Record Store Bank Holiday

It's not often I go to record stores these days. I don't really live near to any, but even if I did, I probably wouldn't find the time to go much anyway. But sometimes, when I do have some time, it's fun to flick through the racks in the hope of finding something cool.

Well, I got an email recently from a dude who had read this blog and told me about the record store he worked in which wasn't too far from me. The shop is called All Ages Records and is based in Camden. I went there once back in about 2003 and was not very impressed, given that it had a tiny vinyl section and was mainly CDs. I didn't even know it was still open to be honest, although the fact that it does must mean that enough people do know it's there. Anyhow, on last week's rainy Bank Holiday Monday I jumped in the car and went into London for the day, with the store forming one item on my day's itinerary.

It's probably a good thing that I'm not too close to any physical stores, because this trip showed how easy it is to spend money. Here's a summary of what I picked up:

First up, the new album by The Alligators. This is dude from Agnostic Front and dudes from Insted. I got the two 7"s that Indecision Records put out a few years ago. They were pretty good, so I was keen to pick up this album. No idea on the pressing info. I would guess this colour is the more common variation, but I'm not overly fussed as the other colour looks horrible.

Next, a 7" on Hydrahead Records by a band called Black Face. I still haven't actually got around to listening to this yet, but it sounds (and looks) promising, as you can see:

Next up, three more additions to the Black Flag colour vinyl collection. I've been meaning to order the latest colour vinyl pressings of the LPs for a while but just not got around to it. So it was cool to be able to pick two of them off at one go without ordering from the States. 'Slip It In' on both grey and green vinyl:

And here's the 'TV Party' 7" on orange. This was the last of the four 7"s that were pressed on colour vinyl last year that I was missing.

Next, the second 7" from Louisville supergroup Black God. There were a lot of different colours made for this one. I don't feel the need to own more than one copy of this one as I know there are many variations available, and the band doesn't excite me enough to make me want to buy THAT many records. Stoked on this colour though. Crystal clear always looks good.

This next one is a funny one. This is a 7" by a band called GUILTY on Six Feet Under Records. Dude played it in the shop for me. It's pretty heavy, but what sold it to me was the grunt in the first song. I challenge you to name one song where the vocalist fills a moment with a grunt that isn't good. Yeah, that's right, there isn't one. Sold.

And talking of SST Records colour vinyl reissues, here's Husker Du's 'New Day Rising' LP on grey. Husker Du are a band I have always wanted to like more than I do. My introduction to them was a song on the first Blind Skateboards video back in 1991 or so. Out of love for that song I have tried several times to get into them in the past. Seeing the record on the rack in front of me made me want to give them another go. I mean, I only started liking Descendents about three years ago, so there's still a chance...

And finally, a reissue of the Scream 'This Side Up' LP. I must have missed that this got made, as I was happily buying Dischord colour represses for the past few years. Maybe I missed a couple? I'll have to check. But this one looks great with the silver sleeve and clear vinyl. Good job.

I think if I lived closer to Camden I'd definitely go check out All Ages Records more often. My bank account, however, is probably glad that I don't.