Ten Choice Picks For Record Store Day 2019

Words: Saam Das

Yes, every day is record store day but today is the official 2019 Record Store Day - the twelfth annual iteration of a day that is a celebration of independent record stores across the world, driven by new and special releases. We've collated a list of ten choice picks from Record Store Day 2019, and in a change to our regular programming, you can view the list in reverse alphabetical order below.

Singles: October 2011

Words: Saam Das

I've listened to at least 100 tracks to compile this list of my top ten singles of October. I could have saved myself the bother and simply declared Lana Del Rey the winner for her widely acclaimed 'Video Games' single. Except we were emailed about her last May and didn't think she was particularly amazing. And still don't. Yet. So instead check out ten other artists who we think are more worthy of your time below.

Fanfarlo Debut Album

The past week saw indie/folk/twee/all of the above Londoners Fanfarlo finally release their debut album, 'Reservoir' on physical formats. It had been available to download since around July, leading some commentators to suggest that it should be nominated for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize.

Aside from the fact that I'm fairly sure it wouldn't qualify for the Mercury due to not having been physically released, I have to concede that I was a little disappointed with 'Reservoir'. Sure, it hit all the expected notes - combining moments of melancholy with times of vibrant euphoria and generally, the overwhelming sense of musical accomplishment. But it had something missing. Perhaps that something is the brilliant 'Sand And Ice', left off the album for unknown reasons. The more I think about it though, the album feels a bit too long rather than having something overtly lacking. And there was me thinking "too much Fanfarlo" wasn't possible.

Do I regret having such high expectations for what remains a fantastic band? Not at all. Maybe I'll tweak the tracklisting and chop a couple of songs off and make it into the irresistable album I had hoped for. Judge for yourselves with the album streamed above (courtesy of clashmusic.com) and from the BBC 6Music radio session below.

FANFARLO - COMETS (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)
FANFARLO - DROWNING MEN (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)
FANFARLO - FIRE ESCAPE (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)
FANFARLO - HAROLD T WILKINS (BBC 6MUSIC SESSION)

'Reservoir' is available in various packages at fanfarlo.com, where you can also find details of their current UK tour.

Website // MySpace

Futuresounds 2009 Part Three

This is the penultimate post of my tips for 2009, which has turned into more of an ongoing saga than I envisaged at first. But I'll be there to the bitter end. Apologies for the delay, I've been having a bit of trouble with the filehosting service I use - it's free though so I can't complain. Let's blame the snow. Anyways, as ever, I'm using the format of one majorly hyped band, one KHI golden oldie and another band that has never graced my blog with their presence.

Mumford And Sons
Fleet Foxes, Noah & The Whale and Laura Marling brought last year's folk "revolution" and this year, Marcus Mumford and his merry men hope to achieve similar recognition. Their epic country sound can be both mellow and intense, a majestic cacophony emboldened by Marcus Mumford's rich vocals. There's banjos, there's a double bass, there's even a grand piano on the radio session I'm about to share yet none of it sounds extravagant. Quite the opposite really, it sounds just right.

MUMFORD AND SONS - ROLL AWAY YOUR STONE (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)
MUMFORD AND SONS - SIGH NO MORE (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)
MUMFORD AND SONS - THE CAVE (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)
MUMFORD AND SONS - WHITE BLANK PAGE (BBC RADIO 1 SESSION)

Fanfarlo
Fanfarlo mix folk and twee (and about a million different instruments) to make wonderfully jangly indie pop. And they're about to support Snow Patrol, which is a bit bizarre. But giving Fanfarlo the opportunity to reach a wider audience is something I tried to do, putting 'Sand And Ice' on [KHI podcast#6], almost a year ago. They recently completed their debut album, produced by Peter Katis (best known for his work with The National and Interpol) and it's more than possible that Fanfarlo's effort will be just as good as the aforementioned bands. It'll certainly be more jolly.

FANFARLO - HAROLD T. WILKINS (DEMO)

Little Comets
Little Comets could well follow the likes of The Wombats in breaching the mainstream with colourful pop tunes. Or maybe a more appropriate comparison could be made to fellow Northerners, Maximo Park and The Futureheads. Either way, Little Comets make their pop with a bit of a Vampire Weekend-esque twist, a ray of sunshine in our embittered English climate. 2009 won't break them but it could make them.

LITTLE COMETS - ONE NIGHT IN OCTOBER

Buy from [7digital]/[iTunes].