‘Different Flags’ (matda060) is a two track EP from Scottish favorites Bubblegum Lemonade released to celebrate their home country’s ninth World Cup appearance and first since 1998!

The title track—originally written by Laz in 2016—is a catchy anthem which will surely have fans from all the competing countries singing along as one. The song celebrates the hopes and dreams which all the supporters have in common, rather than what divides them. Laz’ new drop-tuned Gretsch semi-hollow guitar twangs away to create the song’s atmospheric intro, followed by some signature Bubblegum Lemonade 12-string Rickenbacker jangle beneath the vocals in the verse.

In recognition of the North American World Cup hosts, the EP also includes an acoustic version of previously released anthem ‘America Calling’ celebrating the success of British performers on this side of the pond. Sandra from fellow Scottish band Strawberry Whiplash contributes backing vocals to both tracks.

‘Different Flags’ will feature on a forthcoming compilation ‘Clearing The Decks’—gathering lost Bubblegum Lemonade classics originally recorded between 2008 and 2022 which have somehow not seen proper release—later this year.

The EP is available now in the Matinée shop and all streaming services. Have a listen to it on the player below, and while you’re in World Cup spirit, did you know we still have copies of ‘The Official Matinée World Cup’ EP (matinée 098) from 2018 still available?  It features World Cup-inspired songs by Matinée artists Last Leaves from Australia, Red Sleeping Beauty from Sweden, The Royal Landscaping Society from Spain, The Popguns from England, and Pale Sunday from Brazil.  All five countries are represented in this year’s World Cup too so it’s a perfect time to pick this up and hey, it’s on sale for just $3!

Back in 2005, Australian favorites The Lucksmiths released their seventh studio album `Warmer Corners’ (matcd039) and we had the audacity to call it “the best Lucksmiths release yet!”

The band—including singing drummer (Tali White), strummy guitarist (Marty Donald), and melodic bassist (Mark Monnone)—began playing together in 1993. Following three successful albums released only in their native Australia, the band expanded their sound and their audience with acclaimed albums `A Good Kind of Nervous’ in 1997, `Why That Doesn’t Surprise Me’ in 2001, and `Naturaliste’ in 2003, and had a collection of hits and an international following so strong that the anticipation for this forthcoming seventh album was incredibly high. The Lucksmiths answered the call by adding a new guitarist (Louis Richter) and expanding their sound even further with strings, horns, organs, and some expert Rickenbacker jangling.

Lead single `The Chapter In Your Life Entitled San Francisco’ (matinée 057) preceded the album by three months and was the first taste of the newly enhanced sound … a summery pop hit with clever lyrics, tambourines, organ and strings that has since gone on to become one of the band’s most popular songs.

Meanwhile, the glorious album opener `A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ (matinée 060) was the dancefloor sizzler that demanded to be a single … boasting strings, horns, some funky guitar, and a bassline possibly borrowed from Orange Juice.

In addition to the two celebrated singles, `Warmer Corners’ delivered ten additional standout tracks including live favorite ‘Sunlight In A Jar’ and the mysterious album closer ‘Fiction’ … and suddenly, our bold press release claim that the album was “the best Lucksmiths release yet!” was validated by a string of impressive reviews in the music press upon the album’s release:

“New album ‘Warmer Corners’ finds the pop icons arguably at the top of their game. It is an album that’s concurrently vibrant, restrained, mature and brimming with zeal. In short, it’s everything we could have hoped for.”  –Time Off Magazine

“Another shimmering collection of road-trips put to music that balance wistful romanticism with mischievous grin, `Warmer Corners’ is like most Lucksmiths’ records; it’s meant to be swallowed whole, and in an age of singles with albums attached to them, it’s both refreshing and nostalgic at the same time.”  –All Music Guide

“Idiosyncratic but accessible, literate but unpretentious, gentle but not weak, sincere not so much in presentation as in presence…The Lucksmiths never relinquish their distinctive identity, merely expand it.” –Pitchfork

“The Lucksmiths have a unique mastery of the art of writing a song. Their grasp on melody, on hooks, on details, on making a song feel sad and beautiful and optimistic at the same time, is unmatched… and `Warmer Corners’ offers everything I would want in an album.” –Erasing Clouds

“The Lucksmiths are a perfect antidote to preening pop, overly intellectualised conceptual folk, the emotionally barren ‘avant-garde’ and self-aggrandising (and self-perpetuating) rock tedium, which of course is the reason they are not household names, are not all over our TV screens and grinning/gurning from the cover of the NME. I guess that literate melodic pop is just not the thing for the masses, and as I’ve said in the past, no-one does great literate melodic pop as effortlessly as The Lucksmiths.” –Tangents

“The consistency of `Warmer Corners’ is, in the end, its most gratifying asset. The album lends itself to being played in full, preferably listened to on a hammock with a cold iced tea on a warm summer’s day. The easy, carefree atmosphere is extremely effective; the songs’ warmth of proximity makes each better than it would be if heard alone, resulting in an album that somehow transcends its simplicity and becomes something of remarkable beauty. Album of the Week.” –Delusions of Adequacy

Eight years following the album’s release, `Warmer Corners’ was pressed on vinyl for the first time in a limited edition of 500 copies that sold out almost immediately. We are finally getting around to righting that wrong with a brand new edition on red vinyl in deluxe packaging with full color inner sleeve and lyrics, so get in quickly if you want one of these beauties as the pressing is also limited to just 500 copies worldwide!

The official release date is June 19, but we are accepting preorders right now and will begin shipping copies the week of June 8.  As with all recent Lucksmiths reissues, we are working with the fine folks at the Lost and Lonesome Recording Company in Australia to make this available, so please visit their shop for a copy if you are closer to there than here for better postage rates.

The Matinée clearance sale is still in effect at the Matinée shop so you can add some tasty gems to your order and we’ll ship it all together. These prime savings are unprecedented, so take advantage of them now to help offset the insane postage rates we’re facing and before the US Postal Service raises them again.

If you are not already suitably motivated, have a listen to a few ‘Warmer Corners’ classics on the player below!

Deal alert!  The building housing the off-site Matinée warehouse recently sold, so we are having an absolutely massive clearance sale to reduce the number of boxes we have to move in the next month.

Please help us by taking advantage of some prime savings: releases up to 70 percent off normal prices, with more than 100 releases priced $5 or lower!  Get 7 inch and CD singles starting at just $2, and albums starting at $4. Everything is on sale, so please have a look at the catalog and get your orders in soon because some releases are close to selling out forever.

This is your chance to stock up on physical copies of Matinée gems released over nearly three decades, to discover bands you perhaps missed the first time around, and to get an early start on Christmas presents for the cool people in your life.  The sale will also help us make room for a batch of new releases taking shape now from some of your favorite bands. We ship orders fast (usually the same day) so you won’t have to wait for new music!

To help you with your order, we have created a ‘Matinée Smash Hits’ playlist on Spotify including 250+ songs and more than 15 hours of music.  Stream it while you shop or save it to play during your commute or at your next party. You’re sure to discover a new favorite song.

Thanks in advance for your orders! xx-Jimmy

‘A Different Light’ (matda059) is the superb second single from new Matinée band Norwegian Blue featuring vocalist and guitarist Erik Aamot of The Electric Pop Group.

The track is a hypnotic gem, building on the promise demonstrated by the debut single ‘Something New’ (matda055) with melodic multi-tracked vocals layered with electric guitars, prominent keyboard flourishes, and nice percussion.

A Norwegian Blue EP is in the works now!

In the meantime, ‘A Different Light’ is featured in the Matinée shop and all streaming services.

Help us make room for 2026 releases by taking 30 percent off all orders $50+ now through January 4. No promo code necessary. Thank you for all the support this year and always!

What a year! Thanks to all the bands and the Matinée faithful for making it possible. Happy holidays and all the best for the new year!

English favorites The Popguns knew we needed just one more release to mark 25 Matinée releases for 2025, so they batched two additional recordings from their recent Brighton Electric Studio sessions into a celebratory new EP (matda058)!

The lush, swooning tones of ‘Who Never Found Love’ picture a late night, barroom scene featuring a crowd who—through choice or otherwise—are left behind to drown their memories whilst others return to their homes: “In the backroom of the bar is a voice of whiskey and smoke, singing who will write the songs for those of us, who never found love?”

Second track ‘Orion’ is an indie-rock smash encouraging a path of endeavour and daring, despite whatever apparently imperfect hand the gods may have dealt us.

That rumor of a new Popguns album next year is looking better and better…  In the meantime, the ‘Who Never Found Love’ EP is available in the Matinée shop and all streaming services.  Happy 2025, indeed!

Award-winning Swedish dream pop artist Azure Blue aka Tobias Isaksson returns with an electronic rendition of Radiohead’s iconic single ‘Creep’ (matda057). The track is the first glimpse of the upcoming four-track ‘Adolescent Counterpart’ EP—a heartfelt project where the artist revisits the songs that shaped his youth, 30 years later from another perspective.

With warm analog synths and melancholic elegance, Azure Blue transforms ‘Creep’ into a cinematic reflection on alienation and aging. The result is both nostalgic and forward looking—a modern dream pop interpretation of one of the most defining songs of the ’90s.

The additional tracks for the EP are equally amazing so stay tuned for more details on this special release.  In the meantime, ‘Creep’ is available now in the Matinée shop and all streaming services!

The classic 1990s releases from Stockholm indie pop quartet Red Sleeping Beauty have long been out of print and unavailable on streaming services. That changes today with the release of ‘Pop Songs’ (matcd098)—an astonishing 50-track double-CD retrospective!

The band began in 1989 as a solo project by Mikael Matsson, soon becoming a duo with Kristina Borg on vocals. In 1991, Niklas Angergård joined on vocals and guitars, and in 1992 the lineup was completed when Carl-Johan “Callis” Näsström came in on bass.

Disc one collects 27 tracks released from 1992 to 1996 on international pop labels of the day—including the ‘Pop Sounds’ 3” CDEP and the ‘Bedroom’ CD album on German label Marsh-Marigold Records, the ‘Top of the Pops’ 7” EP on Japanese label Motorway Records, the ‘Seasons Change’ 7” EP on American label Somersault Records, the ‘Smile’ 7” EP on American label Sunday Records, and four extra ‘Bedroom’ tracks on Japanese label Quince Records.

The physical CD includes a bonus second disc collecting 23 additional tracks recorded between 1989 and 1998—featuring rare contributions to vinyl records, CDs, and compilation cassettes released on various labels from France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and USA, plus 15 previously unreleased songs. These 23 tracks are only available on the physical CD and are not part of the digital ‘Pop Songs’ release.

This is Red Sleeping Beauty at their poppiest and sunniest, carefree and naive in a way that is only possible when you are young—and carefree and naive. The album is further proof (as if any were needed) that a perfect pop song is only two minutes long. More pop songs, for everyone!

Epilogue: Mikael and Kristina were the perfect indie pop couple until, in 1998, they weren’t. Red Sleeping Beauty dismantled, with Niklas continuing work with his brother Johan as Acid House Kings and Mikael releasing records with The Shermans and The Charade. With the healing of time, Red Sleeping Beauty returned in 2016 in a more electronic costume—pop sensibilities intact—to release numerous singles and three additional albums: ‘Kristina’’ (2016), Stockholm’ (2019), and ‘Diary’ (2024). Expect more new music from the band next year!

‘Pop Songs’ is available now in the Matinée shop, from our lovely distributor Darla Records, and on all major streaming services. Ask your local record shop for a copy!

Previous Red Sleeping Beauty albums and singles are still available, so you may want to add some to your cart before they sell out. Please see the Red Sleeping Beauty artist page for details. Soundtrack your shopping trip with a listen to our ‘Pop Songs’ sampler!  

The spectacular seventh album ‘To Surf With Love’ (matcd099) from Scottish favorites Bubblegum Lemonade is out now! Combining Surf’s Up-era Beach Boys with shoegaze, the album has a deliberate unified sound aesthetic and a narrative curve which documents a summer seaside relationship from beginning to end.

The band uses delayed guitars, crashing cymbals, and percussion tracks to emulate the sound and feel of the sea, which is central to the whole album. Consistent with most Bubblegum Lemonade releases, the album’s title is inspired by one of lead singer Laz’ favourite films—the 1967 drama ‘To Sir, With Love’—which co-stars fellow Glaswegian pop singer, Lulu. The idea of the new album was loosely inspired by the 1996 Eric Rohmer summer romp ‘A Summer’s Tale.’

Lead track ‘Moving To LA’ is a long-awaited fan favourite celebrating a fresh start for our protagonist with a tight backing track,12-string guitars, catchy glockenspiel, inventive percussion, and a ba-ba refrain. ‘Lost At Sea’ is a slower song with a morse code S.O.S played by the guitar in the intro signaling somebody falling in love out of their depth. Featuring bongos, a guitar refrain dripping with delay and reverb, and samples of seagulls recorded on Troon Beach in Scotland as the song fades out all adding to the seaside atmosphere of the album.

‘Filling Up On Sunshine’—the first ever pop song about filling up your electric car via solar power and driving to the seaside—exhibits late 1960s psychedelic production with Beach Boys vocals, stereo percussive toms, and a feedback strewn Velvet Underground climax; while ‘The Last Lighthouse’ slides into Stone Roses territory with knights of old, outlaws in the desert, sailors and seductive sirens.

‘Skin In The Game’ is the most shoegaze sounding track on the album with reverb-soaked guitars, fuzzy bass, and a hip hop drumbeat plus lovely backing vocals by Sandra of fellow Scots Strawberry Whiplash. ‘Snow In Summer’—inspired by elements of the ‘Eternal Sunshine’ film—includes layered vocals in the chorus representing the intercutting time periods within the film, percussion emulating a slow-moving train, and more backing vox from Sandra.

Side two of the album kicks off with ‘French Letters In The Sand’—one of two superb singles from the album—which fades in with our protagonist daydreaming and remembering the voice of his ex before the dream is punctured by descending surf guitars and a backing track moving between Motown and additional surf drums and guitars; while ‘Fall Back To June’ is the album’s big production number combining surf and shoegaze and a Le Creuset casserole dish as percussion.

‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’—another single—further illustrates the clever percussion touches on the album, with stereo panning sampled scissors, percussive shaker, and muted guitar hits to create a unique rhythm. Combining jangling electric and 12-string acoustic guitars, the song features Laz and Sandra trading vocal lines, with Sandra’s sassy replies adding a nice dash of wit to the recording. ‘Driftwood Sparks’—about being in over one’s head—started out as a ‘Surf’s Up’ mono instrumental until lyrics, Beach Boys vocal melodies, and musical embellishments were eventually added to the mix.

‘Not Going Back’ is sunshine pop with Byrds harmonies, surf guitars, and the album’s best drum track documenting the reality that there comes a time in some relationships when going back isn’t an option; while ‘Here Comes The Harbour Wave’ demonstrates just how to conclude an album, fading in slowly with shoegaze waves and backwards cymbals crashing on the rocks before building to a maelstrom of guitars, Velvet Underground percussive toms, cascading glockenspiel, and vocal harmonies.

‘To Surf With Love’ is the album that Bubblegum Lemonade were born to make, and the band considers this their best yet, by some distance.  The album is available now in the Matinée shop, from our lovely distributor Darla Records, and on all major streaming services. Ask your local record shop for a copy!

Plenty of the previous Bubblegum Lemonade albums and singles are still available, so you may want to add some to your cart before they sell out. Please see the Bubblegum Lemonade artist page for details. Soundtrack your shopping trip with a listen to our ‘To Surf With Love’ sampler: