ACID HOUSE KINGS
LP
Sing Along With Acid House Kings
Labrador
Showing untrendy will be the new trend for 2005, Acid House Kings return with a classic blend of 60's Motown and Bacharach, 80's The Smiths and timeless pop perfection. The vinyl edition of this stylish album includes three bonus tracks, previously available on the “Do What You Wanna Do” CDEP. Tracklist: “That's Because You Drive Me”, ”Do What You Wanna Do”, ”This Heart Is A Stone”, ”London School Of Economics”, ”7 Days”, ”I Write Summer Songs For No Reason”, ”Tonight Is Forever”, ”Saturday Train”, ”Sleeping”, ”Will You Love Me In The Morning?”, ”A Long Term Plan”, ”Wipe Away Those Tears”. Bonus tracks: “Come Josephine”, “Drama Inside” and “The Camera”.
140 SEK
THE AISLERS SET
LP
How I Learned To Write Backwards
Slumberland
The Aislers Set’s third album, released in 2003. Brimming with drunken romanticism, sharp pop sensibilities and timeless melodies, the new Aislers’ album offers 11 new musical proofs of the power of classic tunes. Helmed by writer/player/producer extraordinaire Amy Linton, The Aislers’ revel in the history of great POP, spiking their classicist 60s-tinged tunes with pure post-punk energy and originality of bands like the Fire Engines and The June Brides. Every song is a meticulously constructed sound world, where the arrangement and instrumentation sublimely, uncannily bring each tune to completeness. Tracklist: “Catherine Says”, “Emotional Levy”, “Languor In The Balcony”, “Mission Bells”, “Sara's Song”, “Attraction Action Reaction”, “Through The Swells”, “The Train #1”, “The Train #2”, “Unfinished Paintings” and “Melody Not Malaise”.
135 SEK
JAMES AUSFAHRT
LP
Party For The Arty People, Arty For The Party...
Fridlyst
LP + CDR. James has been recording songs for a couple of years now and he has built up a reputation of a crazy sexy cool lo-fi artist on the west coast of Sweden. Any of you that have been lucky enough to hear him knows his music is addictive, trashy and beautiful. James believes in the “one take theory” and has recorded more then 80 songs of disco, pop, rock and roll, old school electronica and new wave all in the lo-fi mentality. He’s recording at home by himself with guitar, keyboard, bass and a drum machine, some of them are homebuilt. James is also heck of a driver, and hopefully he will take his car and drive to your town for a show, because you haven’t seen anything before you’ve seen James Ausfahrt. Comes with a CDR of the album. Tracklist: “Lovesong No 75”, ”Lucy Ferocious”, ”No Reason To Dance”, ”The Night The Night Became One Day Longer”, ”Disko Gigolo”, ”Babylon”, ”Take The Limits To The Limit”, ”I Want You With Me All The Time”, ”Don’t Know What To Do”, ”Metal Machine”, ”White Phantom’s Funeral”, ”Lover At The Retirement Home”, ”Never Again”, ”Keep On”, ”Rit & Skrivkramp”, ”Up All Night”, ”Keep Left At Jordfallsmotet”, ”Fragile Glass Boy”, ”Stalker”, ”Just Like Heather”, ”Deadbeat With The Right To Choose” and ”With Me”.
110 SEK
THE BATS
LP
At The National Grid
Little Teddy
This is The Bats: the jangly rock band from New Zealand, part of the New Zealand bands that were tagged with the kiwi-rock sound amongst other contemporaries The Clean and The Chills. The Bats have gone on to influence many a band. They even have a greatest hits album! Robert Scott, Malcolm Grant, Paul Kean, Kaye Woodward - 1 line-up; 23 years; 6 albums; 4 world tours and a new album “At The National Grid” on its way. From the band that brought you the legendary albums “Daddy’s Highway” and “Silverbeet” and after ten years something sparks up when The Bats get together to play. From a mantric like pick and strum of a chord from Robert, add bouncing bass with twist from Paul, a melodic hook from Kaye on guitar and Malcolm on a beat that just makes you want to move and dance. The combination of musical ingredients works perfectly - effortlessly. It’s been like that for 23 years now and the magic doesn’t seem to be fading. That is the essence - apply that magic to Robert’s endless creative outpouring of songs and a recent late blooming from the pen of Kaye Woodward and you get a fine new albums worth of tunes from The Bats in 2005. The Bats have spent more than a decade forging a reputation based on their excellent song writing and reliably buoyant pop performances. On record, they often appear as modern day pastoral musicians, revealing the charms of their music and words in gentle pop epiphanies, while their live performances have gathered acclaim for the energy that the group’s insistently strummy rock instills in crowds. Recording all started at “The National Grid”, John Kelcher’s studio in Christchurch, New Zealand where they did the initial session pretty much live to analogue multi track tape. Alastair Gailbraith, who last featured on The Bats “Law Of Things”, has added his distinctive eclectic electric violin to some tracks.Tracklist: “Western Isles”, “Horizon”, “Hubert”, “The Bells Are Ringing”, “Single File”, “Pre War Blues”, “The Rays”, “Things I Can't Leave Behind”, “Mir”, “Up To The Sky”, “We Do Not Kiss The Ones We Kick”, “The Flowers & The Trees” and “Crazy Crowd”.
145 SEK
BEARS
LP
Bears (LP)
Bears
Great self-released debut album from US pop duo Bears. Craig Ramsey and Charlie McArthur have created thirteen charming songs that combine 60’s pop, twee and dreampop. If you’re into classic popsongwriting like The Zombies, The Lucksmiths, The Radio Dept., Rocketship and Elliott Smith this is something for your record player! Coloured vinyl and screenprinted cover. Included is a code that allows you to download all the songs in mp3 format. Tracklist: Never Have To Guess”, “Walk Away”, “How To Live”, “Everywhere”, “When You're Away”, “Still Alright”, “Daydreams”, “Over It”, “Days”, “Things I Should Say”, “Goodbye Song”, “Still The Same” and “Stay”.
130 SEK
BLACK TAMBOURINE
LP
Black Tambourine
Slumberland
Though they only released a handful of songs during their two-year lifetime, Black Tambourine has been hugely influential in the world of indie music. Welding classic pop to waves of guitar noise, they wore their influences on their sleeves: The Jesus & Mary Chain, of course, but also folks like Phil Spector, Smokey Robinson, Love, The Ramones, Shop Assistants, The Pastels, 14 Iced Bears, Orange Juice and the list goes on… Their dark, dreamy sound was consonant with the shoegaze sounds of the day, but the classic 60s-influenced songwriting and Pam's standout vocals give their tunes a timeless appeal. Black Tambourine gathers up all of the songs released by Black Tambourine, and handily trumps 1999's Complete Recordings reissue by including six previously unreleased tunes; four of those are brand new recordings the band made in Summer 2009 especially for this comp. Tracklist: “For Ex-Lovers Only”, “Black Car”, “Pack You Up”, “Can't Explain”, “I Was Wrong”, “Throw Aggi Off The Bridge”, “Drown”, “We Can't Be Friends”, “By Tomorrow”, “Pam's Tan”, “For Ex-Lovers Only (First Demo)”, “Throw Aggi Off The Bridge (First Demo)”, “Heartbeat”, “Lazy Heart”, “Tears of Joy” and “Dream Baby Dream”.
135 SEK
BRICOLAGE
LP
Bricolage
Slumberland
The symbiotic relationship between Glasgow and an indefinable, distinct breed of extraordinary pop is a subject of limitless fascination. Virtually from the moment the legendary Orange Juice transformed the once barren Scottish metropolis into a wellspring of tuneful, literate, joyous music, special new bands have continued to flow from its environs. From the early-’80s explosion that begat Altered Images, The Pastels and many others, to latter-day heirs such as Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian and Franz Ferdinand, the city is as synonymous with the abstract notion of ‘indie’ as Detroit is with the Motown sound or New York with early punk. And now, with the release of their self-titled debut album, Bricolage rightfully take their place as part of Glasgow’s peerless pop lineage. Bricolage – Graham Wann, Wallace Meek, Darren Cameron, and Colin Kearney – formed in late 2005, united by their love of Postcard Records’ evergreen “Sound of Young Scotland” and similarly iconoclastic post-punk heroes including Vic Godard and Fire Engines. In less than two years, the band released three 7-inch singles and toured solidly, sharing stages with the likes of the above-mentioned Godard, a reunited Fire Engines, Franz Ferdinand, even the Sun Ra Arkestra. “Bricolage”, the album, is the realization of those singles’ huge promise. Produced with sparkling economy by former Altered Images guitarist Stephen Lironi, its dozen tracks are the product of its influences, but also a path beyond them. From the swooning romanticism of “Plots Are For Cemeteries”, to the lovesick giddiness of “Turn U Over”, to the Northern Soul-style stomp of “The Waltzers”, this is pop full of melody, verve and wit – for a modern world that is about to discover how badly it needed it. Bricolage may be a new strand in Glasgow’s ongoing musical history, but for Bricolage themselves, this is where their own stunning history truly begins being written. This LP comes with a code for a free download. Tracklist: “Bayonets”, ”Flowers Of Deceit”, ”Footsteps”, ”Plots Are For Cemetaries”, ”The Spoilsport’s Retort”, ”Looting Takes The Want Out Of Waiting”, ”A Terrible Souvenir”, ”Turn U Over”, ”6th Form Poet”, ”On The Omnibuses”, ”Sleepwalk To Me” and ”The Waltzers”.
140 SEK
BRILLIANT COLORS
LP
Introducing
Slumberland
Singer/guitarist Jess Scott started Brilliant Colors in early 2007, and she’s been mighty busy since then. After a steady stream of line-up changes, Scott has finally settled on a permanent line-up with the addition of East Coast transplants Diane Anastasio and Michelle Hill (a veteran of a number of Bay Area underground punk outfits, as well as touring guitarist for legendary UK punk / dub group The Slits!), in the meantime sharing bills with fellow Bay Area acts Nodzzz, Grass Widow, and Ty Segall and opening for the likes of The Urinals and The Homosexuals. Following up two sold-out singles (on Make A Mess and Captured Tracks) and mounting fervor from all corners of the pop underground blog-o-world, Brilliant Colors’ debut album drops just in time to secure its place as an undeniable contender for best pop record of 2009. “Introducing”, recorded in Portland, Oregon by Mississippi Records’ Alex Yusimov, marks a great leap forward for Brilliant Colors. The band has honed their songwriting to a fine edge, delivering ten tracks of sharp, subtly catchy indie pop that finds them more assuredly rounding out the corners of their DIY punk-meets-Shop Assistants, ‘78-‘86 pop collision. Opener “I Searched” is a fully formed pop classic that drifts through the speakers on the back a wistful, echoey vocal, while “Absolutely Anything” picks up the pace with a buzzing guitar attack and a chorus hook that would make Joey Ramone proud. The trio is at their best on songs like “Over There” and “Yell In The Air”, tunes that are emblematic of the perfect middle ground that Scott has struck between the crunch and drive of punk and the spiky DIY melodicism of early Rough Trade and Flying Nun bands. “Introducing” is a sharp debut album packed with taut guitar buzz and dreamy melodies, neatly expanding on the promise of those in-demand 7” singles. Clocking in at barely twenty-four minutes, it’s focus and concision is the perfect encapsulation of where we think pop should be in 2009. Side-stepping all of the indie scene pigeonholes, Brilliant Colors have produced a scrappy gem of a record. Included is a code that allows you to download the songs in mp3 format. Tracklist: “I Searched”, “Absolutely Anything”, “English Cities”, “Yell In The Air”, “You Say You Want”, “Over There”, “Mythic”, “Short Sleeves At Night”, “Motherland” and “Should I Tell You”.
135 SEK
CHIN CHIN
LP
Sound Of The Westway
Slumberland/Mississippi
Chin Chin were an all-female Swiss band who were inspired by punk to pick up instruments in 1982 and form a band, and whose influences were taken from inside and outside punk: The Clash, The Ramones, X-Ray Spex, Blondie, Generation X, Siouxsie & The Banshees, David Bowie, Motown, 1960s girl groups and glam rock bands like T-Rex and Slade. In 1984 they took the rare step of forming their own label, Farmer Records (along with fellow punks SOZZ), and released their first single, the now legendary "We Don't Wanna Be Prisoners”. “Sound Of The Westway” is a brilliant mix of punk-informed crunch and buoyant pop melody that shows Chin Chin to be true pioneers of DIY noisy pop. Their combination of punk ethic, fuzz guitars and bubblegum pop was also gaining traction in the UK with the nascent C86 scene, and Chin Chin fit right in next to groups like Shop Assistants, The Rosehips and The Fizzbombs. Tracklist: “Dark Days”, “My Guy”, “Never Surrender”, “Even If It's A Lie”, “Jungle of Fear”, “Why Am I So Lonely?”, “Room of Sadness”, “War”, “Love Song”, “Proud Soldiers”, “Stay With Me”, “Dead Life”, “Why Am I So Lonely II” and “Da Doo Ron Ron/My Boy Lollipop”.
135 SEK
CLUB 8
LP
The Boy Who Couldn´t Stop Dreaming
Labrador
Club 8 returns in the grandest of ways with their sophomore sixth album. "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming" is pop music at its most profound, balancing perfectly between sunshine and melancholia. Twelve songs that’ll make you sing along about death while dreaming of summer days. A glorious return to say the least! Tracklist: ”Jesus, Walk With Me”, “Whatever You Want”, “Football Kids”, “Hopes And Dreams”, “Everything Goes”, “Heaven”, “When I Come Around”, “Leave The North”, “In The Morning”, “Sometimes”, “Where Birds Dont Fly” and “The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming”.
145 SEK
CLUB 8
LP
The People´s Record
Labrador
Club 8 has travelled to Brazil for inspiration, bought records made in the 70’s in Western Africa, used a percussion player from Cuba and hooked up with producer Jari Haapalainen (The Concretes, Camera Obscura, Ed Harcourt). The result is unique mix of Swedish pop melodies and African rhythms - undoubtedly one of the most unique, captivating and catchiest pop records of the year! Tracklist: “Western Hospitality”, “Isn’t That Great?”, “Shape Up!”, “Dancing With The Mentally Ill”, “My Pessimistic Heart”, “Back To A”, “Like Me”, “Be Mad, Get Ill, Be Still”, “We’re All Going To Die” and “The People Speak”.
140 SEK
COCOANUT GROOVE
LP
Madeleine Street
Fridlyst
LP + CDR. Finally here! “Madeleine Street” is possibly the most longed-for Swedish album this year. After the gorgeous 7” single “The End Of The Summer On Bookbinder Road” on Phonic Kidnapping earlier this year, the debut album on Swedish label Fridlyst is here! These ten songs, written and arranged by Olov Antonsson, is really a perfect rendition of the 60’s sunshine pop and baroque pop, with a bit of folk thrown in ...and at the same time an original piece of art. “Madeleine Street” is an elegantly produced album, each song is given its appropriate orchestration where the pop explosions are mixed with the unbarked and heartfelt songs with picking guitars and strings. Comes with a CDR of the album. Tracklist: “The End Of The Summer On Bookbinder Road”, “Walking To Madeleine Street”, “Hummin'”, “The Castle”, “Shadow”, “I Wanted You To Step Into My World”, “Lately”, “The Looking Glass”, “A Dream Of Two Summers” and “Madeleine Street”. Highly recommended!
135 SEK
CRYSTAL STILTS
LP
Alight Of Night
Slumberland
Following on from their great EP on Woodsist and a summer of packed shows and increasing anticipation is “Alight Of Night”, an album that more than delivers on the promise of their early singles. So what’s it like, you ask? There is a definite flavour of Velvet Underground to be had, but Crystal Stilts’ spectral avant-garage also takes in such far-flung references as: the spooked 60s Texas psych of 13th Floor Elevators and Red Crayola, the gothic blues/punk howl of Gun Club, the dark, experimental DIYism of early Flying Nun/Xpressway groups Pin Group and Plagal Grind, and a post-punk minimalism that brings to mind early Rough Trade and Factory releases. There is definitely a strong pop element as well, with the buzzsaw bubblegum of early Mary Chain b-sides and Meat Whiplash coming to mind. These are all just rough points of reference, though – “Alight Of Night” is far more than just the sum of the bands influences. From the twang ’n’ echo of “Crystal Stilts” to the primal pop stomp of “Prismatic Room” and the lovely jangle of “Shattered Shine”, the band always adds something extra and unique to the mix, whether it’s a fleeting dash of harmonica, a hypnotic organ line or just an amazing guitar sound. There is a unity of purpose at work here, a special mood conjured by the sounds, production and sequence of songs that lifts this album into the realm of the classics, and reveals new twists and turns on each listen. Like all great albums, every piece just sits in exactly the right place, each song builds on the last and by the end you couldn’t imagine changing anything about it at all. Eerily familiar but totally now, “Alight Of Night” is a brilliantly haunting slice of rock primitivism. Tracklist: “The Dazzled”, ”Crystal Stilts”, ”Graveyard Orbit”, ”Prismatic Room”, ”The Sinking”, ”Departure”, ”Shattered Shine”, ”Verdant Gaze”, ”Bright Night”, ”Spiral Transit” and ”The City In The Sea”.
140 SEK
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE
LP
Death By Chocolate
Siesta
Death By Chocolate is pop as play. A wonderworld where anything is possible and where the only boundaries are those of the imagination. Her remarkable, eclectic, humorous records are a montage of toy psychedelia, surrealism, bubblegum and escapist fantasy. A strange, pleasantly disorientating mosaic of songs and monolgues, where Angela gives typically irresistible beguilingly understated vocal performances. Death By Chocolate - or more especially Angie Tillett - has everything; feminism, tease, espionage, empire, gastronomy, travel, cinema... the fun of commodity. The whole excerise is joyful fancy. The idea that with humour and imagination, anything and everything is possible; a liberating philosophy in the face of which turgid modern, “proper” “serious” so-called pop doesn’t really stand a chance. Her first programme “Death By Chocolate” includes interpretations of “Magpie” the theme to the liberal british seventies tv children’s magazine programme of the same name, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s acid parody “The LS Bumble Bee” and “If You Want To Sing Out Sing Out” -a Cat Stevens composition- originally sung as a duet by Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort onscreen in the great 1971 Hal Ashby black comedy “Harold And Maude”. “The Land Of Chocolate”, “A B & C” and “The Salvador Dali Murder Mystery” are charming, funny, precocious essays in pop art, a disarmingly simple and original new approach to modern psychedelia and surrealism. Tracklist: “Mustard Yellow”, “Magpie”, “Sky Blue”, “The Land Of Chocolate”, “Orange”, “My Friend Jack”, “Daddy’s Out Of Focus”, “Olive”, “Ice Cold Lemonade”, “The Is Bumble Bee”, “A B & C”, “Red”, “Rainbow With A Underneath & An Elephant”, “Who Needs Wings To Fly? (From The Flying Nun)”, “The Salvador Dali Murder Mystery”, “If You Want To Sing Out Sing Out”, “Is Bumble Bee (The Bee Is Coming)”.
135 SEK
GIGI
LP
Maintenant
Tomlab
Gigi is the recording project of Vancouver-based songwriter Nick Krgovich and producer/engineer Colin Stewart. In addition to Stewart’s engineering and production credits on albums by Black Mountain, Cave Singers and Destroyer, as well as, Krgovich’s other groups No Kids and P:ano, Gigi has given the pair an opportunity to unabashedly profess their love of pop music in the most direct way conceivable, and this could not have been accomplished without the talents of the many players and singers that graciously helped out along the way. With singing contributions from artists such as Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, Mirah, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls, Katie Eastburn of Young People, Rose Melberg and Karl Blau, the character studies in the songs are voiced from wildly distinct positions giving the narratives of lovesick loneliness, solitary walks around the neighbourhood at twilight, and Friday nights at home with parents watching television in the front room, just that much more poignancy. In the end, what began as a humble experiment four years ago has ballooned into a pop extravaganza that will sit just as comfortably next to your “Back To Mono” box set as it will your rotary phone, waiting to ring. Capturing the spirit of the pop music that flooded the hit parade in the early 60’s is a tall order, and the songs on “Maintenant” decidedly develop a world and language of its own. With a reverent eye on the past and a deep respect for the airtight songsmithery of artists like Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Shadow Morton (among countless others), the songs aren’t content to be throwback-y pastiches or polka-dotted retro workouts but rather stand as attempts at working within a specific and incredibly rich tradition of pop music production. Tracklist: “No, My Heart Will Go On” (Chorus), “The Hundredth Time” (Duffy Driediger & Ryan Peters), “Dreams Of Romance” (Zac Pennington), “Alone At The Pier” (Rose Melberg), “One Woman Show” (Joey Cook), “I’m Not Coming Out Tonight” (Sydney Vermon & Marissa Johnson), “Some Second Best” (Chorus), “I Can’t Bring Myself To Smile” (Bobby Birdman & Katy Davidson), “The Old Graveyard” (Karl Blau), “The Marquee” (Katie Eastburn), “Impossible Love” (Chorus), “Everyone Can Tell” (Ryan Beattie), “Someone Tell Me Please” (Mirah), “I’ll Quit Calypso” (Owen Pallett) and “Neathe The Streetlights” (Nick Krgovich). Highly recommended!
160 SEK
GIRLFRENDO
LP
Surprise! Surprise! It´s Girlfrendo
Siesta
Girlfrendo’s lovely debut album, released in 1999. “Surprise! Surprise! It’s Girlfrendo” is one of the most charming records that has come out of Sweden’s pop scene the last decade. Ranging a variety of styles, this is a smorgasbord for lovers of Pop, luxious melodies and arrangements, excellent and funny lyrics. Tracklist: “Homework”, “First Kiss Feelings vs. Everyday Sensations”, “Delicatessen”, “Make Up”, “Sad Birthday Song”, “12”, “Cat Heaven”, “Kisses In The Nursery”, “Girlfrendo Soundsystem”, “Hallelujah”, “Air”, “Surprise, Surprise”, “Lose Your Face”, “Crushed” and “A Reason For Every Season”.
135 SEK
HOROWITZ
LP
Frosty Cat Songs
Kitchen
Horowitz is an indie-pop band - in the truest sense of that phrase - from Stoke-on-Trent. "Frosty Cat Songs" their debut LP is a delectable riot of home-cooked pop action that runs the gamut between spirited Razorcuts-infected guitar jangle, the lo-fi noise/pop heart of Pavement and mid-period Guided By Voices. Tracklist: “Sister”, “Chilwell Olympia”, “Season Of The Witch”, “It's Better To Eat Twinkies With Yr Friends”, “Amy Acker And The Curious Paper Tiger”, “Feed 'Em Noni Flicks (Til They Die)”, “Veronica Made A Tape”, “Audrey's Post-It Notes”, “Frosty Cat”, “West London Postcard Club”, “Meet Me After Dinner”, “I Need A Blanket”, “Punk Kids” and “Making Time”.
125 SEK
HUNKY DORY
LP
Over The Rainbow
Siesta
Hunky Dory were an authentic children’s group from Lewes, England that were signed to Él records in 1988 and seen by founder Mike Alway as the logical next step after Bad Dream Fancy Dress and Would-Be-Goods. Unfortunately this coincided with Cherry Red’s decision to put an end to the Él label, and the album wasn’t released until 2002. This is pure Pop melodies with lovely vocal arrangements. Together with a charm and naivety that brings sunshine pop family group The Cowsills to mind, this is indeed another Él classic! Tracklist: “On The Loose”, “Over The Rainbow”, “It's Love”, “We're Through”, “Another Christmas Day”, “Noisy Fun Famous”, “I Don't Believe It”, “Russians”, “We've Got Each Other”, “Gabriel The Angel”, “Dreamland Express”, “Can't You See” and “Tomorrow”.
135 SEK
THE LEGENDS
LP
Up Against The Legends
Little Teddy
Johan Angergård’s (Acid House Kings, Club 8) The Legends released their debut album “Up Against The Legends” in 2004, an indie-punk-pop-soul album inspired by Television Personalities, Comet Gain, Motown and C-86. Little Teddy’s LP version contains three vinyl only bonus tracks. Tracklist: “Call It Ours”, “There And Back Again”, “Your Song”, “Right On”, “Nothing To Be Done”, “Everthing You Say”, “Trouble Loves Me”, “When The Day Is Done”, “Breaking Time, Breaking Lines”, “Make It All Right”, “The Kids Just Wanna Have Fun” and “No Way Out”. Vinyl only bonus tracks: “Thanks For Nothing”, “Wish Me Gone” and “It’s Not Going To Happen”.
145 SEK
THE LOCH NESS MOUSE
LP
Key West
Little Teddy
”Key West” is the second album from Norweigan pop band The Loch Ness Mouse. A lovely blend of modern pop and a retro trip to late 60’s Beach Boys land. This Little Teddy LP features one bonus track not included on the CD version. Tracklist: “Hanna & The Twins”, “Salty Hair”, “Marker Numbers”, “Aloha”, “Adrift”, “In The City In The Morning”, “I Lost My Heart To Mary Ann”, “Jules Verne”, “Ceylon Sailor”, “Narrow-gauge Railways”, “Listen Up!”, “Quay West” and “Winter Reporter”.
145 SEK
THE LODGER
LP
Flashbacks
Slumberland
The new album continues the lyrical themes that informed the first two albums, “Grown-Ups” and “Life Is Sweet”, fused with the musical trademarks of upbeat melodies, jangly jazz chords, bouncing basslines tied to energetic drums, but with the addition of new textures and a more straightforward approach to recording. Tracklist: “The Back of My Mind”, “Have A Little Faith In People”, “Time To Wait”, “The End of The Affair”, “Flashbacks”, “Welcome To My World, Lost”, “Nothing’s Impossible, Stand Up!” and “Running Back Home To You”.
135 SEK
THE LODGER
LP
Life Is Sweet
Slumberland
Amazing second album from this very special Leeds group. Classic UK guitar pop in the Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Go-Betweens tradition. Featuring "The Good Old Days" and "The Conversation". Tracklist: “My Finest Hour”, ”The Good Old Days”, ”Falling Down”, ”Honey”, ”The Conversation”, ”A Hero's Welcome”, ”A Year Since Last Summer”, ”An Unwelcome Guest”, ”Running Low”, ”Nothing Left (To Say)” and “Famous Last Words”.
135 SEK
LOVE IS ALL
LP
A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
What´s Your Rupture?
From seemingly out of nowhere, Love is All turned up everywhere after their release of “Nine Times That Same Song” and then, impossibly, disappeared to the fate of hype, broken promises and seething expectations. A full three years later, the fanciful-anachro-charm of Love Is All has matured with the marriage of several members, kids and a true appreciate that love is all. The new album harnesses the same raw energy and music which captured our hearts, but this time magnifies it through the complex emotions and experiences the band has struggled with. The recording of “A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night” reveals the unsatisfying realities of success. Years in the works, “A Hundred Things...” is a record about excitement, frustration, regret, disappointment and figuring out what’s important in finding the relief of the morning’s light at the end of a bad nights sleep. Tracklist: “New Beginnings”, “Give It Back”, “Movie Romance”, “Last Choice”, “Sea Sick”, “Wishing Well”, “When Giants Fall”, “Rumors”, “Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites”, “A More Uncertain Future” and “19 Floors”.
130 SEK
PANTS YELL!
LP
Received Pronunciation
Slumberland
Life, you will have observed, is not a series of epic epiphanies and seismic milestones, but a succession of quiet weeks and months, interrupted at rare intervals – if you’re lucky – by fleeting moments of significance or grace: a new crush, a break-up, the discovery of a particularly good book or song or film, an intense conversation with a friend that you know you won’t forget. Some of the best pop bands of the past several decades have made it their mission to evoke, in their words and in their music, the understated beauty of everyday living. Think of the Go-Betweens, who found boundless romantic possibility in going for a walk or spending the night in; or Belle and Sebastian’s hushed remembrances of little failures and lessons learned, and sympathetic portraits of young misfits struggling to make sense of the world. Pants Yell!, despite their misleadingly emphatic (and eternally mysterious) name, belong to this crucial lineage. Together since 2003, when they formed at a Boston art school, the trio is the vehicle for singer-guitarist Andrew Churchman’s modestly proportioned but perfectly realized songs. Abetted by co-founding bassist Sterling Bryant and drummer Casey Keenan (who joined in 2007), his two- and three-minute marvels draw power from restraint and poetry from plainspoken observation – in short, they are greater than the sum of their parts. Not for nothing did he name the band’s last album “Alison Statton”, in honor of the former Young Marble Giants/Weekend singer, who understood better than most that a whisper, dispensed properly, is always more affecting than a scream. “Alison Statton”, the third Pants Yell! album, brought the band unprecedented critical and popular success internationally. And now they’ve come to rest at their spiritual home, Slumberland Records, with its remarkable follow-up, “Received Pronunciation”. In nine songs and 26 minutes, and without ever deploying a distortion pedal, they make a greater emotional impact than an album twice as long and at double the volume. Which isn’t to say the album lacks for visceral sonic thrills – hear “Someone Loves You” build to an ecstatic climax that perfectly justifies the song’s title, or the elegant guitar solo that launches “Cold Hands” skyward. This is pop that doesn’t need to raise its voice or shake its fist; it wins you with its mind and its heart. Included is a code that allows you to download the songs in mp3 format. Tracklist: “Frank And Sandy”, “Rue De La Paix”, “Cold Hands”, “Got To Stop”, “Spider”, “Someone Loves You”, “Marble Staircase”, “Not Wrong” and “To Take”. Highly recommended!
135 SEK
SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME
LP
Fill Up The Room
K
After three years of relative silence, warped indie-pop collective Saturday Looks Good To Me return triumphantly with their fourth studio album "Fill Up The Room". Following two critically acclaimed releases with Polyvinyl Records, this marks the beginning of the band's work with K Records, and a dramatic progression from their 60's tinged retro-pop sound to a more textured, experimental and colourful breed of pop music. Tracklist: “Apple”, “(Even If You Die On The) Ocean”, “When I Lose My Eyes”, “Make A Plan”, “Peg”, “Money In The Afterlife”, “The Americans”, “Edison Girls”, “Hands In The Snow”, “Come With Your Arms” and “Whitey Hands”.
135 SEK
SPEEDMARKET AVENUE
LP
Way Better Now
Elefant
It’s hard to imagine a better declaration of principles than the first phrase that you read on the website of the Swedes Speedmarket Avenue; it’s a self-definition which goes as follows “a pop music collective led by a little guy who looks like a cross between Charles Manson and Marc Bolan.” The fact of the matter is that this Swedish band is going to be, without a doubt, one of the musical references of 2008 for all POP lovers in capital letters, with a perfect concept of melody, putting them in the same ballpark as The Aislers Set and The Fairways; jangle-pop with precious wind arrangements, played with freshness and emotion. Their second album, “Way Better Now,” produced by Jari Haapalainen (member of Heikki and The Bear Quartet, but also producer of Ed Harcourt, International Noise Conspiracy, The Concretes and Camera Obscura, with whom these Swedes collaborated on their last album, “Let’s Get Out Of This Country”) is a demonstration of inspiration of a band able to aim in the same way the girl-groups of the 50’s did (The Ronettes in “The State Of Harmony”) and the shoegazers (“Sirens” evokes memories of Slowdive), managing immediately with intelligent melodies, intensity and textures (“Way Better Now”, ”Accident” and “Don’t Fall In Love” are inevitable singles). In conclusion, similar as to how one can read a book over and over again in different ways, the new CD allows the listener to apply his or her own form of listening to the album: the patient way, the urgent, immediate, energetic or melancholic way...This richness is what makes the second album of Speedmarket Avenue so grand. Tracklist: “Sirens”, “Accident”, “Way Better Now”, “Don’t Fall In Love”, “Tell Me No”, “The State Of Harmony”, “Enlightened & Left-Wing Indeed”, “Less Than Ok”, “No Drama” and “Final Wall”.
145 SEK
STILL FLYIN´
LP
Time Wrinkle EJ
Antenna Farm
The San Francisco-based supergroup Still Flyin' was assembled in late 2004 by singer/songwriter Sean Rawls. By the time he arrived on the West Coast he was already a veteran of various Athens, GA bands, including Masters of the Hemisphere and Je Suis France. For the latter band, Rawls wrote a reggae song, "Never Gonna Touch The Ground". The song quickly became a live show staple and crowd favorite. After relocating to San Francisco, the song seemed to have a life of its own and demanded to be jammed. Rawls decided he needed to form a band based on that song and the dream of Still Flyin' was born. He asked virtually everyone he knew in his new city to join the reggae-inspired project, and to everyone's surprise the first practice had fifteen people at it. What might have begun as a lighthearted nod to good times soon became a juggernaut that no one in the band expected, and before long the group had become a San Francisco phenomenon. It didn’t hurt that this nascent supergroup counts members of bands such as Track Star, The Aislers Set, Ladybug Transistor, Love Is All, Maserati, and Red Pony Clock amongst it’s rotating collective. This debut EJ (not an EP, not an album, EJ stands for Extra Jamtime) captures the chaotic energy of the Still Flyin’ experience. Like their legendary live performances, this cd is a rocksteady explosion with the kind of unstoppable jams that it takes 15 people to make. Tracklist: “M'ystery Tent”, ”Rope Burn”, ”Statistics”, ”Big Lord”, ”Coupla Smokies”, “Buffet Lord”, ”Broken Rake Burn”, ”Criminal Tent”, ”More Coupla More Smokies”, ”End Burn” and ”Big Lock”.
125 SEK
TULLYCRAFT
LP
Disenchanted Hearts Unite
Little Teddy
Fourth album by US cult indiepop band Tullycraft that blends pop and punk, responsible for such meta-pop classics as “Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid To Know About” and “Twee”. Tracklist: “Stowaway”, “Our Days In Kansas”, “Every Little Thing”, “Leaders Of The New School”, “The Last Song”, “Molly’s Got A Crush On Us”, “Polaroids From Mars”, “Rumble With The Gang Debs”, “Fall 4 U”, “Girl About Town”, “Building The Robot” and “Secretly Minnesotan”.
145 SEK
TULLYCRAFT
LP
Beat Surf Fun
Little Teddy
Third album by US cult indiepop band Tullycraft that blends pop and punk, responsible for such meta-pop classics as “Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid To Know About” and “Twee”. Tracklist: “Twee”, “Glitter & Twang”, ”Christine, ND”, ”Wild Bikini”, ”DIY Queen”, ”Cowgirls On Parade”, ”I Kept The Beach Boys”, ”Orange Cake Mix”, ”Knockout”, ”Radio Theme”, ”Sent To The Moon” and ”Who Needs What”.
145 SEK
VARIOUS ARTISTS
LP
Someone To Share My Life With
But Is It Art?
Vinyl only tribute to Television Personalities featuring Lovejoy, BMX Bandits, Swell Maps, Nikki Sudden and more. Liner notes by Alistair Fitchett (Tangents, Unpopular). Tracklist: BMX Bandits “Girl At The Bus-Stop”, Pacific Radio “This Time There's No Happy Ending”, Summer Factory “Look Back In Anger”, Semion “The Prettiest Girl In The World”, Nikki Sudden “If I Could Write Poetry”, Two Angry Men “Part Time Punks”, Lovejoy ”Someone To Share My Life With (rehearsal mix)”, Swell Maps “14th Floor”, The Shambles “If I Could Write Poetry”, The Higher Elevations “The Engine Driver Song” and Jonathan Caws-Elwitt “Geoffrey Ingram”.
100 SEK
THE VASELINES
LP
Enter The Vaselines
Sub Pop
The Vaselines have long been celebrated by musicians and music enthusiasts across genres and across the globe, including super-fan Kurt Cobain. Sub Pop’s release of “Enter The Vaselines” is an opportunity for those already familiar with the Scottish band’s brief career to delve deeper into their body of work, while those new to their music can experience firsthand why so many hold them in such high regard. This new collection is effectively a deluxe-edition reissue of the 1992 Sub Pop release “The Way Of The Vaselines” with a new title and new cover art from the band, and a whole lot of new material (the entirety of the 17-song second CD/third LP has been added). Originally mastered from a cassette tape, “The Way Of The Vaselines” compiled the band’s two EPs (“Son Of A Gun” and “Dying For It”) and their sole LP release (“Dum-Dum”). Enter The Vaselines is the definitive triple LP/double CD Vaselines collection. It includes new mixes and re-mastered versions of everything by The Vaselines, plus never-before-heard demos, and live recordings from 1986 in Bristol and 1988 in London. This triple(!) LP includes a coupon for free download of the entire album. Tracklist: “Son Of A Gun”, “Rory Rides Me Raw”, “You Think You’re A Man”, “Dying For It”, “Molly’s Lips”, “Teenage Superstars”, “Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam”, “Sex Sux (Amen)”, “Slushy”, “Monsterpussy”, “Bitch”, “No Hope”, “Oliver Twisted”, “The Day I Was A Horse”, “Dum Dum”, “Hairy”, “Lovecraft”, “Dying For It (The Blues)”, “Let’s Get Ugly”, “Son Of A Gun (Demo)”, “Rosary Job (Demo)”, “Red Poppy (Demo)”, “Son Of A Gun (Live In Bristol)”, “Rosary Job (Live In Bristol)”, “Red Poppy (Live In Bristol)”, “Rory Rides Me Raw (Live In Bristol)”, “You Think You’re A Man (Live In Bristol)”, “Dying For It (Live In London)”, “Monsterpussy (Live In London)”, “Let’s Get Ugly (Live In London)”, “Molly’s Lips (Live In London)”, “The Day I Was A Horse (Live In London)”, “The Day I Was A Horse (Again) (Live In London)”, “Sex Sux (Amen) (Live In London)”, “I Didn’t Know I Loved You (‘Til I Saw You Rock ‘N’ Roll) (Live In London)” and “Teenage Superstars (Live In London)”.
175 SEK
WIMP FACTOR 14
LP
Ankle Deep
Little Teddy
”Ankle Deep” is the only album by US 90’s indiepop band Wimp Factor 14, released on CD by Harriet records and on LP by Little Teddy. Frank Boscoe (who was namedropped in Tullycraft’s “Twee” by the way) later went on to form Vehicle Flips (and then The Gazetteers) after the demise of Wimp Factor 14 and guitarist Gary Miklusek started Tullycraft. This LP version features two bonustracks and a booklet. Tracklist: “Jittery And Wobbling”, “The Heart Of My Stupefaction”, “I Is For Incomplete”, “Steam Rolling, But It Wasn't Steam Rolling”, “How To Avoid Losing Small Objects”, “Stationary From Work”, “(It's Ok To Work For) Rockwell International”, “Role Model Glue”, “Ankle Of Repose”, “Tale Of The Loophole Guy”, “Stratego”, “Holiday Park Flyer”, “1993 Comeback Player Of The Year”, “Adjustment”, “Change Of Address Kit” and “Sick Building Syndrome”.
145 SEK
VIVIAN GIRLS
LP
Everything Goes Wrong
In The Red
Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls are back with “Everything Goes Wrong”, released almost exactly a year after In The Red’s reissue of their self-titled debut. The band have taken their time with this new album and recorded it in six days - rather than the three their debut took - though many of the songs were still recorded in single takes. Over the last year, the Vivian Girls have toured the US and Europe extensively, received a considerable amount of national and international press, sparked fierce debate as to whether they are a refreshing blast of unselfconscious punk rock energy or a crew of contemptible, incompetent posers and, perhaps most significant of all, become the subject of a question on the Jeopardy game show. “Everything Goes Wrong” is a darker, moodier album than its predecessor, with a couple tracks clocking in at almost twice the length of anything on their debut. That said, the influences remain the same; Ramones, ‘60s girl groups, surf, indie pop, etc., etc. This is immediately classic stuff. Watch for constant touring in late ‘09 and ‘10. Tracklist: “Walking Alone at Night”, “I Have No Fun”, “Can’t Get Over You”, “Desert”, “Tension”, “Survival”, “The End”, “When I’m Gone”, “Out for the Sun”, “I’m Not Asleep”, “Double Vision”, “You’re My Guy” and “Before I Start to Cry”.
140 SEK