News, updated October 5, 2008
On this page: read about recent releases from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Cause Co-Motion!, Phil Wilson, The Lodger and Sarandon.
Pre-order The Pains of Being Pure At Heart's Everything With You 7" now
Every now and then there's a band that pops up whose sheer enthusiasm in making music, that joy in finding the RIGHT songs and playing them the RIGHT way is so obvious that it's just contagious. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart is one of those bands.
Since forming in early 2007 the Pains have released a string of EPs and singles to increasingly rapturous reception. Now we have their brand new 7" single in hand, and we think you'll agree that it's the most infectious blast of pop perfection you will hear all year. Taken from their forthcoming debut album (due in January 2009), "Everything With You" is a tidy distillation of all the great noise-pop precedents - early MBV, House of Love, Pale Saints, Rocketship - but with that incredible exuberance and energy that the Pains bring to every song.
You can go to the Everything With You page for more info and a preview MP3. For a limited time we're offering a discounted pre-order price, just use the PayPal buttons below. Don't delay, these singles will go fast. Please note, we are co-releasing this single with Fortuna Pop (Europe) and Lost & Lonesome (Australia). Please support your local independent record label.
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Bits & pieces…
- We found another small cache of Boyracer's AUL 36X 7" EPs. The last ones went almost immediately, and I expect these will do the same.
- The Aislers Set's The Red Door single is now sold-out.
- Cause Co-Motion! are not just a great band, they're also music fans and record collectors of the first order. If you need any evidence, have a look at Dusted's September 10th edition of Listed, featuring ten picks by the band. We liked the selection so much we asked them to knock together a little podcast for us to soundtrack the feature. So here it is, ten gems from Cause Co-Motion! to you.
- Team I Smiled Yesterday return with a massive mix of summertime punk 'n' soul: Untouchable Sound. From the northern soul stompers to lo-fi garage pop to jittery post-punk funk, the ISY boys got you covered. Don't sleep.
Cause Co-Motion! I Lie Awake out now!
Following a series of increasingly rad singles on labels like What's Yr Rupture? and the band's own Can't Cope, Cause Co-Motion! bring their patented reverb-happy pop to Slumberland in the form of the I Lie Awake EP, and it just fits like a glove.
A blazing chaos of jangle, clatter, and thump - busted strings and broken hearts. Hummable tunes to scratch that TVPs/Pastels/Comet Gain itch, with more than a dash of 14 Iced Bears and Desperate Bicycles in there too. Sounding for all the world like dispatches from a future Messthetics comp, there are three doses of pure DIY pop pleasure, straight from the garage to your ears, feet and heart. If you liked previous classics like "This Time Next Year" and "Take A Look" then you will love the I Lie Awake EP.
Check out the I Lie Awake page for an MP3 and complete info. Then use one of the handy buttons below to order the single and get a sporty Slumberland badge as a bonus. You can't beat that! Also, please note that all three songs on this single will also be included on Cause Co-Motion!'s It's Time! singles compilation CD, to be released on Slumberland October 28. If you dig vinyl as much as we do, though, you will want this ace single.
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Coming soon…
On October 28th, we will be following up Cause Co-Motion!'s I Lie Awake single with It's Time!, a fourteen song compilation CD of all four Cause Co-Motion! singles, plus their side of the split with Jowe Head. It's Time! is one concentrated dose of frantic pop power, and a long-asked-for item for the vinyl-challenged.
On October 28th we will also release Alight of Night, the debut album by Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts. There has been a huge amount of buzz about Crystal Stilts lately, and it is well-deserved. They have a totally unique sound that blends minimal post-punk (Velvets go to Dunedin by way of Manchester) with a classicist guitar twang and radiant pop appeal that would not sound out of place on an early Mary Chain b-side. Way more than just a sum of cool influences, the Stilts have managed to forge something new and vital from timeless chunks of rock's primordial source material. Alight of Night is a brilliant album full of mystery, fuzz, croon, twang, throb and oh those tunes. An absolute corker. Look for Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion! together touring the West Coast starting around Halloween.
We are also preparing a fine batch of releases from a pair of Glasgow's grooviest young bands. First up is the long-awaited Sisters Are Forever 7" from the quite glamorous Sexy Kids (ex-Royal We — if you don't know get to know!), an infectious blend of sing-along pop with spiky post-punk angularity descended from such fine forebears as Girls At Our Best, Bis and The Raincoats. Also on tap is the equally-anticipated album from Bricolage. Since their debut single "Footsteps," Bricolage have dazzled with their smartly updated Sound of Young Scotland. With touches of glam, 70s harmonies, 80s DIY pop and mad piles of Bricolage flavor, the band have truly outdone themselves and we look forward to bringing this super album to you early in 2009.
Phil Wilson Industrial Strength out now!
As the creative force behind seminal 80s English pop titans The June Brides, Phil Wilson should require no introduction. The June Brides were active during that critical period in the mid-80s when savvy bands were consolidating the lessons of punk and laying the groundwork for what we might now call indie-pop. The June Brides' sterling pop tunes, urgent playing and literate lyrics placed them in the A-League with groups like The Loft, Jasmine Minks and Hurrah!
After the dissolution of the Brides, Phil recorded a series of superb solo singles for Creation and Caff, but then dropped out of the music industry for nearly 20 years. Now he's back, and we're awfully pleased to be able to bring you his Industrial Strength EP. A rather interesting record it is too, featuring acoustic drone-folk covers of Faust, Throbbing Gristle, S/T and Kraftwerk. Phil digs down to the surprisingly melodic tune at the core of each of these songs, and re-imagines them in a totally unique way. Spread out over four sides of a double 7", this record is a brilliant and mesmerizing treat made all the sweeter by being wrapped in a fine sleeve designed by Alistair Fitchett of the Unpopular label and blog.
Check out the EP info page for samples of Neon Lights (originally by Kraftwerk) and It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl (originally by Faust) to get an idea of how cool this record is. The price for this double single is $6, plus postage for two singles. Use the convenient buttons below to order via PayPal (postage included), or email us for totals when combining with other records from our catalog.
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Not a moment too soon, two new Searching For The Now singles. Now.
Slumberland's summer 2008 campaign continues with the long-awaited installments 3 and 4 in our Searching For The Now split single series. What took so long, you ask? Hey, you can't rush perfection, and we think that when you wrap your ears around these two little beauties you will agree that they were worth the wait.
First up is Searching For The Now 3, featuring the unique shoegaze stylings of A Sunny Day In Glasgow going head-to-head with the elegant Trembling Blue Stars-meets-Brighter strum of The Sunny Street. ASDIG chip in with a unique take of The Pastels' "Sometimes I Think About You," while The Sunny Street grace us with the melodic gem that is "Pottery & Glass." Aces.
Searching For The Now 4 also delivers the goods. One side is held down in fine fashion by NYC's masters of fuzz-pop, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. There's been a lot of talk about the greatness of The POBPAH lately, and "Come Saturday" should further cement their already sterling reputation. And finally, we end this set of singles with the distorted, driving "Let's Go!" from Australian kids of the moment Summer Cats. A raving pop blast that is 100% guaranteed to get you pogoing around your sitting room.
So there you have it, two essential new singles. Both pressed on color vinyl and smartly-dressed in spiffy letterpress sleeves courtesy of our friends at ferdinand. Yes, they are quite limited so you will no doubt want to act fast. The singles are $4.00 each plus postage, and you can use these handy buttons to buy them right now via PayPal:
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Out now: The Lodger Life Is Sweet
Man oh man are we excited about this album! Following up a great debut album like Grown-Ups is no mean task, but The Lodger come up trumps with their fabulous new album Life Is Sweet.
If you've heard the lead-off single The Good Old Days, you have some idea of how great this record is. Synthesizing all that we love about great pop bands like Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and The Go-Betweens, The Lodger have crafted a set of songs that pay respects to classics of the past but still burst with fresh invention. Focussing on song-writing and arranging, the group have expanded their sonic palette with judicious use of pedal steel, violin and 12-string and in doing so have put together what is surely one of the top pop albums of the year.
But don't take our word for it; mosey on over to the album page for more information, reviews and sample mp3s and dig the greatness that is Life Is Sweet. When ordering (and of course you will want to order this record!), please note that we are offering package deals: for a limited time you can buy both Lodger albums on either vinyl or CD for only $16 plus postage. Also, you can add on a fine Lodger t-shirt for just an additional $6. Sizes available are: girl's M/L and adult S/M/L/XL. Act fast before we wake up and realize what a mad deal this is!
Sarandon say: Kill Twee Pop!
Sarandon have always impressed us with their passion, talent for crafting brief, shoutable anthems and wicked sense of humor. Taking their cues from the "other" side of C86, Sarandon pick up where bands like Big Flame, The Wolfhounds and Bogshed left off. Their tense, abrasive sound cross-breeds pop with the urgency and noise-loving aesthetic of punk. The results are catchy, bristly and totally distinctive.
Now we're quite proud to announce the release of Sarandon's debut album Kill Twee Pop!. With main man Crayola now ably aided by Alan Brown (Big Flame, Great Leap Forward) on bass and Tom Greenhalgh on drums, Sarandon have solidified into a frighteningly powerful trio, and Kill Twee Pop! appropriately overflows with confidence, humor and wit. With some tunes creeping towards the three minute limit the band are now letting things develop a bit more, and the variety of songs and sound on offer mark this as a proper album.
Kill Twee Pop! is out now on compact disc and 10" blue vinyl. Order now and get a free full-colour poster and nifty Sarandon badge while supplies last. You can go to the album page for more information, reviews and sample mp3s.