Artrockstore

05/05/2026

Another great batch in.

The big two for the week have features up now. ‘Let God Sort Em Out’ from Clipse and ‘The New Abnormal’ are some of the best records of the decade. Otherwise, we’ve got some heavy hitters to back them up.

We’ve got restocks of Ichiko Aoba’s ‘Windswept Adan’, which is one of the most gorgeous and tranquil records in recent memory. An absolute masterclass in ambient and chamber music with incredible performances all round. An easy recommendation to all listeners.

Otherwise, we’ve got another amazing effort from McKinley Dixon with the 2022 release ‘Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?’ Whilst it was great to see ‘Magic Alive!’ get the praise it deserved, this was our first exposure to the modern maestro, and it deserves all the flowers it can get. Amazing alternative rap that punches far above its weight.

And we’ve got ‘3D Country’ and ‘Heavy Metal’ in for the Geese nerds as well.

But finally, big shoutout to Station Model Violence. We’ve got their self-titled album, which is selling out everywhere for good reason. The band are quickly getting some serious recognition for their post-punk chops. Their independent/DIY ethos is incredible, and we can’t wait to see them support Dry Cleaning at the Sydney Opera House for VIVID. Feature coming soon.

All are available in the Store now.

04/05/2026

The comeback record of the decade.

The duo returned with an album that surpassed all expectations with Pharrell production, KAWS artwork, and Louis Vuitton collaborations.

It’s got the coke bars and the luxury, as expected, but also now the tragedy and status. This isn’t Clipse as dealers, but industry veterans reflecting on loss, beef and the standing they hold. But it was worth the 16-year wait. Every feature, every beat, every track delivers.

Each track here is its own beast. Everybody is bound to have favourites, but it’s hard to pick from ‘By The Grace of God’ to ‘M.T.B.T.T.F’ and ‘So Be It’. This is AAA entertainment. Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Nas and Stove God Cooks as a guest list alone should indicate the level of quality present.

Track after track just delivers in spades. Straight off the bat, ‘The Bird’s Don’t Sing’ is crushing with the way Pusha T and Malice explore the loss of their parents in remembering their last conversations with them and tributing them as the first matter of business. And that’s before jumping straight into ‘Chains and Whips’ with Kendrick, which is by far the most chilling track as they outright threaten the competition for four minutes.

This surpasses ‘Till the Caskets Drops’ by a country mile and places it up there with ‘Hell Hath No Fury’ and ‘Lord Willin’ in the big three classics the duo has graced us with.

And there’s nothing else to say. Another classic for the group and another win for the art.

Essential listening.

‘Let God Sort Em Out’ is available now in the Store.

03/05/2026

We’re six years on from ‘The New Abnormal’, and it’s aged perfectly. It has everything one would want from a Strokes record in the 2020’s with great performances and tracks to boot.

We’d say it’s now one of the last incredible rock records pre-COVID. It simultaneously documents political turmoil, systemic distrust, and dissociation before it became exactly what the title prophesied. It’s something that the band appears to have doubled down on in the wake of the closing moments of their Coachella set.

And this is before the fact that the album is just great from start to finish. Nine incredibly punchy and focused tracks that show more direction and focus than the band has had since ‘Room On Fire’. The Rick Rubin production, the Basquiat artwork, the Billy Idol ripoff, it's got all the hallmarks of a big-budget rock record and sticks the landing.

The sonic range on the record is brilliant, as well as there’s so much quiet melancholy on ‘Selfless’ that it borders on Slacker Rock with its arpeggiated guitars and synth leads. ‘Bad Decisions’ and ‘Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus’ are two amazing tracks that have remained in our rotation since their release. And the closer ‘Ode to the Mets’ wraps up everything that’s magic about this one.

Existential, political, slick and still, the Strokes. This one is worth going back to if you haven’t already. It’ll go down as one of the best rock efforts of the 2020’s, and with ‘Reality Awaits’ due in a month, hopefully the band can follow through.

27/04/2026

Approaching two years since it took over the world, it’s not controversial to say ‘brat’ is a modern masterpiece. Of the big three to break through in 2024 (next to Chapelle and Sabrina), Charli was always the critical favourite and the one to truly define the moment (pardon the pun).

There’s a mass of critical writing and reviews for ‘brat’ expressing the full spectrum of opinions and love, with it mostly being the latter. For that moment in June 2024, it really did capture the nerds and the plebs alike with one of the best rollouts and lead singles in memory.

As for our opinion, it’s a new classic. Everything has been said mostly on our part by the level of praise it got.

Charli is now wrapping up the entire ‘brat’ era with the mockumentary ‘The Moment’ and the final festival appearances centring around the record. On top of that, she’s taken up acting and score-work with the Wuthering Heights soundtrack in collaboration with John Cale (arguably the best thing to come out of the movie). It was always hinted that Charli appreciates the Velvets and Nico, but it’s a great full-circle moment to see her embrace even more experimental aesthetics, signature to John Cale (drone, wall of sound, etc.).

But it’s over now, as Charli has proclaimed, as apparently “the dance floor is dead” (wrong - see new Fcukers album), and she’s planning on dropping a rock record with A.G Cook. Our money is on it sounding like the Strokes, but it’s awesome to see Charli simultaneously play with the idea of finishing this legendary run, but also experiment with it in its twilight moments.

And that’s it for now. We all got to watch a classic get released in real-time with perfect ex*****on. And now we get to watch it finish with a really nice touch.

‘brat’ is available in the Store now.

09/04/2026

We’ve got heavy hitters in to kick off April.

Two of the best albums of the millennium are fresh in stock.

The first being D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’. Over 25 years since its release, it still remains as enchanting as the day it was released. Incredibly intricate grooves and subtle songwriting make an atmosphere on the record that sets the tone for R&B for decades to come. This is one of the crown jewels of the Soulquarians, next to The Roots’ ‘Things Fall Apart’ and Erykah Badu’s ‘Mama’s Gun’.

And the second being Charli XCX’s ‘brat’. It’s going to be one of the best of the 2020’s. There’s no other comparison in recent memory that has ticked all the boxes as far as mainstream appeal, a cultural movement and a critical staple. You know the drill, it’s incredible.

Features for both are coming soon.

Michael Kiwanuka and System of a Down are also in.

All available in the Store now.

30/03/2026

Classics old and new are in for the week,

We’ve got a fresh batch of Tyler, the Creator to kick things off. His incredible run from 2017 to 2022 saw him turnaround his career and brand to elevate himself to the absolute creative force he his today. The arc of ‘Flower Boy’, ‘IGOR’, and ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ is something to be studied, and marks a generational run.

And if you’re a fan, we highly suggest you check out McKinley Dixon’s ‘Magic Alive’, which was one of the most undderrated rap records of last year that shows another incredible talent coming through with a conceptual and experimental journey through death and magic.

Otherwise, we’ve got the first two classic records from the Strokes, and the two essential Jethro Tull picks to build out any budding rock collector's picks.

And if that’s not your thing, we’ve got the Bluey record in as part of our duty to the next generation. It’s one of the best pieces of Australian culture to come out of the last ten years, and we’re proud to stock it.

Tom Petty and Elder are in as well.

All are available in the Store now.

16/03/2026

Nearly two years on, ‘Only God Was Above Us’ still surprises us with every listen.

At the time, it was a punchy 10-track return to form that focused on hope, closure, and surprising moments of humour. But with repeat listens, its genius in restraint and composition has left us believing it’s one of the group's best records, if not the crown jewel. The 5th record from the prep-school prodigies saw them bounce back from 2019’s ‘Father of the Bride’.

Although it had brilliant moments like ‘Harmony Hall’, ‘2021’, and ‘New York, Jerusalem, Berlin’, overall it was bloated and underwhelming when compared to their initial 3-punch run from 2008 to 2013.

Gone is the Ivy League smugness, and what’s left is a genuine ear for writing conceptual, groovy tracks that take a happier tone in a time of overall darkness. It would be easier for the band to either rehash what worked on the first two records or just sink into a more gloomier atmosphere. But this one answers the question of ‘why listen to Vampire Weekend in the 2020’s’ exceptionally well.

Take ‘Capricorn’ with its bright guitars and big guitars or the comparatively restrained ‘Pravda’ which has the band channeling Paul Simon yet in the best way possible. And ‘Hope’ is one of the strongest closing tracks of the 2020’s. The longest VW track to date inspires and flows across its 8-minutes.

For all the haters, we’d implore you to give this one a listen, as what makes the band great is here just distilled into one incredible record.

Note the artwork is actually taken from a photo exhibit called ‘New York in the 80’s’. Personally, I’m surprised that in a world of Basquiat fetishisation and Keith Haring being licensed to Kmart, this series hasn’t had more traction. Give it a suss, it’s incredible.

‘Only God Was Above Us’ is available in the Store now.

16/03/2026

There aren’t a lot of artists drafting the sound of the great American decline like Ethel Cain. Maybe Billy Strings, Geese or Phoebe Bridgers, but none of them have this gothic element that Cain has. It reminds me a lot of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ and ‘Nebraska’ era Springsteen, but with opioids and Instagram.

‘Preacher’s Daughter’ caught our ear back in 2023, and having Ethel Cain brought to our attention after being booked on the Vivid 2023 bill. The palpable darkness on that record really cut through a lot of the moments of underwriting or overindulgence.

And here we have its spiritual successor: the latest instalment in the Cain-verse, ‘WTIWILY’. Ethel is building her own universe and lore with these records, all centred around doomed middle-American characters who fall prey to vice, addiction, and crime. The result sounds incredible.

This is especially clear when considering that the precursor to this record was the ‘Perverts’ drone album. That project intentionally punished casual listeners, luring them in with ‘American Teenager’ only to deliver a 90-minute beast that’s more ‘Earth 2’ than Taylor Swift. And Willoughby Tucker lies somewhere in between all this with murder ballads, pop tunes, drone and folk abounds.

Ethel called out Terrence Malick's 1978 film ‘Days of Heaven’ in her Criterion Collection picks, and I think that’s the best way to describe this record. A very visual and emotional place, reminiscing on a lost America whilst just rolling through. Just hear the epic 15-minute closer ‘Waco, Texas’.

The record irons out the kinks of ‘Preacher's Daughter’ and builds towards a legacy for Ethel as one of the best breakthrough artists of the 2020’s. She can be gothic, intimate and at moments downright frightening, using her entire sonic palette to assault and charm her audience as needed.

‘Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You’ and ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ are available in the Store now.

14/03/2026

It’s always rewarding when an artist makes a shift in style and makes it sound as good as this.

Beck’s discography is a rewarding and diverse collection of records with gems across over 30 years of innovation. But ‘Sea Change’ stands on its own and apart from the key Beck records (see ‘Odelay’ and ‘Morning Phase’). Its ambition for composition and sheer misery puts it light years outside of his other records as he documents the ‘Sea Change’ of heartbreak and loss.

The emotional weight here cannot be overstated. Beck really bleeds all over this one, thanks to the lavish and emotive orchestration laced throughout. Its melancholic core is just so potent and grounds the record in such a great space despite the fact that it’s miserable.

Similar to many great records, it all starts with a late-night drive on opener ‘The Golden Age’, which is one of the most notable examples of second-person perspective in modern song. Highlights from the journey are the depressive mania of ‘Lonesome Tears’, the isolation and doubt of ‘Round the Bend’ and the ‘Harvest’-esque closer ‘Side of the Road’.

At the end of the day, it’s a masterpiece from one of the greatest modern songwriters. It marks his versatility and shows he’s capable of more than his signature folk/rap/rock.

Beck is due to play orchestral shows in Sydney and Melbourne, with material from this and other key works. Until then, ‘Sea Change’ remains as compelling as it did since its release 24 years ago.

‘Sea Change’ is available in the Store now.

24/02/2026

We have outdone ourselves here and have completed a holy trifecta of Classic-rock to close out February.

Sabbath, Zeppelin, and AC/DC. Three of the greatest bands of all time are in stock with all their masterpieces.

And if that’s not enough, we’ve got picks from the Boss, Metallica and Nirvana to top it all off.

Essential picks for collectors and washed-up rockers alike.

All are available in the Store now.

/dc

12/02/2026

https://www.artrockstore.com/blogs/classic-albums/deja-vu-classic-album

Here's weird.. Last night I posted this retro-review of the great CSN&Y album Deja Vu. This morning I read that Stephen Still just passed away. Spooky. Anyway, vale Steve you left some incredible music. Outside his work with CSN(Y) the album 'Super Sessions' with Mike Bloomfield, is a killer, and the albums with his band Manassas are also highly recommended. RIP Stephen Stills.

The Classic Album series brings back must-have albums from the '60s and '70s that are as good now as they were when they were released (Ed: Here is an example of a reviewer who got it wrong when the album was first released. Déjà Vu is quite simply one of the greatest albums ever recorded.) Landon...