slumberland records

keeping it foolish since 1989

NOTE: We will be on holiday from November 23rd-Dec 1st; mail order resumes on Dec 2nd.

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Go Sailor were a great, short-lived band from the mid-90s who represent a key link in the US indie music chain. Featuring Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, The Softies, Gaze, Brave Irene), Linton (Henry's Dress, The Aislers Set) and Paul Curran (Crimpshrine), they released three great singles and a few compilation tracks, and then went their separate ways. But what records they are! Basic and lovely in their song-writing, they're perfect snapshots of where indie-pop was during that last burst of pre-internet indie activity. Touching on time-honored themes friendship and love (lost and found), they resonate with honesty and purity of intention.

While the themes might sound super-sensitive, the music is anything but garden-variety twee-pop. Rose's scrappy guitar was backed by Linton and Paul's sparkplug rhythm section, each song vibrating with enthusiasm and punk rock energy. Tunes like "I'm Still Crying," "Windy" and their ace cover of Nar's "Blue Sky" are as rambunctious and infectious as pop comes, showing the band's roots in the Bay Area punk scene. And the hits just keep on coming: "Ray of Sunshine" and "Long Distance" are total classics, while "Bigger Than The Ocean" slows the pace down for a couple's dance. Paul takes the lead on "The Boy Who Sailed Around The World," wrapping up this flawless record with one of the band's live favorites.

Go Sailor reunited in the early 2010s to play to enraptured crowds at the NYC and Athens Popfests, and their appearance at the Slumberland 20th Anniversary show was the stuff of legend. This album compiles all three of their singles plus compilation tracks and was first released on vinyl in 2011. Due to pressing plant issues it quickly went out of print and that's just not right, so we are very happy to bring you this 11th anniversary edition, back on vinyl where it belongs.