Happy December!  We are kicking off the holiday season with a surprise Christmas single from Scottish noise-pop outfit Strawberry Whiplash, featuring an alternative version of the holiday classic ‘Frosty the Snowman’ with Sandra providing especially sugary vocals and Laz (the Hal Blaine of the drum machine) on the backing track.

The band recorded the song eleven years ago for a Scottish radio show, but it was never actually used and went missing until 2024 when it was discovered on an old flash memory card. Layering electric and acoustic guitars, manic drumming, tambourine, shakers, and sleigh bells, the song is a modern take on the timeless holiday standard.

The EP (matda038) also includes another airing of the band’s reverb-drenched Christmas classic ‘Santa Needs A Holiday’ which first appeared on the ‘Matinée Holiday Soirée’ EP (matinée 078) back in 2010.

The single is available now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital platforms, and streaming on our Soundcloud.  Happy holidays!

‘The Night of the Stars’ is the fantastic sixth album from dream pop favorites Azure Blue—the celebrated project of Tobias Isaksson, one of Sweden’s most internationally acclaimed indie artists. The album (matcd095) pushes the quality to its peak, exhibiting a richer, clearer, and more luxurious approach to the patented Azure Blue sound across ten enticing tracks about togetherness in times of hardship. With its warm, analog production, the album recalls the brilliance of the popular ‘Rule of Thirds’ debut album from 2011.

Album opener ‘Rise’ is a shimmering dream pop anthem with a rushing drumbeat topped by luxurious layers of analog synths and a Peter Hook-like bass, while the crystal-clear topline in ‘Three Times The Drama’ shines over electric guitars and analog synths for an immediate pop melody. ‘Visions and Themes’ is a pop gem about love, dreams, and doubts featuring widescreen synths, manic drum machines, and a breathtaking key rise, while ‘Under The Stars’ delivers more top notch electronica and ‘Mia Luce’ is an emotional duet with Swedish pop starlet Paola.

Side two of the album opens with ‘Define Your Dreams’—a bright flare first previewed during the dark days of the pandemic, and ‘What Is Love?’— a song for dancing with tears in your eyes. ‘My Guiding Light’ is a Dylanesque Bryan Ferry moment in a summer mood with heartfelt lyrics about a couple with differences, while ‘The Miracle’ has a beat reminiscent of The Cure and the most personal lyrics on the album, and ‘Martyrs’ is a sixties-influenced evergreen in a modern synth suite with strings and elegant vocal harmonies.

‘The Night of the Stars’ is a distinguished masterpiece released with the support of the Swedish Culture Council. It is available digitally and in limited edition CD and 12” clear vinyl formats in collaboration with Hybris of Sweden and Anna Logue Records of Germany.

You can get the CD or clear vinyl LP now from the Matinée shop and record retailers worldwide.  Stream a few hits on our Soundcloud while you shop!

In their 35th (!) year, Stockholm indiepop legends Red Sleeping Beauty decided to gently force creativity by releasing one song a month. Their fifth album ‘Diary’ (matcd094) is based on ten of those and might be their strongest set of pop songs yet.

Spanning from jangly indiepop numbers (Is This Love?, The Sound Of Summer, I’m Here Tonight) reminiscent of the band’s acclaimed ’90s singles through somber mid-tempo tracks (Summer House, This Heart’s Now Yours, Cruising Slowly, Head Up High), to straight-up dance floor fillers (New York New Me, Caroline (I Found Love), Could Have Been Me), ‘Diary’ is eclectic yet strangely coherent, thanks to the band’s knack for timeless melodies.

Now down to a duo, ‘Diary’ is enriched by inspired guest appearances from Mary Wyer (Even As We Speak), Julia Lannerheim (Acid House Kings), Jane Wildson (Papa Topo), and Emol.

“We have always been about the songs, and this approach made us focus on just that. The album just happened,” says vocalist Niklas Angergård. “Not ‘making an album’ allowed us to be freer in form and do exactly what we felt like doing that month,” adds keyboardist Mikael Matsson.

The exclusive Matinée CD version includes four bonus tracks: the final two songs from the one song a month series (Free Cake For Every Creature, If I Showed You My Heart), a Spanish version of The Sound of Summer (Canciones de Verano), and a tripped out rework of Cruising Slowly.

The highly anticipated sixth album ‘Lawrence of Suburbia’ (matcd092) from prolific Scottish indiepop heroes Bubblegum Lemonade is out today! The album demonstrates a step up in both songwriting and performance, while still retaining their well established Brill Building pop sensibilities. Combining jangly and psychedelic songs, and peppered with lovely backing vocals from Sandra of fellow Scottish janglers Strawberry Whiplash, the collection is carefully structured and a great listen from start to finish.

The album blasts off with ‘She Comes in Rainbows’, an effervescent Television Personalities-inspired celebration of the more colorful characters in our daily life, and ‘Someone Made You Sad’, a slower track with prominent use of backwards guitar, a catchy melodica motif, and a Madchester feel to the chorus.

‘Love’s Young Nightmare’—one of three singles pulled from the album—is an instantly lovable indie disco floor filler with a brilliant but simple monster guitar riff, while ‘From Her To Paternity’ is a poignant and reflective song with jangling 12-string guitar, Byrds harmonies, and arguably the album’s best song title.

‘Out There on the Radio’ is the second single from the album—a jangleadelic slice of radio-friendly guitar pop which recalls the Primal Scream off-shoot Spirea-X for anyone of a certain age, and ‘There Will Be Another’, a positive, reassuring song with an anthemic chorus and a baggy beat created through a combination of bongos and wah-wah guitars.

Kicking off side two of the album is the brilliant single ‘Never Have I Ever’, an especially infectious radio-friendly hit with clever lyrics, tambourine, keyboards, and jangling guitars. The Velvets inspired ‘The Sweetest Reverie’ (Laz’ favourite on the album) is the sound of hazy sunlight on a spring morning and provides more jangling guitars, a skipping drum beat, and some nice glockenspiel interaction.

‘Saturday’s Child’ juxtaposes a song about slowing down when we get older with a catchy Motown drum beat, a searing wah guitar solo, and EDM-inspired frequency filtering techniques on the backing track, while ‘Renewal Of All Things’ repurposes a Biblical phrase to refer to renewable energy production before building to a strong Velvets-inspired musical climax.

‘To Leave Is To Die A Little’ is an instantly loveable song featuring an uplifting double-tracked slide guitar intro, a punchy stop/start chorus, Orange Juice-inspired guitars, heavily distorted hi-hats, and a 1970s Disco groove before reaching its strong sing-along ending. The album concludes with ‘You’ll Know The Angels’, a slower song reflecting on one’s mortality and featuring slide guitars, a bongo beat, and Laz’ sister, Mary Kate, singing the haunting coda.

At times joyful, positive, poignant, and reflective, ‘Lawrence of Suburbia’ is an essential addition to the Bubblegum Lemonade catalog and perhaps the best album so far from the artist.

The release is out now and in the hands of our trusty distributor so your local record shop can order it or you can get it straight from the Matinée shop of course. It is also available on the brand new Bubblegum Lemonade Bandcamp so if you are in Europe you can save on postage by ordering from the band link.  As always, you can have a listen to a few choice tunes on the Matinée Soundcloud right now too:

‘Visions and Themes’ (matda037) is the stunning new single from the upcoming album by Swedish dream pop heroes Azure Blue. The song is an absolute pop gem about love, dreams, and doubts featuring widescreen synths, manic drum machines, and a breathtaking key rise.

Forthcoming album ‘The Night of the Stars’—scheduled for release on November 22—is an analog dream promising a more luxurious version of the classic Azure Blue sound across ten enticing tracks.

The single is available right now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital merchants, and our Soundcloud:

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

1. The first new release is the highly anticipated sixth album ‘Lawrence of Suburbia’ (matcd092) from prolific Scottish indiepop heroes Bubblegum Lemonade!  Combining jangly and psychedelic songs, and peppered with lovely backing vocals from Sandra of fellow Scottish janglers Strawberry Whiplash, the collection is carefully structured and a great listen from start to finish. The album features the smash singles—’Never Have I Ever,’ ‘Out There On The Radio’ and ‘Love’s Young Nightmare’ plus nine additional tracks. At times joyful, positive, poignant, and reflective, the album is an essential addition to the Bubblegum Lemonade catalog and perhaps the best album so far from the artist. Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released November 8, 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 three singles plus the world premiere of ace album track ‘To Leave Is To Die A Little” on the Matinée Soundcloud:

2. The second new release is the exciting collection of the one-song-a-month series from Swedish indiepop legends Red Sleeping Beauty!  Spanning from jangly indiepop numbers reminiscent of the band’s acclaimed ’90s singles through somber mid-tempo tracks to straight-up dance floor fillers, ‘Diary’ (matcd094) is eclectic yet strangely coherent, thanks to the band’s knack for timeless melodies. Based on ten of the tracks from the series, including Matinée EP lead tracks ‘Is This Love?’, ‘Summer House’ and ‘I’m Here Tonight,’ the album might be their strongest set of pop songs yet. The exclusive Matinée CD includes a further four bonus tracks so you know you need that in your collection. Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released November 15, but you can preorder it now exclusively from the Matinée shop and we will send it to you as soon as we have copies.  While you wait, you can stream the three singles plus the stunning new track ‘Could Have Been Me’ (featuring guest vocals from Julia Lannerheim of fellow Swedish band Acid House Kings) on the Matinée Soundcloud:

3. The final new release is the fantastic sixth album ‘The Night of the Stars’ (matcd095) from Swedish dream pop favorites Azure Blue! The album pushes the quality to its peak, exhibiting a richer, clearer, and more luxurious approach to the patented Azure Blue sound across ten enticing tracks. Three of the songs generated significant buzz when released as singles— album opener ‘Rise’ plus ‘Three Times The Drama’ and ‘Define Your Dreams.’ A fourth track ‘Visions and Themes’ will have its premiere on October 25 when it is released as the final single from the album, while the remaining six tracks provide even further evidence of the brilliance of one of Sweden’s most internationally acclaimed indie artists. Full details on the release are available on the catalog page.  The album is officially released November 22, but you can preorder it 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 three singles on the Matinée Soundcloud:

‘Love’s Young Nightmare’ is the fantastic third single from the forthcoming ‘Lawrence of Suburbia’ album by Scotland’s Bubblegum Lemonade. The title track, which came to Laz in a dream, is an instantly lovable indie disco floor filler with a brilliant but simple monster guitar riff.

The EP also features two non-album tracks: a slower, pensive stunner called ‘Sad Comedian’ and the rocking anthem ‘America Calling’ celebrating the success of British performers in the States by picking up the pace and incorporating nice female backing vocals from Sandra of fellow Scots Strawberry Whiplash.

The EP (matda035) is available right now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital merchants, and our Soundcloud:

The third compilation from the song-of-the-month series by Swedish legends Red Sleeping Beauty is out now!

Lead track ‘I’m Here Tonight’ is a jangly guitar pop classic with twinkling keyboards and an especially catchy chorus, while the perfectly titled ‘Cruising Slowly’ is a mesmerizing multi-lingual one with English vocals interspersed with German and Spanish verses by guest vocalists Emol and Jane Wildson, and ‘The Sound Of Summer’ celebrates the end of the season with magnificent lead vocals courtesy of Mary Wyer of Even As We Speak.

The EP (matda036) is available right now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital merchants, and our Soundcloud:

‘Three Times The Drama’ (matda033) is the third single from the forthcoming album by Swedish dream pop favorites Azure Blue.

The song’s crystal-clear topline shines over electric guitars and analog synths to create an immediate pop song with great summer hit potential. The song is also a bittersweet dedication to Tobias Isaksson’s mother, who recently passed away, and its completion provided comfort following a period of unspeakable grief.

The upcoming album ‘The Night of the Stars’ pushes the quality to its peak, promising a richer, clearer, and more luxurious form of the patented Azure Blue sound.

The single is available right now from the Matinée shop, the usual digital merchants, and our Soundcloud:

Our second compilation of the ace song-of-the-month series by Swedish legends Red Sleeping Beauty is out now!

‘Summer House’ is a melodic gem with moody keyboards and a stunningly memorable chorus, while ‘New York, New Me’ is a long-lost 80s club hit not unlike an early Depeche Mode or Pet Shop Boys classic, and ‘If I’d Show You My Heart’ concludes the EP layering gently strummed guitars and keyboards in beautiful fragility.

The EP (matda034) is available right now from the Matinée shop and the usual digital merchants.  In the meantime, you can stream it on the player below: