Austin Manuel

Happy mother’s day to this beautiful mama. We’d be dead and a lot less cool without her.

asked me to play the first night of his residency this month at with and I’m honored to be asked so here’s a selfie. I think I convinced Andy to move to LA when I met him outside Gold Diggers one night a few years back before I opened the shop (I was there running sound for ) and I told him anything is possible in LA. I haven’t played my songs in a while, so I have my work cut out for me this week, but how about this song tagged in this post “Blue Jacaranda (Sweet Tea)” that I wrote after a night out on the town at Gold Diggers with an old friend- not bad! Hehe. That one and more will be performed, I bet. I moved my piano into my tiny studio shed after he asked me to get ready for the show and am getting to work. I doubt I’ll come up with anything new, but I’d love to play you my classics hehe. There’s no show at the shop that night so one less conflict of interest. I’ll be at Gold Diggers selling merch in lieu of having my own merch. Come hang.

Laid in a field with this “way-maker” for about half an hour til I had to hit a meeting on this day of my birth. Excited for what’s ahead.

Here to fulfill my obligation as a record store owner: my Top 5 albums of 2025.

Yes, I experienced many of these records firsthand - sometimes multiple times through performances or parties at the shop - but regardless, they deserve to weave their way into your hearts as well. These are all incredible works of art.

My number one album is Ace by . This record floors me. Each song is its own movie yet reads like a book, propelled by classical/acoustic-leaning arrangements with modern production (cc: , yo who are you). Themes and lyrical/melodic motifs, interwoven throughout, starting at the shore and taking us down the coast. It’s a perfect LA record: cinematic, deep, and rich with storyline. Who gets to go this deep right now? I’m grateful she did… and envious. We’d all be lucky to lay this card down at the end of a relationship we thought would take us to death. “Mummy” breaks my heart every time - listen loud, on the couch, and weep.

I was lucky to hear these songs at the shop over the past couple of years, sometimes stripped down to solo piano or guitar. She really does sound this good; her piano and guitar skills are unmatched. Go see her live if she’s coming to your town. I’ve sent songs from Ace to many buds already. It was also our best-selling album this year, including many copies at her listening and in-store release party, which I was honored to host. I can’t believe I know her lol. To borrow from “Take Two” and “Best of Us”: this album is as good as it gets; thank you, Madi, for breaking.

I also loved Tortoise’s Touch, so cool; blend LA’s experimental and indie-pop movements with precision on Earthbreaks (coolest band in LA); Nashville bros take us on a trip; and Expanding to One by , recorded at the shop 🤯, an incredible jazz album that feels like home and features many of the best players right now.

Honorable mentions: Turnstile’s Never Enough, introduced to me by Alvin - the only record whose members didn’t come through the shop - and my own album ha, Conception, which I finally got to share on streaming this year.

Please spend time with these albums soon.

P*e p*e p*e poo da ba pa po a most recent selfie alert to let you know I’m playing the shop this Wednesday night 12/3 opening for residency. plays too. Slide two for details.

I forgot we took this pic when I was home for 36 hours in September but these bros have been the wind beneath my wings this past year with countless calls and hours over the phone across the country. I’d be dead without them. uncoordinated monochrome
📸: mom at my mom’s house

💙