The fantastic Northern Portrait have come all the way from Denmark to California for five shows this week which has us very excited indeed!

The mini-tour kicks off at the San Francisco Popfest this weekend and continues with stops in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oxnard and Santa Barbara (click on the flier to the right for details for this one). Please come out to show your support and to hear songs from their forthcoming album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054).

Here are the complete tour details:

Northern Portrait California Tour 2009

Saturday, May 23 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ The Rickshaw Stop
San Francisco Popfest presents…
Northern Portrait + Tullycraft + My Teenage Stride + The Smittens + Magic Bullets
Doors at 7:30 pm; $13.00 advance or $15.00 at the door
Advance tickets available from Rickshaw Stop.

Monday, May 25 – SACRAMENTO, CA @ Old Ironsides
Record Club presents…
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Gregory Webster
Starts at 8:00 pm; $7.00 at the door

Thursday, May 28 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ The Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge
Matinée Recordings and Yay! Records present…
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + The Tartans
Doors at 8:00 pm; $10.00 admission; all ages!
Advance tickets available via Ticketweb.

Friday, May 29 – OXNARD, CA @ The Kenji Shack
Matinée Recordings and Yay! Records present…
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Catwalk
Starts at 8:00 pm; tickets at the door; all ages!
More details coming on the Yay! Records website

Saturday, May 30 – SANTA BARBARA, CA @ Reds Tapas and Wine Bar
Matinée Recordings and Yay! Records present…
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Catwalk
Reds Tapas and Wine Bar
211 Helena Avenue, Santa Barbara (one block off State Street @ Yanonali)
All ages happy hour show—doors at 5:00 pm; music 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
$6.00 at the door or in advance from matineepop@hotmail.com

Hope to see some of you at the shows!

This is a short good news/bad news update so you may want to take a seat. First, the good news:

The brilliant new album ‘Our Temperance Movement (matcd052) from top Finnish pop band Cats on Fire is now out and the band plays the New York City popfest this Friday to celebrate! We can now certify the album sounds equally good cruising the Pacific Coast Highway as it does poking around town so give it a try next time you’re off for a drive. Please see complete release details and order information below. For show details, please visit the Cats on Fire website.

Our favorite Danish band Northern Portrait are heading to the UK this week for a series of shows before landing on California soil in time for the San Francisco popfest on May 23rd and other shows in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oxnard and Santa Barbara later this month. Complete tour details are summarized below. We hope to see some of you there!

Northern Portrait and The Electric Pop Group are still working to finalize their new albums so both remain in the coming soon section of the catalog. We will post exclusive previews from each album in the next seven days though so watch this space. The Electric Pop Group also have a few UK shows coming up so see below for those details as well.

Firmly in the bad news category is the announcement that Matinée favorites The Lucksmiths have decided to call it a day. Here is a sadly official sounding farewell notice from the band:

Dear Friends,

There’s no easy way to put this, so please accept our apologies for the seemingly abrupt nature of this post. We are saddened to announce that after sixteen years as The Lucksmiths, the band has decided to break up.

The last few years have been an uphill battle in many ways, so this isn’t a hasty decision based on any falling-out between band members, but rather, an acceptance of the inevitable. This decision was finally reached a few months back, so we’ve had plenty of time to let it sink in.

We had tried to operate the band in a way that would suit all of us, but at the same time we’ve been very conscious that too much compromise would in the end affect our creative output. We’re very proud of the music we make, and we certainly didn’t want it to start stinking. So, in taking our cues from Devo, we’ve decided to whip the proverbial cream before it sits out too long.

We’re really excited about our upcoming European tour, and have booked some Australian dates for our “farewell tour” in August. The details for these shows are in our gig guide. We really hope to see as many people at these shows as possible, as we will be playing super long sets, cramming in as many old favourites as possible.

We must apologise for not making it back to the USA, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or Singapore, or to the other amazing European countries we’ve previously visited — and for never having made it to the other fifty or so countries we’d hoped to tour one day.

We really want to thank you all, especially the wonderful people who’ve helped us out in any way, and anyone who’s listened to our music or come to a show. We’ve loved having you in our world and we will miss you dearly.

xo The Lucksmiths

##

So no new recordings are on the horizon (believe me, we tried..), but the lucky people of Germany, Sweden, Norway, Spain, England, Scotland, and Australia all have a chance to see the band one last time over the next few months. Please see the band’s website or Myspace for complete tour details or to start a petition to make this not really happen!

Finally, we have just returned to our home after five days of mandatory evacuation due to a wildfire burning in every direction here in Santa Barbara. The immediate threat appears to be over but this one was a little too close for comfort. Thanks to everyone who inquired about our safety the last few days and apologies to anyone who placed an order during this time. Normal service resumes today. You know we’re having a huge sale still at the mailorder, right? Some new music could be exactly what you need to get over this Lucksmiths news… Bye!

matcd052
CATS ON FIRE – OUR TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

Tracklisting:
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

Accomplished second album from fashionable Finnish pop foursome Cats on Fire. The band’s debut album ‘The Province Complains’ was released in 2007 to widespread acclaim, earning favorable comparisons to indie legends The Smiths, Felt, Orange Juice, Pulp, and Belle & Sebastian, among others. All Music Guide declared it “a classic-in-waiting filled with durable, memorable, carefully constructed songs, almost any one of which could have been a single;” while NME called it “an indie-pop hallelujah” and Q Magazine wrote “Cats on Fire hit a high mark few other earnest young men can get near.”

The new album ‘Our Temperance Movement’ is even better still, demonstrating the band’s flair for delivering sumptuous jangle pop with enticing melodies and intelligent lyrics. The album expands upon the traditional guitar, bass, and drums with liberal bursts of piano, organ, clarinet, banjo, glockenspiel and other percussion which help to showcase the extraordinary style of singer Mattias Björkas and his poetic, sardonic, and rather eccentric take on the world.

Among the album’s many highlights, ‘Horoscope’ tackles a classic relationship challenge with a lovely dose of female backing vocals, while ‘The Borders Of This Land’ is jaunty, smart continental pop with just the right amount of attitude. Meanwhile, ‘Letters From A Voyage To Sweden’ sets the tale of a seedy ferry ride between Scandinavian countries to jangling guitars, and ‘The Steady Pace’ opens with a double entendre before layering in Spanish guitars and building to an absolutely soaring chorus. Perhaps the best of the bunch, however, is infectious indie hit ‘Tears In Your Cup’ which boasts shimmering guitars and an overall panache that will have you reaching for the repeat button straightaway.

Inspired, confident, and incredibly well executed, ‘Our Temperance Movement’ is top shelf indiepop from one of the most exciting bands today.

For band information, soundclips, and more release details please see the catalog and artist pages, or visit the Matinée and Cats on Fire pages on Myspace. You can hear three songs on the Matinée sounds page, or tracks from the album rotating weekly on MySpace, or 30-second samples of all the songs on iTunes. You can also watch a great video for ‘Tears in Your Cup’ if you click here. The CD is available now in the Matinée shop and from select record emporiums across the globe.

The band has nearly a dozen shows scheduled over the next month but sadly all of them are in Finland or Germany…except one headlining the New York City popfest on May 15th, yes way! We were unsuccessful in our attempts to lure them to California but will hopefully entice them back over soon. For complete show details please visit the Cats on Fire website.

Following a fantastic show last month in Hamburg, Germany, The Electric Pop Group and Northern Portrait are gearing up for more live dates designed to preview songs from their upcoming new albums.

As we reported last month, the new album from Gothenburg, Sweden quartet The Electric Pop Group is entitled ‘Seconds’ (matcd053) and contains 10 fantastic new songs. Although it’s possibly too early to call, our early favorites are called ‘Out of Sight’ and ‘The Way It Used To Do’ although ‘Into Thin Air’ and ‘We Never Made Up Our Minds’ are fairly stunning as well. As we wait for the final master, we are pleased to report that the band is set to play three UK shows this month—May 14th in London, May 15th in Stoke-on-Trent, and May 16th in Nottingham. Please see complete details on the band’s Myspace page. We promise to add some of the stunning new songs to the sounds page very soon and once we have everything off to the CD plant we’ll add a preorder button to the website order page.

Copenhagen, Denmark trio Northern Portrait are also set to return to a new release shelf near you soon with their debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054)! The band are still working on the final mixes but the preview tracks we have heard are incredible to say the least, especially ‘Münchausen in Me’ and ‘New Favourite Moment’ and ‘When Goodness Falls’ which are favorites on the office stereo this week. The band is also heading to the UK this month to preview songs from the new album, playing May 14th in London, May 15th in Oxford, May 16th in Nottingham, and May 20th in Birmingham. Please see complete details on the band’s Myspace page. As above, we promise to add new songs to the sounds page and a preorder button to the website order page as soon as possible.

Even more exciting than a handful of shows in jolly old England is a handful of shows right here in California and that’s what Northern Portrait have on slate for later this month! You may already know the band was invited to play this year’s San Francisco Popfest so we pulled together a handful of other shows that week to give them more time to enjoy the California sunshine. Here is the complete schedule:

Saturday, May 23 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ The Rickshaw Stop (San Francisco Popfest)
Northern Portrait + Tullycraft + My Teenage Stride + The Smittens + Magic Bullets
Doors at 8:00 pm; advance tickets available here.

Monday, May 25 – SACRAMENTO, CA @ Old Ironsides
Gregory Webster + Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Baby Grand (Record Club presents)
Tickets available at the door.

Thursday, May 28 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ The Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + The Tartans (a Matinée Recordings/Yay! Records night)
Doors at 8:00 pm; advance tickets available via Ticketweb.

Friday, May 29 – OXNARD, CA @ The Kenji Shack
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Catwalk (a Matinée Recordings/Yay! Records night)
Tickets available at the door.

Saturday, May 30 – SANTA BARBARA, CA @ Reds Tapas and Wine Bar
Northern Portrait + Champagne Riot + Catwalk (a Matinée Recordings/Yay! Records night)
All ages happy hour show—doors at 5:00 pm; advance tickets coming soon right here.

The Sacramento show is sponsored by the wonderful Record Club and also features our good friend Gregory Webster (of Razorcuts and Sportique fame)! Gregory is also playing the Saturday and Sunday afternoon shows at the San Francisco Popfest so please see the Popfest website for complete details as his solo shows are a good time indeed.

The final three shows are jointly sponsored with fellow Coastal California pop label Yay! Records so we’ll be enjoying the fine sounds of The Tartans and Catwalk those nights too which is reason enough to join us.

Watch for more show details here over the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing some of you out soon!

Attention digital downloaders – there are approximately 80 Matinée releases live on emusic and Amazon.mp3 now in addition to iTunes so if your iPod is in need of some new music you know what to do.

Old school junkies will be glad to know the April website sale was such a success that we’re extending it through the month of May. Please see the order page for deals on nearly everything in the catalog—all 7″ singles are just $1, CD singles start at just $2, and CD albums at $5 so you’ve no excuse to not treat yourself.

Finally, the fantastic new release from Cats on Fire is the new number one on the hit parade. Here are the top sellers for the month of April if you feel the need to keep up with the joneses:

10. The Electric Pop Group – Sunrise CDEP
9. The Hermit Crabs – Correspondence Course CDEP
8. Northern Portrait – Napoleon Sweetheart CDEP
7. The Guild League – Speak Up CD
6. The Lucksmiths – Spring A Leak CD
5. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
4. Math and Physucs Club – Math and Physics Club CD
3. Brighter – Out To Sea CD
2. The Lucksmiths – First Frost CD
1. Cats on Fire – Our Temperance Movement CD

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!