Road Records

ROAD RECORDS IS CLOSING DOWN !


How do I begin a piece like this, without repeating everything I wrote nearly two years ago now.



I suppose I would have to say its with great sadness to inform you we are finally closing the doors of Road Records.


Its been a difficult two years since we first faced the prospects of closure and we have literally worked night and day to try and see if we could save the shop and make it a viable business again. The current economic situation in this country added to the many problems we faced in the past have finally caught up with us and we can no longer sustain this little shop.


This time, I am sad to say, there is no alternative for us, we have literally tried everything in our powers to keep this place operating and nothing has worked for us. It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, if anything its even more difficult than two years ago, we have had amazing support from people but nothing we do seems to work anymore.

With debts beginning to build again Julie and myself have finally decided that we cannot take any more risks personally and before things get any worse we will have to finally walk away from the shop for the last time.



I have to say I still have no regrets about the last 13 years, its been a real blast and a pleasure to be here over the years. We have met some amazing people and have become friends with some truly amazing bands. The level of support we have received since last year has been truly mindblowing but so much has changed economically since then that its just not possible to sustain such a small record shop like this anymore.



I am not going to give out about the music business this time around, its just one of those things and we have finally come to a stage where I think the days of the small indie store are numbered. It’s sad to have to admit that but this time I think its true, we can’t blame digital sales, illegal downloading etc, the world is a changing place and I can’t see any room in it for kooky little indie stores like ourselves.



We will be starting our closing down sale this Saturday [17th July] and everything will be on sale at a 25% reduction. We will be open for just one more week after that with the final day being Saturday 24th of July. Literally everything will be going on sale so if you want to pick up a cheap stereo, cash register or stapler, then do drop in.



We would both like to thank each and everyone of you for your support over the years, maybe we will catch up at some point in the future.



We would also like to thank all our wonderful staff from the last 14 years, in person they are – Dylan, Jonny, Jimmy, Gib, Colm, John, Chip and Aengus.



As for what we will do next, the honest answer is we really don’t know, hopefully we can pay off any debts we have and then at least we have a beautiful little baby boy to try and put a smile back on our faces.



Thanks & Adios

Dave and Julie

We are closing down



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-This Weeks New Releases

A comprehensive list of this weeks brand new titles in the store, updated daily.
Email us to join our weekly newsletter and we will mail you all the stock in one nice easy to read email, its only once a week, dont worry we wont spam you every day.

-Our Album Of The Week


RSAG [RARELY SEEN ABOVE GROUND] - BE IT RIGHT OR WRONG
the second album from kilkenny native jeremy hickey. as on the first album [organic sampler] hickey pretty much wrote and performed everything on the album. there is a real progression of sounds from the first album, the basics are all still there but it seems this one has a somewhat more full sound to it. for ease of reviewing this i should really mention the core influences [for me anyway] and that would have to be talking heads and joy division, this one really does expand on that sound and brings in lots of other things to the mix, including in no small measure some kind of punk funk take on the likes of the cramps. its another truly excellent collection of rhythm based sounds, he is a drummer after all, bulked out with lots of choppy punk funk like bass and all manner of new wave like influences. this really is the work of one very very talented individual and comes highly recommended. june 2010
a rare production cd €14.99
(click here to buy)

-Our Album Of The Month


POPICAL ISLAND - VARIOUS ARTISTS
a truly wonderful compilation from irish indie label popical island. popical island is more a movement / collective of people than just a record label, along with releasing cds they also put on lots of live shows and just generally pool their resources for the good of the local musical community. the album is limited to only 200 copies, the cd comes in a hand made card sleeve. the album features fifteen new irish indie bands, all with one thing in common, they all write good songs. the album features tracks from so cow, lie ins, squarehead, tieranniesaur, i heart the monster hero, yeah deadlies, capital trid, koalacord, land lovers, groom, feed the bears, pantone247, no monster club, jonny fun & the hesitations and the walpurgis family. its a truly superb cross section of new underground irish music, proudly left of centre and full of diy goodness. you can kind of look on this as irelands very own 2010 version of the legendary c86 cassette. if you cant find at least one song on this that you love, then i am sorry to say you are most likely hard of hearing, having said that i am sure you will find more than just one track to love here. whilst the majority of tracks are based around just good old style indie pop sounds there is plenty in here for even you electronic pop fans, there is even a track recorded entirely on a nintendo ds [how much more diy can you get]. june 2010
popical island cd €12.99
(click here to buy)

-Our Irish Album Of The Month


REDNECK MANIFESTO - FRIENDSHIP
brand new album from one of irelands very finest instrumental post rock outfits. its hard to believe this is their first album in nearly six years now, the last album i am brazil was released way back in 2004, for some reason it just doesnt seem that long. the album was recorded in blackbox studios in france and is probably their first to really incorporate the keyboard sounds of fifth member neil o connor [aka somadrone]. its definitely an album much more based on krautrock like rhythms, its still jam packed with intricate post rock guitar interplay but this one has a real motorik like groove provided by some sublime drum and bass action. if anything this album sounds more like the redneck manifesto jamming with can or neu, the lush analog synth sounds really do add a whole new dimension to their already rather complex sound. this truly is pure heaven for lovers of either intricate post rock or trance like krautrock from one of the finest in ireland [if not worldwide]. it may not have the same raw edge of their first album but i think you will find this is up there as one of their finest, if not their best so far. the album comes in a lovely embossed digipack sleeve. march 2010
the richter colleceive cd €13.99
(click here to buy)

-Our Favourite Record Of The Day


ARIEL PINKS HAUNTED GRAFFITI - BEFORE TODAY
brand new album from arial pinks haunted graffiti, his first for new label 4ad, following hot on the heels of the first single round and round. ariel pink is based around los angeles native ariel rosenberg and backed by longtime collaborators haunted graffiti featuring kenny gilmore [keys / guitar / vocals], aaron sperske [drums / vocals] and tim koh [bass / vocals]. this sounds very much like the first fully fledged all band affair, its a much bigger and maybe more cohesive sounding affair compared to some of the earlier lo fi bedroom style recordings. this is in fact a collection of purely blissful and very lush psychedelic pop sounds, try to imagine if the beach boys were around in the mid eighties making radio friendly pop music, then add in a healthy dose of psychedelia. its infectiously catchy stuff, full of clever samples and all manner of studio trickery to tie it all together so well. at times you kind of get the feeling you have just tuned into some retro rock radio station, the sounds do actually change that much from track to track. there are some wonderful guitar driven seventies like tunes mingling in here amongst the more eighties like sounds. i can only presume calling the album before today has something to do with the overall retro like vibe going on. june 2010
4ad cd €12.99
(click here to buy)



- Other Highlights This Week


ENEMIES - WEVE BEEN TALKING
the debut full length album from this wicklow based instrumental post rock outfit on the richter collective label. the band have also released a five track mini album on the same label in 2009 called alpha waves. the album features a truly hypnotic collection of rather complex and intricate post rock sounds featuring a bit of everything from the more explosive moments of the redneck manifesto to the slighly more jazz like vibes of tortoise. its full of ever changing tempos and rhythms with some truly sublime guitar interplay layered over complex beats. its almost like a more fuzzed up guitar heavy take on the earlier sounds of tortoise, with the drum sounds really taking them into a world of something akin to jazz post rock. fans of the heavier side of the post rock genre will be in heaven with this one. june 2010
the richter collective lp €14.99
(click here to buy)



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-Cds and Lps under €10.00

Its the bargain basement, these titles change regularly and stock is limited.

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16B Fade Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone: 00-353-1-6717340
Fax: 00-353-1-6717342
Email: info@roadrecs.com
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Photos: dave
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