We’ve closed TVD’s HQ for the Fourth of July holiday. While we’re away, why not fire up our Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record stores?
Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up, and we’ll see you back here Monday, 7/6.
COSTA MESA, CA | There’s nothing quite like a summer reggae show in Southern California. The sun sinking behind the OC Fair & Event Center, a warm breeze drifting through the venue, and thousands of fans ready to sing along with every word—it’s the kind of night this music was made for. On Friday, June 26th, Iration’s Where It All Began tour hit the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California.
The tour celebrates nearly two decades of the Hawaiian-bred, Santa Barbara-based band’s independent success, and it shares its name with their brand new album that dropped back in May. They were supported by Tunnel Vision, Artikal Sound System, and Tribal Seeds—a stacked lineup that any West Coast reggae fan would circle on the calendar. With four bands covering everything from surf-punk to roots reggae, this was less a concert and more a full-on celebration of the SoCal reggae scene. The weather was great and the crowd was ready for a night of singing and dancing.
San Clemente band Tunnel Vision got things going with their punk/surf/reggae style, getting us all going for the night. The band famously formed back in 2012 while its founding members were working together at the Lost Surfboards factory, and their whole sound still carries that surf-and-skate DNA. Frontman Hayden Hanson and the guys grew up surfing and skating around Orange County, so this was practically a hometown show for them, and it showed.
Early crowds can be tough to win over, but the amphitheater was already filling in fast and Tunnel Vision made the most of every minute of their set. They played a lot of great songs like “Hop in the Van” off their album Days Away, which everyone was singing and dancing to. It was the perfect way to kick off the night.
VIA PRESS RELEASE | World Circuit Records will release Buena Vista Social Club (30th Anniversary Edition) on 4th September. Produced by Ry Cooder and Executive Produced by Nick Gold, the classic multi-million-selling Grammy-winning album will be reissued on “pearl sunrise” colour double-LP, reflecting pearl’s long-standing association with 30-year anniversaries. Buena Vista Social Club 30th Anniversary Edition is the third in a series of re-releases celebrating the prestigious label’s 40th Anniversary and is available now for pre-order.
The history, authenticity and mystique of Buena Vista Social Club burns as brightly today as ever for fans both new and old. On 26 March 1996, the trio of Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos González, American producer and guitarist Ry Cooder, and British producer and label owner Nick Gold assembled an impromptu group of Cuban musicians at Centro Havana’s historic 1950’s EGREM/Areito studios. The majority of those gathered were celebrated veterans of the golden age of the Cuban music scene of the 1940s and ’50s.
None of them had any idea that the recordings they were about to produce would change the lives of many people, themselves included, and would forever change the standing of Cuban music in the world. Buena Vista Social Club was the name given to both this extraordinary group of musicians and the album, recorded in just seven days.
The studio, owned by Cuba’s national label EGREM, was originally installed in the 1940s and is celebrated as a great jewel in recording history. The large wood-panelled studio enabled recording to take place with the full ensemble playing “live,” which puts the listener right in the room amongst the musicians. There is no doubt that this played a major part in the magical sound of the final recordings.
VIA PRESS RELEASE | Wewantsounds is honoured to announce the first-ever international release of the legendary collaboration between Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) and Don Cherry, featuring Carlos Ward. Following Ibrahim’s recent passing, this long-awaited edition is all the more relevant.
Recorded live in 1972 at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, this highly sought-after album was originally released exclusively in Japan in 1974 on the cult jazz label Trio Records via its revered Nadja imprint. An essential chapter in the musicians’ discographies, the performance skilfully blends jazz with rich South African rhythms and global influences. This definitive reissue features fully remastered audio, the original artwork, and a booklet with new bilingual liner notes by Jacques Denis.
The Third World-Underground captures a rare convergence of three singular musical voices: Don Cherry’s nomadic imagination, Abdullah Ibrahim’s deeply rooted South African lyricism, and Carlos Ward’s muscular alto saxophone. By 1972 when this magical album was recorded, Cherry and Ibrahim had already spent a decade redefining jazz by pushing beyond its foundations and embracing a broader, global musical language.
Cherry—who had helped revolutionise jazz alongside Ornette Coleman—was in constant search of new musical pathways. Drawing inspiration from the traditional sounds of Turkey, India, Africa, and beyond, he cultivated a fluid, borderless approach that expanded far beyond the trumpet, incorporating voice, percussion, and communal improvisation into his work. Ibrahim brought an equally profound sensibility. A spiritual heir to Duke Ellington, shaped by Cape Town gospel, township jive, and the emotional weight of exile, he transformed the piano into an instrument capable of both celebration and lament.
Remembering Martin Phillipps, born on this day in 1963. —Ed.
For some, the two early 1990s releases from New Zealand’s The Chills, Submarine Bells and Soft Bomb, served as a gateway to one of the finest tunesmiths in the whole pop-rock shebang. But for folks who were previously clued-in to the band’s work for the Flying Nun label, these albums, both cut for Slash Records, represent leader and sole constant Chill Martin Phillipps’ already considerable pop ambitions in full flower.
Although it was never my preferred format, back in 1990 when Submarine Bells came out, I was still in the habit of occasionally buying music on cassette. I mention this because I did indeed initially purchase Bells on that very format, a decision spurred by impatience, as on my visit, the store didn’t have any copies in stock.
This pained me a little at the time, but I also knew I could remove the shrink wrap and pop that tape right into the car’s deck for immediate listening out on the highway, which was enticing as The Chills’ sound, which flows from a jangle pop/ indie pop fount with tangible if savvy nods to the 1960s, is well-suited for vehicular absorption. Upon reflection, Submarine Bells hits something of an apex in the windows down volume up mode, beginning with one of the band’s signature tunes, “Heavenly Pop Hit.”
That song’s stature relates largely to pure skill in the construction, but as said up above, Submarine Bells was many folks’ intro to The Chills, and sequenced on that album first, “Heavenly Pop Hit” no doubt deepened this first impression. Along with reaching No. 2 on the New Zealand singles chart (the album hit No. 1, as The Chills weren’t an u-ground thing at home), it snuck into the UK singles sales list at No. 97 and even made the Alternative Airplay chart in the US at No. 17.
VIA PRESS RELEASE | yasiin bey, the legendary artist formerly known as Mos Def, today announced a new partnership with Rhymesayers Entertainment, with the first release being the long-awaited reissue of his seminal 2009 album, The Ecstatic.
It will be reintroduced on all physical formats August 14th, marking the first time it has been available for worldwide distribution in more than a decade-and-a-half. The album is also available today via exclusive streaming partner Qobuz.Rooted in a mutual commitment to superior sound fidelity and equitable pay for creators, this alliance reflects yasiin’s own artistic principles and his longstanding advocacy for artist rights. By joining forces with a platform known for its high-quality audio and expert human curation, bey is highlighting alternatives for those who prioritize artistic integrity and the inherent value of art.
In addition to offering The Ecstatic for high resolution and lossless digital downloads, Qobuz is launching free trial subscriptions providing unlimited access to the album as well as more than 100 million other tracks. The campaign celebrates a work that reaffirmed bey’s status as one of hip-hop’s most adventurous and intellectually engaged voices.
Among The Ecstatic variants is a deluxe package pressed on double LP 180-gram black vinyl, which also includes a translucent red 7” vinyl single featuring the previously unreleased bonus tracks “The Size” and “The Tournament.”
Chris Corsano is a living, breathing titan of drumkit explosiveness. It is said that he hangs his hat (if a hat he chooses to wear) in Chicago, IL, but in a spiritual sense, Corsano is everywhere. Tashi Dorji is a contemporary cyclone of abstract versatility and fervor playing guitars electric and acoustic. Born in Bhutan, he has long called Asheville, NC, home, but like Corsano, the essence of the man cannot be harnessed; it spills out all over hill and dale.
Putting these rich cats together in a room with their instruments is a recipe for interactive fireworks, a display that reinforces the pair as collaborators of the highest rank. Live at Ritual Botanica provides recorded evidence of the duo’s high-energy brilliance. It’s out now on vinyl and digital via Feeding Tube Records.
The drum prowess of Chris Corsano has perhaps been most widely disseminated through his duo sets, studio and live, with guitarist Bill Orcutt (expanded to a trio for one mind-flaying LP with ecstatic saxophonist Zoh Amba, The Flower School). Corsano is, in fact, a dogged collaborator, with a massive discography built upon the vast range of his improvisational abilities.
A few solo records stand out in his body of work, but Corsano really thrives through dialogue. There are numerous conversational constellations inside or on the borders of free jazz, in particular a stunning string of duos with saxophonist Paul Flaherty that form one sweet peak in a mountainous expanse of exploratory magnificence.
Alexandria, VA | Crooked Beat Records announces new Del Ray location, just steps from incoming NRG record store: Beloved vinyl shop will reopen at 2101B Mount Vernon Ave. in August, across the street from Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s planned shop. Crooked Beat Records is returning to Del Ray. The beloved independent vinyl shop announced Tuesday it will reopen at 2101B Mount Vernon Ave., just 128 feet from the record store that Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced the same day it plans to open this summer—setting the stage for what could become a vinyl destination block on Mount Vernon Avenue. In a video posted to social media Tuesday afternoon, owner Bill Daly said a longtime supporter of the shop—a customer of nearly three decades—purchased a building and closed on it Tuesday, with Crooked Beat set to rent the space from her. “She just wanted Crooked Beat to keep going. And we are really appreciative of that.”
St. Petersburg, FL | Planet Retro Records owner Rob Sexton dies: “The guy cared very much for his community, his bands and his friends.” Rob Sexton, a longtime bay area musician and the owner of St. Petersburg’s Planet Retro Records, died Saturday of complications following a stroke. He was 55. A native of the Tampa suburb Clair-Mel, Sexton was widely known as the drummer in numerous punk and hardcore bands, going back to the 1980s. …Sexton was known not to suffer fools gladly. As the face behind the Planet Retro counter, “He could come across as a curmudgeon,” said Sexton’s longtime friend Keith Ulrey, owner of Tampa’s Microgroove Records. “But the guy cared very much for his community, his bands and his friends. He would do anything for anybody, really. He just didn’t put up with any sh–.”
Limerick, IE | Independent Limerick record shop appeals for support amid closure threat: The record store in Limerick city centre has been open for almost two years. Downbeat Records Limerick has appealed for support, sharing that they are under threat of closure. Frankie O’Mahony of Downbeat Records said online that they are asking locals to support them, as they may not make it to the store’s second birthday. “Anyone who knows me knows I hate getting on here like this, so you know it must be serious,” said O’Mahony. “Last month was really bad for us, and you know it’s great to see the sun hitting and all that. But it means that people are around Limerick less and less. “We don’t sell so much online, so we kind of need the Limerick community to come through. If next month is similar to last month, we’re gonna struggle to pay the rent. I would say the shop might not make it to its second birthday.”
Austin, TX | Austin record store joins pilot for recycling damaged vinyl records: Austinites going through the disappointment of discovering a damaged vinyl record in their collection can at least avoid sending it to the landfill. A new initiative is turning 11 independent record stores across the United States, including Antone’s Record Shop in Austin, into vinyl take-back points for potential recycling. The pilot is a collaboration between the record stores, Warner Music Group (WMG), and Virterras Materials, a recycling technology business that specializes in “challenging” materials like plastics and rubber. It will run from “the end of June through September,” a press release says, and all participants have to do is drop off damaged records—any kind or condition is accepted. The program is still in an exploratory phase; the partners don’t know the best way to organize the collection yet, and they are vague about what the records might become.
There is nothing better than a metal tour that is all killer and no filler, where all the bands are more than worthy—and that is exactly what hit the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday night, June 25 as Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Iron Reagan, and Havok played the second to last night of their three-week US trek that rocked every venue from coast to coast.
Southern California traffic had a different take on allowing for an on-time arrival to witness Havok. Still, based on the band’s history and their ultra-active live show, it was surely a killer way to begin this night of metal madness. Iron Reagan has been around since 2012, but has not played SoCal in several years, so this was a highly anticipated performance. Led by Municipal Waste members Tony Foresta on vocals and Phil Hall on guitar, the band’s sound and delivery does not vary too much from Municipal Waste, although maybe a bit more hardcore and less thrash, but totally killer, nonetheless.
The band played 16 songs, with an average song length of about 2 minutes. Highlights consisted of “Eat Shit and Live,” “Your Kid’s an Asshole,” “Fuck the Neighbors,” and three new songs off their June 9 released EP “Demonetization,” and the set ended with “Miserable Failure.”
Now Machine Head is out supporting their 2025 release UNATØNED and is a true headliner in their own right, having carved their own path in the groove metal/thrash scene since 1991. Robb Flynn’s pedigree also includes a former membership in Vio-lence. This tour may have been better billed as a co-headline tour, but anytime you can see Machine Head and Killswitch Engage on the same stage, back-to-back, is a good night indeed.
VIA PRESS RELEASE | WaterTower Music is proud to announce the release of Supergirl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), featuring the original score composed by Claudia Sarne for DC Studios’ Supergirl, in theaters now from Warner Bros. Pictures. The soundtrack is available now on all major streaming platforms, with the 2LP vinyl and CD versions available for pre-order.
Composer Claudia Sarne had this to say on creating the music for Supergirl: “Scoring Supergirl has been a wild fever dream. I particularly connected to the messiness and complexity of her as a character and loved the range that the film demanded. The opportunity to go from dirty synth bass lines and sequences to big thematic orchestral pieces and mournful solo piano cues has been an incredible ride. Craig asked for music that would speak to the emotional life of the characters, from Ruthye’s heartbreak and idealism, Kara’s devastation and rebelliousness, Lobo’s nihilism, and the terror of Krem; all bound together around the love story between Kara and Krypto.”
Mutant, in partnership with WaterTower Music and DC Studios, is proud to present the premiere physical release of Claudia Sarne’s original score to Supergirl. The release features artwork by Bilquis Evely and is pressed on 2x 140gm color vinyl with a UV-printed D-side. Also available on CD.
Fans were treated early with the release of the “Supergirl Suite” as part of a Spotify x DC Studios partnership to an in-app Krypto the dog scavenger hunt, where fans look for in-app clues directing them to specific destinations on Spotify, including official theme songs for both Superman and Supergirl, to unlock an exclusive clip from the film, alongside the official Supergirl playlist experience, featuring curated playlists inspired by key characters from the film, including Supergirl, Ruthye, and Lobo.
It’s difficult to explain to today’s pop music fans just how big Frampton Comes Alive! was when it was released in 1976. The double-live album was a blockbuster sales hit and a phenomenon.
Music in the 1970s was driven just as much by blockbuster albums as by a plethora of must-see live acts. Nowadays, the concert business is in shambles because of high ticket prices and the prevalence of popular artists who primarily built their followings on producer-driven music with slick, controlled, mostly electronic studio craft. Some may put on entertaining shows, but many lack the organic musicianship of the classic rock-era groups and artists. Live albums, especially blockbuster live albums, are a thing of the past.
Peter Frampton was in many ways a surprise breakout artist. He was in the short-lived group The Herd, which was formed in 1965 when he was 16, formed Humble Pie with Steve Marriott in 1969, and then departed in 1972 to go solo. He recorded four solo albums before the tour that yielded Frampton Comes Alive! and was slowly building a following and becoming more popular, but was strictly an FM artist. Even for that era, a double-live album that yielded so many hits was an oddity.
It’s hard to remember the last time anyone had a hit with a live track or album. The album yielded the hits “Show Me the Way” and “Baby I Love Your Way” and unleashed the 14-minute-plus FM staple “Do You Feel Like We Do.” That track highlighted Frampton’s dexterity with the vocoder, a vocal tube/mic setup that gave vocals a spacey, robotic, fuzzy sound. Joe Walsh also had success with the effect during that time period.
VIA PRESS RELEASE | 40 years ago, Bananarama released their third studio album True Confessions. The album would go on to be their most commercially successful album, achieving Gold Sales in the US (and Platinum in Canada). To mark the milestone, London Records will release the True Confessions (40th Anniversary Editions) on August 28, 2026, featuring newly remastered audio, expanded deluxe formats, exclusive collectibles, and brand-new remixes. The collection is available to pre-order now.
Zeitgeist is a word used often, but with True Confessions, Bananarama set the pop world’s imagination ablaze. In four short years, the band transformed from DIY girls about town to bona fide MTV superstars, with a new look and sound to match. “1986 was a whirlwind for us, and it was the year that things ramped up a gear. The success of ‘Venus’ around the world meant we were lucky enough to visit so many countries and meet so many people. It was a year we’ll never forget,” Siobhan Fahey reveals.
For “Venus,” a canny Hi-NRG remake of the 1969 Shocking Blue hit, Bananarama had enlisted the production talents of then relative newcomers, Stock Aitken Waterman. The song had been a firm favorite for the band since their onset, and when they caught wind (via the dancefloor) of SAW’s effervescent beat driven production of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” they imagined a global smash.
And what a global smash “Venus” would prove to be: topping both the US Billboard Top 100 and Billboard Dance Charts, as well as rocketing into the Top 10 in 20 countries, hitting #1 in a further 5 countries. “’I remember during a True Confessions promo trip to America we went to Prince’s club in Minneapolis. I couldn’t believe it when the DJ put ‘Venus’ on and the whole club ran to the dancefloor, it was amazing,” Sara Dallin shares.
Celebrating Debbie Harry on her 81st birthday. —Ed.
Any discussion of ‘70s-era pop-rock is incomplete without due time spent on Blondie, and vinyl mavens unversed in their essence can play catch-up in one fell swoop with Universal’s box set of the six LPs from the group’s original run. As no-frills as its title, Blondie offers exact reproductions and absolutely nothing extra; the totality captures the heights and depths of a highly successful and influential band.
If the most commercially solvent entity to emerge from the ‘70s New York City punk/new wave scene, Blondie’s style, at least for a significant portion of their ’75-’82 existence, is most aptly compared to the Ramones. Purists may balk, but honestly I’d be perplexed if by this date on the calendar there are more than a handful of bitter goats clinging to the notion that Blondie were hangers-on or sellouts.
Spearheaded by vocalist Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein and after early personnel changes solidified through keyboardist James Destri, bassist Gary Valentine, and drummer Clem Burke, in December of 1975 Blondie’s self-titled debut appeared via fly-by-night independent Private Stock Records. It didn’t shift many units, but their popularity surged once Chrysalis scooped them up, releasing Plastic Letters in the fall of ’77 and reissuing Blondie in the bargain.
There were lineup adjustments, with Valentine out and replaced by Frank Infante, who promptly switched to guitar upon addition of bassist Nigel Harrison. The membership remained stable until ’82, when disappointments revolving around The Hunter inspired a breakup. This collection doesn’t include everything; missing are the five illuminating ‘75 demos cut with Alan Betrock and the ’80 Giorgio Moroder collaboration “Call Me” from the soundtrack to Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo; instead it simply boxes-up the half-dozen long-players devoid of editorializing.
All of these platters were once extremely cheap and relatively easy to pick up used (though I’ve never glimpsed a Private Stock edition of Blondie), and I can’t imagine the situation has changed. But I realize there’s a breed of vinyl connoisseur equivalent to those licensed drivers who wouldn’t stoop to buy a second-hand car; bluntly, this set is for them.
Mumbai, IN | Record stores, DJs & venue owners say new generation is embracing vinyl: Not out of nostalgia, but for a different relationship with music. When Abdul Razzak opened Royal Music Collection in Mumbai’s Fort area in 1979, vinyl records were the dominant way Indians listened to music. Then came cassettes, CDs and streaming, pushing records to the margins. Nearly five decades later, many of the customers walking into his shop belong to a generation that never grew up with vinyl at all. “I’ve been running this store since 1979, and I’ve seen the entire journey of vinyl in India,” says Razzak. “Vinyl records were popular for decades, but around 1990, production largely stopped. Then, around 2010, we started seeing a revival.”
Tacoma, WA | Tacoma Country Musician Opens Antique Row Record Store: Visitors of Tacoma’s Antique Row now have a new store to peruse: Armchair Boogie Record Shop, a preowned vinyl business offering something for everyone. The shop’s owner, Matt Kimball, is a longtime Tacoman and musician who moonlights as the frontman of the self-titled four-piece country band The Kimball Superstars. As someone already entwined with the local music scene—and having worked at another area record store for more than a decade—Kimball noticed the downtown area was lacking a space dedicated to vinyl and vinyl collecting. “Downtown Tacoma has not had a record store for some time,” Kimball said over email. “I spend a lot of time down here (in downtown Tacoma) already at the vintage and antique stores. There’s a lot of foot traffic, and the architecture is beautiful.”
St. Paul, MN | How Urban Lights, one of the country’s last Black-owned record stores, changed with the times: Tucked away in the Midway neighborhood in St. Paul is a community treasure many have come to love and respect. Urban Lights is one of 35 Black-owned record stores in the country and one of the only ones left in the Twin Cities. The cultural institution has survived when other independent stores were forced to close their doors. Owner Timothy Wilson has seen some of the industry’s giants visit the St. Paul record store in its 32 years. “We’ve had everyone from Beyoncé walk through the door when she was with the original Destiny’s Child,” said Wilson. “The Fugees, Wyclef, Naughty by Nature, Run-DMC. The list goes on and on.”
Phoenix, AZ | This new Phoenix record store is more than just a place to buy vinyl: The Record Gallery is the latest addition to the Valley vinyl scene. When Damian Amoros opened The Record Gallery in April, he wasn’t just launching a place to score used vinyl. He was reinventing his life. After quitting a desk job at Banner Health he’d worked for decades, the 49-year-old artist threw himself into opening a place to sell records, highlight local artists and give Arizona DJs and musicians a place to perform. “This is definitely more than just a record store,” Amoros says. “It’s a place to showcase all these artists in Arizona, show some community love and bring people together.” The Record Gallery does all of those things. The 1,200-square-foot shop on the first floor of The Artery building near Indian School Road and Seventh Street boasts local art on the walls, a dozen bins packed with LPs and gigs every weekend.
CEDAR PARK, TX | Some bands define an era, and then there are bands whose music also continues to hold its own decades later. Tom Keifer and the Keifer Band proved exactly why on Thursday night at Haute Spot in Cedar Park, Texas, delivering a powerful performance built on great songs, solid musicianship, and the unmistakable voice that helped make Cinderella one of rock’s standout bands.
I grew up on rock and metal throughout the ’80s and never stopped listening. At one point, I went to visit a friend in Hollywood and ended up staying, eventually working the front door for a couple of years at a club on Sunset Boulevard during the height of the Sunset Strip scene.
It was super close to popular bars and venues like the Whisky a Go Go, the Troubadour, the Cathouse, and Camp Hollywood on Sunset. My first job in Hollywood was working the door at the Rainbow. I only did it for one night—it was way too busy, and I couldn’t deal—so I left. Those were wild, fun times, and Thursday night’s show brought back a lot of the same energy and memories.
The evening opened with Texas rockers Ratchet Dolls, who wasted no time getting the crowd fired up. Their gritty, high-energy set was the perfect way to kick off a night built around loud guitars and unapologetic rock and roll. The San Antonio trio has been grinding it out on the road behind their album Bring the Noize, and that road-tested tightness showed—they played like a band with something to prove.
