News, updated February 5, 2010
The Twentieth Anniversary shows hit the west coast
So, it was initially our plan to follow-up the east coast Slumberland anniversary shows with shows on the west coast just a few weeks later. But logistics got complicated, we got even busier than usual, and it became obvious that we'd have to wait until 2010. Well, we're super pleased to announce that March 27th and 28th we'll be hosting a pair of shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles that are practically brain-melting to think about. The current roster will be represented by the a-team of Brown Recluse, Summer Cats, Pants Yell!, Neverever, Devon Williams and Brilliant Colors. Where things get even crazier is with some of the bands that we've somehow managed to coax out of retirement.
Hold onto your hats: Henry's Dress (first show in 13 years, full original line-up), Go Sailor (first show in 14 years!), The How (third show ever) and Boyracer (last shows ever? only Stew knows for sure!). That's quite a line-up, no? Both shows are all ages and start early to fit in all the bands. Check out the show info page for more info (the line-ups are slightly different between the two nights) and links to buy tickets. These shows are absolutely guaranteed to sell-out well in advance, and I reckon you won't get another chance to see some of these bands play, so don't sleep!
Goodbye, 2009
Last year was nothing short of mind-boggling for us, for so many reasons. It was our twentieth year of operation, which is a milestone I certainly never expected to hit when we released the What Kind of Heaven Do You Want? compilation 7" in December 1989. There have been a lot of ups and downs since then, but I'm immensely proud of everything the label has accomplished. And I would have to say that 2009 was, rather unexpectedly, our biggest year yet. We released twenty-two records last year, each one a crucial chapter in the Slumberland story. We watched one of our bands play on national television, while other bands criss-crossed the globe bringing their great music with them. And we capped off the year with two brilliant nights in DC and Brooklyn, as we celebrated our twentieth anniversary in fine style.
Hello, 2010!
Don't expect any let-up in 2010. We're kicking off the year's new releases on March 8 with the excellent "Your Timetable" 7" from Summer Cats, who will also be touring the US the first three weeks of March. March 30 will bring the long-awaited return to vinyl for Black Tambourine. This is no mere reissue, though; we've added unreleased songs, new liner notes and a trove of never-before-seen photos of the band, all wrapped up in a spiffy gatefold sleeve. Simply entitled Black Tambourine, this will be one of the unmissable releases of the year. On the reissue front, we're also working on an LP-only release of Chin Chin's scarce Sound of The Westway album, that we'll be co-releasing with Mississippi Records in April. Also in progress are new singles from Manatee and Brilliant Colors, and albums from The Lodger, Neverever, Brown Recluse, Devon Williams and Frankie Rose & The Outs. As amazing as 2009 was for Slumberland, we're looking to make 2010 just as remarkable.
Bits & pieces…
- We are total suckers for some rocking bubblegum sounds, and Tim Sendra's The None More Twee Bubblepunksoul Dance Party podcast delivers in spades. Mashing up classics from The Osmonds and Tommy Roe with rarities from Rick Springfield and Little Eva and doses of gallic greatness from Sylvie Vartan and Jacques Dutronc, this one blazes from start to finish.
- Now SOLD-OUT: The Mantles Bad Design 7", The Lodger Grown-Ups on vinyl, Searching For The Now Vol. 3 7", and the Rose Melberg/Magpies split flexi.
- We know how hard it can be sometimes to find new releases, especially on vinyl, so we are launching a new section of the site to showcase stuff we sell that is not on Slumberland. For the most part it's records by Slumberland bands on other labels, but we may expand it to include more releases from labels we like. Keep an eye on this page for frequent additions; we just restocked Cause Co-Motion!'s "Who's Gonna Care?" 7" EP and got a handful of copies of the Mississippi reissue of Chin Chin's legendary "We Don't Wanna Be Prisoners" 7".
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart release new four-song EP
Not content to rest on the laurels of having one of the best and most talked-about albums of 2009, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart are back with Higher Than The Stars, four brand-new songs that do what the band does best – breathe fresh life into indie-pop with exuberance, charm and of course quality tunes.
From the New Wave-flavored bliss of "Higher Than The Stars" to the crashing power-pop of new live favorite "Twins," this EP is both a perfect summation of what The Pains are all about and a signpost to the future. Fizzy noise-pop is present and correct in the form of "103," and the band switches gears a bit for the brooding 80s-esque "Falling Over." Capping things off we have a series of remixes from Saint Etienne, DJ Downfall, Skanfrom and Others In Conversation. We were thrilled to hear how these producers remodeled the Pains' originals and hope you will be too.
You can go to the EP info page for a complete break-down of the track-listings on all the formats. The remix-only 12" is finally in stock and ready to ship!
| Listen: "Higher Than The Stars" | add to my cart » | 7" | 12" | CDEP | |||
| Remix 12" | |||||||
Still available:
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Come Saturday 7" single
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Young Adult Friction 7" single
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: self-titled LP/CD
Brilliant Colors debut album out now!
Singer/guitarist Jess Scott started Brilliant Colors in early 2007, and she's been mighty busy since then. 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 marks a great leap forward for Brilliant Colors. The band has honed their songwriting to a fine edge, delivering ten tracks of sharp, catchy indie pop that finds them assuredly rounding out the corners of their DIY punk-meets-Shop Assistants, '78-'86 pop collision. Introducing is a sharp debut album packed with taut guitar buzz and dreamy melodies that strikes a perfect middle ground between the crunch and drive of punk and the spiky DIY melodicism of early Rough Trade and Flying Nun bands.
Clocking in at barely twenty-four minutes, Introducing's focus and concision is the perfect encapsulation of where we think pop should be in 2009. For more info and preview MP3s check out the album info page. The vinyl LP comes with a code for a free download.
| Listen: "Absolutely Anything" | add to my cart » | LP | CD |
Pants Yell! join Team Slumberland for their fourth album
Some of the best pop bands have made it their mission to evoke 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. The trio is the vehicle for singer-guitarist Andrew Churchman's modestly proportioned but perfectly realized songs. 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. 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 their remarkable follow-up, Received Pronunciation. In nine songs and 26 minutes they make a greater emotional impact than an album twice as long and at double the volume. This is pop that doesn't need to raise its voice or shake its fist; it wins you with its mind and its heart. For more info and preview MP3s check out the album info page. Both LP and CD come in snazzy faux-Japanese packaging complete with obi strips, and the LP includes a code for a free download. In stores November 10.
| Listen: "Cold Hands" | add to my cart » | LP | CD |
Frankie Rose delivers debut solo single
As a founding member, songwriter, instrumentalist and vocalist in Vivian Girls and drummer and occasional vocalist in Crystal Stilts, Frankie Rose has been an integral part of two of the most highly acclaimed and influential groups to come out of Brooklyn's still-vital music scene in the past several years. Her solo project not only reflects the aesthetic earmarks of both those groups, but it also reveals her as a fully-formed artist in her own right.
Ms. Rose's music is haunted by the ghosts of 60s girl group, Brill Building, and 80s and 90s noise pop in equal measure. It's a spooky, lovely sound -- Frankie's ethereal yet affectation-free voice swirling in a sea of church-like harmonies over a bed of tambourines, bells, and propulsive drumming. Recalling in spirit such groups as The Aislers Set and Black Tambourine, Frankie's music is both timeless and immediate, both deeply personal and completely universal.
Pitchfork cited her song "Where Do You Run To?" as one of the best of 2008, and now with much anticipation we are excited to bring you Frankie's debut 7". Recorded at Marlborough Farms Studio with Gary Olson, Kyle Forrester and Crystal Stilts' J.B. Townsend, Thee Only One is a perfect slice of surf-tinged noise-pop. Laden with rumbling reverb and tangy guitar twang, it's an ideal tune with which to wrap up another (almost) endless summer. On the flip, "Hollow Life" is a more subdued affair, spectral psychedelia that resembles nothing so much as Opal's Kendra Smith at her most haunting. You can go to the single info page for more info and a preview MP3. All copies are pressed on green vinyl.
| Listen: "Thee Only One" | add to my cart » | 7" |
First solo record since 1995 for Gregory Webster
Gregory Webster has recorded for some pretty impressive scene setting labels over the past 25 years. The list includes seminal UK indie labels Creation, Sarah Records and The Subway Organisation, plus indiepop bastions from Australia to the USA. Now Slumberland Records is pleased to join in the fun.
Promised Land sees Gregory returning to matters of the heart, utilizing the acoustic 12 string based sound familiar to those who have seen his regular PopFest performances in recent years. Although never foolish enough to adopt the mannerisms of another culture for his own, Gregory's love of American folk and country greats such as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams clearly shines through. In fact the b-side is a radically different interpretation of Hank Williams' lesser known classic "Won't You Sometimes Think of Me?"
Simplicity rules throughout, complementing the naked honestly of the songwriting. Gregory's signature 12 string sound is augmented by haunting harmonium accompaniment from The Birthday Girl (Vatican Cellars) and beautifully uplifting vocal flourishes provided by Pam Berry of Slumberland's own legendary Black Tambourine. Go to the single info page for more info and a preview MP3. A co-release with Where It's At Is Where You Are. Please support your local indie label.
| Listen: "Promised Land" | add to my cart » | 7" |
The Bats make a welcome return to vinyl
The Bats are legends of New Zealand music, standing tall alongside contemporaries The Clean and The Chills as linchpins of the Flying Nun label and the Dunedin/Christchurch scene. Over the course of 25 years, 7 albums and 4 world tours, the original line-up of Robert Scott, Malcolm Grant, Paul Kean and Kaye Woodward remains intact and still creating vital pastoral pop gems.
The Don't You Rise EP gathers up four tunes from 1998 and 2003, helping to complete the discographical picture leading up to the release of their current album, The Guilty Office. Featuring the electric violin on Alastair Galbraith (who last featured on The Bats' Law of Things), "That's How You Found Me" would fit in perfectly on any classic Bats album and mesmerized with its folk-pop groove. "You Don't Belong" is a moody gem, while "Don't You Rise"'s country-inflected strum is a live favorite.
"Face Inside The Sun" rounds out the record in fine form, a mid-tempo sing-along that sounds straight off of Daddy's Highway. A pretty special EP then, and ample evidence that 25 years after forming, The Bats still earn their legendary status. Go to the single info page for more info and a preview MP3.
| Listen: "Face Inside The Sun" | add to my cart » | 7" |