Anyone else go to Record Store Day? I went face to face with the Malibu 10-year anniversary 7” box set done in the design of a cooler with a $150 price tag, and I said no. I’m sure that thing will be worth a bunch of money some day, but I was surprised to see some rich collector obsessed with the fact that it’s limited to 1000 copies hadn’t already come by and picked it up.
I did pick up a copy of Dijon’s How Do You Feel About Getting Married, which was only (only, haha) $35. Me and my wife needed a copy. “rock n roll” was probably one of the first songs I showed her to get her into Dijon, and then we later used “dance song” as our last dance song at our wedding. The cherry on top was the vinyl color is this nice maroon, brick color that was very close to the maroon we used for a lot of decorations. So, it was kind of meant to be.
Anyway, I’m trying to save money so I didn’t pick up too much more (a lie), but I do wish Record Store Day was different. The event curation like Bow Market in Somerville with live vinyl DJs and essentially hosting a party all day is the way to go. In terms of curation for what they should be choosing, that’s for someone else’s Substack. On this one, I only tell you my brief thoughts and then segue right into the really cool stuff we’re doing like releasing Helsinki-based Dear Dea’s debut album, Doria’s Daydream!
Doria’s Daydream is an album born out of life’s momentum, curiosity, and the quiet upheaval of a woman in her thirties. Written over a concentrated 6-8 month period between late 2023 and early 2024, the debut album by Dear Dea took shape during a time of deep creative focus, sparked in part by two songwriting courses with the LA-based School of Song, led by Kimbra and Adrianne Lenker. Blending alternative pop with soulful and jazzy atmospheric elements, the record, that mostly began as homework prompts, reflects discipline, spontaneity, and vulnerability.
The album follows Dear Dea’s 2024 debut EP When You Go Home Again, which received early support from Spotify (editorial playlist placements: Uuden suomalaisen musiikin lista & Suomi-indie tänään) BBC 6 Music, Rinse FM, Jazz FM, as well as Clash Magazine and Somewhere Soul. That EP introduced Dea’s emotionally direct songwriting and genre-fluid approach, blending jazz, pop, and Latin influences rooted in her multicultural background.
On Doria’s Daydream, those ideas expand and deepen. The album drifts through themes of longing and imagined escape, anxiety and shame, relationships in your thirties, and the strange weight of time. It reflects on the monotony of everyday routines and the ache of still missing New York after leaving the city in 2019, while also grappling with distance, immigration, and family. A life-affirming trip to her father’s home country, Ecuador, further shaped the emotional core of the record, most notably on “The Internet,” a song about family living so far away that the only place you see them is online.
Influenced by artists such as Ravyn Lenae, Nathy Peluso, Fabiana Palladino, and Mk.gee, as well as the stark emotional realism of Annie Proulx’s short stories, Doria’s Daydream balances soulful intimacy with melodic experimentation. The title comes from an almost-name, one her parents considered before she was born. It’s fitting for a record that lives between reality and imagination, between who you are and who you might have been.
It’s also on vinyl & available to purchase now! Limited edition of 100 copies pressed on seafoam green vinyl.
Our first single from Boston’s Haasan Barclay is out next week on May 1st! Check out the reel above and get the hook of “PACE” stuck in your brain and ready for release day.
Come say hi! All of our blog posts, label news, etc are posted in there. You can submit your own music to our blog, share for feedback, talk about what you’re listening to, or just share bad jokes. I’m here for all of it!
Updated with every new song we release, as well as focus tracks from the albums & EPs.
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