In addition to yesterday’s exciting news about the release of the new album from Finland’s Cats on Fire (see below), we are also thrilled to report that things are coming together for the highly anticipated new album ‘Seconds’ (matcd053) from Gothenburg, Sweden quartet The Electric Pop Group! The band released the magnificent ‘Sunrise EP’ (matinée 067) in March last year and are set to return with ten new songs on the new album. We are designing artwork while we wait for the final recordings but if all goes as planned the album should be in our hands next month. Watch for complete release details and exclusive song previews on the website later this month.

Completing a trifecta of Nordic pop brilliance, May should also see release of the debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) from Copenhagen, Denmark trio Northern Portrait! The band released two celebrated EPs—’The Fallen Aristocracy’ (matinée 068) and ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ (matinée 070) in 2008 and expectations are very high for the debut album. We’re working on artwork in preparation for the album’s release in May. Look for more release details and exclusive song previews in the coming weeks!

To celebrate the imminent new releases, The Electric Pop Group have live previews scheduled in Germany and England; Northern Portrait are visiting Germany, England and USA; and Cats on Fire are playing numerous dates in Finland, Germany, England and USA. For details, please check the artist pages to link to individual band websites and Myspace pages. There are more shows to be announced soon so watch this space for details.

While you check the sounds page for previews of the new albums, don’t forget our new ‘weekly download’ feature that offers two new mp3 downloads each week. This week the page includes splendid songs from The Hermit Crabs and Melodie Group that everybody needs to hear at least once in their life. If you haven’t checked the website lately you missed free downloads the past few weeks from Lovejoy, The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club, The Pines, Tender Trap, and The Windmills but don’t despair as we’ll have additional free downloads on offer each week. Enjoy!

There’s more below about how we came to work with Cats on Fire, a huge sale happening at the mailorder, and digital distribution of Matinée releases on iTunes, emusic and Amazon mp3. We seem to have fresh news every day too so check back soon for further updates. Bye for now!

Now here is a lesson for all you aspiring pop bands out there. The old cliché ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try try again’ really does ring true sometimes. Case in point: top Finnish exports Cats on Fire. The band humbly sent us a demo several years ago which we promptly ignored. A little while later, one of the fantastic Matinée popstars came to Santa Barbara for a visit (was it Mark Monnone of The Lucksmiths? Gregory Webster of Sportique?) and as we like to do when such an event happens, we pulled out the box of recent demos for a little jukebox jury. We had an elaborate ratings system which didn’t really matter at first because the first few bands all received something pretty close to zero points. Eventually I pulled out the demo from Cats on Fire and within a few minutes the bar had been set for that particular evening’s jukebox jury. They were glorious! I scrambled to figure out just how long I had neglected to contact these geniuses and promptly sent off an email to offer my apologies. As luck would have it, the band had just agreed to release the songs from the demo with the newly established Swedish label Fraction Discs. Knowing Jorgen from Fraction Discs for awhile at that point (he interviewed me for one of the issues of his magnificent ‘Try Happiness’ fanzine a few years earlier), I told the band they were in good hands and we agreed to stay in touch. The ‘Draw In The Reins’ EP was released a few months later without a Matinée logo.

Fast forward to late 2006, when we were offered a second chance to work with the band courtesy of their new German record label Marsh-Marigold. Now I go way back with Oliver from Marsh-Marigold, as I used to run a little pop mailorder here in the US called Roundabout Records and helped to distribute the brilliant Marsh-Marigold catalog to people all over the world starting in 1996. Marsh-Marigold were preparing to release the debut Cats on Fire album ‘The Province Complains’ and Oliver wrote to ask if we would like to co-release it. He sent me the songs which were even better than the high points from their previous demo. Unfortunately, this occurred 48 hours before my wife was scheduled to deliver our second baby Nicholas and 24 hours before we started demolition of part of our house to make an addition. As much as I wanted to say yes, I had to say no to the offer knowing that the next few months of my life would not be the best time to start working with a new band. ‘The Province Complains’ was released a few months later without a Matinée logo.

Fast forward once again, our house addition is complete and young Nicholas is now two. He dances around the kitchen on a regular basis with his older brother Alexander to Cats on Fire classics like ‘Born Again Christian’ and ‘The Smell of an Artist.’ As fate would have it, the band were recording again and working with Finnish label Johanna Kustannus on a new album entitled ‘Our Temperance Movement.’ When the request came in for us to release it here in the States, we knew what we had to do so Cats on Fire are members of the Matinée roster at last!

The new album ‘Our Temperance Movement’ (matcd052) is at the pressing plant now and should be in our hands in a few short weeks complete with Matinée logo. Just as the debut album was a step up from the demo, the new album is even better still with 10 new Cats on Fire classics: 1. Horoscope; 2. Lay Down Your Arms; 3. Letters From A Voyage To Sweden; 4. Never Sell The House; 5. The Steady Pace; 6. Tears In Your Cup; 7. Garden Lights; 8. The Borders Of This Land; 9. Our Days In The Sun; 10. Fabric.

We are featuring three tracks on the Matinée catalog page and rotating songs on the sounds page and also over on MySpace. The album is scheduled for release early next month but we are taking preorders RIGHT NOW on the Matinée website and will ship copies as soon as they are back from the pressing plant. In the meantime, enjoy the preview tracks and reserve your copy now on the order page. Hurrah for persistence!

We have some very exciting new releases in production and will spill the beans about all of them in the next few days. If you are clever you can probably learn a bit now by poking around the site a little.

In the meantime, we need to make room in the warehouse so we’re having a clearance sale the entire month of April. Please see the order page for mad deals on nearly everything in the catalog. All 7″ singles are priced at just $1 which could cause a few more to go out of print forever. CD singles start at just $2 and CD albums at $5 so some of these may be deleted by the end of the month too.

Finally, Scottish legends-in-the-making Bubblegum Lemonade return to the top of the hit parade! Here are the top sellers for the month of March:

10. The Hermit Crabs – Saw You Dancing CD
9. Various Artists – The Matinée Hit Parade CD
8. Bubblegum Lemonade – Ten Years Younger CDEP
7. The Hermit Crabs – Correspondence Course CDEP
6. Bubblegum Lemonade – Susan’s In The Sky CDEP
5. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
4. Would-Be-Goods – Eventyr CD
3. The Lucksmiths – First Frost CD
2. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
1. Bubblegum Lemonade – Doubleplusgood CD

We are busy this month converting our entire digital catalog to the new iTunes plus format and since we’re going to all this trouble we have also added lots of other back catalog titles to iTunes. The big transition is April 1st so there may be some titles that disappear for a few days but then return in the new format so if you’re looking for something in particular please check the iTunes page.

If you are anti-iTunes for some reason you’ll be happy to learn that we are now also digitally distributed via emusic and Amazon mp3 so check there for a fix. New titles seem to be showing up on a daily basis on both sites so if you don’t find what you want check back in a few days.

We are starting a new website feature this week, hosting two mp3s on the Matinée sounds page each week as part of our ‘weekly download.’ New songs will be posted each Monday so check the site each week and you will soon have a nice little playlist of songs for your iPod. They’re only up for seven days though so don’t slip up.

In honor of their headline appearance this week at the London Popfest, our inaugural feature includes the wonderful track ‘Talking Backwards’ from Tender Trap. The song appears on both the ‘Language Lessons’ EP (matinée 058) and the ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040) album and surely you have both in your collection already, right? Has it really been three years since their last splendid release? Fingers crossed for something new from Tender Trap soon!

Our second featured download is in celebration of a freak snowstorm that has just hit the southeastern United States including my old stomping grounds in North and South Carolina. Typically by this time of year the hot weather has already started so we’re playing the ace track ‘Summer Snow’ from one of our all time favorite Matinée bands, The Windmills. This one comes from the 2003 album ‘Now Is Then’ (matcd028) which sadly was their last release. Essential listening, nevertheless, as is everything else from The Windmills.

You can download both tracks RIGHT NOW on the sounds page.

Finally, after four months atop the Matinée hit parade, the Lucksmiths take a dive allowing the magnificent new album ‘Eventyr’ from Would-Be-Goods a well deserved #1 for the month of February. Hurrah! It really is a great album. The chart also sees a resurgence of all things Hermit Crabs. Here is the top ten:

10. Bubblegum Lemonade – Susan’s In The Sky CDEP
9. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
8. The Hermit Crabs – Feel Good Factor CDEP
7. The Hermit Crabs – Saw You Dancing CD
6. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
5. Bubblegum Lemonade – Doubleplusgood CD
4. The Lucksmiths – First Frost CD
3. The Hermit Crabs – Correspondence Course CDEP
2. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
1. Would-Be-Goods – Eventyr CD

New releases taking shape…more news and exclusive preview tracks coming soon!

News of the weird: Apparently President Obama is getting speech inspiration from The Guild League these days. In his speech to a joint session of Congress this week, Obama used the phrase “the quiet burden of their absence” which caused The Huffington Post to report:

“In the most oddball contribution of the speech, this line originates from the Australian pop band The Guild League on their album, Inner North: “The shirtless sky, the burning bricks. The quiet burden of your absence.” I’ll put down money that this song is on the Ipod of Obama’s twenty-seven year old speechwriter, Jon Favreau.”

This puts The Guild League in the same company as John F. Kennedy, Shakespeare, and J. R. R. Tolkien according to the newspaper. I told you this was weird…

In other news, the mighty A Layer of Chips fanzine has published a Matinée interview which we have added to the archive page along with a recent interview for Le Popstop. Thanks Sam and Jenny!

We keep forgetting to post these ace videos The Guild League made for their latest album ‘Speak Up’ (matcd051) but just remembered so here you go: videos for ‘Suit Fits’ and ‘Mouse vs. Mountain’…

Enjoy!

We’ve added lots of great reviews to the catalog page lately and here are some of our favorite quotes on the new releases:

matcd047
WOULD-BE-GOODS – EVENTYR

“Whether or not many of the class of 1987 are still listening to obscure jangle bands is anyone’s guess; but for those romantic nostalgists left behind The Would-Be-Goods offer succour and sweet home comfort.” —Nightshift Magazine

“The sound of serendipity at work.” —In Love With These Times…

“Expertly executed stuff, and terribly entertaining.” —Pop Musicology

“There’s nothing else around like Would-be-Goods—they aren’t Swedish, they don’t want to sound like a Jesus and Mary Chain b-side, and they don’t have beards.” —A Layer of Chips

“The heavily pedigreed quartet is plenty competent, and Eventyr is its most muscular and full-sounding album to date.” —PopMatters

“A brilliant album, as any new material from Jessica Griffin’s pen is bound to be.” —Heaven Is Above Your Head

“Old school indie with perfectly pitched pronunciation.” —The Devil Has The Best Tuna

matcd048
BUBBLEGUM LEMONADE – DOUBLEPLUSGOOD

“Carefully crafted bubblegum pop.” —Russell’s Reviews

“A perfect Rickenbacker-flavoured pop album for the 21st century.” —Pennyblack Magazine

“Doubleplusgood is devastatingly effective and is worthy of your hard earned pennies.” —indie-mp3.co.uk

“It’s a study in the pop rush with hooks and pop goodness washing over you like a California coastal break.” —The Finest Kiss

“I keep banging on about the quality of music emanating from Glasgow, and this is a prime example.” —Loud Horizon Music

“Like a dayglo Jesus and Mary Chain sans feedback covering The Byrds … as cute as a kettle full of kittens and as poppy as a needle in a balloon factory.” —The Devil Has The Best Tuna

“Every song on this album is great.” —The Soundtrack of My Life

“1960’s inspired jangly melodic indie-pop …yummy yummy yummy.” —Some Velvet Blog

matcd049
THE LUCKSMITHS – FIRST FROST

“First Frost is more of the Lucksmiths at their finest.” —All Music Guide

“The Lucksmiths will be hard pushed to better this exquisite collection. A quiet classic.” —Belfast Telegraph

“First Frost finds the Lucksmiths continuing to put out quietly ambitious records that could be enjoyed by almost anybody who loves music—not just indie pop partisans.” —Pitchfork

“Jangly bedroom pop is rarely as effortless as it is on this album, rarely as independent of trends and rarely so beguiling.” —Aversion.com

“The Lucksmiths have done it again and created their finest LP so far, you might say.” —Pop Musicology

“This could well be the album that brings the Lucksmiths the good fortune they so genuinely deserve.” —Blurt

“First Frost suggests The Lucksmiths are picking up the mantle of Grant McLennan.” —Uncut Magazine

“Quite simply, this is the best form of guitar derived pop imaginable.” —Russell’s Reviews

matcd051
THE GUILD LEAGUE – SPEAK UP

“Speak Up is the band’s best yet.” —Aversion.com

“It’s one of pop’s joys that The Guild League are around. To me, they’re a sort of nifty secret that gets told every three years or so.” —A Layer of Chips

“Speak Up has the feel of a team in unison… like a warm, welcoming reunion with old friends.” —Beat Magazine

“If I feel that The Guild League’s recent Speak Up is their best yet it might just be because it’s so much more immediate.” —Heaven Is Above Your Head

“Tight newie from the best ‘League since Anti-Nowhere containing a mini-constellation of sparkling tunes.” —In Love With These Times…

matinée 071
THE HERMIT CRABS – CORRESPONDENCE COURSE EP

“Correspondence Course is a tiny triumph.” —A Layer of Chips

“Utterly fine from start to finish.” —Pop Musicology

“Following up 2007’s Saw You Dancing with the act’s most intricate arrangements to date, The Hermit Crabs are quickly growing beyond their modest bedroom-pop roots, and Correspondence Course is all the richer for it.” —Aversion.com

“Fans of light, poppy music will enjoy The Hermit Crabs undoubtedly, but what makes this band so unique in its instrumentation and production will surely give this band an even wider audience.” —Delusions of Adequacy

“A fine EP indeed.” —Russell’s Reviews

“I Don’t Know How is a timeless pop song and my favourite Hermit Crabs song to date!” —Heaven Is Above Your Head

matinée 070
NORTHERN PORTRAIT – NAPOLEON SWEETHEART EP

“An absolute classic.” —Russell’s Reviews

“EP of the year, and my new favourite band of the year!” —Pennyblack Magazine

“There were some fine releases on the Matinée label this year, but far and away my favourite was this slice of soaring guitar driven Pop by Denmark’s Northern Portrait.” —Unpopular

“Northern Portrait continue to outclass every Swedish band apart from Days, we ought to call it a disgrace. But let’s call it pop instead.” —Heaven Is Above Your Head

“Northern Portrait are nigh-irresistible…this is pop deluxe.” —In Love With These Times…

“Truly glorious stuff.” —Indie-mp3.co.uk

“Northern Portrait’s second EP impresses me even more than the first.” –Erasing Clouds

If you don’t have all of these releases yet please stop by the order page or your favorite shop today to remedy that situation. There are mp3s from each release now featured on the Matinée sounds page too so enjoy!

We are working behind the scenes on our 2009 release schedule which will feature new releases from Northern Portrait, The Electric Pop Group, Math and Physics Club, The Lucksmiths, and Strawberry Whiplash for starters. In the meantime, here are ten classics you can order right now – the top sellers on the website for January:

10. Would-Be-Goods – Eventyr CD
9. Bubblegum Lemonade – Doubleplusgood CD
8. The Hermit Crabs – Correspondence Course CDEP
7. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
6. Northern Portrait – The Fallen Aristocracy CDEP
5. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
4. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
3. The Lucksmiths – Spring A Leak 2xCD
2. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
1. The Lucksmiths – First Frost CD

More news soon…

At last, we are pleased to announce the winners of our seventh annual Matinée fanclub poll! The results are now posted on the archive page and summarized below for your convenience.

The esteemed album of the year award goes to ‘First Frost’ (matcd049) from The Lucksmiths (62 votes), followed by the debut album ‘Doubleplusgood’ (matcd048) from Bubblegum Lemonade (35) and the new album ‘Eventyr’ (matcd047) from Would-Be-Goods (35).

In the singles category, Northern Portrait captured the top two spots with the ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ EP (matinée 070) earning 49 votes and ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ EP (matinée 068) earning 46. The Hermit Crabs secured the number three spot with 23 votes for their ‘Correspondence Course’ EP (matinée 071).

‘Crazy’ and ‘I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me’ also provided Northern Portrait with the top two places in the Matinée song of the year contest. The lead tracks from their two EPs earned 37 and 35 votes, respectively, followed by ‘Susan’s In The Sky’ from Bubblegum Lemonade (22), ‘I Could See The Lights’ from The Electric Pop Group (20), and ‘A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed) from The Lucksmiths (17) in the top five.

Other top tunes included ‘Good Light’ from The Lucksmiths (16), ‘Temporary Best Friend’ from Would-Be-Goods (13), ‘A Quiet Night in Copenhagen’ from Northern Portrait (10), ‘Summer’s Day’ from The Electric Pop Group (9), ‘Correspondence Course’ from The Hermit Crabs (9), ‘California In Popular Song’ from The Lucksmiths (9), ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ from Northern Portrait (9), ‘If Not Now…’ from The Guild League (8), ‘I Don’t Know How’ from The Hermit Crabs (8), ‘Up with the Sun’ from The Lucksmiths (8), and ‘Sad Stories’ from Would-Be-Goods (8).

In the favorite artist category, The Lucksmiths (41 votes), edged out challengers Math and Physics Club (38), and newcomers Northern Portrait (30) to hold the number one spot for the seventh consecutive year. Other favorite bands include Harper Lee (15), Brighter (14), Would-Be-Goods (12), The Guild League (11), Bubblegum Lemonade (10), The Electric Pop Group (9), and Razorcuts (9).

Math and Physics Club took the favorite Matinée album of all time category with 37 votes for their debut album ‘Math and Physics Club’ (matcd042). ‘Warmer Corners’ (matcd039) from The Lucksmiths nearly tied (36 votes), while ‘Singles 1989-1992’ (matcd026) from Brighter (28), ‘R is for Razorcuts’ (matcd012) from Razorcuts (19), and ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter (16) rounded out the top five.

Other album favorites include ‘Everything’s Going To Be OK’ (matcd020) from Harper Lee (15), ‘First Frost’ (matcd049) from The Lucksmiths (15), ‘This is Farewell’ (matcd031) from The Fairways (14), ‘Slum Clearance’ (matcd005) from The Siddeleys (14), ‘Doubleplusgood’ (matcd048) from Bubblegum Lemonade (12), ‘Where Were We?’ (matcd019) from The Lucksmiths (12), ‘Saw You Dancing’ (matcd046) from The Hermit Crabs (11), ‘All Things Can Be Mended’ (matcd033) from Harper Lee (10), ‘Private Transport (matcd023) from The Guild League (9), and ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043) from The Pines (9).

Math and Physics Club also have the top Matinée single of all time as their debut ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056) earned 29 votes to lead the final category. Other favorite singles include ‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ EP (matinée 068) from Northern Portrait (25), ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ EP (matinée 070) from Northern Portrait (22), ‘San Francisco’ EP (matinée 057) from The Lucksmiths (20), ‘T-Shirt Weather’ EP (matinée 018) from The Lucksmiths (20), ‘Baby I’m Yours’ EP (matinée 066) from Math and Physics Club (19), ‘Train Not Stopping’ EP (matinée 032) from Harper Lee (15), ‘Movie Ending Romance’ EP (matinée 059) from Math and Physics Club (15), ‘Midweek Midmorning’ EP (matinée 042) from The Lucksmiths (13), ‘Sunrise’ EP (matinée 067) from The Electric Pop Group (12), ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee (12), ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths (12), ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from The Hermit Crabs (11), ‘Who’s In Your Dreams’ EP (matinée 065) from Strawberry Whiplash (11), and ‘Emmanuelle Béart’ EP (matinée 030) from Would-Be-Goods (10).

Congratulations to all the Matinée artists and thanks to everyone who entered the poll this year. We received a record number of entries this year from 18 different countries, so we have selected two entries as winners of the CD prize pack. Congratulations to Toby Semroc from Seattle, Washington and Carsten Scheef from Kiel, Germany. Well done, gentlemen!

Everyone who entered the poll is eligible for a 20 percent discount on your next website order so check your email for details on how to apply the discount and thanks for participating again this year.