Artrockstore

Artrockstore - Record Store and Gallery -

- Bulli, NSW, Australia -

- Find us Online and in Finbox - New Vinyl Albums. Analogue HiFi equipment.

Music artefacts from the the beginning of rock music through to the present day. Original rare concert tour posters and handbills.

The world may be falling apart, but the music gets better and better.2026 has been kind to us all musically. We’ve alrea...
31/08/2026

The world may be falling apart, but the music gets better and better.

2026 has been kind to us all musically. We’ve already gotten a suite of absolute gems from Genesis Owusu, Gorillaz, Twisted Teens and Four Tet.

But this one may just be the crown jewel.

Six years on from the now legendary ‘Punisher’ in the midst of COVID, which we’d argue may have just been the best release to come from that period, and everything has changed since. Bridgers is now a headlining act in her own right and as part of the power trio Boygenius.

She’s covered an incredible amount of ground in the decade so far, which left expectations for this one sky high as the date approaches.

And it’s potentially the best one yet. She’s three for three in delivering her most conceptual and fully-fledged record loaded with guests, grief and those signature folk soundscapes fans have come to know and love.

This is the record fans have been waiting for, and it has everything one could ask for in an hour of pure misery and passion.

Grief, loss, aging and general malaise are all here in droves and laid across radio rock, acoustic solos and orchestrations. The record has surprises and secrets in every corner of it.

Coming onto a month since its release, we’re still finding little references to previous moments, or little touches of electronics that give such incredible texture.

Highlights include ‘Lost Boys’, ‘Bobby’, ‘Still Standing’ and the contributions from Boygenius, Bo Burnham and the much-welcomed Jack Antonoff standard.

For the fans, you should already know what we’re talking about, and to those who haven’t heard it, Shame.

There’s nothing else to say for now. We’ll be talking about this one for years to come.

‘Lost Weekend’ is available in the Store now.

Coming on 25 years since its release, ‘Vespertine’ is a triumph of unbridled passion and love. If there was ever a time ...
24/08/2026

Coming on 25 years since its release, ‘Vespertine’ is a triumph of unbridled passion and love. If there was ever a time for intimacy as rebellion from digital overstimulation and normalised ‘non-chalance’, this would be the soundtrack.

For an album as laced with romance as ‘Vespertine’, it’s incredibly intimate and understated. The emotional core of the record is Bjork’s devotion to her partner, Matthew Barney. And as far as an audible love letter, this is a creative peak.

Quiet, beautiful, mysterious, as it is direct. You can hear Björk’s blooming love of IDM in the hidden tones and textures buried in the mix.

The making of the record is an odyssey in itself. The use of music boxes, the making of the album on a laptop, or the near-dozen studios. This is the modern incarnation of Chamber music, with its immaculate orchestrations and chimes contrasting with subdued drones and patterns.

There are only a few other records that induce as much bliss as this one. Maybe Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Emotion’ or Father John Misty’s ‘I Love You, Honeybear’.​

This is the best Bjork record. It is the culminating effort of the incredible releases prior, ‘Homogenic’ and ‘Post’, and would set the tone for the rest of her career.

Essential listening.

​’Vespertine’ is available in the Store now.

We’ve got all the classics in for the week.There’s something for every collection here. But the real highlights here are...
17/08/2026

We’ve got all the classics in for the week.

There’s something for every collection here. But the real highlights here are Bjork’s ‘Vespertine’ and Erykah Badu’s ‘Mama’s Gun’. We’d say they're both the best releases from two of the best artists in their respective genres of the last 30 years. Essential.

Otherwise, we’ve got the latest from Eddy Current Suppression Ring, who are currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance in light of their reunion tour. If you haven’t heard them before or now, then jump on the bandwagon ASAP as they haven’t missed a beat.

We’ve also got one of the more underrated releases from Keith Jarrett in the ECM camp. We’re loving ‘The Survivors’ and would highly recommend it for any fans of the label.

Finally, we’ve got Slayer’s finest in with ‘Reign in Blood’. 30 minutes of pure hell and a thrash classic.

All available in the Store now.

‘Promises’ is that once-in-a-generation release that has the meeting of three sonic titans to create something wholly un...
10/08/2026

‘Promises’ is that once-in-a-generation release that has the meeting of three sonic titans to create something wholly unique and beautiful.

9 movements, 46 minutes, and it’s the epitome of what we want in a record.

​Pharoah Sanders shortly passed after the release of the record, and was never able to perform the piece live. But as a farewell, this couldn’t be better suited. With each breath, he plays only as a legend could, bringing an entire lifetime of skill to every note.

Floating Points remains a force within IDM as he’s proven time and time again before and after ‘Promises’ as a versatile and visionary creator, whether playing to festivals or scoring Anime. And the LSO, being the classical institution that it is, has decades of credit behind it, having delivered consistent outstanding performances of everything from Mozart to Handel.

And for those who don’t know, the cover art contains works from Julie Mehrutu, an Ethiopian/American landscape painter. The collaboration in the spirit of movement and journeys just enriches the conceptual grounding of the record to make it ever so more considered and thoughtful.

Thoughtful, minimal, perfection. Essential for all listeners, and potentially the album of the decade.

Floating Points will also be releasing his second classical effort on 28/8 with a collaboration with the San Francisco Ballet, ‘Mere Mortals’ dropping in a few weeks' time.

Available now in the Store

A great mix to finish off the month.We’ve got some gems in from Sonny Rollins for all the Jazz heads. ‘Saxophone Colossu...
30/07/2026

A great mix to finish off the month.

We’ve got some gems in from Sonny Rollins for all the Jazz heads. ‘Saxophone Colossus’ and ‘The Bridge’ are both great picks for anyone looking to expand their jazz collection into the next phase.

Beyond that, we’ve got the two best records from Sufjan Stevens. ‘Illinois’ and ‘Carrie & Lowell’ are respective masterpieces from the prodigy himself. Having now been active for nearly three decades, the man has come to define himself by these works and remains essential.

Otherwise, we got all the classics in from everyone from Wings to Rick James to Sleater-Kinney.

Genesis Owusu also in. Our feature is live now.

All are available now in the Store.

3 for 3.The big man does it again. The generational prodigy delivers another incredible concept record loaded with colou...
22/07/2026

3 for 3.

The big man does it again. The generational prodigy delivers another incredible concept record loaded with colourful instrumentals, crisp production with more personality to boot.

Five years after ‘Smiling With No Teeth’ and three after ‘Struggler’, Genesis Owusu has morphed this time into a guerrilla radio freedom fighter detailing the social decline in place of the ‘Worldwide Scourge’. It’s rebellious, it’s fresh, and it’s a new classic.

The use of the red star and the revolutionary aesthetic at play ties into a series of subtle nods to the freedom fighter tradition (similar to Damon Albarn / Gorillaz SNL ‘Dirty Harry’ appearance). For an Australian artist to approach these concepts with such a mature, fully-formed vision is something to behold, especially when there are very few international contemporaries taking it to this level with this much style or skill.

And the tracklist I’d argue is his strongest yet, loaded with features and genre-fusions. The sporadic momentum of ‘Stampede’ or the mania of ‘Most Normal American Voter’ is beautifully contrasted against ‘Running Out of Time’ or ‘Situations’. There’s post-punk, funk, soul and everything outside and in between. The radio concept just further enables Owusu to blend and experiment far beyond the rational genre boundaries, and it’s absolutely brilliant.

It’s criminal to call him just a rapper/singer/songwriter. We’re dealing with a full-blown multi-faceted artist that is deserving of all the hype.

It’s bound to be a year-end highlight, if not AOTY itself.

Available now in an incredible 2xLP gatefold translucent yellow pressing.

Farewell to one of the new Australian greats.Among the new bands of the last 10 years, Private Function stood out for go...
11/07/2026

Farewell to one of the new Australian greats.

Among the new bands of the last 10 years, Private Function stood out for good reason. In a sea of cosplay punks, nepo babies and industry hacks, PF were on top.

The band not only had their ferocious live act down pat and charisma from all members on stage, but they also had two things sorely lacking in Australian music today: an acute cultural awareness and appreciation of the pub rock tradition, and an incredible sense of humour, from which no one was free, especially the former.

Having all the staples of a great band, but absolutely charging for 10 years into covers, copyright violations, and personal injury, the band's antics have been an ongoing highlight with each and every step they’ve taken.

Some of our favourites:

* Oils/Chisel covers
* Urine vinyl
* Legal threats from the SA government over selling that record as a scratchie.
* Cease and desist from that Looney Tunes / Movie World themed show.
* Somehow supporting Green Day / AFI and flying the Palestinian flag.

The true tragedy of PF is that they’re probably the closest thing we’re going to get to a spiritual successor to AC/DC. A Melbourne hard rock act relentlessly touring with a genuine sense of larrikinism that isn’t token, a marketing ploy or forced. It’s truly sad to see a band as special as PF split, especially when their presence made Aus rock so much better and brighter.

For all those who claim that there are no good bands anymore, you have yet to miss another star passing by.

We’ve managed to get a few copies of ‘(Shrug)’ and ‘Who’s Line Is It Anyway?’, but the entire discography is worth a listen.

PF still on top.

We’re back with a big batch of classics and a farewell from one of the new Australian greats.All the store favourites fr...
08/07/2026

We’re back with a big batch of classics and a farewell from one of the new Australian greats.

All the store favourites from yesteryear are back in, with picks from the Chili Peppers, David Bowie and Michael Jackson abound. You know the records as we all do. There’s nothing else to say about them besides that they will always have a place in any collection.

Besides that, we’ve got two from one of the most underrated pop artists of the generation. Jessie Ware is now three for three with outstanding releases since 2020’s ‘What’s Your Pleasure’. And now with this year’s ‘Superbloom’, it’s criminal she isn’t playing arenas as the sound she perfects on these records should put her up there with the greats.

And finally, we’ve picked up some of the clearance stock from the Private Function farewell. Feature coming soon, but for now we’ll say it’s nothing short of a national tragedy. If you don’t know who they are, enlighten yourself immediately.

Nina Simone and QoTSA are in as well.

All available in the Store now.

This is the classic from Australia’s cult favourites.The Church are one of the longest-active Australian rock groups, wi...
28/05/2026

This is the classic from Australia’s cult favourites.

The Church are one of the longest-active Australian rock groups, with the band going over 45 years in music. They’ve dipped their toes in many pools, from radio rock to post punk to prog, having now completed a two-part prog rock odyssey and will tour with an Orchestra later this year.

But ‘Starfish’ is their masterpiece, and it’s one of the most criminally underrated records in Australian music.

Recorded in sheer misery in Los Angeles in the mid 1980’s, the band shed any inclination of writing radio-friendly hits and instead opted for narcotic-soaked melancholy over 10 tracks of loathing.

The obvious picks from this one are ‘Reptile’ and ‘Under the Milky Way’ as they remain cornerstones from the band across all listeners. But this record is a masterclass in thematic focus as the band homes in on the concept of being completely lost. ‘North, South, East, West’ or ‘Destination’.

At a glance, it’s just another great Australian 80’s rock record, but at its best, it’s a defining record for a cornerstone act and one of the best in the canon.

‘Starfish’ is available in the Store now.

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