After what seems like an eternity, we now have an approved test pressing of the new Northern Portrait single! Here at last are the complete release details:

matinée 076
NORTHERN PORTRAIT – LIFE RETURNS TO NORMAL 7″

Tracklisting:
1. Life Returns To Normal
2. Some People

Ladies and gentlemen, we are very pleased to present the ‘Life Returns To Normal’ 7” (matinée 076), the elegant first vinyl release from our very favorite Danish quartet Northern Portrait!

The title track originally featured on the band’s smash debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) earlier this year and is presented here in a newly remastered version perfect for spinning at 45 rpm. The lush guitar track about Volvo Estate cars is arguably one of the band’s finest moments to date and practically begs for repeat plays. Check it out now spinning on the Matinée sounds page!

Exclusive b-side ‘Some People’ is a cover version of a song made popular by Sir Cliff Richard back in 1987. The Northern Portrait interpretation strips the original of its excess 1980’s gloss and reveals a modern and unique take on an unexpected pop song. You’ll be singing it for days!

The single is limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies pressed on stylish ultra clear vinyl and comes with free MP3 download code. Single of the week indeed!

We’ve been told the pressing will arrive by the end of next week so please visit the Matinée shop now to secure your copy and we’ll ship as soon as the UPS man turns the corner. If you just can’t wait that long, both songs are available to download right now via the usual digital services. Look for copies in a shop near you in early October.

The band is currently finishing three new songs for yet another 7” release we’re calling the ‘Pretty Decent Swimmers’ EP. Watch this space for more news soon!

In the short span of time we have been mastering the new album ‘Sophomore Release’ (matcd057) from Bubblegum Lemonade, Laz has written three entirely new songs including some ace holiday hymns that will grace a Matinée release in the near future. He’s also reacted to the recent appearance of Lady Gaga at the MTV Video Music Awards clothed entirely in meat with a dreadfully catchy new song ‘I Read In Heat She’s Wearing Meat.’ I must warn you though, with just one listen this song will be completely lodged in your brain until the end of time.

We’ll see where this fits into the Bubblegum Lemonade world domination plan as soon as we get ‘Sophomore Release’ into your hands. This week: finalize artwork and send it off to the pressing plant so you can have your very own late next month. After all, it’s another surefire contender for your 2010 favorite albums list. In the meantime, you can preview superb album track ‘You Only Leave Twice’ on the Matinée sounds page and the Lady Gaga earworm on the Bubblegum Lemonade soundcloud page. I warned you…

We are surrounded by bags of new buttons including new designs from Bubblegum Lemonade, Cats on Fire, The Electric Pop Group, The Guild League, The Hermit Crabs, The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club, Northern Portrait, Strawberry Whiplash, Would-Be-Goods and Matinée. See all the designs on the Matinée fanclub page or you can view a slightly larger version of the above photo on the Matinée page on Facebook.

Happy September! We have brilliant new releases coming soon from Northern Portrait, The Lucksmiths and Bubblegum Lemonade and you can preview tracks from each on the Matinée sounds page right now. Watch for release details and preorders in the next two weeks once we confirm delivery dates.

In the meantime, our end-of-summer sale continues in the Matinée shop and we are sweetening the deal a bit for these final two weeks. In addition to superb sale prices, we’ll take an additional 10 percent off all orders $50 and above…or 20 percent off all orders $100 and above through September 12th! These discounts apply to everything in the catalog including new releases so take advantage of the savings to see what Matinée gems you are missing.

On the Matinée hit parade, Math and Physics Club have a hold on the top two spots for the third month running. Here are the top sellers for July and August combined:

10. Strawberry Whiplash – Picture Perfect CDEP
9. Harper Lee – All Things Can Be Mended CD
8. Various – The Matinée Grand Prix CD
7. Math and Physics Club – Baby I’m Yours CDEP
6. Math and Physics Club – Math and Physics Club CD
5. Northern Portrait – Criminal Art Lovers CD
4. Cats on Fire – Dealing In Antiques CD
3. Bubblegum Lemonade – Caroline’s Radio 7″
2. Math and Physics Club – Jimmy Had A Polaroid 7″
1. Math and Physics Club – I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do CD

Good things just keep coming for our Danish friends Northern Portrait! Following the runaway success of the band’s debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) earlier this year, the album has now seen release in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. As a result, the band has been hard at work making videos to accompany the album and the first fruit of that labor is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you the song that started it all for the band, ‘Crazy’:

Rumour has it we’ll have a video for ‘Life Returns to Normal’ before too long as well. The video is being produced to coincide with the release of a limited 7” (matinée 076) of that song, backed with a superb cover of the Cliff Richard hit ‘Some People.’ The single will come on magnificent clear vinyl in an ace full color jacket featuring vintage Volvo estate cars. It’s at the pressing plant now but we are still waiting on the test pressing so the release is a way’s off. Be patient though—we will provide more details and start preorders for the single next month!

In other news, Northern Portrait were just featured on Sky Sports of all places as a tie-in to the World Cup finals this week. In a nice band feature, they wrote “Copenhagen-based Northern Portrait remain relatively unknown in this country but it can only be a matter of time before someone influential hears their quintessential English sound and breaks them over here. Get your hands on ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ before Northern Portrait are on the front of the NME.”

You can read loads of other album reviews and more on the catalog page and download the fantastic album track ‘New Favourite Moment’ on the sounds page. ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ is available now from the Matinée shop and select international record vendors plus digitally from the usual suspects. You surely have it already though, no?

The new Bubblegum Lemonade single ‘Caroline’s Radio’ (matinée 074) is now a certified top ten hit! A month after its initial release, the single has passed up Northern Portrait, Cats on Fire, Math and Physics Club, and nearly all other indie challengers on its way up to the number three spot on our main distributor Darla Records top sellers chart!

The first release since the Glasgow act’s celebrated debut album ‘Doubleplusgood’ (matcd048) in 2008, ‘Caroline’s Radio’ is a fantastic Scottish pop hit that pays homage to offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline with zippy lead guitars and rich harmonies perfect for surfing the medium waves. The single features two exclusive b-sides and is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on transparent red vinyl.

In reviewing the single, The Finest Kiss called it “a buzzing barrel of hooks” and A Layer of Chips described it as “an ode to Radio Caroline, but one that swoops and glides and has the best guitar solo since, oooh, I dunno, Ride’s ‘Chelsea Girl’, or something.” Elsewhere, Indie-mp3.co.uk declared the single “pure and sunny unadulterated jangle pop” and Teenage Kicks wrote “Caroline’s Radio takes three chords, jangly guitars, winsome sad-eyed vocals, Beach Boys references, a little fuzz and music crush lyrics to create a breezy summer anthem that’s heavy on the pop.”

For more release details and reviews please see the catalog page, and grab a free mp3 of ‘Caroline’s Radio’ on the Matinée sounds page.

In other Bubblegum news, the band is currently putting finishing touches on a new album—provisionally titled ‘Sophomore Release’—which collects the ten best new songs from the 50 or so written over the past year. It’s shaping up to be one hit after another so reserve a spot on your 2010 favorite album list because you’ll need one for this.

There is also movement afoot to get Bubblegum Lemonade to play live in a town near you! To make this happen simply pay a visit to the somewhat mysterious ‘Campaign For Bubblegum Lemonade To Play Live!’ page on Facebook. We’d love to see it happen too so why not joint the cause?

‘Caroline’s Radio’ is available now from the Matinée shop and select record emporiums across the globe plus digitally from the usual suspects but you better act quickly before Darla orders all our remaining stock!

As expected, the long-awaited second album ‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ (matcd055) from our pals Math and Physics Club is causing quite a stir!

Following on the heels of their superb new 7” single ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ (matinée 075), the new album is a smashing collection of pop gems and Math and Physics Club’s most confident and sharply written work to date. Enough said—let the first round of reviews speak for themselves:

“This record is a huge success.” —Austin Town Hall
“Another first-rate set of jangle-pop packing an abundance of catchy melodic hooks.” —KEXP
“Non-stop indiepop til you drop.” —Culture Deluxe
“An album of swirling, shimmering songs that kicks off the summer perfectly.” —A Layer of Chips
“Clever and undemanding album perfect for cruising in the warm sunshine with the top down.” —Pennyblack Magazine
“A thoroughly enjoyable affair.” —Aversion.com
“These songs pulse and bounce and zip along as magically as if I hadn’t grown up with The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death and Hatful of Hollow.” —Three Imaginary Girls
“A concise set of songs, full of joyous bounce and enough bliss to light up any dull summer’s day!” —Indie-mp3.co.uk
“Math and Physics Club know the way to an indie kid’s heart.” —The Indie Handbook
“A sea of smart, shortish, melody-led numbers.” —In Love With These Times…
“Virtually the perfect pop album.” —Russell’s Reviews

You can read these reviews and more on the catalog page and download the fantastic album tracks ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ and ‘Love or Loneliness’ on the sounds page right now.

‘Love or Loneliness’ was recently selected ‘Song of the Day’ by fashionable Seattle radio station KEXP, and the station is also featuring the song in its Music That Matters podcast (volume 207).

‘I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do’ is available now in the Matinée shop and from other good merchants worldwide, plus digitally via iTunes, emusic, Amazon mp3, Darla.com and other digital providers. Get your copy now to see what the fuss is all about!

Another release perfect for the summertime is the recent four song ‘Shooting Star’ EP (matinée 073) from Brazilian indiepop legends Pale Sunday.

Lately the band is getting plenty of attention as they prepare to wow the crowds at the Indietracks Festival next week in England. In the meantime, the new EP continues to impress with 75 or Less calling it “the perfect summer companion,” and writing “These Brazilian indie-poppers outshine their jingle-jangly competition with their perfect harmonies and guitar-driven grooves that are so deep you’ll fall in head first.”

In other review action, IndiePages reports “it certainly didn’t take long to fall in love with Pale Sunday all over again,” Pennyblack calls the single “a cracking collection of songs,” and In Love With These Times… suggests “you can try and get big and clever and say how in 2010 people of our advanced age should have outgrown plain old indie-pop groovery, but in all honesty, if the right ingredients are there, resistance is useless.”

Full release details and additional reviews can be found on the catalog page, and there’s a free download of ‘Shooting Star’ on the sounds page if you fancy a listen. The band’s debut single ‘A Weekend With Jane’ (matinée 049) and album ‘Summertime?’ (matcd037) are perfect summertime companions as well, and lucky for you, all three releases are available here in the Matinée shop plus other worldwide vendors in both CD and digital formats. Have fun at Indietracks!

As we bask in the initial press frenzy of our latest releases, we feel obliged to point out that a couple gems released way back in January are in fact perfect releases for the warm summer months too:

Exhibit One: The sophomore album ‘Seconds’ (matcd053) from sensational Swedish band The Electric Pop Group. Since its release, the album has received great reviews from the likes of Erasing Clouds, A Layer of Chips, PopMatters, Indie-mp3.co.uk, Delusions of Adequacy, The Big Takeover and others but today we’re highlighting the opinions of four excellent international blogs:

Reviewing the album, Eardrums wrote “Matinée Recordings have had a wonderful start of the year, and the one release that I have enjoyed the most is from The Electric Pop Group,” while In Love With These Times concluded “there is no shortage of marvellously toetapping indiepop on Seconds.” Elsewhere, Slowdive Music Blog described ‘Seconds’ as “a distinct album of beautiful arrangements and infectious moods” and Burning World called it “the best album of the year thus far.”

You can read these reviews and more on the catalog page and download a free mp3 of ‘Not By Another’ on the Matinée sounds page. The CD is available in the Matinée shop and worldwide from any decent record store, plus digitally of course.

Exhibit Two: The Electric Pop Group are one of a number of Matinée artists that contributed exclusive tracks to our recent label compilation ‘The Matinée Grand Prix’ (matcd050). Joining them are international superstars Bubblegum Lemonade, Cats on Fire, Clay Hips, The Guild League, The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club, Northern Portrait, Simpático, Strawberry Whiplash, and Tender Trap. The resulting collection is a vital release for the Matinée faithful and a fantastic introduction to some of the best indie bands of today.

Some of the many nice album reviews include Hits in the Car writing “Grand Prix is an absolutely amazing collection of indie pop tunes and darn close to being the perfect gateway to the genre as well as the Matinée roster,” Pennyblack Magazine concluding “The Matinée Grand Prix is an excellent introduction to the labels offerings as well as a being a great collectable piece for the already converted fan, and PopMatters suggesting “Matinée’s ear for indie pop is sound, and its compilations are rewarding.”

Six months on and the vast majority of these tracks are still available only on this compilation so it’s something you certainly need to hear. You can see the tracklisting and other release details on the catalog page and download a free mp3 of Simpático’s ace song ‘Australian Idle’ on the sounds page. The CD is available worldwide in both CD and digital formats, including right here of course in the Matinée shop!

While the new Math and Physics Club album is receiving plenty of well-deserved attention, the band’s latest single ‘Jimmy Had A Polaroid’ (matinée 075) is on everybody’s playlist (and shopping list) these days as well.

The title track is a catchy two-and-a-half minute number with unequivocal song of the year contender status. Backed with the exclusive non-album track ‘The Sound of Snow’ and limited to 500 hand-numbered copies on ice-blue vinyl, we knew it would be popular but wait until you read the reviews it’s getting!

Among our favorites, In Love With These Times… called it “an absolutely bombing 7″ single – two and half minutes of indie-pop righteousness that was born to be a 7″ A-side,” while PopMatters described it as “more delicious guitars, melodies and sweet longing from a band which has cornered the market for shimmery pop music.”

In other reviews, Aversion.com wrote “Jimmy Had a Polaroid could be this summer’s choice pop tune,” 32 Feet Per Second compared it to “a Camera Obscura cut played by The Lucksmiths,” and A Layer of Chips declared it “the sort of song that will make you throw your hands in the air like you just don’t care and waggle your legs around like a duck with Alzheimer’s.”

For more release details and reviews please see the catalog page. You can grab a free mp3 of ‘Jimmy Had a Polaroid’ on the Matinée sounds page as well. The 7″ is available now from the Matinée shop and select record emporiums across the globe plus digitally from the usual suspects. You know you want one…