JIM CARROLLon music
Is this a record shop revival in the capital I see before me? Last week, E2 Music announced plans to open a pop-up shop on College Green in the space formerly occupied by Habitat.
This week, the arrival of Elastic Witch is making headlines. The shop will be based in the Twisted Pepper on Middle Abbey Street, a space which is now home to a club, live music venue, the 3FE coffee shop, the Loft Bookshop and the Boxcutter barbers.
Elastic Witch will be run by Gib Cassidy, Logicparty drummer and formerly of Road Records. Aside from selling CDs and vinyl from independent Irish and international acts, Cassidy hopes Elastic Witch will be a “social space”.
Meanwhile, HMV this week announced plans for 20 pop-up shops in the UK in the run-up to Christmas.
There’s no doubt there is still a market for vinyl and CDs, once the retailers involved accept that it’s now a niche rather than a mass market. There’s going to be no repeat of those recently unearthed photos from the 1960s of masses of people flocking to HMV shops. But if numbers are down, there’s still enough dedicated music fans with cash to sustain a shop that knows and responds to this audience.
Changes in the retail environment also help: neither E2 nor Elastic Witch will be paying Celtic Tiger rents, but the ability to identify a customer base and get them into the shop matters more. After all, if Cork can support a shop like Plugd, surely there’s enough appetite from music fans in the capital to keep these newbies in business?
NEW MUSIC
AZEALIA BANKS
A fly girl with a laser-sharp flow, New Yorker Azealia Banks has a stage-school background and found rapping to be her forte. The raw, cheeky, tough 212will get people talking about her, but we also like her Runnincollaboration with Lunice. The new Nicki Minaj and then some.
azeliabanks.com
KEATON HENSON
Expect to see more of the musician, illustrator and visual artist Keaton Henson in 2012. The Londoner's crippling panic attacks make live gigs problematic, but the twentysometing's lovelorn, melancholic tunes like debut single You Don't Know How Lucky You Arewill do the heavy lifting for him.
keatonhenson.com
JON LEMMON
If the rest of New Zealand singer Jon Lemmon's forthcoming album is as beguiling dreamy and breezy as Exodus 1, a track featured on his Bandcamp page, we've a serious hit on our hands. A supermelodic tune from the dude who is also in the band Mount Pleasant. Facebook.com/ Jonlemmonmusic
NOW PLAYING
Wilco The Whole Love (dBpm) Patented Wilcoesque blend of fuzzy wig-outs and bruised pastoral mellow moods on the Chicago band's eighth studio album.
Friends I 'm His Girl (Lucky Number) Shimmering loveliness from the Brooklyn band with a knack for ramshackle pop beauts. B-side is a cover of old-school r'n'b nugget My Boo.
Still Corners Creatures Of An Hour (Sub Pop) Classic cinematic melancholy from this London band, with Tessa Murray's captivating voice one of many reasons to be cheerful.
The Stepkids The Stepkids (Stones Throw) One for the psych-soul crew as The Stepkids work some hazy old-school grooves into an intoxicating album.
Little Red Rock It (True Panther) Smart, infectious pop tune from a brilliant Australian band. Check out their Midnight Rememberalbum for more.
