Happy summer! It’s far too nice to be sitting in front of the computer these days but we have news that just can’t wait any longer so prepare to be wowed. How’s this: four (!) brand new Matinée artists, a 10-year anniversary compilation with 13 exclusive new songs, the debut album from Scottish sensations The Hermit Crabs, a 45-track double CD from The Lucksmiths, a great new EP from Math and Physics Club, and much more!

Let’s start with a welcome update to our singles discography, which will soon include four exclusive new EPs for your listening pleasure. First up is the debut release from one of our four new bands – Bubblegum Lemonade from Glasgow, Scotland! We’ve had a superb time listening to ten songs from this lot over the past few months and have finally decided the tracklisting for their debut EP (matinée 064) to feature ‘Ten Years Younger’, ‘The Tomorrow People’, ‘Unsafe at Any Speed’ and ‘That Thing You Do.’ Despite the conglomeration of C-86 band names, they actually sound nothing like Bubblegum Splash or Baby Lemonade… instead they pay homage to their Scottish roots with a sound recalling the legendary Jesus and Mary Chain with hints of The Byrds, Razorcuts and early Primal Scream thrown in for good measure. And yes, I realize that’s a tall order but they have that magical sound that doesn’t crop up all that often and we think they rule! We’ve added lead track ‘Ten Years Younger’ to the Matinée sounds page and you can hear several more songs on the band’s Myspace page so head there for a taste of what’s to come. We’ll be finalizing release details and adding a Matinée artist page to the site soon. The EP should be out in September if all goes as planned. Hurrah!

Also hailing from Glasgow is an impressive new band called Strawberry Whiplash (honestly… I am not making this up)! While Strawberry Switchblade and Meat Whiplash aren’t a million miles off, The Shop Assistants and The Primitives are probably better reference points for this duo. The tracklisting for their debut EP (matinée 065) is nearly decided, including infectious lead track ‘Who’s In Your Dreams?’ along with ‘Factory Girl’ and ‘My Day Today’ plus a mystery fourth track. It’s another classic EP in the making! We’ve just added ‘Who’s In Your Dreams?’ to the Matinée sounds page and you can hear additional songs on the band’s Myspace page. We’ll be finalizing release details and adding a Matinée artist page to the site soon so stay tuned. In the meantime, you’ll be singing ‘Who’s In Your Dreams?’ around the clock and if you have a two-year old this will likely become a favorite song for dancing as it has in this house over the past few months. We suspect our neighbors may be calling social services after hearing so many requests for Strawberry Whiplash (and our other recent family favorite Cats on Fire). What can I say… we breed good taste here in Santa Barbara!

The third forthcoming EP is from another glorious new signing – Göteborg, Sweden’s amazing The Electric Pop Group! This quartet astonished everyone late last year with a self-released debut album that seemed to come out of nowhere to make numerous year-end lists. Having sufficiently impressed the bosses here at Matinée HQ, we’ve just inked a deal with them to join the label and are proud to announce their forthcoming Matinée debut, the four song ‘I Could See The Lights’ EP (matinée 067). The EP will contain an absolutely brilliant lead track that will preview a second album planned for early 2008, plus three additional non-album tracks. In the meantime, we are expecting delivery of a case of their debut self-titled album for which there are only 250 copies left so you’ll probably want to grab one of those while you can. We don’t have them yet but you can preorder a copy on the website order page now and we will send it out as soon as they arrive. You won’t be disappointed. If you want to hear the band first, visit their website or Myspace page where you can listen to several songs and download others. If you are in the UK, you can also check them out live at the wonderful Indie Tracks Festival July 28 and 29 along with new labelmates The Hermit Crabs! As with the above two bands, we’ll be finalizing release details and adding an Electric Pop Group Matinée artist page to the site soon. New bands sure are exciting!

Before you start thinking we’ve abandoned all our existing artists, we’re delighted to report a splendid new EP (matinée 066) from Seattle megastars Math and Physics Club! Featuring exclusive new tracks ‘Baby I’m Yours,’ ‘Nothing Really Happened,’ ‘In This Together’ and ‘Do You Keep A Diary’, the EP is the band’s first release since the best selling self-titled album (matcd042) last year. Anyone who has seen the band live will likely recognize ‘Nothing Really Happened’ and ‘In This Together’ as they have been part of their live set for what seems like ages now. The other two songs are brand new classics that will remind you why you fell in love with Math and Physics Club back in 2005. The band’s debut ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056) is now sold out and the second EP ‘Movie Ending Romance’ (matinée 059) is on its way to the same fate so watch for this one so you don’t miss out. The final recordings happen in two weeks time so we’ll be adding a preview to the sounds page in early August and working night and day to have this ready for September release. New songs from Math and Physics Club are always instant classics and this EP is shaping up to be the strongest one yet!

Turning to albums now, we have three in the imminent release category that should make you smile. First up, the debut long-player from Glasgow hitmakers The Hermit Crabs! Seriously, what’s in the water in Glasgow these days with all of these brilliant new bands popping up? Of course The Hermit Crabs can now count themselves among the label veterans as they have a hit single under their belt and what a glorious single it is! Their ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) has spent most of its young life atop the Matinée top sellers chart and with good reason. Following numerous live appearances the past six months, the band is set to return with its debut album ‘Saw You Dancing’ (matcd046) in September. Featuring ten new Scottish pop classics, it’s one for the record books. The tracklisting is: 1. Tonight; 2. Goodbye My Friend; 3. Closet Fan; 4. Lean Free Summer; 5. Bad Timing; 6. Friends Folk Festival; 7. Secrets and Lies; 8. Feel Good Factor; 9. Third Time Lucky; 10. Soulmate. We’ve just added ‘Closet Fan’ as our preview track on the Matinée sounds page, but what a difficult decision it was as the album is especially solid from start to finish. We hope you like it. The band has a few more tracks streaming on their Myspace page if you fancy a listen. As mentioned above, the Hermit Crabs play the Indie Tracks Festival July 28 and 29 along with new labelmates The Electric Pop Group so if you’re in the UK or feel like a last minute booking you can hear them preview the album live. We’ll create a catalog page with more album details and soundclips in the next few weeks.

Also in the forthcoming release category is a remarkable new double CD from Australian popstars The Lucksmiths! The album is appropriately titled ‘Spring A Leak’ (matcd044) because it’s literally what they’ve done here, collecting 45 of their finest non-album recordings from the past decade. The album features 7″ tracks, b-sides, compilation songs, live gems, unreleased rarities, cover versions, radio sessions, and remixes across a specially priced two-disc set. Even the most devout Lucksmiths fan is bound to find a new gem hidden here! We’ll reveal the sensational tracklisting in about two weeks once we finalize some last minute artwork and licensing issues. (The matcd044 in the first sentence of this paragraph will magically become a link to a new catalog page for the release so check that for further details). In the meantime, we’re featuring one of the unreleased tracks on the sounds page – a cover of ‘Dolly’ by fellow Australian legends The Sugargliders! You’ll love it, naturally. Weren’t the Sugargliders ace? Our good pals at Microindie have just released the new album from Sugargliders follow-up band The Steinbecks which is always cause for celebration but in this case possibly more so because Lucksmiths vocalist Tali White provides guest vocals on two album tracks. He’s their cousin you know. Small world, eh? Tell Mike the Vice President sent you when you place your order.

A third album in production is the very exciting ‘Matinée Hit Parade‘ compilation (matcd045), featuring 13 exclusive new tracks from new and old Matinée artists helping us celebrate ten years in the music business. The concept is simple, asking some of our favorite artists to contribute an exclusive new A-side, 45-caliber song (to match the matcd045 catalog number) for this special anniversary collection. Lesser labels might celebrate such an occasion with a stroll through their back catalog but we’ve opted to deliver fresh goods instead so add this to your wish list because it will be an instant label highlight. We are jumping up and down to great new songs from The Guild League, Harper Lee, The Hermit Crabs, Lovejoy, The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club, The Pines, Slipslide and Would-Be-Goods plus splendid tracks from our newest friends Bubblegum Lemonade, Strawberry Whiplash and The Electric Pop Group too! We are also using this album to launch the brand new band Clay Hips which is the latest project of Brent Kenji (The Fairways, The Young Tradition) working together again with Fairways bandmate Andrew Leavitt! We hope to bring you more from this duo soon, but at this point we’re excited to have them contribute to the compilation as they have been releasing records for the label in various guises since the very beginning. You can listen to a few Clay Hips songs at the band’s Myspace page.

The ‘Matinée Hit Parade’ CD is on track for September release to coincide with a Santa Barbara anniversary celebration and some other West Coast live action. We’re hoping to sponsor additional celebrations later in the year too so stay tuned for details. For now, check out the splendid Would-Be-Goods contribution to the CD ‘Temporary Best Friend’ as it’s a massive summer favorite here. It’s now playing on the sounds page of course…

If all this talk of forthcoming releases is giving you a craving for some new pop NOW, we’d be remiss to not remind you of our most recent releases – including the ‘It’s Been A While’ CD (matcd043) from The Pines, ‘Math and Physics Club’ CD (matcd042) from Math and Physics Club, ‘Out To Sea’ CD (matcd041) from Brighter, ‘6 Billion People’ CD (matcd040) from Tender Trap, ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from The Hermit Crabs, ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) from Lovejoy, ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee, and ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths. With all the new releases coming soon, you’ll be hopelessly behind if you don’t pick up some of these gems now! See the catalog pages for tracklistings, soundclips, and reviews, or skip straight to the order page. You know you want to.

So what’s the sudden fascination with Myspace you ask? Well, we’ve finally launched our own page right here and now we fully acknowledge the addictive nature of the site. I’m not quite sure if I understand Myspace etiquette just yet as we’ve received friend requests from people who obviously know nothing about us and perhaps are just trying to increase their own friend score or something. Is that really the point? We haven’t taken that route, but of course we’re happy to add YOU as a friend if you’re interested so check it out. There are links to many of the Matinée artist pages there too in case you need even more friends.

We owe Myspace already as it was instrumental in connecting us with our four new bands so who knows what else will happen as a result of joining the Myspace generation. We are planning to use the page to showcase a mix of new and old tracks, including some unreleased songs and free downloads too so check it regularly because our plan is to rotate the songs every Sunday night.

We had a massive back catalog sale throughout May and June and as a result our hit parade is a bit wacky. The chart should return to normal with the next update, but here’s the top ten from the last two months:

10. Tender Trap – Six Billion People CD
9. The Hermit Crabs – Feel Good Factor CDEP
8. The Lucksmiths – Where Were We? CD
7. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
6. The Siddeleys – Slum Clearance CD
5. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
4. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
3. Razorcuts – A is for Alphabet CDEP
2. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
1. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP

We’ll be adding bits to the website over the next few weeks and will return in August with more details on new releases, reports on upcoming live shows, new Matinée badges and t-shirts and some other surprises. My dayjob has taken most of my time lately but I’m taking the month of August off to work full time for Matinée to bring you some of the best releases we’ve seen in awhile.

Until then, have a great summer!

Jimmy
x

Afraid we forgot about you? Not a chance! We are working behind the scenes to bring you a proper release schedule for our ten-year anniversary and have a few exciting bits to report. Although we have no new release this month, we have several in progress (see below) and as many as ten more releases planned for this year!

Warehouse Clearance Sale!

In the meantime, we’re having a massive sale at the mailorder to clear space for the new releases and to help us organize a spiffy new office for the label, the construction of which has taken most of our time these last few months. The end is in sight and it’s going to be a fantastic space in short order. Virtually every release from the label is now discounted 20 to 50 percent off regular price so take advantage of the savings to stock up on our splendid back catalog. The US dollar is at historic lows against most currencies right now too so if you’re overseas the prices are even more enticing. As always, there are additional releases that have now fallen into the sold out category and several more on the endangered list so don’t kick yourself for waiting because this sale should mark the end of a few more classics. The sale runs through June 30th so check the order page for details.

Our release schedule resumes in July with a long overdue repressing of the debut Harper Lee album ‘Go Back To Bed’ (matcd009), originally released in 2001 and sold out for a few years too many now. We’ve promised this repressing for awhile and will finally deliver it to satisfy unprecedented public demand.

The Lucksmiths, never happy to laze about for too long, are set to return to the new release shelves with not one, not two, but three new releases in the pipeline! First up is a dandy of a rarities retrospective, followed by a new single and album later in the year. You’ll be swooning over these for sure. The band is making plans for a visit to these fine shores later this year…hurrah!

Our newest band The Hermit Crabs will follow their smashing debut ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) with an as-yet untitled debut album planned for late July. If you think the EP is good, wait until you hear some of these ace album tracks!

Following their magnificent self-titled debut album (matcd042), Seattle megastars Math and Physics Club will get back in the game in early autumn with an exclusive new CDEP. We’ve heard two of the songs already and it’s going to be another smash of course!

London lovelies Would-Be-Goods are busy finalizing details on a new set of enchanting songs for release this year. An album is on the agenda but it could be preceded with a single too if we’re lucky. The new songs are iPod favorites at the moment and certified fun for dancing with two-year olds if you’re looking for that sort of thing. Does anyone else have kids with such exquisite taste?

Similar story for our Aussie pals The Guild League who are working towards an album but are also entertaining release of an advance single. Fingers crossed…

Also now confirmed is an exclusive new compilation called ‘The Matinee Hit Parade’ (matcd045) which is a special celebration for our 10-year anniversary. Containing exclusive new songs from your favorite Matinée artists, the album promises ten 45-caliber hits that you won’t find anywhere else. Speaking of compilations, we plan to fill those pesky discography holes with the mythical ‘France On A Bicycle’ (matcd010) and ‘Matinée Idols’ (matcd013) collections this year too.

September and October should bring a set of Matinée anniversary shows, with plans afoot for gigs in our hometown Santa Barbara plus perhaps Los Angeles and San Francisco. There may be a European party of sorts too so stay tuned for all the details and if anyone is interested in helping with shows please get in touch.

There are a few Matinée bands playing live in the near future too so please take note:

The Hermit Crabs have two upcoming English dates—May 20th in London and July 28th at the fantastic Indie Tracks Mini Festival in Derbyshire. See more details here.

Lovejoy make an annual pilgrimage to their core fan base in Sweden with an appearance at the Rip It Up! festival on July 6 and 7. See the Lovejoy website for details and other news.

The Lucksmiths have a handful of Australian shows in the next week, including May 18th in Sydney, May 19th in Canberra, and May 26th in Queensland. See the band website for details.

Pipas are about to start a short California tour with stops May 17th in San Francisco, May 19th in Modesto, May 20th in Sacramento, May 21st in Isla Vista, and May 24th in Los Angeles. The band also plays Brooklyn and New York City on May 27th and June 8th, respectively. See the Pipas website for details.

If recorded sound is what you’re after, don’t sleep until you pick up our latest crop of new releases! The press continues to swoon over our new albums, with Magnet Magazine setting the tone for its review of ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043) by The Pines with opening line “Pam Berry is a legend,” Pitchfork calling the self-titled Math and Physics Club album (matcd042) “music to hold hands to,” and Erasing Clouds declaring ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter “a treasure trove of music from a truly remarkable band.”

Meanwhile, gushing about the ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from The Hermit Crabs, Scottish magazine Is This Music? concluded “the EP definitely shows they’ve got legs of their own to carry on with, or at least pincers,” All Music Guide called the ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) from Lovejoy “one of their finest releases,” and Delusions of Adequacy described the ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee as “five songs that are as wonderfully catchy as anything they’ve done.”

Surely some of these are perfect to round out that big order you’re placing? Please see the catalog page for full release details and all the latest reviews.

In a combined March/April hit parade, The Hermit Crabs continue to make lots of new friends while fending off label veterans. Have you heard these hipsters yet?! Here’s the top ten:

10. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
9. Tender Trap – Six Billion People CD
8. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
7. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
6. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP
5. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
4. Brighter – Out To Sea CD
3. The Pines – It’s Been A While CD
2. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
1. The Hermit Crabs – Feel Good Factor CDEP

We’ll be adding bits to the catalog and sounds pages and will return with a full update including new release details next month. Until then, please take advantage of our sale so we have less to move when the new office is finished!

Cheers,
Jimmy

Hello! We’re back with reports on the latest Matinée releases and results of our fifth annual fanclub poll so keep reading as you may be the winner of some free CDs!

Our latest release is the outstanding 20-track collection of singles, compilation appearances, and unreleased tracks from South London pop duo The Pines! Entitled ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043), the album showcases the strong songwriting, intricate guitars, and exquisite harmonies of amiable English gent Joe Brooker and legendary American songstress Pam Berry. Smart students of indiepop know Joe is a prolific songwriter and one-half of English pop duo The Foxgloves, while Pam’s distinguished resume includes association with notable indie bands of the last decade including Belmondo, Black Tambourine, Bright Coloured Lights, The Castaway Stones, Glo Worm, The Seashell Sea, The Shapiros, The Snowdrops, and Veronica Lake, plus guest spots on recordings by The Clientele, Jasmine Minks, The Lucksmiths, The Relict, and The Saturday People. She’s also the subject of a track on the recent #2 on the Billboard charts album from Sub Pop megastars The Shins!

Beginning in 2000, The Pines released a series of limited edition singles for international record labels Annika (Spain), Becalmed (UK), Foxyboy (USA), Gifted (Australia), Long Lost Cousin (UK), and Matinée (USA) and contributed compilation tracks to collections by Chickfactor (USA), Papercuts (UK), and Red Square (USA). In addition to highlights from these releases, ‘It’s Been A While’ includes three songs from a rare self-released Christmas CD and unreleased covers of songs by Young Marble Giants and The Cat’s Miaow.

As expected, The Pines continue their regime as music press darlings. Diskant called the album “a must-have record,” adding “Pam Berry is one of the most recognizable voices in American indiepop, with a dulcet croon and a perfect sense of timing and timbre, and we’ve stuck with her since her days in the fetishized Black Tambourine though her work with The Pines, with good reason. Meanwhile, Tasty described the album as “over an hour of gorgeousness,” Erasing Clouds wrote “these 20 songs contain a bounty of breakups, hurt feelings, lonely nights, and reconciliations, and a cornucopia of gorgeous moments, of two singers’ voices joining each other to perfectly express a feeling,” and Chickfactor concluded “it’s a joy to hear, so get one already!”

You can see the full tracklisting, read reviews, and listen to songs on the catalog page. The CD is available now from your favorite shop or the Matinée mailorder so get going because The Pines are ace and you know you need some of their magic in your life!

Our second new release is the remarkable ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from new Glasgow act The Hermit Crabs! Band members Melanie Whittle and Des McKenna are veterans of Scottish favorites California Snow Story, while John Ferguson and Tony McDonald complete the current lineup. Lead track ‘Feel Good Factor’ is rich with instrumentation and simply spectacular…the sort of song that comes along only once in awhile but sticks with you forever. The track is one of the winners in Scotland’s Burnsong song writing competition so prepare for something truly remarkable. Have a listen to it on the sounds page and you’ll see what I mean. Nice, eh?

The EP also features ace exclusive songs ‘China Girl,’ ‘Vegan Vows’ and ‘I Spend My Time’—three more quality tracks featuring violin, classical guitar, keyboards, superb vocals and strong lyrics. Perfect for fans of Camera Obscura, Tender Trap, Belle and Sebastian or Sambassadeur, the Hermit Crabs are a very welcome addition to the Matinée roster.

We’re happy to report that the press loves our newest band just as much as we do! Among the excellent reviews so far, I’d Rather Be Fat Than Be Confused called the EP “essential listening,” adding “Feel Good Factor does everything you’d hope it would, the kind of upbeat song that’ll have you clapping your hands and skipping round your room like you’ve just got your hands on a copy of Tigermilk’s original vinyl pressing.” Tangents described it as “sweet succinct Pop that snaps and crackles in all the right places,” while All Music Guide called it “classic Scottish indie pop,” and Tasty declared it “a thousand times better than anything Belle and Sebastian have done in the last four or five years.”

The Hermit Crabs continue to turn heads, with CDReviews.com calling them “Glasgow’s latest band-to-be-heard,” Eardrums concluding “definitely a band to watch in 2007,” and Aversion.com suggesting “Scotland might have another minor sensation brewing.”

You can read all the magnificent reviews on the catalog page. The EP is available now from your favorite record merchant or the trusty Matinée mailorder. The band is currently working on its debut album for release later this year so now’s the time to get hip to one of the greatest new bands we’ve heard in a long time!

In other top news, thanks to everyone who voted in our fifth annual Matinée Fanclub poll! The results are now posted on the archive page and summarized below:

The prestigious album of the year award goes to ‘Math and Physics Club’ (matcd042) from Math and Physics Club (60 votes), followed by “Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter (42) and ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043) from The Pines (22).

In the singles category, Harper Lee captured the top spot with the ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) earning 40 votes. ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths and ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP from newcomers The Hermit Crabs (matinée 063) were the other top picks, earning 39 and 27 votes respectively.

In the coveted song of the year contest, Math and Physics Club took top prize with ‘Darling, Please Come Home’ (30 votes), followed by ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ from The Lucksmiths (29), ‘He Holds A Flame’ from Harper Lee (24), ‘April Showers’ from Math and Physics Club (22) and ‘Feel Good Factor’ from The Hermit Crabs (20). ‘La La La Lisa’ from Math and Physics Club (17), ‘Made in England’ from Lovejoy (13), ‘Sleepydust’ from The Snowdrops (11), ‘Talking Backwards’ from Tender Trap (11) and ‘Wallflower’ from Brighter (8) completed the top ten.

In the favorite band category, The Lucksmiths held the number one spot again this year (44 votes), followed by Math and Physics Club (32), Harper Lee (19), Brighter (17), Tender Trap (13), The Pines (12), Razorcuts (12), Pipas (11), Would-Be-Goods (10), and The Fairways (9).

The Lucksmiths also topped the favorite Matinée release of all time category with last year’s ‘Warmer Corners’ (matcd039) album (26 votes). New release ‘Math and Physics Club’ (matcd042) from Math and Physics Club proved a serious contender (25 votes), while ‘Singles 1989-1992’ (matcd026) from Brighter (19), ‘R is for Razorcuts’ (matcd012) from Razorcuts (19), ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056) from Math and Physics Club (17), ‘Everything’s Going To Be OK’ (matcd020) from Harper Lee (16), ‘Slum Clearance’ (matcd005) from The Siddeleys (16), ‘Where Were We?’ (matcd019) from The Lucksmiths (15), ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter (13), and ‘This is Farewell’ (matcd031) from The Fairways (12) completed the top ten.

Congratulations to all the Matinée artists and thanks very much to everyone who entered. We received responses from a record 21 countries this year, and the lucky winner of the five CD prize pack is Eric Atencio from Salt Lake City, Utah. Nicely done! Wish you had won? Join the Matinée Fanclub and you may be our next lucky winner.

Your 2006 favorites continue to amass dazzling reviews in the music press, with All Music Guide calling the self-titled Math and Physics Club album (matcd042) “a solidly crafted, sweet-as-sugar pop record”, Pennyblack declaring ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter “no mere collection of bits and scraps, many of the songs on this CD are longtime fan favorites and it seems that some of the unreleased songs may become favorites as well,” Aversion.com calling ‘England Made Me’ (matinée 062) from Lovejoy “a stunning reminder that guitars and keyboards and drum machines have been playing nicely together for years,” and Tasty commenting on the ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee: “Quite how a band can maintain such a high level of output is beyond me, but Harper Lee do it effortlessly.” Check the catalog pages for links to these and other recent reviews. As with all Matinée releases the order page is just a click away.

As part of our 2006 poll, one respondent suggested we provide updates on some out-of-the-spotlight Matinée bands and we think that’s a splendid idea so we’ll try to bring you up to speed on some happenings over the next few months. The short of it is that nearly everyone’s having babies and sleeping is taking precedent over new recordings, but we’ll start with three exciting bits and promise additional updates in the coming months:

Slipslide, despite producing one of those aforementioned babies, have been steadily working on songs for that difficult sophomore album. Last time we checked there was a splendid song called ‘You Won’t Find It Again’ previewed on the band’s Myspace page. Slipslide is also set to play the highly publicized March 2 London show with Sarah Records legends The Orchids + Lost and Lonesome stars The Zebras. Click here for show details.

Airport Girl have not had any babies that we know of, but have just released their difficult sophomore album ‘Slow Light’ on the excellent Fortuna POP! label following five years of recording and rerecording. The band’s Myspace page features a few teasers including a nice one called ‘Show Me The Way.’

Pipas have also not produced any babies yet (although this Chickfactor photo might suggest otherwise) but released their ‘Sorry Love’ album on their own Long Lost Cousin label last year. They have some other bits of news here.

Apologies to anyone who experienced problems with the Matinée mailorder in the past month. We had a server problem that caused a delay in some orders reaching us, but the trusty people at IndiePages saved the day and retrieved (hopefully) everything that went missing. If you placed an order recently and haven’t heard back please let us know. We are happy to have everything working just fine again.

If you’re after one of our spectacular new releases and are looking for something else to round out the order, perhaps you should contemplate one of the top sellers of the last two months. As you would expect, they’re all swell!

10. Lovejoy – England Made Me CDEP
9. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
8. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP
7. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
6. Tender Trap – 6 Billion People CD
5. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
4. Brighter – Out To Sea CD
3. The Pines – It’s Been A While CD
2. The Hermit Crabs – Feel Good Factor CDEP
1. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD

We’ve kept quiet about our 2007 release schedule but will return soon to divulge some news. It’s our 10-year anniversary so you know we have something planned!

Regards,
Jimmy

Happy New Year! In addition to customary reports on new releases, this month we present lists of 2006 favorites from Matinée artists and our slightly belated fifth annual Matinée fanclub poll!

The first of two brand new releases is the impressive ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from new Glasgow act The Hermit Crabs! Band members Melanie Whittle and Des McKenna are veterans of Scottish favorites California Snow Story, while John Ferguson and Tony McDonald complete the current lineup. Lead track ‘Feel Good Factor’ is rich with instrumentation and simply spectacular…the sort of song that comes along only once in awhile but sticks with you forever. The track is one of the winners in Scotland’s Burnsong song writing competition so prepare for something truly remarkable. Have a listen to it on the sounds page and you’ll see what I mean.

The EP also features ace exclusive songs ‘China Girl,’ ‘Vegan Vows’ and ‘I Spend My Time’—three more top quality tracks featuring violin, classical guitar, keyboards, superb vocals and strong lyrics. Perfect for fans of Camera Obscura, Tender Trap, Belle and Sebastian or Sambassadeur, the Hermit Crabs are a very welcome addition to the Matinée roster. The band is currently working on its debut album for release later this year so now’s the time to get hip to one of the greatest new bands we’ve heard in a long time! Check out the early reviews while you listen to ‘Feel Good Factor’ on the catalog page. The EP is available now from your favorite record merchant or the trusty Matinée mailorder. Hurrah!

Also fresh on the new release shelves is a superb 20-track collection of singles, compilation appearances, and unreleased tracks from South London pop duo The Pines! Entitled ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043), the album showcases the strong songwriting, intricate guitars, and exquisite harmonies of amiable English gent Joe Brooker and legendary American songstress Pam Berry. Smart students of indiepop know Joe is a prolific songwriter and one-half of English pop duo The Foxgloves, while Pam’s distinguished resume includes association with notable indie bands of the last decade including Belmondo, Black Tambourine, Bright Coloured Lights, The Castaway Stones, Glo Worm, The Seashell Sea, The Shapiros, The Snowdrops, and Veronica Lake, plus guest spots on recordings by The Clientele, Jasmine Minks, The Lucksmiths, The Relict, and The Saturday People. She’s also the subject of track three on the imminent album from Sub Pop megastars The Shins!

Beginning in 2000, The Pines released a series of limited edition singles for international record labels Annika (Spain), Becalmed (UK), Foxyboy (USA), Gifted (Australia), Long Lost Cousin (UK), and Matinée (USA) and contributed compilation tracks to collections by Chickfactor (USA), Papercuts (UK), and Red Square (USA). In addition to highlights from these releases, ‘It’s Been A While’ includes three songs from a rare self-released Christmas CD and unreleased covers of songs by Young Marble Giants and The Cat’s Miaow. You can see the full tracklisting, read some early reviews, and listen to songs on the catalog page. The CD is available now from your favorite shop or the Matinée mailorder so get going!

Still shining is the wonderfully received debut album (matcd042) from indie darlings Math and Physics Club! The world fell in love with this Seattle band as soon as its debut ‘Weekends Away’ (matinée 056) was released in 2005. The EP sold out of its initial pressing in just a few months and has now earned the distinction as the best selling single on Matinée. The follow-up ‘Movie Ending Romance’ (matinée 059) was released later that year to worldwide acclaim and proved the success of the debut was no happy accident.

The self-titled album features ten highly melodic songs about relationships and heartbreak. The album kicks off with a new indie classic called ‘Darling, Please Come Home.’ The lyrics draw you in immediately with images of fireflies and coals burning low, while the jangling guitars, precise drumming, and keyboards keep things moving. What would normally be a difficult one to follow for most bands is handled with ease by second track ‘I Know What I Want,’ a strings-laden jangler that builds to a superb Softies-inspired finish. It swings!

‘April Showers’ comes next and shows that here’s a band that holds the Housemartins in the high regard they deserve. Written staring out the window at the rain (of course…this is Seattle), it recalls the brilliance of the famous Hull act with its ba-ba-ba’s and jaunty melodies. ‘Holidays and Saturdays’ is the moody one of the bunch, showcasing plaintive lyrics and violin to match, while ‘La La La Lisa’ picks it back up with the story of a high school crush that is made especially grand with some genuinely inspired trumpet parts. ‘Look At Us Now’ is perfect café music with its sparse bossa nova beat, ba-ba-ba’s, and violin…perhaps the best Style Council song Paul Weller never wrote? ‘You’ll Miss Me’ is classic Math and Physics Club with a surprise rollicking piano in the second chorus, while ‘Cold As Minnesota’ has a bit of Motown/Supremes flavor to it—full of tambourine, handclaps, organ and violin flourishes along with some very Peter Buck guitar work. ‘Such A Simple Plan’ is another perfect three-minute pop song with excellent lyrics and a toe-tapping quotient that can’t be beat, and final track ‘Last Dance’ is a swanky little number that will make you want to dance like Fred Astaire.

The sensational reviews continue for this album, with Pitchfork writing “10 brazenly sweet songs of quiet heartbreak, late-summer acoustic guitar, reverb-laden Rickenbacker, tambourine, and occasional violin;” I’d Rather Be Fat Than Be Confused declaring “this is THEE indie pop album of the year, maybe of the decade thus far;” CDReviews.com calling it “a truly remarkable effort;” PopMatters concluding “for those searching for an album of genuine notions and enchanting melodies, this just might be the perfect fit;” and Erasing Clouds calling Math and Physics Club “a rising star of a band, already creating timeless pop music.”

The album has appeared on numerous year-end lists including the band walking away with #1 favorite band honors and #2 album of the year on the annual Tweenet Poll. Congratulations! You can listen to three album tracks on the catalog page, and ‘Darling, Please Come Home’ is also featured on the sounds page. Get to the mailorder if you haven’t heard this album yet because it really is a modern indiepop classic that continues to sell like hotcakes for good reason!

Of course the above releases are just three gems competing in our annual Matinée fanclub poll! We’re slightly delayed with the polling this year due to some December baby action, but thought it still made sense to collect your votes and give away some free CDs in the process. In the best album of 2006 category, contenders include ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043) from The Pines, ‘Math and Physics Club’ (matcd042) from Math and Physics Club, ‘Out To Sea” (matcd041) from Brighter, and ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040) from Tender Trap. Which one gets your vote? Favorite 2006 single contenders are the ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) from The Hermit Crabs, ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) from Lovejoy, ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee, ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths, and ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053) from The Snowdrops. Some excellent choices if I say so myself.

In addition to the favorite album and single categories, we are also collecting votes for song of the year, favorite band, and favorite Matinée release of all time. Please take a minute to share your thoughts. As with prior polls, simply entering earns you a chance to win five free CDs of your choice and with selections like these what do you have to lose? The poll closes February 12th so go here to complete your entry today and best of luck in the prize draw!

We also surveyed Matinée artists regarding their top musical moments of 2006 and some early responses are up now on the archive page. Additional lists will be added throughout the month.

The Matinée mailorder will be closed January 30 to February 12 but please continue to place orders and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. All orders during this period will ship February 13. Apologies in advance for the delay. If you’re looking for something to buy, why not consider some of the top sellers of the last two months:

10. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP
9. Lovejoy – England Made Me CDEP
8. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
7. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
6. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
5. The Pines – It’s Been A While CD
4. The Hermit Crabs – Feel Good Factor CDEP
3. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
2. Brighter – Out To Sea CD
1. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD

We’ll be back in mid-February with results of the fanclub poll and news of our 2007 release schedule. Thanks to everyone for another great year!

Regards,
Jimmy

Happy holidays! Our final missive of the year includes news of another new release, our annual year-end poll, big savings at the mailorder, special seasonal offerings, and oh so much more.

Surrounded again with boxes of just delivered new release goodness, this time courtesy of mysterious Matinée musicmakers The Snowdrops! The second single from the occasional collaboration of indie legends Keith Girdler (Blueboy, Beaumont, Arabesque, Lovejoy), Dick Preece (Lovejoy, Beaumont) and Pam Berry (The Pines, Shapiros, Black Tambourine, Glo Worm), the new ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053) features five tracks including a Pet Shop Boys-inspired title track with brilliant lead vocals from Keith plus backing from Pam. The song is now playing on the updated sounds page for your listening pleasure. Other tracks include a beautiful atmospheric number called ‘Too Cold To Snow,’ current favorite ‘The Boy With The Hummingbird Eyes’ featuring Dick on lead vocals and a guest appearance from Keris Howard (Harper Lee, Brighter), a short one called ‘Teddy Dragons’ and a remix of ‘Sleepydust’ with more Pam (always a good thing) and some other nice touches. The single will appear in shops just after the first of the year but you can get your very own copy exclusively via the Matinée mailorder right now! As with all our singles, the EP is limited to 1000 copies in our custom designed minijacket sleeves so they don’t take up too much space and look great without all the unnecessary plastic. We’re so green. So yeah, this single DOES in fact exist. Hurrah!

Also on every hipster’s shopping list is the excellent ‘Language Lessons’ CDEP (matinée 058) from London trio Tender Trap! As we mentioned last month, the EP finds band members Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and John Stanley (DJ Downfall) in absolutely top form. Amelia is arguably the voice of the indiepop generation, fronting legendary acts Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research from the mid-80s to the turn of the century and adding her unmistakable vocals to hits from The Wedding Present, Hefner, The Brilliant Corners, and Sportique, among others. Since forming in 2001 as Tender Trap, Amelia, Rob and John have released three singles and the superb album ‘Film Molecules,’ once described as “the unholy alliance between Blondie and The Magnetic Fields.” This long-awaited follow-up features lead track ‘Talking Backwards’ which will appear on a forthcoming Tender Trap album (matcd040) in early 2006. The song is a refreshing pop hit, full of chunky guitars, mellifluous vocals, smart drumming (courtesy of Claudia Gonson of The Magnetic Fields), ba-ba-ba’s and shimmering enthusiasm as it builds to its highly harmonious conclusion. Check it out now on the updated sounds page. The EP also includes three non-album tracks: ‘Unputdownable’ showcases more of Claudia’s ace drumming as it mixes lush string-filled verses with a shouty chorus that recalls the heady days of Heavenly’s P.U.N.K. Girl; ‘Friendster’ is a lovely ode to a certain online forum; and ‘Cómo Te Llamas?’ is a frighteningly catchy electropop hit featuring a bilingual duet between Amelia and special guest Lupe Nuñez-Fernandez of fellow Matinée superstars Pipas. Another classic single and a very welcome return for Tender Trap! The single is also limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket sleeve so get to the order page for your copy now!

In early press action, Kisschase wrote “Tender Trap have taken a step back from recent electro-pop outings to deliver up a delightfully jangly and harmonic single that reminds me more of the early Heavenly 45s on Sarah than anything Amelia or Rob have done since.” Meanwhile, Tangents summarized the EP as “everything you would expect and more,” and Vanity Project reported “Talking Backwards cements their position through their long morph-friendly history (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly etc.) as life-presidents of the ‘proper’ indie/bowlie/twee pop scene.” The band has just completed an interview with Tasty fanzine as well which you can read on the Tender Trap artist page.

Of course the Snowdrops and Tender Trap EPs are but two of the six singles competing in the best single of 2005 category in our annual Matinée fanclub poll. Other contenders include the ‘Fools in Love’ EP (matinée 054) from The Happy Couple, the ‘San Francisco’ EP (matinée 057) from The Lucksmiths, and the ‘Weekends Away’ (matinée 056) and ‘Movie Ending Romance’ (matinée 059) EPs from Math and Physics Club. Which one gets your vote?

In other poll action, the five favorite album contenders are ‘Warmer Corners’ (matcd039) from The Lucksmiths, ‘Northern Drive’ (matcd038) from The Young Tradition, ‘Summertime?’ (matcd037) from Pale Sunday, ‘Chunnel Autumnal’ (matcd036) from Pipas, and ‘Everybody Hates’ (matcd035) from Lovejoy. Such a tough choice.

In addition to the favorite single and album categories, we are also collecting votes for song of the year, favorite band, and favorite release of all time, plus soliciting your suggestions for making the label even better in 2006. Please take a minute to give us your thoughts. As with prior polls, simply entering earns you a chance to win five free CDs of your choice. This year we are also offering every entrant a 20 percent discount off anything ordered via the mailorder between now and January 15, so you can pick up a few last minute Christmas gifts or order what you really wanted after the holidays are over. To receive the discount you must first submit a poll entry. While you are in poll mode, don’t forget to support your favorite Matinée artists in other year-end polls like the official TweeNet poll.

Now this is the space in which we would normally entice you with details of some upcoming releases but in keeping with our year-end look back we instead will reveal that our back catalog spotlight highlights classic releases this month from The Visitors, The Windmills and Lovejoy. Each release is on sale for the next month if you want to complete your Matinée collection (and coupled with the 20 percent discount noted above means these could be yours for next to nothing). Here are some selling points:

The ‘Miss’ CD (matcd003) from The Visitors hails from May of 2000, but like CDs from Brighter, Razorcuts, Remember Fun and The Siddeleys, is a compilation of songs originally recorded in the late 1980s. The Visitors split up in 1988, following the release of one flexidisc, a play on the John Peel show, and the recording of a clutch of fine pop songs. The sought-after flexi, which featured the ace song ‘Goldmining’, was issued on the Sha-La-La imprint and has maintained a steady band of admirers since its release. We crossed the Atlantic to dig out the original tapes for Goldmining and ten other pop gems that are lost treats from a time when a particular kind of pure guitar pop still roamed the streets of the UK. The album received some lovely press, including a 4 1/2 stars out of 5 review in one of the very last issues of famed UK music paper Melody Maker before it turned into a third-rate Smash Hits and disappeared into obscurity. “Perfect for the Bowlie generation, these star-kissed melodies are tinged with a sweet regret and still sound fresh 12 years after this album was recorded,” they wrote, while longtime Visitors follower Tangents said “The Visitors Miss collection on the fine Matinée label is the sort of ignored and forgotten classic made by people who in a finer world and in finer times should have been Pop Stars. Miss is not a record of the past but is a record of Now because it sounds as fresh and as urgent a Pop record as I’ve heard.” So true… Check out full reviews and soundclips on the catalog page. If you haven’t heard The Visitors you should really check them out!

One of a handful of Matinée seasonal offerings, the ‘When It Was Winter’ EP (matinée 024) from The Windmills is our back catalog CD single of the month. The band’s third single for Matinée from March 2001 showed this English quartet in prime form. At the time, we suggested the EPs “unrestrained melodies, crisp guitars, and sincere vocals make it perfect for fans of the Go Betweens, Weather Prophets, Bodines, or Jazz Butcher” and I suppose those reference points still make sense today. In reviewing the EP, Splendid referred to another great band from the 1980s instead, saying “four deliciously shimmering slices of pure pop…its decidedly British demeanor and propensity for jangly, minor key musings should curry the group some favor with the more adventurous faction of the anglophile crowd, not to mention confused Smiths fans. Meanwhile, Pennyblack declared the EP would “undoubtedly delight all jangle-pop-picking-purists” and Tangents wrote “the new EP from The Windmills shows more than ever that here is a band who have been listening closely to their East Village records, which is to be applauded of course…the four tracks fuse a fine penchant for minor chords and a tension that might be akin to that felt by the great Last Party, or Hellfire Sermons even, at their most melodic and least abrasive.” The EP includes two songs that did not appear on the subsequent album ‘Sunlight’ (matcd014) so it’s well worth picking up. See the catalog page for reviews and sounds. Trust me, the Windmills rule!

Appropriately, our back catalog classic 7” is the ‘A Christmas Wish’ EP (matinée 025) from Lovejoy. Released in November 2000, the second of three celebrated Lovejoy 45s features three exclusive recordings in the holiday tradition and is perfect for fans of House of Love, Blueboy, or the Revolving Paint Dream. The superb a-side “I Dream of Angels” is an orchestral song that evokes the beautiful imagery of Christmas and features guitars, keyboards and magnificent female harmonies. Swedish fanzine Try Happiness loved it, writing “like running round with your tongue out your mouth, catching flakes in the crunching green-white grass,” while IndiePages suggested it was “like the Pet Shop Boys mixed with Pale Saints” and Parasol called it “gorgeous swooping pop with bells on.” Check the catalog page for more reviews and sounds. Lovejoy just go with the holidays so now is the time to click over to the order page.

In addition to the wintery Lovejoy and Windmills releases just mentioned, perhaps you should pick up the wonderful ‘Matinée Winter Warmer’ compilation (matinée 055) featuring seasonal hits from The Fairways, Harper Lee, The Liberty Ship, Lovejoy, The Lucksmiths, Melodie Group, The Pines, Pipas, Slipslide, and The Windmills. It’s available for the price of a single and is sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

We also have a handful of our nifty Matinée 45 holiday ornaments (matinée 045) left and if you act quickly there’s still time to have it in time for the holidays! Santa doesn’t have any of these so the Matinée mailorder is your only source. Hop to it!

[end of overt holiday commercialization]

We’ll leave you, as always, with our hit parade of top sellers from last month. No competition for the top this time as Tender Trap ruled supreme:

10. The Visitors – Miss CD
9. Pale Sunday – Summertime? CD
8. Various – Matinée Winter Warmer CD
7. Pipas – Chunnel Autumnal CD
6. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
5. The Young Tradition – Northern Drive CD
4. Pipas – A Cat Escaped CD
3. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
2. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
1. Tender Trap – Language Lessons CDEP

Check back in early January for the latest news, including lists of 2005 favorites from Matinée artists, results of the fourth annual Matinée fanclub poll, details of the 2006 release schedule, and more.

Seasons greetings to everyone and thanks again for your incredible support this year!
Jimmy
x

We’re back on board with brand new releases from Brighter and Math and Physics Club, a forthcoming CD from The Pines, and what’s this? A brand new Matinée band?! Yes way! You’re going to love them too… All this plus great new reviews for 2006 releases from Lovejoy, Harper Lee, Tender Trap and The Lucksmiths, a surge of new band interviews, and the return of our massive mailorder sale with prices slashed as much as 50 percent on some titles for the rest of this month only. Carry on then…

The highly anticipated debut album (matcd042) from indie darlings Math and Physics Club is now officially released and available from all decent record merchants. The world fell in love with this Seattle band as soon as its debut ‘Weekends Away’ (matinée 056) was released in 2005. The EP sold out of its initial pressing in just a few months and has now earned the distinction as the best selling single on Matinée. The follow-up ‘Movie Ending Romance’ (matinée 059) was released later that year to worldwide acclaim and proved the success of the debut was no happy accident.

The band spent the past year writing and recording its debut album and the results are truly spectacular. The self-titled album features ten highly melodic songs about relationships and heartbreak. The album kicks off with a new indie classic called ‘Darling, Please Come Home.’ The lyrics draw you in immediately with images of fireflies and coals burning low, while the jangling guitars, precise drumming, and keyboards keep things moving. What would normally be a difficult one to follow for most bands is handled with ease by second track ‘I Know What I Want,’ a strings-laden jangler that builds to a superb Softies-inspired finish. It swings!

‘April Showers’ comes next and shows that here’s a band that holds the Housemartins in the high regard they deserve. Written staring out the window at the rain (of course…this is Seattle), it recalls the brilliance of the famous Hull act with its ba-ba-ba’s and jaunty melodies. ‘Holidays and Saturdays’ is the moody one of the bunch, showcasing plaintive lyrics and violin to match, while ‘La La La Lisa’ picks it back up with the story of a high school crush that is made especially grand with some genuinely inspired trumpet parts. ‘Look At Us Now’ is perfect café music with its sparse bossa nova beat, ba-ba-ba’s, and violin… perhaps the best Style Council song Paul Weller never wrote? ‘You’ll Miss Me’ is classic Math and Physics Club with a surprise rollicking piano in the second chorus, while ‘Cold As Minnesota’ has a bit of Motown/Supremes flavor to it—full of tambourine, handclaps, organ and violin flourishes along with some very Peter Buck guitar work. ‘Such A Simple Plan’ is another perfect three-minute pop song with excellent lyrics and a toe-tapping quotient that can’t be beat, and final track ‘Last Dance’ is a swanky little number that will make you want to dance like Fred Astaire.

The album has enjoyed a tremendous response in the music press so far, with the always spot on Tasty declaring “if you think you’ve heard your album of the year already, think again… because this is it,” and Coke Machine Glow writing “this is a record that would’ve fit in well ten years ago and will likely sound as smooth and sweet a decade hence.” The band has also proven popular on the blog circuit, with the fantastically named Renaissance Men Don’t Surf calling the new album “a must have for not only fall, but for 2006,” The Fire Note writing “not only is it a quality release but the album is timeless – providing the perfect soundtrack for any day of the week, any season of the year,” and Rawkblog declaring it “the year’s best pure indie-pop album.”

You can listen to three album tracks on the catalog page, and ‘Darling, Please Come Home’ is also featured on the sounds page. Get thee to the mailorder if you haven’t heard this album yet because it’s a new Matinée classic and selling like hotcakes for good reason!

Also out now is the essential 20-track ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) collection from beloved English band Brighter! From 1989 to 1992, the trio of Alison Cousens, Keris Howard and Alex Sharkey recorded four singles for the renowned Sarah Records imprint—previously compiled on the ‘Singles’ CD (matcd026) in 2003—and a wealth of other songs collected on this new compilation. ‘Out To Sea’ begins with eight tracks that originally formed the ‘Laurel’ mini-album released on Sarah. These tracks are archetypal of the Brighter sound—melodic, pastoral pop with carefully strummed guitars, keyboards, and wonderfully introspective, poignant vocals from Keris Howard. The album features several of the band’s best known songs including indie classics ‘Ocean Sky’ and ‘Christmas.’ Also showcasing Brighter’s ability to pen upbeat, jangly pop hits, ‘Out To Sea’ features five early recordings originally released on limited edition flexidiscs in Germany. Perhaps more than later recordings, these fan favorites demonstrate the band’s expertise in layering instruments and voice to form a melodic wall of sound. Elsewhere, the beautifully fragile ‘Still’ is a melancholy pop song originally found on the ‘Beckett House’ compilation.

Among the album’s six unreleased tracks are four songs from a scrapped debut album recorded in 1990. Other songs from this album were later rerecorded for ‘Laurel’ but these four—’There’s Nothing We Can Do,’ ‘Nothing At All,’ ‘Hope To God’ and ‘Amy Never Knew’—were passed over for newer compositions and remained unreleased until today. Additional unreleased gems ‘If I Could See’ and ‘Wallflower’ were recorded at the same time as ‘Laurel’ but dropped from the release and languished in the vaults. They are among the most immediate songs the band ever wrote and, with this release, are likely to become posthumous Brighter classics more than 15 years after their recording. Following the final release as Brighter in 1992, Keris Howard and Alex Sharkey released the one-off ‘Election Day’ EP under the name Hal. Several years later, Howard formed the popular band Harper Lee and appeared as bassist for Trembling Blue Stars, while Sharkey joined Fosca for a time before launching a solo career as Pinkie. Packaged in a lavish digipak and digitally remastered, ‘Out To Sea’ is the perfect complement to the ‘Singles’ collection and another inspired entry in the Matinée discography.

As expected, the early reviews are ecstatic with Erasing Clouds calling it “a treasure trove of music from a truly remarkable band,” Derives declaring it “a true classic of 90’s intimate melancholic indie pop music,” Kisschase writing “Out To Sea is the business,” and The Rain Fell Down concluding “Brighter are even more deserving of our love and worship than we had thought… record of year!”

You can listen to four tracks on the sounds and catalog pages. The CD is available now from all good record shops or direct from the Matinée mailorder for a mere $10. Would I lie to you?

As if the new releases weren’t exciting enough, we’re also delighted to announce the latest addition to the Matinée collective – Glasgow band The Hermit Crabs! Ever since the early days of the label when we released the brilliant ‘Train Journeys’ EP from Remember Fun we have longed to have another Scottish band on the roster because, let’s face it, Scottish people are ace and there is quite a groovy scene happening in Glasgow at the moment. Although their influences range from The Magnetic Fields to Teenage Fanclub to Belle and Sebastian to Donovan (among others), the Hermit Crabs sound probably falls neatly between the playfulness of Pipas and the seriousness of fellow Glaswegians Camera Obscura. Band members Melanie Whittle (guitar and vocals) and Des McKenna (bass) are veterans of Shelflife favorites California Snow Story, while John Ferguson (guitar) and Tony McDonald (drums) complete the current lineup.

The debut Hermit Crabs release is the ‘Feel Good Factor’ EP (matinée 063) with a spectacular title track plus ace exclusive songs ‘China Girl,’ ‘Vegan Vows’ and ‘I Spend My Time.’ The title track was one of 15 winners in the Burnsong song writing competition in Scotland last year so prepare yourself for something truly remarkable. We’ve just added the song to the sounds page if you’d like a preview. The EP is released to shops on November 27th but we’ll have copies available here in advance of that date so go ahead and order your copy now! We won’t make you wait too long.

To celebrate the upcoming release, the band is playing a free acoustic set with California Snow Story on November 16th at Tchai-Ovna in Glasgow. They have a nifty website and are part of the myspace generation with an unfeasibly high number of friends who we hope all buy their records. If you follow those links you can actually listen to more great songs including some that we’re saving for their debut album next year. We trust you will welcome them with your usual vigor. It’s great to have someone new to rave about!

Our final release of 2006 is a superb 20-track collection of singles, compilation appearances, and unreleased tracks from South London pop duo The Pines! Entitled ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043), the album is the first release from The Pines since their magnificent ‘True Love Waits, Volume 2’ EP (matinée 048) three years ago. In addition to Matinée, The Pines have graced the discography pages for Annika (Spain), Becalmed (UK), Foxyboy (USA), Gifted (Australia), and Long Lost Cousin (UK), and contributed compilation tracks to collections by Chickfactor (USA), Papercuts (UK), and Red Square (USA). Over the years they also recorded a handful of covers and other gems that saw limited release or languished in the vaults with no release at all. In addition to highlights from the aforementioned releases, ‘It’s Been A While’ includes three songs from the extremely rare self-released Christmas 2000 CD and unreleased covers of songs by Young Marble Giants and The Cat’s Miaow! Of course being absent from the new release shelves for three years means there are some of you who may not know anything about The Pines at all so we’ll tell you that the band consists of an amiable English gent called Joe Brooker plus legendary American expat songstress Pam Berry. Joe is a prolific songwriter and also one-half of pop duo The Foxgloves, while Pam’s distinguished resume includes association with numerous indie bands including Belmondo, Black Tambourine, Bright Coloured Lights, The Castaway Stones, Glo Worm, The Seashell Sea, The Shapiros, The Snowdrops, and Veronica Lake, plus guest spots on recordings by The Clientele, Jasmine Minks, The Lucksmiths, The Relict, and The Saturday People, among others. The album is at the pressing plant now and is scheduled for release in early December but we’ll start taking preorders later this month so check the order page for details. In the meantime, have a listen to the splendid track ‘Milk Bar’ now playing on the sounds page. You can see the full tracklisting and listen to a few more songs on the catalog page too – I’ll tell you that for free!

Switching to recent release action, the magnificent album ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040) continues to bolster the reputation of indie legends Tender Trap! As lead singer of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research, Amelia Fletcher was the voice and face that launched a thousand fanzines, an iconic presence whose influence can be traced in bands as diverse as Le Tigre and Belle and Sebastian. Together with her cohort in the latter two of those bands, Rob Pursey (guitar), and Marine Research drummer John Stanley aka DJ Downfall (bass), Tender Trap formed in 2001 and released the coolly electronic album ‘Film Molecules’ and a clutch of fine singles.

With the addition of The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson on drums, ‘6 Billion People’ marks a move away from the pared-down approach of its predecessor towards a sound recalling the best of the band’s previous incarnations. This is immediately evident on the big chorused title track, while ‘Talking Backwards’ is a pop rush of shimmering guitars and mellifluous vocals and ‘I Would Die For You’ marries a chugging rhythm to an ethereal melody. The short-but-spiky ‘Applecore’ ups the sass quotient as Amelia demands answers from an indecisive lover to a series of oblique questions over a stop-start bassline, whereas the spacey-keyboard sounds of ‘Fahrenheit 451’, the heartfelt ‘(I Always Love You When I’m) Leaving You’ and the haunting album closer ‘Dead and Gone’ lend the album variety and depth. ‘6 Billion People’ is Tender Trap’s most fully realized work to date, a collection of sumptuous tunes and bold arrangements that makes a claim to be one of the best pop albums of the year.

In recent press, All Music Guide declared “Amelia Fletcher amazingly manages to show no drop-off in songwriting quality after 20+ years in the indie pop game,” while Magnet Magazine lauded the album as “infectiously melodic, hip shaking and laced with thick harmonies,’ concluding its review with the rhetorical question “twee wasn’t ever this good, was it?” Elsewhere, Tasty called it “one of the best pop albums you’ll hear this year” and Plan B concluded “respect is entirely due.” You can listen to album highlights and read all the latest press on the sounds and catalog pages. You need a little new Tender Trap in your life don’t you think? Click here to remedy that situation.

Also making loads of new friends lately is the new four-song ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) from Lovejoy! We think lead track ‘Brightness Falls’ is possibly the finest Lovejoy song to date, mixing keyboards and jangling guitars in a twinkling pop hit. ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ sports a bit of the electronica that first showed its face on the popular ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ set (matcd018) and also recalls the sparkling pop of The Human League, while ‘In the Rain’ is a lusciously paced and mesmerizing cover of the mid-80s indie hit from The June Brides. ‘Made in England’ closes the EP in top form, layering guitars, strings and percussion alongside a rhythmic vocal track with angelic backing—a return of sorts to the chiming orchestral pop of Lovejoy’s debut album ‘Songs In The Key of Lovejoy’ (matcd008).

The release is riding a wave of magnificent reviews, including Friends of the Heroes calling it “a slice of poetic genius,” IndiePages concluding “Brightness Falls could be the band’s brightest moment,” All Music Guide declaring it “definitely one of [Lovejoy’s] finest releases,” Kisschase calling it a “delectable ep [that] boasts just the right blend of electronics and guitars,” and indie-mp3.co.uk saying “smashing stuff!”

If you don’t trust the press, have a listen to the title track now featured on the sounds page and decide for yourself. This one is limited to 1000 copies though, so head to the mailorder now if you want one!

Also in the spotlight, the wonderful new 5-track ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) is the first release in two years from revered English duo Harper Lee! The exquisite title track, presented here in two takes, contrasts trademark Harper Lee melancholy with an upbeat, keyboard-driven tune that recalls the more optimistic moments of lead singer Keris Howard’s former band Brighter. Among the three other exclusive tracks, ‘I Could Be Wrong’ is a slice of Go-Betweens-by-numbers acoustic pop, its jangling guitars the perfect complement to a curiously hopeful message. The moody and churning ‘William Blake’ is a sumptuous textured pop gem that best demonstrates the multi-layered instrumentation characteristic of the band’s acclaimed previous releases, while ‘Come Rest Your Weary Head,’ a chiming lullaby featuring hypnotic percussion and the most plaintive of vocals, ends the EP in sublime fashion.

The music press continues to toss superlatives at Harper Lee, with All Music Guide writing “He Holds a Flame continues the group’s fine string of heartbreakingly good releases,” Aversion.com concluding “He Holds a Flame is just as relevant and meaningful as anything from Death Cab or The Shins,” I’d Rather Be Fat Than Be Confused calling it “lyrically perfect pop and heavy hearted hindsight,” and Mundane Sounds declaring it “one of the best records of 2006.”

‘He Holds A Flame’ is now featured on the sounds page so you can listen for yourself. This one’s also limited to 1000 copies so get to the mailorder or your favorite shop soon!

Also enjoying its stay on the new release shelf is the splendid ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths! The second single lifted from the ‘Warmer Corners’ album (matcd039) validates yet again why The Lucksmiths are among the most popular indie bands of our time. Boasting strings, horns, a funky guitar and a bassline possibly borrowed from Orange Juice, ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ is a dancefloor sizzler that just had to be a single. The EP also includes exclusive tracks ‘From Macaulay Station,’ ‘Rue Something’ and ‘To Absent Votes,’ which combined with ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ form a brilliant EP designed to give ‘Warmer Corners’ another shot at the glory it deserves.

The superb reviews continue for this release too, with Mundane Sounds calling it “a satisfying platter of beautiful, melancholy pop,” Delusions of Adequacy writing “more light, summertime pop from Australia’s brilliant Lucksmiths proving themselves at the forefront of the genre,” and Amplifier Magazine warning “you should truly feel ashamed of yourself if you don’t get your hands on a copy.”

‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ is playing on the sounds page now if you fancy a listen, but come on now, can you really resist a new Lucksmiths record? I didn’t think so. Yep, back to the order page for you.

In other press action, we have added numerous interviews to Matinée artist pages this month, including chats with Keris Howard of Harper Lee and Brighter on Aversion.com and Mundane Sounds, Lovejoy on Pennyblack Magazine, Math and Physics Club on Erasing Clouds, Tender Trap on Verbicide, Pennyblack and Wears the Trousers, and yours truly on indiemp3.co.uk.

While it’s hard to imagine cooler weather as we endure nearly triple digit temperatures here in Santa Barbara, I trust that some of you are breaking out the sweaters and gloves already which is a perfect excuse to plug our seasonal-themed compilations from a few years back, the Matinée Autumn Assortment (matinée 051) and the Matinée Winter Warmer (matinée 055). Both contain ten seasonally-appropriate tracks from Matinée favorites including exclusive songs you won’t find anywhere else. Right now they are just $3 each too so how could you go wrong?

While we’re at it, we’ve gone ahead and put the entire back catalog on sale again because our massive September sale was such a hit and we’re excited about all the newfound space we cleared out in the stockroom. Some titles are marked 50 percent off and there are additional releases likely to sell out by the end of the year so take advantage of the savings to expand your Matinée collection today. The sale ends November 30th though so get going!

Our final word as always is a recap of top sellers from the past month. This one is a combined September/October chart which demonstrates the royal battle between new releases over the past sixty days. Brighter ruled supreme the month of September but Math and Physics Club took over big time in October. In the special combined tally, however, the nod goes to Brighter by a mere two additional copies sold. They’re neck and neck so far in November so stay tuned…

10. Various – Matinée Winter Warmer CD
9. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going To Be OK CD
8. The Lucksmiths – T-Shirt Weather 7″
7. Razorcuts – R is for Razorcuts CD
6. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
5. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
4. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
3. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP
2. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
1. Brighter – Out To Sea CD

We’ll be back in early December with the final news of the year including our annual fanclub poll and maybe some hints about 2007 release plans. Take advantage of the big November sale to buy some early holiday presents and help us clear room for additional new releases!

Adios,
Jimmy
x

Hey now! We’re winding down the extended summer holiday so sit back for top news including reports on brand new releases from Brighter, Math and Physics Club, and The Pines plus new-ish releases from Harper Lee, Lovejoy, Tender Trap and The Lucksmiths, a handful of upcoming live dates, and a colossal sale at the mailorder with prices slashed as much as 50 percent on some titles. Oh yes… You knew our latest web update would be worth the wait!

Let’s start with Brighter, shall we? Faithful followers of this label know that Harper Lee frontman Keris Howard can do no wrong in our book and if there is anything that rivals the brilliance of a new Harper Lee release it’s a new compilation of songs from his previous band Brighter. We had the honor of releasing the ‘Singles 1989-1992′ collection (matcd026) a few years back which compiled the four legendary Brighter singles released on Sarah Records but did you know that was only half the story? The fantastic new 20-track compilation ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) features the remaining eight songs from the Sarah Records catalog (all taken from the 1991 mini-lp ‘Laurel’) plus five songs from the rare German-released ‘Next Summer’ and ‘A Winter’s Tale’ flexis, a contribution to the impossible-to-find ‘Beckett House’ compilation LP, and six (!!!!!!) previously unreleased tracks, all remastered in glorious stereo sound. The full tracklisting is: 1. Christmas, 2. Frostbite, 3. Summer Becomes Winter, 4. Something To Call My Own, 5. Ocean Sky, 6. Out to Sea, 7. Maybe, 8. Journey’s End, 9. If I Could See, 10. Wallflower, 11. Airhead, 12. Don’t Remember, 13. Next Summer, 14. Looks Like Rain, 15. Falling, 16. There Is Nothing We Can Do?, 17. Nothing At All, 18. Hope to God, 19. Amy Never Knew, 20. Still. You can listen to four of these tracks on the updated sounds and catalog pages. The CD is just back from the pressing plant and scheduled for release to shops in early October but we have copies available RIGHT NOW exclusively via the Matinée mailorder for a mere $10. It’s true!

In the imminent release category is the highly anticipated debut album (matcd042) from Seattle quintet Math and Physics Club! We’ve gone for a self-titled affair which is a first as far as Matinée albums go but once you hear the songs you’ll see that no title is necessary. The world fell in love with Math and Physics Club as soon as the debut ‘Weekends Away’ EP (matinée 056) was released in February of last year. The EP sold out of its initial pressing in just a few months and has now surpassed even ‘T-Shirt Weather’ from the Lucksmiths as the best selling single on Matinée. Go figure. The follow-up ‘Movie Ending Romance’ EP (matinée 059) was released in July of last year and was even better in my humble opinion. Everyone loved it too and it has been a solid fixture inside the top five of the Matinée hit parade ever since. In a bold move the band decided to start from scratch on its debut album and the results are positively wonderful. The ten new tracks that comprise the album are: 1. Darling, Please Come Home, 2. I Know What I Want, 3. April Showers, 4. Holidays and Saturdays, 5. La La La Lisa, 6. Look At Us Now, 7. You’ll Miss Me, 8. Cold As Minnesota, 9. Such A Simple Plan, 10. Last Dance. From the first moment of the opening track you know you’re in for a treat and it doesn’t let up until the final note some 30 minutes later. You can listen to three tracks on the new catalog page, and ‘Darling, Please Come Home’ is also featured on the sounds page. The CD is at the pressing plant and we’ll have copies ready to ship by the 1st of October so you can order a copy RIGHT NOW if you’re the patient sort. Go on then! The CD is available in shops from October 16th.

The band will play a handful of album launch shows next month including their first along the East Coast. Please see confirmed dates below and check the MAPC website for further details. Hurrah!

Friday, October 6th @ Union Hall, New York, NY with The Envelopes.
Saturday, October 7th @ Pianos, New York, NY with The Icicles.
Sunday, October 8th @ The Elevens. Northampton, MA as part of the New England Popfest.
Saturday, October 14th @ Sonic Boom Records (Ballard), Seattle, WA – FREE 6pm in-store performance.
Saturday, October 14th @ Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA with Boat and The Seaworthies – RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!

Also now in production is a superb 20-track collection of singles, compilation appearances, and unreleased tracks from South London pop duo The Pines! Appropriately titled ‘It’s Been A While’ (matcd043), the album is the first release from The Pines since their magnificent ‘True Love Waits, Volume 2′ EP (matinée 048) nearly three years ago. That EP was one of six limited edition singles the band released on various labels from 2000 to 2003. In addition to Matinée, The Pines have graced the discography pages for Annika (Spain), Becalmed (UK), Foxyboy (USA), Gifted (Australia), and Long Lost Cousin (UK), and contributed compilation tracks to collections by Chickfactor (USA), Papercuts (UK), and Red Square (USA). Over the years they also recorded a handful of covers and other gems that saw very limited release or languished in the vaults with no release at all…until now! We’re doing what any respectable record label should by pulling songs from each of these fantastic releases to form the debut full-length for the band. In addition to highlights from the aforementioned releases, the CD includes three songs from the extremely rare self-released Christmas 2000 CD and unreleased covers of songs by Young Marble Giants and The Cat’s Miaow! Of course being absent from the new release shelves for three years means there are some of you who may not know anything about The Pines at all so we’ll tell you that the band consists of an amiable English gent called Joe Brooker plus legendary American expat songstress Pam Berry. Joe is a prolific songwriter and also one-half of pop duo The Foxgloves, while Pam’s distinguished resume includes association with numerous indie bands including Belmondo, Black Tambourine, Bright Coloured Lights, The Castaway Stones, Glo Worm, The Seashell Sea, The Shapiros, The Snowdrops, and Veronica Lake, plus guest spots on recordings by The Clientele, Jasmine Minks, The Lucksmiths, The Relict, and The Saturday People, among others. The tracklisting is sorted but we are still working on artwork so look for more release details next month. In the meantime, have a listen to the splendid track ‘Milk Bar’ just added to the sounds page and dream about listening to 70 straight minutes of Pines magic in the near future.

Switching to our fantastic summer releases, the fresh ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) is Lovejoy‘s impressive follow-up to the ‘Everybody Hates Lovejoy’ album (matcd035) last year. Lead track ‘Brightness Falls’ is possibly the finest Lovejoy song to date, mixing keyboards and jangling guitars in a twinkling pop hit with vocals from Lovejoy supremo Richard Preece. If we lived in a just universe this would be blasting from car stereos all day long in place of the latest inane hip hop flavor-of-the-week, but we’ll settle for its current feature on the Matinée sounds page instead so you can have a listen whenever you like. ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ sports a bit of the pesky electronica that first showed its face on the popular ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ set (matcd018) and also rather nicely recalls the sparkling pop of The Human League, while ‘In the Rain’ is a lusciously paced and mesmerizing cover of the mid-80s indie hit from The June Brides. ‘Made in England’ closes the EP in top form, layering guitars, strings and percussion alongside a rhythmic vocal track with angelic backing – a return of sorts to the chiming orchestral pop of Lovejoy’s debut album ‘Songs In The Key of Lovejoy‘ (matcd008).

In review action, English zine I’d Rather Be Fat Than Be Confused said “England Made Me [makes] me want to immediately go and get everything else they’ve ever released,” suggesting each song “could’ve quite happily been a single in its own right,” while Left Hip wrote “another all-too-brief spree of pop-perfection, England Made Me is beautiful music for fans of melancholy 80’s indiepop with an electronic twist.” This one is limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket sleeve so get going if you want one!

Also just out, the 5-track ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) is the first release in nearly two years from revered English duo Harper Lee! The exquisite title track, presented here in two takes, contrasts trademark Harper Lee melancholy with an upbeat, keyboard-driven tune that recalls the more optimistic moments of lead singer Keris Howard’s former band Brighter. The song is now playing on the sounds page if you’d like a listen. Among the three other exclusive tracks, ‘I Could Be Wrong’ is a perfect slice of Go-Betweens-by-numbers acoustic pop, its jangling guitars the perfect complement to a curiously hopeful message. The moody and churning ‘William Blake’ is a sumptuous textured pop gem that best demonstrates the multi-layered instrumentation characteristic of the band’s acclaimed previous releases, while ‘Come Rest Your Weary Head,’ a chiming lullaby featuring hypnotic percussion and the most plaintive of vocals, ends the EP in sublime fashion. Limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket sleeve so get to the mailorder or your favorite shop soon!

As expected, the press has declared the EP an unequivocal hit. Among our favorite quotes, indie juggernaut Pitchfork wrote “I Could Be Wrong is the kind of gentle indie pop song that might easily be overlooked for lack of impenetrable avant-garde pretensions or fashionable time-signature changes – too obvious, Pitchfork! – but I listen to a lot of gentle indie-pop songs, and few are this effortlessly graceful.” Meanwhile, Aversion.com concluded “He Holds a Flame is just as relevant and meaningful as anything from Death Cab or The Shins,” and You Ain’t No Picasso declared “it’s like the solemn side of Morrissey and the romanticism of Stephin Merritt got put together in a mason jar with just the tiniest bit of The Lucksmiths, and was left to ferment for a couple years.” Aversion.com also conducted a new interview with the band which you can read here.

Finally, Harper Lee make a very rare live appearance September 16th at the Pop Revo Festival in Aarhus, Denmark. See the Pop Revo website for show details as well as another exclusive interview. Lucky Danish people (or those of you with a penchant for last minute travel)!

Still beaming on a new release shelf near you is the magnificent album ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040) from indie legends Tender Trap! As lead singer of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research, Amelia Fletcher was the voice and face that launched a thousand fanzines, an iconic presence whose influence can be traced in bands as diverse as Le Tigre and Belle and Sebastian. Together with her cohort in the latter two of those bands, Rob Pursey (guitar), and Marine Research drummer John Stanley aka DJ Downfall (bass), Tender Trap formed in 2001 and released the coolly electronic album ‘Film Molecules’ and a clutch of fine singles. With the addition of crisp drumming from The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson, ‘6 Billion People’ marks a move away from the pared-down approach of its predecessor towards a sound recalling the best of the band’s previous incarnations. This is immediately evident on the big chorused title track, Rob Pursey’s sub-sonic backing vocals uncannily reminiscent of erstwhile collaborator Calvin Johnson, while recent single ‘Talking Backwards’ (matinée 058) is a pop rush of shimmering guitars and mellifluous vocals and ‘I Would Die For You’ marries a chugging rhythm to an ethereal melody. The short-but-spiky ‘Applecore’ ups the sass quotient as Amelia demands answers from an indecisive lover to a series of oblique questions over a stop-start bassline, whereas the spacey-keyboard sounds of ‘Fahrenheit 451’, the heartfelt ‘(I Always Love You When I’m) Leaving You’ and the haunting album closer ‘Dead and Gone’ lend the album variety and depth. ‘6 Billion People’ is Tender Trap’s most fully realized work to date, a collection of sumptuous tunes and bold arrangements that makes a claim to be one of the best pop albums of the year.

You can listen to album highlights and peruse the latest press on the sounds and catalog pages. Of particular note, American magazine Verbicide has just featured Tender Trap in its ‘bands on the rise’ spotlight, while Pennyblack is currently running a great three-part interview with frontwoman Amelia Fletcher. Get yours at the webshop today.

Also still gracing the new release shelf is the splendid ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths! The second single lifted from the ‘Warmer Corners’ album (matcd039) validates yet again why The Lucksmiths are among the most popular indie bands of our time. Boasting strings, horns, a funky guitar and a bassline possibly borrowed from Orange Juice, ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ is a dancefloor sizzler that just had to be a single. We’re featuring the song on the sounds page now if you fancy a listen. The EP also includes exclusive new tracks ‘From Macaulay Station,’ ‘Rue Something’ and ‘To Absent Votes,’ which combined with ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ form a brilliant EP designed to give ‘Warmer Corners’ another shot at the glory it deserves. Life’s good with a new Lucksmiths release around, don’t you think?

The back catalog spotlight is on hold this month because we are having a sale on the entire back catalog instead! The Super September Sale applies to virtually all releases and includes price reductions as much as 50 percent on some titles so stock up now to take advantage of the savings. The sale ends October 10th though so get going!

While you’re on the order page you may notice we have added a dozen or so splendid releases from our good friends at Labrador Records in Sweden. We have limited quantities of titles from Club 8, Edson, The Radio Dept. and Sambassadeur available at great prices so grab some of these essential releases while you can!

If you think buying CDs is so 2005 and have made the switch to downloading instead, we are happy to report that close to 50 Matinée titles are now available via iTunes! We are uploading releases in roughly reverse chronological order so expect to see more of the back catalog up over the next few weeks. We’ll be adding special links to the website shortly too to make it easy to find the releases online. Of course, iTunes gives you the ability to listen to 30-second soundclips of every song so if you’re just curious to sample songs before you buy the release now you can do that too.

With many releases now available for download, we will likely allow some of the back catalog to go out of print so if you’re after a physical copy of something please act now. At the sale rates many titles are selling quickly. We have added notations to the order page for releases that are close to selling out as an extra impetus to buy.

The final word as always is a recap of top sellers from the past month. This one is a combined July/August chart which gives a slight edge in the Blur/Oasis battle (see July news) to the new Harper Lee EP:

10. The Lucksmiths – Where Were We CD
9. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
8. The Fairways – This is Farewell CD
7. Tender Trap – Language Lessons CDEP
6. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
5. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
4. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
3. Tender Trap – 6 Billion People CD
2. Lovejoy – England Made Me CDEP
1. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP

farewell!
Jimmy
x

Sorry for the erratic web updates lately but hey, it’s summer and we were slightly preoccupied with the World Cup. Now that it’s over we can focus on pop music again!

This week marks the official release of spectacular new EPs from popular Matinée artists Harper Lee and Lovejoy! We are offering simultaneous release dates—sort of a modern day Blur vs. Oasis battle although I don’t think these groups have many similarities with Oasis. Or Blur for that matter. (Unless you like Oasis and Blur in which case they sound EXACTLY LIKE THEM.) Here are release details so you can decide for yourself:

The magnificent new 5-track ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) is the first release in nearly two years from revered English duo Harper Lee! The exquisite title track, presented here in two takes, contrasts trademark Harper Lee melancholy with an upbeat, keyboard-driven tune that recalls the more optimistic moments of lead singer Keris Howard’s former band Brighter. The song is now playing on the sounds page if you fancy a listen. Among the three other exclusive tracks, ‘I Could Be Wrong’ is a perfect slice of Go-Betweens-by-numbers acoustic pop, its jangling guitars the perfect complement to a curiously hopeful message. The moody and churning ‘William Blake’ is a sumptuous textured pop gem that best demonstrates the multi-layered instrumentation characteristic of the band’s acclaimed previous releases, while ‘Come Rest Your Weary Head,’ a chiming lullaby featuring hypnotic percussion and the most plaintive of vocals, ends the EP in sublime fashion. The bottom line is this one’s a gem, folks and it’s limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket sleeve so get to the mailorder or your favorite shop soon!

The new ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) is Lovejoy‘s impressive follow-up to last year’s ‘Everybody Hates Lovejoy’ album (matcd035). Lead track ‘Brightness Falls’ is perhaps the finest Lovejoy song to date, mixing keyboards and jangling guitars in a twinkling pop hit with ace vocals from Lovejoy supremo Richard Preece. If we lived in a just universe this would be blasting from car stereos all summer long in place of the latest inane hip hop flavor-of-the-week, but we’ll settle for its current feature atop the Matinée sounds page instead so you can have a listen whenever you like. ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ sports a bit of the pesky electronica that first showed its face on the popular ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ set (matcd018) and also rather nicely recalls the sparkling pop of The Human League, while ‘In the Rain’ is a lusciously paced and mesmerizing cover of the mid-80s indie hit from The June Brides. ‘Made in England’ closes the EP in top form, layering guitars, strings and percussion alongside a rhythmic vocal track with angelic backing—a return of sorts to the chiming orchestral pop of Lovejoy’s debut album ‘Songs In The Key of Lovejoy’ (matcd008). Hurrah! This one is also limited to 1000 copies in our custom minijacket sleeve so get going if you want one!

In other release news, the brand new ‘6 Billion People’ album (matcd040) from Tender Trap is causing quite a stir these days with good reviews popping up in trusted magazines like Magnet, Uncut, Venus, Q and Rivet. Some of our favorite press quotes include Tasty calling it “one of the best pop albums you’ll hear this year,” I’d Rather Be Fat Than Be Confused suggesting “opening track 6 Billion People is about 6 billion times better than anything any band has released so far this year—a modern day ‘My Girl’ all full of ba-ba-ba-ba’s, clever lyrics and an impossible to forget killer of a tune,” Kisschase writing “the new Tender Trap record feeds in to the recent, very welcome tradition of albums that are actually solid all the way through,” and, alluding to lead singer Amelia Fletcher’s impressive back catalog in Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Marine Research, Plan B Magazine calling the new album “as refreshingly infectious and as downright fab as anything she’s done in the past.” Read more about the album and check out the latest reviews on the updated catalog page, where you can also listen to four tracks from the album! Tender Trap played a handful of UK dates to launch the album last month and we hope to see them on American soil sometime soon so buy lots of records and we’ll see what we can do. They’re ace live you know…

Just finishing up in the Matinée art department (translation: trying to decide among three different sleeve options) is the fantastic new 20-track compilation ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter! As we mentioned last month, and probably the one before that, the album includes all eight songs from the 1991 Sarah Records mini-lp ‘Laurel’ plus five songs from the ‘Next Summer’ and ‘A Winter’s Tale’ flexis, a contribution to the rare ‘Beckett House’ compilation LP, and six previously unreleased tracks, all remastered in glorious stereo sound! The full tracklisting is: 1. Christmas, 2. Frostbite, 3. Summer Becomes Winter, 4. Something To Call My Own, 5. Ocean Sky, 6. Out to Sea, 7. Maybe, 8. Journey’s End, 9. If I Could See, 10. Wallflower, 11. Airhead, 12. Don’t Remember, 13. Next Summer, 14. Looks Like Rain, 15. Falling, 16. There Is Nothing We Can Do?, 17. Nothing At All, 18. Hope to God, 19. Amy Never Knew, 20. Still. The CD is going to the pressing plant imminently which puts us on course for a September release. In the meantime have a listen to the brilliant unreleased track ‘Wallflower’ on the sounds page. Trust us this will be well worth the wait.

Also coming soon is the highly anticipated debut album from our good pals Math and Physics Club! If the demos are anything to go by, this album is going to be a smash. Among your future favorite songs are ones entitled ‘April Showers,’ ‘In This Together,’ ‘Last Dance,’ ‘Cold As Minnesota,’ ‘Darling Please Come Home,’ ‘Look At Us Now,’ ‘Holidays and Saturdays,’ and my personal favorite ‘I Know What I Want.’ The album should contain 10 previously unreleased songs and to say we’re eagerly awaiting it would be a massive understatement. We’re shooting for an early autumn release so start saving your pennies now. The band will play a handful of album launch shows including their first along the American East Coast so stay tuned here or check the MAPC website for details.

We released four solid EPs over the past few months which the smarties amongst you already have but for those of you looking to catch up, we’re talking about the ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths, ‘Language Lessons’ EP (matinée 058) from Tender Trap, ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053) from The Snowdrops, and ‘Movie Ending Romance’ EP (matinée 059) from Math and Physics Club. They all contain ace exclusive tracks you can’t find anywhere else so you know you need them. Check the catalog pages for reviews and the sounds page for full-length soundclips. These are perfect additions to your Tender Trap, Lovejoy and Harper Lee new release orders, don’t you think?

In upcoming European live action, Pipas are set to play Sweden’s Emmaboda Festival on August 12th; Airport Girl, The Lucksmiths, and Would-Be-Goods all help Fortuna POP! Records celebrate 10 years of love, ineptitude and independence at the August 30th F-POP! Fest in London; and The Lucksmiths take in a dozen European cities in early September, including dates in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Spain and Italy. For more details see the Pipas, Fortuna POP, and Lucksmiths websites.

Continuing now with our back catalog spotlight feature, this month we showcase classic releases from Would-Be-Goods, The Liberty Ship and Harper Lee! Each release is specially priced for the next month to persuade you to continue building your Matinée collection. Here are several reasons why you should:

This month’s spotlight album is the luxurious 2004 full length ‘The Morning After’ (matcd032) from Would-Be-Goods! Their third release for Matinée following the triumphant ‘Emmanuelle Béart’ EP (matinée 030) in 2001 and ‘Brief Lives’ (matcd017) album the following year, we happen to think it’s the best Would-Be-Goods release to date. In reviewing the album, All Music Guide suggested “you would be hard pressed to find a better indie pop record this year,” calling it “a miniature gem that indie pop fans should add to their collection right away.” Tasty concurred, writing “easily the best WBG album so far, and their most accessible… pop at its most righteous.” The album has some bona fide modern classics on it, including the title track, ‘Pantomime Devil,’ ‘Miss La-Di-Dah,’ ‘Big Cat Act,’ ‘What Adam and Eve Did Next’… check out soundclips on the sounds page and take advantage of the bargain price all this month at the mailorder! You’ll be glad you did because Would-Be-Goods rule, okay?

The back catalog CD single of the month is the March 2003 ‘Northern Angel’ EP (matinée 046) from The Liberty Ship, the Nottingham, England four-piece led by former Bulldozer Crash frontman Marc Elston. The title track is one of those should-have-been hits with perfectly shimmering guitars, harmonica, tambourine, great harmonies and one of the catchiest choruses we’ve heard in a long while. Seriously… go to the sounds page for a listen because it’s really worth hearing. The EP was a favorite at All Music Guide, which wrote “all four songs have a chiming, Byrds-influenced, classic indie pop sound… Northern Angel has lovely minor chords, a soaring chorus, and is reminiscent of late-’80s bands like the great East Village.” Meanwhile, Careless Talk Costs Lives said “guitars shimmer, tambourine shakes, harmonies harmonize… business as usual from Nottingham, then,” while Wide Open Road called it “a strong EP all round, especially if you like heartfelt guitar pop from the Postcard school.” See the catalog page for more reviews. Three of the EP’s four tracks did not appear on the subsequent Liberty Ship album ‘Tide’ (matcd029) so it’s well worth the money especially at the sale price this month. See the mailorder page to secure your copy.

Our featured 7″ this month is the October 2000 ‘Bug’ 45 (matinée 019) from Harper Lee! The second single from Brighton, England duo featuring Keris Howard (Brighter, Hal, Trembling Blue Stars) on vocals and guitar, and Laura Bridge (Hood, Kicker) on guitar, keyboards, and drums, this double A-side showcased idyllic, earnest pop with beautifully layered keyboards and guitars. In reviewing the single, In Love With These Times called it “two songs of impossible beauty” and we couldn’t agree more. The title track will always be a highlight of the Matinée catalog… I could write a page about it easily but sounds speak louder than words so just listen for yourself over at the sounds page and you’ll soon decide this is essential listening. The exclusive b-side ‘You Kill Me’ is just as good and perhaps most famous as a Pipas cover version on the Matinée 50 compilation (deservedly one of Matinée’s top sellers) which means more people own the Pipas version of this song than the original Harper Lee version and that’s just not right is it? If we sell roughly 100 copies of the ‘Bug’ single this month they’ll be on equal footing so get going because 7″ singles are ace, especially when they’re just $2!

Those of you who are not fans of Real Player may be happy to know that sometime over the next few weeks you will be able to sample virtually every song released on Matinée via iTunes! Yes, we’ve given in to the digital revolution and are currently in the process of uploading releases to iTunes for download… hurrah! Of course we’ll still maintain stock of the physical releases too so either way we’ll keep your stereos and iPods happy. The process takes awhile but hopefully everything will be up by mid-August. We plan to provide direct links from the website to make it easy so check back here if you are interested.

We’ll end this missive as always with our hit parade of the top sellers from the past month. This one is a special combined May/June chart which sees Tender Trap just barely edging out a Harper Lee debut to remain at the top:

10. The Lucksmiths – San Francisco CDEP
9. Pale Sunday – Summertime CD
8. Lovejoy – England Made Me CDEP
7. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
6. The Snowdrops – Sleepydust CDEP
5. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
4. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
3. Tender Trap – Language Lessons CDEP
2. Harper Lee – He Holds A Flame CDEP
1. Tender Trap – 6 Billion People CD

Stay cool!
Jimmy
x

Hello comrades! We’ve some vital news this month as we proudly release the brand new album from Tender Trap; preview imminent EPs from Harper Lee and Lovejoy; provide details on a forthcoming Brighter compilation; gush about recent EPs from The Lucksmiths, The Snowdrops and Tender Trap; announce live summer dates for select Matinée artists; drop hints about future recordings; brag about some old gems; and more! Here’s the skinny:

Our latest release is the magnificent album ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040) from new indie legends Tender Trap! Twenty years on from the NME’s legendary C86 cassette, with anniversary shows featuring key artists planned at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts and a Bob Stanley-produced documentary in the works, Tender Trap’s new album is striking proof that some of the original protagonists of that movement are still making intelligent and engaging pop music. As lead singer of the seminal Talulah Gosh, the proto-riot grrrl Heavenly and the classy pop act Marine Research, Amelia Fletcher was the voice and face that launched a thousand fanzines, an iconic presence whose influence can be traced in bands as diverse as Le Tigre and Belle and Sebastian. Together with her cohort in the latter two of those bands, Rob Pursey (guitar), and Marine Research drummer John Stanley aka DJ Downfall (bass), Tender Trap formed in 2001, releasing the coolly electronic album ‘Film Molecules’ and a clutch of fine singles to date.

With the addition of the crisp drumming of The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson, ‘6 Billion People’ marks a move away from the pared-down approach of its predecessor towards a sound recalling the best of the band’s previous incarnations. This is immediately evident on the big chorused title track, Rob Pursey’s sub-sonic backing vocals uncannily reminiscent of erstwhile collaborator Calvin Johnson, while recent single ‘Talking Backwards’ (matinée 058) is a pop rush of shimmering guitars and mellifluous vocals and ‘I Would Die For You’ marries a chugging rhythm to an ethereal melody. The short-but-spiky ‘Applecore’ ups the sass quotient as Amelia demands answers from an indecisive lover to a series of oblique questions over a stop-start bassline, whereas the spacey-keyboard sounds of ‘Fahrenheit 451’, the heartfelt ‘(I Always Love You When I’m) Leaving You’ and the haunting album closer ‘Dead and Gone’ lend the album variety and depth. ‘6 Billion People’ is Tender Trap’s most fully realized work to date, a collection of sumptuous tunes and bold arrangements that makes a claim to be one of the best pop albums of the year.

In pre-release review action, Tasty agreed, writing “6 Billion People is one of the best pop albums you’ll hear this year,” while Erasing Clouds described it as “another fantastic addition to Amelia Fletcher’s lengthy discography.” The full tracklisting and soundclips are now posted on the catalog and sounds pages. Although the official release date is May 29 in the shops, you can pick up your copy RIGHT NOW via the Matinée mailorder for just $10. We have fashionable Tender Trap buttons and postcards too so what are you waiting for? The CD is available in Europe from the good people at Fortuna POP!

Before we shut our trap (ahem…), don’t forget about their recent ‘Language Lessons’ EP (matinée 058) featuring the non-album tracks ‘Unputdownable,’ ‘Friendster’ and ‘Cómo Te Llamas?’! It’s the perfect appetizer for the ‘6 Billion People’ full length and a wonderful EP all its own. It’s a press triumph too, with Losing Today writing “Talking Backwards is three minutes of feverishly honed sweetly turned shimmer like 60’s inflected jangle pop that sees the classic indie glamour of the Primitives curvaceously diluted and lovingly draped by the crisp, breezy Francophile la la bachelor pad mindset of Stereolab all married to an audacious good to be alive melodic thread found casually basking in the softened haze of sultry summer afternoons and garnished with the kind of rash like infectiousness.”

Other recent reviews include Magnet Magazine writing “[Tender Trap] sports familiar, churning neo-new wave melodies that’ll have you jonesing for a microbrew and a clove cigarette,” Pop Matters calling it “a rousing girly guitar-pop joy that takes at least ten years off the soul,” and All Music Guide concluding “Amelia Fletcher has never made a record anything less than wonderful and this is no exception.” The title track is playing on the sounds page for your listening pleasure, and the EP is available from all good record shops or the Matinée mailorder now so get your copy today!

While you’re at the mailorder, you may want to pick up newly stocked copies of classic K Records releases from Tender Trap, Marine Research, Heavenly and Talulah Gosh! We have fresh copies of the debut Tender Trap album ‘Film Molecules,’ plus ‘Sounds from the Gulf Stream’ and ‘Parallel Horizontal’ from Marine Research; ‘Heavenly vs. Satan,’ ‘Le Jardin de Heavenly,’ ‘The Decline and Fall of Heavenly,’ ‘Operation: Heavenly’ and ‘P.U.N.K. Girl’ from Heavenly; and ‘Backwash’ from Talulah Gosh. Each of these bands features Amelia Fletcher from Tender Trap, while the first three also include Rob Pursey of Tender Trap and the latter three also feature the unmistakable guitar playing of Peter Momtchiloff (now in Would-Be-Goods). But you knew that. Any serious student of indiepop most likely has these already but if you’re missing any from your collection do yourself a favor and add it to your next order. You won’t be disappointed! The lovely K mailorder has stocked a handful of Matinée releases in return so head over there for more from the international pop underground.

Turning now to some exciting forthcoming releases, the brilliant new five track ‘He Holds A Flame’ EP (matinée 061) from Harper Lee is due back from the pressing plant in a matter of days! As we reported last month, the EP includes two versions of the title track, a quirky sing-along that recalls the more upbeat moments of lead singer Keris Howard’s former band Brighter, plus the Go-Betweens-by-numbers acoustic pop of ‘I Could Be Wrong,’ the moody and churning ‘William Blake’ which would have fit nicely on the last Harper Lee album ‘All Things Can Be Mended’ (matcd033), and a chiming lullaby called ‘Come Rest Your Weary Head’ which is a simply sublime way to end an EP. No mere single, this is an astonishing EP where every song could have been the lead track. You can preview ‘He Holds A Flame’ right now on the sounds page, but if ever you trust my advice on these matters, head straight to the order page because this release is one of the very best we have ever had the honor of assigning a Matinée catalog number. Yes, it’s that good! The official release date is still a few weeks off but we’ll start shipping mailorder copies from June 1st so you can be the first on your block to hear one of the very best releases of the year.

Also now at the pressing plant is the fantastic new ‘England Made Me’ EP (matinée 062) from Lovejoy! The first new material since the ‘Everybody Hates Lovejoy’ album (matcd035) early last year, the EP features brand new songs ‘Brightness Falls,’ ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ and ‘Made In England’ plus a great cover of ‘In the Rain’ originally by The June Brides. In the short time since we received the masters, ‘Brightness Falls’ has already established itself as one of the very best Lovejoy songs to date. Check it out now playing on the sounds page…it’s ace, don’t you think? ‘Made in England’ is up there too…a return of sorts to the chiming pop of the debut album ‘ Songs In The Key of Lovejoy’ (matcd008), while ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ and ‘In the Rain’ sport a bit more of the electronica that first showed its face on the popular ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ (matcd018) set. Oh, it’s all good…everybody loves Lovejoy. Still several weeks away from release but we’ll start taking preorders in June so keep checking the order page for your earliest opportunity to own the latest Lovejoy masterpiece.

Moving through the Matinée art department is the fantastic new 20-track compilation ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041) from Brighter! As we mentioned last month, the album includes the eight songs from the 1991 mini-lp ‘Laurel’ originally released on Sarah Records plus five songs from the ‘Next Summer’ and ‘A Winter’s Tale’ flexis, a contribution to the rare ‘Beckett House’ compilation LP, and six previously unreleased tracks…you read that right! All remastered in glorious stereo sound of course. The full tracklisting is: 1. Christmas, 2. Frostbite, 3. Summer Becomes Winter, 4. Something To Call My Own, 5. Ocean Sky, 6. Out to Sea, 7. Maybe, 8. Journey’s End, 9. If I Could See, 10. Wallflower, 11. Airhead, 12. Don’t Remember, 13. Next Summer, 14. Looks Like Rain, 15. Falling, 16. There Is Nothing We Can Do?, 17. Nothing At All, 18. Hope to God, 19. Amy Never Knew, 20. Still. We’ll reveal complete release details soon, but in the meantime have a listen to the brilliant unreleased track ‘Wallflower’ on the sounds page. To say we’re eager for this release is a bit of an understatement. Just you wait…

Still gracing new release shelves around the globe is the splendid ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths! The second single lifted from the astonishing ‘Warmer Corners’ album (matcd039) validates yet again why The Lucksmiths are among the most popular indie bands of our time. Boasting strings, horns, a funky guitar and a bassline possibly borrowed from Orange Juice, ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ is a dancefloor sizzler that just had to be a single. We’re featuring the song on the sounds page now if you fancy a listen. The EP also includes exclusive new tracks ‘From Macaulay Station,’ ‘Rue Something’ and ‘To Absent Votes,’ which combined with ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ form a brilliant EP designed to give ‘Warmer Corners’ another shot at the glory it deserves.

In new Lucksmiths review action, hipster blog You Aint No Picasso concluded “the new songs are every bit as good as those on Warmer Corners – it’s easy to see ‘Macaulay Station’ as the next step from Warmer Corners, and if this is where they’re headed, I couldn’t be more excited.” Meanwhile, Friends of the Heroes declared it “the best single of the year so far,” Losing Today called it “absolutely essential – could well be their finest and most focused moment to date,” while Tangents warned “you would have to be dim or demented not to pick up a copy post haste.” So, assuming you’re not dim or demented, you probably need to follow the advice of Tangents and pay a visit to the Matinée mailorder (or your trusty local indie shop) today.

Also still dazzling on the new release shelf is the ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053) from The Snowdrops, an occasional collaboration of indie legends Keith Girdler (Blueboy, Beaumont, Lovejoy), Dick Preece (Lovejoy, Beaumont) and Pam Berry (The Pines, Shapiros, Black Tambourine, Glo Worm)! The EP features five tracks including a Pet Shop Boys-inspired title track (now playing on the sounds page) with brilliant lead vocals from Keith plus backing from Pam. Other tracks include a beautiful atmospheric number called ‘Too Cold To Snow,’ the wonderful ‘The Boy With The Hummingbird Eyes’ featuring Dick on lead vocals and a guest appearance from Keris Howard (Harper Lee, Brighter), a short one called ‘Teddy Dragons’ and a remix of ‘Sleepydust’ with more Pam and some other nice touches.

The EP continues to generate enthusiastic press, with Losing Today describing it as a “laid back take on New Orders’ ‘Run 2’ with the added accompaniment of a particularly chilled Pet Shop Boys on hand to sprinkle their mercurial laced coffee table pop authority upon…the resulting thread work a softly curdling shimmer like slice of numbing hand holding gracefulness that glides seductively from the grooves into your headspace in the blink of an eye with all the crafted charm of the Field Mice at their most alluring found swapping notes with Fosca.” Are you with us? In other words, they like it! Other recent reviews include Vanity Project calling it “ambient electro indie-pop with a rocking chair St. Etienne groove;” Stylus Magazine writing “the members of the Snowdrops might want to reconsider the band’s status as a side project: their subdued synth-pop moves like a less-kinetic Postal Service, prizing atmosphere over rhythm or groove,” and Mundane Sounds commenting “if you’ve ever wondered what The Field Mice might have released after their swan-song single “Missing the Moon,” Sleepydust answers that question quite nicely.” Indeed. The EP is available now from all good retailers or your trusty Matinée shop.

In other top news, the warm weather has brought some Matinée artists out of hibernation for live action over the next 30 days. Each of these artists are working on new albums so expect exclusive previews of new material in addition to the usual classics. Check this out!:

Saturday, May 27th: Mark Monnone (The Lucksmiths) and Lupe Nuñez-Fernandez (Pipas) @ Smallmusictheatre, Koukaki, Athens (Greece) with The Occasional Flickers. Doors at 10pm, 8 euro, details: http://sprinkledpepper.net/funwhileitlasted/

Thursday, June 1st: Math and Physics Club @ The Crocodile Café, Seattle, WA (USA) with Ghost Stories, Young Sportsmen, and Panda & Angel. Doors 9pm, 21+, free!

Thursday, June 8th: Sportique @ The Windmill, Brixton, London (UK) with The Salty Pirates and The Cut Outs. Sponsored by How Does It Feel…?; tickets available from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/10654

Sunday, June 18th: Math and Physics Club @ The Fremont Fair, YMCA Fusion Café Emerging Artists Stage (outside!!), Seattle, WA (USA). ALL AGES, play time TBD, free!

Friday, June 23rd: Would-Be-Goods @ The Buffalo Bar, London (UK) with Les Très Bien Ensemble and The Cut Outs. Sponsored by Fortuna POP!, 8pm; £5 advance/£6 at the door including free CD.

Saturday, June 24th: Would-Be-Goods @ Junktion 7, Canning Circus, Nottingham (UK) with Les Très Bien Ensemble, The Chemistry Experiment and The Cut Outs. Sponsored by Tasty fanzine, 8:30pm; £5 at the door including free CD.

Sunday, June 25th: Would-Be-Goods @ The Cellar, Oxford (UK) with Les Très Bien Ensemble and The Cut Outs. Sponsored by Shogun Panda, 7:30pm; £5 advance/£6 at the door including free CD.

Continuing now with our back catalog spotlight feature, this month we showcase classic releases from Melodie Group, The Lucksmiths and Kosmonaut! Each release is specially priced for the next month if you care to add to your Matinée collection. Further enticement follows:

The back catalog spotlight album is the splendid full length ‘Updownaround’ (matcd022) from Melodie Group! Featuring the consummate songwriting skills of The Windmills vocalist and guitarist Roy Thirlwall, Melodie Group has enjoyed some of the highest praise lofted at a Matinée artist, including comparisons to The Go-Betweens, Echo and the Bunnymen, East Village, and Felt. ‘Updownaround’ showcases relaxed, melodic popsongs that achieve a rare mixture of melancholy and catchiness. Lusciously paced, with gorgeous vocals delivered in the most dulcet of tones, the album is a triumph for Thirlwall’s esteemed catalogue and a testament to the brilliance of his creativity. Tasty described it as “the sort of record any sort of serious fan wishes Morrissey would make, instead of pissing about with those rockabilly chancers,” and Mundane Sounds declared it “a fine debut album from a proven talent.” Among its ten tracks are favorites ‘Summerness’, ‘Bathtub Full of Water’, and ‘I Do Not Not Love You’ – all of which you can preview on the sounds page before picking up a copy of your very own. It’s a nice one.

The November 2002 ‘Midweek Midmorning’ EP (matinée 042) from The Lucksmiths is our back catalog CD single of the month. The title track is a fantastic pop affair that mines typical Lucksmiths themes: sunshine, laziness and unemployment. Its jangling guitars, trumpet, tambourine and excellent vocals provided a highlight of the band’s ‘Naturaliste’ album the following year. The real selling point of the single, however, is its two exclusive non-album tracks: ‘Point Being’ is a catchy affair with handclaps and tambourines and a prominent bass line, while ‘Requiem for the Punters Club’ is an earnest tale about the closing of the band’s favorite hometown purveyor of adult beverages – a lovely remembrance that builds to a wonderful sing-along chorus before concluding with the solitude of a wailing harmonica. More than one reviewer listed ‘Requiem for the Punters Club’ among their favorite Lucksmiths songs to date and overall the EP enjoyed tremendous praise in the music press. Among our favorite quotes, All Music Guide wrote “The Lucksmiths are making the best music of their career and this disc is an essential part of any indie pop collection,” while Shredding Paper called it “compact, catchy pop with smart lyrics and huge hooks,” and Splendid declared it “a low-cost introduction to your new favorite band.” See the catalog page for more reviews and soundclips. No Lucksmiths fan can afford to be without this.

Our back catalog 7″ of the month is the ‘Desert Song’ 45 (matinée 041) from Kosmonaut! An English band featuring Stephen Maughan (ex-Bulldozer Crash and creator of the legendary This Almighty Pop! fanzine) and Geoff Suggett (ex-Lavender Faction), this one-off 7″ followed previous Kosmonaut releases on the esteemed Motorway and Firestation Tower record labels. In addition to having the honor of being the final Matinée 7″ pressed, the single was well received in the press with comparisons to The Sugargliders, Fantastic Something, Teenage Fanclub, Aztec Camera, Avocadoclub, The Clientele and Biff Bang Pow! Tangents reported “Kosmonaut offer us the delicious ‘Desert Song’ and ‘Bee Song’, both of which glint like silver strings in the Mojave,” while Wide Open Road wrote “Desert Song is a sumptuous recording, as delicious as the season’s first blueberries” and In Love With These Times called it “road music at its finest.” The band later deconstructed The Liberty Ship for the ‘Matinée 50’ (matinée 050) compilation before disappearing altogether, but we’ll always have this perfect 7″ with which to remember them. Surely not enough of you have this one so remedy that situation pronto because 7″ singles are ace, especially when they’re just $2!

As always, we conclude with our list of top sellers from last month which sees Tender Trap debut at the top of the heap. Do you have your copy yet? We happen to think it’s the perfect Father’s Day gift. Here’s the top ten:

10. The Lucksmiths – San Francisco CDEP
9. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
8. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
7. The Snowdrops – Sleepydust CDEP
6. Tender Trap – Language Lessons CDEP
5. Razorcuts – R is for Razorcuts CD
4. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
3. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP
2. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
1. Tender Trap – 6 Billion People CD

Until next month,
Jimmy
x

Oooh…April already? More top news this month as we unveil a brand new release from Tender Trap; gush about a new Lucksmiths EP; divulge information on forthcoming releases from Harper Lee, Lovejoy and Brighter; post exclusive new soundclips; announce upcoming live dates for Matinée artists; and more!

Leading off with Tender Trap, we can now reveal complete release details of the new album ‘6 Billion People’ (matcd040)! Twenty years on from the NME’s legendary C86 cassette, with anniversary shows featuring key artists planned at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts and a Bob Stanley-produced documentary in the works, Tender Trap’s new album is striking proof that some of the original protagonists of that movement are still making intelligent and engaging pop music. As lead singer of the seminal Talulah Gosh, the proto-riot grrrl Heavenly and the classy pop act Marine Research, Amelia Fletcher was the voice and face that launched a thousand fanzines, an iconic presence whose influence can be traced in bands as diverse as Le Tigre and Belle and Sebastian. Together with her cohort in the latter two of those bands, Rob Pursey (guitar), and Marine Research drummer John Stanley aka DJ Downfall (bass), Tender Trap formed in 2001, releasing one album to date, the coolly electronic ‘Film Molecules’.

With the addition of the crisp drumming of The Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson, ‘6 Billion People’ marks a move away from the pared-down approach of its predecessor towards a sound recalling the best of the band’s previous incarnations. This is immediately evident on the big chorused title track, Rob Pursey’s sub-sonic backing vocals uncannily reminiscent of erstwhile collaborator Calvin Johnson, while recent single ‘Talking Backwards’ (matinée 058) is a pop rush of shimmering guitars and mellifluous vocals and ‘I Would Die For You’ marries a chugging rhythm to an ethereal melody. The short-but-spiky ‘Applecore’ ups the sass quotient as Amelia demands answers from an indecisive lover to a series of oblique questions over a stop-start bassline, whereas the spacey-keyboard sounds of ‘Fahrenheit 451’, the heartfelt ‘(I Always Love You When I’m) Leaving You’ and the haunting album closer ‘Dead and Gone’ lend the album variety and depth. ‘6 Billion People’ is Tender Trap’s most fully realized work to date, a collection of sumptuous tunes and bold arrangements that makes a claim to be one of the best pop albums of the year.

Full tracklisting and soundclips are now posted on the catalog and sounds pages. Although the official release date is May 29 in the shops, you can pick up your copy RIGHT NOW via the Matinée mailorder for just $10. We have snazzy Tender Trap buttons and postcards too so what are you waiting for? For those of you in Europe, the CD is available from our good friends at Fortuna POP! so tell Sean we said hello!

To celebrate the arrival of the album, Tender Trap are making some rare live appearances next week in London featuring for the very first time a real live drummer (Claudia) in place of the faithful old CD player:

Thursday April 13th: How Does It Feel To Be Loved? at The Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, Brixton, with Fosca and Strange Idols. Doors open 7:30pm. Advance tickets are £5 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/9462.
Saturday April 15th (afternoon): Fortuna POP! showcase at RoTa, Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate, with Cannonball Jane and Simon Fanfarlo. Doors open 4pm and it’s free!

In addition, Amelia will be guest DJ on Friday April 7th at How Does It Feel To Be Loved? at the Canterbury Arms in Brixton. The club runs 9pm to 2am, and Amelia is doing a 90-minute girl-based set sometime between 10pm and midnight. Get your dancing shoes on! More details on this and the live shows at the Tender Trap website.

In other new release news, the magnificent ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ EP (matinée 060) from The Lucksmiths is now available in all good record shops! The second single lifted from recent album ‘Warmer Corners’ (matcd039), coupled with three exclusive new tracks, validates yet again why The Lucksmiths are among the most popular indie bands of our time. Boasting strings, horns, some seriously funky guitar and a bassline possibly borrowed from Orange Juice, ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ is a dancefloor sizzler that just had to be a single. We’re featuring the song on the sounds page now if you need to have a listen. Its magnificent b-sides are all set in actual places: ‘From Macaulay Station’ is an ode to one of the unlovelier stops on Melbourne’s rail network, ‘Rue Something’ a more-or-less factual account of an evening spent on tour in Paris, and ‘To Absent Votes’ a tale of election night in the Australian outback town of Lake Cargelligo. Combined with ‘A Hiccup In Your Happiness’ they create a brilliant EP designed to give ‘Warmer Corners’ another shot at the glory it deserves. The EP comes housed in one of our signature minijacket sleeves (matte coated…oh so nice!) with liner notes from comedian Daniel Kitson.

The EP is already generating some world-class press, with each of the new songs receiving mentions as the favorite. Among the early reviews, Pitchfork and Tasty laud ‘From Macaulay Station,’ while All Music Guide opts for ‘Rue Something’ and Erasing Clouds chooses ‘To Absent Votes.’ Our favorite changes daily so the jury is out until the next batch of reviews. You Ain’t No Picasso recently published a fine interview with Marty Donald too so check it out for even more Lucksmiths fix.

Finally, lucky readers in Australia (or anyone else with a penchant for last minute travel) can catch a trio of EP release shows coming up this weekend:

Friday April 7th: Karova Lounge, Ballarat, with Fred Astereo. Tickets $12 at the door.
Saturday April 8th: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, with Fred Astereo. Tickets $15 in advance or $18 day of show from the venue.
Sunday April 9th: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, with Mid State Orange (tickets as above).

The recent ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053) from The Snowdrops, ‘Language Lessons’ EP (matinée 058) from Tender Trap, and ‘Movie Ending Romance’ EP (matinée 059) from Math and Physics Club continue to fly off the shelves and generate excellent press. Check the catalog pages for the latest reviews and get your copies now because they all contain exclusive tracks that you probably need to hear. These are part of a magnificent run of Matinée EPs that we trust one day will be looked upon as a classic moment in indie history. See the sounds page for further encouragement.

In the coming soon category we have a pair of EPs that will surely only add to this classic singles run:

The new EP from Harper Lee is entitled ‘He Holds A Flame’ (matinee 061) and is heading to the pressing plant imminently to make you smile sometime next month. The EP includes five tracks—two versions of the title track plus ‘I Could Be Wrong,’ ‘William Blake’ and ‘Come Rest Your Weary Head.’ Of course they are all brilliant but our pick this very moment is the Go-Betweensy acoustic pop of ‘I Could Be Wrong’ which has us singing out loud as we type this sentence. You’ll have to wait to hear that one but can preview the ace title track right now on the sounds page. Harper Lee are keen to play live dates around Europe to support the EP so if anyone is interested in bringing them to your home town please let us know! In an ideal world I would convince them to visit America as well so cross your fingers and buy lots of Harper Lee releases and we’ll see what we can do.

Something is apparently in the water in Brighton because in addition to new releases from The Snowdrops and Harper Lee, Lovejoy are set to return with a four track EP of their own! Entitled ‘England Made Me’ (matinée 062), the EP features new songs ‘Brightness Falls,’ ‘Are You Analogue or Digital?’ and ‘England Made Me’ plus a fourth track that is still under consideration. Lovejoy recently contributed songs to compilation albums released in Australia, Sweden and Ireland too so see the newly updated Lovejoy website for details. More details on this release next month but for now you can preview ‘Brightness Falls’—surely one their very best so far, no?—on the sounds page.

In other Harper Lee news, we are at long last reissuing the magnificent 2001 debut album ‘Go Back To Bed’ (matcd009) which has been sold out for several years. Featuring the debut single ‘Dry Land’ plus early classics ‘Bug,’ ‘Only Connect,’ and ‘Brooklyn Bridge,’ the album is a Matinée favorite that will once again grace a new release shelf near you so stop spending £30 for it on eBay!

Ditto the £50 or so you’ll need for a copy of the sole Brighter album ‘Laurel’ released on Sarah Records way back when because we’re reissuing those eight songs plus 12 other Brighter classics very soon on a new Brighter compilation ‘Out To Sea’ (matcd041). We’ll reveal complete release details next month, but you can listen to the brilliant unreleased song ‘Wallflower’ on the sounds page now to help you get excited for this splendid release.

Continuing now with our back catalog spotlight feature, this month we showcase classic releases from The Windmills, The Guild League and The Snowdrops! Each release is specially priced for the next month if you care to add to your Matinée collection. Further encouragement follows:

The back catalog spotlight album is the sophomore full length ‘Sunlight’ (matcd014) from The Windmills! Released in October 2001, the album built upon the skilled songwriting, sincere vocals and impressive melodies of previous Windmills releases with a new air of fervor and conviction. Among its ten tracks are fan favorites ‘Drug Autumn’, ‘When It Was Winter’, ‘Unkiss’ and our personal pick ‘Cloud Five.’ You can preview each of these songs on the sounds page if you like. The album did very well in the music press, with Careless Talk Costs Lives describing it as “some of the finest, most upliftingly down-beat Pop since East Village ripped hearts apart with their awesome beat noise back in the late ’80s;” IndiePages writing “with just the right mix of jangly pop and melancholy, this is one of those classic bands that can’t really do much wrong” and PopMatters calling it “a real corker of an album.” Check out full reviews and soundclips on the catalog page. As we always say, The Windmills rule and if you’ve not already discovered their brilliance this is a fine place to start.

The July 2002 ‘Jet-Set Go!’ EP (matinée 039) from The Guild League is our back catalog CD single of the month. While the band has boasted a revolving lineup on its three releases, the ‘League was launched as an Australian coterie featuring Lucksmiths vocalist and percussionist Tali White, fellow Candle Records artist Richard Easton, and members of Sodastream and Art of Fighting, and its debut single was a wonderful racket with guitars and drums and handclaps that you couldn’t get out of your head. The three-song EP also featured acoustic tracks ‘A Faraway Place’ and ‘Cornflakes’ which showcased Tali’s signature voice and presaged some of the magnificent softer moments on subsequent releases ‘Private Transport’ (matcd023) and ‘Inner North’ (matcd034). The Guild League were instant press darlings, with Mundane Sounds awarding the EP “single of the week,” Tangents calling the EP “a real gem that has been stuck on repeat all morning,” and Tasty writing “a perfect debut single—hug it hard.” See the catalog page for reviews and soundclips. You probably need this too.

Our back catalog 7″ of the month is the ‘Mad World’ 45 (matinée 029) from The Snowdrops! Serious students of the label know this was a release that nearly didn’t happen due to a frustrating licensing holdup but in the end the publishing gods smiled on us and the single saw its release nearly two years later in May 2003. The debut single from an indie supergroup featuring Keith Girdler (Blueboy, Beaumont, Lovejoy), Pam Berry (The Pines, Castaway Stones, Glo Worm, Shapiros, Black Tambourine, etc.) and Dick Preece (Lovejoy, Beaumont, Spinning Wheels), the A-side is a cover of the Tears For Fears hit which later topped the UK singles chart as a Gary Jules cover from the film ‘Donnie Darko.’ We always knew the song was a hit and if we had only sorted out the licensing issues earlier might have had our very own UK number one but alas, we settled for the single topping the Matinée hit parade for several months running instead. The flip is an original called ‘Don’t Buy Anything’ with Keith on lead vox and Dick and Pam backing in a style recalling the earliest days of Blueboy. Erasing Clouds wrote “this is what a pop 7″ should be—a little document of lovely moments,” while Tangents declared the Snowdrops “ace” for their “absolute peach of a version of the aforementioned ’80s electropop chart-topper.” The band later contributed brilliant songs to the ‘Matinée 50’ (matinée 050) and ‘Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware’ (matcd030) compilations before recording the recent ‘Sleepydust’ EP (matinée 053)…but the ‘Mad World’ 7″ is where it all started and you probably should have a copy all your own. The artwork is quite nice too and let’s face it, 7″ singles still rule, right?

Last month you bought lots of buttons so our selection now stands at 29 different designs. See the fanclub page for scans of the designs or the order page for availability. Still quite a bargain for the 5-pack or 10-pack so get yours before they all sell out. We will have new designs before too long too so watch this space.

As always we leave you with the list of top sellers from the previous month…our official hit parade. This one’s actually a combined February/March sales chart which puts the Lucksmiths squarely on top and proves that singles are still alive:

10. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going To Be OK CD
9. The Young Tradition – Northern Drive CD
8. Razorcuts – R is for Razorcuts CD
7. Brighter – Singles 1989-1992 CD
6. The Lucksmiths – Warmer Corners CD
5. The Snowdrops – Sleepydust CDEP
4. Tender Trap – Language Lessons CDEP
3. Math and Physics Club – Weekends Away CDEP
2. Math and Physics Club – Movie Ending Romance CDEP
1. The Lucksmiths – A Hiccup In Your Happiness CDEP

Hurrah!
Jimmy
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