Is it me or the indiepop world has gotten very quiet after Indietracks? There are really no “current topics”, are there? From this month until perhaps next year we won’t be seeing any other indiepop festival. Berlin Popfest is no more right? Wait, there is Manchester Popfest next month. But then after that, that’s it. The year is over for the indiepop fan we all have inside.

I’ve been feeling like having a bit of a vacation too. From the blog and the world. I usually take a vacation during the summer but I’m not this year. I feel restless. My next vacations are in October and November. I should have spaced them out a bit better. In the meantime I should work on the next releases. The 7″s that are in the pipeline, with The Color Waves having a release next month, and also the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen series.

In the next few weeks I’ll start planning the next and final Cloudberry fanzine set to be released next year. The podcasts stopped all of a sudden and I’m very sorry about that. I haven’t got the helping hand for putting together the different bits and pieces of the audios no more. I don’t have the time or the skills to do this by myself and so, unless some good Samaritan out there wants to take care every month of putting 35+ mp3 snippets together, well, let me know.

The last week also saw a sudden surge of activity in the indiepop-list. Topic being, once again, vinyl vs. CD vs. Mp3. Throw in the discussion some ‘capitalism’ and ‘comfort’, and well, it all felt like I was getting spam every couple of minutes. It’s a discussion that never ends. I believe the conversation started with the idea that this vinyl ‘resurrection’ of the last few years was just a fad and that it was only the big labels that were taking advantage of it. I tend to agree with this. I love vinyl, but I know all of what has been happening, all those articles saying “the comeback of vinyl”, “vinyl sales are up this year”, etc, etc, are just a fad that will pass in a couple of years if not less.

Collectors will be collectors. And so we will continue to buy records, in any format, it doesn’t matter really. We just want to interact with our music, have the whole discography, order tidily our shelves. In a nutshell, be happy. Then the rest, that are buying vinyl because it’s cool to have the latest reissue of whatever 70s band to decorate their hip apartment’s living room, with a vintage turntable and all, well they’ll move on to something else. Candles perhaps. Or whatever.

Collectors are an species in extinction. We are being told that less is more for the last decades. To have less at home is good. The term hoarder is so popular now. So you need to feel good. Feng shui, and all that nonsense. So yeah, this trend will continue. The brainwash will continue. Spotify playlists will continue for the regular music lover, who are by far the majority. And that’s how it will be. Everyone knows this.

Paying $35 for an LP is outrageous. Still, I do it. I shouldn’t though. I’m supporting a wrong model. I would be cool to spend $10 on a CD including the same songs. Makes more sense. But some labels try to milk the fad by releasing on vinyl. They copy the big label model. There are some excellent labels though that still release in both formats, like Shelflife or Slumberland, making it all very fair.

I think indiepop should be more about the ideals of economy, of what’s right for the fans. That was the whole Sarah revolution, wasn’t it? Releasing 7″ singles instead of fancy glossy 12″ singles that sold for double the price or so with the same amount of songs and perhaps a stupid remix.

It’s a difficult topic this. We don’t know what will happen next week aside that there will be less and less sales, less and less collectors. Should we think outside the box? Surrender to the digital format? I wonder. Every year we question the status of the music industry. In the end all discussions seem to be worthless. Everyone says they love and prefer vinyl records, but you know what, it’s about supporting and buying the records, not just saying it.

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I’ve been checking the past two weeks compilations that I want to have in my collection. Some of them very obscure that I have no idea they existed a month ago. Many of them listed as indiepop just because one or two tracks in them will fall in that category whereas the rest of the songs are just random. Online sellers are very tricky.

There are other compilations that I can’t really judge. That I haven’t heard the rest of the songs but because of the name of the bands I have big doubts that the whole of it is indiepop. For example the compilation called “Humber Beat” that doesn’t even appear on Discogs.

Rateyourmusic does have it listed. It was a 1987 release on Criminal Records (catalogue CRTWR 001). It includes 14 songs, and one of them is from this band that I want to introduce you today, That Noble Porpoise.

Okay, so it’s not a noble purpose. But a porpoise. What is a porpoise?

Porpoises (also called mereswine) are small cetaceans of the Phocoenidae family; they are small toothed whales very closely related to oceanic dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word “porpoise” has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen. The most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins.

Kind of strange to name your band because of an obscure animal. The song on this compilation was “Hand in My Head”. Other bands in the compilation are Treasure Berries (sounds like an indiepop band, no?), The First Time, Billy Earth, Product of Reason, Fandango, Taboo, Mike Bawn, Armoured Heart, Chatterland, Kestrel, Radio, 12 Guilty Men, and The Diseased. Well, to be honest, I’m not familiar with any of these bands. Any help would be appreciated here!

There is an old SoundCloud page though, owned by Evan Barryman, where the whole “Extended Play” by That Noble Porpoise  is uploaded. There are then four songs, the aformentioned “Hand in My Head”, “Trip”, “Someone came to The House”  and “Drowning Inspiration”.

The artwork of the tape does have a porpoise for you wondering.

If you click on each of the songs you’ll get the full lyrics for them. Also we learn that all of the songs were penned by Evan Barryman. Would be nice to get in touch.

Keep digging. I find another band member’s name: Jonah Lacey-Hatton. Wikipedia lists him as part of the Hull band The Planet Wilson, that included members from the Red Guitars. Does this mean that the band hailed from Hull?

Then on 2012 article on the Scunthorpe Telegraph I find another band member’s name: Alex Ogg. It says that because of a book he co-wrote called The Art of Punk he was going to have a space in the Tate Gallery. In the same article it mentions he used to be part of That Noble Porpoise as a bassist and mentions that the band was actually from Winterton.

Winterton is a small town in North Lincolnshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Scunthorpe. The 2011 census found 4,899 inhabitants, in 2,001 households. Major north-south/east-west streets of Winterton are Market Street and Northlands Road. Winterton is near to the banks of the Humber and is 8 miles (13 km) south-west of the Humber Bridge which can be seen from many parts of the town.

On an interview on the Mudkiss fanzine, Alex says: “ I think I played three gigs as second bass player in a group called That Noble Porpoise (taken from the line in the original Batman film) and a couple of gigs in a college band called The Men Who Couldn’t Play. That was it. I was terrible. If I’d been any good, I would have been a musician. I wasn’t, so I decided to write about it. You don’t have to tune a keyboard.”

Okay, so it wasn’t because of the animal the name of the band, but because of Batman. That’s two posts in a row that have a Batman connection!

Then, heading to Google Maps, it’s easy to notice that from Winterton to Hull there’s only 30 minutes drive. It’s all starting to make sense here. To get there you need to cross the Humber river. Okay, then it all makes sense, the compilation where they appeared was called “Humber Beat”. Safe to assume that all the bands in this compilation are from the area?

I end up in a page called MusicLincs. There are a bunch of Scunthorpe bands featured. I search for That Noble Porpoise and I learn they played the 1986 Scunthorpe Rock Open.

I couldn’t find any other information about this obscure band. So, if anyone out there could help me, with more info on the rest of the members, if there were any recordings or releases, even other gigs they played, that’d be great! Always good to learn more about these forgotten guitar pop bands!

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Listen
That Noble Porpoise – Someone Came to the House

While I watch Indietracks’ gigs on Youtube and I feel a terrible nostalgia when I see photos of my friends being washed by the English rain, I try to keep calm. So many summers in a row that I attended, that by skipping this one, my indiepop world feels very strange at the moment, like I’m missing a limb or something. There won’t be hundreds of photos to sort and post, there won’t be setlists to scan, or new records to listen. There won’t be extra pounds in my wallet to exchange at the bank. There won’t be any memories of warm beer or beans for breakfast. None of that. This is an odd summer.

Back in October 2013 I was interviewed by Mark Zonda for the Italian page Loft80 (here’s the Italian version). I want to share this interview here today. It’s summer, and it’s all so quiet that I kind of want to take a break on writing about indiepop news (there’s very little anyways). Hope you like it if you haven’t checked it out yet:

++ Hello Roque. You’re some kind of legend in the realm of indie-pop, but introduce yourself to all the other Italian readers of Loft80

Hey Mark! Thanks a lot. How are you doing? I’m not any legend at all. Indiepop is so tiny to have any legends. I’m just a big fan and a big supporter of the scene. Happy to answer any questions you have.

++ I’ve been to Gothenburg last year, and my greatest disappointment was not being able to find any Cloudberry Jam bottle. How did you decided to name your label after that delicacy

I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t like the taste of Cloudberry Jam much! I remember having it with pancakes in Stockholm and I had to go back to the lingonberry jam as I liked that much better. But just to keep the story straight I didn’t call it because of the jam, but just because of the berry. I thought the name was ace, Cloudberry. Most people don’t even know that sort of berry exists. Also, you know I’m a big fan of the band Cloudberry Jam, right? So, that had a lot to do with it. But the jam itself, nope.

++ So I was pretty safe from delusion not finding any in Sweden. Which are your favourite all time international dishes so far? Do you like cooking?

That’s a very difficult question. I’ll start by the end, I don’t like cooking. I don’t cook. I do love eating though. So, my favourite dish is called Ceviche. And it has to be Peruvian ceviche, because some other countries make it, but it’s not the same at all. That I could eat every single day and never get bored. I love many other dishes, like the Nepali momo, the Afghan manto, the Thai kua kling, the Yemeni fatah, the Malay sambal stingray, and so on. I could go on and on. I love food! And New York is great for that.

++ What did Cloudberry Records represent in the history of indie pop? Would it be appropriate to make comparisons to Sarah Records?

I can’t say what it represents. That would be very biased. I would prefer if you or any other fan tell what it represents. I do hope it represents something and that it has been inspiring in a form or another. I mean, it’s been almost 7 years running the label and there have been more than a hundred releases so, some sort of impact it must have had. Also many of the most beloved bands in indiepop in the last decade or so have had a connection with Cloudberry I think. So I would love to think it has a part in indiepop history. But as it’s a label that it is still alive it’s very hard to pinpoint what kind of place it has in such a history. So I leave that for you to answer 🙂

Comparison with Sarah? I don’t think that would be appropriate. No. Sure, fans will always compare this and that, and that’s cool. But every label is different. They have a different sound, a different perspective, different expectations, different people running them, and especially let’s say Cloudberry and Sarah, they’ve been around in different times. I don’t know how Cloudberry would have fared in the late 80s early 90s, or Sarah in the late noughties and early this decade. The times have changed so much that is hard to compare. I love Sarah records and they have been an inspiration in their aesthetics, so there might be some similarities, but I also love other labels like Heaven Records, Yay! or Fabulous Friends, to who I feel a bit closer to be honest.

++ Cloudberry have always been the main reference to tell what was good indie pop or not. I discovered (and collaborated) with a lot of artist thanks to your ability to find out new quality musicians and bedroom talents. Which was your favourite release so far?

I’m glad that I have helped in that way! I can’t say what’s my favourite release so far. I love them all. Though a special place in my heart have the Celestial 3″, the Twig 7″ and the Feverfew retrospective album, as they were the first I released in each of those formats.

++ Many years has passed when I first interviewed you. It was so cool meeting Kip from The Pains at Indietracks 2010, get to talk to him and telling me he read the interview we had on SleepWalKing Mag. You were telling me right from the start that The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Twig were the two main artists from your label that had the chance to make it. What happened ot Twig and which are your favourite nowadays?

That’s cool. I remember that interview too. It was fun.

What happened to Twig? Well, Henrik, the vocalist, lives in London now, and before he lived in New York for a year, while the rest of the band lives in Stockholm. So it became very hard for them to keep rehearsing and playing, and even recording. There is an album worth of songs written though and I hope at some point they get properly recorded as I know they are FANTASTIC. Hope that answers the question. Sometimes life gets in the way.

My favourite bands? Well, it’s usually the bands I have just released or will release in the near future. So lately I’ve been loving The Occasional Flickers, Boyish, Pale Spectres, Lost Tapes, Don’t Cry Shopgirl, and some more.

++ What’s your vision on independent music and trends nowadays?

I don’t follow much the rest of independent music, I’m mostly familiar with indiepop. So I can talk about that. I think it hasn’t changed much since last time we talked on the SleepWalking interview. I do think people got hurt with the raise of postage prices in the US and UK this year. So mailorders have become a bit more important. How I wish there was one in Italy for example. Indiepop festivals seem to still be pretty successful, and Im happy to know that Indietracks will still go for at least one more year. So I think it’s a healthy scene still.

Trends? Well, Spotify has become a major player it seems, especially in Europe. Sadly Spotify is no help really for bands or labels. So that’s kind of a bad trend haha. Platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud are much more fair. And I’m glad these are also used heavily. There are less and less blogs and pages that cover indiepop too. That’s a trend that is not that happy for all of us, on the other hand there are more and more indiepop Facebook groups where people are sharing their discoveries and any sort of questions. I’m not so sure what will happen next. Many thought digital would be reigning by now, but that hasn’t happened. I think music lovers still love their records.

++ Thank you so much Roque. It’s always a pleausure to talk to you. I hope to meet you at some festival sooner or later. And just one final tip: who shall I interview next?

Thanks to you. Yeah, come to NYC Popfest 2014 or Indietracks 2014. I plan going to those for sure. Who to interview next? Why not interview Firestation Records that have just released their 100 release celebrating 15 years of the label. They deserve the attention!

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Very obscure band today. One that I can’t find anything at all online. Who could help me?!

Even the page Irish Rock asks for help on this one. Yes, the Bruce Wayne Experiment were Irish and were around in the late 80s. I don’t even know if the rest of their output is indiepop! Though the one song that I’ve heard, “Turn Back”, does sound like one of those classic non-hit songs from an indiepop album from the mid, late 80s. A song that you wouldn’t be surprised to hear on a retrospective compilation of any of the bands featured on the Leamington Spa series.

Where does this song “Turn Back” come from? It was on Youtube. The only song I know they actually released was called “Midnight” and appeared on a compilation called “Something New… Something Blue” released in 1990 by the label New Eclipse Records (NE 007-2). It seems it was released both on tape and vinyl LP.

Well, at least people that have sold this record on eBay has marked it as indiepop/C86. We all know they kind of lie a bit sometimes, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. I haven’t heard all of the songs on the compilation (just one, and actually wasn’t indiepop).

On Irish Rock there’s a small blurb saying that all the bands in the release were unsigned at the time and that some of them aren’t all that new, that they had been playing for a few years. It also says that there’s pop and rock on the A side, while blues on the B side. Well, the Bruce Wayne Experience have the last song on the B side. Perhaps they were into blues after all?

The other bands that appeared on this compilation were Big Orange Peel, Local Contract, Dressed to Get Messed, The Quest, Red Hot Remembers, Dirty Tricks, Raw Novembre, Silverstreak, International Blues Band, Blue Ocean, Oliver Brothers Incorporated, Missing Digits and Mary Stokes Band.

Now, for those of you who are really clueless about everything and need to figure out who the hell Bruce Wayne is, well, he is not Superman, but he is Batman, alright?

Batman’s secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and owner of the company Wayne Enterprises. Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered with a sense of justice. Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime.

Safe to assume they liked comic books?

That’s all. I just ended up liking this song. Thought it makes for a good Monday song.

If you know anything else about them, please let me know, I’m always curious.

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Listen
Bruce Wayne Experience – Turn Back

It feels very strange not traveling to London this week. It doesn’t feel right. For the past four summers I’ve been going to Indietracks and this year I’m not. The festival starts this Friday, and I have all these mixed feelings going on. It’s odd. Very strange that I won’t be there, meeting with friends and having warm beer while catching some good bands. Good conversations, dancing over rocks and dust, and trying to survive the rain. The Alfreton Travelodge and it’s picnic table. The red taxicabs and the huge Tesco where one would stock with diet Irn Bru. I don’t know, but I will miss it very much. I’m very jealous of all of you. Believe me when I say it was a difficult decision to skip this year.

If I’ll go next year? I hope so. Every year the prices for traveling has been rising. Summer trips to England seem to be very popular. If I can afford it, and have the days off, I’ll do my best. I hope it keeps being organised too. I guess that’s my biggest nightmare, that suddenly they announce that this year was the last. I can’t miss the last one ever. That’d be such a heartbreak.

Last time around I said I wasn’t going to be talking about it anymore. Some friends and some other people got a bit offended by my criticism. That was sad. I was trying to point out some things that could be done better. Maybe I’m no one to be having an opinion, or just people don’t like listening to these sort of things. Anyhow, this year, many friends that are attending have been asking me what bands to check out. So forgive me, as this festival always makes me very passionate about indiepop, I’ll talk about it once more. I’ll do it briefly though.

So I suppose my friends haven’t had the time to check them all out. I have and gave them some pointers. I thought I could share my recommendations with you today. Surely we all have different taste, but I think these are the bands that are worth seeing. I don’t think it’s that difficult this year though I haven’t even checked if any of these clash! Maybe they do!

Friday is just pretty good. I don’t remember an Indietracks Friday were you’d say you wanted to see all bands. It was mostly a day for hanging and catching up. This year, the three bands are worth seeing. For me, the important band would be Cinerama. I’ve seen Wedding Present twice, but never Cinerama. So that’s a given. It’s definitely one of the most exciting bands in the whole festival lineup. The other two bands I’ve seen before and I totally would have loved seeing them again: The School and Fever Dream. It’s a strong start for all that are going.

Saturday, if I was going that is, would most probably start with Cristina Quesada. Sadly at the same time Chorusgirl will be playing too. I guess you could catch the first 20 minutes of Chorusgirl. I really like their song “No Moon”. Cristina I wouldn’t miss as also Andreas from Alpaca Sports will be supporting her. Two good friends, in the church stage sounds great to me. Then I would stay at the church, perhaps get a better seat in the front, to catch Rémi Parson. I saw him before playing this same stage with The Sunny Street. Now solo, must be a treat. But at the same time everything already started to clash.

So, to make it easy, in a parallel universe, because I’m glad I don’t have to make this decision of choosing which band to check, I could: at the same time of Cristina’s gig I would be heading for Los Bonsáis. A superb band, that I think is one of the best this festival. I couldn’t miss them. And then Evans the Death play at the same time as Rémi. Oh dear! These are terrible clashes! I feel for you all. It’s a tough decision!

Other Saturday bands not to miss will be just three. Desperate Journalist, The Haywains, and then at the end The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Those don’t clash, so they can’t be missed.

Let’s see Sunday. I think I would start with The Hi-Life Companion, who made a lovely Cloudberry release back in the day, released an album on Plastilina and even participated in one of my first indiepop projects, the C-06 tape. Can’t be missed! Then I’d go for The Catenary Wires. Amelia Fletcher is one of my heroes. The Fireworks, who everytime I see, get better and better, and on top of it all the members in the band are ace. You have also The Darling Buds, who were so excelent at NYC Popfest. The Tuts who are quite good too. Colour Me Wednesday have great catchy songs even though I don’t agree with their vegan politics.

Other bands on Sunday to definitely check out are The Luxembourg Signal whose album on Shelflife I played a lot the last month at home. Then Grubs, whose flexi was awesome. I’d be very curious to hear more songs as I only know two. And then I’d be super curious to see Frida & Ale as I was such a fan of The Rough Bunnies. Maybe they even play some covers of her old band! Pete Astor, on a quiet Church stage to end the Sunday could be also a good ending for Indietracks.

So that’s what I would try to go and see. I’m not though, but maybe my suggestions help you decide what to do. I think it’s pretty hard, especially those early Saturday slots. Have fun! I’ll be very jealous this side of the Atlantic!

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Today I have a band that I only discovered some days ago. I was just checking to new sounds on Youtube and suddenly I stumbled onto the Perfect Garden, from Dunedin, New Zealand.

The song I found was called “End of The Perfect Sunshine” and I loved it immediately. Great female vocals, it reminded me so much to another favourite of mine, Number 4 Joystreet! And I started wondering, where did this come from?

Google didn’t give me any results. But I was lucky that the person who uploaded the song to Youtube used a lot of memorabilia from the band so I could learn a little about them.

It seems they released one tape, with the songs: “Into the Ground”, “End of the Perfect Sunshine”, “Amelia” and “Swirl”. On the tape it says on big letters “Glorious Pop!”. That makes me happy. The tape EP was called “A Place Not Far From Here”. And it was recorded in Christchurch on the 17th and 18th of March 1990. It was mastered by Kevin Stokes for Failsafe Records.

The band was formed by Kieron Flaherty on rhythm and lead guitar, Karen Hewitt on vocals and tambourine, Aaron Ives on drums, Martin Quinn on bass and Shane Walker also on guitars.

The song is gorgeous. I really hope I can listen to their other songs. On the description it says: “The Perfect Garden were an indie band from Dunedin N.Z who were active from 1988 until 1990. They were influenced by the English/Scottish indie scene of the time which included such acts as The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Razorcuts, Primal Scream, The Primitives, The Shop Assistants, Sarah Records and C86.”

When I read that sort of thing, when they have all the right influences, for some reason it makes me happy. When I see the haircuts, call me vain if you like, and I see the right haircuts it makes me happy too.

They seem to have played with The Bats at the Burgundy Bar in the European Hotel. The press clipping says that the Perfect Band is a young band that sadly plays pop! What a dumb journalist who wrote this. They even say that their main problem is that they not only wear their influences on their sleeves but also on their haircuts! Oh dear. This person doesn’t know what he’ is writing!

I catch a glimpse of a poster saying “Indiepop Ain’t Noise Pollution”, announcing a gig with the Perfect Garden, Black Spring and Dolphin. Another with the Perfect Garden supporting The 3D’s at the Empire. Yet another playing along the Black Spring and The Holy Toledos. Then another again with the Black Spring and Dolphin playing at the Savoy. Seems the

Then there’s another flyer where it mentions that Kieron and Aaron are off to England to become rock stars. That this was going to be their last ever gig with Perfect Garden. I wonder what bands did they play in while in England.

And that’s all I really could find about them. I wonder if anyone out there remembers them and can tell me a bit more. Also if anyone happens to have that tape, oh please, can you be nice enough to let me listen to the rest of the songs? I really love this one!

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Listen
Perfect Garden – End of the Perfect Sunshine

I don’t remember who I was talking to at Indietracks, and there was this question that was hard to answer. What has happened to Sweden? Once upon a time a country that was exporting a massive amount of great indiepop bands. Today, you can count the bands with your fingers. What happened then? Care to take a guess?

I don’t live there, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint the issues. I would guess that many people moved to other hobbies, to other interests. Some are dedicated in full to their families. You know, life caught in the way. Indiepop became a 2nd, if not a 3rd, passion.

Sure, there are still some good bands, I look forward to listen to The Sun Days album very much for example, but it’s definitely not the same amount you were used to back in 2004 or even in 2012. It’s been a long decline.

What’s popular there now? I’m so out of touch.

I think an era ended this year. And it kind of did it quietly. I think it was one of the saddest news and not many stopped and thought about it.  Fraction Discs closed it’s web shop in February, and the silence became bigger.

Fraction Discs lasted more or less 7 years. It was the premier indiepop mailorder in Sweden. The only one really. With great taste they picked the best new releases from select labels. I was lucky to work with them for all their lifetime. And it was always a pleasure to work with both Jörgen and Renée. They were always accommodating, helpful and very diligent. I never had a problem.

I was a customer too. I bought some Swedish releases that I had missed first time around. Also some of the newer releases when they came out.

Parallel to the mailorder they started a label, with the same name and they released a string of perfect records. All of them being essential to any indiepop collection. From all the Liechtenstein discography (how I wish I had released just one 7″ by them, it was a dream of mine) to Moscow Olympics, to Twig, to The Andersen Tapes, and to that pretty reissue of Happydeadmen. It was all so good. And you could tell they were doing it with love. I felt connected to this label.

I met them a couple of times, at festivals mostly. I’m happy to call them friends since the first time we met, at a kebab place in Berlin. I remember talking with Jörgen about obscure bands many times. He recommended me Alfie, among others.

That same time they brought their clothes in carry-on, and they checked in a whole big bag of records to sell at the Indiepop Days festival. That was so cool. It was all about indiepop those days. Renée even spontaneously filled in a spot on Friday, playing Liechtenstein songs solo.

I saw them many more times afterwards. Good conversations, and lots of beer. Good indiepop times.

Last time I saw Jörgen was last year in Göteborg. We went for some macka and then some beer. He told me about the plans though I think it wasn’t sure, 100%, back then. Of course it was kind of sad to hear. Didn’t think it was going to be this soon. But it made sense too.

I don’t know how connected the close down of the store has to do with the current situation of indiepop in Sweden. To me it feels like an end of an era. There are no more dedicated stores for indiepop there. Perhaps, someone will take over. I hope so. But in any case it would be dumb not to recognize the importance and passion that Fraction Discs professed. The high aesthetics of their record sleeve design, the good choice when picking up releases, and their up-front work ethics, will be sorely missed.

I know these days they are embarked in another “project”, a much more important one, and I hope the best for them.

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2002. The one and only indiepop compilation released in Serbia thanks to our friend Nikola. It was called “A View of Our Dreams”. And I sadly have lost touch with Nikola.

It was another Nikola who introduced me to this compilation. It was during the Soulseek years. The label who released this record was named On a Balcony. The catalog number was (OaBCD001). 17 songs including many classic indiepop bands. We have La Casa Azul, Niza, Aquadays, even Hydroplane. A true international compilation with bands from Greece and Hungary as well. No Serbian bands though, but well, can’t ask that much.

I have a digital copy of this compilation. Sadly I never got around getting a physical copy. And now it feels awful. I look on Discogs and this year a copy was sold. I guess I should keep an eye.

There was one band that always caught my eye (and my ears) on this compilation thanks to it’s cool name: The Grindcore Poppies.

They even contributed two songs to the compilation. No other band had 2 songs on it. Must say a lot. The songs were “This Light Will Always Shine” and “French Cars”. What else I knew about the band? Well, that they were Germans. I think Nikola G, no the label Nikola, told me that.

On the credits it says that both songs were written by a Sebastian Voss. That’s it. I found though these two songs and yet another 3rd song on a Soundcloud account. I find that “French Cars” was actually recorded in 2000. Aside from the credits to Sebastian, we learn that on this particular song Sebastian Haas contributed with backing vocals and drums.

The third song, the one that didn’t appear on the “On a Balcony” compilation is called “Fallacious Falling Star” and it seems to have been dedicated to Paddy MacAloon.

I wonder if it’s safe to assume that the person behind this account is Sebastian Voss? I wonder. If that was true, we could think that they hailed from Münster. It also seems that he takes credit for all the recordings in it. Aside from Grindcore Poppies there are songs by other outfits, unknown to me until this day, like Stars Play Music (pretty nice indiepop), The Fisherman & his Soul (gentle dreampop), or Stars of Track and Field (indiepop too, sounding nice!), among other. I need to do a further investigation into these bands!

In any case, I wanted to introduce you today to the Grindcore Poppies, especially to the song “This Light Will Always Shine” as it’s so good!! Classic sounding indiepop, with great and shiny guitars. Catchy chorus and great lyrics. How come this wasn’t a proper release, how come this didn’t get it’s own 7″!!

Oh yes, any further info about the Grindcore Poppies would be appreciated. Anyone knows of any other songs by them?

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Listen
Grindcore Poppies – This Light Will Always Shine

News: You can now pre-order the next 7″ on Cloudberry: The Color Waves!! It’s should be coming out in September.

Today I’m doing a special post. In the last months I’ve noticed an exciting crop of bands coming out from Peru. Guitar pop bands, with what seem the right influence. I don’t know much about them, I haven’t been in touch either. It’s true that I’ve been championing the band Eva & John for a couple of years now, but there is a new generation of people bringing an exciting and fresh sound to a scene that I remember being really bland. From far away, in NYC, I have a look into these newish bands and recommend them to you.

• Almirante Ackbar:  so far they have released a split CD last year. They have a video for one of their songs, “Cientos Truenos“, which is perhaps their best. The band is formed by Kevin, Richard, Diego and Danimon. From what I gather they seem to be the band that is making a bigger splash at the moment. I hope there’s another release coming up to carry on the momentum. Their still unreleased song “Fiebre de la Amplitud” sounds pretty cool.
• Serto Mercurio: another very young band formed by Emiliano, Bronto, Piero and Alonso. They have released a digital album called “Recuerdos de Cuando Aprendí a Nadar” this year. 9 songs that have not only pop influences, but a bit of shoegaze here and there. They have released a video for the song “Hacia el Mar” but “Buenas Noches Romulanos” is my favourite song of theirs.
• Dan Dan Dero: my latest find. Really nice indiepop from this one-girl band named Valeria. There are 4 cool songs on her bandcamp. Her song titles are a bit long, but clever.
• Los Lagartos: luminous guitar pop from this new band. Formed by Renzo, Raúl and Lucíathey have a CD out that was just released on June 22nd. It includes 6 songs. There are 3 in English and 3 in Spanish. Skip the English ones, and stick to the Spanish ones that are pretty good.
• Fútbol en la Escuela: Sayo, Edgar, Carlos, Blanca and Ricardo, have recorded a bunch of songs that I feel are closer to the 90s indiepop sound. They have a digital album called “Cancionero para Víctimas de Siniestros” that includes 11 songs. A pretty strong debut.
• Ciudad Gragea: all the other bands hail from Lima, but this one hails from Trujillo, a city north of Lima. No releases as far as I know, but this young band has a bunch of catchy songs on their bandcamp heavily influenced by La Movida Madrileña. They participated in last year’s Lima Popfest.
• Las Tetris: the last band in this review is a pure punky pop all-girl band and perhaps my favourite so far (sans their English song, I don’t know why, but I’m not liking the English songs by the Peruvian bands!). With clear influences of like-minded Spanish bands from the early noughties (I was thinking of Galactica, do you remember them?), the four songs on their bandcamp shine bright. A friend told me the girls in the band are still underage.  Claudia, Angiela, Majo and Grecia have a promising future then. Hoping that they release something proper soon!

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Some months ago, through a comment on my blog, I was introduced to a tape named “Move Over Manchester”. It was a collection of of Birmingham and Black Country indie bands from the late 80s early 90s. On the A side we find bands like Innocent Bliss, The Raree Show, The Honey Turtles, Dan Dare’s Dog, The Cantels (who have been covered in the blog) and The Love Hysterics. On the B side we find Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, The Zone, The Sandkings (a favourite of mine), The Mossbacks, The C’Zone Farm, Elisabeth Jane and The Kilbanes. Sadly the name of their songs is not included in the sleeve. After some searching I found out about some info about The Honey Turtles song, it was titled “Never Never Again” and that lead me to find more about them.

They had one release, a 12″ back in 1991 on the label Pulse-8 Records (12LOSE4 is the catalog number). The songs included were “Don’t You Know” (which you can actually find on Youtube), “Don’t You Know (Radio Mix)”, both on the A side, and “Love Me” on the B side. On Discogs aside from the regular 12″ release, there are also listed two white labels. One that is single sided, and one that is not. Someone on Youtube commented saying there was a 7″ also for this song that included remixes. But I can’t certify that it existed.

We keep digging on Youtube. If I seartch for Honeyturtles altogether, I find a video for the “Don’t You Know” song. The sound is very low sadly, and the quality of the image is not the best either. But it’s a great document of the time. It says that this song was the only single they ever released after successfully touring with The Charlatans in 1990. We also learn that the band was formed by Marc Newey on vocals, Nick on bass, Steve Greaves on guitar and Nigel on drums.

This same user has uploaded some live performances of the band. There are three of them, for “Never Never Again” and “Love Me” (both recorded at Wovlerhampton Poly when supporting Ned’s Atomic Dustbin) and for “PML” (a song written after The Charlatans tour).

I keep googling and I find that Marc is (or was?) managing a band called Of Kings and Captains who have toured with Bon Jovi. Time changes indeed.

Steve Greaves appears on Tim Burgess’ autobiography. It’s documented that he almost became The Charlatans guitarist. On the book, “The Charlatans We Are Rock” I also find some interesting stuff. It says: “… the Honey Turtles, a Midlands-based outfit originally called The Mock Turtles who had to change their name so that they wouldn’t be confused with the Manchester band“.

And that’s where I hit a wall. Anyone remember anything else about this band? Any other compilation appearances? Other recordings? Perhaps demo tapes? I’m quite curious! I should try to get a nice copy of their record now.

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Listen
The Honey Turtles – Never Never Again

Last post of my four-part Popfest adventure special. Hope it was a bit interesting.

So what did I do throughout the Sunday of Popfest? I remember waking up very tired but not too late. The plan was meeting around 2pm the guys from Wallflower at the Ethiopian restaurant, Ghenet, that is a couple of blocks away from Littlefield, the venue for the day. This has kind of become a tradition for me, I always have lunch here before heading to the Popfest. Love, love, love Ethiopian food. No surprise that the Wallflower guys also loved it even though it was a novelty for them eating with their hands, picking the meat and vegetables with the injera.

I think we arrived a bit early to Littlefield anyways. Think we were too hungry and ate so fast. So we hanged, very tired and quietly, in the front area of the venue. Then it started to rain. Lucky we were to be inside. Kind of annoyed that I had forgotten my umbrella. I usually check the weather forecast before leaving home, but I didn’t that day.

Friends started arriving and with the help of Chris Jigsaw some Cloudberry records were set up in the merch table.

The first band was Sapphire Mansions. I’m not into them, but my good friend Hampus is drumming for them now. It made me happy to get to see him again. He is a busy father now. My excitement was waiting for Cold Beat. I had discovered this band some months ago and really liked their tunes. I had already bought all their releases beforehand too.

The San Francisco band was really thrilling, great guitar pop. I expected a hipster kind of look, but they seemed down to Earth, a bit of a miss match look between the members that made me like them more, they were natural you know. Pete Bee was telling me he was loving them. That he had never heard of them before. And so, many more people started bobbing their heads. “Rain”, “Mirror”, “Worms”…. simple titles for great songs. The set felt so short, but it was so good. They were to play some more dates after Popfest. I wanted to go, but for a reason or another, I ended up missing them. Hope they come back to NYC again.

Next up was another band that I was looking forward so very much: Starry Eyed Cadet. Their songs on bandcamp, if you haven’t heard them yet, are true pop candy. And with that strength they introduced their classy and elegant sound to Popfesters. I think this was the best gig for any up and coming band that came to Popfest. They are a newish band and they already sound this good! I thought. Sweet vocals, and the right influences when you hear the guitars and keyboards, made this band a delicate and perfect gig. I bought their EP, on CD-R, and brought me so many good memories of the mid 2000s when every band was releasing in this format their first songs. I just felt, this is such a right band. I hope they get the attention they deserve.

Eventually on the way to the bar, after the gig, I met with one of the members, Ron. He was talking to Wallflower in Japanese! Very cool I thought. Anyhow, we talked for some good time and eventually it was time to get food! There was a new pierogi place around the venue, like three weeks. After being introduced to the whole Starry Eyed Cadet band, them, plus Wallflower, me, Victoria and my friend Alex, headed to this pierogi restaurant under the light rain.

It took a bit to get the food. The restaurant was new, and it seems they haven’t figured out so many things. They had even ran out of some of the pierogi fillings. Anyhow, the food was excellent. But it had already gotten pretty late and so we had to get going because we wanted to see, and couldn’t miss, Club 8!

Upon arriving to the venue I spot Johan from Club 8 with his girl (wife?). I said hello and told him I was very much looking forward to the gig. It was just a short introduction, but I was being very honest. I think Club 8 is my favourite band of his, and I’ve raved about them for long, even defended their last record here on the blog when so many people were bashing it (I still can’t believe people did that).

The gig was going to be perfect. The full band was ready to get everyone dancing and singing along. I was once again a pop fan. I felt like being a kid again, watching a favourite band playing so many favourite songs. Having a pop crush with Karolina was only normal I thought. Such a voice! It was probably the happiest gig for me at Popfest.

They started with “Western Hospitality”, but perhaps the coolest moment was when Johan said they were going to cover, but cover another band of his. They played “Call it Ours” by The Legends and everyone went nuts. Same happened with “Saturday Night Engine”. And I was so thrilled with “Whatever You Want”, “Cold Hearts”, “I’m Not Gonna Grow Old”…. well, all of their songs really!

I waited after the gig to get a photo with them, but well, I didn’t see them haha. I got the setlist though, and that was nice enough.

And then what always happens at the last day of Popfest. The sadness of farewell. Saying bye to so many friends that I won’t see until next Popfest, or until who knows when. That’s how it is.

Now, looking forward to Popfest 2016!

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Exuberant: filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement.

I have a 12″ by The Exuberants. I like it. I can’t remember why I bought it. It was many years ago. I think it was because it was released on Play Hard Records. Could that be the only reason?

The EP is called “Yeah and Yeah and Yeah and Yeah”. It was released in 1990 on the aforementioned label (DEC 3312) and included three songs:
A – Yeah and Yeah and Yeah and Yeah
B1 – Delicate Call
B2 – Have You Tried White Trousers

The engineer and producer for the record was Nick Garside. It was recorded at Out of The Blue, Manchester. All songs written by Spencer/Walker. The sleeve design was by Muffin and Peek Design. That’s all the information on the back of the dark blue flowered sleeve.

You can find this record for a good price on Discogs. I guess not many people know about it.

On Discogs I find they released a CD mini-album on Native Records. This label is pretty well known to indiepop people as they have released the Raintree Country, Treebound Story and even The Darlin Buds among others. The mini-album was titled “Led The Way” (Native 073) and seems it was going to be released also on a 12″ but only white labels seem to exist.

I haven’t heard the six songs included in this 1992 release. The tracks are:
1. Who Knows How Many Tonight
2. You Awful Thing
3. Unnatural Too
4. Led The Way
5. Honey, I Recant
6. We Were Born to Conquer

On a Facebook page called Morrissey-solo I found a post saying:
This is an answer to a post by someone asking if anyone knew anything about The Exuberants, a band Morrissey listed in his top ten bands. They were made up of Muffin Spencer, vocals; Dave Walker, guitar; Stefan Gordon, bass; Jonny Barrington, drums. They had minor success releasing a flexing disc free with debris magazine, appred on the playhard compilation hand To Mouth a single Yeah, Yeah, Yeah and Yeah and a mini lp, Led The Way. They later went on to become Brassy without Dave Walker, Stefan Gordon moved onto guitar, a new bass player, Karen Foster and went in the direction of hip hop.

From there I end up in Wikipedia, where the band Brassy has an entry. From that we know that Muffin Spencer was American, from New Hampshire actually, and that The Exuberants were all based in Manchester.

I found this article too talking about Muffin and the band Brassy.

Someone says on Youtube, on a Waltones video actually, that they remember The Exuberants as a three guys and a dog audience kind of band. Seems they never made a splash then. Shame really. I wonder what are they doing now and if they left unreleased Exuberants recordings. Now, I will get into listening to Brassy, I’m kind of curious.

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Listen
The Exuberants – Delicate Call

Here I am with the excitement of Copa America all around. Don’t know if any of you is following it, as I assume half of the indiepop crowd is into football, and then I assume less than a third of this half is into South American football, but I am. Very much so, and looking forward to the quarterfinals. My team is performing much better than expected and we’ve got a good chance to pass to semifinals this Thursday. So let’s see what happens.

I know the Podcast has been left on a side. And I’m very sorry about that. I guess it would have been wise to say that I was going to take a vacation for summer, even though I wasn’t. Anyhow, Toni has promised the May Podcast to be available today. We’ll see if that happens. If it does, I’ll get to be a bit productive this weekend and record the June episode. Again, very sorry for not having being able to get this out earlier.

On Cloudberry news, well as you know the Fibi Frap compilation is out and I’m very proud of it. Many mailorders also have them now and if you prefer you can get the CD from them. I think Japan has been the most interested in the record so far!

On more Cloudberry news, today I’ll be sharing the Color Waves A side, from their upcoming 7″. It’s called Chirology and it’s a beauty. So keep your eyes peeled. Pre-order button coming soon too.

And that’s not all. I received a nice package with Parcel Post 7″s. There are still a few left. So if anyone happens to want one, please send me an email and we will figure out how to get one to you. Until supplies last of course.

Right, so then I’m supposed to go over the Saturday of NYC Popfest. On the previous posts I’ve covered Thursday and Friday. So alright, I think we can do a Saturday review.

It will be a bit short though, sadly I missed (skipped really) the afternoon shows. After the long party on Friday I was way too tired to get to Brooklyn that early. So I decided to just get to the Knitting Factory by the time of the first gig. And so I did. It was a real shame to miss The Chandler Estate, I think it was one of the bands I was looking forward the most.

Expert Alterations were playing first. Before they started I raided the merch table. I had seen them play before and I knew what to expect. A bit shambolic and very jangly, the Baltimore band won many new fans at their gig. It’s no surprise that they have just released a new record on Slumberland, they are gaining a bigger following as every month goes on. Now, I want to listen to more new songs! They have told me on one of the podcasts were I interviewed them that they actually have a very busy year coming up, with lots of stuff to put out. Can’t wait. If you haven’t seen them, well you should. With them it feels a bit like 1987 again, even if neither them or me where around gigging at that time.

The shouts of “Saiko!” from Victoria and me announced that Wallflower were going to give one of the best gigs during Popfest. The Japanese band who were perhaps one of the least known for the American fans immediately convinced everyone that they were just fantastic. No surprise they sold out all their merch! They brought CDs, 7″s, tote bags, and even a tape that was at that point exclusive for Popfest. Everything was sold out. Their shoegazy-pop sound had everyone tapping their feet, and when Eri started singing the Wake’s “Pale Spectre”, everyone was in awe. At least that’s how I felt it. I was in awe. If you understand Japanese Wallflower has written a diary of their time in NYC. You can also use Google Translate, and you’ll get the gist of it. They seem very thankful for having being part of Popfest, I think we should all be grateful of them coming here.

Then happiness came to me. A band I always longed to see was finally making it to the stage. Brideshead. The German band with the countless of extremely catchy songs and wise lyrics. A band that had played NYC back in the late 90s. A band that I believe barely plays live these days. They started with the classic “Same Story Different Day”, and finished with the super favourite song of mine “Shortsightedness”. I admit I’m not that familiar with their newer songs, but I did get their album they just released on Shelflife. I hope then I can catch up! After the show I was happy to take a photo with Martin, the vocalist of Brideshead. That was really cool. I jumped and sang out loud, it was so much fun.

I think I went for dinner after Brideshead. I can’t remember much where now, but I think I wasn’t around for half of Veronica Lake’s gig. I know Wallflower went for pizza. What did I go for? I can’t recall! I was told Michael from My Favorite had joined Veronica Lake for a song. I missed that. I’m very sad I missed that. I caught some of their songs, and they were really nice of course, I always liked Veronica Lake. But at this time things seem blurry to me!

I do remember being at some point while Spook School were setting up that I was talking with Daniel from So Tough and his friend Sandra (I believe was her name) on the front room of the venue. Having a nice chat and catching up a bit since I haven’t seen him in years. But everything is pretty blurry until the Darling Buds came on stage.

That was such a gig. They played all their classics and I was like a little kid having so much fun with a new toy. It was just wonderful to sing along their songs. Andrea threw flowers to the crowd, my friend Victoria still has one (looks pretty dead, but I guess it’s a cool souvenir. Then I remember a pink balloon that was being passed from side to side, left to right, front and back, in the crowd. I was just so happy, until of course someone took all the setlists and I couldn’t get one for myself! Well, I did take a photo with Andrea, and that was definitely one of the best moments of Popfest for me. I’m very happy that Maz booked them, The Darling Buds had been playing again for some years and no indiepop festival had booked them since. I was really surprised by this. So I’m very thankful! It was such a fun gig!

And then the dancing. Slow motion choreography with the Wallflower gang and more. Until very late. It wasn’t packed, but there was a good dancing crowd. Pete, Amanda, Christen, Jackie, Alex, and more. It was a good end of the night. And even better when Maz offered a ride back to Queens.

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“Stayed up all night listening “Storyteller”” ….

I was today searching online for some 7″s I’ve been looking for. And I found out that The Moonlings’ “Coming True” 7″ is not even listed on Discogs. Now, how do I go about finding a copy for me?

I thought about asking Jenny and Leonard who I once interviewed about Bella Vista, a band closely related to The Moonlings. But I saw that I was deleted from his Facebook friends. I felt a bit odd to go and ask. I know some people like “trimming” their friends list, deleting those who they don’t actually talk to. I don’t do that. I don’t understand what difference it really makes. Or perhaps they just don’t like the label or the blog, or me? Who knows… well, so who were The Moonlings?

They only did that one release as far as I know. It was released on the “Turn Up the Treble” label. The songs included were “Coming True”, “Doesn’t Matter If I Miss the Train” and “Half the Time”.

But it was thanks to a song that appeared on a compilation that I fell in love with their music. The song is called “Let’s Sell All Our Records and Move Somewhere Else”.  This song appears on the A side, as the second song on a compilation 7″ on the Japanese label Motorway (MOTOR 010D). It was released in 1997 and the other songs included were #Poundsign#’s “Chicken Soup”, Rizzo’s “Apple Pancakes” and Juniper’s “I Just Wanted You to Know”.

From the interview to Bella Vista I was talking about there are some important details from The Moonlings, the pre-Pipas band that Mark Powell was involved with:

Jenny: The Moonlings were Mark Powell, Lara Cohen, Leonard, and me. Mark had a few songs that the Moonlings didn’t do, for reasons I no longer remember. Our friend Josh Feldman invited him up to Connecticut to play them at a show with Josh’s band, the Best Wishes, and our friend Ian Schlein’s band, Musical Chairs. Mark was trying to avoid being onstage alone, so he invited us to play with him, even though this meant he’d have to teach me how to play guitar note by note. And so Bella Vista was born.

Leonard: It wasn’t really a name change. Although the Moonlings and Bella Vista shared three members, they were different bands that existed at roughly the same time. The Moonlings began in the summer of 1996 for the purpose of playing Mark and Lara’s songs. Jenny and I didn’t write anything whatsoever in that band. Bella Vista began in the spring of 1997 for the purpose of playing that one show, at a sort of gallery/performance space/bookstore. But it continued because Lara was away at college, Mark had songs that didn’t fit into the Moonlings repertoire, Jenny began to write her own songs, and we were offered a few other opportunities to play out, as well as some to make records. I got to write a bass part or two, even though I didn’t even own a bass.

We know that the label “Turn Up the Treble” who put out the 7″ was run by Josh from The Best Wishes (who do deserve a post on the blog). It seems there were only 300 copies made.

This was perfect bedroom kind of jangly pop, could have fitted perfectly on labels like Pillarbox Red, Heaven, Woosh, with a sound not many American bands used to make. It also reminds me of Nixon, and that is always a really good thing!

I keep googling and find out that there was a short tour to the midwest and DC were The Moonlings went with the Musical Chairs, The Best Wishes and Bella Vista in 1997.

Don’t know how long the band was around. Or if they recorded any other songs. This is more or less all I could find online. Would be cool if anyone can fill in the blanks. And if anyone has a spare copy please let me know!

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Listen
The Moonlings – Let’s Sell All Our Records and Move Somewhere Else

Popfest Friday started with me meeting the Wallflower gang and Victoria in Williamsburg. We were supposed to have Peruvian food at Chimu but it was closed. Odd, seems the restaurant now closes Fridays and Saturdays. Strange days to close really. So change of plans, we went to Caracas for some arepas. We were happy to enjoy some Peruvian beer there plus a great lunch special for $9. An arepa of your choice and a salad. This was the moment when I learned the Japanese word “saiko”, which means awesome. During the whole meal, the band was saying “saiko” non-stop.

Afterwards we went on a record store adventure. We started at Rough Trade, then we headed to Academy Records and lastly to that store of the hipster label that doesn’t need any promo here. All in all I didn’t find any good records. Everything was crap or overpriced. The rest of our gang didn’t find much either. The best moment of all this walking from Williamsburg all the way to Greenpoint, was the postcard photo the Wallflowers took with Manhattan on the back at the Bushwick Inlet Park.

We arrived a bit late for the showing of the Sarah documentary at Knitting Factory. But there seemed to be a problem. The blu-ray disc wasn’t playing. The room was almost full, no spaces for sitting down, and everyone was waiting for a solution. A lot of people were trying to help, which shows how supportive is the indiepop crowd. I thought of a friend that lives around the corner, but he doesn’t even own a TV. Happily Videology, a bar that was a 10 minute walk, offered to show the movie for Popfest.

I guess the movie deserves a proper review so I’ll leave that for another occasion. I think that’s pretty fair.

After the show, it was time to go to Cameo for the Popfest gigs. There I had a sandwich, ate it fast, and got ready to catch the second band of the night, Jessica and the Fletchers.

You can think I’m biased as they are my friends, but their show was a fresh breeze of indiepop. Fast, upbeat, catchy, and with a lot of attitude. Kudos to Toni, the keyboardist, for his “Toni Poni” DIY t-shirt. Some of their songs, when released properly, like “Amelia (Te Queremos Igual)” or the sublime “Air Balloon Road” could be classics of this indiepop period. Still a very young band with lots of room to grow, they got indiepop flowing in their veins. They feel it, and they have fun playing it. I think everyone had a very good time with band.

I know, Pale Lights played first, and I did my best to catch them. I did catch their two last songs. The thing was that this sandwich I ordered at Cameo took forever to come! At some point I thought I was going to make it as they brought me a sandwich almost 5 minutes after ordering. As I was eating some of the fries the waiter told me he made a mistake and took the sandwich away from me to another table! Oh well… But you know, I’ve raved about Pale Lights so many times in the blog, definitely one of the best bands in NYC, and the little I could catch was as good as always with the inclusion of Kyle this time around instead of Andy.

Third band was The Catenary Wires. Obviously seeing Amelia is always a treat. Some people think this new project is boring. I heard that a bit. I’ve been listening to the album, and I can’t agree with anyone saying that. The thing is, it is different to what we are used to. We are used to the upbeatness of Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Tender Trap, Marine Research, etc. I know, it may be hard for some to adjust. I won’t say they are my favourite band of the ones she has been involved but I still find it very enjoyable, with good lyrics and well crafted pop songs.

Fourth time I see Papa Topo, and the second time I was seeing them in a week. Of course the surprise factor wasn’t there at Popfest, especially when they played the cover of the Spice Girls. A band that plays a lot of influences, but of course, I always look forward to their biggest hits, “La Chica Vampira” and “Oso Panda”. It was so much fun, I could see people jumping around, and they even brought some Spanish speaking music fans that weren’t part of the indiepop scene. This I thought was cool. Though one of them was telling me to start “rock en español” club night and play some Argentinean hard rock at it. I don’t understand how some people could put in the same bag Papa Topo with say Sumo or something like that.

The two last bands are legendary bands. #Poundsign# and The Loft. In due honesty I’m more of a fan of #Poundsign# than The Loft. From The Loft I love two or three songs. The rest are fine, but don’t think they are as brilliant as “Up the Hill and Down the Slope“. But, that didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the whole show. It was really good, powerful even! I bought a t-shirt. A very nice t-shirt actually! Now, next year please bring The Caretaker Race, from the bands that sprung off The Loft, that is my favourite. I would LOVE that.

Brooklyn Vegan posted a photo of me with a drumstick while #Poundsign# was playing. That was a gift from Papa Topo’s drummer, the Jankely. Bit embarrassed of that photo. In any case, I was just so happy listening to so many tunes that I’ve always loved. It was a treat to see a reunited #Poundsign#. I had already the Wavelength record on vinyl, but as they were selling it on CD, I also bought it.

After all the bands there was some good dancing at Mondo. Maz played a bunch of classic tunes and I danced until very late, it was almost 4am when we left the venue. It was a goodbye though. All Jessica and The Fletchers and Papa Topos were leaving on Saturday. It was a sad goodbye, I had enjoyed a whole week in their good company.

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A sleeve that looks like The Pale Fountains. It was 1982 when Pulsebeat Records released the “Farewell to the Playground EP” (cine 001) by The Cinematics.

A four song 7″ with two songs on each side. “Puffa Train” and “Don’t Mention Love” on the A side, while “All it Means” and “Learning to Say Goodbye” on the B side.

This is pre-indiepop indiepop and for those who are not very aware of who The Cinematics were, well, it has two illustrious members of the indiepop hall of fame: Gregory Webster and Tim Vass. You know, those two from the Razorcuts, or the Forever People, or bands like Red Chair Fadeaway or Sportique.

This is a very rare record. I don’t own it sadly, and the median price on Discogs is a bit too high I think. On the credits of this record we find that Colin Rodgers played drums, lyrics and music on the B side by Tim Vass, music on the A side by Gregory Webster and trumpet by John Goodwin.

This song also would appear later in the Messthetics compilations, perhaps making the record much more sought after than before. On the Messthetics liner notes we get to know that the band was based in Luton.
Luton  is a large town in Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles (50 km) north of London. Luton Town F.C. have had several spells in the top flight of the English league and won the Football League Cup in 1988. They have played at Kenilworth Road since 1905.London Luton Airport opened in 1938; in the Second World War, it was a Royal Air Force base.The University of Bedfordshire is based in the town. The town was for many years famous for hat-making, and was also home to a large Vauxhall Motors factory; the head office of Vauxhall Motors is still situated in the town. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until 2002; commercial vehicle production remains.

Also I like this line that sums up more or less the sound of the band:
“Puffa Train” from their 1982 single shows Gregory Webster and Tim Vass’ evolution from TV Personalities DIY to breathy twee-pop well underway”

I would guess 500 copies of this record were made. I don’t know sadly much more of the Cinematics. Would be great to learn if they recorded any other songs, or if they participated in compilations. Also we know what happened to two of their members, but was Colin Rodgers involved in any other indiepop bands? Was Pulsebeat Records a name for self-releasing? Anyone know anything else about them? Maybe you were at one of their gigs?

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Listen
The Cinematics – Puffa Train

I know, I know. I said I was going to write about NYC Popfest this week. It’s Friday, and to be honest I thought about skipping this week and not posting at all. I have been feeling sick since Monday, and only today I feel a bit better. So no, definitely not in the mood. I’ve been listening to music to a much lower volume than I’m used to. That must mean something, I think.

I guess I could resume my Thursday Popfest experience in this post. In due honesty I didn’t see any bands the first day of Popfest. I wanted to see the first two, Souvenir Stand and Roman a Clef. Sadly there was some breaking news, I had to do some locator map just before my shift was about to end, and well, I ended up arriving when the second band was finishing their set. The rest of the bands on Thursday weren’t really my cup of tea so I mostly mingled with friends in the first floor of the Cake Shop. In a way that was a reasonable thing to do. People in the know are aware that the Cake Shop becomes a sauna when it’s packed.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of Thursday Popfest was going for some pastrami sandwiches with Aitor and Toni to Katz Deli. Aitor was really into having pastrami. He had the last time he was in NYC with his other band, Univers, and was craving for a proper sandwich. Katz being around the corner of the Cake Shop, and even though it’s overpriced and kind of a tourist trap, offers really good pastrami sandwiches, among the best in the city perhaps. So it was no surprise that he loved it. And Toni, who wasn’t planning on ordering anything, ate a whole sandwich as well. It was delicious.

Another big highlight of Thursday was meeting at last with the great Wallflower from Japan. They were so great to hang out with during the whole Popfest. But it was here at Cake Shop that we met and had some beers and planned on meeting for lunch on Friday.

Then of course seeing friends again one more time. It was so cool to see both Horowitz, Pete and Ian, back in NYC. And also meeting Heinz from Germany, in his first time ever in America! That was super cool! Also Amanda from Sweden, who I saw last time at Indietracks like two years ago, and José from Chicago, that comes every single year just for the indiepop!

It was mostly chatting and catching up. And drinking Genessee, cheap $4 beer. Actually the bar tender thought I was someone else. She insisted that I worked as a bar tender somewhere else. I insisted that it wasn’t me. But she was incredulous. It’s odd, at first I thought she was remembering me because I’ve been so many times at Cake Shop, but then it was clear that she really thought she had met me before somewhere else and I had been a bar tender at some bar in Brooklyn. Damn. I can’t even mix a drink!!

So that was my Thursday at Popfest. Not very eventful, but I really enjoyed it. As it always happens to me at Indietracks first day, Friday, I ended up using this day to catch up with old and new friends. So sorry to disappoint you if you expected me to tell you how amazing some of these bands sounded!! BUT! I will promise to go over the Friday show next week!

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“If You Found Some “Distorted Space” On This Records. Please Don’t Mind. Your Ears Working Normal!! ”

That’s the message on the one and only 7″ the Groovy Metal Babies released back in 1995. The Japanese band put this record out on the German label Little Teddy Recordings (LiTe730) and included 4 fantastic raw but cute fuzzy pop songs. On the A side we find “She Does Not” and “My Secondhand Sweetheart” and on the B side we find “Never” and “In No Time”. Curious enough the 7″ is titled after the B side. It’s called the Never EP.

You are in luck, I just checked Discogs, and you can find for very good prices this record!

Anyhow, there are some credits to Seiko Ishiguro and Tsuyoshi, as well as vocals for Ayako for the song “In No Time”.

The sound of the band is a mix between Shonen Knife and the bands of the great Yoshino Momoko. It’s very “anorak” sounding!

Online it seems the band is mostly known as a pre-Jenka band. I know, we Westerners don’t know much about Jenka, but this girl has released a bunch of records! According to Last.fm:
JENKA is a female singer-songwriter from Japan who writes pop songs with a variety of influences from other genres. She sings primarily in English. Jenka debuted in 1995 with the album “Sweet Grape Sugar Beats”, which gained considerable positive attention both in Japan and abroad. She soon joined with a Swedish producer to create further albums. Her most recent was released in 2001 and titled Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Well, that is the Seiko from the credits. And she was part of Groovy Metal Babies. But it’s under Jenka that she got to release a bunch of records. 3 albums and at least 3 EPs according to Discogs. I found one of the songs on Youtube called “Muddy Muddy Murmur” and it’s really nice. It has that Swedish sound of the mid nineties.

A change of style indeed, but totally understandable. This is indiepop as well! But anyhow, today we are covering the Groovy Metal Babies. Oh! I like the band name quite a lot too!

On a Japanese website it says that the Groovy Metal Babies were just active for about only three months before Jenka. Very short stint, perhaps they only did these 4 songs, recorded them and call it a day. Perhaps it was just a fun project between two friends. I don’t know. I wonder though if they recorded any other songs. And also what happened to Tsuyoshi? If he still continued making music?

Does anyone know anything about this cool sounding band?

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Listen
Groovy Metal Babies – She Does Not

Well Popfest is over and I have to say that I’m very tired. I’m getting old, that’s clear. Nonetheless I had a very good time with old and new friends. And the bands were really great too. But I can’t review Popfest yet, I need some time to get in the right mood and recover some energy. So bear with me.

There are some important news to go over. First let me tell you that I’m very sorry that the May podcast hasn’t been published yet. I know we are already in June, but with everything that has been going on there hasn’t been any enough time to get it done. But I promise it will be out soon. This weekend I will start recording the June episode.

Most importantly though is that the Fibi Frap compilation arrived home. The release date is June 10th but all pre-orders have been shipped and any orders will be shipped immediately. Very happy with the sixth release of the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen series.

The bad news though is that the postage prices at USPS have risen. Almost a dollar for international orders. It’s really a shame. This hurts everyone. I will keep the same prices of all our releases for the time being. But the next releases will have to cost a dollar more. That’s how it’s going to be sadly.

Then there’s some good news from our friends at Firestation Records. I don’t know much of the details but 4 new albums have been announced: The Train Set, The Siddeleys, The Reflection A.O.B. and The Bridge. Super cool news! Not to miss any of them.

Then Shelflife has also some great releases, The Treasures of Mexico and the new Brideshead album. Seems this is going to be a very good summer for indiepop.

But before I close this post, thanks so much to Maz for organizing a great NYC Popfest.

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Today I want to head to Belgium. To the early 90s.

There has been some very good Belgium bands, good pop bands, but they’ve been a few. Here’s one that perhaps you haven’t been aware of.

Peter & The Lions have been Peter Léonard’s band. It was in 1991 when they released their first single, the great “Bye For Now”. A nice slice of jangle. On the B side of this 7″ released by Rainland Records (RL 009) was the song “Have You Ever…”. For this record Peter had the help of Jose Perez on bass and Yves Baibay on drums. The lyrics were written by Patrice Macar and Peter, the record was engineered by Yves Delannoy, mastered by Jérome Sandron and produced by Michel Van Achter. Peter was on vocals, guitar, keyboard, drum programming and even percussion.

On the back sleeve of the record we find that there was help from the Ministery of French Community in Belgium. I would guess it was some money for the label. I’m not familiar at all with Rainland, some of the releases are by bands I’ve never heard about like Tom Wolf, Owen Curtiz or Asoha. All their releases were out in the first half of the nineties.

Actually their next release after the Peter & The Lions single was the debut album of the band. It was also released in 1991 and had the title of “New Days” (RL 010). This record included only 9 songs: “Sixteen and Uncertain”, “Bye For Now”, “How You Manage”, “When Days Are Soft and Long”, “It’s a New Day”, “The Picture-Book”, “The Unreal Minute”, “The Land of Angry Men”, “Open Air Song”.  I don’t own it sadly, or ever listened to it, so couldn’t say who is credited in it. There’s one copy available at Discogs at the moment, but well, I find it a bit too pricey for me!

My next stop is Youtube. There are some videos dating from 2012 where Peter plays some songs from his double album “Postcards from Home”. It’s a bit different in sound to the earlier single, and you can actually listen to this album here. Also in this bandcamp of his there’s another album dating from 2007 called “Crossing the Strings”. You can check this one here.

We get to know some curious facts. We know that Peter is based in Liege and that he has been involved in other bands like “Where’s China?” (a post-new wave band), “Glassnotes” (a blend of rock, funk and jazz), and “Sing Sing” (an a capella quartet in french with a touch of ironic wit). Also the only person we see again from the early releases being credited is Michel Van Achter doing the mixes and the masters. These two albums were released by the label Home Records from Belgium.

On RateYourMusic we find mention of other releases by the band. We see a 1994 album called “Lost Paradise Songs” and a 2002 album called “Hold On”. From the 1994 album I could find two songs on a Myspace by Patrick Schouters (who I guess played in the band then). The songs are “Spotlights Burning” and “Fire and Water”. From the 2002 album I could find no information. I’d assume these records were mostly distributed in Belgium.

That’s more or less all I could find especially as there is an author out there called Peter Leonard as well. He is an American author of crime novels. Maybe some of you can help me know more about them! I would especially like to listen to their first album, and perhaps if anyone have spares of their first releases, well, would love to trade or something! Oh! And of course, as it seems the discography is a bit obscure, are we missing anything?

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Listen
Peter & Lions – Bye For Now