Buy now, brag later: Record Store Day new music releases that feel set to become collectors’ items
Each year, Record Store Day rolls around with a long list to dig through. Typically, eyes are caught by historic box sets or limited releases from iconic artists. There’s almost always some new Bowie discovery in there, some live album from a 1960s legend or some new way to package up the greatest hits we all know and love.
But what about the new kids? As the day focuses on limited releases that are all made with the aim of being special, rare or collectable, it’s easy to forget that what is new music today will someday be historic. The songs, EPs and albums that currently feel fresh will one day be the sounds that define these times.
It’s tough to see that from our vantage point now, though. It’s impossible to know who will truly be remembered; however, we can make some guesses. Whether it’s artists already making a huge splash or songwriters capturing the times in their lyricism with a sharp and vital pen, there are plenty of new names that already have their legacy seemingly locked in.
All being released for the first time on physical format, these aren’t just collectables because they’re new or rare. All of these releases feel destined to become little pieces of history, or at least music you’d want to pass down to younger generations to teach them about today.
New music set to be collectors’ items:
Cardinals – ‘Cardinals’ EP
When a band feel set to be legendary, having their debut EP on physical format is always a good investment. In 2024, the Cork band launched with this self-titled, showing their unique mix of traditional sounds and instruments with strains of rock, indie, punk and beyond all thrown in.
They were instantly unique from front to back. At the mic stand, Euan Manning sounds like an Irish equivalent to a neurotic yet swaggering star, like Lou Reed or Ian Curtis. His lyricism had already mastered that balance between candidness and poetry, captured perfectly on ‘Roseland’. Then behind him, the spanning band elevated it to new levels, borrowing from the legacy of the Irish greats and getting it to rock welly. After one great EP, it’s no wonder they went direct to the debut, but I’m sure looking back in years or even decades to come, this EP will be held up as the dawn of something really special.
Charli XCX – ‘Party 4 U’
After Brat blew up to insane levels, the choir of the classic, exhausting, misogynistic voices rose. Whenever a woman hits the zeitgeist big time, hitting that global superstar, moment-defining phenomenon level, people love to tear her down. When Charli did that on Brat, those voices were quick to act like she was a one-hit-wonder, being ignorant towards her years and years of success.
The revival of ‘Party 4 U’, an old 2020 track, was the antidote. Charli had always been great: she was when she launched in 2013, she was before that when she started writing pop hits for others, she was before Brat, during Brat, and she will be after. Undeniably, Charli will be one of the most defining stars of these times, and while vinyl copies of Brat will be a dime a dozen, this single will be coveted.
CMAT – ‘Diet Baby’ EP
Another star climbing to dizzying heights right now is CMAT. Dunboyne’s Diana is rightfully getting her flowers as the crowds at her shows are growing fast. This year alone, she’s already sold out Alexandra Palace and is now charting a course towards her very own LIDO Festival, where Father John Misty and Sharon Van Etten are supporting her.
Diet Baby was the start of it all, made after following advice from Charli XCX, actually. After meeting the pop star, CMAT followed her suggestion that she move back to Ireland from Manchester and return to her musical roots, leading to this EP full of Irish charm and wit. First released in 2021, though later taken off streaming, get it on vinyl or don’t have it at all.
Confidence Man – ‘Active Scenes’ EP
In the words of Cameron Winter, “There is only dance music in times of war”. The line rings true in the dark days of the 2020s. Especially in the last few years, with ever-increasing global conflicts, the rise of fascism, economic crashes, and round two of Donald Trump being present, causing all of the above, there has been a clear movement towards club culture and hedonism. It doesn’t have to mean that more people are going on ragers, but on the radio, we’re singing about them more and more, as there is a palpable sense of being at the last party before the end of the world.
One of the acts leading the charge has been Confidence Man, as the Aussie duo might typically have stuck as a niche act for a particular crowd, but are now a broadly beloved name, stealing the spotlight on any festival lineup. If things escalate even further and physical media is all we have left, you’ll want this EP to keep spirits up.
Dijon – ‘How Do You Feel About Getting Married’ EP
Even if you’ve never listened to any of Dijon’s solo stuff, you’ve heard his work. The LA-based producer, writer and multi-instrumentalist has a long credits list including the likes of Charli XCX, Brockhampton, Bon Iver, Justin Bieber and beyond. Fans of Mk Gee know Dijon’s work well as his production helps colour Two Star & the Dream Police.
But Dijon’s debut solo EP is something special. It has that pure quality that often comes through in the solo work made by people busy with co-writes and collabs. It’s not overdone, but it’s smooth and beautiful, and it captures the mind of a man who plays a major role in shaping the entire music landscape of now.
Divorce – ‘Live At Get Together’
Making music nowadays is hard. Being a band is tough, expensive and difficult enough, even if you’re doing well. Certain things end up falling by the wayside, like music videos or, more commonly, live albums. They used to be the bread and butter of old bands, a staple of the 1960s and ‘70s especially, but now, who can afford to waste resources on that?
But for a band like Divorce, who shine their absolute brightest when performing live, capturing that energy on tape feels like the only way to do them justice. At 2025’s Get Together festival, that shine was blinding as the band were joined by a choir and had Peddlar Warehouse captivated, with our own Dale Maplethorpe being doomed to listen from outside their packed-out set. Now, he can finally hear it all properly.
English Teacher / Matt Maltese – ‘Nearly Daffodils’
Two sides, two of the best artists of modern times. On side A, you have Mercury Prizer winners English Teacher with their album centre-piece track, ‘Nearly Daffodils’, their musing on almost-loves and unfulfilled potential. In their hands, the original song is a neurotic brain spasm, a frantic race through all these conflicting feelings.
But on side B, there’s Matt Maltese, this generation’s Paul McCartney-esque crooner. When handed over to him, the song is balladic and contemplative, bringing out the tenderness of the lyrics. Two names destined for the history books, cut out the middle man and get them on the same disc.
Ethel Cain – ‘In Bred’ EP
Across her two full-scale albums, Ethel Cain has unleashed a creative world unrivalled by any of her peers. Preacher’s Daughter opened up the story of Cain, a young girl in a strict religious family seemingly cursed by the fate of her bloodline and stuck in a cycle of heartache and abuse. On Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, she flashed back for a prequel, adding context. Together, they feel like a full-on novel but told through some true lyrical masterpieces.
But on the artist’s prior EPs, there is so much intrigue to be found. Here, you can hear her figuring out who Cain is in real time, playing around with the subject matters that would be woven into the record and begin to nail her balance of genres. In Bred is a high point of this era, so if you want to build up your collection before Ethel Cain is rightfully recognised as one of the greats, this has to be in there.
Mary Wallopers – ‘A Mouthful Of Mary Wallopers’ EP
When we reflect back on the last few years of music in a few decades’ time, one of the key themes is undeniably going to be the influx of Irish bands taking the lead. On this list alone, both Cardinals and CMAT fit that category, as well as the levelling up of Fontaines DC, and the love for acts like Lankum, NewDad, Madra Salach, Gurriers and more.
Amongst them, Mary Wallopers represent perhaps the clearest example of Irish trad music coming into focus, growing in appeal and hitting modern festival stages hard. Their 2019 EP launched all of that, not only introducing the band to the world, but influencing acts around them as Fontaines themselves have shared their love for the group. A slice of modern music history, and just a solid gold EP packed full of instrumental electricity, it’s a purchase you would never regret.
Paris Paloma – ‘Good Boy’ / ‘Good Girl’
For Gen-Z girls, we were raised in a strange moment in time. Back in the 2010s, it felt like things were getting better, with an influx of celebrities talking about feminism and outrightly backing the cause. Girl power seemed to be everywhere, and with the rise of the body positivity movement and an increase of representation in fashion, film, music and beyond, it felt like the world was getting easier to live in as a woman.
Then the 2020s hit, and it wasn’t so much a backslide but merely the fog clearing to reveal that it was all a lie. The world was still just as, if not even more harsh and difficult. With the manosphere, the revelation of the Epstein files, the obsession with the ‘male loneliness epidemic’ as a front to blame women for men’s lack of community, and the boom of the Ozempic age, these are scary times, and Paris Paloma’s voice is left feeling essential.
Both ‘Good Boy’ and ‘Good Girl’ are songs that deserve to be written on the walls of museums. They’re tracks that feel like historical documents of the times, and so later down the line, they’re bound to hold a lot of weight still.
