The Bay Area's Smiles are back with their second 7" and what a blast it is. Superbly-crafted pop is the order of the day here, with echoes of everything from prime Teenage Fanclub to Big Star to the southern power-pop of folks like Dwight Twilley and Tommy Hoehn. "Gone For Good" is 3:33 of pop perfection, with a marvelous melody, heavenly harmonies and a bit of a triumphant guitar solo sneaking in at the end. On the flip side we get another gem in "This Boy," a brief tune that still feels fully-formed, rather in the style of fellow West Bay songsmith Tony Molina. It's developing into quite the scene they have down there, and as long as the results are as thrilling as this single we can't wait to hear what's next. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.

Formerly based in Baltimore, Wildhoney have moved to the west coast and are now releasing their first new music in over two years. "Naive Castle" shows a new side to the band, dialing down some of the shoegaze haze in favor of gorgeous, chiming pop that recalls the finest from bands like The Sundays and The Cranberries. It's the perfect soundtrack to these melancholic days as summer turns to fall. On the b-side you'll find a dreamy, late-night cover of Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me" that brings a wasted weariness to this tale of teenage yearning. It's a beautiful, earnest take on a tune that turns out to be a perfect match for Wildhoney's swooning style. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Formed in 2014 during a summer spent obsessing about Sarah Records, Michigan band Failed Flowers are a shadowy group, evoking elements of C86, indie, pop and shoegaze. The current line-up coalesced in 2015 around guitarist/singers Anna Burch and Fred Thomas, bassist Erin Davis and drummer Miles Haney. "Faces" is the first song Anna brought to the band, a wash of guitars and vocal harmonies that are somehow both quick and casual. "Broken Screen" was described as "The Strokes in a bar fight" seconds after the lead vocals were put to tape, and the song zips along nervously with just that energy. One half jumpy, self-conscious punk and one half Flying Nun-esque grey skies pop and all Failed Flowers. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.

Lake Ruth was formed in 2015 by multi-instrumentalist Hewson Chen of The New Lines, drummer Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck, Enon, SAVAK) and vocalist Allison Brice (The Eighteenth Day of May, The Silver Abduction). Inspired by 1960's sonic experimentation, baroque psychedelia, library obscurities, vintage pop noir, Giallo soundtracks, kraut and jazz, Lake Ruth creates intriguing and unique music rich with multilayered instrumentation, propulsive rhythms and atmospheric vocals. This double-A side single is their latest music and perhaps the sharpest, most incisive example of their deep, thought-provoking pop yet. Mysterious and melodic, both sides ably demonstrate why Lake Ruth are one of the most interesting bands out there today. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.

Oakland musician Tim Tinderholt has experimented with various jangle/punk bands for years and now with Odd Hope he's venturing from the garage to share his sharp DIY pop with the world. "All The Things" evokes early Television Personalities punch, filtered through a Ray Davies-style croon and leavened with a distinct bit of Flying Nun flavor. It's perfect pop, accomplishing more in its brisk two minutes than a lot of songs can manage in twice the time. On the other side we find "What's Your Part Of It?" -- a jangly rocker with cutting melodies and a measured lyricism that further marks Odd Hope as a project to keep a close eye (and ears) on. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series.

Across two albums and a clutch of in-demand singles Pale Lights have established themselves as exemplary exponents of a classic style of pop that aligns with them groups like Felt, The Go-Betweens, and just about all of the best bands from the Flying Nun and Creation catalogs. "You And I" is their contribution to our SLR30 Singles Series and it's a lovely way to spend three minutes and twelve seconds. Sporting an indelible melody and some very fine guitar strum 'n' jangle, it is the sort of tune that 7" singles were invented. By the time Gary Olson's trumpet comes in at the mid-way point you know that you're in the presence of greatness.

Neutrals are a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area, channeling a wide range of '70s and '80s punk, post-punk, and indie-pop influences. Their debut album "Kebab Disco" came out in 2019 on Emotional Response Records and garnered universal acclaim as "an excellent collection of terse melodies, unique storytelling, and scraping pop. (AllMusic)". "Personal Computing" b/w "In The Future" is their new single and has the distinction of being the final entry in our SLR30 Singles Series. Both sides were recorded just before the COVID-19 lockdown began and share a bittersweet nostalgia for an imagined rose-tinted future that never was. The mood of thwarted utopian dreams feels all too appropriate right now and the tense, angular songs on this single are an ideal soundtrack for this unsettled moment. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.

Formed in London in 2012, Flowers have released two albums and an increasingly assured string of singles of beautiful, effecting pop with echoes of C86 indie, post-punk pop, shoegaze, 90s 4AD and even early Slumberland Records. Far more than just a sum of their influences, they've dazzled pop fans around the world with their distinctively spiky songs and Rachel Kennedy's thrilling, ethereal vocals. "Erik" is their first single since 2017. Written about their wayward pet hamster, it's a lovely tune that wouldn't sound out of place on a Belly or Breeders record, a prime piece of the grungy, fuzzy pop that Flowers are so expert at creating. This single is part of the SLR30 Singles Series; while supplies last you can get a color vinyl version with a series subscription. More info and subscription links on the SLR30 Singles Series info page.