A yellow sign on Trinity Street spells out the proposition before you reach the door: records, books, art, comics and coffee, gathered into one bright room in the America Ground quarter of Hastings. Sleeves and prints hang on slim wooden racks across the window, a mural climbs the wall next door, and inside the bins are busy without ever feeling picked over.
Background / History
Tim and Susan opened Wow And Flutter on 6 December 2014, having moved to Hastings from careers in the creative sector and a long habit of collecting all sorts of things. The name comes from a Stereolab song they love, and from the engineering term for the small pitch variations thrown up by tape machines and turntables, which suits a shop built around the physical act of playing music. More than a decade later the two of them still run it, still buy in the collections and still put the racks out themselves.
What You’ll Find
Second-hand vinyl leads the way, chosen rather than simply accumulated, with CDs and cassettes alongside it. Bins are labelled by genre and take in techno, progressive, electronica and downtempo, while the LP racks move through jazz, soul, reggae, punk, country, folk, pop and soundtracks, with rare Japanese pressings surfacing often enough to be worth checking for. Fresh stock goes out weekly and Saturday is the day the new racks appear, so regulars plan around it. Music is only part of the room: second-hand and art books, vintage comics in browser boxes and fanned along wall shelves, original artwork, and a shelf of cult Japanese toys watching over the CDs. The counter serves coffee, tea and cold drinks, sells tickets for gigs happening locally, and handles buying, selling and trading.
Experience / Atmosphere
The shop is light, white-walled and properly organised, which makes a long dig easy rather than dusty work. Tim and Susan are straightforward company and happy to talk, and there is none of the gatekeeping record shops are sometimes accused of, so first-time buyers and lifelong collectors get the same welcome. A daily pick posted to their followers keeps the conversation going between visits, and the room regularly turns over to something else: in-store performances, DJ sets, exhibitions and author talks have all been held here, and Record Store Day is marked properly each year. It is one of the anchors of Hastings music life rather than simply a retail unit.
Why Visit
- Carefully chosen second-hand vinyl, CDs and cassettes, with new racks out every Saturday
- Vintage comics, art books and cult Japanese toys sharing the floor with the music
- Coffee, tea and cold drinks to slow a browse down
- In-store sessions, DJ sets, exhibitions and a proper Record Store Day
- Buying, selling and trading, so the stock genuinely keeps moving
- Gig tickets and local knowledge over the counter
Summary
Wow And Flutter rewards an unhurried visit. You can come in for one record and leave with a comic, a book, a coffee and a ticket for something happening down the road that week, which is the sort of shop a town needs. If you can choose your day, make it a Saturday, when the new arrivals hit the racks.
