Okay … the moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Our first release of 2013 is the highly anticipated ‘Pretty Decent Swimmers’ 10” (matinée 086) from adored Danish indie purists Northern Portrait! The official release date is January 22 but you can order it right now exclusively from the Matinée shop and get a free immediate download as well!
Northern Portrait debuted in 2008 with two very well received EPs—‘The Fallen Aristocracy’ (matinée 068) and ‘Napoleon Sweetheart’ (matinée 070)—both of which sold out almost instantly upon release. The band’s consummate debut album ‘Criminal Art Lovers’ (matcd054) enjoyed widespread international acclaim in 2010 including numerous appearances on year-end favorite lists, and the ‘Life Returns To Normal’ 7” single (matinée 076) on elegant clear vinyl was released later that same year.
The band has charmed live audiences in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and USA over the years, including performances at the Indietracks Festival and popfests in Copenhagen, Limoges, Madrid and San Francisco.
The fantastic new ‘Pretty Decent Swimmers’ EP is available on deluxe 10” color vinyl and digital formats, and features the first new recordings from the band in over two years.
Lead track ‘Happy Nice Day’ is three and a half minutes of straightforward power pop inspired by Swedish pop idols The Wannadies. It is an ode to the joys of traveling and casual meetings in hotels, airports and pen friend sections from Tokyo to Stockholm to Hamburg to Nice and beyond.
Meanwhile, ‘Greetings From Paris’ explores the difficulty in admitting when reality doesn’t exactly match expectations and ambitions. It’s a superb slice of Nordic guitar pop that builds to an especially melodic conclusion.
Side two opens with the playful and jaunty ‘Bon Voyage!’, a song about short term holiday attractions gone wrong … but with a slight twist. Musically sunny and shimmering, the song is a guitar driven sunbath and pool dive all in one. Bon voyage indeed!
Powerful and jangly, closing track ‘I Feel Even Better’ is an escapist’s dream come true. Lyrical elements from the Cheers theme song in reverse accentuate the desire to get away, while autoharp and 12-string guitar add a bright sparkle to the general bounciness of the song.
‘Pretty Decent Swimmers’ is pressed on transparent swimming pool blue vinyl and limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies in a luxurious sleeve featuring fashionable Los Angeles water ballet troupe Aqualillies on the cover.
For more release information, please see the catalog page and the Matinée page on Facebook. You can preview the entire single right now on the Soundcloud player below!
Please note: 10” vinyl is heavy and does not fit in any flat rate shipping envelopes so postage is relatively expensive for this item if ordered alone, especially for international orders. Your best bet is to order a few things at once as incremental postage for additional items is negligible. Northern Portrait’s beautiful clear vinyl ‘Life Returns To Normal’ 7” single (matinée 076) is a perfect addition! Domestic customers: media mail shipping is a bit cheaper (and a lot slower) than priority but you get what you pay for and we strongly recommend not using media mail for vinyl records. This record is a beauty and we wouldn’t want to see it crushed by that giant box of textbooks your neighbor just ordered via media mail. Now, straight to the shop for a copy of this essential new release!