The tale of the last surviving record store in Teeside, Sound It Out is a solid little documentary from Jeanie Finlay. Charting the passion for music that bind the proprietors and customers of a shop named Sound It Out Records together regardless of musical taste, the film presents a bunch of likeable obsessives and was something of a breakout success at this years SXSW. It’s easy to see why the film proved so popular in the face of a musical-literate audience; everyone can relate to the age old question of “what was your first record?” (Use Your Illusion Part 2, seeing as you’re probably wondering).

Among the wonderful characters on screen are Shane, a Status Quo obsessive, who has seen the band perform live around 400 times. Shane, who fell in to a love of music to escape the bullies that tortured him during his youth declares his intent to being buried in a coffin produced from his melted down vinyl collection.
Elsewhere DJ Frankey and MC compadre John-boy are entrenched in the mysterious world of  ”Makina”, a unique form of dance music local to Teeside and the surrounding areas. Unemployed and written off by the unknowing eye as chavs, Frankey and John-Boy, much like Shane, find solace in their music, and while in a their paths would likely never cross in a relative megalopolis like London, Leeds or Newcastle, the existance of Sound It Out Records. Indeed, the record shop is something of a cultural hub for a whole bunch of Stockton subcultures.

Sound It Out, while perhaps a tad overlong, is a charming and entertaining little flick.