Record Store Day is Saturday, 4/22! Spin some vinyl while you read some great comics!
The Adicts: Fifth Overture/Deadly Class
Deadly Class is an angry, disillusioned scream that wears its influences like worn out patches, and a huge influence is the 80s punk scene. This mid-80s brit punk album goes hard and fast at points, but it puts in some unexpected jams that make it feel like high school—Sure Looks Pretty feels like the song played at a Deadly Class dance before things go sour.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: Live at Jazz Workshop 1970/Bitter Root
While not made in the same time period that Bitter Root depicts, the lively jazz matches the energy really well. Plus, it’s the only known recording with this particular lineup of artists, so it’s a collector's dream. Pop this on to go monster hunting in style.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Beach House: Become/Two Graves
Two Graves is an ethereal masterpiece, and you have to pair it with something dreamy. But it’s also a road trip book so it needs a driving beat. Beach House is perfect for this. Let it wash over you and take a ride with Death.
DIIV: Live At The Murmrr Theatre/It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth
DIIV is full of dream poppy goodness, and this live album can be starkly honest at times. With lyrics like “By my secret side that no one sees, I built a throne from a burden of need,” it shares a lot of themes with Zoe Thorogood’s semi-autobiographical powerhouse. Both wear their hearts on their sleeves, and take us to unexpected places.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Dio: Live in Fresno 1983/Spawn
Spawn has to be paired with heavy metal, there’s no denying that. One of the best options for Record Store Day is Dio, whose wailing guitars whip around with a speed and intricacy that could rival Spawn’s chains. On top of that, a lot of Dio’s lyrics have roots in fantasy—just like his demonic album covers.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Dolly Parton: The Monument Singles Collection 1964-1968/Golden Rage
It’s music your parents probably listened to (and it’s dang good too). Golden Rage is a story about elderly women duking it out on a remote island and it gets pretty brutal, so use this record as a nice contrast. Watch knife-weilding grandmas take swipes as Dolly sings “There must be something Fishy going on.”
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Edgar Froese: Ages/Monarch
This album feels like the epitome of sci-fi. Weird synth stings and driving, complex beats make for a great alien invasion soundtrack. The mystery and peril of Monarch will be heightened to no end if this is the backing album.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Fred Davis: Cleveland Blues/Phantom Road
The blues definitely have a road trip vibe, don’t they? Just a trucker and his thoughts on long stretches of highway with Fred Davis playing in the background. And this album is great, floating between energetic songs like Wine Hop and slower thoughtful bits like Tell Me Pretty Baby.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Hal Blaine: Psychedelic Percussion/Killadelphia
It’s chaotic, strange, and, at times, unnerving. But most of all, it’s unexpected—and that’s where the best horror goes. This music will make you ask what the heck is happening to your brain, and that’s the perfect mindset to dive into a brutal story about vamps.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Laufey: Valentine/Love Everlasting
First of all, this record is shaped like a heart. How cool! Aside from that, the slow old-school vibes are perfect for Love Everlasting, which itself calls back to a similar retro style. “How the hell did I fall in love this time?” That line is VERY Love Everlasting.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Peter Tosh: Live and Dangerous: Boston 1976/Monkey Meat
Peter Tosh is absolutely legendary, and paring this live album with Monkey Meat will make an energetic book even more vibrant. The socially conscious satire present in the book also gels really well with Tosh’s activism.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
The Pixies: Doolittle Live In Brussels 2009/What's the Furthest Place From Here?
You need a classic to pair with this book, so look no further than Doolittle. Music is the backbone of WTFPFH, and the deluxe edition of chapter 6 even includes a cover of Monkey Gone to Heaven, so you can’t go wrong with this album.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
Sisters of Mercy: The Reptile House/W0rldTr33
There’s a glitchy electronic feel to this album, and wow does it fit W0rldTr33. It’s hard-hitting and haunting, feeling like something you’d find on the Undernet—something that would be filling a dark room while a brutal stabbing plays on repeat.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
The Sword: Gods of the Earth/Vanish
This album gets heavy and it gets grimy, but it also dips into fantasy lore. It’s such a fun pairing for Vanish, a book about magical worlds, evil sorcerers, superheroes, war, blood, guts, and death.
Local Comic Shop | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million