G’day mate! In 12 hours I will be aboard a flight from LAX to Melbourne so I figure it’s time to practice my Australian vernacular
and get in a short update of the Matinée website at the same time.
We are truly excited to be visiting our Australian artist colony for the first time, and in true Matinée fashion, we’ll be welcomed
with a slew of superb shows once we lose a full day and land on their fine soil. Although this won’t really help most of you out
there shivering in the gloom of an early winter, if you happen to be around Melbourne for the next week you’re in for a treat!
Saturday, November 23rd, The Lucksmiths play the Queenscliff Festival… Sunday, November 24th, a rare performance
from The Guild League (+ Richard Easton) at Bar Open on Brunswick Street…and Wednesday, November 27th,
Simpático (+ Tugboat) play an equally rare show at Good Morning Captain. Wow!
So, the mailorder will be closed until December 4th, but feel free to place your orders and we will process as much as possible
from the road and ship everything when we return. The new release category is bulging at the moment with brand new records
just out from The Lucksmiths, Kosmonaut, Pipas and Razorcuts, plus superb new-ish
releases from Harper Lee and Lovejoy! We had complete details of these releases announced in the
last update, and you can read about them now on the catalog page.
We are also taking preorders for forthcoming releases from Melodie Group and The Guild League that will be ready shortly after our return!
The new Melodie Group album is called “Updownaround” (matcd022) and includes 10 relaxed, melodic popsongs that achieve a rare mixture of melancholy and catchiness. 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 Grant McLennan and Robert Forster of the Go-Betweens, as well as Echo and the Bunnymen, East Village and Felt. Lusciously paced, with gorgeous vocals delivered in the most dulcet of tones, “Updownaround” is a triumph. Although the official release date is scheduled for January 6th at the request of our trusty distributors, we’ll have advance copies ready for immediate delivery from December 15th so place your preorders now via the order page.
Also out January 6th, the debut album from The Guild League is called “Private Transport” (matcd023) and is an absolute gem! The album features 13 wonderfully eclectic songs about love and travel, heartfelt lyrics and ace vocals courtesy of The Lucksmiths Tali White, and a truly collaborative musical cast including members of The Lucksmiths, Sodastream, Poundsign, The Fairways, The Aislers Set, Red Raku, Art of Fighting, The Killjoys, and Blackeyed Susans. Highlights include the jangling-guitar travelogue “Jet-Set…Go!” which takes in Spain, Yorkshire, Las Vegas and Thailand before its joyous finale in San Francisco…”The Photographer,” a strum and bass still life memory of a sea-side moment sung over a loping, looping bass line, with layers of acoustic guitars and frantic drums… and “Siamese Couplets”, a lazy hip-hop/pop tune with junky percussion, a soaring chorus and lyrics that attempt to capture the sensory overload of south east Asia while maintaining the distinction of being the first and possibly last song on Matinée to be rapped! Advance copies are available for immediate delivery from December 15th so place your preorders now via the order page.
We are skipping the usual Virgo-like details and blow-by-blow accounts of everything happening around Matinée headquarters this time because we’re also in the final stages of a massive website overhaul that will have you all cheering. The new site is not live yet but will be launched the first week of December with significantly expanded catalog pages including full tracklistings, reviews and soundclips…plus we’ve designed artist pages with biographical and discography and contact information for each band…plus a greatly enhanced order page, a fantastic sounds page with mp3 and real audio clips of lots of Matinée songs, and a whole lot more. A million thanks to Chris and Arianne at IndiePages for their tireless and expert work on the site!
With the new website launch, we’ll also be conducting a poll of your favorite 2002 releases through the Matinée newsgroup with a chance to win 5 free CDs! If you’re not already signed up, click here to remedy that situation in a jiffy. To jog your memory about the spectacular year we’re about to close, we offer you the following list of our 2002 releases:
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Singles of the year: Pipas – A Short Film About Sleeping 7″ (matinée 035) The Liberty Ship – I Guess You Didn’t See Her 7″ (matinée 036) The Windmills – Walking Around The World CDEP (matinée 038) The Guild League – Jet-Set…Go! CDEP (matinée 039) Kosmonaut – Desert Song 7″ (matinée 041) The Lucksmiths – Midweek Midmorning CDEP (matinée 042) Albums of the year: |
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…and if you haven’t heard all of those yet then get yourself over to the Order page so you can cast an
honest vote in the year end poll. Look for complete poll details in the December update.
In the heated race for top position on the Matinée Mailorder chart, the following contenders put in a valiant effort but didn’t stand
a chance against our new number one:
10. The Guild League – Jet-Set…Go! CDEP
9. Lovejoy – Plays Biff Bang Pow! 7″
8. Harper Lee – Train Not Stopping CDEP
7. The Lucksmiths – Where Were We? CD
6. Pipas – A Short Film About Sleeping 7″
5. Various – The Matinée Summer Splash! CD
4. Lovejoy – Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? CD
3. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going To Be OK CD
2. Pipas – A Cat Escaped CD
1. Razorcuts – R is for…Razorcuts CD
Coming in early 2003… the return of Simpático with a fantastic new EP… the debut single from a mysterious
international project called The Young Tradition… the much anticipated Matinée single from The Pines… the
first release from The Fairways in quite a long time… a brilliant new mini-lp from Sportique… that long
threatened full length by Slipslide, a real corker of a new single from The Liberty Ship… a new million seller
from Airport Girl… and much more! Details in three weeks.
Sorry this is rushed…we have a plane to catch so happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it, and if you don’t, give it some
thought as it’s one of the loveliest holidays around.
regards,
Jimmy