Just down to the wire for making this a May update but then again if it’s June when you’re reading this then it’s not
that old, is it? Fitting I should write this today anyway, as it’s the official release date for both The Visitors “Miss”
CD and The Fairways “Darling, Don’t You Think?” EP I wrote about last time. I leave on Thursday for ten days in
London to continue work on things that shall be written about for the June update.
To celebrate the release of the Visitors CD (matcd 003), we’re having a record release party next Monday the 29th upstairs at the Princess Louise pub in London. The pub is located at 208 High Holborn (tube: Holborn), and it’s a mid-day type thing as it starts at 2 and runs until about 7, making it a fine way to conclude the long Bank Holiday/Memorial Day weekend. In addition to previewing tracks from the album, the event will feature deejay sets from ex-Visitor Tim Hopkins and a slew of other celebrities including current and former popstars, one record label mogul, at least two published authors, a woman I’ve never met, and one mere mortal (me).
Expect various styles, including classic indiepop, Northern Soul, girlgroups, moog delights, reggae, lovely crooners of
yesteryear, and more…but count on songs from Hurrah!, Baxendale, Marine Research, Lambchop, the Siddeleys, Biff Bang
Pow!, Lee Scratch Perry, the Sea Urchins, the Claim, Spearmint, the Spice Girls, Belle & Sebastian, Julie London, the Field
Mice, ESG, the Clientele, Everly Brothers, Primal Scream, the Pastels, Sagittarius, Club 8, Jasmine Minks, Daphne & Celeste,
Birdie, Tom Waits, the Magnetic Fields and more.
Two live shows will coincide with the Matinée visit to London this week…the first on Saturday the 27th at the Notting Hill
Arts Centre (tube: Notting Hill) featuring Sportique and Whistler. The show begins at 4pm, and Sportique is sure to
preview both tracks from their brand new WIAIWYA 45 “Sport for All”, plus the two new tracks from their forthcoming
Matinée 45 “Don’t Believe A Word I Say.” The WIAIWYA 7″ is out May 29th, while the Matinée single should follow in
early July.
Airport Girl, Beaumont, the Pines and The Windmills converge on the Betsey Trotwood Sunday the 28th for a Fortuna
Pop! show. The Windmills play in support of their debut album “Edge of August” and forthcoming single “Drug Autumn,” both
on Matinée, while Airport Girl celebrate the release of the excellent “Power Yr Trip” single on WIAIWYA, Beaumont treat
the world to their first ever live performance following the release of their Siesta debut “This is Beaumont” and the Pines
celebrate a one year anniversary and play their second set in a week in support of a forthcoming 45 and the new Papercuts
CD compilation with their track “Baby You’ll Do.”
The rest of the week will be consumed with popstar meeting, record shopping, New Tate Moderning, pub imbibing, train
catching, sight seeing, Indian food savoring, and probably umbrella toting.
First off upon my return from London is the debut release from Melodie Group, an evolving project of Windmills’
vocalist and guitarist Roy Thirlwall and the perfect outlet for his never-ending creative energies. The band’s six-track debut,
cleverly entitled “Seven Songs” (matcd 007), features a classic mix of guitars and pop melodies on songs about wild dreams,
granny dresses, skindiving, suits of armour, French trousers and swimming pools. With early comparisons to Lloyd Cole and
Felt, this mini-CD is not to be missed!
Also in June, Brighton, England’s Lovejoy follow their excellent debut “A Taste of the High Life” EP with a 10-song
masterpiece called “Songs In The Key of Lovejoy” (matcd 008). The new expanded lineup includes Dick, Ally, Keith, Paul
and Rich…better known as one former Spinning Wheel, two former Blueboys, one angelic female voice, two Snowbound
International Pop Club comrades, three Beaumonts, and one production genius. Huh? We have a new favorite every week
at Chez Matinée, this week it’s definitely “Butter Wouldn’t Melt”…or “Radio”…or “Penelope London”…or “Tomorrow’s
World.” Just wait…
The Edson single is coming along nicely and is also on track for a June release. The four track CDEP (matinée 016)
includes “Sunday Lovely Sunday,” “22:22,” “September” and “Terry Whips.” If you missed our April news, Edson is a
six-piece hailing from Stockholm, Sweden that contributed two songs to the brilliant “Sound of Young Sweden” compilation
released last year on Summersound Recordings. Combining strong melodies, excellent vocals and multiple guitars with
trumpet, flute, melodica, and glockenspiel, the band hailed as Sweden’s answer to Belle and Sebastian may have more in
common with the Beautiful South or Velvet Underground.
Celebrating the release of the “Darling, Don’t You Think?” 45 (matinée 009) and the forthcoming album “Is Everything Alright?” (a Shelflife/Paris Caramel co-release), The Fairways have scheduled some live shows the week of July 14th along the West Coast, including the 14th in Los Angeles, CA (Spaceland), 16th in San Diego, CA (Casbah), 17th in Berkeley, CA (KALX Radio), 18th in Davis, CA (KDVS Radio), 20th in Portland, OR (Magic Marker House), 21st in Seattle, WA (Eye and Ear Records) and 22nd again in Seattle (Paradox). They play with My Favorite, From Bubblegum to Sky, and Three Berry Icecream on all dates except the LA show which is My Favorite-less.
The summer parade of pop should continue in roughly this order:
The new Lucksmiths single is called “T-Shirt Weather” (matinée 018) and will be released on two formats! The two
track 7″ features the title track and “Tmrw vs. Y’day,” while the four track CDEP adds a cover of the Magnetic Fields’
“Deep Sea Diving Suit” and a new version of “Southernmost” with strings and keyboards. Expect both in early July.
Ego’s debut CD “La Main Devant La Bouche” (matcd 006) has been delayed until July pending a French distribution
deal. The CD still features the mixed French and English vocals, female harmonies, violins, flutes, and other instrumentation
I promised last month. The cover is really great too, especially if you’re a mosaic fan.
As mentioned above, the new Sportique 45 (matinée 017) features new tracks “Don’t Believe A Word I Say” and “A
Nation of Soul.” The single is an excellent showcase for the newest member of the band, a Ms. Amelia Fletcher from Oxford
who contributes nicely on keyboards and backing vocals. She’s also prettier and wears shinier skirts than Greg, Rob or Mark.
Harper Lee’s new single (matinée 019) is also in the works…although the A-side and B-side have flipped so it is now
“Bug” b/w “You Kill Me.” I haven’t heard either yet since they were just recorded last Saturday, but I will have the DAT in
my hands a week from Tuesday following a quick train journey to Brighton, so I should know more soon.
The follow-up to The Windmills album “Edge Of August” will be a CDEP (matinée 021) featuring new songs “Everything
Is New Each Day,” “Drug Autumn” and “Are We Still Where We Were,” plus an undetermined fourth song. The cover is
rather green, and the songs inspire me to dance in the library each time they’re played.
Following two Matinée releases as the frontman of Sweet William, Jason Sweeney is back under the name Simpático
with a haunting new single we call “The Postal Museum” (matinée 022), mainly because that’s one of the tracks on it. The
other three are “Union Station,” “Pheromone Stars” and “Song for Steven” and it’s all really fantastic. The initial concept
for the sleeve would require distribution in a brown paper wrapper, so stay tuned!
By the time that comes out, we should all be withering under the heat of the middle summer (except the Lucksmiths and
Simpático who will be out sledding and having snowball fights). For anyone still reading, the summer should conclude with
the following in heavy rotation on your turntables:
Remember Fun – “Train Journeys” EP (matinée 015)
Melodie Group – “Raincoat” EP (matinée 020)
The Siddeleys – “You Get What You Deserve” CD (matcd005)
Harper Lee – “Just Connect” CD (matcd009)
Various – “France on A Bicycle” compilation CD (matcd010)
More news will follow this week’s London festivities…hope you can make one of the brilliant events and thanks to Pam Berry,
Sean Price, and whomever set up the Saturday Sportique show! Cheers, Jimmy