Look Out, Cratediggers!
HARRY HAWKINS recounts a musical banquet to be had in just two of the town’s several record shops, Tough Love Records and Dayglo Studios
Borough Council at DayGlo Records
Crammed in the front of thankfully aircooled Tough Love Records, totemic speaker cabs and a decorated drum kit stand proud. These were the tools at the disposal of The Mystic Shed, a punk blues whirlwind once in action.Their riffs dodge and weave through so many movements and rhythmic flourishes that you’d think drummer Kit and guitarist Tom have had brain implants. Throttling between spitting guitar stabs and mellower improvising, they undercut the progressive blast of their sound with plenty of irreverence. See song titles like “Enormous Duck” and a tune dedicated to railway ax-man Lord Beeching, before which they tried to flog a can of petrol with each CD.
This was just one of the many in-store shows put on by shop owner Anja Petito, who put the Shed on for Tough Love’s second birthday celebration (cake included). Whilst there’s plenty of moshing fare to be found on Tough Love’s racks, and local metal magicians Wytch Pycknyck have also played there, there’s no rock-ist pigeonholing. Konnaruchi, a solo singer-songwriter who recently moved to Hastings from New Zealand, made the shop his first UK show. Anja makes a point of displaying a variety of local artists (rapidly expanding) and is a fount of musical knowledge, global and local. An upcoming show is to come all the way from Mexico – shoegazers Mirror Revelations, who contacted the shop, where their records proved popular.
BOROUGH COUNCIL PLUG AND PLAY
Dayglo Studios is another record shop where I managed to catch two bands. The first was soul band Starchild. Despite it being their inaugural gig, they seemed at ease. Not just luck, as the band formed through a note in the shop asking for musicians, and they have subsequently used it to rehearse their low-key Stax records-style grooves. Their relaxed confidence was evident as even their soundcheck drew applause. After came Borough Council, a rising Hastings-based trio who have concocted and rehearsed song ideas at Dayglo. They brought their singular sound, a knitting of Tom’s hypnotic drumbeats and Joe’s dubby bass with Joe’s brother Hayden, playing a dynamic and at times ambient guitar. Each song morphs abstractly, moving from the slacker riffs and vocals of “Casino” to the clenched-teeth propulsion of “Prescribed”. Given that the band is set to play shows across the UK and France a few weeks from now, it’s a stroke of luck to see them here, in a more intimate venue.
Dayglo Studios has been around for more than 2 years now. Owner Steve Sullivan sees the shop as an outlet for all kinds of creatives, and the walls boast visual treats like Cuban film posters as well as the necessary vinyl. He’s looking to develop it as a small gallery for visual artists and has plenty of musical equipment to enable bands to plug and play.
To find dates for upcoming record store shows Instagram – @dayglostudios, @toughlovestleonards.
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