Some bands treat Record Store Day like an obligation — a chance to throw a B-side or demo at collectors and call it a holiday. Merchandise, on the other hand, treated it like a declaration. This wasn’t filler. This wasn’t scraps. This was a moment — and a new song — that felt like a sonic pivot.
The announcement:
a split LP
for Record Store Day
featuring new material
And most importantly —
the unveiling of “Figured Out.”
And just like that, the underground buzz intensified.
“Figured Out” — First Impressions, Immediate Impact
From the moment the first notes land, “Figured Out” feels like waking up in a dream you’re not ready to leave.
The guitars shimmer — not aggressively, not theatrically — but with that airy glow that feels almost cinematic. There’s a delicacy to their tone, like emotion distilled into electrical current.
The drums hold back — steady, heartbeat-driven — letting the melody push forward. The bass floats rather than stomps, creating a smooth undercurrent that carries the whole track.
Then the vocals arrive — breathy, distant, almost resigned. There’s a bittersweet quality to the delivery, as though the singer is revealing a truth that’s been gathering weight for years.
The song title could mean:
“I finally understand”
or
“I finally accept”
or
“I finally give up trying to force understanding”
Merchandise has always leaned into ambiguity — emotional and lyrical. “Figured Out” is no exception. It’s not about clarity — it’s about reflection.
It’s a song for late-night drives on half-lit highways
for staring at ceilings
for quiet realizations
The Split LP — Collaboration As Conversation
The beauty of a split LP is the implicit dialogue — two artists sharing the same vinyl space, not competing, but coexisting. Merchandise didn’t pick a random band to split with. They chose a peer — someone who could hold weight musically, aesthetically, spiritually.
The split isn’t just “one side ours, one side theirs.” It’s a pairing — a coupling of mood-crafting artists who create atmosphere as much as music.
You don’t listen to this record casually.
You sink into it.
You commit to the side A → side B progression like entering a tunnel of tone.
Why this moment mattered for Merchandise
Merchandise was already on the rise — tours intensifying, fan base widening, press trailing them with increasing fascination.
But this Record Store Day release was different.
It wasn’t about broadening the audience.
It was about rewarding the existing one.
The vinyl crowd.
The deep-listeners.
The collectors.
The people who:
read lyric sheets
touch album jackets like relics
own multiple versions of a record
care about pressing quality and mastering nuance
Record Store Day is a celebration of physical music culture.
And Merchandise understands physical culture intimately:
they come from cassette runs
from DIY tapes
from limited pressings
from scarcity creating devotion
This LP was an offering — humble, sincere, intentional.
The Tampa Reaction — A Quiet Pride
Back home, the feeling among fans wasn’t just excitement — it was this nodding acknowledgment of evolution.
Fans in Tampa had seen the early shows:
- tiny side stages
- punk-leaning energy
- bare-bones gear
- no illusions of grandeur
Now the band was releasing vinyl through respected channels, gaining national attention, and still — still — sounding like themselves.
That authenticity is everything.
“Figured Out” Live — A New Kind of Presence
Hearing the studio track is one experience.
Hearing it live is another.
When they performed it — the room changed.
You know those moments when everyone stops talking, stops checking their phone, stops thinking about drink lines and schedules?
This was one of those.
The song dropped like a calm storm.
The vocals floated out like mist.
And suddenly — strangers in the audience shared the same emotional wavelength.
You could feel breath being held.
You could feel minds quieting.
You could feel bodies becoming still.
Not all songs on a Record Store Day split do this.
Very few do.
“Figured Out” has weight.
Vinyl Aesthetics — Sound You Can Touch
When the LP finally hit the bins —
there was something sacred about picking it up.
Clear shrink-wrap
weight of the record
gloss or matte finish on the jacket
liner notes
credits
matrix etching on the record itself
smell of fresh vinyl (every collector knows it)
Vinyl isn’t just music.
It’s ritual.
Putting the needle down isn’t just playback.
It’s participation.
And Merchandise knows their audience doesn’t just listen —
they engage.
Lyrical Fragments — Echoes of Thought
Merchandise songs often feel like internal monologues spilled into melody — fragments of unresolved reflections. “Figured Out” in particular sounds like someone speaking to a memory, or to a younger version of themselves.
Maybe it’s a breakup song.
Maybe it’s a coming-of-age song.
Maybe it’s an existential shrug.
The ambiguity makes it universal.
Everyone hears themselves in it.
Or at least — the part of themselves that learned something the hard way.
The Legacy Effect
Years later, people will talk about this release as:
- “the one that marked the transition”
- “the moment where they matured sonically”
- “the point where their sound became widescreen”
- “their pre-4AD crystallization era”
This split LP is now part of their canon —
a sonic mile marker.
A place we can point to and say:
“Here. This is where something shifted.”
Closing Thought
Merchandise didn’t rush their evolution.
They grew organically.
They deepened rather than exploded.
And “Figured Out” captures that perfectly:
a band settling into its identity —
not by tightening,
but by expanding.
And for those who listened early —
who paid attention —
who watched the trajectory —
this release felt like a reward.