News Record Store Day 2014: Shopping Guide

Sifting through small stacks of limited releases, ticking off a checklist of your own making - that’s the traditional Record Store Day routine. But sometimes these things need a level of assistance. Within the hundreds of exclusives and first-time reissues, there’s bound to be something that falls slightly under the radar, only to be acknowledged haplessly by the time its stock has swiftly sold out.

If you’re willing to be queue-bound for hours, there’s no use in racing into your shop of choice and being shell shocked by the level of options. Be prepared. This is a serious mission you’re embarking on - don’t bottle it at the last minute.

Along with the help of some of our favourite musicians, we’ve sorted through the wax to pick out some key releases - big or small - alongside some more niche DIY favourites.

Krokodil - ‘Shatter/Dean Man’s Path 7”’

Really looking forward to hearing this new band which features members of Gallows, Sikth and that bloke Dan Carter. Promises to be a brutal riff-fest. Also, its the first time many people will hear Si Wright screaming the house down. We’ve been friends for years and he’s one of my favourite metal vocalists! [Lee Vincent, Pulled Apart By Horses]

Husker Du - ‘Candy Apple Grey’ 12”

Husker Du came from the primo SST stable and stood out even among their label mates, in my opinion. Three-pieces always rule, first off. Everything was super economical and super melodic, they didn’t waste time with bum parts. It was manicured free sloppiness.

They were everything I admire in a band and try to apply to my own musical world. Heterogeneous influences and independence marked everything they did. They were the only hardcore band to cover The Byrds and spend a summer dropping acid in a church. I see them like an inversion of my own musical influences and tendencies.

This record was supposed to be their mainstream breakout record - it didn’t really work.

Some of the best pop songs they ever did are on here. Original emo offerings, thicker sounds, and beautiful, deep, non-cheesy cheesy blasts of goodness all over. [Amen Dunes]

Oasis - ‘Supersonic’ 12”

In the midst of my dad exposing me to mid 90s house and trance (Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy, The Underworld) I remember a couple of rock albums he would occasionally play when I was 8 or 9 years old. One that stood out was ‘Definitely Maybe’ by Oasis. I remember coming home with my dad from a Tower Records blasting ‘Supersonic’ in his old Nissan truck. I was amazed how the music gave me a certain angst, little did I know I was unconsciously channeling the attitudes of Noel and Liam Gallagher. A year later they would release ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory’, it’s 1995 and my dad bought me my first guitar and taught me how to strum along to ‘Wonderwall.’ [Justin Vallesteros, Craft Spells]

LCD Soundsystem - ‘The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden’ LP

The great big farewell to LCD Soundsystem stretches out for another victory lap, and some might tut and clutch tight their ‘Sound Of Silver’ copy, but this is an addition worth having. A final Madison Square Garden concert documented in full detail, warts and all, tearful crowds to boot. Yes, it’s already been put to tape, but this could and should be the last addition to James Murphy’s goodbye club.

Sky Ferreira - ‘Night Time, My Time’ 12” Picture Disc

One of the undisputed albums of this year - and last, depending on whether you’re UK based or in the States - is finally landing its own vinyl release. Sky Ferreira’s don’t give a shit debut is a maddening combination of purist pop, spiky punk and krautrock. For RSD, it’s arriving in the form of a picture disc, displaying *that* cover art.

One Direction - ‘Midnight Memories’ 7”

No idea who these lads are, but isn’t that the point of record stores - digging into the dusty shelves and unearthing your new favourite band? Judging from the artwork (which, cliché aside, let’s just admit we all do), this lot are the next big revivalists of scuzzy hair metal. I’m expecting riffs, sleaze and hedonism. It’ll be a lifetime of seedy bar venues for them, but I’ll be front and centre. [Tom Connick]

Joy Division - ‘An Ideal For Living’ 12’

The very first Joy Division EP has been a source of wonder and rarity up to now, with diehard fans exchanging bootleg copies of the tinny, original version. It’s now picked up a remastered edit from the Abbey Road Studios, making ‘An Ideal For Living’ ideal for actually playing.

The Notorious B.I.G - ‘Life After Death’

17 years after its release, The Notorious B.I.G.’s supreme talent is resurrected in the reissue of one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. ‘Life After Death’’s combinations of dark humour and chillingly violent lyrics over unforgettable hooks are a reminder Biggie deserves to be remembered as one of rap’s greatest. [Greta Geoghegan]

Gil Scott Heron - ‘Nothing New’ 12’

Recorded during sessions alongside XL head Richard Russell for his final album ‘I’m New Here’, this new release has the late, great Gil Scott-Heron retreading precious ground. On ‘Nothing New’ he gives more minimal and overdubbed takes to old favourites, in a release that celebrates the past and gives a new interpretation too.

Disclosure - ‘Apollo’ 12”

Disclosure’s playful fusion of dance, garage, house and pop is guaranteed to get a crowd moving, and one-off track, ‘Apollo’ carries a similar groove. With a rigid beat signed off with churning electronics and shooting lasers, it’s another slick banger from the Lawrence brothers. [Hayley Fox]

Various Artists - ‘Space Project’ 12’

This might’ve been damned recently by the size of Spuritualized’s paycheque, but that doesn’t reduce the nuttiness and daring edge to Space Project’s concept. Involving The Antlers and Youth Lagoon amongst others, musicians are asked to record new material relying at least in small part on samples recorded up in space. Nothing can defy an idea that audacious, not even gravity.

Jay Z / Linkin Park - ‘Collision Course’ 12”

As unlikely pairings go, Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s (first) mash-up album is up there with the likes of Miley x Flaming Lips and Macca x Nirvana. Somehow, the amalgam of Hova’s once-in-a-generation West Coast hip-hop and Linkin Park’s agate-gleaming nu-metal proto-emo (look at all the hyphens!) is just utter magic, and criminally underrated in both artists’ canons. ‘Numb/Encore’ is still a blistering choon, in every sense of the made-up word. [Laurence Day]

Oneohtrix Point Never - ‘Commissions I’ 12”

If there’s one thing that holds Daniel Lopatin’s work as Oneohtrix Point Never together, it’s his singular disorienting beauty. Dizzying and shimmering in equal measure, ‘Commissions I’ collects together a handful of artful one-offs from Lopatin; providing a bold extension of the almost-gaudy elements introduced on ‘R Plus Seven’. The packaging is equally as fancy, with it offering a distorted look at both an equaliser and musical notation, visualising the obscured new-age compositions perfectly. Neat. [Joe Price]