Hello again, and sorry for the prolonged silence while we relocated to the West Coast. Santa Barbara is a great place to live
and we’re excited to call it home now. Since the last update, we’ve been occupied with office organization and design work for
the next batch of releases, the first of which hits the shelves of a record shop near you in just ten days!
Yes, that’s right. The “R is for Razorcuts” CD (matcd012) from Razorcuts is finally back from the pressing plant and on
course for official release on October 28th. This definitive collection includes 21 tracks selected by the band (most previously
available only at inflated import or collector prices in the US, plus previously unreleased material) with the signature Razorcuts
chiming 12 string guitar, harmonies, Hammond organ and tambourines. This lovingly prepared package includes a 12-page
booklet with extensive archive photos, plus sleevenotes from the band and two early Razorcuts champions – St Etienne’s Bob
Stanley and legendary British music writer Everett True. By now the history of this pivotal UK indiepop band is well known and
their influence is evident in the work of countless indie bands across the globe. We divulged the CD tracklisting in the last update,
and you can read more about the release on the updated catalog page. We are taking preorders as
we speak via the Matinée order page, so if you want to secure a copy before anyone else you know
what to do.
To further tempt you into buying mode, we have also just received copies of the brilliant new long-player from London-based
international pop duo Pipas! Entitled “A Cat Escaped” (matcd021), the album features ten new infectious popsongs with
guitars that jangle in all the right places, breezy vocals and plenty of ba-ba-ba’s. The band has developed an avid international
fanbase on the strength of previous releases “A Short Film About Sleeping” and “Chunnel Autumnal”, plus a clutch of highly regarded
live sets in England, Scotland, Sweden and Spain. They will be launching the album with three special live dates in New York,
Philadelphia and Washington DC later this month (see details below). The CD will be available through the usual agents on
October 28th, but you can order a copy now exclusively from the Matinée order page. The full
tracklisting for the album is: 1. What Nobody Does, 2. The Conversation, 3. Barbapapa, 4. Rock and/or Roll, 5. Old Kent Road, 6.
The Witches, 7. Cruel and Unusual, 8. A Cat Escaped, 9.Emblematic, 10.Run Run Run. Album details are now up on the
catalog page. So, what are you waiting for?
Following on November 11th is the debut Matinée single from Kosmonaut, a great band from northern England featuring
Stephen Maughan (ex-Bulldozer Crash and creator of the legendary This Almighty Pop! fanzine) and Geoff Suggett (ex-Lavender
Faction). Succeeding previous releases on the esteemed Motorway (Japan) and Firestation Tower (Germany) record labels,
Kosmonaut mark their debut US release with multi-layered guitar pop gems “Desert Song” and “Bee Song” on a beautiful 45 rpm
slab of vinyl (matinée 041). With superb melodies and vocals reminiscent of early Creation Records bands, Kosmonaut are a
band to watch. They also contributed the fantastic “Was It You?” to the recent Matinée Summer Splash sampler so there are
two more reasons to pay a visit to that updated order page.
Also out November 11th is a surprise new single from The Lucksmiths! It’s a three-track CDEP (matinée 042) with new
songs “Midweek Midmorning” plus “Point Being” and “Requiem for the Punters Club.” The lead track is a fantastic pop affair
about sunshine, laziness, and unemployment with jangling guitars, trumpet, tambourine and excellent vocals. It is a preview of
the band’s forthcoming full length scheduled for release next spring, while the other tracks are exclusive to this EP. We will have
advance copies available through the order page from October 30 so place your order now!
As we mentioned above, Pipas are launching the new album “A Cat Escaped” with a handful of live dates along the
Northeast corridor at the end of the month. They will be traveling with fellow Matinée superstars Would-Be-Goods,
stateside for their first US dates in support of the album “Brief Lives.” The following shows are part of the
Chickfactor 10 Year Anniversary Celebration at Fez in New York City:
— Friday, October 25th: Pipas (with Lois + Glo-worm + Honeybunch + more)
— Saturday, October 26th: Would-Be-Goods (with All Girl Summer Fun Band + The Pacific Ocean + Gilmore
Tammy + The Legendary Jim Ruiz)
Fez is located at 380 Lafayette Street (at Great Jones Street). Tickets are
$12 each night or $26 for a three-day pass (the third night is Sunday the 27th with The Aislers Set, Future Bible Heroes, The
Aluminum Group and more) and tickets are available at Other Music.
Complete details are up on the Chickfactor site.
Following the New York City bash, Pipas head south…
— Monday, October 28th: Pipas (with The Snow Fairies + special guests) at The Fire, 412 West Girard Avenue. This is an all-ages show, doors are at 6:30pm, and admission is $7.
…and then Pipas and Would-Be-Goods unite for a final show in our nation’s capital:
— Tuesday, October 29th: Would-Be-Goods and Pipas (with Future Bible Heroes + Glo-worm) at the
9:30 Club, 815 V Street, NW. Tickets are $12 and available from the 9:30
Club box office or tickets.com. This is also a Chickfactor show.
In upcoming UK gig action, Kosmonaut play October 31st at The Cluny in Newcastle upon Tyne (with Bluetta Dawn and
Parklandsway), and The Liberty Ship play another Tasty
showcase on November 16th at Junktion 7 in Nottingham (with Chris TT, The Lollies and The Fairy Traders).
We are planning a series of Matinée shows in Spain next year, with the help of our fantastic Spanish distributor
Canciones Huerfanas. Nothing is confirmed yet, but we’ll
provide complete details as soon as everything is sorted. There are also several Matinée bands anxious to play the American
West Coast now that we’re settled in California, so watch for 2003 tour news shortly.
In the final design stage are two brilliant albums slated for release this year and about which we are delighted! Melodie
Group is poised to make it three November releases in a row with the new “Updownaround” CD (matcd022). The first release
since last year’s excellent “Summerness” 7″, the new album is the group’s strongest work to date. The full tracklisting is: 1.
Everybody Loves You, 2. Hold, 3. Bathtub Full of Water, 4. When Love Comes Along, 5. Xiao, 6. Hairdresser in the Sky, 7. Inner
Space 1971, 8. I Do Not Not Love You, 9. Butterfly:Tart, 10. Summerness. Complete details to be disclosed in the next update.
The debut album from The Guild League is also on course for late November release. Entitled “Private Transport”
(matcd023), the album’s 13 eclectic songs are a celebration of travels by League president Tali White. The full tracklisting is: 1.
Jet-Set…Go!, 2. The Neatest Hand, 3. Cosmetropolis (London Swings), 4. Balham Rise, 5. The Photographer, 6. Baggage
Handling, 7. Dangerous Safety, 8. What Adults Do, 9. Siamese Couplets, 10. Gravity, 11. A Maze of Greys, 12. Cornflakes,
13. A Faraway Place. Check back soon for more information.
There may be one or two more releases late in the year, but the remainder of the forthcoming release schedule will likely have
2003 release dates. Check back soon to see how we sort it all out!
Recent albums from Harper Lee and Lovejoy are beginning to generate a buzz with the press. Some of the early quotes follow:
“This record is an organic development in terms of the shape of Laura and Keris’ overall sound: although “Go
Back to Bed” shone with some wonderful and deserving, heartrending songs, not least its gorgeous singles, with the
sophomore album it’s harder to see any breach to the pattern… Each song is like a slide show of pictures shot from a train
window, reproduced in grainy black and white, the passing fields and branches beautifully pixellated.”
In Love With These Times (UK)
“Any album with song titles like “I Can Bear This No Longer” and “Miserable Town” is no doubt going to be drenched in sadness,
but something about the candid way in which the songs are presented, mixed with the exquisite mood, makes the album less
depressing than melancholy, exuding the placidity that comes with turning inward. In other words, there’s a tranquility to it all
which is truly alluring.” Erasing Clouds (USA)
“Una delicia de pop altamente recomendable!” Canciones Huerfanas (Spain)
“That’s possibly the beauty of this album. The issues it covers are of intense frustration, yet its soundtrack is made up of the
lushest, most precious pop music. Not many people can do this. The Smiths again come to mind as a band who mixed that
sense of frustration with some sparklingly handsome music, but with your average band, you can only have it one way. Lovejoy
make sure they give you the whole package. An absolute joy.”
Tasty (UK)
“Who wants to be a millionaire when you can have Lovejoy instead? Maybe, but Dick, Ally, Keith and Paul give the million bucks
a good run for the money.” Peekaboo (Singapore)
“It achieves the grace of sympathy, not undermined but carried by the so-Dan Treacy vocals (though there appears to be a
Lawrence-from-Felt impression in the spoken word break on “Nothing Happens Here”), and this sympathy is perhaps the key to
the album, and arguably differentiates it from the work of others such as the Trembling Blue Stars.”
In Love With These Times (UK)
Information on these releases is up now on the newly revised catalog page.
Two recent interviews should be online soon: a great discourse in Tasty fanzine with Dick Preece of Lovejoy where he
talks about pop music and politics and modern society in general; and five questions pitched to Matinée HQ by Italian
webzine Kathodik just before we packed up the computer in the
Washington DC office.
Thanks to everyone who continues to support the online mailorder. We are happy to be back to business from our Santa
Barbara post office box so send some mail our way! The top sellers for the months of August and September were:
10. Harper Lee – Go Back To Bed CD
9. Would-Be-Goods – Brief Lives CD
8. The Liberty Ship – I Guess You Didn’t See Her 7″
7. The Lucksmiths – Where Were We? CD
6. The Windmills – Walking Around The World CDEP
5. Pipas – A Short Film About Sleeping 7″
4. The Guild League – Jet-Set…Go! CDEP
3. Harper Lee – Everything’s Going To Be OK CD
2. Lovejoy – Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? CD
1. Various – The Matinée Summer Splash! CD
We will return to regular monthly updates now so stop by soon for the latest pop happenings.
cheers,
Jimmy