It’s nearly Christmas which means it’s time for the 10th annual Matinée fanclub poll! Every year we survey our coterie of Matinée chums to see which new releases made you smile and reward voters with free records in the process. We are accepting poll entries through January 5th so if you haven’t ordered the latest releases yet there’s still time to get them before votes are due.

The official album of the year contenders are ‘Rule of Thirds’ (matcd059) from Azure Blue, ‘Unfamiliar Stars’ (matdvd058) from The Lucksmiths, and ‘Sophomore Release’ (matcd057) from Bubblegum Lemonade.

Single of the year contenders include the ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ 7” (matinée 080) from Strawberry Whiplash, ‘Moonstruck’ EP (matinée 079) from Champagne Riot, and the ‘Matinée Holiday Soirée’ EP (matinée 078).

We are also collecting votes for song of the year, favorite Matinée artists, and favorite Matinée albums and singles of all time so please take a moment to vote for your favorites! As always, simply entering earns you a chance to win free music and this year a special $50 merchandise prize is up for grabs for one lucky winner. The poll closes January 5th so please complete your entry today and best of luck in the prize draw!

If you haven’t picked up the latest releases now’s the time as our Matinée holiday sale continues for just 12 more days. Please see the Matinée shop for superb savings—7” singles starting at $1.50 each, cd singles from $2.50 each, and cd albums as low as $5 each.

Stock is very low on several titles so this will be your last chance at a few of these gems. Please see the post below for more details.

Happy holidays and thanks for all your support this year! We’ll be back in 2012 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the label so please stay tuned for the latest news and exclusive previews of forthcoming releases.

We’re three weeks into our spectacular holiday clearance sale at the Matinée shop, with nearly every release on sale including 7” and cd singles as low as $1.50 each and cd albums as low as $5.00 each. At these prices things are going fast!

This is a final warning if you want a copy of the ‘Staring At The Sky’ 10″ from The Lucksmiths … or ‘Weekends Away’ CDEP from Math and Physics Club … or ‘Slum Clearance’ CD from The Siddeleys … or ‘A Short Film About Sleeping’ 7″ from Pipas … or ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ CDEP from Northern Portrait … or ‘Friendless Summer’ 7″ from The Lucksmiths … or ‘A Smile Took Over’ 2×7″ as these seven may not last the week. Other releases from Math and Physics Club, Sweet William, Would-Be-Goods, The Guild League, Lovejoy, Pipas, and Sportique are not far behind…

The sale runs until January 1st. Please see the Matinée shop for complete details. Thanks for all the recent orders and happy holidays!

The brilliant ‘Rule of Thirds’ CD from new Swedish band Azure Blue is now in stock! Here’s the 411:

AZURE BLUE – RULE OF THIRDS

Tracklisting:
1. Fingers
2. The Catcher In The Rye
3. Seasons
4. Little Confusions
5. Long Way Down
6. Dreamy Eyes
7. The Shore
8. Two Hearts
9. Chesil Beach

Azure Blue is the new project from Tobias Isaksson, a talented songwriter and colorful profile on the Swedish pop scene. His former bands Irene and Laurel Music were signed to respected Swedish label Labrador Records and attracted worldwide recognition. With Azure Blue, Tobias has made a fresh start and surpassed all his previous work.

On the surface, Azure Blue is a sparkling wave that flows relatively unconcerned into a distant sunset, but beneath that it is riddled with references. Together with producer pseudonym Midnight Ruler, Tobias has created a modern yet timeless record with analog drum machines, vintage synths, and airy arrangements. ‘Rule of Thirds’ shamelessly flirts with AOR, New Wave and New Romantic in a way that takes New Order, The Go-Betweens, and Roxy Music’s ‘Avalon’ album on a journey to 2012.

While lyrically the album is a vortex of references ranging from favorite movies to records to the literary works of Klas Östergren and Ernest Hemingway, it is mostly a touching autobiographical story that processes three ruptured relationships and an inevitable move from Gothenburg to Stockholm.

Album opener ‘Fingers’ is an inspired cover version of a song originally recorded by Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens and the perfect preview of the hypnotic pop found throughout this record. First single ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ sweeps and soars in all the right places and has one of those memorable choruses that sticks in your head for days. Thanks in part to heavy rotation on Swedish National Radio, the song has enjoyed significant exposure already including strong praise in the music press.

‘Seasons’ is an especially ambitious track mixing rich soaring vocals with strings and keyboards that recall the venerable OMD discography. Second single ‘Little Confusions’ is a shimmering pop song that The Cure would be proud to call their own, while ‘Long Way Down’ is earnest and melodic and ‘Dreamy Eyes’ sounds like an early Depeche Mode classic.

As it draws to a close, the album exposes its ties to the contemporary Nordic pop scene with the captivating and hypnotic ‘The Shore’ sounding like the best song the Radio Dept. never wrote, and ‘Two Hearts’ starting off like Swedish band Airliner before reaching a wonderfully catchy conclusion. Final track ‘Chesil Beach’ is a poignant letter to a former flame, with sincere vocals set to another hypnotic pop masterpiece.

An elegant, melodic and intelligent album, ‘Rule of Thirds’ is a promising debut for Azure Blue and an extraordinary new release for the Matinée catalog. Watch for select Swedish shows late this year and an international tour in 2012.

For release details and band information, please see the catalog page, or visit the band website and the Matinée and Azure Blue pages on Facebook.

We are featuring the brilliant first single ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ on the Soundcloud player below. The album is available now in the Matinée shop plus digitally via iTunes, emusic, Amazon, Darla.com, and others. Ask for it in your favorite shop starting next week!

Happy December! To celebrate the holidays and say thanks for a great 2011 we have a special Matinée advent calendar on the website this year with a free mp3 revealed every day leading up to Christmas. A mix of holiday hymns, winter warmers, and other top tunes from your favorite Matinée artists will be on offer. We have a few unreleased songs on the schedule too so check back each day for another treat!