Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 21, and we have four very special releases to mark the occasion of one of our favorite days of the year! Also, Hospitality, the Love Language & M. Ward will visit independent record stores for celebratory in-store performances. The only way to get your hands on these releases is to visit your local independent record store on April 21.
In addition to our exclusive releases (listed below), Hospitality, the Love Language & M. Ward have special in-store performances planned for Saturday. M. Ward will be performing a sold out in-store at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA. Hospitality will take time out of their tour with Eleanor Friedberger to perform at Horizon Records in the Bohemian Cafe in Greenville, SC at 1:30 p.m., and Stuart McLamb from the Love Language will visit Gravity Records in Wilmington, NC for a solo set around 3 p.m.
Merge exclusive Record Store Day releases available only at independent record stores:
Richard Buckner – “Willow” b/w “Lost” 7-inch
“Willow” b/w “Lost” is Richard Buckner’s first 7-inch ever and will be available exclusively on Record Store Day! Containing two new songs and a free download with purchase, the 7-inch will also include a digital-only cover of The Cars’ “Candy-O.” Watch video of Buckner performing “Willow” live at Horizon Records at RecordStoreDay.com.
M. Ward – “Primitive Girl” b/w “The Twist” & “Roll Over Beethoven” 7-inch
M. Ward’s limited-edition Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch comes less than two weeks after the release of his highly anticipated new solo album, A Wasteland Companion. The 7-inch features “Primitive Girl,” the first single from his new record, as well as two non-album b-sides including long-time live favorite “Roll Over Beethoven.”
Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II” b/w “Ready to Start” (Remixed by Damian Taylor & Arcade Fire) 12-inch
The original versions of “Sprawl II” and “Ready to Start” can be found on Arcade Fire’s GRAMMY-winning album The Suburbs, but this special 12-inch pressing marks the first physical release of the remixes of those two songs by Damian Taylor and Arcade Fire. The remix of “Sprawl II” can be heard in the dance motion-activated music video by Vincent Morisset at Sprawl2.com, while the “Ready to Start” remix has previously only been available as a bonus download with the deluxe film-bundled version of the album.
Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies dbl-LP reissue
Destroyer’s Rubies will be released on vinyl for the first time in the US! The double-LP reissue will be pressed in limited quantities on ruby red vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day and will include a free download of the entire album. Side 3 features “Loscil’s Rubies,” a 20-minute bonus track remixed by Scott Morgan, who also remixed the bonus tracks on 2011’s Kaputt double-LP. Listen to “3000 Flowers” from Destroyer’s Rubies via the Merge SoundCloud page.
