I’m going to move onto happier things this week. Did you know a new Popfest has sprung out of nowhere in Lima, Peru? I assume it will be very difficult for people from North America or Europe to go there, but think about it, maybe you can make a good vacation out of it! You know, go to Lima, enjoy the best food ever, attend Lima Popfest, and then head to all the touristy places of Peru, from Machu Picchu to the Amazon, the Nazca Lines, Lake Titicaca and beyond.

The festival is taking place this October as a two-day festival. The 17th and 18th (ending of course at 5am on the 19th) the Embassy club in Lima’s downtown will host a bunch of bands from three countries: Argentina, Chile and Peru. This is a true achievement as the scene in South America, because of the big distances, is really fragmented. Also for those wondering, aside these three countries, perhaps only Brazil is the other country with a decent amount of indiepop bands. So all in all, most of the indiepop scene in South America will be represented. For a first edition, it’s quite a success!

I’ve dreamed about such a festival happening in my home country for years, so as soon as I knew my friend Daniel was starting to brainstorm and work on this project I offered my help. I suggested some bands that sounded pretty exciting, and came up with some ideas that I have seen in other Popfests and festivals I’ve attended. Also thought it’d be nice if some Cloudberry Records were given away to those 50 or so who are first to buy tickets. I was also happy to work on the look for this years festival, under Daniel’s vision, and created the flyer/poster for the festival.

Lima Popfest most importantly will introduce indiepop to a new crowd. Lima has some fans of course, and the best example is the good crop of new bands that have appeared like Eva & John (which Daniel is part), Almirante Ackbar and Gomas to name a few. They are familiar with indiepop. But their fans might not. So this is a true exciting moment, and I dare to say that the dancefloors will be packed and sweaty both nights stomping to the sounds of Talulah Gosh and The Wake! Why not!

The lineup of the festival includes three bands from Argentina: Diosque, Las Ligas Menores and La Ola que Quería ser Chau. From Chile we get two bands: My Light Shines for You and Trementina. And from Peru we get Eva & John, Almirante Ackbar, Gomas, Los Zapping, Submarino, Ciudad Gragea and Catervas.

This is not the first South American Popfest though. The first was hosted by Sao Paulo in 2012. But Lima feels a bit more international with the appearance of bands from other countries. Also I’ve noticed people coming from other South American countries on the Facebook attendees list. That is definitely a factor to be excited about. It means people in the region are willing to travel just to be in the middle of an indiepop party. It’s heartwarming.

At this point the tickets are not yet for sale but I’ve been told they will be next week or as the latest in two weeks time. There might be also another announcement for the lineup, one final one, that will definitely be a surprise for the Peruvian crowd. As I’ve been in close contact with the organization, I can tell this has been taking care of in a way I haven’t seen yet anywhere else. I’m very proud on how things have been developing so far so I can only hope that this Lima Popfest will be a triumph. And I wish too that there will be many more to come!

As soon I have more news, I’ll be sharing with you!

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But instead of going south for Lima Popfest, our obscure band comes from the north. From England most probably.

This week again I want to share another favourite song that Heinz has shared on his Youtube account. How many treasures does he has in his collection?! Happily he is keen to share with all of us.

So I heard this beautiful song “Cast a Stone” and I was hooked. The name of the band was just way too mysterious not to catch my attention: North by North West. Of course I get reminded by the classic Bats’ song, North by North. But no, they sound totally different. This is classic indiepop with girl vocals, so beautiful! In the vein of PO! or The Popguns. I couldn’t stop smiling the first time I heard it. It was just way too beautiful!

As it’s so usual with these obscure bands the information we have is way too little. The only clue we have is that this song is that it was released on a tape called “Shiver Me Timbers” that was released in 1991 by the always classy Rutland Records home of course of my beloved PO!

The catalog was RUTT 16. The tape was intended to show Rutland Records’ favourite bands from England and abroad. They couldn’t have them all, but they included these, according to the few lines written on the tape insert.

I’m having a bit of a hart time figuring out the cover artwork for this tape. Where does this illustration come from? Seems familiar. Any of you have a clue? In any case, as I was saying a bunch of fabulous bands appear on the tape, you can find classic bands like The Cudgels, The Spinning Jennys, Home & Abroad, White Town, or also some Aussie bands like The Honeys or the Widdershins. Germany is represented by The Jesterbells, whereas Spain with Aventuras de Kirlian. Favourites of mine Me and Dean Martin also appear. There ware also bands I’ve never heard before like Floorshow, The Shebeen, The Brickfields, Burton Diaries, Futile Coats and more. Time to investigate them.

North by North West also include another song on the tape called “This England”. I haven’t listened to it, and if you happen to have it on MP3, please share it! If it’s just anything close to “Cast a Stone”, I will love it.

So time for questions, who were North by North West? Where does their enigmatic name come from? Did they record anything else? Why didn’t they release anything else? Answers please!

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Listen
North By North West – Cast a Stone

I have so many mixed feelings after coming back from Indietracks. I had a good time as I always do. There’s no better place for indiepop. That’s a given. I get to see all my friends and spend with them so much time in the beautiful Midland Railway Centre. We get to drink warm beers, sometimes with ice on it, and sit for hours in the stationary train next to the shed. We have greasy hamburgers from the immortal lady or badly wrapped burritos, or even curry from our friend Brian and Heather. And we eat dust to wake up with our noses full of black matter. All in all, it’s a good time, isn’t it?

The problem is the music, that’s the only problem. Everything else is just plain perfect. You know, as I said lines above, I can put up with having to drink warm cans of beer even though it doesn’t refresh you at all in a hot summer day. I can put up with kids playing football and creating a whole dust storm to everyone that is trying to enjoy The Popguns. Even dancing in the marquee among another dust storm I can take it. That the festival has to stop at midnight and can’t continue unless you have to pay 5 pounds to get into the beautiful campsite, well that’s ok too of course. But having 6 to 7 good bands out of 50 or something, is a bit too much. That’s why I’ve decided to take a break.

Yes, a lot of people at the festival were telling me that of course they’ll see me next year, that I’m just talking like this now but I’ll change my mind. And hey, believe me I wish they were right. I actually feel like going. But it’s way too expensive to fly in the summer to the UK and get to a festival were all my expenses don’t make it worth it. I remember years were I barely had any time to talk to friends, that I had to run from stage to stage not to miss a band. Years were I collected 10 or more setlists from bands compared to the meager 5 from this year. Of course it’s pretty nice to have extra time to spend walking around, catching up, being at the merch tables promoting the label, but I didn’t travel this far to not see some exciting new bands. Right?

As I said it’s a bit of a catch 22 this year’s Indietracks. I have a blast, I love being there, but I feel this is not the same festival I used to go. Even I took less photos this year. I bought less records too. I did enjoy a lot going back to the Alfreton Travelodge, definitely the hotel to be for me. Great conversations late at night, great friends to go out for breakfast in the morning too. And the Tesco being close by is perfect. Or Matloob procuring beers from the convenience store at the gas station from his Punjabi friend late at night. Those sort of things are what make me feel like I can’t miss my sixth Indietracks next year. But I think it all comes dome to priorities and seeing I was perhaps the only person from the US there this year (right?), I think I’m a bit nuts to keep going when only got to see 3 or 4 bands I’ve never seen before. That’s way too little. Especially when the UK still produces a lot of quality indiepop.

I’ve been previously critical of Indietracks about the bands they’ve been booking. I’m not blind and I did see less people in the crowd this year. Of course these sort of things go in cycles. Probably next year it will be packed, who knows. This year may have been a bit of a transition period, with some members of the organization leaving. Could be. I’m not going to judge that, they know best if that was the case. I did ask one of the organizers why was Gruff Rhys booked. The answer was “because I love him, he is great”. Yeah well, I was looking for another kind of answer. I guess that motto “an indiepop festival” is a bit forgotten.

I sent interview questions to team Indietracks before the festival. Sadly I didn’t get answers for them. I asked many questions that would have cleared up many of the doubts I had for this year organization.

All I’m saying is, and I don’t want to get deeper on this topic because there’s a lot of people that get very susceptible to any criticism is that Indietracks is the best festival for indiepop. The atmosphere is fantastic, the food options every year get better (though still no sign of the roast pork), and all the friends that come make up for a fabulous time. But the bands, come on. This was a festival that used to showcase small and up and coming bands back in the day. It celebrated a scene. It introduced me to so many new bands and also let me get to catch bands that would never cross the Atlantic. It was special what the organizers did, even bringing back classic bands like Friends or the McTells back to life. Where did all that energy, ideas, hope and good taste go? I don’t know.

Next week I’ll go over the festival, the anecdotes, and the bands I loved. I just wanted to explain why I’ve been saying why I won’t go next year. If it was a 100-200 dollar flight, as it it’s from many places in Europe, I would definitely repeat. But 1300 dollars flight, to get to see 6 or 7 indiepop bands, 3 or 4 I’ve never seen before, well, it doesn’t make any sense. I’ll be jealous of everyone going next year because it’s impossible not to have a good time, even if the quality keeps going down. Anyways, see you next week!

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This week’s obscure band comes from a tape called “A Prospect of the Sea”. I heard about this band from Heinz’s Youtube channel. It seems this happens often. Heinz has a fantastic collection and top taste. Heinz, you should organize Hamburg Popfest!

The band was called Kindergarten. The song I heard was Jellybelly. This song was the 8th on the B-side of this tape that was released in 1991. The label seems to be Cloud Production, the catalog number was “Smile 3”. Question for everyone out there reading. What was Smile 1 and 2? Was there a number 4?

There was also another song included by Kindergarten in this tape. On the A side, track number 14 is “Everything You Do”. I haven’t had the chance to listen to this one but if it’s anything like “Jellybelly”, well, I will like it!

The song is a classic slice of 80s indiepop, in the vein of The Fat Tulips or The Penny Candles, though the sound is much rougher, like of a very flimsy flexi single. Could be the quality of the tape too. It does sound like taken from a demo tape. Boy/Girl vocals, catchy choruses, and nice jangly guitars. It reminds me a lot of another band I’ve featured here. Heaven’s Above. It’s no surprise then that they also appear on this tape.

Yes, it’s a tape done with a lot of good taste. In it you can find bands like The Suncharms, The Lovelies, They Go Boom!!, Dreamscape, Saturn V, The Sweetest Ache, White Town and more. Even Heavenly is in it! Pretty classic lineup!

But there are a couple of obscure bands too like this one. For example I have no clue about Gyroscopes, Poem by Rachel, Howard, Cradleyard, Huckleberry Pie or Spectral Alice. Seems I should investigate!

But now, let’s try to find answers and more information about Kindergarten. Who can help?!

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Listen
Kindergarten – Jellybelly

Germany are the World Cup champions. Next week it’s Indietracks. Damn. And in between this week where I’m already busy packing and mailing records to UK. Resting seems to be not an option right now.

There are also a few interesting things happening this week. Tomorrow will go see Camera Obscura. On Friday tickets for the NYC Slowdive show will be on sale. How much? I have no clue. But I’ll pay. I sometimes remember my days in Miami when nothing happened, when I could just stay in and rest for the whole weekend, or almost always staying home after work. NYC has this power over you that really squeezes all your energy. And that I think is a good thing, I think only when I sit down to write on the blog I start thinking that I need a rest. Because on the rest of the day, there’s no time to think about having it easy!

Last weekend I also went to see Franny & Zooey. It will be some time now since they will play NYC. They are returning soon back to their home country in Dominican Republic. Also headlining were a very popular Argentinean band called El Mató un Policía Motorizado. They were fine. A bit too shouty to my taste, at points a bit too rocky, but they were truly entertaining. They are very popular throughout Latin America and are seldom compared to Los Planetas. I don’t see the comparison, but my fellow latinamerican bloggers have better ears for sure.

I got an email earlier today about a show here in NYC about if I had any ideas of any local bands that could support this gig. And honestly I will have to dig deep and perhaps do some research! Aside from the most fabulous Pale Lights and the up and coming Gingerlys, I can’t think of any. There are a couple of 60s influenced bands but they seem to be not excited of being part of this indiepop scene. Well, yes, there’s The Pains and The Drums, but we are talking of a small show in Brooklyn. So let’s be reasonable. Who else?

From the top of my head I think of The Pontoons who recorded two GREAT 7″s back in the 90s. “Landslide” is such a beautiful song that one can’t believe it’s not an indiepop classic. Their other single, “Juncos and Robins”, is also timeless. I know that in 2012 they came back together and released first a digital single called “Antidote” and later an album called “Slow”. All of them that you can stream and buy on Bandcamp.

Then googling around I found a band called Overlord is Not Metal. A bit less of the classic jangle, with more influences from 60s and 70s, perhaps. But still quite nice. Remembers me a bit of long gone NYC band The Baskervilles. First time I hear about them and it seems they have already recorded an album worth of songs called “In Soviet Russia, My Heart Breaks”. Definitely will keep an eye if they ever play any shows.

Kept digging and found a band called Free Cake for Every Creature. Katie Bennett seems to be the driving force of this band writing all the songs and singing. This is more on the lo-fi spectrum of indiepop. Reminds me a lot of early 2000s Sweden, with the likes of Evergreen Days, Tidy Ups, Free Loan Investments and Crime Time. Even the song titles (like “it sucks hanging out with you (“It Sucks Even More When You Leave” or “Too Old to Be a Punk Rock Prodigy”) remind me of that fantastic time of indiepop. I hope to hear many of her songs properly recorded. Check their bandcamp, there’s a lot of potential here!

And across the Hudson, in Jersey, I find Makeout Vertigo. Just finished listening to their latest EP called “Slumber Party Wounds”. It’s quite alright. It does recall the 90s American indiepop bands. A bit of Tiger Trap perhaps, but I mostly listen bands of the kind of Corndolly, Beanpole or Holiday Flyer. My two favourite tracks from this band that hails from Hopatcong, are “Nervy” and “Downstairs”.

Do you know any other indiepop bands in the area? Recommend me some!

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So as Germany are the champions I thought checking out some old obscure German bands. So I grabbed that compilation album called “19 Goldene Hits” that was released ages ago by the Smuf label and the Happy to Be Sad fanzine of out old friend Uwe.

This compilation included 19 songs by 19 different Berlin bands. On the blog I’ve already presented two of them with interviews, The Groovy Cellar and Milchblumen FC. Then I remembered that years ago I tracked two other bands that appear here, Tumbling Hearts and Pleasure. So I thought, why not bring up some interest in Pleasure? The song “Shut Up” on the compilation is really nice and I’m sure everyone out there will enjoy it!

Some years ago Uwe did write a little write up about the compilation. Here’s our first hint about the band:
PLEASURE – Shut Up ( Shoegazer – singer Sascha formed JAKETHIVE two years later)

It is a bit of a shoegazer tune. It sounds British and not German at first listen too. The Charlottes, The Nightblooms, The Bollweevils, come to my mind. For some reason, perhaps the vocals, I think of The Darling Buds and Eggplant.

The booklet included in the CD tells us that the Berlin band was formed by: Selda Kaya, Julia Schultz, Dorian Schultz, Sascha Niemann and Oliver Niemann. Two sets of siblings.

It’s terribly difficult to google a band name with the band Pleasure. But luckily many years ago as I was saying I got in touch with Selda through Myspace. I have some correspondence from 2010 still on my Gmail. On there we agreed to do an interview but it seems she never had the time to get around to answer my questions. She did tell me a couple of interesting facts about the band.

The band lasted for 6 years but they never released anything at all. She said that they were sort of a student band and whatever they recorded was only on tape. She mentions that they were always a bit conservative concerning music and that she only bought her first cd player in the year 2000.

They played mostly in Berlin, almost every club, and only a few gigs outside the capital. Sadly she says that at that time she wasn’t in contact anymore with the rest of the band.

Maybe some of you remember them from Berlin? Attended their gigs? Or maybe even own one of their tapes. Would love to hear more from Pleasure and their sweet sound. If the rest of their songs are like “Shut Up”, then I’m sure would love it!

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Listen
Pleasure – Shut Up

What a difficult summer this has been for Cloudberry. I am a bit sad to say that the fanzine won’t be on time for Indietracks. Aside from not receiving answers for two of the interviews that are supposed to appear on it, I’m also missing a couple of songs for the CD. So it will have to wait a bit longer. Also sales have been very terrible this past June. I know summer is usually pretty terrible, but this might be the worst. I am allowed to complain about this, right?

I’m not in the best of moods about this of course. I feel that at Indietracks things might get better, I feel it’s one of the few times when indiepop fans are happy to support the bands and labels they love. Also of course they are saving on the steep postage prices. I’m hoping then that at that point I can look with a more positive view the near future for indiepop. Right now I’m a bit cynical once again.

This doesn’t mean that I think that indiepop will die. There are new bands appearing all the time! So it won’t! But at the same time these bands are not getting the right outlets for their music. Labels are scheduling less and less releases. Also there’s this stupid hip ideal of buying vinyl only. Wake up indiepop kids, indiepop was not about that sort of hipsterism. Wasn’t Sarah releasing on 45s as they were a cheaper medium than 12″s? There’s a point there. I think a CD right now is a totally fine format. I’m even more terrorized when a band only and solely demand that their releases have to be on vinyl. Some people sometimes need a reality check.

This of course has hit hard those who release on CDR format. I remember when Cloudberry started, I was burning and putting out a bunch of them. It was a great format. Many labels were doing it as well. These days, even though this format still is cheap, has almost disappeared. Nowadays bands and labels have found the cheap alternative to be tapes. The thing is, nobody is playing them. They come with a download code, and that’s what people are using it. So what about the phyisical copy, that cassette? It’s just a piece for the collection. To stand there, to look proud on a bookshelf perhaps. Is that really the point of us loving indiepop? To buy stuff that we won’t really have any sort of interaction with? Just to store it? Feels terribly fake.

I know these things come in circles. That ten years from now probably everyone will be buying CDs again. It’s always this sort of joke that happens within the music industry. I don’t take it seriously of course. I still support labels, bands, festivals, etc. The question I ask myself, because perhaps I’m failing at it, is how do I convince people this is the way to go? That instead of buying a download they should buy a record? That instead of owning an ipod they should invest in a nice turntable. How does one go against the current?

Perhaps then it’s time for self-releases and self-promotion. And self-distribution. Bands doing the whole process, those who are better at the business part, and not necessarily at the music part, will succeed, will get the people listening. In a way this is fair, but I feel that it will be harder to find the beautiful music, and the sort of filtering that exists through labels will be gone. It will just be a war of tags on bandcamp and soundcloud, where whoever who wants it, can call their music whatever genre or style it is. It will all be blurred. Here’s when I might start losing all hope.

Maybe I’m just jumping into conclusions. Maybe this is just a hiccup, but seeing a very quiet scene at the moment, a bunch of not-indiepop bands being booked at Indietracks, the lack of opinions, of voices on social media, low sales, and so on, could make anyone weary.

I do have a theory though of what may be causing this whole thing, and that’s the World Cup. Though I don’t remember how the World Cup affected 4 years ago, this year this might have been a bit of a game changer.

The fact is, I’m following it as well, only missing 2 matches so far. And my head mostly thinks about football every day. I even have made several groups with friends on facebook and whatsapp to just chat about each game. But Sunday this will be over, and I’ll cry for football being over, but perhaps indiepop fans will turn back their eyes into their other passion, indiepop!!

What do you think? What’s the state of indiepop as of July 2014?

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Alfie is a 1966 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Michael Caine. It is an adaptation by Bill Naughton of his own novel and play of the same name. Alfie tells the story of a young womaniser (Caine) who leads a self-centred life, purely for his own enjoyment, until events force him to question his uncaring behaviour and his loneliness. He cheats on numerous women, and despite his charm towards women, he treats them with disrespect and refers to them as “it”, using them for sex and for domestic purposes. Alfie frequently breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera narrating and justifying his actions. His words often contrast with or totally contradict his actions.

Safe to assume that the name of the band comes from the 1966 movie? I think so.

I think the first time I heard “Play On” by Alfie was during Indie Pop Days Berlin in 2011. It was on the night that wasn’t at the Wasserturm in Kreuzberg. It was a smaller venue that I can’t recall the name now where Bart played and Renée played a solo Liechtenstein show. Between the bands Jörgen was DJing. He brought original records, his own vinyl. This I always admire as I’m a bit of a chicken to bring them abroad to DJ! What if they break? Or I spill beer? Or they get scratched? Or stolen? No, no, too many risks!

And then suddenly Jörgen shows me a black and white sleeve. And he tells me: “These are the Swedish Orange Juice”. And kaboom! “Fool to Fall” is filling the venue with it’s fantastic rhythm. I’m awe-struck. How come I’ve never heard this before. I ask him for more information about the band. He told me he was lucky to find this record before the Japanese knew about it. Nowadays they know about it mind you, so of course I’ve never come upon a copy yet.

It’s been many years since that time. And I only noticed today that for some reason I never went out of my way looking for more information about this obscure Swedish band. So I started digging on Google see what I could find about this mighty band that only released the one 7″ but seems to have many more recorded songs. Maybe someone out there in Sweden should do a retrospective CD! Why not!

Alfie’s “Play On” was released in 1987 by the Enjoy label (catalog number JOY-8701). The label seems to have been the band’s own. Self-release then. The A side was the Pa-pa-pa filled jangle slice indiepop heaven of “Play On” while the B side was the more Scottish, Postcardish and utterly fabulous for any dancefloor “Fool to Fall”. Both songs hitting the 3:30 minute mark, they are true should have been classics! On Discogs the Enjoy label also has another Alfie release, a live tape.  This one has the catalog N-8912. Of course the first two numbers in both releases are the year when it was released. Was the two second numbers the month perhaps? Or maybe there were 12 releases in between?

This live tape is a total mystery for me. It was recorded live at the Roxy, in Visby, on March 11 1988. The A side was the concert whereas the B side was the encores!! The songs included on the A side were “Evil Woman”, “Promises”, “Another Girl”, “Little Friend of Mine”, “It’s You (Y.O.U.)”, “So To Speak”. On the B side it looks like covers: “Ticket to Ride”, “All Day and All of the Night”, “Manic Monday”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Twist & Shout”, “Just Can’t Get Enough”.

The next stop to find some clues about the band is of course the back of the sleeve of the 7″. Here it is clear that the band hails from Visby.

Visby is a locality and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County, Sweden with 23,576 inhabitants, as of 2012.[2] Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. It is the only locality with historical city status on the island of Gotland. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and since 1995, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Among the most notable historical remains are the 3.4 km (2.1 mi) long town wall that encircles the town center, and a number of church ruins. The name “Visby” comes from the Old Norse Vis, (genitive singular of Vi) meaning “(pagan) place of sacrifices”, and by, meaning “city”. In the Gutasagan (mid 14th century) the place is referred to as just Wi meaning “holy place, place of worship”. Visby is sometimes called “The city of roses” and/or “The city of ruins”

That comes a bit as a surprise to me.I don’t think I know any other guitar pop bands from Visby. Was there perhaps a thriving scene in the late 80s?

The record was recorded at Sandkvie Studio in January of 87. The engineer was Micke Lyander. The record was later remixed by Alfie & Micke in September. The record was produced by Alfie, Micke and Kjell.

Below these credits a nod to Postcard Records and Orange Juice: “The Sound of Young Gotland”.

The band was formed by:
Tore Höghielm: bass, harmonica
Mattias Ek: vocals
Stefan Häglund: guitar
Johan Arvidsson: guitar
Magnus Häglund: drums

All songs were written by Stefan.

Then there’s this label that seems to have closed some years ago but was active around 2006 until 2012 or so. Seems to have been a CDR label and was called Bendi. I’ve tried getting in touch with no luck. This label has released a lot of quality stuff that was long out of print and would be great to be able to buy these things! Among these records there’s a compilation called “Recycled: Inhouse”. On this compilation the brothers Häglund contribute 18 songs! That is Stefan and Magnus from Alfie and Kjell from Biliardakademien. Alfie in this compilation contributes one song called “Another Girl” that was recorded in 1989 and was originally included in a tape called “Home Again, Finnegan” (Mate M8-8 1992).

This same label in 2006 was giving away a long lost recording by the band called “(A Lovely Day for) Goalkeeping”. The story  about the says:

Alfies “(A lovely day for) Goalkeeping” have been disappeared but was recently found on an old tape cassette, only a couple of days before kick off. Furthermore, it’s exactly 20 years since Alfie was formed! We celebrate all this by giving away Alfie’s last recording for free!  “(A lovely day for) Goalkeeping” was recorded in 1992 spelades in 1992 and became the last song they did together. The band had already gone from a quintet to a trio: Stefan Wesley (guitar, keyboards) and Magnus Háglund (drums, programming, keyboards) recorded demos on a four channel Fostex, and now and then called for Mattias Ek to come from Stockholm to add the vocals.

From the previous compilation we can say that Stefan had been involved in many bands like Spencer Hill, Eucalypso, Season’s Greatings, Doublheader, M.O.M.S., Control Addicts, Castro and Lord Protector & The Commonwealth. Magnus also was involved in Doubleheader, Trumslagarpojkarna and Doubleheader.

From the other members it must be noted that Johan Arvidsson was also part of Red Leg who released two 7″s, “Who Nose” and “La Fé Baisanté”, both in 1988, and Tore Höghielm was part of Blue Velvet who released “Backalirs Höskollektion -92” in 1992, and also part of the band Solicium (1994-2012) that recorded three albums “Solicium” (1994), “Follow” (2004), and “A Box Full of Boxes” (2008).

I found out that Stefan used to have a blog called Unga Moderna. It hasn’t been updated since 2010 though. In there I found a mention of Alfie and his friendship with Tore:

“I met Tore Höghielm first time in high school when we went had German class together. Then he was mostly a fun little guy who could “småtjafsa” with (in a nice way). Then when I started high school I shared a studio with my big brother Kjell for a while, and I was at home when he and Niklas would auditioned in search of a singer. And there was little Tore … They had chosen a song by The Church which he had received on tape to audition for (probably “Almost With You”). He did not get the job in Biljardakademien, but he suddenly had a new favorite band (The Church). We never hung out in high school, more than that we ran into each other at times. I played in my band (which was good) and he played in various bands (which was not very good), but when, a few years later needed a bassist for Alfie, I came to think of Tore. Maybe he played slightly too much at times, but he fitted in perfectly with the band.“

And that is about all I could dig about the band. If you know anything else that you’d like to share, or you have the songs from the tapes, or anything else, you know what that comment box below is for!

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Listen
Alfie – Fool to Fall

As I’ve done for the past few years, I post on my personal facebook my Indietracks schedule: the bands I want to see, the ones I’ll skip, the ones that clash, and so on. Last year I shared it here on the blog and I thought this year I should do the same. So here it is!
But now, it’s also your turn to share with me what are you looking forward to see? Who do you think is missing in this year’s lineup? Are there any major clashes this year aside from the Manhattan Love Suicides and the Blue Minkies? Please comment away!

So finally was announced the rest of the lineup and the stage times and as I’ve made a bit of a tradition I’ll share my schedule for Indietracks. This year I’m a bit less excited about the festival but there are still some bands that I want to see. Also this year I did my homework and have listened to every single band that has been invited unlike other years. Having so much free time this Indietracks might be a good thing as I’ll get to hang with friends that I probably won’t see in a while because I plan to take a break from Indietracks next year and possible the one after. Anyhow…

Friday

I will arrive to Alfreton at 8pm, take a cab to the Travelodge to leave my things and head to the festival. Realistically I’ll be there around 9:20pm or so. Hopefully before. And so I will miss The Chills. Happily I did buy tickets for their London show the day before. How come The Chills are not headlining this day is a question that I can’t find answers for. Maybe they wanted to go to bed early? I don’t know!! So yeah, no bands for me this day. Just hanging. No dancing either, Come Again DJs are a mystery to me. They seem a bitter, but maybe they play good tunes?

Saturday

14:00-14:40 – Wolf Girl. I think the best discovery for me in the lineup. Good job here team Indietracks! Poppy and a classic indiepop sound!
14:-40-15:20 – The Royal Landscaping Society. One of my favourite new bands to come from Spain. I saw a little gig by them sans the drummer in Seville a couple of months ago, and it was really beautiful. One of the concerts that can’t be missed. I’ll run for lunch after them!
15:40-16:10 – Thee Ahs. Saw them at NYC Popfest last year and they were a lot of fun. The Canada band should bring an air of fresh air to the festival. Will Sarah wear her bikini t-shirt?
16:15 – Marc and Graeme Elston. This is indeed a treat. Half Bulldozer Crash and the great man behind The Love Parade. Graeme already played the train before and that has to be the best performance ever on the steam train at Indietracks Festival. With his brother he should top it?! Or make it better?!
16:40-17:00- Linda Guilala. Another repeat for me, I think they played Indietracks 3 editions ago? They have now a new album and won’t count with Adria or Paulita joining them. But still will they bring some guests to the stage? Sadly I will only catch them for 20 minutes.
17:00-17:40 – Dorotea. Okay, I’ve seen them before at London Popfest but I don’t mind seeing them again as they are one of the few bands I won’t get bored seeing time and time again. I wonder though if that big Swedish contingent of last time will make an appearance in the crowd this year to sing every song from the top of their lungs!
18:00 -18:40- Blue Minkies (Manhattan Love Suicides). Will have to choose the Blue Minkies as my chances of seeing them any other time is very small. I love this band. I really like The Manhattan Love Suicides as well. I really do. I don’t understand why this clash exists when there’s a lot of space for them not to clash with good bands. You can just make them play on Sunday too! Please?!
18:40-19:20 – Spook School. Third gig I’ll see by the Edinburgh band this year. Yes, I like them.
19:20-19:40 – Joanna Gruesome. I saw them last year here in NYC and they were quite fun. But only 20 minutes for me as I need to move for the cherry on the pie.
19:40-20:40 – Popguns. Another repeat, but this one is also worth it. Their gig at NYC Popfest as my favourite this year so far (along the My Favorite one). Hopefully after the Popguns I can still find dinner.

DJs, will check out Ready Steady Girls definitely. The other DJs are not of my liking.

Sunday

12:40-13:20 – Axolotes Mexicanos. This is also very awful. So early they have to play? Seriously? They are a fun, energetic band, and they will play to people that just woke up and are hangover? I think their time to play is a mistake, but what can you do. I’ll try to save some energy to be excited at their show.
13:20-14:20 – Thyme Machine. They have nice tunes, nothing super special but proper indiepop at least. Lunch afterwards.
15:00-15:40 – Wendy Darlings. Another repeat from a previous Indietracks, but Baptiste and Suzy’s band I really like, I will be there front row.
15:40-16:00 – Bordeauxxx. Another fine band with nice tunes. Definitely worth checking out for me while drinking my warm beer.
16:00-16:40 – Hobbes Fanclub. More repeats though to be honest last gig I saw by them was cut short by the sound person. Well, okay they did play the day after a longer show. in any case this is one of the bands not to be missed at this Indietracks, great songs, the right attitude, and the always charismatic Leon. Will their album be ready? Would be cool to get a signed copy.
16:40-17:20 – Very Most. Saw them last year at NYC Popfest. Repeat again 🙂
17:20-17:40 – Cosines. Saw them last year in London. More repeats.
17:40-18:00 – Flatmates. Saw them just two months ago. Let’s continue.
18:00-18:40 – Night Flowers. One of the best bands to come out from UK in recent times. I will say though that the first songs they put online were my favourite. Ive been liking a bit less the new material. Let’s see them live.
18:20-19:00 – Screen Prints. The best announcement today. I love this band!!!

Dinner time then. And it seems Indietracks ends very early for me on Sunday!! Of course will go see my friend Alex dj as 7iete Pulgadas at the marquee, if anyone is going to play the good songs at Indietracks it will be him! I look forward the Spanish gang dancing here as well!

And that’s it. Too many repeats to be honest (12 bands!!!) but well, let’s try to be positive and hope for some exciting surprises. Still the best about the festival is seeing friends and eating terrible burritos. Chin up!

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I saw Storsegel’s single on Popsike for 62 dollars. Then I found it for 4 dollars. I always say, just keep looking and you’ll find it. There’s no need to spend big bucks on a record. The only problem is my 7″ is still in Sweden with Andreas from Alpaca Sports who was kind enough to win the bid for me on a Swedish site! But I cannot wait to share this fantastic song with you!

This is a beautiful slice of jangle in Swedish. The “Last Bus”, that’s what the A side means. “Sista Bussen” is such a great song that reminds me of classic early 90s bands like This Perfect Day, Merry Dance, Hip Horace or Amanda Om Natten. I read somewhere only 500 copies were pressed too.

The record was released in 1990. It was a self-release and the B side was “Vanmakt” (Powerlessness). Still waiting for my 7″ to hear this B side. Will pick it at Indietracks when I’ll see again my good friend Andreas!

Lyrics and music on the record are credited to Klas Öhling. The record was recorded at Match Town studios by Mats Siltberg between October and September 1990. It was also produced by him with the help of the band. The only other credit on the back sleeve is for the black and white photo of the band, the girl who took the cool pic was Nastasja Jovic.

Googling around I found that the members of the band were:
Klas Öhling: guitar and vocals
Klas Andersson: guitar and backing vocals
Anders Lind: bass, accordion, backing vocals
Janne Lindblom: bass and backing vocals
Jonas Ander: drums

Storsegel, in English by the way means “mainsail”. The mainsail is the principal sail of a ship, especially the lowest sail on the mainmast in a square-rigged vessel. Were they into seafaring, sailing, or just the seas? It’s an interesting question. The band hailed from Jönköping in Sweden. The city is not on the ocean but it lies on the coast of Lake Vattern. This is the second largest lake in Sweden and the sixth in extension in Europe.

I also read that there was a promo video for the song Sista Bussen, but I haven’t been able to find it. I also read that there was an album released by the band, a CD album. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I found out that they contributed a song also for a compilation called Projektet. The song included was “Kanske Stannar Tåget” (“Maybe the train stops’ seems they really liked mass transit!). This record was released by Matchtown records in 1991 (catalog MTR2003). In this compilation the Mop Tops also appear as well as Meatbox. It’s a fine bet to guess that this compilation includes bands that recorded at the studios based in Huskvarna. On this record there’s a little info about the band that says that the band started in 1989 and the bandmates have been into music for around ten or twelve years before.

In 1992 they played the Amazonas stage at Hultsfred Festival. That same year the band split when Klas decided that it was time to leave the city. In their city they had payed venues like Palais and Kulturhuset. But it wasn’t until 2011 when he returned to Jönköping when the band reunited for a one-off gig on April 16th of that year at a venue called Lingon. And that was it. That’s when I lose the trail of the band. If you know anything else by them, it would be great to know! Share the knowledge 🙂

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Listen
Storsegel – Sista Bussen

Last post about NYC Popfest. Now almost a month after.

It doesn’t feel much of a blur now that Sunday night at Littlefield. Perfect weather, a good vibe and an excitement that had been building since day one of Popfest. Elin had already left to the airport. It was a bit late too and many people were leaving as well possibly because they had to work on Monday. That didn’t stop The Spook School having an almost packed venue for a thrilling performance.

I had seen The Spook School at Indietracks before. They were truly amazing I thought. Definitely one of the most fun bands around. They energy is contagious and their songs are catchy as hell. But to think that the shy group I had seen before would dominate the stage with such presence, with such personality, well, I wouldn’t have guessed that! The Spook School were like a nuclear missile this time around, fast, punchy, punky even! They had an attitude that I haven’t seen in many bands. They were here to take NYC by storm. And they did.

Niall as always was making the crowd feel at ease with his jokes, everyone laughing at his stories about his adventures in NYC. Nye being political and firm about his ideas about sex and genre. There was a perfect balance of seriousness and easiness in the band. They were friendly and approachable, at the same time they had drawn a line. They weren’t a funny band. Their songs say things that you need to listen carefully. And through a powerful show they were going to win more fans. And that’s what they did!

I saw them later too, a week after, on a Saturday at Matchless bar. They had just arrived back to NYC after touring many cities in the East Coast. This was a more intimate show, maybe 20 people were in the crowd. The venue was smaller too. Also they finally had some merch, some beautiful t-shirts that I duly purchased. Even in this situation, when you could think they were going to be tired after so many trips, or quieter because the venue was smaller or shyer because there was a smaller crowd, they were loud like a bazooka, they were bombarding us with top pop songs.

The question of course it’s what’s next for this fantastic band? They’ve been evolving and getting better by the day. And they are still able to write fresh pop hits, all bundled with hooks and sing-alongs. One can only keep waiting to see what surprises they have in store.

Of course nothing is perfect. Some old babies came on stage during the concert to throw themselves to the floor and to “dance” (if you can call that dancing) and make the gig a bit more like a silly indierock gig. Ah well, I guess they were having fun, but it looked ridiculous. Anyways…

And then it was the time I had been waiting for. The Popguns were next. I was like a kid with a new toy, I was excited. I couldn’t wait. At this time a lot of people had left the venue. They, I’m sure, will lament this, because they missed one of the best gigs at Popfest. There might have been around 50 to 70 people I suppose. And then “Because He Wanted To”‘s first chords were heard. My heart skipped a bit. And suddenly Wendy Morgan was enchanting all of us with her one and only keening vocals.

The hits continued, one after another. “Landslide” came in second and you can only imagine my happiness, recording the song with my cheap camera. I danced. I hugged my friend Vickilín. I told Mariana I was just way too thrilled that I couldn’t really explain why I like the Popguns so much. I can’t actually remember when I discovered them. I do remember an episode way back in Miami when I discovered this record shop called Sweat Records that I found were carrying many Cherry Red CDs. I asked them how come. They told me they could get me any record I wanted from some website they had for record shops orders. I remember I asked them to get me The Popguns stuff. Why? I don’t know. It was the first band that came to my mind. I went a week after to the store. No luck. And again. And again. They never carried The Popguns that I asked.

Of course eventually I’ve tracked most of their releases, even those not very pretty single-sided 7″s on Midnight Music. But those are things one buys when you love a band, right? The day I read they were reforming to play some special London shows (I think it was at ICA, right?), I in shock. I imagined many bands reforming but I never thought of The Popguns as one. Then of course they played some more gigs and I wondered if I was going to be lucky to see them. I met Shaun at Indietracks last year, because of him playing drums now for The Fireworks. He told me that The Popguns would love to play Indietracks too, so most probably I will have to come next year I thought. But it wasn’t 100%. My friends in France, Another Sunny Night, booked them and from what they told me they were just plain fabulous. I was starting to get jealous. And of course St. Maz booked them for NYC Popfest. I was speechless. Some days later they were also announced for Indietracks. That was awesome news, but even better when Pat on some Facebook group said that they were planning to play two different sets at NYC and Indietracks for the few that were attending both. That’s a band that cares I thought!

I get goosebumps when I listen to Wendy’s voice. Have you heard this by the way? It gets all so chilly around here! But yes, the concert was on it’s way. “Someone You Love” was next. And then one of my favourites of mine, a staple of many of my mixes years ago, “Still A World Away”. Then more classics and more. They tell us that they are recording new material that will be coming out on Matinée. Good work Jimmy! They play their new song “Lovejunky” and fits just perfectly with all their fabulous songs of the past.

And then their A Tribe Called Quest cover of “Can I Kick It?”.  Haha, my friend Viki doesn’t understand what’s going on. But the crowd is going crazy and knows the lyrics by heart. And me too. And we all sing. And it is such a great moment. But it was just all building up for the best moment of all. The last song. And you guessed right. “Waiting for the Winter” was monumental. At least for me it was. Time stood still and I didn’t want the song to never end. I sang and I danced. Clumsy and all. And then it was over. They turned on the lights. It must have been like midnight by then. But Maz told them that they could play another song. But that is a bit of a blur to me. Can’t recall what song it was now! At least I remember that it was one of those gigs that I like to call, “gig of the year”.

Popfest was over. I went to the merch tables and bought a bunch of things. Talked a bit with everyone that was left. Sold some more records. And then I gave away some records. I hugged people around and said bye. Time to go home. On the train platform, waiting for the N, we randomly stumbled upon two of the Stars in Coma. The ride felt so short. My brain was still going at full speed remembering every moment of a great weekend.

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Good afternoon for all those pop treasure hunters. Here’s another 7″ I have barely any idea about. My clues are limited but both A side and B side are on Youtube. So that obscure it can’t be.

The record has no proper sleeve. It came on a white paper sleeve. The band was called Officers and Gentlemen. An odd name.

The 7″ was released in February 1985 according to 45cat that does list it. The record was released by GAP Records. Catalog was 001. So most probably a self-release. The label logo has two flags, the Union Jack and the American flag. Maybe there was an American in the band? Or in the label?

The A side was “That’s Life and Love” and was composed by Gareth Hobbs. The B side was “Noise” and that one was composed by Mark Bushell. Both songs were produced by R. Boden. Both songs are very catchy, they have that certain pre-c86 vibe, a bit more post-punkish than jangly perhaps but it has danceable element that I really like, especially on the B side “Noise” with that bouncy “We make nooooooise” line that I can’t get out of my head!

Gareth Hobbs seems to have a Youtube account and has uploaded some live footage of the band, a full gig at Macclesfield Leisure Centre. Worth watching of course!

And that’s all I could find about them. I saw a mention that they once played at the Lido on another Youtube video, but that doesn’t help much in unveiling the mystery about this band. Who were they? Whatever happened to them? Were there more recording? Anyone know anything else?

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Listen
Officers and Gentlemen – Noise

It’s so hard to find time to blog when there’s World Cup, as I was saying earlier to a friend, in this extreme case indiepop comes in second. And blogging at night is really not my thing, but let me try, hopefully my memory is sharp enough to remember perfectly what happened three weeks ago at New York Popfest.

Don’t Cry Shopgirl had finished playing. I had grabbed their setlist, and kept close to the stage while chatting with John for a bit. Time for refilling my beer. There’s no happy hour at Spike Hill and that of course annoys me. It’s still early. Cheap beer time. I decide to stop socializing a bit and I go to check the merch table. I must say I haven’t been checking much the merch since the festival started. It surprises me to see that the Gingerlys 7″ is available. Ed Shelflife told me some weeks before that there was a good chance that they would arrive on time but not to hold my breath. Luckily they were there and grabbed a copy. Naturally, Gingerlys were next on the bill.

I’ve meant to go to many of their shows for months. They are from New York and you would  have thought I’ve seen them before. But I hadn’t. For a reason or another I never went to see them. Most likely because they were opening shows too early and that conflicted with my work hours. But now at last I was going to see them and judging from the recordings I had heard on Bandcamp they were definitely a band to keep an eye to. The vocalist sported shades and had an icy style on stage. Reminded me a bit of The Manhattan Love Suicides’ vocalist. The music of course is much different: a sped-up and updated to shoegaze a bit Bouquet perhaps? A bit of Pia Fraus thrown in there as well? Something like that. Live they sounded a bit rockier compared to the their recordings. It was still enjoyable to see them, you can tell they have a lot of potential. And hearing live that immense song that is Summer Cramps was enough for me. That one did sound more faithful to the recordings I liked very much and kept my hope intact for this band. Definitely the best new band in the NYC (almost ghost-like) indiepop scene. And their 7″ is tops! Totally recommend it (“Jumprope” should be a classic song!).

Afterwards there was some time to burn before heading to Cameo and the evening shows. With Vicky, Diego, Juan Julio, Lisle and Kristine we went to the park overlooking Manhattan. On the shores of the East River we took some photos and rested a bit. Then we went for pizza. Suddenly it was already time to go to Cameo and to notice that the air conditioning wasn’t working. Some fans were trying to solve the issue but as soon as the place was going to get packed we were going to feel like a sauna. Was it a trick to sell more beer? It’s always suspicious.

I stayed at the front for the first two bands chatting with friends and catching up, reminiscing about the past two days of Popfest. I remember someone wanted to buy off from me my Veronica Falls t-shirt. Years ago in London the same had happened with a Cats on Fire t-shirt I was wearing. Also I had received from Jeremy a brand new The Haywains t-shirt, with the badger logo on the front and the tour dates on the back. I think it’s the first t-shirt I own and wear that has the tour dates on the back. I kind of feel like a proper fan now.

Anyways it was time for the long awaited Garlands first ever gig in American soil. It’s been years now since I’ve been talking to Christin to come and play here. Finally it was going to happen. The line-up had changed a bit since last time I saw them, Thomas was replacing Patrik on guitars and Gustaf replacing Robert on drums. Still around was Christin on vocals, Maria bass-extraordinaire, and Einar the guitar genius of the band. Rapidly all doubts one could have about the new members were long gone. The band sounded tight as ever. The only difference was that Christin was the one who had to tell the jokes now, though Maria joined and talked to the public and told us that her favourite thing about New York had been the food. I could only agree with her. That’s the best in this city hands down. After playing all their hits, after me rooting for Christin (a classic thing in my book since the first time I saw The Garlands play ages ago in a London Popfest), the gig was over. It went so fast. I wanted more songs, but that was going to do it for now. Only one gig in New York and it was over. A shame. I hope they return one day. Definitely one of the best gigs of the Popfest, no other band can bring that thrilling fast and precious pop to the table these days.

Time to get some air. It was a sauna already. Cameo was way too warm. A small break because one of the bands I’ve been hoping to see for many years was going to perform in minutes. That was Spearmint. And the wait was worth it. They played almost all of their hits but not my favourite “The Flaming Lips”. People knew many of their songs by heart and that was really exciting. This of course surprise me because I never thought they were a band that had this much following. I mean, I imagined it, but it’s not a band people talk or discuss, at least my indiepop friends don’t. Anyhow, it was fantastic. I noticed they had a new album, but I didn’t buy it. They also had a book that looked like a graphic novel. I didn’t buy it. What’s wrong with me? I don’t know, I should amend this at Indietracks. At this moment I thought this has been a great Saturday, this has been a powerful gig, started a bit slow with the new songs but ended in a high mark with songs like “We’re Going Out” or “Sweeping the Nation”.  Oh! Question for Maz, did you check out Said Liquidator? I always wondered if there was a connection between the two bands? Anyone know?

Then it was the turn for the dance party. I must have danced until 3am or something. I can’t remember much. It’s all hazy about this night. The only thing that I remember was that the crowd was very Mondo-like and not that much Popfest. I missed the bands and my international friends. They didn’t stay for dancing. Were they too tired? Did they have jetlag? I wonder. They just missed a good time.

Sunday started with me trying to organize a box of Cloudberry releases to sell at the merch table at Littlefield. I had to leave pretty early eventually by pressure from the first band that had left their pedals and instruments at my house. How did the pedals ended at my place, who knows. So half prepared for the merch table, and carrying more bags and boxes than Santa Claus I left home just past noon and took the one hour or so ride from my place to Atlantic-Barclays station. Upon arriving to Littlefield, I guess because of all the things I was carrying, the doorman thought I was from a  band and just stamped me, no questions asked. I left all the stuff backstage. I started to set up my merch on the tables and Maz noticed there was going to be needed more tables. The three tables weren’t going to be enough to all the merch that was going to be on display this Sunday. So we moved everything around and added more tables in the front room. Suddenly The Popguns are soundchecking and my heart skips a beat. I couldn’t believe the beauty I was hearing, “Still a World Away”!!!

I saw Howard behind the DJ decks and said hello. He played a lot of top tunes in between bands. Then I decided I wasn’t going to wait around for people, and decided to have some food at an Ethiopian restaurant around the venue. I knew this place and knew it’s quite good, so I was going to treat myself to some tibs. With a happy stomach I returned to see Lost Tapes perform at Popfest. A pretty strong show as always with Poetry Dates as the highlight song and also closing song. Jangly and chiming the Spanish duo were pretty good though their pleas for a louder audience weren’t answered. I think it was a bit too early for fans to go crazy or maybe they were just hangover and tired. Either or.

Dennis from Candy Twist was around at last. His first NYC Popfest gig. We had some Shiner Bock beer and talked a bit. Love when international friends just pop up all of a sudden at festivals and gigs. That’s what makes this scene so exciting, how connected it is. The turn was for Marine Life, a California band that I knew nothing much about, but was really in love with the song that was included in the Popfest Mix. I hear they have a 7″ slated for release on Elefant and that’s good news. This I would say is one of the bands to follow, one of the best new discoveries of the year. They also know their stuff, they made a sublime cover of Strawberry Switchblade “Since Yesterday”.

Then it was time for the gig that many said made them cry. Bart and Pam on stage playing Cat’s Miaow and Shapiro’s song. It was a beautiful moment. It was close to everyone’s heart. The time stood still for a bit and we were all enchanted, as if hypnotized, but Pam’s beautiful voice, by Bart’s guitar, by those lyrics of daily vignettes, of life represented.

Gold-Bears was next for me. By this time I had already got the LP and CD version of the album. Had to skip the tape version, I don’t have a tape player. What can I say about the Atlanta-based band that you already know? I’ve seen them many many times now and they always have that explosive and catchy power. The new songs just continue the trend. The new album is remarkable, but a review perhaps belongs to another post. Another top performance for Jeremy and the gang.

Time for dinner. Went to a Korean chicken wings joint a couple of blocks away. Spicy. Delicious. Messy. Also the wings were huge. Lots of food for cheap. Now I caught Colour Me Wednesday. I have seen a bit of them a couple of years ago at Indietracks and wasn’t hooked. This time around I bought the album and a t-shirt. There has been a big change in me? Or what? Anyways, they were pretty good and I enjoy very much, it makes me happy, even proud, that they are so into their politics and beliefs. I respect that even though I’m definitely not a vegan. Their attitude and the way the came across was very strong. I learned then that they were touring a whole bunch of US cities. Are they that big to even go play Kansas City and Madison? That was a true surprise. Do they play a lot in UK? I can imagine doing so, as their gig was tight and it shows so well that they know what they are doing. The three girl-one boy band was for me a surprise, and would love to hear more. Will need to investigate, bands that are brave enough to combine pop music with politics, are something I can only cherish.

And now I need to stop because again this is getting too long! It seems I will need a part 3!! Who would have thought!

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A bit of obscurity from Sweden this week. And not from ages ago, just a decade ago! This is Citylights!

Last.fm: A disbanded [1998-2006] dreampop band based out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Two former members now play under the name Boat Club.
Boat Club Facebook: Formed in 2006 by the remains of Citylights to please the jet-set crowd of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Those two members are of course Andreas Christakis and Magnus Wahlström. I was a fan of this band back in 2004, 2005. I had found them on Myspace. We all know the story of Boat Club. Or we do more or less. We love their few releases, they are classics already on my book. But Citylights have been forgotten. They didn’t release anything so it kind of make sense, but I find pretty interesting that it was the seed that would later grow into the dreamy sound of Boat Club.

I had forgotten about them to be honest. It wasn’t until two or three years ago that I remembered their songs. I started compiling the second volume of the Sound of Starke Adolf. First I thought I should include them in Volume 3, but later I decided that they were best suited for the second in the series. I contacted Magnus. He seemed keen though it seems the rest of the members weren’t. Then I waited to see if they could be convinced I think. I waited. But then never heard back. A shame. Still the 2nd volume is waiting for a bunch of bands that should be included. It’s still waiting to be released. First volume of course is long sold out. The last copy I had I gave to Silke now that she was visiting me.

Citylights as far as I know recorded seven songs. These were: “Have You Seen the Rooftops”, “Leaves”, “Memories”, “Poor as You”, “Reset”, “Atmosphere” and “Citylights”. But it seems there were dozen of demos according to another blog:

Magnus Wahlström and Andreas Christakis formed Boat Club in 2006. The duo’s former project Citylights disbanded after the departure of drummer Hannes, and, although there was no ‘official’ release in their seven year existence, the DNA for Boat Club’s sound was ever present. Combining the fuzzy naval gazing tones of peers The Radio Dept. with a more conventional approach to pop song structure, Citylights would record dozens of demos in vain. As the strains and impracticalities of converting the sonic ideas into a full band situation started to take their toll, Magnus and Andreas purged their efforts towards a more electronic direction and, Boat Club was born.

I’ve also read that some of these demos became the songs on the Boat Club release. Anyone know which ones are those?

It’s also important to note that Magnus during the time he was in Citylights was also pretty active with Diktendo. Was Andreas in any other bands at the time?

I don’t know much more about this project. Did they ever play live? Why weren’t these fantastic songs released? Just listen how beautiful “Citylights” is. I can’t believe this has been under the radar. Perfect pop!

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Listen
Citylights – Citylights

It’s been two weeks now since the last blog post. Yes there’s been a couple of interviews but no obscure band, story, rant, or anything else that’s not an interview. Right. Well, I had guests, and then there was Popfest. New York Popfest. And then I needed a week to recover. Fair enough I think. It was a pretty exhausting one, perhaps the one that sucked the most of my energy ever. Is it because I’m getting older? Or why?

Well it started early for me. If Popfest was going to start Thursday I was already out watching bands on Wednesday. Wednesday was the release party for the new LP by New York’s best indiepop band Pale Lights. I’ve already recommended the album on the blog some time ago. Getting the chance to listen the newer songs live was fabulous. A bit strange though that they didn’t headline their own gig. But who cares, more time to catch up with friends that were already arriving for Popfest like Mr Scott Stevens from the Summer Cats who I met for the first time that night, after so many years of correspondence!

The band who opened the night was Franny & Zooey. With a new lineup and a bunch of new songs that now recall Talulah Gosh and The Fat Tulips I feel the Dominican band has stepped up to another level. Fast and fun, the band is finding itself. Looking forward very much to their next recorded effort. I hear there are a couple of releases in the works. And then a terrible idea. Late night White Castle. Because well, it was open, and it’s been so many years that I was that “adventurous”, and Elin should try it. She and her Norwegianness were my other guests that week.

It was imperative for me to see Franny & Zooey that Wednesday. On Thursday they were opening NYC Popfest at 8:15pm. I would still be at work, I was going to miss them. And so I did. I only arrived at the Cake Shop at around 9:00pm. In the meantime my friend Silke, one of my guests had forgotten to bring an ID to show that she wasn’t underage. Guess what, the Cake Shop people wouldn’t let her in. She went home. Terrible. Kind of a bad start for her. Elin did stay.  Je Suis Animal chanteuse. At the Cake Shop I admit not being that much into the gigs. I saw half of Tape Waves and sounded nice. Martha was definitely not for me. Too rock. The Besties I liked them on record (I like very much their first album) until I saw them live once and the singer was all over the place, rockstar style, jumping up and down, shouting, and well, I’m skeptical to see them again. And Dressy Bessy was a bit of a hit and miss. Their classic songs of course I love. The newer a bit more rock too. Mature sound some call it. Not into it.

Instead I spent my time catching up with friends that were arriving. Astrid and John came even straight from the airport with their luggage. Saw my dear Christin. Wow! First time in New York Christin! What a star! Maria, Einar, Ingrid, the Garlands gang. A beautiful gang. I got to meet Colin from Gingerlys. They were lending so many instruments to a handful of bands that were coming from abroad. So I introduced him around too especially to the swedes. It was a calm night, a good start. We went to a 24 hour diner afterwards and call it a night.

Let me stop here. Can I say that Maz is the best indiepop organizer out there? This year I learned a bit the hard way. I release records and support the scene and all. But I’ve never had to take care of bands, organize things for them, or more importantly deal with their egos and needs. It’s tough. And demanding. I had some issues this year myself with a band, and it was just one band and I ran out of patience. Maz deals with 30 or so bands and keeps his cool. And everything seems to run so smooth. That’s amazing. On top of course he has a hell of a lineup every year.

I do hear sometimes silly people complaining that is bad that he books the festival in different venues, in bad venues, stuff like that. Silly people that once played at Popfest and never attend or just only when their friends play or they are invited to play one instrument on stage. Well, as it was that easy. The competition here for gigs and events is tough. And which venues are going to risk having a whole weekend entirely to have a bunch of indiepopkids that most of them are broke and won’t spend much on drinks. I don’t know. Some people are unrealistic sometimes. I’m thankful to Maz, he doesn’t compromise, he books the best of the newest crop of bands as well as classics. And he keeps it indiepop friendly. No ukuleles, no hippies, no nonsense. And barely repeats bands (Cats on Fire, Secret History and Gold-Bears being the exception). Quality.

Anyways, Friday. I had a long day. I started taking the tram to Roosevelt island and then walking south all Fifth Avenue stopping at Grand Central, the NY Public Library, the Empire Estate, ending at Battery Park. Kind of a New York in a day. Tour guide. I’m becoming good at that. We had a beautiful Brazilian lunch and then a nice Peruvian dinner. Then we headed to The Knitting Factory. Last year I had a fantastic time there. Will this year be the same? Well, with the Friday lineup it was looking like that. Bart and Friends was lovely, Scott always so cheeky, joking around with Bart and Pam. I never thought he was so talkative. I assumed he was so shy! But no, he is truly a frontman. Actually Elin thought he was Bart! Can you imagine?! It was a sweet show, pure class. Then The Haywains. FANTASTIC. They were one member short this time, Rachel couldn’t get here. So Johnny, the drummer, did the backing vocals. Of course it sounded different to the show I saw in Madrid, but for those who had never seen The Haywains before this would have been heaven! They have so much energy on stage that can only be contagious. People were singing along and going nuts! Even with songs that I didn’t know people would know by heart. The energy was high then. And we were just waiting for the best gig of the festival now.

My Favorite. No Andrea. Doesn’t matter. For me, who are seeing them for the first time, it doesn’t matter. I can’t really compare. Michael is stealing the show. His dance moves. His boxing gloves. His mask. Le Monster. Daniel is close to me. Biggest My Favorite fan I’ve met. He is so happy to see this. To my right Christin and Maria know the songs by heart. It’s powerful. They play Absolute Beginners Again and I feel how lucky we all are. Then is just a string of classics. Claudia Gonson from The Magnetic Fields joins to sing Homeless Club Kids. It’s a party now. The Suburbs are Killing Us. And Working Class Jacket. And the moment when the whole crowd sings to the top of their lungs Burning Hearts. It feels like they are ready to keep playing more gigs, more festivals, more and more. The LPs were ready that night, and we sold many. The official release is in July. Only yesterday I got a box at home. I will update the website soon. And you’ll be able to pre-order. This was the event of the year wasn’t it?

After The Flatmates we all headed to Trophy Bar. It was still early, around 11 something PM. It seems the Knitting Factory had another event later that night. It was a huge group of indiepopkids that walked together the 10 or so minutes that takes to get there. There was a dance party there. And I didn’t dance much. I remember dancing to Pristine Christine. A true classic when I dance with Christin. Then of course The Garlands were played but the song didn’t finish. It was stopped halfway through! Ah these Djs! Around this time I started having issues with some band nagging me. And my Popfest went a bit downhill trying to solve some problems and being a bit of a nanny. To think that on Thursday I had a conversation with a girl that had been terrible to me years and years ago and handled it alright, and now this would seem more mundane, but it wasn’t. It started getting annoying. At least my good friend Felix showed up and he always brings happiness even in bad times. That was nice. I haven’t seen him in weeks.

Saturday I was finally going to see Kristine and Lisle. So I forgot about any bad things and I was happy once again. Among the best friends I’ve made in indiepop. Including Scott and his girl, Elin and Silke, all of us went to have brunch at a Mexican place not far from the Spike Hill venue. It was great to catch up with all of them. It was funny to see Elin complain that eggs can’t go together with tortillas, that that is a weird thing to do. And Silke enjoying her sangrias. It was lovely really. I kind of enjoy these eating reunions with friends a lot, as much as going to gigs, or even more. Sharing table with so many talented people, doesn’t happen to often, right? Then we went to Rough Trade. Bought the Avocados 7″ (weird, I know). And played some table tennis with Kristine. Time to head back. We stop at a small store that sells everything 90s it seems. Comics, toys, candies, etc. Lots of “stuff”. And now what. It starts to pour. We sadly miss The Arctic Flow. We make it on time for my new favorites, the band I would like to spoil, Don’t Cry Shopgirl. Their first gig ever. And they are a bit nervous. You can tell. Astrid even drops the guitar. Bam! Pum! They are funny though, and charming. And even if they made a mistake it doesn’t matter. They have fantastic songs, and that’s enough to carry on with the gig. I can’t wait to release them. One of the most honest shows the whole festival, and so down to earth. I was charmed.

And so here I stop again. We have World Cup this week! Let’s think about that now. The second part of my NYC Popfest review will come next week!

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Here’s a very obscure indiepop band from the 90s. I don’t own the record sadly and I haven’t been able to find the sleeve to see if there are any credits listed. It’s not even listed on Discogs or other music sites. It’s a shame.

The only mention I’ve found is from Roger’s old blog. Of course, who would know so much about 90s Swedish indiepop other than him? But maybe someone out there remembers them and can give me a hand? Would be great to know a bit more about them.

Théhuset released one 12″. The songs included were “Egen Varld”, “Tänk på nåt Annat” and “Vid Din Fot”. They have a nostalgic sound. It reminds me a lot about of the obscure 80s UK band Some Other Day. It has that classic combo of boy and girl backing vocals. Truly beautiful!

The cover also evokes that period of greatness of jangle, of guitar pop. A sepia tone and white. A timeless portrait of a girl. Who is she? Maybe a famous Swedish actress?

It seems that at some point the band had a Myspace. From there I know that these songs were released in 1992. It says Genre: Torch Songs. I assume that was the name of the label? Though Roger lists the label as AMBUSH.

Then there’s one last mention I found online, this time from the National Library of Sweden (this place comes back and back to me). Here, in their database, they list  a name connected to the band: Johan Gille. Johan would later form Able, and I know a bit more about that band, I do have one of their albums. It seems he wrote the songs and music for Théhuset. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to track him and ask him!

That’s all I could found online. Now why not enjoy this pretty song? And if you know anything else about them please get in touch! Would be great to know the story about this Uppsala band from the 90s.

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Listen
Théhuset – Egen Varld

Approaching now to Popfest weekend. I’m not sure if there’s anything else to talk about at this point. I know a bunch of friends were last weekend at Copenhagen Popfest, and from the photos I’ve seen, it looked like a great time. They had a fantastic lineup. This weekend another bunch of people will be enjoying San Francisco Popfest. But for me both of these festivals seem to be a galaxy far away. My mind, my heart, is already looking forward to next week’s NYC Popfest.

The lineup is brilliant once again. Some weeks ago I went over it and mentioned the bands I really wanted to see. I missed one. And I want to apologize for that. How could I?! You know I’m talking about The Garlands.

I remember the first time I listened to them on Myspace. Would have been 2007.  Or even 2006. I think Andreas Olsson sent me the link. There was only a pre-Raphaelite painting as the profile photo. I didn’t know who the Garlands were. The day I contacted them and asked if they were up for releasing something and said yes I was terribly happy. Still I only know it was a girl called Christin and a boy called Roger. I didnt hear from them for a long time. I thought they quit making music. I thought they were not interested anymore. Or maybe they just forgot about our 3″ single release.

Almost a year later I hear from Cosy Recordings. Back then Matthias was friendly. He said that he had been in touch with the Garlands about releasing a CD as well and they told him that they had promised me already a release. They did remember. I learned then that it was Roger from Nixon the Roger in Garlands. I was thrilled. How did I not notice! Well of course he wasn’t singing, but the melodies were there. We agreed then in doing a co-release, as long as it was released I had no problem. There were 4 songs, one a George Michael cover even. They were fantastic. That’s when I met Karin too, she made the artwork for the release. It all went fast. In a matter of weeks the release was ready. I made 100 copies on the 3″ format. I can’t remember how many copies Cosy did, but it was the 5″ regular sized CD. It was a great time. The record sold out fast.

Months later all of a sudden Christin and me became good friends. We met at London Popfest. We hanged a lot. Then we went to Indietracks together with our friend Emelie. That’s more or less when a fantastic friendship was born. Since that time I’ve met Christin so many times around Europe. The last time just a month ago in Stockholm while we strolled past the cherry blossoms and ate ice cream.

I can’t forget the birthday celebration of 2013. Or London Popfest 2010, or Chickfactor shows in London. The lunches, the dinners, the beers. Of course there’s been bad moments as in any friendship, but I want to think those are over. For me indiepop has been, unintentionally, a vehicle to meet great people, and better friends. Christin is on of the important friends I’ve met, on that I trust blindly. Even the secrets and the love stories. So believe me when I say that I’m super thrilled that The Garlands, that small band that started as a duo and grew up as a 5 piece (even at some point at 6 piece!), is coming finally to the US.

I’ve been bugging Christin to come for ages. And now they are finally playing NYC Popfest. The band as I was saying has changed a lot through the years. What was the live band has become now the proper band having a say on the recordings and all. There’s no Patrik anymore sadly. That for me is such a big lost. Another good friend, Pata left the band some months ago. He was the funny guy of the band, who would talk between songs and make the crowd laugh while the rest of the band tuned their instruments or got ready. Another loss was that of Robert, the fantastic drummer who once was part of Hari and Aino. Two great musicians. Now I look forward to see how the new band mates fit in.

Christin’s voice though is still there, unique, and dazzling. Einar’s class guitars are also still part of the mix. And you can count with the pounding bass of Maria. Three of the best of all Sweden. You can’t question that.

Not so long ago they released a 7″ with Christmas songs on a Dutch label. They are bringing that to sell at Popfest. They are bringing too some tote bags with a unicorn silkscreened. Unicorns and cats are what Christin adores. Also the debut LP on Shelfilfe will be available. It’s a classic that even went to a second pressing I believe.

It’s been years since Christin and her cat saga appeared on the cover of the Cloudberry fanzine, the pink fanzine. It’s been a long time. I haven’t seen them play since March 2013 when they still had the “classic” lineup. That was my birthday. I turned 29 and was heartbroken. They made my year. I’m only thankful. Any misunderstanding that have happened afterwards or before are things of the past. Those of you attending Popfest better check them out.

The Garlands are playing Saturday 31st at Cameo Gallery at 9:15pm.

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If the Garlands had been around 1982 perhaps they would have sound a bit like Dancette, our obscure band of the week.

I know mostly nothing about them. I haven’t been able yet to find their one and only single released on Bel Records (SJP 836) in 82. But I do know for sure that it’s a cracking single!

If you like a bit of Orange Juice mixed with Dolly Mixture, “Going Green”, is just that perfect marriage. It’s such a lovely song that should have been a BIG HIT. Hard to believe it’s only known among only a handful of people. Well, let’s try to make some justice now, right?

The B side of the single is also nice. It’s called “He’s Clever” and sounds a bit different but still a top crack. It sounds a bit more like the bands from that period, like Moody Elevators, A Thousand Miles of Sunshine, Big Outdoor Type, if you know what I mean.

There are some credits on the back of the sleeve. The band was formed by David Brown, Julia, Emma Kelly, Mark Kovand and Vincent Taylor. The record was recorded at Fair Deal Studios in Hayes, Middlesex. Their manager was Simon Panell and the engineer for the record was Stuart. The design of the green and white sleeve was made by Tony Lyons.

And that’s about it. There’s absolutely nothing more online about them. It’s a shame as I really love this single!! Does anyone out there know anything else about the great Dancette? Whatever happened to them?!

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Listen
Dancette – Going Green

And suddenly it’s spring in New York and with that every single pharmacy starts running out of Claritin and other anti-allergic medicine. I have itchy eyes all day. It’s painful. On top of that it’s getting warmer and will have to install the A/C unit on the window this weekend. And it rains. If it doesn’t rain it drizzles. But soon enough it will be NYC Popfest with it’s blue skies and beautiful indiepopkids. But here’s a bunch of tidbits of what to expect in the next couple of weeks.

Three weekends away for that. Around the corner. For me, and possibly for many, it even starts a day before, on Wednesday as Pale Lights are having a release show for their new LP at Friends & Lovers in Brooklyn.

I was told that on Popfest Sunday labels and bands will be able to sell a lot of records as there will be some sort of small fair at Littlefield. I will definitely bring some Cloudberry Records to sell then as well as some of my “doubles” of my collection. I think this is a great initiative by Maz. Let’s see how this idea works out in it’s first year.

Aside from allergies this week I’ve discovered that there are a bunch of new exciting bands out there that I’ve been missing out by leaving under a rock. For example yesterday I was introduced to Trick Mammoth from New Zealand, and wow, I couldn’t believe that I’ve been missing out. It seems the days I had a finger on the pulse are over. I need of my friends to show me their latest finds! So I count with you all.

I had a nice dinner yesterday with Mr. Shelflife. I got the latest releases, Flying Colours 12″, Close Lobsters 7″ and Luxembourg Signal 7″. So far I’ve only listened the latter and it’s fantastic. You all better get it! Hopefully too in two weeks time, for Popfest, the Gingerlys 7″ will be out. I’ve been meaning to catch them live for like forever, but for a reason or another I couldn’t. This time I won’t miss them.

Also I received a nice message from The Popguns saying that they will play different sets at NYC Popfest and Indietracks. That’s indeed a fantastic piece of news to me, making both their gigs special!

Those who are staying in New York after Popfest you should catch Gold-Bears on June 3rd at Shea Stadium. They have a new LP out and even though I haven’t had the chance to listen to it, I’m pretty sure it’s ace.

Then the one gig I will be missing this year that I feel sad to miss is that reunion of Los Fresones Rebeldes in Madrid. This will happen in June as part of their old label celebrations. So jealous of EVERYONE who’ll attend!

I have some travels lined up too. Next weekend I’ll be heading to San Antonio, Texas, for the Memorial Weekend. Nothing too exciting there of course, but will be there for a couple of days for some proper brisket and BBQ.

Oh right, and I need to finish the fanzine. I think that’s what everyone cares right now. So I’ll get into that. Next week blog post though will be about a band that I hold dear but I didn’t mention on my Popfest roundup. And in the meantime know that there are many interviews lined up as well.

But now onto the obscure band of the week, I know you’ve been waiting for it as we missed it last week!

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“The sun shines for you on pension day”!!

There’s an Open Book band on Last.fm with releases from the noughties. I doubt that the band listed there has anything to do with the Open Book from the 80s. Sure I can’t proof this, and as a good detective I should leave the idea open. But let’s move to other things that we can be sure of.

The one and only 7″, including the A side “Pension Day” and the B side “I’m Incomplete” is not listed on Discogs. Don’t know how hard it is then to track a copy. On 45Cat and Rateyourmusic it is listed. Which of the two songs is my favourite? How hard to choose! In this record both songs are terrific. Proper indiepop, proper C86 sound! Definitely worth tracking this record that reminds me a bit of the Black Cillas or the Bicycle Thieves.

I can’t help for having a soft spot for the B side though, maybe making it my favourite of the two. I love how it starts with this sort of post punk sound, and opens with the lines “Friday night I’m drunk again and midnight blows me in“. Classic!

Ah! Pension day. I like being paid too haha. The cover art has a small bunny wearing sunglasses on the bottom right corner. Looks like a logo. I reckon it would be popular printed on stickers. Maybe it was. Would work nicely on badges/pins too.

The black and white sleeve record was released by Hag Records. Catalog HAG 002. I know the Levellers released on this same label at some point. This label was based in Brighton. Would it be safe to assume the band came from Brighton as well? Lovely town by the way, just remembering the day I spent there many years ago, visiting the beach, the Royal Pavilion, and having South Indian food. And of course enjoying a couple of pints on it’s famous pier.

The only other piece of information about the band was that the record was produced and mixed by John Bell. And that the band members are listed:
Ian Creese – Vocals
Nick York – Bass
John Lancaster – Guitar
Martin Southon – Guitar
Vince Bowshal – Drums

And that’s all I could find. I believe no other records were released by the band. Not sure what happened to the guys afterwards, maybe they continued making music under another name. But maybe any of you that lived in the area could remember them? Maybe you attended a gig or two. Please help this poor Sherlock Holmes in tracking down the fantastic Open Book!

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Listen
Open Book – Pension Day