Liechtenstein is back! Since 2007, this Gothenburg band has mixed vocal harmonies with post punk and warmed indiepop hearts in all corners of the world with six singles and the debut album ”Survival Strategies In A Modern World”. Five years after the first release ”Stalking Skills”, it’s finally time for Liechtenstein’s second album ”Fast Forward” – eleven pop songs that raise the band to a whole new level. This album is a pop gem filled with catchy post punk, jangly guitars, trumpets, piano and vocal harmonies, all arranged and produced with a sensitive touch. The production is crispier than before, emphasizing the vocals and putting focus on the lyrics. Because pop songs that make you want to dance has always only been one part of Liechtenstein, while the political side to the band, the commenting upon and depicting the time we live in, has been what really distinguishes Liechtenstein.

With songs like ”Heads On Golden Plates”, ”No Idealists Left” and ”Fast Forward”, Liechtenstein has created a strong (and dark) description of today’s Sweden. At the same time, it’s a record that picks up the musical heritage from the British 80’s pop scene, a time when bands like The Housemartins and McCarthy made the kids dance with their fists in the air. And who knows, it might happen again? [listen]

Previously available as a super-limited CDR release, this crucial reissue is nothing short of a lost classic of US crash-pop. Helmed by English Singles/Ski Instructors main man Scott Miller, this is in that great lineage of TVPs/McTells, but just overflowing with heart, energy and those great tunes that Scott is well-known for. Eight great tunes, and cut at 45 rpm for maximum oomph. Alas, these came with slightly dinged corners, but this record is so limited and so GREAT that we think/hope you won't mind. (LISTEN/DOWNLOAD)

Gorgeous, melancholic pop in the lineage of New Order and Trembling Blue Stars. Ten lovely songs (and two interludes) that bring to mind rain-streaked streets and black-and-white movies. (LISTEN)

Very limited 7" EP on Violet & Claire out of Japan. Don't miss the super-great Bee Gees cover!

Japanese CD edition on the great Plancha label. Comes in a really sharp gatefold mini-LP jacket and includes 3 exclusive bonus tracks.

Super great pop from members of Pants Yell!, The Reports and Big Troubles. Tough but melodic, we can't to hear more from these fellas. Limited to 300 copies, with hand-screened sleeves. (listen)

The logical bubbling up of years absorbing the arcane musical corners of the 60s, 70s, and 80s - where utopian folk visions, pop-art obsessions, giddy punk and new wave sheen all make perfect sense. S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G? Well, without hyperbole, we can say that it is, to us, the most enjoyable one minute, forty-five seconds put on tape in a long, long time. The Style Council stripped of pomp and set to a thunderous low-end rumble, 'S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G' is disposable in all the right ways, the perfect mod-pop soundtrack to your no-longer-dull walk down the street. (watch)

Louis Jones, the musician behind Spectrals, presents his debut EP entitled Spectrals Extended Play. The EP is a collection of new and previously unreleased songs. From the town of Heckmondwike, ten miles south-west from Leeds, Louis is softly spoken with a shock of ginger hair. Brought up on a mixture of 60 and 70s soul, Motown and doo-wop, Spectrals’ influences include Phil Spector (hence the name), Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Isley Brothers, as well as garage rock. Having previously released singles with Captured Tracks (Dum Dum Girls, Wild Nothing, Ganglians), Suplex Cassettes (Teeth!!!) and Tough Love Records (Health, Male Bonding, Becoming Real), the Spectrals Extended Play shows a progression in Louis’ music. Recorded completely on analogue in a local studio, there is a notable difference in the production on the EP and his previous bedroom-esque recordings.

The new single “Passion For Water”, the fifth one from Liechtenstein, displays a somewhat new sound. The patented vocal harmonies are of course still present, as well as the feel for making fantastic pop melodies, but the sound is clearer, and the melodies more summery and groovy The jangly title track is probably the most dancy Liechtenstein song so far, and it brings to mind an imaginary eighties British beach party, where Mighty Mighty, The Siddeleys, The Desert Wolves and The Man From Delmonte have been mixed into a cooling pop cocktail. With the trumpet raising “Passion For Water” to new heights, and the careful arrangements and beautiful vocal harmonies reminiscent of Dolly Mixture on “Spending Time With You”, this is a Liechtenstein partly searching for new directions. However, the earlier post punk influences are not forgotten but represented by the finishing, short and punk-oriented “On The Tram”. (Listen)

A companion to our just-released Never Mine single, this great 7" features two more ace new tunes. "Walk Into The World" might be their most pop moment yet. Total greatness.

I guess you can call The Soft City an “indiepop supergroup” with former members of bands like Comet Gain, Kicker, Ladybug Transistor, A Boy Named Thor and Crystal Stilts. The band started as the solo project of Phil Sutton (Comet Gain, Kicker), and with the help of some friends, he recorded a 3 track ep for Cloudberry Records in 2007. On the Cloudberry-single, Sutton did the vocals himself, but on the new album, Dora Lubin sings on all songs. The Soft City is no longer a solo-project, but a full band. Dora Lubin’s strong vocals remind me of someone, but I really can’t tell who. It’s someone good, I know that much. The Soft City’s self-titled debut-album is full of lovely pop songs with great melodies and jangly guitars. When I listen to these songs, I get the same feeling as I do when I listen to songs by The Go-Betweens and especially the ones Grant McLennan wrote. They may be upbeat and happy, but there’s always some kind of thoughtful melancholy beneath the happy melodies. I like that a lot.

My favourites on the album are many, but “Falling Star”, with its lovely, lovely chorus and layered guitars is one of the stronger songs here. “Young and dumb” is also especially good. It’s a bouncy pop-song with great organs and a wonderful chorus. It’s one of those songs that’s not easy to get out of your head. - Knut at Eardrums

One of our very favorite groups from the early 90s, Australia's The Pearly Gatecrashers recorded several albums, singles and Eps of peerless pop in the vein of Heavenly, The Flatmates, etc. Plastilina has graced us with this excellent comp of previously unreleased tunes. A winner. [info, listen]

Post Lorelei instrumental post-everything Kraut-ish bump-and-swing.

Rather mysterious EP from this sadly defunct DC group. Featuring members of Velocity Girl, Tree Fort Angst, The Ropers, Glo-Worm, Boyracer, Black Tambourine, Lu, St. Christopher, Lilys, The Castaway Stones, The Still, Heartworms and Whorl to um name just a few, the Peeps shone brightly for a few years in the early 00s, delivering a handful of singles, an excellent LP and this final EP. Featuring seven full songs and several fragments, the band's trademark blend of Byrds/Zombies/Orange Juice is in full evidence. Great stuff, and now a rather rare artifact.