The superb new album from Math and Physics Club is out now! Here are the details:

matcd055
MATH AND PHYSICS CLUB – I SHOULDN’T LOOK AS GOOD AS I DO

Tracklisting:
1. Jimmy Had A Polaroid
2. We Make A Pair
3. Trying To Say I Love You
4. Everybody Loves A Showtune
5. Love or Loneliness
6. Will You Still Love Me?
7. I’ll Tell You Anything
8. The Internationale
9. I’ve Been That Boy
10. We’re So DIY!

Long-awaited second album from Seattle pop darlings Math and Physics Club!

The band first captured our hearts in 2005 with the charming ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056), which quickly sold out of its initial pressing. The band’s brand of literate acoustic-based guitar pop has garnered frequent comparisons to The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, and labelmates The Lucksmiths, and their self-titled debut full length (matcd042) was named best indiepop album of 2006 by PopMatters. Picking up where their excellent 2007 ‘Baby I’m Yours’ EP (matinée 066) left off, Math and Physics Club return with their first long player in nearly four years.

‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ is a smashing collection of ten new pop gems, chock full of the chiming guitars and sweet melodies we’ve come to expect, but it also packs a punch their earlier work shied away from. Seattle producer Martin Feveyear (Presidents of the USA, Mark Lanegan) helped the band dial in rich, clean tones reminiscent of their 80’s influences like The Housemartins, but with a decidedly modern luster. The ten tracks clock in at less than 25 minutes, showcasing the band’s knack for crisp arrangements and good sense to know when a song just doesn’t need that extra chorus.

Lyrically the album continues the themes of love and heartbreak that are signatures of the band’s earlier recordings, but songs like ‘Everybody Loves a Showtune,’ ‘The Internationale’ and ‘We’re So DIY!’ also catch them poking fun at theater culture, faux celebrities, and even at themselves.

First single ‘Jimmy Had a Polaroid’ starts out in familiar MAPC fashion, but as soon as the drums and bass rumble into the picture you realize this is no twee affair. As chiming guitars whirl through the choruses, the rhythm section keeps things driving at a fast clip that will surely get the kids dancing.

Among the other highlights, ‘Everybody Loves a Showtune’ is an unexpected slice of folk pop full of banjo, accordion, trombone, tuba, and timpani. The story follows a clueless chorus boy who brings a musical production to its knees when he breaks ranks. ‘Love or Loneliness’ is one of the album’s most surprising tracks as the band stretches into new musical territory with a straight ahead rock beat and sweeping mellotron reminiscent of ‘Out of Time’ era REM.

Meanwhile, ‘Will You Still Love Me’ is a fast-paced homage to bands like The Housemartins and Heavenly, with Charles’ vocals melding with guest vocalist Jen Garrett of Seattle band Stuporhero to deliver a sweet tale about insecure lovers. ‘We’re So DIY!’ closes the album with a tongue-in-cheek tribute that condenses the indiepop handbook into a tidy two minutes, complete with handclaps and Beach Boys-drenched harmonies. Oh yeah!

‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ is Math and Physics Club’s most confident and sharply written work to date. What sophomore jinx? We’re happy to have them back!

For band information, soundclips, early reviews, and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Math and Physics Club pages on Myspace. There is also lots of activity on the Matinée Facebook page and the Math and Physics Club Facebook page so check those out too.

We’ve added soundclips for four key album tracks to the catalog page and a free mp3 of ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ is now available to download on the Matinée sounds page!

The CD is available now in the Matinée shop and in good record shops across the globe, plus digitally via iTunes, emusic, Amazon mp3, Darla.com and other good digital providers. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the fantastic ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ 7″ (matinée 075) before they’re all gone too!

The new Bubblegum Lemonade 45 is out now! Here are the complete details:

matinée 074
BUBBLEGUM LEMONADE – CAROLINE’S RADIO 7″

Tracklisting:
1. Caroline’s Radio
2. Stalling and Laughing
3. Looking To The Sun

Glasgow popkids Bubblegum Lemonade resume transmission this summer with a new three-track 7” single! The first release since their celebrated debut album ‘Doubleplusgood’ (matcd048) in 2008, ‘Caroline’s Radio’ is a fantastic Scottish pop hit that pays homage to offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline with zippy lead guitars and rich harmonies perfect for surfing the medium waves. It’s a preview of the band’s sophomore album set for release later this year.

The single also features two exclusive b-sides — ‘Stalling and Laughing’ is ace stop start pop with revving guitars and a clever nod to fellow Glaswegians Orange Juice, while ‘Looking To The Sun’ is a ‘Psychocandy’- era blast of Mary Chain pop with 12-string guitar intro, stomping drums, and reverb drenched harmonies. Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on smashing transparent red vinyl!

For band information and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Bubblegum Lemonade pages on Myspace. There are various extra things happening on the Matinée Facebook page and the brand new Bubblegum Lemonade Facebook page so you may want to go there too. Remember when all we had to update was one simple website?

Starting this very moment, we are offering a free download of ‘Caroline’s Radio’ on the Matinée sounds page so go get it! The 7″ is available now exclusively in the Matinée shop and is shipping to hip record shops worldwide this week. Enjoy!

We are surrounded by stacks of red and blue vinyl – Matinée 45 assembly line in full swing!

The new 45 from Math and Physics Club is out now! Here are the complete details:

matinée 075
MATH AND PHYSICS CLUB – JIMMY HAD A POLAROID 7″

Tracklisting:
1. Jimmy Had A Polaroid
2. The Sound of Snow

A very welcome return for beloved Seattle indiepop stars Math and Physics Club! Their first release in nearly three years and a preview of the forthcoming ‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ album (matcd055), ‘Jimmy Had a Polaroid’ is an incredibly catchy two-and-a-half minute pop thrill. While the song begins in familiar Math and Physics Club fashion, chiming guitars whirling through the choruses and a driving rhythm section combine to get the kids dancing to a certified song-of-the-year contender.

On the flipside, exclusive non-album track ‘The Sound of Snow’ is a beautifully plaintive ode to The Softies, with more chiming guitar melody and nice vocal harmonies completing the reference. Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on ice-blue vinyl which is perhaps the coolest color you’ll ever see.

Since today is your lucky day, we are offering a free download of ‘Jimmy Had a Polaroid’ on the Matinée sounds page RIGHT NOW so go get it!

For band information and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Math and Physics Club pages on Myspace.

We are posting reviews of the single simultaneously on the catalog page and also on the new Matinée Facebook page. The band has a new-ish page on Facebook you should probably check out too.

The 7″ is available now in the Matinée shop and from select record emporiums across the globe. As of today we’ve sold through about half of them so don’t delay if you’re after a copy. Enjoy!

Dear website…sorry we’ve been ignoring you. It’s just so easy to post quick bits of news on the new Matinée Facebook page so we’ve been hanging out over there lately. Sign up as a fan and we promise you won’t miss a thing. Watch for more news posted here in the next few days too!

Great to see some of you in Los Angeles and San Francisco this weekend at the Cats on Fire and Math and Physics Club shows! They were ace, don’t you think?

Four brand new releases means a big shakeup on the Matinée hit parade. After six months on top of the chart, Northern Portrait are slumming it down at number seven. Meanwhile, Math and Physics Club take over as the new number one. Here are the top sellers for May:

10. Pale Sunday – Shooting Star CDEP
9. The Electric Pop Group – Seconds CD
8. Cats on Fire – Our Temperance Movement CD
7. Northern Portrait – Criminal Art Lovers CD
6. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP
5. Various – The Matinée Grand Prix CD
4. Bubblegum Lemonade – Caroline’s Radio 7″
3. Math and Physics Club – Jimmy Had A Polaroid 7″
2. Cats on Fire – Dealing In Antiques CD
1. Math and Physics Club – I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do CD

The new album from Cats on Fire is out now! Here are the details:

matcd056
CATS ON FIRE – DEALING IN ANTIQUES

Tracklisting:
1. Your Woman (unreleased White Town cover, 2010)
2. Poor Students Dream of Marx (unreleased track, 2004)
3. Never Land Here (from Draw In The Reins CDEP, 2006)
4. Crooked Paper Clip (unreleased track, 2004)
5. Something Happened (from Solid Work 7”, 2003)
6. On His Right Side (unreleased track, 2008)
7. Don’t Say It Could Be Worse (unreleased track, 2004)
8. My Friend In A Comfortable Chair (from Happiness Is Chemistry 7”, 2004)
9. You Will Find Me Where You Left Me (from Solid Work 7”, 2003)
10. Solid Work (from Solid Work 7”, 2003)
11. Higher Grounds (from Draw In The Reins CDEP, 2006)
12. They Produced A Girl (from Empty Town demo, 2002)
13. Honey Your Baby (from Solid Work 7”, 2003)
14. The Smell of An Artist (from Draw In The Reins CDEP, 2006)
15. Your Treasure (unreleased track, 2004)
16. The Cold Hands of Great Men (from Draw In The Reins CDEP, 2006)
17. Draw In The Reins (from Draw In The Reins CDEP, 2006)
18. Happiness is Chemistry (from Happiness Is Chemistry 7”, 2004)
19. Stars (from Empty Town demo, 2002)
20. The Hague (from The Matinée Grand Prix compilation, 2010)

Extraordinary 20-track collection from Finnish indie favorites Cats On Fire features sold-out EP and single tracks from the band’s past plus assorted rarities, unreleased tracks, and recent recordings too.

Previous Cats On Fire albums ‘The Province Complains’ (2007) and ‘Our Temperance Movement’ (2009) earned the band favorable comparisons to indie legends The Smiths, Felt, Orange Juice and Pulp. The albums amassed notable reviews in the music press, including coverage by All Music Guide, The Big Takeover, NME, Q Magazine, and Pop Matters, among others. The band has played countless international shows across Scandinavia, continental Europe, the UK and the US, including sets at Sweden’s prestigious Emmaboda festival, the Indietracks festival in England, and the New York City popfest.

The wonderfully generous ‘Dealing in Antiques’ (matcd056) is a comprehensive collection of non-album tracks of various origins. Some of the songs were brought down from the attic, and some of them up from the cellar. Some were simply brought forward to a more prominent place in the house, while others were polished a bit. The album features two tracks from the band’s ‘Empty Town’ demo in 2002, six songs from limited edition and long sold out Finnish 7” singles ‘Solid Work’ and ‘Happiness is Chemistry’ from 2003 and 2004, and five tracks from the 2006 ‘Draw In The Reins’ ep on fashionable Swedish imprint Fraction Discs.

Among the album’s unreleased tracks are four superb early recordings from 2004, an unreleased outtake from the ‘Our Temperance Movement’ recording sessions in 2008, new song ‘The Hague’ (previewed on the ‘Matinée Grand Prix’ compilation earlier this year), and a brand new cover version of the 1997 UK number one hit ‘Your Woman’ from White Town.

Spotlighting the brilliant evolution of Cats on Fire over the past eight years, ‘Dealing in Antiques’ is an essential anthology from one of today’s most popular indie groups. The band is promoting the album with a headline appearance at the San Francisco Popfest in May and their first ever trip to Hong Kong in June.

For band information, soundclips, early reviews, and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Cats on Fire pages on Myspace.

We’ve added soundclips for five favorites to the catalog page and a free mp3 of ‘Your Woman’ is now available to download on the Matinée sounds page.

The CD is available now in the Matinée shop and shows up next week in hip record emporiums plus digitally via iTunes, emusic, Amazon mp3, Darla.com and other good digital providers. Enjoy!

The long-awaited second album ‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ (matcd055) from Seattle pop darlings Math and Physics Club is currently in the hands of our pressing plant so you’re just two weeks away from having one of your very own!

Math and Physics Club first captured our hearts in 2005 with the charming ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056), which quickly sold out of its initial pressing. The band’s brand of literate acoustic-based guitar pop has garnered frequent comparisons to bands like The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, and labelmates The Lucksmiths, and their self-titled debut full length (matcd042) was named best indiepop album of 2006 by PopMatters. Picking up where their excellent 2007 ‘Baby I’m Yours’ EP (matinée 066) left off, Math and Physics Club return with their first long player in nearly four years.

‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ is a smashing collection of ten new pop gems, chock full of the chiming guitars and sweet melodies we’ve come to expect, but it also packs a punch their earlier work shied away from. Seattle producer Martin Feveyear helped the band dial in rich, clean tones reminiscent of their 80’s influences like The Housemartins, but with a decidedly modern luster. The ten tracks clock in at less than 25 minutes, showcasing the band’s knack for crisp arrangements and good sense to know when a song just doesn’t need that extra chorus.

First single ‘Jimmy Had a Polaroid’ starts out in familiar MAPC fashion, but as soon as the drums and bass rumble into the picture you realize this is no twee affair. As chiming guitars whirl through the choruses, the rhythm section keeps things driving at a fast clip that will surely get the kids dancing. It’s the sort of song that HAD to be released as a single so we’ve gone and pressed up 500 copies on ice blue 7” vinyl (matinée 075) with a great exclusive b-side too! Please see below for further single details.

The full album tracklisting is: 1. Jimmy Had A Polaroid; 2. We Make A Pair; 3. Trying To Say I Love You; 4. Everybody Loves A Showtune; 5. Love or Loneliness; 6. Will You Still Love Me?; 7. I’ll Tell You Anything; 8. The Internationale; 9. I’ve Been That Boy; 10. We’re So DIY!

You can preview several album tracks on the catalog page and download the single ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ for free from the Matinée sounds page RIGHT NOW!

The band is promoting the new album with an appearance May 30 at the San Francisco Popfest, and has scheduled a record release show in Seattle at The Crocodile on June 12th. Please see the band website for more details.

As luck would have it, you can now preorder ‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ from the Matinée shop as we speak. The album is officially released June 1st but we are shipping website preorders from May 25th because we like you so much. Don’t forget a copy of the ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ 7” (matinée 075) too!

While you’re in shopping mode, we recently came across a box of extra sleeves for the band’s long sold out debut single ‘Weekends Away’ (matinée 056) so we did a short run repressing of the EP and now have 100 fresh copies available for anybody that didn’t get it before it originally sold out. Hurry though—these won’t last long!

You can now find an official Matinée Recordings page on Facebook. There is another page floating about but we’re not sure who set that one up and it hasn’t been updated in ages so please check the new page for the latest news moving forward!

Wow – we had no idea how hungry some of you were for new Matinée vinyl! Since posting news last month of a new crop of 7” singles on the way we’ve heard from many a fan inquiring about preorders and release dates and generally panicking that you may not be quick enough for one of the 500 copies we’re pressing. While I’d like to think we live in a world where 500 copies of a new single from Math and Physics Club or Bubblegum Lemonade sell out in a week I suspect we’ll have enough copies to go around for a little while but I’d love to be proven wrong…

As we await arrival of test pressings on both singles, we are starting preorders for each to satisfy this unprecedented public demand so please check the Matinée shop to reserve your copies. I can’t give a precise arrival date for these but anticipate something by June 1st which I guess isn’t too long a wait now is it? In case you missed the news bit last month on our new line of 45’s, here’s the skinny:

Glasgow popkids Bubblegum Lemonade get ready for summer with a new three-track red vinyl 7” ‘Caroline’s Radio’ (matinée 074) in nifty hand-numbered sleeves! The title track is a fantastic Scottish pop hit that pays homage to offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline and the single features exclusive b-sides ‘Stalling and Laughing’ and ‘Looking To The Sun’. While we wait for the vinyl to arrive, you can preview ‘Caroline’s Radio’ on the sounds page and reserve your copy now in the Matinée shop.

Seattle popstars Math and Physics Club preview upcoming album ‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ (matcd055) with a limited 7” pressing of brilliant new song ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ (matinée 075) in another hand-numbered sleeve and on ice blue vinyl! The first release from the band since their ‘Baby I’m Yours’ EP (matinée 066) in 2007, ‘Jimmy’ is a certified song-of-the-year contender backed with exclusive non-album b-side ‘The Sound of Snow.’ You can preview ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ on the sounds page and preorder your copy in the Matinée shop RIGHT NOW!

As mentioned above, both singles are limited to 500 copies and come with free download coupon so your iPod will love them as well. The releases will be available on the usual download sites as well so please don’t despair if you don’t own a turntable.

The forthcoming ‘Life Returns To Normal’ 7” (matinée 076) from Northern Portrait and ‘Get-To-Bed Birds’ 7” (matinée 077), from The Lucksmiths are still at least a month away so no luck on those preorders yet. Once they’re off to the pressing plant we’ll update you on exact timing and give you plenty of preorder notice so you won’t be disappointed.

The new album ‘Dealing in Antiques’ (matcd056) from fetching Finländares Cats on Fire is nearly ready so it’s time to disclose the full release details. The album is an extraordinary 20-track collection of sold-out EP and single tracks from the band’s past plus assorted rarities, unreleased tracks, and a few recent recordings too.

The impressive tracklisting includes: 1. Your Woman; 2. Poor Students Dream of Marx; 3. Never Land Here; 4. Crooked Paper Clip; 5. Something Happened; 6. On His Right Side; 7. Don’t Say It Could Be Worse; 8. My Friend In A Comfortable Chair; 9. You Will Find Me Where You Left Me; 10. Solid Work; 11. Higher Grounds; 12. They Produced A Girl; 13. Honey Your Baby; 14. The Smell of An Artist; 15. Your Treasure; 16. The Cold Hands of Great Men; 17. Draw In The Reins; 18. Happiness is Chemistry; 19. Stars; 20. The Hague.

We’ve added soundclips for some current favorites on the catalog page and a free download of ‘Your Woman’ is up for grabs on the Matinée sounds page.

And yes, if you’re thinking ‘Your Woman’ sounds strangely familiar it is indeed a cover of the ’90s #1 hit by White Town! Writing about the song on the Cats on Fire website diary, lead singer Mattias Björkas had this to say: “I met Jyoti Mishra for the first time in a cabin in Kviberg, Gothenburg. Mattias of Cosy Den had invited him to play his club a second time, and I was asked if I wanted to come along and meet him in Kviberg. I immediately thought he was one of the most intelligent, kind and funny persons I’d ever met. He was genuinely interested in what we were doing and what we had to say, which has meant a lot to me. To cover this brilliantly subversive song was pure bliss.” Watch for additional diary entries with insight on other album tracks throughout the month.

As we mentioned previously, the band is celebrating the new release with two very special California shows later this month—May 29 in Los Angeles sponsored by Hungry Beat and May 30 headlining the prestigious San Francisco Popfest! Please see the band website for more details.

In the meantime, you can preorder ‘Dealing In Antiques’ RIGHT NOW from the Matinée shop. The album is officially released in North and South America on May 18th but we are shipping preorders from the 12th which is just around the corner really.