Sound Check is the Globe’s weekly guide to concerts, tunes, and trends rooted in Boston and beyond. This column covers April 19-25.
In an age where physical album sales typically take a backseat to streaming, it’s comforting to know that a shiny batch of Record Store Day releases can still wrap a line of customers around the block.
On Saturday, exclusive titles from artists like Paramore, The Weeknd, and Pearl Jam will help vinyl sales spike at independent record stores here and across the country, as fans shell out for previously unreleased music and new pressings of their favorite albums.
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Tucked among this year’s exclusive releases — which range from The Cure picture discs to three-inch Beatles records — are a handful of titles with local ties, like Pixies’ red and orange marble pressing of “Live From Red Rocks 2005.” The Boston band’s 27-song set at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre arrived on streaming services in the fall of 2021 but has never previously been available on vinyl.
One of the most notable Boston-adjacent releases is an exchange of covers between pop star Olivia Rodrigo and Watertown-based folk sensation Noah Kahan. Recorded for BBC Radio 1, the 7-inch captures Rodrigo tackling “Stick Season,” while Kahan puts his spin on Rodrigo’s ballad “lacy.” A blue pressing of Kahan’s 2021 sophomore album, “I Was/I Am,” will also be available.
Donna Summer’s contribution, “Many States of Independence,” will be an essential find for DJs and disco fans. The record compiles seven remixes of Summer’s “State of Independence” cover (originally by Jon & Vangelis), which appeared on her 1982 self-titled album. Personally, I’ll be scouring crates for a striped pressing of the “EAT” EP from Poppy, an enigmatic (and Boston-born) welder of doe-eyed pop and heavy metal.
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Shoppers can plot the route of their treasure hunts to factor in some of this year’s festivities offering food, freebies, and discounts. Starting at 1 p.m., local DJs will provide the soundtrack at Good Taste Records in the North End, while DJ Roz spins between noon and 3 p.m. at a Village Vinyl & Hi-Fi pop-up at the Verb Hotel in the Fenway. Tres Gatos, a hybrid tapas bar and book/record store in Jamaica Plain, clears its dining room to display the full breadth of exclusive titles, with free coffee, pastries, and giveaways to fuel shoppers on their vinyl crawls.
Outside of the city, DJs from the local “Soulelujah” dance night will curate a rotation of soul and funk tunes at Vinyl Index in Somerville between noon and 6 p.m. Visitors at the Bow Market shop can also score exclusive totes and tees, all screen-printed on site. Stop by Watertown’s Wanna Hear It Records to peruse a pop-up shop from Boston indie label Iodine Recordings and take advantage of a 15 percent-off sale on all new records (excluding this year’s Record Store Day releases).
Find the full list of shops participating in this year’s Record Store Day on the official event website at recordstoreday.com/stores.
GIG GUIDE
Portland, Ore., psych-rock outfit STRFKR tear open “Parallel Realms” from their seventh studio album on Friday at Royale. Ruth Radelet, formerly of the electronic band Chromatics, opens the evening with solo material like her dreamy 2023 single “Shoot Me Down.”
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Deep Cuts in Medford wraps an eventful Record Store Day on Saturday with performances from Calgary post-punk band Sunglaciers and Massachusetts groups Thighs and Holiday Music. LA darkwave duo Night Club descend upon the venue on Tuesday, accompanied by retro synth-pop act Delores Galore.
Currently celebrating his landmark 20th year in East Coast hip-hop, Benny the Butcher serves up meaty cuts from his new record, “Everybody Can’t Go,” at the House of Blues on Tuesday, followed by chipper folk from Florida’s The 502s, who bring their “Great American Road Trip” tour to Lansdowne Street on Thursday.
Standout shows across Somerville include a visit from breakout Minneapolis punks VIAL at The Rockwell on Tuesday and a hip-hop showcase curated by Boston rapper Rugged N Raw at The Jungle on Thursday.
New Zealand pop chameleon Kimbra returns to Boston on Wednesday for an opening slot on Jacob Collier’s “Djesse” world tour at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. The following night, Judas Priest rip through 55 years of ruptured eardrums and heavy metal, including their recent 19th studio album, “Invincible Shield.”
On Thursday, Dave Hause & The Mermaid perform the first of three consecutive shows at Faces. The trio of gigs at the Malden brewery precede an appearance at Sing Us Home Festival, a weekend-long event that Hause curates in his native Philadelphia.
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NOW SPINNING
Dog Park, “Festina Lente.” This burgeoning Parisian group offers a pillowy dream-pop debut that revolves around its titular Latin adage, an oxymoron meaning “make haste slowly.” A drowsy, drifting quality permeates the band’s 10 new tracks, whisking listeners between Paris boulevards, solitary evenings, and a liminal space between reality and imagination.
Debo Ray, “Time With You.” R&B serves as a healing balm for strained relationships in the new single from Massachusetts singer Debo Ray, who slathers a time-worn romance with supple vocals and the cool thrum of an upright bass. A meditation on maintaining long-term relationships, “Time With You” emanates grace as it replaces tension with tenacity.
Tei Shi, “Valerie.” Since the 2015 arrival of her earth-shattering single “Bassically,” Tei Shi has slinked between a bevy of labels: Canadian-Colombian weaver of art-pop, cross-cultural producer, even Berklee College of Music student. On her third studio album, she strips away the titles and returns to her given name — Valerie Barbosa — to pack a bilingual time capsule with electro-tinged tropicalia, bachata, and R&B.
BONUS TRACK
Fans of Screaming Females still mourning the New Jersey band’s breakup can find some closure at the Capitol Theatre next Thursday. The Arlington cinema will host a 7 p.m. screening of the punks’ 2018 performance at ONCE Somerville, which was part of a lengthy tour promoting their seventh album, “All at Once.”