Last week an unprecedented pike of messages in the indiepop-list happened. You know, it’s usually so quiet. Nothing ever happens there. An email conversation going by the subject “Anyone up for a book burning?” had everyone giving their opinion about the announcement of a new book called: “Twee: The Gentle Revolution”.

99% of the people were totally up for the book burning. No one felt that this was going to be a good book. The other 1% were either cowardly asking not to have ‘bad’ feelings about it and instead think of other things that can give you “good” feelings, or asked to wait until we get the chance to read the book.

The book is not out yet. It will be out on June 3rd. So we are mostly supposing things at the moment, but we can figure a thing or two from the book description at the publisher’s Harper and Collins site:

New York Times, Spin, and Vanity Fair contributor Marc Spitz explores the first great cultural movement since Hip Hop: an old-fashioned and yet highly modern aesthetic that’s embraced internationally by teens, twenty and thirty-somethings and even some Baby Boomers; creating hybrid generation known as Twee. Via exclusive interviews and years of research, Spitz traces Generation Twee’s roots from the Post War 50s to its dominance in popular culture today.

Vampire Weekend, Garden State, Miranda July, Belle and Sebastian, Wes Anderson, Mumblecore, McSweeney’s, Morrissey, beards, artisanal pickles, food trucks, crocheted owls on Etsy, ukuleles, kittens and Zooey Deschanel—all are examples of a cultural aesthetic of calculated precocity known as Twee.

In Twee, journalist and cultural observer Marc Spitz surveys the rising Twee movement in music, art, film, fashion, food and politics and examines the cross-pollinated generation that embodies it—from aging hipsters to nerd girls, indie snobs to idealistic industrialists. Spitz outlines the history of twee—the first strong, diverse, and wildly influential youth movement since Punk in the ’70s and Hip Hop in the ’80s—showing how awkward glamour and fierce independence has become part of the zeitgeist.

Focusing on its origins and hallmarks, he charts the rise of this trend from its forefathers like Disney, Salinger, Plath, Seuss, Sendak, Blume and Jonathan Richman to its underground roots in the post-punk United Kingdom, through the late’80s and early ’90s of K Records, Whit Stillman, Nirvana, Wes Anderson, Pitchfork, This American Life, and Belle and Sebastian, to the current (and sometimes polarizing) appeal of Girls, Arcade Fire, Rookie magazine, and hellogiggles.com.

Revealing a movement defined by passionate fandom, bespoke tastes, a rebellious lack of irony or swagger, the championing of the underdog, and the vanquishing of bullies, Spitz uncovers the secrets of modern youth culture: how Twee became pervasive, why it has so many haters and where, in a post-Portlandia world, can it go from here?

The author of the book is called Mark Spitz. I haven’t read anything by him so I have no clue if he is a good writer or a bad writer. A bad researcher he definitely is though and I will tell you why (especially after this feature in Salon magazine).

But let me stop here first. What about the term Twee. Sure I hate it. I’ve never liked as it entails making indiepop a synonym of the word inoffensive. I truly don’t believe that. BUT at the same time I understand and accept that it’s a term that for most of us, Twee.net might be the best example, that twee in the end means indiepop, C86, p!o!p!, neo-aco, or however you want to call it. We all know, even if we don’t like the word, that twee is indiepop. Or at least, a sort of sub-category within indiepop. Can we agree on that?

Sure the term has been in existence longer than indiepop has existed. But it’s use was also almost non-existent in the English language. Maybe they used it to name Tweety bird. Who knows. But I can’t think of many examples. It’s rise as a word to describe something has to do with our music in the late 80s. It was mostly a term to dismiss the cutesy bands of the indiepop spectrum. I believe it was after 1994, when the Sha La La list was functioning and Twee.net was already established that the word gained power. And it was especially used to tag those small bands that were appearing in the US in the mid 90s like say The Receptionists or even Tullycraft, bands that had a sweeter, funnier, and cheekier approach.

So explain me then what does Arcade Fire has to do with anything of this? Sure they had one release in Asaurus, but that wasn’t a proper indiepop record. They released some, but in general it was pretty eclectic. What does Nirvana has to do with it? They championed The Vaselines, but does they make them a big part? Maybe a little footnote perhaps, and even so.

It’s mentioned that it’s the first great cultural movement since hip hop. This might not be liked by many that read me, but I don’t think hip hop has anything to add to culture. If there’s a culture surrounding it, it’s a terrible culture and I feel uneasy with even mentioning hip hop and twee in the same paragraph. There’s no comparison of the values of one and the other music genres.

Generation Twee has it’s roots in the 50s. That’s a very strange claim. I guess I’ll wait for the book to read what’s his point about this. But it does seem farfetched. I can see some late 70s groups influences in it, like The Buzzcocks, but all the way from the 50s? Perhaps some sort of aesthetics? Morrissey’s quiff? It feels like he is just inventing something here that has nothing to do with our beloved indiepop.

I love this phrase: an old-fashioned and yet highly modern aesthetic that’s embraced internationally by teens, twenty and thirty-somethings and even some Baby Boomers. I love it especially because I have no clue what they are trying to say. Should we be surprised that people in general, no matter the age, like some sort of music? Is our indiepop that terrible? Or what? I don’t get it.

Then there’s that list of “influences” or perhaps “examples of what Twee is. From that list I only like Morrissey and a bit of Belle & Sebastian. Zooey Deschanel can be pretty ok. But that does make her indiepop? That’s really stupid. I like one movie by Mirand July, her latest was very mediocre, but were her movies indiepop? No. Wes Anderson is very overrated. I think he is among the most pretentious and vacuous directors out there, but who cares what I think, are his movies indiepop? Do they show indiepop values? Again, no. I really don’t have to deal with Vampire Weekend, or even beards, right? I don’t remember Edwyn Collins sporting a beard. Or Davey Woodward doing so. Which indiepop stalwart sported a beard? Maybe he is confusing lumberjacks with musicians. Poor research. Again.

Then of course there’s the issue of ukuleles and kittens. This requires a long post. I dislike both. But a big part of the indiepop fandom loves them. So I’ll leave it like that for now. I guess he has a point about this. I can understand kittens in a way, they’ve been in so many jacket sleeves, but ukuleles? That’s only for the most terrible bands out there and thankfully I can only count with my fingers the bands that say make indiepop with an ukulele. Etsy, crocheted owls, food trucks, artisanal pickles, McSweeney’s, honestly I don’t see any connection at all. Maybe he is playing a game of six degrees of separation?

Twee movement in music, art, film, fashion, food and politics. Damn. I WISH! I dream of someone making an indiepop film. I know the Sarah documentary is coming up, and there has been a couple too like BMX Bandits documentary or the great Dolly Mixture one. But not really a feature film yet. That’d be something. Indiepop music sure. Indiepop politics. Yeah that exists too. Indiepop art? Mmm if you consider the art of the records, perhaps, I can be ok with saying that that exists. Indiepop fashion? I guess there are sort of looks people go for. Though I tell you, I’ve seen some people with mohawks or piercings all over their body following indiepop concerts and not missing any day of an indiepop festival. But I can see someone saying there’s a sort of fashion. But what about saying that there’s indiepop influence in food. You have to be quite stupid to make such a claim. What’s an indiepop food? Marmite because there was a band called The Marmite Sisters? Doesn’t make any sense.

And then they say: and examines the cross-pollinated generation that embodies it—from aging hipsters to nerd girls, indie snobs to idealistic industrialists. Really? Again? Do we need to break down people this way? Clearly he hasn’t gotten what indiepop is. Indiepop is not like this. We are all equal. Bands can be fans, and fans can be bands. Fanzine writers can run a label, a label person can write a fanzine. Everyone does everything, it’s all about democracy and equality. And we don’t like hipsters or snobs or yuppies. Just for your information Harper and Collins.

Then they tell us that Disney and Dr Seuss are origins of indiepop/twee. It’s the twilight zone, isn’t it? I start to worry if the book will really be exactly what this book description is. What will happen to those reading this book and have really no clue what indiepop is. This is creating a caricature of all of us, and a bad one, one that is not close to reality. The only right part of it is a line that says “to its underground roots in the post-punk United Kingdom“. But one line among a lot of crap? Even mentioned my favourite Whit Stillman doesn’t help. I love his films, and I hold them dear, but to say he is indiepop! Or what about mentioning Pitchfork? For f*ck sake, they are all that indiepop isn’t!!! Its’s like the nemesis! They champion everything else but indiepop. They do it all for money, not for the kids, even less for the music. And indiepop is not about the money. Anyone involved in it knows that. If we break even we are already more than happy.

Then the last paragraph is a bit more accurate when they mention: “Revealing a movement defined by passionate fandom, bespoke tastes, a rebellious lack of irony or swagger, the championing of the underdog, and the vanquishing of bullies“, though I strongly disagree when they say there’s a lack of irony. That’s tremendously wrong. I think there’s so much irony, so much wit in indiepop, that we could give away to other genres that lack of intelligence. Perhaps these people don’t care about lyrics. I’ve met some like that in my life. Boring and uninteresting people.

Twee became pervasive? Not really. It’s a very small scene. A little pocket that no one really cares about, only us in it care about it. It has many haters? I haven’t met any. I only meet people that have no clue what indiepop is and give me a hard time explaining them what it is. So yeah, all wrong.

Then there’s this on the Salon feature:
“Tweens?”
“No. Twee.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“You know! Everything happening in Brooklyn.”
“Hipsters?”
“No, Twees. It’s a movement!”

I go to Brooklyn often for drinks, to party, etc. I have never met anyone that knows about indiepop or twee. I’ve never seen anyone sporting an indiepop badge/pin. Or even a t-shirt. I believe the author lives in NYC, somewhere in the five boroughs, most possibly Brooklyn. I’m very surprised he would make this claim. Because even a The Smiths t-shirt is kind of rare in Brooklyn. I think the ones I see the most these days are Black Flag t-shirts if you are wondering. And yes, Im very observant.

Anyhow, to dissect that interview would maybe require another post, as it is a big joke to twee/indiepop. So I’ll get on that on my next post, on part 2.

The question for now is, if this is just a book description to catch people’s attention, to get sales, or is the book really like this? That’s the answer I’m looking for. I guess we’ll have to wait until it’s published! Let’s see how much it will be hurting our indiepop scene,how many will jump in the bandwagon, and how many ‘haters’ (at last) it will create of indiepop?

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Now into the obscure band of the week: The Clamber. Though it’s surprising that someone has uploaded to SoundCloud the song “Choose The Way”.

Clamber: an awkward and laborious climb or movement.

More like a laborious climb to find out who this band was!

That song was the A side of their one and only 7″ released sometime during the mid 80s. A British band most definitely as on the back sleeve we can clearly read Basildon, Essex. The only other information on the back is that the record was produced by both The Clamber and D.J.M. entertainment. The sleeve was designed by Mark Molloy.

Aside from those credits we do know that the B side was “Everywhere You Go” and that the release was the first one in the catalog of Clamber Records. So definitely a private release. Some descriptions I found online of previous listings on eBay say: “Somewhere between Friday Club, early Style Council, Ala Pana Fuzo and Where The Hell Does Jane Smith Think She Is.” Definitely on the right track. I can guess that this description must have written by the great Uwe at Firestation Records! The only other clue we get is from the center label of the record. It credits both songs to a K. Boardman.

Aside from that, there’s nothing else online about the band. Listening to “Choose The Way” one ends up wanting to know more, to research them properly, find out what happened to the band, who were the members, and how can one find a copy of it, with a sleeve (as it seems the sleeves are rare too!). It’s a great track obviously. The trumpets. How can I be won by trumpets!!! Catchy, classy, elegant. The kind of record I love! Check it out!

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Listen
The Clamber – Choose The Way

Not many things to review this week. No more festival announcements. For now.

This weekend though was terribly busy for me. I didn’t end up going to Chickfactor (I felt lazy as it was too far, and Amor de Días were playing a bit too early and I was going to miss them, plus the tickets were pricey) but ended up seeing a fantastic Barcelona band on Friday called Univers. They played at Cake Shop, sandwiched in between some not very good bands (with members of some renowned NYC bands), around 10 pm that night. The quartet was in reality incomplete as their original guitar player wasn’t allowed to enter the US because of some visa issue. So the bassist played guitar and their label/manager learned hastily the songs on bass so they could complete the gigs in their US tour after visiting Mexico.

I had been in touch with Aitor, the drummer, thanks to our mutual friend Toni Poni. He was kind enough to bring me all the records they had put out so far. I completed my collection at the end with their setlist. The music was exciting, fuzzy, poppy, with great energy. Even though they sang in Catalan, that didn’t stopped me from tapping my feet while enjoying a cheap pint of Genessee. They were really good! Though they did promise me they are even better when they have the full lineup. That should be very true, so I can’t wait to see them like that. They seemed a bit disappointed and that was understandable, but I think the whole crowd enjoyed the gig. We all look at things through  a different lens.

Next day I would see them again, this time at Shea Stadium. Not a venue I enjoy going. Definitely not. Quite far and in a deserted area. But well, let’s catch them for a bit I thought. They were playing early and then I had the rest of the night. They were great again but the crowd had changed. The old NYC indie scenesters weren’t around anymore. Instead all these strange hipsters, big beards, beanies, and so on. I didn’t catch the other bands though, but it’s a safe bet they were terrible (?). Again Univers were thrilling. While I was watching them I had this feeling of seeing a young Wedding Present doing their first steps. Must have been the fast guitars, blazing guitars that furiously created melodies. Yes, these things can go hand in hand.

Sunday more people from Spain arrived, this time to my home. Lost Tapes, after touring the West Coast and then later SXSW, Nashville and Athens, GA, they ended up in New York for one last show at the Cake Shop. We took the subway with all the instruments. We carried guitars and equipment We transferred to the F train. We got to Lower East Side early and it was all happiness. Suddenly Pau noticed his pedals were missing. There was barely an hour and a half for the concert. They could have played an acoustic concert you’d think, but a friend of the band was going to make some shots for an upcoming video. They needed the pedals. A quick decision was made. Take a cab to my place and back. We should make it in less than an hour. And so that’s how we rolled.

As soon as Pau and me got at the Cake Shop, when we were getting off the yellow taxi, Raúl was calling me asking where the hell were we. We were just outside! The sound guy was asking for the band, it was their turn, and we had just made it on time. Stress went away, and the band played a short but sweet set. They were dreamy at moments, jangly and quite danceable at others. Raúl was the energy, jumping and strumming his guitar with true excitement, and at the same time singing softly in true indiepop fashion. Pau, on the other hand, was the elegant one, playing a twelve-string with dexterity, creating jingle jangly arpeggios that made the songs shine. It was pretty nice, though they plan to “upgrade” their live set for their NYC comeback, for Popfest time. Could be interesting! For now, you should definitely catch them at the Copenhagen Popfest if you go! And in London too where they will be playing along the Wolfhounds and 14 Iced Bears more next weekend at the Northern Star festival.

Now I’m exhausted. Looking forward to a more laid-back kind of time for this coming weekend. Though I have to say that I’ve already started drafting the new fanzine. Those on Facebook might have already seen the cover for it, sporting The Haywains circa 1989. Bands that will be interviewed in the fanzine so far include The Haywains, Don’t Cry Shopgirl, Lost Tapes, Boyish and The Occasional Flickers. And on the 3″ CD that will be included we’ll be having The Haywains (with an old demo from the vaults!), Lost Tapes, Wallflower, Alpaca Sports (in a way), and The Royal Landscaping Society. You won’t want to miss this!

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I admit I can be jealous. Hard not to unless you are Scandinavian I think ha ha. But this band was German, and they seem to have been lost into obscurity for a couple of decades now.

The Jealous Chaps as far as I know only released this one 7″. It’s not on Discogs or 45cat. Only the gold mine that is From a Northern Place blog has it. A friend had sent me both songs on it, the A side, “Boys Are Talking” and the B side, “Sheila”. And when I heard the A side for the first time I just couldn’t believe this song was so unknown. This is classic indiepop!! What the hell!

Self-released in 1988 the record has a very Picasso looking guitar players. They play blue guitars. Actually the artwork looks like something out of this blog. Blue, white and black. Very classy! The A side plays, and what are the boys talking about? Love. Of course.

The back sleeve has thank you notes for Andy Jezussek, Martin Peetz and Anja Beisse. There’s some address for contact information and also some company names. Possibly a distributor? Kitsch and Musik und Fun Fun Fun appear on the lower left side. Whereas on the right side the designer for the artwork is credited as “Artificial, Design & Objekte Juergen J. Burk”. He was based in Nuremberg.

So, would it be a safe bet to think that the band was from Nuremberg? Could be. I’m sure my German friends can help and shed some light about them. I’m sure some must have seen them playing gigs, or maybe this record shows up sometimes at record fairs? I wonder what happened to them. They are probably still making music in a way or another.

I play the songs again, how catchy is that line of “when boys are talking, when boys are talking about love”. I love the simple guitars and the little arrangements after each verse. And the raw drumming! Then “Sheila” comes, with it’s cadence, begging Sheila to be theirs. Who was this Sheila? Maybe The Smiths’ Sheila. Wild guess.

Anyone remember them? Whatever happened to the Jealous Chaps?!

EDIT: Andreas has just pointed me out that the Jealous Chaps released another 7″ on Softwerk records. This one included the songs “It’s Music” and “Venice”. The record was released in 1988 and instead of the blue color on the artwork, the same sleeve was produced but with red color.

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Listen
Jealous Chaps – Boys are Talking

– EDIT –
I’ve just been told that there is no-repeat policy at Indietracks. Later in this blog post I go babbling about it, so forgive me. From Indietracks Twitter I got this: “We don’t have a no-repeat policy, all we say is that we don’t book bands two years in a row :)” . So everyone out there forgive me, I have misunderstood when I go on and on about this policy. I was totally sure it existed, but it’s clear for me now, through official channels even(!) that this rule doesn’t exist.

Hello my dearest indiepop fans of the world. Not the nicest, not the prettiest, not the smartest, but my favourite people nonetheless? haha. After last week review of New York Popfest lineup I think it only makes sense to check out the bands that have been announced to play Indietracks. So let’s do that.

I remember I woke up. Kind of late. 11am. I turn on the computer and I see a friend that has posted the lineup. Then I write a post about it on my facebook. So far, all so natural, right? Thing is, I was leaking the news. I had announced some of the bands 3 or 4 hours before the official announcement. What had happened? It seems people that are involved in press or have a blog (but not me of course) or have a zine (not me either) got the news beforehand. I guess so they could prepare a post or an article for when the time came after the announcements. The news was embargoed until 7:00pm GMT. I guess my friend didn’t notice immediately about this fact and had made it public. Of course he noticed afterwards but it was too late, I had already noticed the whole lineup before he had the chance to delete his post.

My complain was, “Allo Darlin’ again?”. My excitement came for The Popguns! I had wanted to see them last year. I was happy to have met their drummer as he was at Indietracks drumming for his other band, The Fireworks. I took a photo. Good fan. This year it has to be with the whole band of course. But what about Allo Darlin’? Sure, I’m not a fan, but that doesn’t mean that I can be objective and say that Indietracks goers love the band. I understand that. The thing is, Indietracks boasts a no-repeat policy. I know they’ve broken this policy before with The Smittens (who knows why, but they did), and well, they are doing it again. Isn’t this the third time Allo Darlin’ is playing? I don’t know anymore. For me this is a bit annoying because this in fact takes a space that another band, that has never played, could have taken. Right? I’m not into conspiracy theories, but, some people gain benefit by shifting records of their bands at this festival. I leave the thought there…

The March 10th announcement read like this:

Gruff Rhys, Allo Darlin’, Dean Wareham, Rocketship and Withered Hand are among the bands playing this year’s Indietracks Festival, held on 25-27 July at the Midland Railway in Derbyshire.

Also playing Indietracks this year will be Spearmint, The Spook School, The Popguns, Sweet Baboo, Let’s Wrestle, The Very Most, Franny and Zooey, The Wellgreen, Night Flowers, ONSIND, The Blue Minkies, The Yawns, Thee AHs and Lost Tapes.

Cheaper early bird tickets are available until 11 May. There’s full details about today’s announcement here: http://www.indietracks.co.uk/?p=757

I’m feeling quite sick today, sore throat, maybe starting to get a cold, but as I promised last week, I think it’s good time to go through the NYC Popfest lineup. Though before doing that I want to tell that I have started work on the 9th Cloudberry fanzine. I’ve started to contact the bands that will be featured as well as the ones that will contribute tracks for the 3″ CD. Hopefully it will be ready by Indietracks time. I’d love to sell a bunch there! Now let’s start getting excited about NYC Popfest!

I’ll only go through the bands I’m excited to see, in alphabetical order.

The Arctic Flow – I believe they will be playing the free Saturday show at Spike Hill. They will go on first. I don’t seem to find online the schedule for Popfest but I’ve seen some of it on Facebook. The Arctic Flow were invited last year to play but they didn’t come. I think it had to do with playing solo or something like that, I can’t remember. In any case I’m very glad that Brian is coming to play to NYC the beautiful songs that he has been crafting for many years now. I’ve really liked the few things I’ve heard, the EP on Holiday Records and lately the 3″ on Little Treasure. I definitely want to see this band.

Bart & Friends – Of course! I think this is one of the bands I’m looking forward the most. I’m pretty sure they will be playing on Friday at The Knitting Factory. I had the chance to work with Bart on a little 3″ some time ago and later I’ve been enjoying the EPs on both Matinée and Shelflife. Bart is an indiepop hero, The Cat’s Miaow, his previous band, is one of my favourite bands ever. It is no surprise I’ve interviewed Bart in this blog so many times, talking about each of his projects, from Girl of the World to Pencil Tin to Cat’s Miaow and more. I’ve heard some rumors that as many in the band are librarians they will be visiting some of NYC libraries. Exciting! Extra points for the band as I will finally meet Scott Stevens (who is part of the Friends part), an old friend from Summer Cats! So far I had the chance to meet Hugh and the other Scott, Brewer, of the Cats. So this is pretty cool. Also Scott S used to be in The Earthmen who also appeared on an interview in the blog. We have agreed on having some great dinner that Friday before the show! Good times!

Colour Me Wednesday – In due honesty, I haven’t followed them in all these years they’ve been playing gigs. I have always missed their gigs when I’ve been in the UK. Their recordings remind me a bit of a band I used to love in the mid-00s, The Sorayas (from Sweden). This is punky indiepop, but has that Britishness that I like. Not sure what day they’ll be playing, or where, though I’m hoping they are a nice surprise for me.

Don’t Cry Shopgirl – Very VERY excited to see them. It’s been some months since they appeared on Facebook. I remember writing some lines about them here on the blog, and then just after that, hanging out all the time at Indietracks with Astrid and John. Sweet people! It’s interesting how friendship happens! Astrid is perhaps a bit more known as she plays solo with a project called Northern Spies. Under that name I saw her play in a packed wagon at Indietracks while everyone was sweating and then months later here in NYC. Actually she is in NYC now too! The truth is, after listening to their songs for the first time I knew I had to release them. So yes, there will be a Cloudberry 7″ by them this year. We’ve been working on the artwork this week actually! They will also be playing the free show on Saturday and I think this is one that I will say you can’t miss!

The Flatmates – I am going to see them. I’m not sure what to expect. Martin and Rocker are the only original members. I like Brian and Lisa, but I have to say I’m very skeptical after the single they released (mostly due to the artwork being kind of terrible). But The Flatmates are the The Flatmates, a band that I’ve always loved, so I’ll be there front row. Let’s see what happens.

Franny & Zooey – A band I must have seen as many times as Allo’ Darlin haha. I must really love them. I could tell so many anecdotes and stuff about them, but I think it has to wait. I may have seen them around 10 times  play here in NYC and I’m happy to call them my friends. Real friends, the kind you go for beers every single weekend. In the last few years I’ve seen an evolution in their songs that I can assure you that you’ll be surprised by their next release. They’ve gone full indiepop! I believe they’ll be playing Cake Shop on Thursday, hopefully not opening because I may miss them because of work! It’d be a shame because it’s been months since they left NYC and they are coming back especially for this gig, so crossing fingers!

Gingerlys – It was Ed Shelflife that tipped me about them while eating Korean food here in NYC months ago. I think he will be putting out a 7″ by them. I was so surprised that a band this good in NYC hadn’t been under my radar. Then I tipped Maz. Then I’m very happy that they’ll be playing Popfest! May be the best new band in town. One of the bands I look forward to seeing the most. And that’s because I’ve been unable to attend any of their shows yet! Terrible me!

Gold-Bears – Jeremy is back. Who’s coming with him? He always finds the cool musicians, though I must admit I loved the first incarnation the most with Erich and Santiago. Mostly because they were so cool haha. Anyways, the Gold-Bears have a new album coming out and it’s coming in a white and green sleeve that I had to Photoshop some days ago! Energy, excitement, and fast guitars, that’s what they bring. I can see them many times and will never have enough. One of the happiest moments of Cloudberry is indeed when we released their 7″. Now I’m hoping to hear their new song as well as their classics. Can’t wait for my favourite This Poison wannabes 😉

The Haywains – So yes, you know that the Haywains 7″ is coming out on Cloudberry just for NYC Popfest time. What can I say about the legend that The Haywains are? You’d think they’d sound boring and mature after 20 years. But when you listen the 7″ songs that’s not the case. They sound as fresh as ever. Fresh as a lettuce! And what’s even better is that I can assure you that live they are one of the funnest bands I’ve ever seen. Their Madrid Popfest show that I attended last year was glorious. I think this might be one of the gigs of the year for me. They are playing Knitting Factory of Friday too. I believe they are the headliners that night? Anyways, I just can’t wait. Can’t WAIT! Oh! and they will also be appearing on the next Cloudberry zine I was talking about earlier…

Heathers – Because they sound alright on bandcamp, though they are terrible with emails. I’m still waiting for my copy of the 7″ 🙂

Lost Tapes – Our last 7″ we released was by this Spanish band, and what an EP it is. It’s lush. It’s beautiful. Precious even. It’s classy. It can remind you of moments of the 80s, postcards of Brighter and The Field Mice. It’s no surprise they’ve been just touring the West Coast and now they are playing at SXSW. They will be playing next week at Cake Shop too where I’ll meet them in person for the first time. They’ve been invited to Copenhagen Popfest and Indietracks too. It seems this is their year. One of the best new bands around for sure. Quality.

Marine Life – A band I’ve never heard before. But I’m liking what I hear on Bandcamp. It says their debut single will be coming out on Elefant. That’s a big deal isn’t it? Especially as this doesn’t sound like all the 60s influenced bands that Elefant seems to be preferring these days. Marine Life reminds me to many of the American bands from the 90s. #Poundsign# anyone? Worth checking out the live set.

My Favorite – The quintessential NYC indiepop band. The one and only. The first one. My Favorite is back. I could write so much about them because I love them. That’s why I wanted to release The Secret History album last year. That’s why this year I’m teaming up with them for a co-release of a reissue of Love at Absolute Zero on vinyl. Hopefully later this year the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen of their early recordings will be released too. Dream come true. More importantly, seeing them live, after all my Swedish friends always raved and boasted about their tour in their country, with the pinnacle of Hultsfred festival when My Favorite became a cult band, that’s a dream come true.

Pam & Bart perform as THE CAT’S MIAOW & THE SHAPIROS – This might be the intimate moment at Popfest. It may need a lot of beer to keep me going after getting all sentimental by these songs. When it’s the Cat’s Miaow Pam is not Kerrie, but she is still Pam. She has the voice. It will be definitely interesting to hear. The Shapiros? Match made in heaven. Never thought I’d listen to them. Btw, there’s also a Shapiros interview in the blog!

Rocketship – Another classic band. For many indiepop heroes and legends. For me a fabulous, an outstanding band, that in their earlier period released their most magnificent stuff. The 90s were glorious for Rocketship. The 00s not so much. That Garden of Delights album was the biggest letdown. Here I’m hoping then to hear the indiepop songs, the ones that made Rocketship a band loved by everyone! (also playing at indietracks)

Spearmint – This was perhaps the biggest surprise (maybe not much as a surprise now after they’ve also been announced for Indietracks). I didn’t think they were still going you know. The band fronted by Shirley Lee has been a favourite of mine for so many years. I’ve djed many times their songs, and I remember always having this sort of paradigm about loving their song “The Flaming Lips” and hating the band by the same name! In any case, a band that name drops Said Liquidator in a song, or the BMX Bandits in another, well, that’s a band I love. It’s funny that the day they were announced for Popfest I was actually listening to their A Week Away album. Coincidences. Destiny. I don’t know. But it’s great!

The Spook School – Cloudberry graduates with one 7″ two years ago. Time flies! I thought it was just last year. When I saw them play at Indietracks 2012 I knew they could be big. They are so talented. They are so much fun. And Niall, the drummer, is party personified. Last year they released their first album and what a cracker it was. I feel they will be one of the bands New Yorkers will like the most. Funny how when Nye was living here they didn’t play, now that she is gone the whole gang is coming for it. Life has that kind of things. But the timing couldn’t be more perfect! They are such a treat!

Stars in Coma – I saw Stars in Coma in Berlin Indiepop days. At a small venue. It was nice. I saw André once too when I djed at a little venue in Malmö ages ago. Those were the days. There’s a connection of course with Cloudberry. There was a 3″CD very early on when the label was just starting. There was also a CD album that we released through Plastilina. Stars in Coma is so prolific. I’ve lost count how many releases they have now. But what I do know for sure is that there is a whole bunch of fantastic songs that you should start discovering.

The Zebras – I like them though I’ve never been head over heels for them. They make great luminous pop. Classy, smart, elegant. I stopped following them in 2007 or so. Why? I don’t know. I guess it didn’t connect as other bands do. BUT, I’m hoping to get excited by them once again. The song “Chase” on the NYC Popfest page is very STRONG. If they have more like this one, I might fall in love!

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Über obscure band today. Let’s roll back to 1988.

That year sees the release of a 7″ by a band that sounds more 1984 than 1988. They are called Mexico Red. The songs included are “Eternal Flame” and “Follow me to Heaven”. Both of them are beautiful. They were meant to be classics. They should have been in the Leamington Spa compilations that my friend Uwe has stopped releasing.

They have elegance and class. “Eternal Flame” even has trumpets. Oh I melt. The question arises immediately, with a single this strong, that these days is highly sought after, how have they disappeared from the face of the Earth?

Where does the name come from? Definitely they must have liked Mexico or at least Mexican food (can’t blame them). The Red part? Maybe they liked the idea of a communist Mexico? Who knows. The cover art is beautifully illustrated in black and white. A sad looking girl that seems to have a knife in her belt.

The credits on the back sleeve just add more to the mystery. Lyrics and Music by Del Kwai. Who was Del Kwai? It’s enough of a strange name, but google doesn’t really help me find him.

The label that put out the record was Hummingbird Records.  Possibly a self-release.

The 7″ according to Popsike also included an insert. Not so sure what says in it. I sadly don’t own the record. But maybe someone out there does? And can help us with the insert?

Anyone out there remember them? Where in the UK where they from? Did they have more songs? Would love to know a bit more about them! Hopefully someone can help!

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Listen
Mexico Red – Eternal Flame

Getting in a better mood here at Cloudberry HQ after the New York Popfest lineup announcement. So, I’m going to promise that next week I’ll go over the bands and share with you all my expectations, my hopes and everything that has to do with this fantastic event that will paint this city with indiepop.

There are a couple of Cloudberry news that I want you to be aware of too. First is that The Rileys CDs are finally home. I started shipping them today! If you haven’t got a copy, maybe now it’s the time! They look and sound fantastic!

The other piece of news is that The Haywains 7″ is now being pressed at the factory. It’s official release date is for their show at NYC Popfest but I’m sure it will be ready before that. So keep an eye or pre-order now!

As I was saying, not a classic post this week either. I bring you yet another interview I did from the vaults. This time one from May 21, 2007. Long time ago! Cloudberry at that time had only existed for 4 months. This interview was conducted by Fabien Garcia (from Anorak Records) for his Anorak fanzine. A printed zine. The interview was published in the second issue of this zine written in French. So most of you never understood what was going on. Here is the English version. Hope you like it. I feel I haven’t changed much.

1 – Tell us a bit about the history of Plastilina Records, Mira el Pendulo and Cloudberry Records. What were your first motivations ? How did you choose those names ?

Plastilina Records starts in Lima, Peru around January 2006. We were four geeky friends (Jalito, Jose Emanuel, Sete and me) in love for indiepop and as a result that there’s no indiepop in our city we decided putting a label together. What we wanted was to release and support the bands that we liked. Everything we do is in hope that we could create some indiepop scene in Lima. We are still looking to release a local band. Oh yes, the name means Play Do, or plasticine, you know that colorful (and nutritive) material you used as a kid to make some nice “sculptures”. Pop is colorful right? I guess that’s the reason.

About Mira el Péndulo, well, the name is taken from a nineties cult Spanish band, El Niño Gusano. It means Watch the Pendulum. That was my moniker in some forums I used to participate. I used to write in some of them about new music. Not many people cared about that so I decided to start my own blog. That was November 2004. There werent really any motivations when I started, I thought no one was going to read me to be honest. I have never thought about myself as a writer or journalist but something has to be wrong with people, because everyday they flock to the site! I receive so many visits and half of them don’t speak Spanish! My friend Romina from Argentina usually writes in the blog too!

My latest adventure is Cloudberry. On this one I’m going solo. At first, as most stuff a boy does it was to impress and do it together with a girl. Oh well, it didnt work out, we broke up just before the first release. Cloudberry is actually the backlash of the C-06 tape that I released with my blog. After the success of this tape I noticed I could run a label by my own and that I didnt need much money It could be done in a DIY manner (an attitude that I still think can change the world) and that I could try to fix all the stuff that I see wasn’t working with many labels that are indie but seem corporate monsters. I went “personal”, I believe that the label and the listener are in the same ground, so I’m in my way building friendships with bands and fans all over. That is what I believe indiepop is, we are a community, and I have Cloudberry as a mean to get everybody together. Cloudberry has the intention to release most of the bands I like, on a different format, a 3″ cd-r single, as I think the “single” is the best format for indiepop. Would anyone disagree on this one?

2 – Was it difficult getting started ? Or did you get advice from other people ?

To be honest it wasn’t difficult to start. I started all of my ideas silently without telling anyone. I was very sure of what I was doing. It doesnt take much brains to know what this is all about. I’ve got advice and doubts of people along, sure, but I have very strong convictions on this projects and what they are aiming.

3 – How do you choose the bands ? Do you mostly find the bands for your records through demos, the web or asking ?

Choosing bands is what I like the most about the labels. I love scouting! I go on the web for hours and look for new bands and new sounds. I do this everyday, mainly because I update my blog daily. Then it’s pretty easy, I write to the bands I like and ask if they are interested to put something out. Usually they are interested. I’ve found some bands by them submitting me demos but that doesn’t happen very often, I must say.

4 – What’s your favourite record you’ve put out and which record are you most proud of (if there’s one…) ?

My favourite record is Amida’s EP “Arts & Crafts” that we released on Plastilina last February. I think this band is going to be great, they just make the music I like the most, you know, accelerated jangly guitars, playful keyboards and quirky vocals. It’s C-86 today. You can listen The Bodines in them, you can even go to Postcard Records time and find influences there. It’s just my cup of tea. We had never released an EP before as they require more effort from our side, but I thought that this band deserved it. And I’m proud of the result, they recorded 6 smashing tunes!

5 – What are your favourite bands and which band would you dream to sign and why ?

My favourite bands… McCarthy of course, that is THE BAND. Then I love early Wedding Present, nobody can beat Gedge guitars and what about his howling? I like the Field Mice a lot, Stockholm Monsters, TVPs, Fat Tulips, TCR, Throw that Beat in the Garbagecan, Los Planetas, The Man from Delmonte, Alaska y los Pegamoides, Would be Goods, The Hit Parade (Julian Henry is one of my heroes!), etc etc. I have so many favourite bands I admit!

I’ve just made a dream come true and I’ve signed St. Christopher on Plastilina. I’m speechless.

6 – Which label is a model or an influence for you ?

Of course Sarah. What they meant for all of us is such a huge influence still. All of our indiepop values come from all those writings and ideas Matt and Clare left and also for that almost perfect catalog they put out. I also love Siesta Records, they have created such an strong identity based on aesthetics. But then I’ve been influenced by mainly small labels, today I really like Yellow Mica and Fabulous Friend, I think Cloudberry shares a lot of values with them. The sound that I look for comes from small labels like A Turntable Friend, Waaaaaah, Heaven, Tea Time, 53rd and 3rd, even Subway that is a bit bigger. Those obscure little labels are what I adore. Plastilina on the other hand looks up to Matinee or Elefant, it’s sound is much more eclectic but always inside the indiepop spectre. I feel a strong connection with Music is My Girlfriend and Fruit Records, two labels that started around the same time as us and have a very similar approach.

7 – Tell us a bit more about Mira el Pendulo. Why did you created this webzine ? Who writes MeP ? Why don’t you write a fanzine instead of a webzine ?

That is a question I have in my mind too. I would love to write a fanzine like yours. I need to get organized with my time first, but that’s a project I want to do in the near future. There isnt a good reason for why I haven’t done it yet aside from me getting busier with the labels, my studies and my job.

Mira el Pendulo as I said is going for it’s third anniversary. We do interviews, reviews and sometimes some little essays. There have been several contributors during this time, but none can keep with the fast pace I have of a daily band review. So they usually leave. The only one that has been with me for a long time and still is, is Romina, from Buenos Aires. She’s lovely, when she is not writing she is correcting all my grammar mistakes haha.

The zine was created as a response to the multiplying mp3 blogs in English and the almost non-existant in Spanish. I was a bit annoyed that most blogs in English are very anglo-centric, I would never see a review of an Indonesian band, or a Brazilian band, so this is a response to that. I embrace all pop bands, from every corner. I love that! I think indiepop is a global thing.

8 – Have you ever been in a band or wanted to ?

I want to start a band. I just dont know people that will play with me! I want that badly, I love writing songs. I had three band experiences. With the first two I had some compilation releases in my country, Peru. Both of them on compilations by indie magazine “69”. The first band was called Demolicion! (name taken from a huge Peruvian garage hit by Los Saicos – that’s the 60s) and we played Spanish 80s punk-pop in the vein of Los Nikis. That was 2002. In 2004 I formed with other friends Los Rebeldes Walkie Talkie, a twee-punk outfit that sounded in between Bearsuit and Your Place or Mine, that time I had such a great time. The name is a homage to the terrific Hello Cuca! from Spain. Last year again with some other friends we formed Aguacate Nena! a more poppy band but it didn’t work out, after two months of rehearsals and no recordings, we split. Now I’m looking to form a new band.

9 – The most perfect pop song in the world for you is ?

What a difficult question! I’ll answer you from the top of my head as I think that would be the most honest thing to do, Hey Paulette – I Really Do Love Penelope. Like One Thousand Violins and You Should All be Murdered have to come very near to perfection for me too.

10 – What’s coming out in the next months on Plastilina and Cloudberry ?

On Plastilina The Occasional Flickers album should be released in mid July. It’s a jangle pop band from Greece, though the main member has just moved to Edinburgh. If you like The Lucksmiths, Another Sunny Day or This Happy Feeling bands, this is for you. After that Kawaii’s second album and St. Christopher Sarah Years retrospective should be out this year.

Cloudberry is very very very busy. I haven’t given details to anybody about the future releases as I keep this very quiet, but as this is a fanzine, and I LOVE fanzines (there’s nothing like printed paper!), I’ll give you a list of some future releases that are confirmed! The Westfield Mining Disaster, The Morning Paper, Twig, Robert Church & The Holy Community, Bedroom Eyes, Scottish Polis Inspectors, Hari and Aino, The Local Heroes, Signed Papercuts, Matador Jose, The Electric Pop Group and many many more!

11 – What do you enjoy to do outside the labels and Mira el Pendulo ? What are your hobbies ?

The other passion I have is football. I love it. I even love playing videogames like Pro Evolution Soccer. That’s my favourite one! I play with Arsenal and for a time I was first place in the online ranking of XBOX… then I moved and as the XBOX was my roomates I dont play online anymore. I love reading and watching movies. French Cinema is what I like the most. And Im not saying this because Anorak City is French! I love Eric Rohmer’s movies so much. The Antoine Doinel series are great too, I always felt identified with him. And if it’s not a pretty obvious thing to say my main hobby is collecting records.

Now I’m also doing some DJing on Wednesday’s night on a pop party we are throwing every Wednesday, this is a lot of fun too.

12 – The last word…

Merci Fabien so much, it’s been an honor, I never thought I’ll be answering interviews in my life! But if I had to say something I’ll say what lovely Sheggi used to say: DON’T STOP INDIEPOP!

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Now into the obscure, dark, and lost pages of indiepop history. Bands that are forgotten. Names that don’t ring a bell. Places that have been erased from our collective memory. Time to unearth yet another band, The Catchmen.

The sound of seagulls greet us when we start playing the opening song of the one and only 7″ they released. The song, “Everybody’s Looking for the Sun”, has a cheery vibe, beachy even, that reminds some classic guitar pop bands from the late 80s like 35 Summers or The Bloody Marys. A simple but yet effective song with a catchy chorus full of “ta-da-ta-tas” and strong riffs.

The B side, “Wet Than Dry”, is the total opposite. This is a song for winter definitely. The summery feeling is gone, and now the band is in true depression. A sadder tune, less upbeat, they sound heartbroken even.

What does Catchman mean by the way? The dictionary tells us:
one who sorts floating logs according to owner’s mark by deflecting them with a pike pole

Not my area of expertise. Logs? Pike poles? No clue. Must be something people do in the countryside.

The first time I heard this record was the A side on the From a Northern Place blog. Later Joel would send me the B side.

There is no date for the release of this record anywhere although Discogs and 45cat have it listed. We do know though that it was released (most possibly self-released) by Taking Liberties Records. The catalog being TL-1.

I feel it was more of a promo 7″, from the scan on 45cat we see on the back cover a handwritten message saying to ring Dennis if anyone wanted more information. I assume Dennis was part of the band. No other names are associated to this band sadly.

Google doesn’t give any more clues. Possibly the record is quite scarce if it was pressed just for promo. I wonder who knows anything else about them? Where were they from? English possibly, but from which city or town? Did they record more songs? Whatever happened to them?

Would love to know a bit more. Who can do the detective job for me and track them down?

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Listen
The Catchmen – Everybody’s Looking for the Sun

As I said on my last post I’m a bit bummed. Feeling like indiepop death is imminent. I know, I’ve said that before a couple of years back, but I feel things are getting harder everyday that passes. Anyways, I don’t want to dwell much on it, so I’ll skip writing a long post. The only news I want you to be aware is that The Rileys CD retrospective album that is part of the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen will finally start shipping next week, on March 5th! Very excited about it!

So, as there is no proper Cloudberry blog post I thought about unearthing an interview I did many years ago for a fanzine called “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams”. This was a short-lived fanzine that the very nice Amy from Brighton used to make. This was published on their second issue, and I answered these questions on June 8th of 2008. Damn! I’m getting old! I may have changed a bit, and possibly would answer different things for these questions now, but this is how Cloudberry was at that point.

1.When did you get the idea for cloudberry? Did anything in particular inspire you to do it?

The idea must have popped up around December 2006. The inspiration comes directly from 7″ records, I think I kind of give that away on the singles with their wraparound sleeves and tracklisting numbered a1, b1, etc. Of course I was also inspired by Sarah Records and the way that the record label ended up being a ‘collection’ because there’s something that ties it together (being the format, the artwork, their politics, etc etc), and I wanted that as well. I do believe though that the biggest influence to Cloudberry is Heaven Records with it’s DIY and fanzine ethics. That really touched me when I discovered it years ago. The 3″ idea comes from a single by a Spanish band called Bicicross that I received a long time ago… I was stunned and just said to myself, “this idea is fantastic!”, Then I went through the indiepop scrolls haha and I backed myself with the fact that Marsh Marigold had done it before, so it wasn’t that of an odd format.

2.When did cloudberry start operating? Had you put records out before this?

Cloudberry started around January last year (2007) and the first two singles were released on February 1st that year. It all happend quite fast. And yes, I’ve put records out before. I always say that Cloudberry started after a tape I put out on December 2006 that I called C-06. I think that is the seminal release for Cloudberry, there were many bands there that later appeared on the singles. But talking about other records, I run since early 2006 a label back in my home country with my friend Jalito. It’s called Plastilina Records, maybe you’ve heard about it?

3. Do you/ did you ever make music yourself?

Sometimes. I used to make much more music years ago but I admit it wasn’t the greatest stuff ever. I never got around to do proper recordings either butI got some of those demos released back home, in Peru, in a couple of compilations.

4.How did cloudberry get noticed to begin with?

I don’t really know. I think the first important write up came out from Magnus on indie-mp3. I always believed if the music is good that’s the best promotion, then people will spread the word. I think that’s what happened.

5.How do you arrange getting the artwork done? Do you do that yourself, when the bands aren’t supplying it, or do you have a designer?

Artwork is super important for me so Im very picky and careful with it. Usually I give the option to the band if they want to do it or not. Of course I have to approve the final look, but really, I haven’t had any problems with any of their designs so far. Maybe a little fix here, a little one there, but that’s about it. Also if they want a designer/illustrator to do it, that’s fine with me. I believe in bands having control over their releases. If they don’t feel like they could do the artwork I can handle it. Either I do it myself or I have a designer to do it. Ah! Im a designer by profession if that makes some more sense 🙂

6.What’s your dayjob?

Im a graphic designer/illustrator at the newspaper.

7.What was your favourite band as a kid?

Haha, it was a band from Chile called Los Prisioneros. I guess that doesn’t ring a bell at all!!

8.What was the first gig you went to?

A Spanish pop band called Christina y los Subterraneos, can’t remember the year, must have been early 90s… I still have good memories of that and I still have their records.

9.Favourite records?

That’s a tough one! From the top of my head, McCarthy’s “The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth’ has to be up there for sure (well, all McCarthy, that’s my favourite band). I really love “Heavenly vs. Satan” by Heavenly, “The Camera Loves Me” by The Would Be Goods, “Nixon” by Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, all albums by The Hit Parade (Julian Henry is my hero!), “Ducks and Drakes” by Po!, both Magick Heads albums and everything TCR recorded.

10.You’ve put out three 7″s so far. Are they selling well? Do you hope to do more vinyl or are you going to stick with the 3″ cd-r format mainly? Is there anything else you’d like to do with the label?

I plan sticking to the 7″s, that’s for sure. It’s harder because the runs are bigger and that means you have to sell much much more to recover the investment. I think they are selling well, but I still need them to move a little faster, so I could release more 7″s!! I dream of 7″s you know?
Anything else to do? Well, my only aim with the label is to bring people together, tighten a little bit the indiepop community. I’m still looking forward to that… and I believe this past year was pretty healthy for indiepop, I like to believe I had some influence in that.

11. Is it difficult to make it work financially?

If you are into making money it may be well very difficult, if you are just about having fun it shouldn’t be.

12.How many releases have you had so far?

haha, I’ve lost the count… more than a hundred for sure.

13. Do you think this is something you’ll want to continue doing for a long time?

Releasing records, yes! I wish that was my full time job!

14. Do bands approach you about getting a release on cloudberry or do you go to them?

Most times it’s me approaching them. There have been a couple that approached me and I liked, but most of the ones that approach me are far away from what I want to release. I think it’s all myspace fault!

15. Do you like candy? If so what’s your favourite?

Im not a sweet person haha but I do love green apple lollipops… I love them!

16. Do you have any pets?

Nope

17. Is a cloudberry a real fruit?

It is! As far as I know it grows in Sweden, Norway, Finland… the north of Canada and even in Britain! It grows wildly though… but there’s cloudberry jam (and there’s a band with that name too!) which is very popular in Scandinavia.

18.What’s your favourite thing about having a record label? And a not so great aspect?

Favourite thing is meeting new people everyday and talking about my favourite music with them. The not so great? Mmm, a distribution system like the Cartel would be nice, but that’s too much to ask nowadays…. we need some distribution punch, all of the little labels, but there isn’t. But no complains really, having a record label is great, I totally recommend everyone to do it!

19. Do you have any hobbies outside music?

Im a big football fan and I like playing pro evolution soccer as well, Im pretty good, always on the top of the online ranking (!!). I love literature and cinema as well. Im a bookworm! And that’s about it, I hope there was more spare time for me!

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The Worry Dolls. Been meaning to investigate them for some time now. A band that a lot of C86 collectors have in their radar. I haven’t had the chance yet to get their record. It’s a bit elusive. At least for me. I can’t pay 40 pounds for a record. Feels kind of bad you know. I think the most I ever paid was 25 pounds plus postage. Now I prefer to avoid those prices! Especially with postage being ridiculous once again from UK.

So what the hell is a Worry Doll? Wikipedia enlightens me:
Worry dolls (muñecas quitapenas), or trouble dolls, are very small and colorful dolls traditionally made in Guatemala. A person (usually a child) who cannot sleep due to worrying can express their worries to a doll and place it under their pillow before going to sleep. Some medical centers use them in conjunction with treatment for disease in children. According to folklore, the doll is thought to worry in the person’s place, thereby permitting the person to sleep peacefully. The person will wake up without their worries, which have been taken away by the dolls during the night. Parents may remove the doll during the night, reinforcing the child’s belief that the worry is gone. Some parents involve the child in making the dolls to further increase the psychological benefits of releasing worries, and instructions may be found online.

Interesting. These guys behind the band must have traveled to Guatemala perhaps. Or maybe they had Guatemalan family? It’s a bit of an obscure reference, isn’t it?

They released as far as I know one 7″ on their own Jebel Records (catalog WD1). The band I’m pretty sure is from the UK but the record was printed in France. It was released in 1989. And included three songs: “Happy Families”, “John John”, and “Diamond Mine.”

“Happy Families” starts with distorted riffs and then gets into a fun chorus of Coca-Colas, Big Macs and more. Who does it remind me? Perhaps the fabulous The Man from Delmonte! One of my favourite bands of course!

“John John” is a somber track in comparison. Girl vocals for this one. Sounds more like early 80s than late 80s. It has a more of a post-punk feel than an indiepop one, thanks to the keyboard arrangements.

And then the other B side, “Diamond Mine” closes with a melancholic note this 7″. It’s perhaps the most exotic track of the record too as it has a little reggae vibe to it.

There are some credits on the back sleeve. Do they shed any light?
Thanks to: Pez (sax), Gesh (guitar), Horace at H.A.M.M.A., Sam, Ivor, and Chris (of The Backward Squares).
Engineer: Kieron.

Not sure what H.A.M.M.A. means. Perhaps a studio?  And I assume The Backward Squares were a band. Though Google has nothing at all about them.

An interesting fact is that this record was cut by legendary cutting engineer George Peckham (Porky) as it’s stated in the matrix for the A side, “A Porky Prime Cut”. A classic indeed.

And this is exactly when I hit a wall. There are no band members names. There is absolutely nothing else about the band. This is where I lose their trail. But I reckon that someone out there might know something about them? May know their whereabouts? If they recorded any more music perhaps? Anyone is up to doing the Sherlock job?

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Listen
The Worry Dolls – Happy Families

So close to March. So close of me being 30. It’s an interesting feeling. I did want to celebrate happily and in a special way my 29th birthday, because in my mind it was the last year of my youth. For my 30th I haven’t planned much aside from organizing something with friends and beers, like if I’m not that excited to reach the big thirty. Which is kind of dumb perhaps, I remember Nana’s 30th party in Hamburg, one of the best nights in my life, and most possibly one of the best ones for her definitely. That night is for me legendary now, including the best crowd and the best music you could think of. Why didn’t I copy and organize something like that? I want to blame it to me being lazy, not wanting to spend my birthday organizing something and taking care of things, of bands, of sound systems, and stuff. I wanted not to worry. Maybe this is a trait of me becoming older? Being a bit more selfish in that sense? I wonder.

Also I have to say I’m not that keen on DJing anymore. It’s more fun to dance. Of course, you need a person with fantastic taste so I can dance like a madman, one that plays the songs that “talk about my life”.  I have friends that can do that, friends with pristine taste. Not that many in New York, true, but nonetheless, I could enjoy a night of cheesy songs too. My love for Roxette or Vengaboys is something I’ve never hid. The only DJ gig that I still want to do is the one at Indietracks. I know that it will be hard for me to be picked, especially for my now famous and also uncomfortable indiepop militant stand, but I trust that it will happen. I’ve always delivered dancing and stomping dancefloors. One of the things I’m proud of.

And talking about being proud of, today I announced a new release on the label. Though the band made a comeback two years ago this is their recording comeback, with new songs. I’m talking of stuff of indiepop legend, of indiepop history, of indiepop heroes. I’m talking about a 4 song 7″ vinyl EP by the might THE HAYWAINS!!!!

Albeit I knew about this release for some months now, we kept it secret until now, especially as the date of the release date is on May 30th, the day of a very important gig for them! The information and a pre-order button are now up on the Cloudberry site. The 7″ EP includes the songs:
a1. It’s Time We Stopped Pretending
a2. Badgerline Day Return
b1. The Rebels With Good Intentions
b2. Let’s Twist! (The Knife In My Heart)

An interesting fact for you all: ‘Badgerline Day Return’ is a song the band were playing live back in 1989. The song never got recorded at the time, yet it remained one of The Haywains favourites, and it has at last being recorded!

To my surprise the music doesn’t sound like what many of you might expect: “mature and boring”. It sounds fresh! It sounds like if The Haywains had never left. This sounds circa 1991. Glory days! Just give it a try, you can download the first song of the record from our site. And on our Soundcloud you can listen to “Badgerline Day Return.”

I’m so very happy to announce this record, and I hope you all love it! It will be our last 500 copy 7″ too, because after it we’ll be making smaller numbers to catch up with these modern times. So kind of a landmark this Haywains return.

I can’t explain the excitement I feel. I’ve been a Haywains fan for years. Tracking all their releases. I traveled all the way to Spain to see them at Madrid Popfest last year, and what a concert it was. They were so true to their hearts. I had to fight and push to get their setlist. It was amazing! And to remember the day in Bristol, at the Mother’s Ruin, at a Big Pink Cake party, when I met Paul Towler for the first time. For a few minutes. So long ago. And having worked twice with him in his other project, The Westfield Mining Disaster, to now being able to release one of my favourite bands from the period. This is why I love having a label, this is why I love indiepop, because things like these happen!

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Changing a bit the subject now, the classic obscure band of the week section. The one that half of the readers care for (ha ha ha).

We stay in the UK. But exactly where inthe UK, I don’t know. Playing Soldiers they didn’t release anything, but the one song on a compilation. The compilation I’m talking about was “Shift the Shift” and was released in 1984 by Shift Records. Here is the first clue perhaps, it says that the whole record was rorded at Palladium Studios, Edinburgh but track B6 recorded at Berkeley St. Studios. Track B6 was by one Robert Henry.

I don’t own the compilation yet, but the prices don’t seem expensive, so I might as well get it after finishing writing this blog post. I’m curious though if it’s worth it. I don’t know the rest of the bands but Chewy Raccoon. They are alright, guitar pop, but wouldn’t say indiepop really. You can listen to one of their songs here. Chewy Raccoon released a 12″ with this label in 1985 (Shift 003).

This compilation came out in 1984 and was the first release of the label, being catalog SHIFT 001. What was SHIFT 002? I have no clue. The other bands in this label sampler were: Mo and The Souvenirs, West of Sunset, Earthworks, Simone Lahbib, Anne Turner, and the aforementioned Robert Henry.

The song that Playing Soldiers contributed to this compilation was “Thought for Walking”. It was the fifth track on the A side. From the credits we learn that Playing Soldiers were Gordon Keen, Jim Lambie, Mark Tuffley, Nick Quail and Stephen Davis. Not sure which instruments each of them played. It doesn’t say on the back sleeve photo of them.

The only other song I know by them is a better one, “Corner of My Mind”. This should have been their single I’d say. This song I first heard on Myspace some time  ago, and I grin seeing it in that monolithic site. It’s a fantastic piece of jangle, ahead of the game, ahead of their C86 peers. Somewhere in between The Room and The High Five perhaps?! Timeless pop that has been lost in time. Judge for yourself!

Edit!

Seems I didn’t do my homework that well. My friend Andreas from Hamburg just pointed me that:

Playing Soldiers predated BMX Bandits, The Soup Dragons, Boy Hairdressers, Teenage Fanclub, Captain America and Eugenius:

Gordon Keen – Playing Soldiers, BMX Bandits, Captain America, Eugenius (see also http://www.discogs.com/Gordon-Keen-And-His-BMX-Bandits-Gordon-Keen-And-His-BMX-Bandits/master/252839 and http://zenandjuice.com/music/teenage_fanclub/text/bmxbandits.txt)

Jim Lambie – Playing Soldiers, The Boy Hairdressers, Jim Lambie (solo, one 7″)

Nick Quail – Playing Soldiers, The Soup Dragons, BMX Bandits, Teenage Fanclub

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Listen
Playing Soldiers – Corner of My Mind

A strong feeling that something is about to happen, esp. something unpleasant.

I’m suddenly changing my idea of going to China in autumn, postponing it for next spring, and instead going to Germany. Thing is Throw That Beat in the Garbagecan, one of my favourite bands ever is doing a reunion gig in Berlin for their 20th anniversary. I’ve always said that McCarthy is my favourite band, and it is. But before I even knew McCarthy I was already in love with the German outfit. Can I consider them a second favourite band then? Possibly yes. That would be very fair, and it’s not like I like just 10 or 20 bands. I like hundreds, thousands. So they are very very dear to me.

To be honest I don’t remember how I heard about them first. The year must have been 2003. I was young. Younger than now. I was 19 back then. I had just moved to Texas that winter. At that time I hadn’t even started blogging as Mira el Péndulo. I was on Soulseek though and perhaps it was there that I met them for the first time. I used to hang out in the Twee Folks room, a place I made many great friends, but of course the best being Cris in Spain. Did he introduce them to me? Possibly not. We were mostly gossiping. There were some people that had amazing stuff. I do remember getting the video for “Suburbia” from Chris Jigsaw on Twee Folks. But I’m 100% sure that wasn’t the first time I heard their music.

The fact is in 2004 during a weekend trip with my dad, from San Antonio to Texas, I bought two of their albums. I was still 19, it was winter, and I remember that drive as if it was yesterday. Five hours of talking about football, history and politics, the three topics we usually talk about. My dad is not really a music-fan you see. But he grew up seeing Peru in the world cups unlike me. So he has these vivid memories of the golden age of Peruvian footie. On the highway, passing by outlet malls, ranches, and fast food restaurants, we agreed that at least we were going to go to a record store while in Dallas. We weren’t really going as tourists, my dad had to attend some business there. We didn’t even stop by the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco (I love Dr. Pepper), just to get to Dallas in time.

I don’t remember liking the city much. Just another American city I would say. The food wasn’t that special. I had Mexican food one day, and it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had (arguably the best I’ve had has been in San Diego, I’m yet to visit Mexico). On another day I remember having Brazilian rodizio, all the meats you want, but that is the same every place you go. For that, still the best, the ones I had in Sao Paulo. Anyways. On Sunday morning, after a terrible night sharing room with my dad (he snores heavily), we visited a record store. Problem is now that I don’t remember the name of it. It was in that store that I found the two albums that Throw That Beat released on the American label Spinart: “Large Marge Sent Us” and “The Cool Album”.

They weren’t priced. I took them to the cashier and possibly because he saw I looked a bit out of place he charged me $15 for each. And they were used! Total rip off. But my dad insisted in getting them for me. Happy days. I was just a student and in Texas I hadn’t found a job yet. Now I had to wait until I got back to San Antonio so I could listen to them. I was so eager but I knew I couldn’t play these in the car, my dad would hate me eternally haha.

And so on my old cd-player, the one that lasted almost 10 years (rip 2009), I started a very close relationship with those albums. It was love at first-sight, or listen. I played them over and over for months. Both of them. I rode the bus to university listening to them every single day. At home will I was still honing my skills on Pro Evolution Soccer, I played them. At every moment of the day, I played them. And this went for months. That whole 2004 for me is a year defined by Throw That Beat in the Garbagecan!! I can say their songs always gave a smile to me, and that let me survive a whole year in Texas. That is way too long. Nobody should live for that long there. By 2005 I moved back to Florida and I found a job and well, eventually started buying other records. But, it wasn’t that long that I was going to return to TTB.

My next encounter would be when I visited Germany for the first time. In Essen I stayed with my dear friend Nanita. What a surprise for me that she had a gift for me upon my arrival. What was it? It was the “Tweng” LP on September Gurls. I didn’t know this one existed! There was no Discogs yet, and their discography wasn’t easily available online. Some days after I was at Peter Twee.net’s home and he was giving me a bunch of TTB stickers he got from back in the day. I was back in love and from that time on, my hunt to find all their records started though to my shame I haven’t got them all yet!

Since those days I always go back to Throw That Beat. I don’t think there are months that I don’t listen to at least one of their songs. The videos on Youtube always work when I need a little cheering up. So when on the Facebook group it was announced that they were going to play a reunion gig, it made my the happiest. And now I want to go. It seems it’s happening on the 13 of September. At the Lido in Berlin. Supposedly all original members will be there, even Lotsi. I hope so. I cross my fingers. I should start planning how to get there. Could be my 30-year old present in advance!

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And now one way more obscure band that Throw That Beat. One that requires more researching, but I don’t seem to find much information about them: Premonition.

Let’s transport all of us to Dublin, Ireland. It’s the mid 80s and there’s this band called Loudness of Whispers. We don’t know much about them only that they played the Mood Club at Tommy Dunne’s Tavern in June 1985. From their ashes a band called Premonition will emerge.

The only information regarding the band comes from that great Irish site called Irish Rock, an encyclopaedia of the Irish scene. From there we learn that Premonition were:
John Brennan – rhythm guitars, loud voice
Kevin Morris – lead guitars, mandolin, alto voice
Kieran Eaton – bass, bass voice
Gerard Eaton – drums, tenor voice

Safe to think that Kieran and Gerard were brothers?

The small bio on Irish Rocks says:
Blades-influenced band also compared to the Housemartins. Winners of the Dublin Millenium Battle of the Bands competition held at The Underground on 8 July 1988. Standout track of their set was “Clutching at Straws”. This competition was organised by Danceline and involved 9 heats and 3 semifinals. The prize was a single recorded at Sun Studios, released on EMI.

So another question arises, is there any recordings for “Clutching at Straws”?

Then they released their 7″. On the A side the song “The Streets are Paved with Lead” and “Eyes like Sin” on the B side. Catalog was IEM 004 though the back cover incorrectly lists it as IEM 006. The record was produced by Premonition and Pat Dunne.

I haven’t yet heard the B side. But the A side is quite glorious! It’s classic jangly pop. Of course there’s The Smiths influence, but you can also hear classic sounds from Mighty Mighty, The Brilliant Corners or Hey Paulette! Not your usual fare on EMI! You got to love the guitars, the trumpet arrangements! Should have been a classic! That opening line: “Please don’t go, you are tearing my life to shreds”, always gives me goosebumps!

And then they disappeared. There is no sights about them online. Whatever happened to them? Does anyone remember them? Did they play live often? Did they release anything else? Did they leave any other recordings? Would love to know more about them. Just listen to this song, and you’ll understand why!

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Listen
Premonition – All the Streets are Paved with Lead

Would you say there’s an indiepop revival? Band-wise I would say definitely not. I don’t see the same amount of bands that were appearing in 2007-2008. And if we don’t care about quantity, then quality, I would say it doesn’t compare either. There are fantastic bands these days but they are a handful. Same with labels. Whereas back then new labels were appearing all the time, from DIY CD-Rs to small runs of vinyl, these days there are no more than 5 or 6 bonafide indiepop labels, and the trend is for them to disappear, not much of new ones appearing all of a sudden.

But there’s an interesting fact that I’ve noticed in the last two years or so. And that has to do with documenting indiepop. Sure I’ve been doing this blog for so many years now, trying to do my part in a small scale, but I’m talking of other people doing it in a much larger scale. I’m talking about books and documentaries.

Truth to be told none of these projects have anything to do with each other. For example the release of Morrissey’s Autobiography doesn’t have any sort of link to “Yeah Yeah Yeah” by Bob Stanley (though of course Moz is mentioned in this book). To me though, the interesting fact is that these two books, and other ones too, are being published in this same timeframe, in this 2013-2014 sort of guitar pop rediscovery.

It was just a couple of days ago that I watched on Netflix the Creation Records documentary. Aptly titled “Upside Down”, it was pretty enlightening to me. I didn’t know much of the story behind the label though I was very knowledgeable of their catalog especially the 80s period. Of course I enjoyed watching it, and even though so many bands are not mentioned much like The Jasmine Minks or The Bodines, it’s cool to see Douglas from BMX Bandits, or Joe McAlinden from Superstar/Groovy Little Numbers, giving their two cents about the rise and fall of one of the best labels of our era. The indiepop connection was all over the place. It was so refreshing to hear people mentioning The Pastels, The Shop Assistants, Television Personalities and more.

Another book that came out not so long ago is the one called “A Scene in Between”. In due honesty I don’t think the book adds much to the conversation. And although it’s beautifully done, with great pictures that document the era, similar pictures have been seen before and text-wise, content-wise, I was left a bit empty. There are a couple of interviews that don’t say that much, interviews that might as well appeared on any blog. But there’s something that struck me about the book. It is pretty popular. A friend of mine even picked it up at the MOMA store. And that made me happy. So at last the likes of Edwyn Collins, Phil Wilson, Stephen Pastel and other heroes of us all, were easily available for people. That’s a big success. I wouldn’t have ever thought that the fashion twist of indiepop would be so appealing!

Not so long ago it was announced that the Sarah Records book, written by Michael White (who has written a bunch of liner notes for Cherry Red indiepop reissues), found a publisher. This is definitely another triumph for indiepop. A hopeful like me would think that if publishers are willing to publish the story of a small-ish label (let’s be honest, Sarah is great but when it comes to sale or popularity, books about say Creation make more sense for a publisher), maybe smaller publishers would also be interested in say the story of other labels? What about the story of El? or Siesta? or Pink?

There’s another project that seems will see the light of day this year, and is also Sarah related. The Sarah Records documentary is supposed to screen this year for the first time. It’s been many years in the making, possibly the idea of making it even comes back from that first wave of indiepop excitement I was talking about, the one from 2007-2008. I wouldn’t be surprised. I remember seeing the girl making the documentary interviewing a bunch of friends at Indietracks. That must have been either 2009 or 2010. I can’t recall. But it was quite some time ago. It’s really interesting that both book and documentary will be out soon, complimenting each other perhaps, but at the same time it could be pretty interesting as they hopefully have different points of views as they have been crafted by two totally different people. Let’s wait and see.

This documentary will be a very welcome addition to the documentaries about Creation, Dolly Mixture, The Magnetic Fields and the BMX Bandits, that have been made in the last couple of years. (Actually today Wednesday – I started writing this yesterday – I got an email from Lucy asking for a little help contacting an 80s indiepopper! Made me happy to help!)

For me though the best book I’ve read about POP! lately is the Bob Stanley’s one. Sure it doesn’t talk that much about indiepop, just a couple of pages. But the whole thing is enlightening, it explains you how we got from point A to point B and then point C, in Pop history. Everything was connected. And this huge book, this huge undertaking of St Etienne’s man, opened my eyes in many ways. It also made me think that indiepop might need a similar book, a book that recalls the whole story of indiepop, from how it started up to this day. It definitely is a difficult thing to do, for example a lot of bands’ stories are forgotten forever, we only remember the songs. But if efforts are made to scratch the surface, write a whole book on Sarah Records, why not go deeper at some point, and write the whole story of indiepop? True it is a lot of effort, and work, but how important would it be for future generations to understand how we came up to this point.

I also want to mention the Scared to Get Happy box set on Cherry Red. Though it doesn’t compare at all with the quality and the excitement of The Leamington Spa Series on Firestation, and I admit not even listening to most of the songs as they were the “same old”, it includes a little treasure, something very worthy. Guess what? It’s the booklet that is for me that has the big value of this release. Here there are a hundred of little biographies of bands from the period covered in the release. This is invaluable information, and it only reaffirms the fact that all of these sort of releases, retrospectives and such, really deserve quality liner notes. There’s no way around it. I feel sad when I see some low-budget releases for many of these great 80s bands, or 90s bands, that barely have the tracklist and nothing else. Not even credits, or photos of the band. What kind of release is that?

In the meantime, I salute all these efforts, and even if I’m a fan or not of them, all of them are contributing in having a real tangible document of the existence of indiepop, something I’ve been hoping for years now. And I thank all of the people behind them as well, because I know they are passionate fans, and they are doing a big thing for our small scene!

(EDIT – Just got to know there’s a book coming up by Simon Goddard about the Postcard label! It’s called “Och Aye the Noo Wave: The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records” and it’s being published in April.  This reminds me of….
That there’s also a documentary about the Scottish scene that I forgot to mention -my bad!- called “Songs From Northern Britain – The Sound of Young Scotland” that will be privately screened in October this year and who is co-directed by Erik from Wake the President).

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Today I want to introduce you to one of the scarcest and possibly obscurest indiepop records. It’s a 7″ that I know absolutely nothing as I’ve never seen one. It’s by a band called Three Dancers and included just two songs: “Seventeen” and “It Doesn’t Matter.”

Will it be a safe guess that the band name comes from Picasso’s painting of the same name? Let’s check what wikipedia has to say about this famous work of art:
The painting shows three dancers, the one on the right being barely visible. A macabre dance takes place, with the dancer on the left having her head bent at a near-impossible angle. The dancer on the right is usually interpreted as being Ramon Pichot, a friend of Picasso who died during the painting of Three Dancers. (Some critics believe it could well be Picasso’s wife Olga Khokhlova.) The one on the left is claimed to be Pichot’s wife Germaine Gargallo with the one in the centre being Gargallo’s boyfriend Carlos Casagemas, also Picasso’s friend. Casagemas shot himself after failing to shoot Gargallo, twenty-five years before Pichot’s death, and the loss of two of his best friends spurred Picasso to paint this chilling depiction of the love triangle.

There is a copy for sale now on Discogs for 265 euros. If anyone can afford it. Ships from Czech Republic of all places. Not a common place for obscure indiepop records. But who knows. The information Discogs has about the record shows that it was released in 1987 by Dilettante Disques (catalog 007). This is quite interesting as I’m not aware of any other releases in this label.

The only true fact is that the A side, “Seventeen”, is one of the finest slices of indiepop. It feels timeless and classic. It does have vocals that can remind you of Edwyn, but the music is like the one Reserve, Holyday Makers, or even Bob was doing at the time. It’s such a great record that no wonder it is sought after. I dream of one day having it of course. Anyone know anything else by them?!

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Listen
Three Dancers – Seventeen

BALANCE: Middle English (sense 3 of the noun): from Old French balance (noun), balancer (verb), based on late Latin (libra) bilanx ‘(balance) having two scalepans,’ from bi- ‘twice, having two’ + lanx ‘scalepan.’

Finally! The Lost Tapes 7″s arrived. I start shipping them tomorrow to everyone that pre-ordered. Also finally The Rileys CDs are being pressed. On top of it all it seems we’ll be putting new recordings by a Bristol 80s band and a retrospective by a 90s New York band. Seems like busy months ahead as we have New York Popfest as a deadline. It’s like running the 100m race right now. It’s exciting and thrilling but at the same time we need to deliver a big effort to get there!

Last week I decided to review Alpaca Sports new album and thus some people didn’t get their obscure music fix. It’s interesting from the feedback I get that there’s people that only care for the label and don’t really mind the blog, and there are people that just like reading the blog and wouldn’t give a dollar to support the label. I think it’s only a few who care for both things. And this keeps me thinking. I mean, the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen releases are an extension of the blog, right? At least for me that’s very clear.

This is the coldest winter I’ve experienced yet. It’s always freezing and one feels less motivated to go out. There are not many gigs going on either. Indiepop follows the same course, unmotivated there are barely news to get us all excited. New York Popfest and Indietracks keep quiet. No announcements yet. Primavera Sounds kind of breaks the monotony with the return of Slowdive and the very odd booking of my beloved Helen Love. Who would have thought of Helen Love putting the hipsters to dance.

I receive a bunch of emails by obsessive fans. It’s a bit farfetched what I get to read. I’m doubtful. I don’t understand what’s going on. Someone on facebook decides to call me a douche. Someone that has systematically been adding all my girlfriends in there. It doesn’t add up. But some people have no shame about anything. Days pass and these little events make me smile and enjoy them. Outside it gets dark pretty early, you have to understand.

There’s so many new albums I’ve bought this year. I’m having piles of CDs to listen. I feel again that I will never catch up. Last time I had a pile this big was around Indietracks time and it took me 6 months to listen to all of them. I’m pretty slow though that doesn’t stop me from buying more music. Must be an addiction.

I’m terribly sad about a Swedish band I used to love. I don’t feel the same love for them, sometimes friendship doesn’t last forever. Friends that start having other priorities. But aside my personal feelings, speaking strictly about their music and the band, it may sound harsh, but I feel it was already time to break up. But they’ve decided to continue with some replacements for old members that I’m sure won’t add much. Some big egos at play. I may be mistaken of course, but I trust my intuition. And it only makes me sad as they were one of the most talented bands I’ve ever encountered.

Anyways, I can’t be gossiping forever (though I love doing it, you can always find me for a chat sometime). Let’s move to this obscure English band called Balance.

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No clue who were Balance. The first time I heard about them was on Youtube. Their song “Russian Train” was uploaded there by Cino Pacino who runs a blog that is worth visiting. Not surprising on the little description of the song he gives credit to another blog, From a Northern Place, saying he got the song from there.

This record came out as both a 7″ and a 12″. Both are catalog Siren 039. On the 7″ we find “Russian Train” on the A side and “River Ghosts” on the B side. On the 12″ we find these two songs as the A side while on the flipside we get “Lines and Squares”. Discogs lists the record as “Europop”. Could be. Definitely not your classic indiepop sounding record, but it has the vibe, the melodies, and the vocals. For me it has an indiepop attitude if that makes any sense.

The record was released in 1987 and as far as I know it’s the only thing the band ever released. It was released by Siren Records who used to have pretty good distribution through Virgin. On this label we can find the likes of It’s Immaterial, Bryan Ferry and even Paula Abdul. No wonder no one remembers the label, too eclectic.

I like that on the labels of the record it says, “An Essent!al Tran-siberian Release”. Perhaps a joke, but sounds cool and mysterious.

The sleeve of the record looks like a lot of photographs of the band. Actually to me it looks like stills from a promo video. Was there ever a video released for this song? Does anyone know? From those photos it looks like a duo, a boy and a girl. There’s just one name mentioned on the labels and that is of Gene Vincent. He gets the credits for the songs.

On the back sleeve there are credits for the sleeve concept (Mckellodell Productions) and sleeve design (Shoot That Tiger!). There are thanks to Steve Biancardo, Chucho Merchan, Buzz, Kick Horns and Dave Foster. None of the name ring a bell to me. Just I know that Chucho is a nickname for those with the name Jesús. There’s an address for information and contact, and it’s in Northwest London. Most possibly the band was from London then.

And that’s as much as I could gather from this band. I still don’t own a record, though it doesn’t look that pricey. Siren was kind of a big label so I’m guessing they pressed many copies. I should get around to buy the record soon. The songs are nice, all of them, very elegant, reminding perhaps to Two People, Lotus Eaters or early 80s pop like Big Outdoor Type. Easier to fit them in that neo-aco tag the Japanese know pretty well.

If anyone has any more information, of course, share!

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Listen
Balance – Russian Train