of me is a bowl of candy. (The good kind, none of the dum-dum and lifesaver bullshit banks try to pass off as a treat). To the left of me, water, soda, and beer bob in aluminum tins while boxed wines line a small table adjacent to the front counter. Before anyone asks to see their liquor license, they’re not selling it. It’s free. Records with Merritt doesn’t just want your money, 
Boulder, CO | Are record stores an essential business? In the past three weeks, over 30 record stores in the Denver area have closed their doors due to COVID-19. What were once sanctuaries to provide customers and music lovers with a sense of relief and expression are now relying on their customers more than ever. Across Colorado, several record stores are offering ways to provide customers with what matters most: the music. Since the spread of the coronavirus and a statewide stay-at-home order, record stores have no other choice than to close their doors, let go of employees and rethink their business strategy. That means a transition to online sales using social media as the primary method of outreach. Instagram has been a hot spot for online record sales. Stores like Bart’s Record Shop in Boulder and Twist & Shout in Denver have relied heavily on social media as their primary vehicle to get customers the records they need in a 
Savannah, GA | Rise from your Grave: Graveface businesses look for help during COVID-19 economic struggles: It was only a month ago that this newspaper published an article about the delightfully weird and macabre Graveface Museum that just opened on Factor’s Walk. The museum, which has the potential to become one of the most unique and popular tourist attractions in Savannah, barely opened its doors before they had to close them again because of the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. Owner and curator, Ryan Graveface, not only runs the museum, but also the Graveface Records store and record label, as well as other record labels including his Terror Vision imprint. With his multiple business all having to shutter at once, Graveface is struggling to pay rent and ensure that he can reopen when the pandemic is over. With a collective rent of $7,800 a month, Graveface’s wife, Chloe Manon, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise enough money to cover two months rent on his museum and shop, with the hope that the businesses can reopen soon after and keep their staff employed. “Chloe put it very simply that if we don’t do something, 
