Heartland Records are another place so underground they don’t even bother with advertising or websites. Plebians one might say. I think their theory is that they don’t really need to. All the more reason to give them a jolly good write up here. As far as music goes, they’re the most thoroughly gothic and industrial shop in Melbourne, hands down. (any challenges welcome as comments to this article).
Heartland’s main music genres are Indie/Indie dance/Soundtracks/Metal/Gothic/Industrial. They do new and second hand vinyl and CDs. they also do a small market in collectibles and tshirts, plus badges and the occasional gig tickets.
Not only is Heartland one of the best places to look for new indie releases on vinyl plus classics from artists like Pulp, Suede, New Order, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Placebo and many more, it’s a gold mine of independent 7″ singles new and old . Having tried desperately hard to find recent UK 7″ singles from bands like The Horrors or Arcade Fire, or even Jarvis or Morrissey, the Good the Bad and the Queen – I found them at Heartland! While there are plenty of great indie record stores in Melbourne – this is the only place I found with many new UK titles on the shelf on 7″.
The best things about Heartland:
1. as above, the indie 7″ collection is without peer in Melbourne – Missing Link do a good US and Australian selection but for UK Heartland is King.
2. an amazing array of second hand collectible gothic and industrial vinyl, plus a great selection of new stuff on CD. Not as experimental a selection as Peril, but definitely great for goth/popular industrial/metal.
3. The downside – well, my biggest gripe is that they do absolutely no advertising so it’s difficult to know when new shipments are in… I guess you just have to ring or drop by. There is a tiny lack-of-convenience factor as well, but whinging about having to pay the Queen Vic Markets a visit or Flagstaff Gardens is churlish. It’s just not easy when you’re in a hurry running around town.
Heartland Records:
61 Peel St West Melbourne
Contact: 03 9329 9636
Underground Melbourne 