FIRE RECORDS
Kristin Hersh - Sugar On Blackstone Kristin Hersh
A darker yet delicately rendered work from Kristin Hersh, Sugar On Blackstone explores life and death, enrichment and poverty, and the small but defining moments of childhood that continue to echo through adult life. Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, the album reflects on the lasting bonds between musicians, family and friends, and the way certain sounds, places and memories can suddenly bring someone vividly back into focus.
Recorded at Stable Sound Studios earlier this year, Hersh is joined by longtime collaborators Rob Ahlers (50FOOTWAVE) on drums and cellist Pete Harvey (Throwing Muses). The result is a stark yet warm collection of songs that balances fragility with force, intimacy with tension.
Rooted in Providence, Rhode Island, Sugar On Blackstone draws heavily from Hersh’s reflections on home, displacement and memory. Revisiting the streets and parks of her childhood, the record traces the emotional weight of returning to familiar places shaped by grief, survival and resilience. The album’s title references Blackstone Boulevard and Hope Street in Providence, locations that become symbolic throughout the record of both loss and endurance.
Written in the aftermath of personal tragedy and against the backdrop of constant travel, wildfires and restless movement across America, the album carries an unsettled atmosphere throughout. Yet within that darkness, Hersh finds moments of tenderness and connection.
A poignant and expansive record that radiates strength in vulnerability, Sugar On Blackstone stands as another essential entry in Kristin Hersh’s acclaimed and ever-evolving body of work.
“Hersh at the top of her considerable game” Uncut
“A national treasure” NPR
“A fearless rock innovator” New York Times
“One of indie rock’s most fascinating figures” The Guardian
“A very, very special musician” The Quietus
Track List
A1 Dark Eyed Junco
A2 Moths
A3 Ticking
A4 Silver Beach
A5 Pink Nightgowns
A6 101 Run
B1 Sundial
B2 Snow White Lies
B3 Dom In Orange
B4 '72 Stingray
B5 Samson
Pickup available at Cambridge
Usually ready in 24 hours. Unless it's a Pre-Order
Product information
Shipping
We aim to keep postage costs as low as possible while making sure your records arrive safely. All orders are packed securely using Defenda MusicMax stiff cardboard mailers, with plenty of “FRAGILE” tape, to provide the best protection in transit.
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout based on the weight and destination of your order, along with packaging materials.
We send most orders via Royal Mail tracked services. For larger or heavier orders, we may use a courier service or split your order into multiple parcels to ensure it arrives safely and efficiently.
Pre-orders
Any items ordered alongside a pre-order item will be held back and posted alongside your pre-order. If you’d like them sent individually, please make separate orders.
On the subject of pre-orders, please note than release dates can change (sometimes not until the scheduled release date). Please keep an eye on our website
Returns
Returns Procedure
If you wish to cancel or return an order, you need to notify us by email (quoting your order number), and wait for us to get back to you before returning goods.
We will email you with instructions and a returns reference number. When returning items to us, you will need to take reasonable care to ensure they are not damaged in transit and that they are labelled clearly with the correct address & reference number (as provided by us) :
Relevant Record Café,
260 Mill Road
Cambridge,
CB1 3NF.
We reserve the right to not process returns sent to us without prior permission.
It’s your responsibility to retain possession and to take reasonable care of the goods in the period prior to return and until you send them back to us.
Your Right To Cancel An Order
Your right to cancel your order starts from the moment you place the order, and ends 14 days from the time you receive your order.
Non-Faulty Products
If you wish to return a product because it’s unwanted or it was ordered in error, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
We’ll happily accept a return as long as the product is still in its original shrink-wrapped packaging and is completely undamaged. You have 14 days from when you receive your order to notify us that you wish to return your order.
By opening a sealed product in any way (or using any digital download code accompanying your order), you waive your right to cancel or return your order.
Obviously we’d rather offer you store credit (in the form of a gift card), but if you’d prefer a refund, we promise to get this sorted within 14 days of receiving your return.
Please take care when ordering!
Faulty Products
If you believe you have purchased a faulty or damaged record, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
Once we receive your record, it will be tested by a member of staff in store.
If your record is deemed as faulty, you will be entitled to a refund, swap or store credit (to the same value as your initial purchase).
If this record is not deemed as faulty, we will not cover any additional postage and packaging costs incurred by either you or us, and we will not be able to offer you a refund, store credit or swap.
Basically, please be absolutely certain the record you have purchased is faulty before following the returns procedure. If possible, we suggest testing the record on different turntables and weighting the tone arm differently.
Steepletone and Crosley Record Players
After having several “faulty” records returned to us (that in actuality had nothing wrong with them), we cannot guarantee that any records we sell will play correctly Crosley or Steepletone branded record players.