Happy July pop patrons! Hope your summer is going well and thanks for perusing the current Matinée news.
The latest release is the debut “Jet-Set…Go!” single (matinée 039) by The Guild League – an Australian coterie
headed by esteemed Lucksmiths vocalist and percussionist Tali White. The Guild League is Tali’s first project outside the
Lucksmiths and highlights his superb songwriting and vocal talents. On the infectious title track, Tali is joined by Pete
Cohen & Karl Smith (both from Sodastream), Marty Brown (Art of Fighting) and Richard Easton to create a wonderful racket
with guitars and drums and handclaps that you can’t get out of your head. The EP also features acoustic tracks “A Faraway
Place” and “Cornflakes” which showcase Tali’s signature voice. An album called “Private Transport” is scheduled for release
later in the year, but you’ll want to get hip to the Guild League now because the single is limited to 1000 copies and they’re
moving fast.
Up next is the sophomore album from Lovejoy entitled “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” (matcd018). Currently at
the pressing plant, this CD will be released in mid-August and features nine fantastic songs that further demonstrate the
innovation and creativity flowing from Lovejoy HQ along the coast of southern England. The album bends the Lovejoy
template ever so slightly to encompass a bit more electronica (think New Order or the Wake) on a few tracks and even a
song that will make you get up and dance like you just don’t care. The album also features a new version of the Biff Bang
Pow! classic “The Beat Hotel” with drums and electric guitars and other sparkly magic only possible in Lovejoy studios.
We think it’s their strongest release to date and encourage you to find out for yourself next month.
Following that in late August is the Matinée Summer Splash! (matinée 040), a low-price 12-song sampler CD
featuring exclusive tracks, rarities, and previews of forthcoming releases from Airport Girl (“When You Fall”),
Harper Lee (“Fine Bones”), Kosmonaut (“Was It You?”), The Liberty Ship (“Don’t React”),
Lovejoy (“You Fell From Grace”), Melodie Group (“I Do Not Not Love You”), Pipas (“Cruel and
Unusual”), The Pines (“Leavin’ on Your Mind”), Slipslide (“X Supplies the Answer”), Sportique
(“Rollercoaster”), The Windmills (“Walking Around the World”) and Would-Be-Goods (“Dilettante”). We’ll
be selling it at the price of a single, which for 12 tracks (nine previously unreleased) is quite simply a deal no matter how
you slice it. The CD is a celebration of several UK shows late next month featuring Matinée bands:
Saturday August 24th at the Notting Hill Arts Centre in London (sponsored by RoTa) featuring Lovejoy,
Pipas, The Windmills and Would-Be-Goods.
Monday August 26th at Junktion 7 in Nottingham (sponsored by Tasty
fanzine) featuring The Liberty Ship and Kosmonaut (plus Darren Hanlon, the Lollies and Dallas Burn).
Would-Be-Goods team up with the fantastic Darren Hanlon for an additional London show on Thursday, August
29th at the Spitz, and we are still working to set up a gig with Slipslide (and possibly others) for Tuesday,
August 27th so make plans for that and we will get details posted shortly.
In more immediate gig news, Sportique and Pipas are off to Sweden next week for two shows each.
Both play the Mitt Bästa Liv festival in Kalmar on July 24 and 25 with other top acts like Tender Trap, Darren Hanlon,
Aerospace, Free Loan Investments, Nixon, Dorotea and more. Sportique and Pipas are both scheduled to play on the 25th…
Both stay on for a Stockholm show Saturday the 27th at Café Mix with Tender Trap, Aerospace and Free Loan
Investments… a surely fantastic lineup that has me searching for last minute fares to Stockholm as we speak.
Thanks again to everyone who helped to make the Sportique US mini-tour with Tender Trap last month a great success.
Big shouts out to Tim Bean and the rest of the WBAR posse; Eric, Steve and Tom at Signal 66; Skippy and Graham for the
well-intentioned CD delivery service; the Butterflies of Love, the Mad Scene, Bunsen Honeydew and Allan Clapp for sharing
bills and loaning gear; and all the popkids in Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia and Washington who came out for
the shows.
But enough about live shows, what’s happening for our record players you ask?
Still sparkling in the new release category is the debut 7″ single from The Liberty Ship (matinée 036). Featuring the
original “I Guess You Didn’t See Her” and a great cover of the Byrds’ “She Don’t Care About Time”, the single has enjoyed
an excellent reception so far with the discerning editors at IndiePages commending its
“jangly guitars that sparkle and shimmer and great boy/girl vocal harmonies.” Meanwhile, the astute kids at
In Love With These Times said “you can sing along to
it and it gleams with musical optimism and a classic song arrangement…this song should be a staple for jukeboxes
anywhere…we are down with this.” Yes, so are we. Expect more from the Liberty Ship in the near future.
Steadily basking in the glow of their recent “Walking Around The World” EP (matinée 038) and US tour dates, The
Windmills have gone straight back to the studio to record three new classics that will see eventual release on the
band’s third album sometime next year. Meanwhile, the critics are lauding “Walking Around The World” as one of the
strongest Windmills releases to date: Pennyblack
asserting “the band who made the brilliant ‘Sunlight’ LP last year are still on top form”;
Erasing Clouds summing up the single as
“begging listeners to hit play again, like the best singles always do”; and In
Love With These Times describing it as “the sort of timeless, imperial spiral that ties you in little knots…
East Village with a spring in their step.” We were wondering just when the rest of the world (aside from the erudite among
you) would wake up to the Windmills and it looks like the time has finally come.
Starting off the autumn release schedule with a bang is the second album from Harper Lee! Entitled “Everything’s
Going To Be OK” (matcd020), the album includes nine classics sure to send thousands of lovestruck indie kids further into
thoughtfulness. The full tracklisting for the album is: “Miserable Town,” “Unreciprocated.” “Train Not Stopping,” “The Thought
of You and Him,” “The Forest Alone,” “City Station,” “Fine Bones.” “I Can Bear This No Longer,” and “This Better Life.” Our
favorite changes daily…the album is nine A-sides without a doubt. In other Harper Lee news, IndiePages is now hosting a
great fan site that includes lyrics to all the songs and other flashy bits. Check it out by clicking here.
The “R is for Razorcuts” CD (matcd012) from Razorcuts is also scheduled for September release, complete with
excellent sleevenotes from pop legends Bob Stanley and Everett True. The CD includes 21 hits carefully selected from the
band’s former works on Creation, Subway and Flying Nun plus a few rarities including a previously unreleased lost recording.
This is one of the most highly anticipated releases of the Matinée catalogue and should please both long-time listeners of the
band and the younger generation of pop patrons who have heard countless comparisons and references to the legendary
band but few if any of their long sold-out releases. Look for a full tracklisting and more release information in the August
update.
A third September release is the debut Matinée 7″ by Kosmonaut, a relatively new band featuring Geoff Suggett
(ex-Lavender Faction) and Stephen Maughan (ex-Bulldozer Crash). Back in the day, Stephen also wrote This Almighty Pop!,
one of the finest fanzines EVER in my humble opinion and one of the first places that I read about bands like Love Parade,
Razorcuts, Remember Fun, and the Visitors so you know this guy has impeccable taste. The new single includes superb
tracks called “Desert Song” and “Bee Song” and is on course for release in late September assuming full cooperation from
vinyl pressing plants and label manufacturers and sleeve printers across the country. We have a few copies left of their
debut 7″ on Firestation Tower so check the
Order page fast if you want one.
Also on tap for the autumn: Pipas have just completed recording the songs for their debut album “A Cat Escaped”
(matcd021), Melodie Group are currently in the studio finishing up the debut album “Updownaround” (matcd022),
and Airport Girl are still contemplating the release of the “Do You Dream In Colour?” CDEP (matinée 037). The
Pines have started work on the songs for their debut Matinée 45, and The Fairways have promised to have
something ready soon but I don’t know quite what yet. More details on these and other forthcoming releases next time.
In press news, spring albums from The Lucksmiths, Would-Be-Goods and Simpático continue to
pile up positive reviews around the globe. Some of our favorite recent quotes include:
“Fans of Belle & Sebastian should certainly check out the Lucksmiths. This is quite simply some of the best indie music
to come from down under since fey favourites Even As We Speak.” Record Collector
“The Lucksmiths reign supreme, they truly are the kings of indie pop and ‘Where Were We?’ is proof that this is one
monarchy we should never vote out.” Oz Music Project
“This is the sort of album you can play at least 15 times continuously without ever, EVER tiring of a single note. All hail the
Lucksmiths, for they do it for me.” Tasty
“Enough to make pop music fans starry-eyed, whether they already know about the wondrous Lucksmiths or they’re about
to discover them.” Erasing Clouds
“A soothing tonic for waking up alone the next morning.” Magnet
“Better even than the cult classic debut ‘The Camera Loves Me’…this is a worthy companion to your Magnetic Fields and
Belle & Sebastian collections.” Careless Talk Costs Lives
“You’d be hard pressed to find a better guitar-pop album released this year.” Delusions Of Adequacy
“One of those rare joys – an album in which nearly every track is just as enjoyable as the next.” Rockpile
“This is a wonderful little gem of a record. Unassuming, low-key, but deliciously compelling…it’s perfectly lovely.”
Strange Fruit
“An album that will thrill today’s crop of indie kids.” Amplifier
“Debuut van het jaar”! Think Small
“This is a record you have no excuse not to own.” dB Magazine
“Borders on a work of genius.” Delusions Of Adequacy
“Favourite record of the year to date…make space in your CD rack now!” Pennyblack
“Lush and beautiful.” Shredding Paper
Recent interviews with Matinée artists appear in the latest issues of Dagger (Keris
Howard of Harper Lee), Sense (Jason Sweeney of
Simpático), and Pennyblack (Pam Berry of
the Pines) so check them out if you want to be in the know.
Meanwhile, the Universal Records (Philippines) compilation I mentioned back in April is apparently now out. Called “I’d
Spend My Day With You,” the album features 20 tracks including “Butter Wouldn’t Melt” from our very own Lovejoy,
along with great songs by the Fairways, Aerospace, Birdie, Trembling Blue Stars, the Crooner, Club 8, Goldstoned and
more. I’m not sure where it might be available outside the Philippines but I hope to have a few copies available on the
Order page soon so check there if you can’t find it elsewhere.
Speaking of the Order page, a quick glance of it will reveal that there is now a
summer clearance sale going on! We need to move some records for a multitude of reasons
including a rather big one that shall reveal itself next month. If you need some suggestions, why not consider some of the
top sellers from the month of June?:
10. Simpático – The Difference Between Alone & Lonely CD
9. The Lucksmiths – Where Were We? CD
8. Lovejoy – Plays Biff Bang Pow! 7″
7. Would-Be-Goods – Brief Lives CD
6. Sportique – The Kids Are Solid Gold 7″
5. Pipas – Chunnel Autumnal 10″
4. The Liberty Ship – I Guess You Didn’t See Her 7″
3. The Windmills – Walking Around The World CDEP
2. Pipas – A Short Film About Sleeping 7″
1. Sportique – Modern Museums CD
Arrivederci!
Jimmy
x