We are thrilled to announce three forthcoming Matinée albums that are currently at the pressing plant, and you—lucky listener—can preorder them all now in advance of their release dates later this month.  

It’s been ten years since popular Scottish duo Strawberry Whiplash last graced the new release racks, and the new 12-track ‘People Like Us’ collection (matcd097) combines the best elements of their first two albums ‘Hits In The Car’ and ‘Stuck In The Never Ending Now’ in an absolutely brilliant and varied third album recorded at Strawberry Towers in four months early this year. The album features recent smash singles ‘At The End Of The Day’, ‘Baby (You’re A Dancer)’ and ‘The Vampire Life’ plus nine additional tracks. A remarkable album, ‘People Like Us’ is a triumph for the band and another Scottish pop classic for the Matinée discography.

Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released October 24, but you can preorder it right now exclusively from the Matinée shop and we will send it to you as soon as we have copies back from the plant.  In the meantime, catch up on those recent smash singles on our Soundcloud.

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 with the release of ‘Pop Songs’ (matcd098)—an astonishing 50-track (!) double-CD retrospective! 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. Please note: the 23 tracks on disc two are only available on the physical CD and are not part of the digital ‘Pop Songs’ release.

Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released October 31, but you can preorder it right now exclusively from the Matinée shop and we will send it to you as soon as we have copies back from the plant.  Check out a four-song sampler on our Soundcloud.

The third new release is the spectacular seventh album ‘To Surf With Love’ (matcd099) from Scottish favorites Bubblegum Lemonade! 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. The album features the hit single ‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’ and forthcoming single ‘French Letters In The Sand’ plus ten additional tracks. ‘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.

Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released October 28, but you can preorder it right now exclusively from the Matinée shop and we will send it to you as soon as we have copies back from the plant.  While you wait, you can stream the first single ‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’ and ace album track ‘Not Going Back’ on the Matinée Soundcloud.

Shipping multiple CDs is often the same price or only slightly higher postage so take advantage of the early preorder and pick up all three albums, or add another gem from our astonishing back catalog like the recent ‘Just Beyond The Lights’ album (matcd096) from The Perfect English Weather! See all our new releases in the Matinée shop!

The classic ’90s releases from Stockholm indie pop quartet Red Sleeping Beauty have long been out of print and unavailable on streaming services. That will change with ‘Pop Songs’ (matcd098)—a 50-track double-CD retrospective. Disc one collects early releases on international pop labels Marsh Marigold, Motorway, Somersault, Sunday, and Quince Records. Disc two features rare tracks from vinyl records, CDs, and compilation cassettes, plus 15 previously unreleased songs.

As a second teaser, the ‘Summertime EP’ (matda054) is out now—and it sounds just like summertime. 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.

It features ‘The Trumpet Song’ from the debut EP Pop Sounds, ‘For Fun’ from their second EP Top Of The Pops, ‘Summertime’ from the beloved Frischer Morgentau compilation cassette, and ‘I Don’t Know What To Say’, a previously unreleased gem from around the same time as Top Of The Pops.

If anything, this EP proves that a perfect pop song is two minutes long—not three as some crazyheads argue.

‘Pop Songs’ is out later this month and can be pre-ordered now from the Matinée shop. The ‘Summertime EP’ is available today. More pop songs, for everyone!

We have so many excellent new releases in the pipeline that inevitably two of them had to be scheduled for the same release date, but I suspect absolutely nobody will be complaining about this one.

English favorites The Popguns have been recording a bunch of new tunes recently at the famous Brighton Electric Studio in their hometown. Not in the mood to make you wait, they are unleashing two standouts from the session into the digital ether as the ‘Gasoline’ EP (matda053).

‘Oh Harry’ is a slow paced charmer with a big chorus that England Football fans could possibly borrow when Harry Kane scores at the 2026 World Cup.

On the figurative flip side is ‘I’m Happy How My Life Turned Out’ which is a very solid pop-chugger about someone who doesn’t want to be told by some pathetic ex that she could have had a different life if she’d followed him around way back when.

Rumor has it that we may have a new Popguns album next year too! 

In the meantime, the ‘Gasoline’ EP is available in the Matinée shop and all streaming services.

Scottish noise-pop outfit Strawberry Whiplash are back with another fantastic single (matda052) from their brilliant and varied third album, ‘People Like Us.’

Lead track ‘The Vampire Life’ is a discordant blend of early Mary Chain and late 80s Sonic Youth meets goth Beach Boys, with a killer shoegaze intro and outro plus searing guitars throughout.  It is perhaps the closest the band has come to the noisy brilliance of their debut ‘Who’s In Your Dreams’ single (matinée 065) back in 2008 and is a song that will certainly be filling dance floors at the coolest discos by year-end.

The first of two exclusive b-sides, ‘Remember Tomorrow’ is a brand new track written after the album was completed. The song is classic Whiplash pop that uses a glitched and stranded self-driving taxi as a metaphor for a stalled (broken down) relationship, and features a big pop chorus with deliberately muted distortion for extra crunch.

Final track ‘Celestial’ is an acoustic version of an early Strawberry Whiplash song recently discovered on an old hard drive with pared back production that showcases Sandra’s heavenly voice.

The 12-track ‘People Like Us’ album is out next month, and we’ll begin preorders for the album (and two others) very soon.  ‘The Vampire Life’ EP is available now from the Matinée shop and the usual streaming services.

The classic ’90s releases from Stockholm indie pop quartet Red Sleeping Beauty have long been out of print and unavailable on streaming services. That’s about to change (finally, shout pop connoisseurs around the world).

In October, the band will release Pop Songs—a 50-track double-CD retrospective:  Disc one includes early releases on international pop labels Marsh Marigold, Motorway, Somersault, Sunday, and Quince Records, while Disc two features rare tracks contributed to various vinyl records, CDs, and compilation cassettes, plus 15 previously unreleased songs.

As a teaser, the You Are The Kind EP (matda051) is out now — and it’s a tasty one. It features the band’s very first released song, ‘You Are The Kind’ (originally from the International Pop 7”), ‘Pop Song’ from the debut album Bedroom, ‘Hey!’ from the celebrated Japanese compilation Wheels Go Round, and ‘Strife’, a previously unreleased track from the band’s early bedroom-pop duo days.

More pop songs, for everyone!  The EP is available now from the Matinée shop and the usual streaming services.

‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’ (matda050) is the fantastic first single from Bubblegum Lemonade’s forthcoming surf and shoegaze inspired album ‘To Surf With Love’—the album the band was born to make.

The album is full of fun percussion touches, as illustrated in the title track intro which uses stereo panning sampled scissors, percussive shaker, and muted guitar hits to create the unique rhythm. Combining jangling electric and 12-string acoustic guitars, the song features lead singer Laz and Strawberry Whiplash singer Sandra trading vocal lines, with Sandra’s sassy replies adding a nice dash of wit to the recording.

The first of two exclusive b-sides, ‘And Tomorrow Never Came’ is a fresh hit from the Bubblegum Factory with a deliberately extended intro designed to give each musical part a chance to shine before a successive part begins. In just 55 seconds, the intro takes you on a musical journey from The Byrds through The Cure and finally to a riff worthy of The Strokes.

Final track ‘In The Back of Her Memory’ is perhaps the first of nearly 200 Bubblegum Lemonade recordings that starts straight into the chorus—deliberately going for the pop jugular. Written after the album was finished, this slower and more reflective song features Sandra on multi-tracked backing vocals, while Laz plays the six string Rickenbacker guitar, the bass, and the drums all locking tightly together.

The 12-track album ‘To Surf With Love’ is on track for release later this year! In the meantime, ‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’ is available now from the Matinée shop and the usual streaming services.

‘Preston Street’ (matda049) is the wonderful third single from the new album ‘Just Beyond The Lights’ by English duo The Perfect English Weather.

The album title is taken from a lyric in the song, which is from the point of view of somebody who drives the van for a band and always picks them up “just beyond the (traffic) lights”.

The single includes a special bonus track, a hauntingly effective alternate mix of the song with a prominent piano melody and an extra dose of atmosphere. 

‘Preston Street’ is available now from the Matinée shop and the usual streaming services.

As we finalize a brilliant batch of forthcoming Matinée releases, it’s time to clear space with a good old-fashioned summer garage sale!

Take up to 50 percent off all vinyl, cd, and digital releases in the Matinée shop now through July 12.

Enter the applicable promo code in the shopping cart at checkout:

GARAGE25 for 25 percent off orders $50+

GARAGE50 for 50 percent off orders $100+

We are shipping orders daily so treat yourself to new releases and back catalog classics with same day shipping … or buy digital downloads for immediate gratification.

There are several releases close to selling out now so please grab a copy while you can.

Thank you for continuing to support independent record labels and stay tuned for more new release news coming soon!

Swedish favorites Red Sleeping Beauty are back in the hit parade with the ‘Late Nights, Vol. 4’ EP (matda048), the fourth volume in their ‘Late Nights’ series.

The EP features slightly darker versions of 1995 single ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ from the ‘Smile’ EP on Sunday Records, plus two tracks— ‘In The Darkest Hour’ and ‘Tell Me More’—from the 2016 ‘Kristina’ album on Shelflife Records.

The single is available now from the Matinée shop and the usual streaming services.  You can have a listen here on our Soundcloud as well!

Scottish duo Strawberry Whiplash celebrate the start of summer with an absolutely ace new single ‘Baby (You’re A Dancer)’ out now!

The title track, taken from the forthcoming ‘People Like Us’ album, is a smash hit designed to soundtrack your next pool party or beach soirée, and man, Strawberry Whiplash are exactly the sort of people that you want to hang out with!  The song is the closest the band has come to dance music, and you will find yourself hilariously grooving to this into the late night hours. Consistent with some of the best parties being family affairs, Laz’ son James plays rhythm guitar on the song.

The EP (matda047) includes two additional tracks exclusive to this release: ‘In Along With You’—originally written in the 1990s for a pre-Strawberry Whiplash band called The Stepping Stones—channels an early New Order influence and mines that magical feeling that comes with falling in love or having a new friend. Finally, this waltz version of ‘First Light Of Dawn’ is a 6/8 rhythm demo of a track that originally appeared on the debut album ‘Hits In The Car’ and has a gentle and slightly melancholic feel demonstrating some keen Mazzy Star influence. 

The single is available right now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital merchants, and our Soundcloud. The 12-track ‘People Like Us’ album is coming to a record store near you this summer!