Hey pop purists, it’s time to announce the winners of the eighth annual Matinée fanclub poll! The results are now posted on the archive page and summarized here for your convenience.

The Matinée album of the year award goes to ‘Our Temperance Movement’ (matcd052) from Cats on Fire (36 votes), followed very closely by the debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) from Northern Portrait (34) and the ‘Matinée Grand Prix’ (matcd050) compilation (21). In a field of very solid contenders it is nice to see some of our newest bands sharing the glory this time.

In the singles category, The Hermit Crabs took top honors with the ‘Correspondence Course’ EP (matinée 071) edging out the ‘Picture Perfect’ EP (matinée 072) from Strawberry Whiplash by just one vote (39 and 38 votes, respectively). Pale Sunday racked up a respectable 34 votes for its ‘Shooting Star’ EP (matinée 073) in the last few weeks of the year.

The ‘Matinée Grand Prix’ (matcd050) compilation provided seven of the top 20 songs of the year in voting, including the coveted number one spot for ‘I Keep To Myself’ from Math and Physics Club (21 votes). The top five songs also include ‘Crazy’ from Northern Portrait (20), ‘Get-To-Bed Birds’ from The Lucksmiths (17), ‘Picture Perfect’ from Strawberry Whiplash (16), and ‘Tears In Your Cup’ from Cats on Fire (14). Other favorites of the year include ‘Disappointed’ from Clay Hips (12), ‘Cuts Like A Dream’ from Bubblegum Lemonade (11), ‘Letters From A Voyage To Sweden’ from Cats on Fire (11), ‘Danger Overboard’ from Tender Trap (11), ‘Lay Down Your Arms’ from Cats on Fire (9), ‘Correspondence Course’ from The Hermit Crabs (9), and ‘New Favourite Moment’ from Northern Portrait (9). Additional songs from Cats on Fire, The Electric Pop Group, The Guild League, The Hermit Crabs, Northern Portrait and Pale Sunday complete the top 20.

In the favorite Matinée artist category, The Lucksmiths secured the number one spot for an impressive eighth year in a row with 32 votes. Northern Portrait (22) and Math and Physics Club (16) took second and third. Other favorite bands include Cats on Fire (11), Harper Lee (10), Tender Trap (9), The Guild League (8), Would-Be-Goods (8), The Electric Pop Group (7), and Lovejoy (6).

The Lucksmiths also took the favorite Matinée album of all time category this year with 24 votes for ‘Warmer Corners’ (matcd039). ‘Math and Physics Club’ (matcd042) from Math and Physics Club came in second (21 votes), while ‘Singles 1989-1992’ (matcd026) from Brighter (18), ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) from Northern Portrait (16), and ‘Our Temperance Movement’ (matcd052) from Cats on Fire (15) all made the top five. Other album favorites include ‘R is for Razorcuts’ (matcd012) from Razorcuts (13), ‘Everything’s Going To Be OK’ (matcd020) from Harper Lee (11), ‘Where Were We?’ (matcd019) from The Lucksmiths (11), ‘Slum Clearance’ (matcd005) from The Siddeleys (9), ‘All Things Can Be Mended’ (matcd033) from Harper Lee (8), ‘First Frost’ (matcd049) from The Lucksmiths (8), ‘This is Farewell’ (matcd031) from The Fairways (7), ‘Inner North’ (matcd034) from The Guild League (7), ‘Eventyr’ (matcd047) from Would-Be-Goods (7), and ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043) from The Pines (6).

Northern Portrait have the top Matinée single of all time as their debut ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ EP (matinée 068) earned 23 votes to lead the final category. Other favorite singles include ‘T-Shirt Weather’ EP (matinée 018) from The Lucksmiths (19), ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ EP (matinée 070) from Northern Portrait (16), ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056) from Math and Physics Club (13), ‘Train Not Stopping’ EP (matinée 032) from Harper Lee (12), ‘Untidy Towns’ 7” (matinée 004) from The Lucksmiths (11), ‘Baby I’m Yours’ EP (matinée 066) from Math and Physics Club (11), ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths (10), ‘Movie Ending Romance’ EP (matinée 059) from Math and Physics Club (10), ‘Sunday Lovely Sunday’ EP (matinée 016) from Edson (9), ‘Emmanuelle Béart’ EP (matinée 030) from Would-Be-Goods (9), ‘Sunrise’ EP (matinée 067) from The Electric Pop Group (8), ‘Darling, Don’t You Think’ 7” (matinée 009) from The Fairways (8), ‘Ten Years Younger’ EP (matinée 064) from Bubblegum Lemonade (7), and ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee (7).

Now that 2009 polling has ended, we can reveal that the four new releases (Northern Portrait, The Electric Pop Group, Pale Sunday and the Matinée Grand Prix compilation) are all technically 2010 releases so you’ll have a chance to vote for them in the 2010 poll if you haven’t heard them yet. Congratulations to all the Matinée artists and thanks to everyone who entered the poll this year. The winner of the $50 prize drawing is Kent Mathews from Houston, Texas. Nice one! Now on to 2010…

matcd050
VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE MATINEE GRAND PRIX

Tracklisting:
1. Northern Portrait – Stirling Moss
2. Strawberry Whiplash – Boy In The Bubble Car
3. The Lucksmiths – Get-to-Bed Birds
4. The Electric Pop Group – Believers
5. Clay Hips – Disappointed
6. Tender Trap – Danger Overboard
7. Simpático – Australian Idle
8. Cats on Fire – The Hague
9. Bubblegum Lemonade – Cuts Like A Dream
10. Math And Physics Club – I Keep To Myself
11. The Guild League – Bookmark

Brilliant new collection of songs from Matinée’s truly international coterie of popstars. The disc kicks off with a firm favorite from Denmark’s Northern Portrait entitled ‘Stirling Moss’ which establishes a car racing theme rather nicely. Scottish popkids Strawberry Whiplash answer the challenge with new smash ‘Boy In The Bubble Car,’ while Australian legends The Lucksmiths deliver their swansong recording with the predictably stunning ‘Get-to-bed Birds.’

Sweden’s The Electric Pop Group is represented with perhaps their strongest song to date ‘Believers,’ while Clay Hips—American expats living in Germany and Ireland—don’t disappoint channeling their inner Pet Shop Boys with ‘Disappointed.’ The album’s centerpoint sees the return of England’s mighty Tender Trap after four years with the new classic ‘Danger Overboard,’ and Australia has its second contender with the very welcome return of Simpático and new favorite ‘Australian Idle.’

Finland’s Cats on Fire begin the year with a fantastic new song called ‘The Hague,’ while Scotland is back in fine form with Bubblegum Lemonade and ‘Cuts Like A Dream.’ Finally, American hipsters Math and Physics Club break a two-year silence with a great new song called ‘I Keep To Myself,’ and Australia’s The Guild League soundtrack the final lap of the compilation with the lovely ‘Bookmark.’

Demonstrating the continuing strength of the label’s roster, this timeless collection is a vital release for the Matinée faithful and a fantastic introduction to some of the best indie bands of today.

For soundclips, early reviews, and more release details please see the catalog page. You can hear six songs on the Matinée sounds page, or tracks from the album rotating on MySpace. The CD is available now in the Matinée shop and from select record emporiums across the globe, plus digitally via iTunes, emusic, Amazon mp3, and other good digital providers.

Happy 2010! We are tabulating the results of our year-end fanclub poll and will reveal the winners following a short trip to Washington DC this week. In the meantime, we have published lists of 2009 favorites from Matinée artists in the archive so check them out!

We have also updated the order page to reflect current stockists across the globe. Of particular note to anyone in the UK is the great new Pebble Records mailorder, which has stock on nearly the entire Matinée catalog and all at great prices too.

Finally, Northern Portrait ended 2009 atop the Matinée hit parade once again. Here are the top sellers for last month:

10. The Electric Pop Group – Sunrise CDEP
9. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
8. Sweet William – Dutch Mother 7”
7. Northern Portrait – The Fallen Aristocracy CDEP
6. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
5. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP
4. Pale Sunday – Shooting Star CDEP
3. The Electric Pop Group – Seconds CD
2. Various – The Matinée Grand Prix CD
1. Northern Portrait – Criminal Art Lovers CD

At last…it’s time for the annual Matinée fanclub poll! Once a year we survey you lovely people to see which of our brilliant new Matinée releases made you smile and reward lucky fans with a selection of free records in the process. This year, we’ve delayed the start of the polling to allow the brand new releases a chance in the running too so hopefully your order has arrived so you can participate! If not, there’s still time to place an order before the entries are due next month.

Official 2009 album of the year contenders include ‘The Matinée Grand Prix’ (matcd050) compilation plus ‘Speak Up’ (matcd051) from The Guild League, ‘Our Temperance Movement’ (matcd052) from Cats on Fire, ‘Seconds’ (matcd053) from The Electric Pop Group, and ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) from Northern Portrait. That’s an impressive run even in the Matinée scorebook.

The three single of the year contenders for 2009 are the ‘Correspondence Course’ EP (matinée 071) from The Hermit Crabs, ‘Picture Perfect EP (matinée 072) from Strawberry Whiplash, and ‘Shooting Star’ EP (matinée 073) from Pale Sunday. Which one is your favorite?

As always, we are also collecting votes for song of the year, favorite Matinée artists, and favorite Matinée albums and singles of all time. Please take a moment to vote for your favorites. As with prior polls, simply entering earns you a chance to win free music and this year anything goes with a special $50 merchandise bonanza for one lucky winner in the prize draw! The poll closes January 15th so go here to complete your entry today and best of luck in the draw.

The warehouse clearance sale continues at the mailorder until January 5th so please see the order page for fantastic savings on most of the catalog. Stock is very low on several titles so this may be your last chance at a few of these gems.

All the new releases are now shipping and we have just added free mp3s to the sounds page from Northern Portrait, Simpático and Cats on Fire so have a listen if you haven’t picked up the new ones yet. Please see news below for more information on all the 2009 releases. More free mp3s next week from The Electric Pop Group and Pale Sunday!

Thanks for your support in 2009 and all the best for a splendid new year! xx-Jimmy

We are now shipping preorders for the new releases from Northern Portrait and Pale Sunday plus the Matinée Grand Prix compilation. The Electric Pop Group CDs will be here on the 21st so the wait on those is a bit shorter than expected. By this time next week we should have cleared out most of this mountain of pending orders! Please note: the four new releases will be available in shops in mid-January, but you can order a copy for immediately delivery from the Matinée shop RIGHT NOW just because we like you so much.

The big sale continues at the Matinée shop through the end of the year. Meanwhile, Northern Portrait capture the top spot on the November hit parade by a country mile. Here’s the entire list:

10. Bubblegum Lemonade – Susan’s In The Sky CDEP
9. Brighter – Out To Sea CD
8. The Electric Pop Group – Sunrise CDEP
7. Northern Portrait – The Fallen Aristocracy CDEP
6. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
5. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP
4. Pale Sunday – Shooting Star CDEP
3. The Electric Pop Group – Seconds CD
2. Various – The Matinée Grand Prix CD
1. Northern Portrait – Criminal Art Lovers CD

Happy holidays!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Matinée releases are a bit like buses—you wait for one for ages and then four come along at once. As always, we trust you’ll find these worth the wait. Here’s the mildly impressive lowdown:

The latest in our splendid series of compilations is entitled ‘The Matinée Grand Prix’ (matcd050) and it features eleven magnificent new songs from a truly international coterie of popstars. The disc kicks off with a firm favorite from Denmark’s Northern Portrait entitled ‘Stirling Moss” which sets up the car racing theme rather nicely. Scottish popkids Strawberry Whiplash answer the challenge with new smash ‘Boy In The Bubble Car,’ while Australian legends The Lucksmiths deliver their swansong recording with the predictably stunning ‘Get-to-bed Birds.’ Sweden’s The Electric Pop Group is represented with perhaps their strongest song to date ‘Believers,’ while Clay Hips—American expats living in Germany and Ireland—don’t disappoint channeling their inner Pet Shop Boys with ‘Disappointed.’ The album’s centerpoint sees the return of England’s mighty Tender Trap after four long years with the new classic ‘Danger Overboard,’ and Australia has its second contender with the very welcome return of Simpático and new favorite ‘Australian Idle.’ Finland’s Cats on Fire close out the year with a fantastic new song called ‘The Hague,’ while Scotland is back in fine form with Bubblegum Lemonade and ‘Cuts Like A Dream.’ Finally, American hipsters Math and Physics Club break a two-year silence with a great new song called ‘I Keep To Myself,’ and Australia’s The Guild League soundtrack the final lap of the compilation with the lovely ‘Bookmark.’

We are previewing five tracks on the Matinée catalog page and rotating songs on the sounds page and on MySpace today. The album is scheduled for official release in January, but we are taking preorders right now exclusively in the Matinée shop and will ship copies beginning December 14th so you can have one in your hands for the new year. The album makes a nifty gift too so why not add two to your shopping cart?

Following incredibly popular singles ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ (matinée 068) and ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ (matinée 070) last year, Denmark’s Northern Portrait have delivered the highly anticipated debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) at last! The album includes ten brilliant songs from perhaps the most hyped band in Matinée’s 12-year history: 1. The Münchhausen In Me; 2. When Goodness Falls; 3. Crazy; 4. The Operation Worked But The Patient Died; 5. Criminal Art Lovers; 6. Life Returns To Normal; 7. Murder Weapon; 8. What Happens Next?; 9. That’s When My Headaches Begin; 10. New Favourite Moment. The band previewed a few of these on live dates throughout 2009 and the others are all new and just as spectacular as you might imagine.

We are currently previewing four tracks on the Matinée catalog page and rotating songs on the sounds page and on MySpace. The album is scheduled for official release in January, but we are taking preorders right now exclusively in the Matinée shop and will ship copies beginning December 14th along with the ‘Matinée Grand Prix’ album described above (which contains yet another exclusive new Northern Portrait song). Go on then…order them both! Just to warn you, we have just a handful of copies of ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ EP still in stock and the ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ EP is selling fast too so best pick up both while you can.

In addition to an exclusive track on the ‘Matinée Grand Prix’ compilation, Swedish sensations The Electric Pop Group have been busy finalizing songs for their long-awaited sophomore album ‘Seconds’ (matcd053). If you liked the band’s 2008 Matinée debut ‘Sunrise’ EP (matinée 067) you’re going to love this outstanding new entry to our album discography. The album features 10 new recordings including a new version of ‘My Only Inspiration’ which first surfaced on the ‘Matinée Hit Parade’ compilation (matcd045) in 2007. The full album tracklisting is: 1. Not By Another; 2. Out Of Sight; 3. I Know I Will; 4. Drawing Lines; 5. My Only Inspiration; 6. In The Back Of My Mind; 7. The Way It Used To Do; 8. Into Thin Air; 9. We Never Made Up Our Minds; 10. The Best Of Times. That leaves all four tracks from the ‘Sunrise’ EP exclusive to that release so you may want to pick that up too if you haven’t already.

We are previewing tracks on the Matinée catalog page and rotating songs on the sounds page and on MySpace all this month. The album is scheduled for official release in January but we are taking preorders right now exclusively in the Matinée shop and will ship copies beginning December 28th. In the meantime, enjoy the preview tracks and reserve your copy now on the order page!

Our final new release is the surprise return of Brazilian band Pale Sunday with their exclusive new ‘Shooting Star’ EP (matinée 073). The first new recordings from the band since their debut album ‘Summertime?’ (matcd037) in 2005, the EP includes four great new tracks: 1. Shooting Star; 2. Are You Scared To Get Happy?; 3. Before I Found You; 4. Unknown Half. Following four years in hiding, the band return with more radio friendly pop hits as found on their album and debut single ‘A Weekend with Jane’ (matinée 049) from 2003. Timed to coincide with the peak of the Brazilian summer, this EP will bring a little dose of sunshine to you wherever you are this January. We are taking preorders for the EP right now exclusively in the Matinée shop and will ship copies the week of December 28th with the new album from The Electric Pop Group. In the meantime, you can listen to ‘Shooting Star’ on the Matinée sounds page and on MySpace starting today.

The new releases are almost here! Watch this space for complete release details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have a big sale happening at the Matinée shop through the end of the year so take care of your holiday shopping today and you will surely have enough left over to get yourself a treat! Here’s what the cool kids were buying in September and October:

10. Would-Be-Goods – Eventyr CD
9. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
8. The Lucksmiths – First Frost CD
7. Northern Portrait – The Fallen Aristocracy CDEP
6. The Lucksmiths – Spring A Leak 2xCD
5. Brighter – Singles CD
4. The Siddeleys – Slum Clearance CD
3. Cats on Fire – Our Temperance Movement CD
2. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
1. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP

matinée 072
STRAWBERRY WHIPLASH – PICTURE PERFECT EP

Tracklisting:
1. Picture Perfect
2. Hay In A Needlestack
3. Celestial
4. Falling Through

Extraordinary sophomore release from Scottish pop sensations Strawberry Whiplash! Following a swell of positive feedback for their debut single ‘Who’s In Your Dreams’ last year, the duo deliver four smash hits that unequivocally disqualify them from one hit wonder status forever.

Lead track ‘Picture Perfect’ is a shimmering song that sets Sandra’s pitch perfect vocals and Laz’ chiming and fuzzy guitars to a hip-shaking primitive beat. A flawless slice of pop reminiscent of classic indie singles from The Primitives or Darling Buds, it’s a catchy burst of summertime neatly packaged for any time of the year.

‘Hay In A Needlestack’ is a reflective number featuring mellowed out tremolo guitar and glockenspiel, while ‘Celestial’ is Strawberry Alarm Clock meets The Popguns—jangling guitars leading to fuzzy stop-start choruses and sweet Doorsian organ bursts—and ‘Falling Through’ is a fuzzed up indie pop gem that ticks all the Strawberry Whiplash boxes to conclude the EP.

Four fantastic songs that prove the brilliance of the band’s debut single was no happy accident, ‘Picture Perfect’ is an absolute triumph for Strawberry Whiplash and another notable release for Matinée. Limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket.

For band information, soundclips, and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Strawberry Whiplash pages on Myspace. You can hear the title track now playing on the Matinée sounds page, or tracks from the EP rotating on MySpace, or samples of all the songs via select digital providers.

The EP is available RIGHT NOW from the Matinée shop and from smart record emporiums across the globe later in the month.

On the August hit parade, Strawberry Whiplash are straight in at number one with the ‘Picture Perfect’ EP, followed by some recent releases and a few of those sold out gems we offered last month. The sale continues at the mailorder and there are still some great releases available from the old Roundabout Records days so see the order page to pick up some bargains. Here are the top sellers for the month:

10. Bubblegum Lemonade – Doubleplusgood CD
9. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
8. Strawberry Whiplash – Who’s In Your Dreams CDEP
7. The Lucksmiths – Spring A Leak 2xCD
6. The Fairways – Darling, Don’t You Think 7″
5. The Lucksmiths – Southernmost 7″
4. The Lucksmiths – T-Shirt Weather 7″
3. The Lucksmiths – Untidy Towns 7″
2. Cats on Fire – Our Temperance Movement CD
1. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP

Friday morning pop quiz:

Q: What do the following Matinée releases have in common?

A: They’re all long sold out…or are they?

After a serious stockroom organization that perhaps only Virgos would fully appreciate, we have assembled a handful of copies of each of these long-deleted releases and they are now available again on the Matinée order page. Included here are long-lost releases from Bella Vista, Brighter, Ego, The Fairways, Harper Lee, The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club and more so if you’re after one of them, please place your order soon as these are the last known copies of each of these gems and there are no further surprises left in the stockroom. And no, we didn’t find any copies of the ‘R is for Razorcuts’ compilation. Sorry!

While we’re at it, the stockroom also contained some nice rarities from Roundabout Records, the mailorder we used to run in Washington, DC before starting the record label. There are releases from top indie labels of the day like Apricot, Bus Stop, Clover, Elefant, Drive In, Firestation Tower, Fortuna POP!, Labrador, Marina, Marsh Marigold, North of No South, Sarah, Shelflife, Shinkansen, Siesta, Soap, Subway, Vinyl Japan, A West Side Fabrication, WIAIWYA and more, and they were boxed up nearly a decade ago when the mailorder stopped. Needless to say some of these records are long deleted but while you’re picking up some Matinée rarities you might just want some of these too. You can see the complete list here and of course we’re happy to combine everything in one shipment.

Lots of Matinée titles are now on sale too so please see the order page for details.

If it’s digital downloads you’re after, you’ll be happy to hear that even more Matinée titles are now up on iTunes, emusic, Amazon mp3, Insound and other select digital shops. We are still working on a few back catalog titles but most other releases are now live so get downloading!