Helmed by Terry Malts/Smokescreens/Magic Bullets member Corey Cunningham, Business of Dreams eschews the punk/indie guitar approach of those bands for something softer and less guitar-focused. Hearkening back to the mid-80s melding of synths and indiepop, Business of Dreams' 2017 eponymous debut was an unexpected pleasure that topped many savvy listeners' year-end lists. With his new album "Ripe For Anarchy," Cunningham has honed the songwriting with an eye towards regret, existence, and perseverance. The mantra here is this: it's time to let go. "The album is about living in the moment, shedding neurosis, and the desire to discard the general societal malaise we'e been roped into." The lush tunes abound with references to The Go-Betweens, The Smiths and The Field Mice -- beautiful melodies underpinning songs about the wounded, the lonely and the mournful. Perfect, timeless pop.

LP » $15.00 CD » $9.00

Over the course of his 30+ year career, David Callahan has charted a distinct course. From the angular pop of The Wolfhounds to the experimental post/art rock of Moonshake and back to the sharper-than-ever recently reformed Wolfhounds, Callahan is always known for smart, unsparing lyrics, a fierce DIY ethic and an ever-inquisitive sonic adventurism. Now for Slumberland's SLR30 Singles Series Callahan is set to release his first official solo recordings. Minimally recorded at home with an acoustic guitar, sampler, glockenspiel and a couple of friends guesting on harmonies, the double A-side cuts of "Strange Lovers" and "Waiting For The Cut-Off" reveal a subtler, though still intense, side to his songwriting.

7" » $7.00

Dolly Dream dwell in a cryptic space where love meets danger, and where enigmatic song can lead one to ecstasy or onto more ambiguous terrain. The dark and dreamy "The Way To Heaven" could be a lost classic from a sock hop in a David Lynch film. Featuring a stellar, heart-tugging vocal performance, the effect is rather like a ballad from a young Brenda Lee or Wanda Jackson. It's the song that made them fall in love. Says Dolly: "It's hard to make an honest love song. What's the most honest thing? Death. Lovers don't wanna think about Death. Yearning is the flip side of mourning. Yearning is the feeling of some future ghost. Dolly Dream is the sound of that ghost." This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series.

7" » $7.00

Papercuts' new album "Parallel Universe Blues" has a sound that is intimate and close, nicely balancing the sonic concerns of the last few Papercuts records: perfect Spectorian pop songs echoed down through The Velvet Underground, LA's Paisley Underground, Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Songs like "Laughing Man," "How To Quit Smoking," "Sing To Me Candy" and "Clean Living" are all gorgeous, melodic gems, never sacrificing song-writing for atmospherics and bringing to mind late night/rainy day albums like "Darklands" and "Chelsea Girl." "Parallel Universe Blues" is a triumph and points to more great things in the future from Quever and Papercuts.

LP » $16.00 CD » $9.00

Sheffield's The Suncharms formed in 1989 out of an indie scene that was just expanding from straight indiepop into territory that would soon be known as shoegaze. Two EPs were released in 1991 on the Wilde Club label; the Slumberland Records crew LOVED those two EPs -- they had all the guitar overload we craved, but wrapped around some unusually crafty pop tunes. Less ethereal or abstract than a lot of shoegaze, accurate reference points might include early Ride or The Boo Radleys. We first approached the band about the possibility of releasing something way back in 1992, but the band broke up soon thereafter and it's taken 25 years and a timely band reformation to finally make this single happen. And it's an absolute corker - melodic and psychedelic, 'gazey but tough and not at all gauzy. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series.

7" » $7.00

Rat Columns, the ever changing musical project of David West and friends, emerged from the desert outpost of Perth, Western Australia in the late 2000s, influenced by largely anglocentric forms such as post-punk and jangle pop and emitting a steady stream of 7"s, EPs and three full length albums along the way. The songs included on this EP were recorded at the same time as their 2017 album Candle Power in Guildford, Western Australia, in a back shed studio on a rambling riverside property. Well-crafted, literate pop in the best tradition of 3rd album Velvet Underground, the Postcard label, early Creation label and The Go-Betweens. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series.

7" » $7.00

Joe Stevens' NYC-based project Peel Dream Magazine is highly evocative of a certain strain of independent music -- a gentle, fuzzy psychedelia, recalling the best of early Stereolab, Lilys and other shaggy haired kids with a penchant for a hypnotic bit of mod-ish lo-fi pop. Written and recorded over a four-week period in the fall of 2017, Peel Dream Magazine's debut album "Modern Meta Physic" fixates on the New Age universe of the Catskills region of New York, an esoteric milieu steeped in Far East philosophy, Native American tradition and mid-century modern cool. Tunes like "Qi Velocity" and "Due to Advances in Modern Tourism" percolate and hum, leading you down a sonic path with markers as varied as Broadcast, Neu!, Steve Reich & Grouper.

LP » $20.00 CD » $9.00 cassette » $7.00

Twenty years after the Beastie Boys first said "Hello Nasty" to the world, D.A. Stern and Jacuzzi Boys are teaming up to celebrate its birthday in the form of a split 7" of covers brought to you by Slumberland Records. Focusing on two fan-favorite deep cuts, the three JBs and one D.A. chose songs that showcase the Beasties' unique versatility while offering messages of mindfulness, emblematic of their later career. "Song For the Man" a Horovitz-penned feminist anthem originally steeped in Sixties psychedelia now sees a garage treatment that only Jacuzzi Boys could deliver while "I Don't Know," once an Adam Yauch bossa nova standout, gets the D.A. Stern treatment replete with jangly guitars and sun-drenched backing vocals.

7" » $7.00

At the peak of media attention over the NME's C86 cassette, The Wolfhounds recorded three four-song sessions for the BBC's legendary John Peel Show between March 1986 and January 1987, capturing all the excitement and youthful exuberance of a band just catching the public imagination. With an energy born of sweaty, rammed gigs in London pubs and a willful experimentation nurtured in suburban bedrooms and garages away from watchful eyes, The Wolfhounds blasted their raw live sound straight to tape with little in the way of overdubs or the more considered studio polish of their excellent albums. Every song from these sessions is now gathered together on Hands In The Till, making a surprisingly coherent whole despite the heady disorganized thrust of the times and a couple of line-up changes in the meantime. More wiry and angular than most of their C86 peers, The Wolfhounds had more in common with The Fall than The Byrds, and Hands In The Till shows them at their caustic best.

LP » $14.00 CD » $9.00

With his brilliant new album "Kill The Lights," West Bay native Tony Molina continues his artistic evolution, steadily moving away from raging Weezer/Teenage Fanclub-style power-pop nuggets fueled by shredding guitar pyrotechnics and Tony's ironclad DIY HC roots to mostly acoustic arrangements that owe as much to "Horizontal"-era Bee Gees and the Fanclub's mellower moments as they do to Georges Harrison and Martin. From the Byrds-y opener "Nothing I Can Say" to the subtly wrenching "Wrong Town" and the gorgeous folk-picking of "Now That She's Gone" we hear Tony synthesizing his influences with great skill and intention These classic folk and pop styles are being employed in the service of stellar songs and universal lyrical truths, reflecting a dedication to craft combined with an intense commitment to self-expression that transcends simplistic genre boundaries and is totally true to Tony's DIY punk roots.

LP » $18.00 CD » $8.00

LA's Smokescreens began as a couple of pals (Chris Rosi from Plateaus, Corey Cunningham from Terry Malts) paying tribute to the seminal 80s sounds of New Zealand's Flying Nun label and has grown to be so much more. Since their self-titled 2017 the band has expanded to a four piece and honed their tunes with constant SoCal gigging. Their new album "Used To Yesterday" continues Smokescreen's zeal for New Zealand pop but also incorporates influences from the more melodic side of Messthetics-era DIY pop and expands into classic indie pop territory, a natural fit for the Slumberland Records roster. From the NZ-meets-Athens GA single "The Lost Song" through the 12-string driven "Waiting For The Summer" to the Paisley Underground-tinged closer "Falling Down," Smokescreens really excel in the quality of their songwriting and their ability to incorporate a disparate set of influences while still forging their own sound and identity.

LP » $15.00 CD » $9.00

D.A. Stern's new single "Isn't It Obvious?" is a sparkling slice of power-pop that examines a doomed asymmetrical relationship with a tune that hearkens back to the classic jangle of Dwight Twilley, The Records and Shoes. Relentlessly upbeat and catchy as a box of fishhooks, it's the sort of three minute pop song that screams "summer" and "play it again." To complement "Isn't It Obvious?" on this EP Stern chose to cover two songs that resonate with him artistically while approaching writing from different angles. Frankie Cosmos' "Art School" gets a feedback-drenched treatment, countering the songs fragility with a haunting, noisy arrangement. Mannequin Pussy's 'My Baby (Axe Nice)" is tough pop confection that gets a suitably energetic workout here, complete with farfisa organ. "My Baby" segues straight into "Tenafly Cop," a Stern original that puts his own unique twist on surf/rock and wraps up the EP in winning fashion.

D.A. Stern, the solo project of David Aaron Stern, is the musical amalgamation of crossword puzzle obsession, backgammon playing, and working as a recording engineer at Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's (aka MCA) studio. Stern's laid back, tongue-in-cheek lyrics effortlessly complement his dreamy pop rock arrangements of dense guitars and swirling organs. The music of D.A. Stern, who is more inspired by filmmakers Albert Brooks and Mel Brooks than any songwriter, could be compared to contemporaries Deerhunter, Real Estate and Yo La Tengo but with the timelessness of Paul Westerberg or the classicist bent of Harry Nilsson. "Aloha Hola" is Stern's debut and it's an assured set of classic pop songs that flirt with folk-pop, power-pop and indiepop while remaining comfortably outside of easy genre categorization. Stern's songwriting talent is in ample evidence on earworm singles like "Am I Ever On Your Mind?" and "Bluedgenes," packed with smart lyrics, chiming guitars and indelible hooks.

CD » $9.00

Glasgow's The Spook School are like indiepop super heroes, conjuring up some of the most infectious pop tunes we've heard in years, rocking crowds around the world, smashing at the gender binary while grappling with obstacles personal and political -- and having a marvelous time while doing it. Could It Be Different?, the band's third long-player, is a collaborative album of personal storytelling that works through life's hardships with positivity — even at their most beaten down, The Spook School manage to find hope, free of naivety. It's a record full of the insecurities and anxiety that arrive after self-awareness, in learning something new and potentially frightening about yourself. But at it's heart is joy — there's no desolation on the LP, because The Spook School manage to find light in moments of darkness. Why cry when you can dance?

LP » $14.00 CD » $9.00

After 2013's "Hereinwild" Frankie Rose relocated to Los Angeles for what turned out to be a journey of frustration, setbacks and ultimately artistic rejuvenation as Frankie moved back to Brooklyn and hit the studio with renewed vigor and purpose. The result of this existential odyssey is Cage Tropical, Frankie's 4th album. It is awash with vintage synths, painterly effects pedals, upside-down atmosphere and reverberating vocals. It evokes a new wave paranormality of sorts that drifts beyond the songs themselves. From with the shimmery, cinematic and percussive sparkling of the album's opening track "Love in Rockets" to the motorik groove of first single "Trouble" to the epic closer "Decontrol," Cage Tropical is a bold and beautiful statement of purpose from an artist who is once again 100% in control of her music. Mysterious but focused, it is personal redemption turned into fine art.

LP » $17.00 CD » $9.00

Real Numbers follow up their future-classic album Wordless Wonder with this terrific new single. The A-side features a new version of album favorite "Frank Infatuation" - a delirious slice of DIY pop that'd make any fan of early TVPs, The McTells or Cause Co-Motion sit up and take notice. The B-side slows things down for the Pastels-esque ballad "Leave It Behind." Lovely.

After a rather twisted 2016 of travel, change and discovery, Young Guv is back with this new single "Traumatic." Recorded at home on trusty 1/4" analog tape, it's a self-reflective and personal audio snapshot that contrasts nicely with the loud 'n' gritty Ripe 4 Luv. "Traumatic" rides a bubbling programmed groove, blending echo-laden vocals with understated rhythm guitar and a catchy synth hook into a magical new wave roots-pop amalgam. "It Could Be Me" is a classic major chord confection, hearkening back to that cusp-of-the-80s genius of Shoes, Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour. As always the songs are stuffed with lovely harmonies and heart-stopping melodies, never losing site of power-pop's roots in Buddy Holly, The Beatles and Big Star.

7" » $6.50