Even though we bid a tearful farewell to Vinyl Fever in February, several other high-quality indie record stores remain and are surviving by broadening their offerings, stocking plenty of vinyl to meet the revival demands, and getting involved in the internationally-recognized Record Store Day campaign, a celebration of indie music retail.
The shutdown of St. Pete's beloved concert venue has set the rumor mill abuzz, caused confusion and disappointment among devotees, and erased a major source of traffic for nearby businesses. But there's hope for the future with new ownership.
Given the consistently high quality of their recorded output since 1991, Backspacer (Monkeywrench) cant be accorded a higher evaluation than, yes, average.