Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring are a band from South London. They played at Indietracks last weekend - but I managed to miss them as I was enjoying a solo set from Rowena Dugdale (Santa Dog) aboard a a steam train at the time. I digress - back to Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring - they have a single out at the moment called 'A Question of Trust' - which is a great indiepop record, where the male lead vocals are more in line with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. This is simply great music recalling Voxtrot to these ears. The B side is called 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' and it's less guitar driven - it's rather hypnotic though - as strings and bells chime before the singers distinctive voice comes in. The single is released on Marketstall Recordings and is available as a CD/7" as well as downloads from Emusic (amongst others, no doubt).

The band have also launched a new website recently and it promise to have 'free' downloads and stuff up soon. On the site they do currently have a link to buy a lost LP 'These Are Our Songs, We Wrote Them For You' which was recorded by a smaller and earlier incarnation of the band. You can stream the entire LP here.

Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring - My Space - Website

Prolapse came from Leicester in England. They formed in 1991. I first became aware of the band sometime in the mid 90s after hearing the band on the John Peel radio show. As always, I searched out the LP that was currently out. As it happens it was 1997's 'The Italian Flag'. I was hooked. I then found as much of their back catalogue as possible. But what did Prolapse sound like?

Initially I was drawn to the band by the mix of male and female vocals. The gruff male vocals came from one Mick Derrick. Who wasn't from Leicester at all. He's Scottish. As you can tell when you hear Prolapse. The softer female voice was supplied by Linda Steelyard. The contrast between their voices is strangely hypnotic. But that doesn't tell the whole story of Prolapse and their sound. Ferocious guitars and tight rhythms combined to produce a cacophony of sound. Add to this the band's desire to do more than 3 minute pop songs - you had a recipe for a band that had a fairly unique sound - but oddly not having a sound that was always the same. They had a range to their sound. If you want comparisons with other bands - The Fall, Sonic Youth, Joy Division and 'French Disko' era Stereolab spring to mind. But Prolapse will always be something a little different to the sum of their influences. They really are one of the great 'lost' bands. There was an intelligence to the band and the words that they sung. Prolapse were one of those rare breed of bands that were instantly recognisable as themselves. No one else could sound like this.

As I have already mentioned I started with the bands most critically and commercially successful LP - 'The Italian Flag'. To this day it remains one of my all time favourite records. It has melody. It has noise. It has tunes. It also has a desire to dare. It's not an LP of verse chorus verse. Although there are times when Prolapse can do the straight forward like on the single 'Autocade' for one. But the beauty of the LP for me is clash between songs and noise and the way the band use tension, aggression and softness in equal measure. Guitars are used to dispense shattering bursts of noise. But they are also used to keep the songs tuneful.

After falling in love with the Prolapse sound in 1997 I was lucky enough to see the band play a shitty little music festival in Swansea. They were a compelling live band - the difference between the tall Mick and the small Linda only heightened the tension that their vocal duels created. It was a shame this was mid afternoon and most of the crowd were waiting for the latest indie darlings. I was transfixed. By this time I had already got my hands on their older CDs - 'Pointless Walks To Dismal Places' (1994) and 'Back Saturday' (1995). Both of these are interesting CDs. It's nowhere near the finished article that came later on. There were more experimental soundscapes and a little less 'production' - but I came to love these CDs nearly as much as I did 'The Italian Flag' .

After I discovered the band they only released one more LP - 'Ghosts Of Dead Aeroplanes' in 1999. Initially I was underwhelmed by the record and it was soon filed in the CD shelves and forgotten. Well not forgotten, just, y'know if I got the urge to hear Prolapse I'd play one of the earlier CDs. But that's changed over the past few years - as it became apparent that the band were no more - I returned to their final LP. And it is a less violent sounding release than 'The Italian Flag' but it has a beauty and other-worldly feel to it - that draws me into the sound. It's certainly a return to longer songs and soundscapes that came before.

Before today I had always been searching for the two early EPs - 'Doorstop Rhythmic Bloc' and 'Pull Thru' Barker' - but I discovered that they're now available to buy from the Cherry Red download store. That hasn't ended my hunt for Prolapse goodies - as there are countless other 7"s and EPs that I need to find. But getting these tracks today has made my day.

Prolapse have a small presence on the web - My Space and Prolapse - the my space page has songs for streaming and a couple of cracking videos to view.

I've also uploaded a few MP3s. This is a band you should hear. And if you like them, track down their CDs. They're worth it.

Prolapse - Autocade (from The Italian Flag)
Prolapse - Adiabatic (from Ghosts Of Dead Aeroplanes)
Prolapse - Doorstop Rhythmic Bloc (Single Version)

Just a quick note to mention that The Besties are currently driving, probably on the right side of the road, around Britain, and playing some shows. Tonight they will be in Nottingham, playing at The Rescue Rooms with A Ribbon and a Smile and The Deirdres.

Tomorrow they will appear at The Brixton Windmill in London, also with A Ribbon and a Smile and The Paralellograms and Fosca. On thursday they're scheduled to play in Cardiff, Wales, and August 7th should see them in The Loft in Cambridge with Roadside Poppies.

More details are on their myspace page. You can buy tickets to the Brixton Windmill show here.

Seeing as my Lostmusic site is going offline shortly (not sure exactly when) - I thought I would take the chance to repost this recent review of The Haircuts.

I picked this CD up a couple of months back. It is released on Yellow Mica Recordings - it's a rather wonderful indie pop record - with a lovingly lo-fi appeal. The band consist of two people Teresa and Ryan. Ryan is from the US, and Teresa is from canada. They have never met in person. All the songs were recorded with a 4-track cassette recorder, and the tapes then sent in the mail to be complete by the respective Haircut.

So, with this collaborative approach you might expect a disjointed affair - but that is far from the case "Sorrow is the Way to Love" is a rather beautiful record with deadpan male vocals and achingly thin (which are gorgeous because of it) female vocals - all put to a fuzzy pop backbeat. This is the type of sound that I fall for. Everytime.

The Haircuts have made an LP that clocks in at about 20 minutes long. 10 songs. A prefectly formed record. It says on their My Space that they have no plans to record 'together' again - but they haven't ruled it out. I, for one, hope they do record again. This is simply too good to be a one off.

The Haircuts on My Space

The Indie Tracks Festival takes place at the Midlands Steam Railway in Butterly in England's glorious Peak District which is complete with rides on trains from a long lost era.

Firstly we have to get the one big negative out the way which was the actual numbers of paying punters. There wasn't many and estimates ranged to as high as 150 and it seemed that band members out numbered paying punters at every turn. However those who stayed away missed a treat.

It all kicked off on in the re-erected Church by The Felt Tips who were missing their drummer through injury. This was the only band I saw who I hadn't seen before and their jangle pop warrants further investigation especially the new single on Cloudberry (yep that label - again!). We then headed off to the main stage which was situated in an old engine shed complete with concrete dust to catch The Loves. Even at this early stage the bands were running late and The Loves seemed subdued, banter free and I missed their usual swagger. Playing in front of less than 20 people didn't help matters.

The crowds swelled slightly for The Hermit Crabs who were fine and their blend of folky inspired indie pop was just what was needed as the sun was breaking through the sheds skylights. The band played a tight set but they still don't have a better song than the recent single Feel Good Factor. I personally think they needed to step up a gear even if it is to just shrug off the Camera Obscura clone descriptions.

Due to the late running on the main stage we only caught the last two and a bit songs by The San Marinos and their politically tinged indie pop. The best of the two songs was about a strike in Poland. Solidarnosc!


Santa Dog were next up on the main stage and I think their rockier sound was a bit too much for same of the tweest members of the audience who soon fled. Not that it bothered the band who seemed to enjoy themselves and Rowena was letting more yelps loose than you could hear in a puppy farm. At their recent Luminaire gig the rockier aspects of the songs drowned out their more delicate moments but in the vast engine shed the balance was just right especially on Chemical which sounded oh, so good!

Strange Idols were on next and they sauntered onto the stage like they owned the place. Singer Launette is certainly the Princess of indie pop resplendent with cape et al. If rumours are to be believed the band apparently moaned about their placing on the bill but justified their higher inclusion by not only assembling the largest crowd to date at the main stage but also by having a number of songs to match especially the singles It's No Fun and She's Gonna Let You Down Again. I think they may have won over the doubters as well. EDIT: See comments!


After the Strange Idols laid down the performance gauntlet Cats On Fire duly took up the challenge. Apparently devastating Nottingham's crowds the previous night the lads from the land of the midnight sun put in another excellent performance making them one of the best bands I have seen this year. Yes the band do have more than a hint of The Smiths about them but so what? They were shockingly effective and in singer Mattias Björkas they have a true star.

Bearsuit were far to noisy for their own good so it was back to the Church to see Rose McDowall who was one half of Strawberry Switchblade who, despite being far removed from indie pop, are now revered as goddesses of that genre for some reason. Despite covering Trees and Flowers I found McDowall's voice and West Coast alt-Americana a bit too much. By fleeing I missed her renditions of Since Yesterday and a cover of the Mary Chain's April Skies but somehow I didn't really care.

Now this may be controversial especially amongst their devout followers but Saturday's headline act The Orchids were simply awful and I would be doing an injustice to the review if I didn't say so. The band were signed to Sarah back in the day and were releasing music at the time I was beginning to lose interest in indie pop but nothing had prepared me for this, not even the recent lacklustre comeback album Good To Be A Stranger. They were oh so bland and were really one bar away from being Coldplay which is kind of ironic considering the media think they are the definition of indie music today. Yes there were people who appreciated the bands music in the crowd but I found it to be a very disappointing end to the bands for the day and judging by the dissent as we made our way to the bar I wasn't the only one to feel that way.

Thankfully the day finished with a few more beers from the local brewery based down the road in Ripley and a crowd pleasing indie pop by numbers set from Ian Watson of How Does It Feel To Be Loved before we wearily made our way back to the travel lodge to prepare for the next day. Tent? Moi?

Photo's courtesy of Trev (Lost Music). More here.

Hundreds of posts on the online Bowlie forum. Nearby Travel Lodges booked out weeks in advance. Speculative rumours about a surprise appearance from Stuart Murdoch. “Choo choo” train sounds from April still ringing in people’s ears. Tickets being sold on Ebay for, like, squizillions of pounds (OK, so I made that last one up). Surely, never has an indiepop shindig been so eagerly anticipated as this summer’s two day Indietracks festival – the long awaited follow-up to the highly successful one-dayer event in April at the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire.

The weekend started off feeling like an episode of Indiepop on Location crossed with some kind of secret mystery assignation. I spent an inordinate amount of time spotting people usually never seen outside the confines of dark basement clubs and referring to people by their Bowlie forum alter egos – “I’m meeting Stolen Fish outside the Church Stage at midnight, don’t forget to bring Crystal Maze” and so on…… All the lovely railway volunteers were out in force, willingly harassed by bands seeking extra audience members and more than happy to direct hungry kids to the nearest cheeseburger/toilet/railway memorabilia shop. The weather stayed fine apart from some light drizzle on Saturday night, the nearby Golden Valley campsite was superb (pop fact: it has a special award from David Bellamy) and I have it on good authority that Alfreton Travel Lodge was positively luxurious.

But anyway, the bands. Forty of them, according to the lovingly-designed programme. I arrived just in time to watch the fantastic Pete Green play in the rather elderly Church Stage, which actually was just that – a church. It felt a little blasphemous to be drinking alcohol while seated on a pew, but somehow it perfectly complemeted Pete’s irreverent sense of humour, which shone through in songs such as “I haven’t got a My Space….” and “Share your Kit”. He had even written a song especially for Indie Tracks, “Hey Dr Beeching”, about Dr Richard Beeching, former Chairman of the 1960s British Railway Board, who apparently ordered mass closures of railways whilst at the same time having shares in road haulage. The song, strongly recalling Billy Bragg at his finest, described how festival goers were turning the “axe” back on Beeching by using the steam railway once more. Personally, I felt Pete was the first act to really embody the sense of community which prevailed throughout the entire weekend, and I enjoyed the set so much I saw him again on the steam train on Sunday – this time with a “choo choo” whistle firmly held in hand!

Other highlights on the Saturday were Cats on Fire, who looked as fantastically handsome as ever and who got the crowd clicking their heels in time to their Smiths-y indiepop take on rhythm and blues. Electronic duo Arthur and Martha were similarly fab in the Church Stage, and alcohol/religious fervour even prompted some electronica lovers to start boogying in the aisles to Music for Hairproducts. Later, The Bobby McGees played an absolutely compelling set on the train, with Jimmy and Eleanor staring manically into each other eyes as they strummed expertly along to comic classics such as No Friends and Billy n Trace. Unfortunately I missed their Sunday performance, when they were resplendent in full costume, but I hear they were great. Headliners for the evening were The Orchids who, having not heard them the first time round, I was a little unsure of. I only caught the last half of their set, and although what I did hear sounded pleasantly jangly, I think I need to carry out further investigation in this area - I’m willing to be educated! The Saturday evening ended with an expertly judged disco by How Does it Feel to be Loved? DJ Ian Watson, who pulled some amusing Fatboy Slim-style arms-in-the-air moves as he exorted the kids to dance along to his selection of Motown classics, The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, Hefner and the like, with a couple of train songs thrown in for good measure. My leg muscles are still recovering even now.

And so to Sunday, which was mainly a day of catching snatches of sets that I wished I’d had more time to see. Stephenhero, aka Patrick Fitzgerald from Kitchens of Distinction, brought something a little different to the festival. Armed with only sunglasses, a suit and a piano, his set proved a perfect mid-afternoon wind-down of poetic references and dreamlike melodies. Playing songs from his new album “57 stars of the air almanac” and older tunes alike, he dedicated one song to organiser Stuart and was of many bands to do so throughout the weekend. The Cut Outs also broke the indiepop mould, playing scuzzy yet melodic garage rock which made me want to drink American beer and wear sunglasses indoors. But the crowds were clearly ripe for a good old sing-along, and Pocketbooks were happy to lead the way on a packed-out steam train. Their sing-along set- complete with songsheets and home-made shakers I might add – included Be My Baby, Ticket to Ride and Happy Hour, as well as some of their own material. It was just indescribably heart-warming to look round and see so many happy, enthusiastic faces. And the sing-along mood continued long into the night – with Darren Hayman playing the best of Hefner, The French and his solo work – how could it not? Hello Kitten, Caravan Song, Porn Shoes, Hymn for the Cigarettes, Hymn for the Alcohol……Darren and his ukulele were on fine form, the kids wanted more and he was happy to oblige. At this point I have to admit that I missed most of the subsequent Pop Miswig disco due to getting caught up in a very heated conversation about worms with Matloob from the Roadside Poppies (suffice to say, I discover that they live longer if you starve them) but I still found time to lose my voice to an impromptu after-hours Belle and Sebastian sing-along outside the main stage. It was all at once happy and sad – a perfect moment but one inevitably that had to end.

Apparently there’s a Christmas Twee Indietracks event planned for December. Jingle bells are clearly going to have to be bought for the inevitable Christmas carol sing-alongs, cagoules need to be upgraded to parkas and there's hotel rooms to book and ridiculous rumours to start. There’s already so much planning to do - see you there!

You can see pictures from the festival here.

More Reviews:

Saturday 28th July 2007
Sunday 29th July 2007

Traditionally the second wave of any movement washes up all the dregs and I guess we’re at that point in the boys with angular guitars movement. Trouble is, for those slow off the mark, it’s easy for good bands to get lost among the second wave rubbish. And that’s the problem Good Books face, for they are a fine band indeed. Maybe they stand out because they are much more rounded musically, any rough edges clipped off, without losing their edge.

Any band that has a song as excellent as Beautiful To Watch to lead off the album is onto a winner. That they follow it immediately with The Illness, a soaring Bloc Party style tune but with more life than that band, and Passchendaele, which is maudlin pop infected with scratchy fighting bits, just shows the quality of the tunes they have.

Good Life Salesman has a cool indie swagger and a restrained solo and Violent Man Lovesong is quite laid back, like a minimal Death Cab For Cutie. The rest, while all rather good passes by in a blur. One imagines repeated listens would display the beauty of these tracks too.

There’s nothing complex or challenging about The Lodger’s debut album, but they use this to their advantage, producing an album of catchy and melodic indie pop, that has elements of twee but is slightly more together and stronger.

Lead track Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion is a jangle pop classic; imagine a male fronted Tallulah Gosh; it’s a great way to kick off the album. Getting Special sounds like an indie Electronic and A Free Period evokes all the freedom of the lyrics with a chirpy tune and happy go lucky vocals. Watching shimmies and glides like all the best indie pop does, while Bye Bye would make a wonderful album closer, being dreamy and strung out. Oddly someone has seen fit to sneak another track on after it.

There’s the odd slightly lacklustre track like Simply Left Behind, but they only seem like this due to the high quality of the rest of the album. Over fourteen tracks that’s a remarkable feat.

The Lodger MySpace
The Lodger website (where you can buy the album)
Download Kicking Sand from the album here
Download three more tracks from the album via Slumberland Records.

I have just seen the new release schedule from the rather wonderful Matinée Records. And it looks a little bit special - bands Tom and I have championed over the past few years are all set to get releases on Matinée.

So what do they have in store for us?


First up is going to be an EP by Bubblegum Lemonade - it will feature these four songs - 'Ten Years Younger' (which is available to stream on the Matinée site), 'The Tomorrow People', 'Unsafe at Any Speed' and 'That Thing You Do.' This is going to be one of the records of the year - a fine slice of old style indie - think Razorcuts mixed with 85 era Mary Chain and you are getting close. Beautiful stuff.

If it wasn't enough that Bubblegum Lemonade are finally getting a release - Matinée follow this up with a debut EP from Strawberry Whiplash. The EPs track listing is nearly finalised and will include 'Who's In Your Dreams?' along with 'Factory Girl' and 'My Day Today' and a mystery fourth track. 'Who's In Your Dreams' is available for streaming on the Matinée sounds page as well. If you have not heard Strawberry Whiplash before you are in for a treat. They're like the best bits of c86 rolled up into a decidely lovely ball of indiepop.

Ok, those two releases alone would be enough to keep me going. But Matinée don't let up - and the next release is going to be by The Electric Pop Group. The 'I Could See The Lights' EP is going to feature four new songs. Joy. As anyone who saw the band play the Lostmusic Presents night back in June can testify - they are simply one of the best bands on the planet at the moment. If the new songs are as strong as 'My Only Inspiration' which is featured on the bands My Space page - we are in for a treat.

[Matinée News]
[Matinée Sounds]
[Bubblegum Lemonade]
[Strawberry Whiplash]
[The Electric Pop Group]

The latest Lost Music Presents night saw a part of London's Pentoville Road become a mini Cymru for the night!

Little My are an Anglo-Welsh nine piece, drawing their members from a range of Cardiff & Bristol bands. They just about managed to fit on the small stage at London's Clockwork. The band, who for some reason were all wearing animals ears, had problems with the sound that plagued their set throughout but this didn't stop them making an impression, gimmicky ears or not!

This was their first appearance in London and they were in town to promote their new single on the Wee Pop label. The band , who were joined from Liz from The School on backing vocals, played short and sweet indie pop tunes which put smiles on the audience faces. They draw their influences from a range of bands and this is reflected on their new EP which consists entirely of covers. Like most indie pop bands I have a preference for when the female vocalist takes over and songs like Sellotape My Hands are still imprinted in my head the morning after! Hopefully they will come back to London soon.

I admit with the sound problems I feared for The Pocketbooks based on some of their previous live appearances I have caught. However those fears were soon proved wrong as the sound problems cleared and they put in their possibly best performance to date. The practice and experience from their continuous live performances is paying off at last.

Andy Pocketbooks has always seemed to be nervous live but now he, and the rest of the band, are much more confident and this has meant his vocals are much stronger than before. More interestingly it seems that Emma is now the dominant force in the boy/girl vocal department and this could possibly be one reason why the band seems to sound assertive tonight especially on recent single Cross The Line which sounded like it should have done on the vinyl version. They even got an rapturous encore request but like all the good bands they didn't play one. Excellent!

Cardiff's The School have recently signed a two album deal with the Spanish label Elefant Records so they may not be playing venues of this size for much longer.

The School play a lovely blend of girl group inspired and indie pop music. I have previously described them as Camera Obscura produced by Phil Spector. Like Little My earlier in the evening they use the glockenspiel to great effect bringing a delicate beauty to their songs such as Valentine and All I Wanna Do. More smiles throughout and worth getting detention for!

I didn't catch that much of the headliners Radio Luxembourgs set hence the lack of a review. Of the two songs I did catch I think this North Welsh band want to cross the border to Liverpool such is their similarity to bands such as Hot Club De Paris and The Wombats albeit with a more rockier sound.

An excellent night with a lovely feel good atmosphere. Let's hope it's carried over to this weekends indie tracks festival.

[Little My on My Space]
[Pocketbooks on My Space]
[The School On My Space]
[Radio Luxembourg on My Space]
[Lost Music Presents on My Space]

Dah Da Candy is the solo project of one Kmarl who is 27 years old and hails from Kobe, Japan. Although he's the only member of the band, he occasionally performs live with a support band. His music is as Shoegaze as it gets, with obvious influence from My Bloody Valentine, but he also cites Smashing Pumpkins and Primal Scream as his favorite bands.

He's released one album in 2006 called Ghost Rider. It's a CD-R and can be ordered here, although I have a bit of a problem understanding everything on that page, and certanly have no idea what button to click to submit the order. At any rate he has a plethora of songs available for download on his Myspace page. A few of my favorites are included here. I might add that I am particularily fond of "Red Flower".

Thanks to Milk Milk Lemonade blog for pointing out this band in an excellent post about Shoegaze.

Dah Da Candy - Moon Light Shower
Dah Da Candy - Red Flower
Dah Da Candy - Cowberry
Dah Da Candy - Vapor Lifts Me Up

Kmarl is also working on another project called Acid Lily which I still haven't checked out properly.

Dah Da Candy on Myspace

Fresh from releasing their mammoth Summer mp3 sampler Labrador have released the second single from Pelle Carlberg's recent In A Nutshell album as a free download.

The first single I Love You, You Imbecile, is also available as a free mp3 download.

Pelle Carlberg - Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls
Pelle Carlberg - I Love You, You Imbecile

[My Space link]

Laluvalera is an independent site offering free compilations featuring independent bands in the hope that you may buy some of the artists records, t-shirts or simply to go ahead and discover more about them.

There is no catch and the latest compilation features the likes of the All Girl Summer Fun Band and Shelley Barratt amongst others.

On another note is this the start of the baggy revival? Erm, rave on?! Expect to see a release on Shelflife at some point.

Swedish indie popsters Irene release a free download single called By Your Side on August 1st 2007. The band have also just finished recording their new album Long Gone Since Last Summer which is due for a September release in Sweden.

The band will also be releasing their debut US recording in August on Twentyseven Records. This EP will feature Baby I Love Your Way and three more as yet unknown songs.

You can stream By Your Side via the bands My Space page.

If you have not done so previously download these songs now!

Irene - Stardust
Irene - Baby I Love Your Way
Irene - Little Things (That Tear Us Apart)

Apples Of The Earth are a post punk/grindcore band hailing from Portland, Oregon. Currently a two piece they may add to their line up at some point. They claim to sound like "drinking beer in the shower" but luckily their sound is not watered down in the slightest. Despite sounding lo-fi these songs pack a punch!

Their best song is one mans doomed romancing of a Pearl Jam fan.

Pearl Jam is all you ever wanted in a band. You bought all their record company issued live bootlegs from their old tour. Did you buy them for the Who covers, or because you wanted to hear "Daughter" as performed in Milan, Italy in the summer of 1998? Would you like me any better if I were Eddie Vedder. Yeah you would, and truthfully I would too. What's the song about the lonely woman behind the counter in the small town? I've not heard that one in years or if I did, neither I nor Jessica could remember it. What's the guitarists name anyway? Was it Mike? Did you like Yield versus the new album with the avocado on the cover? Did you buy it the first week it was out? I tried to get you in to Pavement and Built to Spill. I made you a CD-R of "There's nothing wrong with love," but I don't think you listened to it. So hey I give up, yeah I quit.

Apples Of The Earth - Pearl Jam Is Not A Good Band
Apples Of The Earth - One Fine Day

[My Space link]

Help Stamp Out Loneliness is the new band of Colm McCrory and Bentley Cooke both of whom are in The Language Of Flowers. Their My Space page continues that they were soon joined by Ben's wife Kasia Cooke on bass and Star & Garter aficionados Ben Ambridge and Louise Winfield on drums and organ respectively.

There are two songs available for streaming/downloading on the bands My Space page. Don't expect jangle pop here although as you can imagine some of those influences still rub off especially when it comes to the female vocals. However H.S.O.L lean more towards an organ based sound - Kraut rock indie pop anyone? Both songs go on slightly too long for me but there is plenty here to get excited about none more so on the instrumental Bubblegum which reminds me of Stereolab in more ways than one.

Help Stamp Out Loneliness - The Lino Heart
Help Stamp Out Loneliness - Bubblegum

The Sailplanes are a three piece who met and formed in London. A Second, Or Ten Years Later is their fifth release, being the first album. The band have described themselves experimental which here is another word for noise!

The album starts with all guns blazing with Strangers. The pace rarely slackens thereafter with clanging guitars dominating the proceedings which sees the eight tracks here clocking in under seventeen bruising minutes.

Amongst the harsh surroundings the music maintains a sense of purpose and I can make a out a beautiful melody or two. The vocals are surprisingly calm and low in tone but are still effective, none more so when Stacey sings. The best song here also happens to be the longest and during Indifference a poppier side of the band tries to make itself heard but is slowly beaten backwards by the aural tide.

If you like your pop music to be on the noiser side of things then I can heartedly recommend this especially as it is so enjoyable. Prepare to have your ears cleansed.....

The album is out now and can be purchased directly from the band.

[My Space link]

There is a whole host of information on Eugene Francis Jnr and the juniors on their My Space page. I am not sure how much of it to believe. The essence of the page states that the band hail from Cardiff. They are fronted by Eugene Francis Jnr. They call their sound 'folktronica'. The other band members may well be members of other Welsh bands. The band have a single being released on Monday 23rd July - "Poor Me" B/w "Kites". Both of which are top tunes. You can stream them on their aforementioned My Space page. You can also watch this video for 'Poor Me'.

Hari and Aino are a wonderful indie pop band hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. The band describe themselves as "a duo with five members". They have just released a new single on Cloudberry Records. The single contains three tracks packed with simple but delightful tunes with those girlie lead vocals I am a sucker for.

I don't know much about the band because the info on them is sparse to say the least or in Swedish. However they are ones for fans of Camera Obscura or The Hermit Crabs. In fact they are a band for indie pop fans everywhere.

Hari and Aino - Second Song

If you visit the bands My Space page you can download the other two tracks and get the EP for free. But you would rather have the 3" CDR in your hand wouldn't you?

We have a very exciting autumn at Labrador with new albums from Irene and Club 8 in September, Sambassadeur in October and The Radio Dept. in November. Til then, we hope you will enjoy our summer gift - the official Labrador Summer Sampler of 2007. Sixty eight of our favourite songs - from forgotten classics like Chasing Dorotea's "Anchor song" to the new Club 8 single "Whatever you want".

Download the MP3 sampler in zip-format here (336MB)

Enjoy and remember that September's not so far away. Have a good summer*!

Judging by the slowness of their site and the slow downloads Labrador are getting hammered. Good luck in trying to download it. They should had released it as a torrent file though.

EDIT: Labrador admit they over estimated the demand for this sampler and it is now available via Rapidshare. You may also want to know that most of these tracks are available separately via their sounds page or streamed via Last FM.

*Obviously they are unaware of the terrible weather we have had in the UK the past month!

WeePop! is a new label that has started to release tiny little gems of goodness all lovingly packaged in cutesy 3" cd singles. It's an ace idea. And so far the label has been spot on with their releases. Tom has already reviewed their debut single by The Roadside Poppies on this very site. The second release is by a band called Bugs Eat Books and they have even made an ace little video for the single - called Killers From The Start - click the link to see the video.

The third release on WeePop! is by Little My and it's simply called "Little My's Third" and it will contain four cover versions. Little My are playing at the next Lost Music Presents gig on 25th July - and this gig will also be the single launch. Tickets for the Lostmusic Presents #4 gig are still on sale for £4 from We Got Tickets. Also playing are Pocketbooks, The School and Radio Luxembourg. It's gonna be a top night of indiepop. Do come along.

Little My - Cute Guts

And if that's not enough head over Little My website to listen to plenty of more great little pop songs.

The Young Republic make swoonsome pop music. I picked up this 7" recently. Released on End of the Road records. They will be playing the festival of the same name in the UK in September.

Lead song 'Girl From The Northern States' comes over like Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura given a slight americana make over. This is sure to be a hit with those that like their indiepop lilting and gentle. Use of orchestration only adds to the grandeur capture within. The closest I have heard to this, this year, has been Glasgow's Butcher Boy. That's lofty company to keep and to my ears The Young Republic deserve to be mentioned in those circles.

Next up is 'Your Heart Belongs in Tennessee'. Another fine piece of pop music. A jaunty song that bounces along. A harmonica solo kicks in mid way through the song giving a clue to the folky roots that The Young Republic have.

'Seeing People You Know' continues in the same vain. Gently strummed guitars and a heavy folk pop leanings are dressed up in a beautifully arranged song. This is a great little single. Go and enjoy it.

Link - The Young Republic

I originally posted this review on my lostmusic.co.uk site.

It's Indie Tracks in a couple of weeks!

To get prepared here are some mp3's from some of the bands playing and unsurprisingly most have been featured on indie mp3 before. I will add more as I come across them.

The San Marinos - We're Beautiful
Santa Dog - Delicate
Electric Pop Group - She's Playing With Your Heart
Cats On Fire - Higher Ground
Pete Green - I Haven't Got a Myspace Because Myspace Fucking Sucks
Stars of Aviation - Marie et l'Accordeon
A Smile And A Ribbon - Book Cover
Wintergreen - Droning Starlight
Horowitz - Pop Kids Of The World Unite

Swedish jangle popsters A Smile and a Ribbon are on the road again in England & wales. The dates are as follows:

July 29th: A Smile and a Ribbon + almost every other decent band @ Indietracks festival, Derbyshire

July 31th: Tasty Fanzine & Don't Start Feeling All *Romantic* presents The Besties + A Smile and a Ribbon + The Deidres @ The Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

August 1st: Spiral Scratch presents Fosca + The Besties + A Smile and a Ribbon + The Parallelograms @ The Brixton Windmill, London

August 2nd: R-R-R-R-Rollergirl presents The Besties + A Smile and a Ribbon + Silence At Sea + The School @ O'Neill's, Cardiff

This is my review of the band at a previous gig. Mighty fine they were too! It also gives me a chance to post their tracks again which is one of the easier choices I have to make!

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

[My Space link]

I'd like to introduce you to Kimono, an Icelandic band seemingly very interested in Japanese culture. Formed in 2001 they released their debut album, Mineur-Agressif, in 2003 on Bad Taste. This album included an impressive song called "Japanese Policeman". A whopping 6 minutes long and consisting mainly of intertwining guitars which escalate into an orgy of noise, it has been accompanied by a doozy of a video which I present to you here. Unfortunately I have, upon repeated tries, failed to be enthralled by the rest of the album, though it undoubtedly has it's moments.

To fully appreciate the bloodbath and the various manga references I recommend you get the widescreen format .mov file from the website, however should it suit you better you can watch the somewhat squashed YouTube version here:



Get the Hi-Res 40 MB .mov file
Get the Lo-Res 12 MB .mov file
Kimono.is
Kimono on Myspace

Bonus MP3:

Kimono - Aftermath (from the album Arctic Death Ship, 2005)

I'd like to mention here that the good people in Secret Shine will be playing in Blekingska Nationes in Lund, Sweden, on September 28th. By that time they will be finishing a new album which will probably see the light of day in January 2008.

The band would ideally also like to play in Copenhagen while they're at it, and would like to hear from any promoter interested in arranging a gig there on September 29th. So should you be a danish promoter with an appetite for some juicy shoegazing, email scott @ secretshine.co.uk.

Bricolage continue paying homage to all things Postcard Records on The Waltzers as well as 1960's soul, the kind of which Orange Juice died for.

It is the floor stomper Franz Ferdinand should have made had they taken it to the next level whilst the flip side Our Fires Are Electric sound likes like The Tornados having a right ol' knees up in a 1960 East End boozer.

If these two tracks are a taster for the début album then things are starting to look very bright indeed!

The Waltzers is released on 30th July on Memphis Industries.

[My Space link]

It is hard to shake off the impression that you are listening to a split single featuring two different bands with the debut single release from The Roadside Poppies.

These two different sides emerge via the differing influences of the two singer/songwriters. One side of the coin is a indie pop band not to dissimilar to the Pocketbooks whilst the other side sees more of a Beatles influence.

The former wins the day for me especially on Just Another Love Song which sees girl/boy vocals, melodies and harmonies as per the indie pop template. Whilst sounding like two different bands may demonstrate the musical abilities of the band I am wondering if it will result in an identity crisis at some point! Until then just let Just Another Love Song be part of your summer soundtrack.

The Cycling and Crying EP is out now on Wee Pop!

[My Space link]
[Stream the EP via Last FM]

Anyone whose influences include The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, Tiger Trap, The Muffs and Beat Happening amongst others, as The 75s are, will get my ears cocked in their direction.

This is girly punk music stripped back to the bare basics with more than a hint of a vintage K Records sound tunefully dispatched amongst the chords. Nice!

The 75s - Finders Keepers

[My Space link]

Tack! Tack! Tack! is a club dedicated to Swedish music and they have been putting on monthly nights at London's Social for a while now. Tonight it was the turn of the electro pop side of things.

I have seen a range of sights at gigs these past twenty odd years but I have never seen an act using their mobile phone as their sole source of instruments which is exactly what Mikael Carlsson aka The Honeydrips did tonight.

Despite having some excellent songs taken from the recent Here Comes The Future album this was a pretty subdued affair due to the lack of activity on stage. The electronic beats coupled with Carlsson's laid back vocal style made rewarding listening for those who knew the songs but visually it was poor with Carlsson resulting to some pretty dreadful Andy McCluskey style dancing. Hopefully that will not cost the Honeydrips the following they deserve - technology eh?

No such problem with The Tough Alliance who put on one of the most amusing spectacles I have seen for a while.

The band play a mean and energetic brand of synth pop. Forget the fact that they mimed through most of their 20 odd minutes this was well worth catching. There was no sign of the fracas which have seen shows in their native Gothenburg banned but the bands interaction with the crowd, pounding beats and their non stop dancing left us with a huge smile on our faces. The fact that they played such a short set meant it was almost perfect although as some of the music strayed into Whigfield territory towards the end we can mark them down a point or two.

It was an entertaining night. If they keep this up Tack! Tack! Tack! will certainly see me and no doubt many others again.

[Honeydrips on My Space]
[The Tough Alliance on My Space]
[Tack! Tack! Tack! on My Space]