Giddy Stratospheres is a re-recording of a track that first turned up as a single on Angular Records in 2004 and is yet another single taken from the Someone To Drive You Home album. Are there any tracks left?

It is one of the Long Blondes better tracks and is five minutes of Kate Howard getting bitchy amongst the hand claps and the bass driven beat. The song pours scorn on one young chaps new girlfriend, a wannabe femme fatale, who makes him stay in night after night, eating chocolate and drinking wine without him getting a sniff of crossing her "empire line".

The trouble is you know it's The Long Blondes because their sound has not changed much over the past few years. Re-releasing a three year old track does not help matters as it is a measure of how little the band have come as regards to their sound in that period. Saying that it worked for The Ramones!

Sadly the flip side brings further proof that the Long Blondes are just a pretty decent singles band. All Bar One Girls which is just as bland and awful, if not worse, than the bar chain the band mention in the song. Save your money or buy The Lucky Soul single instead.

[My Space link]

Lucky Soul have possibly produced one of their finest moments in the shape of Add Your Light To Mine, Baby. The band again take from the past to give to the present with the track sounding like it has come straight from the Motown archives. References to The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Supremes etc can all be found on this track as it aims straight for the dancefloor and possibly the charts. If the band have one track that could engrave itself onto the nations conciousness this could be it.

The flip side is just as good and you can imagine Ali singing the ballad Ever Yours I Remain through grainy black & white footage on an episode of Ready Steady Go. Lucky Soul are definitely one for the girl band fan - others may find them a bit too sickly sweet!

Add Your Light To Mine, Baby is out now on Ruffa Lane. The début album The Great Unwanted is due for release on 9th April 2007.

[My Space link]

Austin based indie popsters, but at times sounding very British, Voxtrot have their debut album set for release worldwide on the 22 May 2007.

It's self titled and contains eleven tracks and does not contain any of the early singles. The track listing is:

Introduction
Kid Gloves
Ghost
Stephen
Firecracker
Brother In Conflict
Easy
Future, Part 1
Every Day
Real Life Version
Blood Red Blood

In the UK the album is preceded by a single on May 14th 2007. Blood Red Blood is taken from the album and features two non album tracks in the shape of New Love and Loan Shark. Both the releases will be on Beggars Banquet/Playlouder Recordings.

Voxtrot - Kids Gloves

Obscure Sound have reviewed the album here.

[My Space link]

The Lasten Musiikki EP by Mutt Ramon is the follow up to last years excellent self released Utterly Mutterly album.

The EP, which translates from Finnish as Childrens Music, features seven songs including two new mixes of tracks from the aforementioned album. Like the album there is so much going on here it may be easier to list some of the bands Mutt Ramon sound like. I hear bits of New Order, Beloved, Aphex Twin, Lemon Jelly, Kraftwerk etc as well as the bands own eccentricities in these tracks. Opening tracks All I Needed and A.N. Other are slow paced but not slow burning whilst Just My Honey is a good example of an alternative pop song as you may wish to hear.

It's just a fresh lick of paint on the new mix of Physically Corrupted but the best track of the EP is the last, in the shape of Vouchsafe which is a pretty catchy effort with some fine lyrical and musical moments.

Lasten Musiikki doesn't spring many surprises but it does demonstrate a band who do what they do best and that bodes well for the new album!

The EP is out on the Italian label My Honey and you can order it from here.

Mutt Ramon - Just My Honey
Mutt Ramon - Physically Corrupted (album version)

[My Space link]

Strange Idols release their second single this coming Monday. It is called She's Gonna Let You Down Again and is backed with Berlin. It's a re-recording of the track that appeared on The Kids At The Club album that was released last year.

The band's last single It's No Fun was my favourite single of 2006 with it's jangle pop mixed with New Order-ish sounds. You can order it in a digital format from here.

The single which is limited to 500 7" copies is being released on Modern Pop Records. You can pre-order it from the labels My Space page.

You can stream the new and previous single from the bands My Space page.

Sanctuary Records will be releasing all of The Wedding Present's sessions for the late John Peel on Monday 26th March 2007.

This box set effectively traces the history of The Wedding Present as much as it does their close relationship with the legendary radio presenter, who continually championed the band on his long running BBC Radio 1 show. Commencing with their first session from 1986, it introduces their trademark fast guitars and David Gedge's idiosyncratic song writing. That first session also begins a trend for the group of recording unlikely and compelling cover versions - in this case, Orange Juice's "Felicity". Elsewhere you'll hear renditions of Altered Images' "Happy Birthday" and the "White Horses" TV theme, amongst others. The Wedding Present went on to record twelve studio sessions for Peel, the last of which [in 2004] previewed songs from the then, forthcoming Take Fountain album.

The six disc set falls neatly into three CDs of studio sessions and three representing live performances. The former includes their third session from May 1987, which previewed songs from the George Best album six months before it's release, and the band's bizarre excursion into the world of Ukrainian folk music, inspired by guitarist Peter Solowka. The live sessions section comprises their performance for John Peel's 50th Birthday Party in August 1989 plus sets from the Leeds Sounds City, Phoenix and Reading Festivals.

The compilation, remastering and artwork has all been carried out under the close supervision of David Gedge and the release comes with extensive sleeve notes by Ken Garner, writer of: "In Session Tonight", the definitive guide to live pop and rock on BBC Radio.

(via)
(Complete Track Listing)

Approximately 2 years ago I first delved into the world of MP3 blogs when I discovered this very blog I'm writing for now, and Tom's post about All Girl Summer Fun Band was the very first post I read. Subsequently I fell very much in love with the band, and lately a thought struck me, why not follow up on the band since I am now in position to do exactly what inspired me these couple of years back. Hopefully this will be a post that will get the rest of you interested if you're not already.

Additionally I've devised what I hope will be an ongoing tradition, namely that the band challenges another band, any band, for the next interview. This might in the long run get me into a predicament of sorts, but we'll see what happens.

How, when and why did the band form?

Kim: We formed in 1998 here in Portland, Oregon.
Kathy: I moved to Portland in 98, met Kim right away and we became fast friends. She was friends with Ari and Jen too, but none of us knew each other. One day, Kim and I were at a show, and she told me I was in a new band with her, Jen and Ari. She thought it would be fun for the four of us to play music. I said, cool. Kim is a good matchmaker. We've all become such good friends.
Kim: I am pretty sure I asked everyone first, I can’t imagine I just told them they were in a band. Although I was pretty excited about the idea, so perhaps I did just tell them.

Who came up with the name of the band?

Kim: It was just how I presented the idea of the band to everyone. The band I was playing in had currently ended and I was looking to start up an all girl band that would just play during that summer. I was leaving in the fall to go to school in St. Petersburg, Russia so I thought the band would just last for the summer. I asked Jen, Kathy, and Ari if they wanted to be in an “all girl summer fun band”. They all liked how that sounded, so we used it as the band name.

What were you guys doing before starting the band, and do you have some side-projects we should be aware of?

Jen: I was in The Softies, and before that a different duo called Pretty Face. We never released any music though. I don't have any music side projects going currently.
Kathy: I had been playing in bands since I was 16 in California. I moved to Maine for 9 months with my band, Haelah. Then we moved to Portland and started playing shows right away. Haelah became Urban Legends, which became Hutch and Kathy, which became The Thermals, which I still play in now. So, I've been playing in two bands for a long time. I also have solo songs under the name, Butterfly Transformation Service, but nothing has ever been officially released.
Kim: In high school I was in a band called The Young Astronauts. Before AGSFB I was playing in a band called Cherry Ice Cream Smile. In addition to AGSFB, I am currently recording a solo album and I’m hoping to put it out sometime in the near future.

Can you name some influences?

Jen: The Ramones, 60's girl groups, The Fastbacks, Dolly Mixture, Girls at Our Best, and various heavy metal bands.
Kathy: The Ramones, 60's girl groups, The Strokes, Led Zeppelin, Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr, Nirvana, Hot Snakes., 60's & 70's soul.
Kim: Beatles, Pixies, Tiger Trap, Jonathan Richman, Softies, The Breeders, Elliott Smith, Blonde Redhead.

Can we expect a third album sometime soon? Will it be different from previous ones?

Kim: We are recording the new album right now. We’re hoping to finish it up soon but we have no deadlines. So for us, the most important thing is getting the songs to sound exactly how we want them to sound. I think this album will sound different than other albums, I think we have grown as a band and as song-writers.
Jen: I feel it's very different just because it has been so long since our last record, and we have all grown individually - but it's hard to imagine how it will be heard objectively. It's going to rock!
Kathy: I'm excited for the new album. It won't necessarily have a theme, but we want the songs, the artwork, the booklet to all tie in together. We have a master plan! And I'm excited to see it all done.

What are your own favorite AGSFB songs, and why?

Kim: I always love playing Becky, Video Game Heart, and Will I See You.
Jen: The most fun song to play is Tour Heart Throb. It's fast and I get to yell my vocals.
Kathy: I also love playing Video Game Heart and Tour Heart Throb. They're rockin! I also like our old cover of "Look of Love" by Lesley Gore.

What are your favorite songs apart from your own?

Kim: My current favorites are Sigur Ros’ “Staralfur”, Q and Not U’s “Soft Pyramids”, and Dinosaur Jr’s “Muck”.
Jen: Currently I can't get enough of "Photograph" by Weezer.
Kathy: I can't get enough of "101" by Albert Hammond Jr, all of the new Deerhoof album, "Friend Opportunity", and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Neil Young.

All Girl Summer Fun Band challenges a band named Blubird, also from Portland, Oregon, for the next interview. So stay tuned!

All Girl Summer Fun Band - Video Game Heart
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Jason Lee
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Later Operator
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Girl #3
Bonus track, not available on their website:
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Cut Your Hair

All Girl Summer Fun Band home page

And here's the video that hooked me, Car Trouble. Notice the way the guitar cleverly mimics a car with an ignition system trouble.

In 2003 I added a blog to the site but I noticed that this was far more popular than the main site and in mid 2005 I moved over to blogger and merged the sites. Looking back at my early posts shows that I have no real writing talent although a love of music, especially indie pop, makes me an enthusiastic writer. Luckily I have been joined by better writers than me in the shape of Magnusk, Russ, Larryhag and Lost Music who have all contributed to this blog in the past 18 months and thanks to their contributions I can say that my writing has got better. As I near my 40th birthday it did get me thinking how long this site will last but I am sure it will be another 1000 posts minimum!

Anyway to celebrate the 1000th post we needed something special indeed and I am grateful to Dave once more who has supplied me with a recording of Amelia Fletcher at the Deptford Fountain from 1991. Dave, who ran the club, wrote it was Amelia Fletchers solo set from 1991 where at the end Talulah Gosh, the original line-up, jumped on stage and did In Love for the very first time.

It's not a bad recording either. Enjoy!

Amelia Fletcher - Live At The Deptford Fountain (21mb)

The Fizzbombs posting has proved pretty popular with well over 500 downloads of the 7" version of the Surfin' Winter EP. Hopefully a re-issue label is taking note.

As I stated in the post the difference between the 7" and 12" versions was that the bands cover of Neil Diamonds Cherry Cherry was included on the 12". And for completists here is the track.

The Fizzbombs - Cherry Cherry

Thanks to Dave for the mp3

A new look and a new podcast in the same day. I must be feeling ill! Some great tunes on this months podcast with Liechtenstein, The Garlands and A Smile And A Ribbon making tunes that would not have been out of place two decades ago. Lucky Soul and Those Dancing Days go further back then that with their Phil Spector inspired sound and Pelle Carlberg's track is just so fantastic. I am off to the Labrador shop - again!

Does anyone fancy making a banner for this site? The template I used is K2 which can be found here. My idea is something black & white with some bands/album covers but art has never been my strong point. A couple of CD's for the best design is on offer. The banner should be 780 x 200 and any text should be indie mp3 - keeping C86 alive and championing new bands. Or summat like that.

Pelle Carlberg - I Love You Imbecile

The new album In A Nutshell is out now on Labrador. You can stream the whole album at Last FM.

Those Dancing Days - Hitten
The band are currently playing a number of dates in their native Sweden. Unsigned at present. Why?

Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted

New single Add Your Light To Mine, Baby is out now. The debut album The Great Unwanted follows in April/May.

Mutt Ramon - Just My Honey

The Lasten Musiikki EP is out on My Honey Records. Just My Honey also appears on the Let It Bee compilation from the same label which has tracks from Rough Bunnies, The Smittens, Piney Gir and Celestial amongst others.

The Lovekevins - Tamagotchi Freestyle

Debut album Vs The Snow will be released on April 4th 2007 on Songs I Wish I Had Written.

The Mary Onettes - Void

Void is out now on Labrador. It's the bands second single for the label.

Liechtenstein - Stalking Skills

Stalking Skills in out now on Fraction Discs. The band play their debut English shows later this year. Band member Renée Gustafsson also plays with Compute on their live shows.

The Garlands - You Never Notice Me

Currently unsigned but based on this track they shouldn't be for long.

A Smile And A Ribbon - Book Cover

The debut single will appear on Shelflife later this year. The band will be touring the UK in April with dates in London & Glasgow.

Subscribe to the podcast (cut and paste link into your podcast client) or download direct - indie mp3 podcast 25 March 2007

For some reason the podcast sounds like chipmunks when streaming via the above link. It plays fine for me when downloaded so I would recommend downloading rather than streaming in this case.

All tracks were made freely available by the artists.

If this will not be one of the best albums this year I will be extremely surprised.

Just listen to "Sacred Music" and "Idyllwild" and make your own opinion.

Myspace

Homepage

Have a nice weekend!

In 2008 the city of Liverpool will be the European Capital Of Culture.

Liverpool of course has a strong musical history and a lot of my musical tastes were shaped by the bands of the early 1980's such as Echo & The Bunnymen, Wild Swans, Lotus Eaters, Teardrop Explodes and of course Pete Wylie and his many variations of Wah!

If you visit the Liverpool 08 website you are able to download a 1 hour musical tour of the City, split into a number of mp3's, narrated by Wylie himself. There is also a map to download and print so you can follow the tour whilst listening if you visit Liverpool itself. It can be found here.

There is also a page on Music and The Beatles where you can download a guide to the Liverpool music scene as well as a Beatles map. You can get those here.

The Manhattan Love Suicides are probably my favourite new band in ages. They're raw. They're fuzzy. And they have got catchy songs to boot. I am delighted to say that the band are playing the first Lostmusic Presents gig on 20th April 2007 (with The Gresham Flyers and Silver Springs). And they've recorded a session for WOXY radio - it contains some songs and an interview with the band. The guitars seem a little quiet in the mix, but that aside, it's got me excited about the up and coming gig.

You can download the session and the interview here


Related links:
Woxy
Lostmusic Presents
My Space
Manhattan Love Suicides

Ahhhh. Three unheard tracks from 1988 by The Bodines get a release on Germany's Firestation Records nineteen years on. The Manchester based band who were originally signed to Creation in the early 1980's released a string of quality singles such as Therese and Heard It All. They then signed to Magnet Records releasing the indie-pop classic Played.

My guess, judging by the band line up, is that these tracks were recorded for a planned single before Magnet Records dumped the band. That makes sense as there is only a small progression here when compared to the tracks Played. That is in stark contrast with the tracks released on Playhard a year later although these were released with a different line-up.

That's the detective work over. Was it worth digging these tracks up and are they relevant today? It's a yes, yes and yes to each count. These tracks still sound remarkably fresh and alive with Shrinkwrap carrying the "Played" torch forward with Michael Ryan's voice shining over impressive jangling guitars. With You carries on in pretty much the same vein but Wake Me Up And Smell The Coffee is the star of the show, with an almost anthem like driving sound that soars to a great height. It is hard to believe how old these tracks are as it sounds like just yesterday to my ears.

You can hear the sounds in these tracks that have influenced a wide range of bands back then and even now. For example listen to tracks by Celestial and you will hear what I mean. Well recommended.

You can buy the single direct from Firestation Records. Those in the UK can get it from Rough Trade.

[Unofficial My Space link]

Paul Hartnoll (ex Orbital) follows up the excellent Patchwork Quilt single with another single for the Kids label titled Please.

Please features The Cure's Robert Smith on vocals because Hartnoll thinks he has "a whiney-bendy voice" which suited the lead lines he had written for the song. Personally I have never been a fan of Smith's voice or the majority of The Cure's music. Nothing on the single nor the majority of the seven (!) remixes convinces me otherwise. Smith's vocal tones just grate in my soul regardless of which mix you listen to although the music on The PH and Culprit 1 remixes provide a brief respite. I guess you have to be a big Smith fan to appreciate this.

Luckily the flip side, the non album track Old School Tie, saves the day. It's a lovely electronic journey which will be obviously pointed out as similar to Orbital's work. It's only available on the CD of the single so I would recommend buying that format if any at all. Please is a disappointment and let's hope Hartnoll's collaborations on the album produce a better result.

Please is out on 23 April 2007. Hartnoll's debut solo album The Ideal Connection follows on 28 May 2007.

[My Space link]

German band The Sodastream (not to be confused with the Australian Sodastream) have released a free digital download album.

It's the follow up to 2005's All The Things You Are and is simply titled RMX with eleven electronic versions of their previous work. The bands normal sound is very shoegaze indie pop with psychedelic elements and the remixes of tracks I am familiar with are very good indeed.

The Sodastream - Bruxelles (Dr Burnzen Remix)
The Sodastream - Waves Of Water (Clubkraft Remix)

Non Remixed tracks

The Sodastream - Balloon
The Sodastream - V

Head to the bands homepage to download the rest of the album individually or as one large zip file.

You can buy the bands previous material from Marsh Marigold.

[My Space link]

Liechtenstein are an all female three piece hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden. Stalking Skills is their début single and it provides three slices of indie pop that takes its cues and inspirations from the likes of Dolly Mixture, Girls At Our Best, Mo-dettes and the Shop Assistants.

The title track starts off with drums that could have been lifted direct from The Shop Assistants Safety Net and it's a tribute when I state that this single does not look out of place when compared to that classic track. The simple snare drumming and vocal harmonies are reminiscent of the music that came out of Edinburgh in the early to mid eighties and the imagery surrounding the band, especially the photographs, also reflects their look and sound.

The two other tracks Cravings and Fallen Heroes are just as good leaning towards the early 1980's sound of the aforementioned influences rather than any C86 position. Early contender for single of the year.

You can get the single from Fraction Discs direct or in the UK it is available at Rough Trade & Norman Records.

You can read an interview with Liechtenstein's Renée Gustafsson here.

Youngteammusic are a Swedish band hailing from Stockholm. They formed in 2005 and have recently released their debut album Missnojesbandet on Northern Star Records. The fact that Northern Star have Airiel and Air Formation on their books should give you some idea how Youngteammusic sound.

This is predominately shoegaze and guitar noise inspired by the likes of My Bloody Valentine. There is also a number of Psychedelic influences and I am somewhat impressed for some strange reason that amongst the influences they cite are Status Quo's first two albums - that's my guilty childhood secret out by the way!

Sadly there are no tracks to download and you have to either trust me on this or head to their My Space page and stream some tunes. These tracks are well noisy and get your head in a spin. Travelling is my favourite of the three. Whilst there is nothing new in what they are doing it s entertaining none the less and well worth 10 minutes of anyone's time.

You can buy the album from Northern Star Records either as a CD or digital download.

I know indie pop is a global phenomenon but I don't think I have written about a Polish band as of yet. Despite the name Iowa Super Soccer hail from Myslowice, Poland. They have released two CDR EP's including the impressively named Teenage Dreams So Hard To Beat EP.

Whilst the band draw a number of influences from the late 1980's UK jangle pop scene I find that their music sounds very alt.Americana to my ears and this could be down to lead singer/guitarist Michal Skrzydlo vocals which are reminiscent of Red House Painters Mark Kozelek. I also like the almost whispered tones of joint vocalist Natalia Baranowska's voice but sometimes they just get too dominated and their effect is lost.

It's classy stuff but I wonder if it is enough to make anyone stand up and take notice especially as the number of new bands seems to increase every day. Judge for yourself with one track each taken from their two releases so far.

Iowa Super Soccer - Morning
Iowa Super Soccer - The River

You can buy their recordings via their My Space page or in digital format from their indie store.

[My Space link]

I wrote about the Icelandic band PPPönk earlier here. They released an EP on Bad Taste in 1997, and while researching for the article I found out they had themselves released a second EP entitled "Hvað", which means "What". I got hold of what appears to be the last known copy which turned out to be a CD-R with no artwork except a stamp on the CD itself, and chock-full of fun, fast and melodic songs, characterized by Laufey's frantic yelping.

This EP was recorded and released in 1999, and only 50 copies were made.

Seeing that this CD is unlikely to be re-released any time in the near future the band kindly gave me permission to post all the songs here. The first song is named "Untitled" simply because no one can remember what it was called back then.

1. Untitled
2. Ein á báti
3. Hvað
4. Keyrðu mig
5. Palli
6. Trukkur

Photo by Björg Sveinsdóttir, www.bsmyndir.com

You will not find much on the net about The Fizzbombs apart from the fact that they contained ex-members from The Shop Assistants and Jesse Garon And The Desperadoes. They came from Edinburgh and lasted a little under two years releasing two singles and a track for a flexi compilation. Their best track Sign On The Line appeared on the CD86 compilation last year.

The songs here are taken from the 7" version of the Surfin' Winter EP which was released in 1988 and contained the tracks Surfaround, Beach Party & Blue Summer.

The 12" contained an extra track which was a cover of Neil Diamond's Cherry Cherry. If anyone has a mp3 (or FLAC!) copy of that track and You Worry Me from the Wild Rumpus Flexi then I would appreciate it.

The Fizzbombs - Surfin Winter EP (7")

Please tell us bit about the band and how it all started.

I started making music some year ago, but after a while I felt it would be nice to play in a proper band. I met Teresa at an indiepop club in Göteborg about two years ago and we started playing together. It turned out that she knew the very distinguished bass player Naemi. We recorded “Stalking Skills” last summer, and in the atumn Elin was recruited on drums.


You have now had two gigs recently and I have got the impression that they somehow where sneak-previews, (correct me if I am wrong). Was it because you wanted to try to play without to much interference?

That´s true. Also, we´ve always wanted to do a classic rehersal place gig! And at the gig at Kvinnofolkhögskolan (o.c some kind of female folk-school) things got a bit inofficial because of their policy not to allow men at their gigs. We had some complaints about that, and some of our male friends had serious plans of dressing up as women to get the chance to see us play live...


What can one expect from your live-performances?

Hum. Lots of catchy tunes and rapid drumming. Naemi broke her foot just before our first gig so we´ve had to adapt to that... At Kvinnofolkhögskolan she had to sit with her broken foot on a beer crate.... But she plays the bass quite well sitting down so that´s not a problem. We also try to do as much backing vocals as possible live. We like vocal harmonies...


Would be nice to know what the band is presently up to, and if any plans are made for the future.

At the moment we are making plans for our next single, it will be another 7” on Fraction Discs. As for live shows, we will play in Göteborg and Stockholm next weekend.


My favorite:

film: Nói Albinói album

cover: Comet Gain “Realistes”, TVP covers, Sarah Records covers....

season: hm. Summer. Spring. Perhaps even Autumn. But definately not the Swedish Winter.

band: Talulah Gosh

animal: Cat.


listen here

buy the 7" here

enjoy!

The Lovekevins release their debut album in Vs the Snow on April 4th on Songs I Wish I had Written.

There will also be a new single titled Tamagotchi Freestyle and sees the band heading towards the dancefloor with a wonderful slice of indie electro pop. It's the perfect sound to the beautiful Spring weather we have been having in London recently.

According to the label the single is different in sound to the rest of the album which they describe as a perfect blend of dream like noise and steady wonderful pop melodies.

The Lovekevins - Tamagotchi Freestyle

[My Space link]

Lomg time faves of mine The Bridge Gang called it time tonight. Whilst that is sad news indeed I am glad that we (Sounds XP) put them on for their final show. Emotional stuff. Rumour is that a Phoenix will be rising from the ashes. Keep them peeled.

Mp3's from their last single are still available here.

[My Space link]

indie mp3 fave Lucky Misu released his latest EP on the Corpid Net label yesterday.

The Ep is titled Puzzled and features four tracks that sees Lucky Misu burying his lo-fi, indie pop sound for good in favour of a sparser, and sometimes darker, electronic sound. High quality music as always.

You can download it from here.

Lucky Misu also has remixed Bobby Baby's I Won't Dance With You Tonight on the EP Loves To Remix Vol 2 that is also released on Corpid and which I wrote about here.

[My Space link]

Swedish band A Smile And A Ribbon have announced a couple of UK dates. These are:

London: April 12 2007
A Smile and a Ribbon + Cats On Fire + Pocketbooks (Spiral Scratch night @ The Horse & Groom, Hoxton)

Glasgow: April 14 2007
A Smile and a Ribbon + Skeleton Bob (The Winchester Club @ The Woodside)

The band are also looking for a date on the 13th April 2007 so if there is anyone out there who can offer them a date e-mail the band at NOSPAMasmileandaribbon@hotmail.com removing the NOSPAM bit.

They band will also be releasing their début release on the re-launched Shelflife Records. The album will come as a multi package containing a vinyl single with four new songs ("Then I Felt Your Cheek", "Miracles", "Holding Hands" & "Sugar Daddy").

A Smile And A Ribbon - Pebbles
A Smile And A Ribbon - Book Cover

[My Space link]

Æla is an Icelandic band, whose name translates as Puke, or Vomit, whichever you like better. Despite the repugnant name the band is actually delightful, drawing inspiration primarily from Icelandic punk band Purrkur Pillnikk, whose singer later went on to form The Sugarcubes. This punk influence they mix with a dash of humour and crazyness, and their towering lead singer, Halli Valli, is a delight to watch as he balances precariously on wobbly chairs or runs around the venue hacking on his wireless guitar. Now they're about to invade Britain, and I recommend you go see them if they happen to pop up in a venue near you.

The shows announced so far are:

March 26th: Market Tavern, Oxford
March 27th: The Buffalo Bar, London
March 28th: The Engine Rooms, Brighton
March 29th: Jericho Tavern: Oxford
March 30th: The George Tavern: London
March 31st: Dogstar, London

More details are on their Myspace page

And here's a video I shot of them in Reykjavik on March 2nd, my first venture into YouTubeness. I shot it in 16:9 widescreen format which was quite beautiful, and YouTube squashed it into 4:3. To see it in decent quality download the .mpg here (47. mb).

Komon is Brighton based Swede Antonia Pehrson although she will be residing in Berlin soon - what is it with Berlin and Swedish females? Bobby Baby has also moved there! Anyway she has also provided vocals for the likes of The Lovekevins and Monster Bobby and describes her music as indiepopmusic with organs and analogue synths.

I have been listening to her debut Silly Girl EP which was recorded in 2005 but Antonia was unable to finish it until last summer. As I mentioned in a brief post last month I found that her voice reminds me of Amelia Fletchers but musically it's something different with Antonia producing some excellent sounds from her guitar, casio keyboard and her fruity loops! The songs are gentle and blissful affairs although things get a bit faster on Throwing Stones. There are plenty of indie pop references I could pluck out of the air to describe Komons music but I will let you be the judge and jury.

Komon - Are We Friends?

You can stream two new tracks Komon's My Space page where there is a blog entry telling you how you can purchase the EP.

Essex based The Brights are currently recording their début album for the Bitterscene label who released the bands début 7" single Girl In A Bric A Back Shop back in 2005. The band also contributed a track to last years The New British Invasion compilation on Firestation Records. That contribution, and one of the better tracks on the album, London Belongs To Me, is available as a free download on the The Brights site alongside two more tracks.

The band also have a few dates lined up. You can catch them in their hometown of Chelmsford on 24th March (Shire Hall) or on the 28th March (Bassment @ Bitterscene). They also play Coventry on the 22nd March (Escape Bar).

The Brights - London Belongs To Me
The Brights - Nature Got One Over Me

A third track Mother I Don't Belong Here can be downloaded via the bands music page. Alternatively you can stream songs via My Space.

I wrote about Radio de Outono earlier here. Around the same time I sent them an email with a few questions, but was far too impatient to wait for the answers before posting. Barbara's answers arrived in my inbox a few days ago, and here they are. They like comic books, and could use help finishing an album, so labels looking for a good band, take notice!

What does your band name mean?

Translating, it means "Autumn Radio". At first, we used to say that it´s a radio station that captures transcendental mind waves that makes us grow - autumn is a metaphor for renew.
But, to say the truth, we heard it from an old integrant (band member) and we thought it sounded pop just the way we wanted. So we "stole" it!

Where are you from?

We´re from Recife, a city in northeast of Brazil.

How was the band formed?

Our drummer had a few songs and wanted to form a band to play them. He used to play with our keyboard player in another band and they got together with other people to make this wish real. After that, everybody started composing and giving their contribution to the music. Lots of people came in and out, but right now, we are just three!

What are your influences?

We have influences from all kinds of arts: cinema, music, theatre, videogames, comic books, fashion. In general, we like pop with a little of pepper.

What have you released?

We have released two demo cds ("Devaneio Sideral" and "Dadio de Outono Demo-EP") and an EP also called "Rádio de Outono"

Are there more releases on their way?

Yeah! Right now we are looking for financial support to record a full album. We already have the songs, but not the money! =) we hope that we can release it at the end of the year.

Whats the music scene like in brazil, are there many bands like yours?

We have a strong music scene here in Brazil, especially in our town. In Brazil there are lots of pop bands, some strictly commercial, other that are more conceptualists, etc., but not here in Recife. Down here, the most part of the bands look for something mixed with regional rhythms. And if you go to other State and say that you´re from Recife, people expect you to be like this.

Only in the last 5 years bands that have other influences, like us, have been reaching their space on this scene. It´s worth it!

What are you singing about?

We sing about things that bother us, that concern us, that make us happy, worried or sad! Our "hopes and fears" as Keane would say. It´s mostly about the human being and the things that are inside him.

Where can people buy your album/s?

Our demos are sold out and our EP is almost there. I don´t even have one anymore. But you can find it on http://www.submarino.com.br/ and later, in our site store.

Get some mp3s in my first post
Visit Radio de Outono on Myspace
Visit their official page (still somewhat lacking in content)

and watch "Além de Razão" if you haven't already, and if you have, watch it again!

Germany's Firestation Records label has released a new EP from The Bodines! It's titled Shrinkwrapped and features three unreleased tracks from 1988. The track listing is Shrinkwrapped, With You and Wake Up And Smell The Coffy - their spelling not mine!

You can order it from the label direct for just 7 euros.

I have a site dedicated to the Bodines at Slip Slide. I will need to update the discography now! Birdpoo also have an excellent Bodines site on line. Finally there is an unofficial My Space page here.

Austin Sound, the independent music source for Austin in Texas, estimate that there are at least 1,500 bands that call Austin home. With SXSW on the horizon the site have decided to put together a download compilation of some of the best bands from the Austin and have called it Sound Advice Vol. I: The Start of Something. Yes that is a title of a Voxtrot song and no they are not on it! To read more about the bands, track listing and to download the 21 track compilation head here.

Talking about SXSW if you have the connection speed there is a, gulp, 3.1gb bit torrent mp3 compilation featuring most, if not all the bands, playing at SXSW this year. That's 739 mp3s. Get it here.

Roadside Poppies, who I last wrote about in June last year when they were a one-man bedroom indie pop project, have now become a fully flourished band. They have made available an album they recorded for the RPM project titled One Day You Won't Feel A Thing. The purpose of the challenge was to record an album within 28 days. The Roadside Poppies results can be found here.

A Journey Down The Well are a Swedish/Turkish post rock trio who have made their album, the rather gloomy titled The Funeral Album, available as a free download. You can stream and download the album from the bands page on Last FM where one comment is that the album is sad and somewhat disturbing. Alternatively you can download it as one large rar file from here.

Liechtenstein have released their long awaited début single on the Fraction Discs label called Stalking Skills. It is backed by Craving and Fallen Heroes.

You can order direct from Fraction Discs or if you are in the UK it is being sold by Rough Trade & Norman Records.

Liechtenstein - Stalking Skills

Just been wandering around the Multiply site and have found these sessions and tracks all related to Ron Johnson Records. I cannot remember the site where a writer who was responding to a post stated that the bands on the C86 tape were a sub genre of twee. If I did I would point them to this lot!

Note: You will need to register with multiply before downloading.

Bogshed - Peel Session 04/11/1985
Bogshed - Unreleased Tracks
Bogshed - Stop Revolving 7"
Mackenzies - Peel Session 20/07/1986
Mackenzies - Peel Session 21/01/86
Big Flame - Peel Session 17/11/1985

Loads more C86 and eighties indie related downloads here.