The final single (matinée 102) from Math and Physics Club is a bittersweet but fitting coda for a band that has always worn its heart on its sleeve. It is also a posthumous tribute to guitarist and co-founder James Werle, who passed away last year after his battle with cancer.

James didn’t play on these recordings, but he is absolutely part of their fabric. That much is clear from the moment his Rickenbacker chimes the opening notes on ‘Indian Ocean’. The song was written shortly before James died, but the band never had a chance to record it. Perhaps seeking connection more than anything else, the remaining members decided to finish it in honor of their friend and bandmate. With bassist Ethan Jones stepping in to record James’ guitar part, the result is a bit of magic and an instant MAPC classic.

The flip-side, ‘In Dreams’, is a requiem of sorts, written for James in the weeks following his death. Stripped down acoustic guitar, mandolin, and layered vocals pack an emotional wallop. The lyrics are sparse and laid bare, but hopeful. The song’s spare arrangement juxtaposed with the lush guitars on Side A reveals a space left unmistakably unfilled.

Lets be clear: As much as this single is an embrace of grief and loss, it is also a nutshell of what Math and Physics Club does best. Economical, well-crafted, heartfelt pop. It’s a final keepsake from a band that has been making songs like these for the better part of the past 15 years. Did you expect anything less? Limited to 500 copies on 7-inch black vinyl with cover art by Olympia artist Jimmy Ulvenes.

The single is officially released December 13, but you can preorder a copy RIGHT NOW exclusively from the Matinée shop and enjoy the digital download while you wait for the postman. We expect to ship preorders by December 6. You can also stream ‘Indian Ocean’ now on our Soundcloud!

Next Thursday, August 29, marks the 10th anniversary of The Lucksmiths farewell show, performed to a packed room at the Corner Hotel in their hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

The show capped off a lengthy farewell tour of Europe and Australia with Marty, Tali, Mark and Louis playing a different set of songs each night. The final night, with a bumper 33-song setlist, was recorded to video to enable the release of a very special farewell concert DVD called ‘Unfamiliar Stars’ (matdvd058).

To commemorate the passing of ten years we are holding a week-long sale, beginning today, with a handsome 50 percent off the ‘Unfamiliar Stars’ DVD and nice bargains on the entire in-stock Lucksmiths CD catalog. This is a great opportunity to fill in remaining gaps in your Lucksmiths collection or introduce a secret crush to your favorite band with an old school CD or DVD. Pro tip: offer to watch the DVD with your crush and you’ll have a solid chunk of quality time together!

To join the week-long celebration, our good pals at the Lost And Lonesome Recording Company in Australia are also marking down their Lucksmiths CDs and DVDs so please limit your carbon emissions by purchasing from whichever label is closest to you. Important note: The Matinée DVD is an all-regions disc in NTSC format and the Lost & Lonesome DVD is in PAL format.

A selection of Lucksmiths songs is copied below to remind you of their brilliance!

Spanish duo The Royal Landscaping Society has released 16 songs on respected international labels in the past five years and to celebrate their arrival on the Matinée roster we are releasing a special compilation of their music called ‘Means of Production’ in advance of an exclusive new 7″ single next year.

Following the very well received initial single ‘Goodbye’ (matda009) in May, ‘Clean’ is another immaculate dose of crystalline electronic indiepop that should appeal to fans of Sarah Records bands Brighter and The Field Mice in particular.

In addition to the title track, the digital single (matda018) also features an ace cover of ‘I Love You More’ by K Records superstar duo The Softies. The single is available now in the Matinée shop or from your favorite digital merchant including iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.

Have a listen to ‘Clean’ now on our Soundcloud!

The first release in two years from English indie legends The Popguns is out today!

Borrowing its title from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins’ autobiography, the six-track ‘Carrying the Fire’ EP (matda017) is a space operetta that imagines a higher intelligence welcoming humans into space with advice to put their faith into reason if they want to succeed.

It begins with a piano prelude before the guitar-rock title track ‘Carrying The Fire’ erupts with barely controlled power. The higher intelligence wonders ‘What Do You Seek?’ before orbit is established and the ‘Laws Of Motion’ narrated by the very distinguished David Brand plays to a hypnotic backdrop of electronica. The operetta finishes on a light-hearted note with an acoustic bar room sing-along ‘Drop Me Off In The Ocean’ which compares the return journey to your basic Friday evening commute home whilst looking forward to a beer in the bar.

‘Carrying The Fire’ and ‘Laws Of Motion’ also appear on the WIAIWYA compilation CD ‘The Moon And Back’ celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

The ‘Carrying the Fire’ EP is available at a special price in the Matinée shop and from the usual digital merchants. You can stream the title track and ‘Drop Me Off In The Ocean’ now on our Soundcloud!

We are thrilled to announce the exclusive new ‘Tonight’ EP (matinée 099) from Swedish legends Red Sleeping Beauty! The trio of Niklas Angergard, Kristina Borg, and Mikael Matsson formed in the early 1990s and released acclaimed records on numerous international indie labels including Marsh Marigold, Sunday, Siesta, Labrador, and Shelflife so we are truly honored to add Matinée to their illustrious discography.

Lead track ‘Tonight’ is an ode to the hopes and possibilities of youthful summer nights, featuring vintage synthesizers and exceptional dual vocals from Niklas and Kristina along with an especially healthy dose of reverb. ‘Someone Somewhere’ is an A-side of its own, featuring enchanting vocals from Kristina, soaring synths, and an insanely catchy chorus that cements its status as a perfect three-minute pop song.

‘Emma’s House’ is a charming cover of the debut Sarah single from English band The Field Mice that builds from a simple and pensive beginning to an electronic and atmospheric conclusion that nicely mirrors the evolution of the original band’s career arc. Final track ‘Falling Out Of Love’ is a massive club hit waiting to happen, with swirling and wonderfully chiming synthesizers racing at an especially impressive beats per minute for maximum dancefloor filling capability.

Released just three months after the smash album ‘Stockholm’ (matcd084) earlier this year, the ‘Tonight’ EP is an extraordinary and essential addition to the Red Sleeping Beauty catalog.

The EP is officially released July 12, but you can order a copy RIGHT NOW exclusively from the Matinée shop. Limited time offer: we actually have copies of the CD in hand already, so if you order by June 25 we will send a copy the same day! After that we are on vacation so subsequent orders will ship July 10 but you can still enjoy the digital download while you wait for the postman.

To get you even more excited, you can stream ‘Tonight’ and ‘Someone Somewhere’ now on our Soundcloud!

We have been big fans of Swedish duo My darling YOU! since their self-released EPs early last decade all the way through a stunning run of releases on the Luxury Records label. They are masters of a sort of shouty, energetic pop that appealed to our teenage punk addiction in the same sort of way that Sportique did in the very early days of Matinée.

Some people used to say that Sportique were not a typical Matinée band … whatever that means … and the same people might think that about My darling YOU! but of course they would be wrong.

Sometime recently we heard a rumor that the band may have new recordings on the horizon and figured it was as good a time as any to get in touch with them. This correspondence resulted in a plan to release an album entitled ‘A Dream Come True’ this summer that collects 20 tracks from sold out EPs previously released by the band.

One of the tracks from the compilation is ‘Thanks For Letting Me Stay’ which originally appeared on the band’s final release in 2011. It’s a song about drinking too much and regretting it the next day and it has a fantastic shambolic energy to it that is typical in their recordings.

We are advancing the album with a digital single (matda016) including this song and a track called ‘Spring’ that will not be on the compilation. The single is available today in the Matinée shop or from your favorite digital retailer so we are excited to officially welcome the band to the Matinée roster. ‘Thanks For Letting Me Stay’ is also a featured track now on our Soundcloud!

The new album ‘Images of You’ (matcd086) from Sweden’s Azure Blue is out next week, but we couldn’t wait to share another single from it!

‘Event Horizon’ is a dark but hopeful story about love in the time of climate change that showcases captivating melodies, an absolutely soaring chorus, and a certain Spanish flair. It’s brilliant and our current favorite among many favorites from the new album.

The single (matda015) is available today from the Matinée shop or your favorite digital retailer, and the new album is out next Friday!

In the meantime, have a listen to ‘Event Horizon’ on our Soundcloud!

The second single from the smashing new Bubblegum Lemonade album ‘Desperately Seeking Sunshine’ (matcd085) is out now!

‘Heaven With You’ is a surefire radio hit featuring a chiming Byrds-like guitar intro, an infectious hi hat, glockenspiel, and celestial backing vocals from Sandra of fellow Scottish band Strawberry Whiplash.

To celebrate the release of the single, we’ve created a three-track EP (matda013) that showcases two extra songs the band recorded during the ‘Desperately Seeking Sunshine’ album sessions. They’re called ‘She’s A Legal High’ and ‘Fifty Shades Of Pale’ and both are exclusive to this release!

The digital single is available now in the Matinée shop and the usual digital platforms. You can also stream ‘Heaven With You’ on our Soundcloud:

New release alert! Azure Blue, one of Sweden’s most internationally acclaimed indie artists, is back with a stunning fifth album ‘Images of You’ (matcd086) and it is absolutely clear that somebody has fallen in love. Consistent with the approach on the celebrated debut album ‘Rule of Thirds’ (matcd059) in 2011, Tobias Isaksson set his main focus on the songwriting with tracks written on guitar and carefully transformed into warm analog synth soundscapes. Using his film director girlfriend as a muse, the results are heartfelt and romantic pop classics.

Cinematic opener ‘Hokarangen’ is the sound of the night bus home from the studio marking the end of an era roaming aimlessly alone, while ‘Entropy’ is a three-minute rush of synthpop perfection that signals the thrilling excitement of newfound love. ‘Event Horizon’…one of several featured singles on the album…is a dark but hopeful story about love in the time of climate change that showcases captivating melodies, a soaring chorus, and a certain Spanish flair.

‘Millions of Stars’ is another enchanting single featuring analog synth arpeggios and one of the biggest crescendos we’ve heard from nearly a decade of productions, while ‘Images of You’ is two minutes of haunting old school synthpop with ethereal female backing vocals and ‘Running with the Eventide’ slows down the pace with an especially honest love song.

‘Yesterday’s Gone’ is another single contender with a sensational singalong chorus, enticing percussion, and absolutely superb melodies, while ‘Wild for the Night’ is a keyboard-driven manic pop thrill and lead single ‘Shine On’ is a dreamy synthpop hit with shimmering reverb that brightens up the song like the northern lights.

‘Sea of Love’ is an earnest love song that further demonstrates Isaksson’s romantic side, while album closer ‘The Rose’ is a beautiful, naked ballad written and recorded in one dayis the most sincere Azure Blue track to date.

Echoing timeless pop melodies…as if Depeche Mode, New Order, and OMD grew up in Sweden instead of England…and featuring contributions from contemporary Swedish artists The Land Below and Paola, ‘Images Of You’ is consummate electronic indie and Azure Blue’s finest moment to date. The album is officially released June 14, but you can order a copy RIGHT NOW exclusively from the Matinée shop and enjoy a digital copy while you wait for the postman to deliver it. You can also stream two album tracks now on our Soundcloud!