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!

The fantastic new ‘Stop, Look And Listen’ 7″ (matinée 080) from Strawberry Whiplash is out now! Here are the complete details:

STRAWBERRY WHIPLASH – STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN 7″ EP

Tracklisting:
1. Stop, Look And Listen
2. In The Blink Of An Eye
3. Luck Is The Residue Of Design

Extraordinary new 7” single from Glasgow duo Strawberry Whiplash! The first release since the acclaimed ‘Picture Perfect’ EP (matinée 072) in 2009, ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ is no mere pedestrian follow up, but another smash hit with spirited intro, catchy chorus, and driving rhythm. It’s an impressive preview of the band’s long awaited debut album ‘Hits In The Car’ (matcd060) set for release early next year.

The single also features two exclusive b-sides: ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ is Scottish indie meets Motown—a refined and reflective pop song with carefully strummed guitars, glockenspiel, and timeless girl group charm. Meanwhile, the primitive rhythm, chugging guitars, and effervescent melodies on ‘Luck Is The Residue of Design’ prove Strawberry Whiplash has not abandoned its celebrated fuzz-pop roots.

Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on transparent red vinyl!

For release details and band information, please see the catalog page, or visit the Matinée and Strawberry Whiplash pages on Facebook.

The single is in stock for immediate shipping so please visit the Matinée shop to secure your copy. If you just can’t wait, the songs are also available for download via the usual digital services right now. Hurrah!

As the calendar nears December, it’s the perfect time to make a playlist for your iPod filled with holiday songs, right? Luckily, we have just the thing for you…

Our ‘Matinée Holiday Soirée’ EP (matinée 078) came out last holiday season and contains exclusive seasonal songs from top Matinée hitmakers Bubblegum Lemonade, Champagne Riot, Math and Physics Club, Northern Portrait, and Strawberry Whiplash! Smart people called it “a smashing little EP,” “a holiday staple for years to come,” and “the perfect gift for your pop loving friends,” Other kids in the know described it as “the perfect way to start the festive season with a bang,” “a welcome addition to the world of holiday music,” and “stunningly brilliant.” It’s on sale at the moment for a mere $4 too so add that to your Christmas list!

While you’re in the shop, you should probably select one of the ace ‘Matinée Winter Warmer’ CDs (matinée 055) too because it contains ten more seasonal songs from label favorites The Fairways, Harper Lee, The Liberty Ship, Lovejoy, The Lucksmiths, Melodie Group, The Pines, Pipas, Slipslide, and The Windmills. Selling for a mere $2.50, it’s the perfect stocking stuffer for someone special.

Stop the presses! We just discovered ten more of the previously sold out Matinée 45 holiday ornaments from 2004 (matinée 045) too so grab one of those while you can! All three items are available now in the Matinée shop.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday – pah! Here at the Matinée shop your gift-giving dollars, pounds, Euros, krone, and yen go even further than usual as we have just launched our annual holiday clearance sale! We have lots of half-price 7” and cd singles as low as $1.50 each, and cd albums starting at $5 each. With the continued weak US dollar these are * really * great prices for our international friends in particular. Take advantage of the savings to pick up some nice gifts for you and your pals. Please see the Matinée shop for details. The sale runs until January 1st but get there quick as there is a growing batch of releases that are very close to selling out forever. Happy holidays!

We are keeping more than a few secrets at the moment in preparation for our 15th anniversary next year but here’s one we are letting slip early because it’s just too exciting to keep to ourselves: we have a brand new Matinée artist!

Azure Blue is the solo project of Sweden’s Tobias Isaksson, known to some from the popular Labrador Records bands Laurel Music and Irene. With Azure Blue, Tobias has hit pure gold so we are truly honored and excited to present the debut album ‘Rule of Thirds’ (matcd059) in collaboration with hip Swedish label Hybris.

The nine-track album is a perfect pop classic that recalls various 1980’s favorites like New Order, OMD, or Pet Shop Boys but also verges at times into the realm of introspective pop done more recently by people like the wonderful Swedish artist Airliner or the British act Quigley. The songwriting is really impressive and of course you know the strength of that voice already. We are previewing the album with the superb track ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ which you can listen to below.

There is also a video for the song and you can watch it right here:

Azure Blue – The Catcher in the Rye from Jonas Börjesson on Vimeo.

‘Rule of Thirds’ is on course for December release but we will begin taking preorders in a few weeks once we confirm the final details. Watch this space for complete release information soon because you’re about to discover your new favorite band!

Just off to the pressing plant is an amazing new 7” single from Strawberry Whiplash! The ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ EP (matinée 080) is a three-track 7” on translucent red (natch) vinyl and in addition to the smash title track it has two exclusive b-sides called ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ and ‘Luck Is The Residue of Design.’

If everything goes as planned we’ll have copies in early December for some stocking stuffer action but you’ll be able to preorder the vinyl and download the single even sooner than that. Watch for complete release details in two weeks.

In the meantime you can stream the title track RIGHT NOW on the handy Soundcloud player below. Everyone deserves a treat the week of Halloween right? The band’s brilliant debut album ‘Hits In The Car’ is on course for release in early 2012.

Have you missed us? It’s been a relatively quiet year for Matinée but we are working behind the scenes as we gear up for a big 15th anniversary celebration in 2012! In the works are splendid new releases from Bubblegum Lemonade, Cats on Fire, Math and Physics Club, Northern Portrait, and Strawberry Whiplash, plus glimmers of new activity from The Electric Pop Group, The Hermit Crabs, Would-Be-Goods and more. We also have a new band or two coming on board but those details are still top secret.

In the meantime, you should know that the Matinée mailorder is closed from October 26 through November 6 while we traverse through Italy. It’s our last hurrah before the nonstop anniversary release schedule kicks in. Watch for details on the first of the new releases very soon…

New music alert! Spectacular Scots Strawberry Whiplash are nearly finished with 15 new songs that will comprise a brand new 7” single and debut album scheduled for release later this summer.

The 7” will contain ‘Stop Look and Listen’ plus ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ and ‘Luck Is The Residue of Design’ and they’re all pretty much fantastic. The debut album is called ‘Hits In The Car’ and should contain a dozen or so further tracks. We’ll reveal the tracklisting and further release details next month. In the meantime, watch for an exclusive preview of ‘Stop Look and Listen’ soon.