Hey, we’re skipping the beach today to let you know the official release date for sparkling new EPs from Bubblegum Lemonade and Northern Portrait is set for September 2, so march into your favorite shop and demand they secure you copies then, or indulge yourself RIGHT NOW exclusively via the trusty Matinée shop! We have copies shipping daily and we’ll throw in free postcards for you too. Here are the details:
Scottish wonderkids Bubblegum Lemonade debuted early this year with an outstanding single ‘Ten Years Younger’ (matinée 064) that earned song of the day honors on influential radio station KEXP and amassed countless positive reviews in the music press including favorable comparisons to influential 60’s popstars (The Velvet Underground, The Monkees, The Byrds) and 80’s indie legends (Jesus and Mary Chain, Razorcuts, Biff Bang Pow!). Before delivering the all important debut album, the band pause for a moment to release a spectacular second EP (matinée 069)!
Title track ‘Susan’s In The Sky’ is an everyday tale of an air hostess and her slacker boyfriend caught up in a Romeo and Juliet type scenario. It’s another sunshine wall of pop with Rickenbacker guitars, tambourines and nice organ bits. A short dose of California sunshine perfect for all seasons. Among the EP’s exclusive extra tracks, the cleverly titled ‘Surfin’ USB’ is a proper jangle with fuzzy guitars and a nice Beach Boys coda, while ‘Just Like You’ continues the California theme in a 150 bpm mini classic drenched in Mary Chain feedback with a mix of fuzz and surf guitars. Closing track ‘Holocaust’ is a superb cover of the legendary Big Star classic featuring a mix of Rickenbacker and acoustic guitars.
Once described as “the perfect C86 pop band that just happened to turn up 22 years behind schedule,” Bubblegum Lemonade deliver instantly memorable songs with brilliant pop melodies. ‘Susan’s In The Sky’ is another remarkable success for Matinée and a vibrant reminder of the essential new pop coming out of Scotland. The single is limited to 1000 copies in our patented custom minijacket sleeve and it’s a nice one!
Also now available is the stunning second single from new Matinée favorites Northern Portrait! Upon release of their debut ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ EP (matinée 068) earlier this year, the accolades started pouring in for this new Danish band: “as perfect as jangling guitar pop can get”… “an instant classic”… “the bar has been set very high indeed”…“these songs are second to none”… “outstanding is an understatement”…“a modern pop classic”…“single of the year!” The EP has topped the Matinée best sellers chart every month since its release with good reason.
On the highly anticipated ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ EP (matinée 070), the band worked to expand its sound slightly while retaining the classic appeal of its debut. The brilliant lead track ‘I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me’ was the second song ever recorded by the band but has been completely remixed and remastered for this EP. Featuring jangling guitars, keyboards, superb vocals and bright melodies, the song is a three-minute classic inspired by the feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ‘Sporting A Scar’ is the first of three additional tracks on the EP—thematically close but more self-reflective than the lead track, with especially superb lyrics and more breezy keyboards. It’s another gem! ‘In An Empty Hotel’ is a short and catchy tune about the clash between hopeful dreams and the practical problems that can occur, while the nearly epic ‘Our Lambrusco Days’ is a slightly sentimental and warm ballad with relatively simple instrumentation and open guitar tuning giving the song a special sound.
Reviews of the first EP rightly questioned how Northern Portrait could possibly follow such a strong debut single. The band has responded in brilliant fashion, as ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ is another solid contender for single of the year. The bar has been set very high indeed. This one’s also strictly limited to 1000 copies in a deluxe matte finish minijacket and you know you need one of those.
Cool kids are doing their back to school shopping early and picking up both EPs so get to the order page to secure yours today. Both EPs should appear on iTunes early next month so if you’re after digital copies your wait is nearly over. You can listen to ‘Susan’s In The Sky’ and ‘I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me’ in their entirety on the Matinée sounds page, or tracks from each EP rotating weekly on MySpace. Enjoy!
In other top news, we are working on artwork for our next batch of releases which include magnificent new albums from Would-Be-Goods, The Lucksmiths, Bubblegum Lemonade and The Guild League! In the next few weeks we’ll be adding release details and exclusive song previews to the website and featuring a variety of the new songs on MySpace so stop on by if you’re keen to hear some fresh new music. Everything should be underway by the end of the month and you won’t believe how good these are. Watch this space…