++ Your first release was an EP called “Pure Sugar” in 2001. At this moment you started working with Mike Babb, the owner of Drive-In Records and later Microindie who would release your follow-up releases. How did this relationship start? And how did you like working with him?

Mike is a friend of ours, we’ve known him from our radio station days. Before the Icicles became a band, I recorded a demo of some songs I had written and called the project The Icycles and gave Mike the CD. I always valued Mike’s opinion on music and still do. He’s still one of the first people I share my music with. We loved being on Drive-In/Microindie and it was an honor to be alongside some really incredible bands. And working with Mike was really easy. I feel super lucky to have been on the label.

++ Were there any other labels interested in putting your music out at this early stages?

Not really. 

++ One thing I noticed in this EP is that you recorded in a studio in Los Angeles. How did that work out? Did you all fly there? How many days were you there recording?

That first EP was actually recorded in Chicago with Dave Trumfio from King Size Sound Laboratories. He had just moved to LA but flew back to record our EP over a weekend. We had sought him out because he had produced Holiday’s Ready, Steady, Go which was an album we loved. The funny thing is that Dave had worked on some pretty high profile projects like Wilco/Billie Bragg’s Mermaid Avenue, but we were so caught up in the indiepop scene that we honestly didn’t even realize we were asking this accomplished producer to work with us on our super low budget but adorable EP. It was such a cool experience and he was a real trooper considering we were complete newbies to recording and thought we could record and mix an entire EP in one weekend.

++ Next up was the 2004 album “A Hundred Patterns” which was recorded in NYC. You were traveling all over the place. How was recording at Marlborough Farms compared to Kingsize Studios? Also when you traveled to record, did you bring your instruments?

We loved going to different places to record! A Hundred Patterns was recorded with Gary from Ladybug Transistor at Marlborough Farms. It was another great recording experience. I think the difference in this recording experience was that we weren’t quite as green to recording in a studio. We did bring our instruments. In true indiepop style, we rented a minivan and drove from Michigan to New York. We stayed at our bass player’s parents house in New Jersey and drove in every morning.

++ This album has a song named “Ralphy Rodriguez”, is it about the ex-Menudo? And if so, were you Menudo fans and was he your favourite?

I was a Menudo fan in middle school. Mostly because I saw them on an episode they guest starred in on Silver Spoons. It was hard to find their music in those pre-internet days, so mostly my fandom was derived from teen magazines like The Big Bopper / Bop back in the day. Since a few years had passed between that episode of Silver Spoons and teen magazines, I was following a newer version of the group and yes, Ralphy was definitely my favorite. He actually heard about our song and reached out to us, which was really cool. 

++ And then “Sugar Sweet” was used in Motorola ads, right? I read they were ads not in the US but internationally. Where was it aired?

Yep – in the Krzr commercials. It aired in the US and internationally, though I can’t recall which countries specifically.

++ In 2007 you release “Arrivals & Departures”. Here is another song I am curious about, “Gedge’s Song”. Is it a song dedicated to David Gedge?

So, it’s sort of dedicated to David Gedge in a roundabout way. Zane and I had a cat that we called Gedge named after David Gedge. The Wedding Present is one of Zane’s all time favorite bands. The song itself is about our cat. He would gaze out the screen door desperate to go outside. But anytime he actually escaped, he seemed to hate the outdoors.

++ And do tell, who is on the front cover photo? Is that you?

It is me. 🙂

++ In 2012, 5 years after, you released “Renegade Parade”. What happened in between releases? Why did it take so long to release this new album?

We all started having kids. That REALLY slowed everything down. 

++ Lastly in 2015 there is a limited CD called “Trees Touch Sky”. I wasn’t aware of this release and it seems to have been very limited. Care telling me how many copies were made? And about IndieGogo?

By the time we released that, I think we were all so busy with life and little ones that the EP promo totally got neglected. Also at that point Zane and I were planning to move to California, so life just got super busy. We did an IndieGogo to fund the album and we only printed a short run of CDs. It’s a really good little EP that just never really got heard much.

++ Aside from the release you appeared in a few compilations. One thing that I noticed is that you appeared on two Christmas compilations. With Christmas coming up, I wonder if it is your favourite holiday of the year?

I love a good Christmas tune. And with a band named The Icicles, it seemed natural to write songs about the snow. Snowman was a tune that wasn’t intentionally a Christmas tune, more of a winter song, but it fits perfectly as a Christmas song. 

++ Are there still unreleased songs by the band?

Absolutely. We have one that we recorded a rough of when we were in the studio for Trees Touch Skies, but it never got finalized.

Day 334

The Catherines: the Hamburg duo is releasing their new album! It is called “Drenched”. It is a short one, maybe we could call it a mini-album. It has 7 songs with great catchy melodies. It is out now on CD and cassette. I’ve featured the band many times, so you know I like them and you know what to expect. It is always a pleasure to read their song titles, always quirky and smart.

The Apartments: a new release by the classic Australian band! “A Life of Farewells” is coming out on April 2nd and will be available on vinyl and CD. The album will include 9 songs and we can preview one now, “The Failure of Love is a Brick Wall (You Prayed for me to Hit it)” and I can say I think it is wonderful. Can’t wait to hear the rest! Pre-orders are available now.

Hadda Be: “Another Life” is the latest single by this Brighton/London combo. This track will be included in their forthcoming album to be released in April of this year. There is no more info other than that. But the song (and the artwork that goes with it) is good, so should definitely look forward to it.

Mocca: the Indonesian band has continued releasing great records since their debut on Fruit Records, more than a decade ago. Their latest release is the album “Day by Day” and I just discovered it through the fine Blue-Very label. They are putting out the Japanese version of the CD that will even include liner notes by our friend Toshiko Matsumoto who ran the fine Apple Crumble Record! The album has 8 songs and right now we can listen to 4 of them on Bandcamp. The album will be released on CD.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults: oh! I always liked this dreamy band. Now the band is releasing “Movement EP 15 Anniversary Edition (Remastered w/B-sides)” on cassette. The record will include the original songs from the original release plus 3 more songs, “Bloom”, “Lux” and “Shine”. And there’s also the song “Halos” which is exclusive for those that order on Bandcamp!

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When you stumble upon a trove of songs, 21 songs to be precise, of an obscure Sheffield band called Mr. Morality, you have to post about it immediately!!

So here I am, trying to learn a little bit more about them. They never released a record, but got a little bit of attention last year, 2019, when their song “Treehouse” appeared on the “Dreams to Fill the Vacuum – The Sound of Sheffield 1977-1988” boxset released by Cherry Red. I didn’t get this compilation, but I hope to get a copy when I return to NYC in January. Maybe there are some other great bands I might have missed.

Aside from this boxset the band did appear on another compilation, but 34 years earlier, in 1985. A tape called “Outrage Entertainment” had two of their songs, “Terry and Jane” and “Valium Days”. This tape is probably very rare as it includes two Pulp songs. This tape, which was homemade, was sold at Pulp’s “Outrage” concerts in late 1985 and early 1986. Mr. Morality (and Dig Vis Drill) supported Pulp during this tour.

The songs on Soundcloud are many. It seems they are all their recorded output and probably would make a great compilation. These songs are from 6 demo tapes that were recorded between 1985 and 1988. The intention of these tapes was of course to get radio play, attract A&R and press and get gigs. They use to sell these tapes at gigs. But most importantly, we don’t know what songs were in which tape. That is something we’ll need to find out.

The songs are as follow, they may be in chronological order, but can’t say 100% sure: “Terry and Jane”, “Sometimes I Wonder”, “Valium Daze”, “A Less than a Perfect Thing”, “Secret Ships”, “Men and their Gods”, “A Day by the Sea”, “Our Little World”, “Blue”, “Strawberry Mountain”, “Boy Down our Street”, “Autumn Winds”, “The Inevitable End”, “The Invisible Man”, “The King of Nowhere”, “Treehouse”, “This Higher Passion”, “Sand”, “You’ll Never Be”, “Scream For Me” and “Intro Track”.

It is my luck that I find a Facebook page for the band which seems to still be active. Should contact them. Here we learn that the band was formed by Steve Genn (vocals, guitar), Dave Oldale (guitar), John Furniss (bass) and Martin Spivey (drums). Though on Facebook we see other photos with more members like Dean Methley, Steve Naylor or Dave Hinckler.

There are many different mentions of gigs. We know that:
– March 16, 1985 they band played at Rockwells
– March 26, 1985 they played at the Hallamshire Hotel
– May 18, 1985, they play for the 2nd time at The Hallamshire Hotel (this was their 5th ever gig)
– May 31, 1985, we see the band playing at The Library Theatre supporting the band 777
– June 25, 1985 the band plays at Rockwells
– July 16, 1985 they play at The Limit in a battle of the bands competition
– Aug. 1, 1985, at the Sheffield Uni alongside Pulp, Treebound Story, Revelation, Half Past Midnight, Spring Street Band, Massai Warrior, The Cast, Hole in the Wall, Mr President
– Aug. 5, 1985, the band plays at The Underground
– Aug 29, 1985, they play again at The Hallamshire Hotel
– Sept. 1, 1985, the band plays at the Dolebusters Festival
– Sept. 22, 1985, with Pulp and Dig Vs Drill at The Leadmill
– Sept. 24, 1985, the band plays at the Thekla Old Profanity showboat in Bristol.
– Oct. 4, 1985, the band plays the first of the “Outrage” gigs at the Darlington Arts Center
– Oct. 7, 1985, the band plays again with Pulp and Henry Normal at the Adam and Eves in Chesterfield.
– Oct. 17, 1885, alongside Pulp and Dig Vis Drill the band plays Bradford University
– Oct. 25, 1985, the same lineup plus Popular Front play at the Maze Bar at Sheffield Uni
– Nov. 6, 1985, the band plays at The Wellington Club in Hull with Pulp, Dig Vis Drill and Bible Brothers
– Dec. 14, 1985 they played at The Leadmill supporting Microdisney
– July 11, 1987 they played at The Leadmill with support of The Jack Rubies
– Nov. 5, 1987 they played at The Depot Club in the Sheffield University Lower Refectory

Wow! the band really must have kept a diary or something! They even have setlists for many of these gigs in their Facebook page.

Another interesting fact that I find in the Pulp wiki is that there was a Pulp song called “Mr Morality” that remains unreleased. According to the wiki it was first played live at the Possibly Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in Oct. 1982. Did the band name themselves after this song?

The big question is still why they didnt release any records? Was there no interest? There are some great songs here, at least two could have been put on a wonderful 7″. Why didn’t any label see it? It is something I wonder.

I hope to learn more about the band soon. In the meantime, let’s listen to all of these songs!

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Listen
Mr. Morality – A Less than Perfect Thing

Day 331

Lande Hekt: from Bristol comes this solo project who have just released an album called “Going to Hell”. The album is available on vinyl and CD and includes 11 tracks. The one thing that I don’t know is that it says that the record was recorded in Australia in 2020, but then the band is from Bristol? How did they do to travel like that during the pandemic! In any case that’s just something curious, the songs are strong, upbeat and catchy. That’s what matters.

The Yellow Melodies: a USB digipak with 36 songs, all of the songs that had appeared by the Murcia band in different compilations between 1997 and 2016 is now available directly from the band. There are only 100 copies made, and at the time I am writing this there were just 19 copies left!

Honey Pine Dresser: when Marie Pascale Hardy from Quebec moved to London she met Robert Cann, Becky Dixon, Sally Frampton and Dimitri Sudell. They started this band and have just released an EP titled “Not Pandora”. It is not all indiepop, there are some folky influences here. But there are some very is a good indiepop songs called “English Game”.

Sullen Eyes: my favourite discovery this week is this fun band from Bangor, Maine. Their 5 song self-titled EP is so much fun! Who are behind this band? There is really not much information other than that the songs were recorded a year ago. A year after they upload these songs to Bandcamp to make me very curious! Really good!

Traveling with Monika: the latest from the best indiepop band from Thailand is called “Break Down These Walls”. It is a dreamy, moody, track, sung in Thai. The lyrics translated to English are available on their Bandcamp. Definitely check it out.

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I think part of the premise of this blog is to remember. To remember bands that no one else seems to remember. Bring their songs back. And listen to them one more time. If possible find out what happened with them. Interview them. That’s what I try, to keep a record of all the great indiepop out there.

Today I remembered a band I used to be in touch with. A band from somewhere in Mexico. I can’t remember much more about them. I think it was a boy and a girl. I can’t remember the names. The year was 2004. The band was called Piscina, which translates to “swimming pool”. Now that is quite an interesting name for a Mexican band. Most Spanish countries use the word piscina for a swimming pool, but in Mexico the most common word for swimming pool is actually alberca.

Anyways. It was 2004 and I was compiling a compilation album called “¡Es Pop, Mamá! ” that was to accompany the Peruvian music magazine Revista 69. I have written about a few bands that appeared on this compilation like Hey, Miss! from Brazil and Abeja and Robotril from Mexico. The compilation ended up being a success and created a bit of a buzz about indiepop in Peru and since then there’s been indiepop bands, labels, gigs and festivals. I want to think I had a little part in it.

But back to Piscina. I can’t remember anything at all. I know the song that was included in the comp was called “Megapasión”, which you can guess what it means, it’s the same in English. It is a fun song as you’ll see.

The only other song I know they released was a cover of “Soy Una Intelectual” by the Galician band Aerolíneas Federales. This song was included in a tribute to said band called “Alegra La Cara – Tributo a Aerolíneas Federales” on the label Ya Estas Ya Producciones (YP-10), also from Peru.

So yeah, I want to remember them, hopefully get in touch with them again. Did they continue making music? Did they actually release anything? Where are they now?

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Listen
Piscina – Megapasión

Day 329.

Mandarinaduck: the latest release on Box Bedroom Records from Manchester is the “Super Long Life” EP 7″! It has 4 jangly and other times fuzzy songs. It is really nice. As usual with Box Bedroom Records the 7″ comes with lots of goodies, a very careful and aesthetically pleasant release!

The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness: “Songs from Another Life” is the new album that is going to be released by Bobo Integral from Spain. It is coming out on February 5th and sounds amazing. I also like the artwork a lot. The album is coming out on vinyl, and it is thee second album by the band. The band formed by Andrew in Edinburgh and Gonzalo in San Sebastian, have penned 10 superb songs.

Clubwater: 8 poppy songs coming from Bandung, Indonesia. Jangly, Smith-sy, I am enjoying their chiming guitars. The self-titled 8 song album will be out on February 14. It is coming out on tape on the veritable Shiny Happy Records! Three songs are available to preview, “Adult Angst”, “Secret Smile” and “Regret”. Enjoying all three! Looking forward to hearing the rest.

The Laughing Chimes: first time listening to this Ohio band. Their latest is an album called “In This Town” which was released on Jan. 31. Their debut album is jangly and lo-fi. The band is formed by Evan on guitar, vocals and bass and Quinn on drums and I can imagine their music in one of those great 90s compilations like “Pop American Style” if that makes sense!

Rose et les Maries: Rosie and Johan are behind this San Diego duo that just popped up on Bandcamp last December. And they appear to have just one song! It is called “Mon Chien Lucy” and it is really lovely! Where did it come from? We need more songs by them!

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I just had a blast from the past going through some CDRs I have. I wonder if anyone remembers the Japanese band Yupitalk? I am talking around the year 2008, Myspace times. Any?

I don’t think I was in touch with the band. If my memory serves right, I was in touch with Hiroho Komatsu who was either a fan of the band, a promoter of the band, or something like that. He was very keen in promoting Japanese bands then. I remember trading and getting cool Japanese CDRs from him. One of the bands he helped me discover was Yupitalk. As you can imagine I don’t know much about them even though I notice I have two copies of their “Teikuuhikousen” EP that was released in 2008 by Babyboom Records (DEMO EP 08).

This EP has a beautiful sleeve, with a lovely illustration done by Boojil. The EP came with four songs, “Airship Flight”, “In Love”, “Last Human” and “Home”. I know that the band was just Yurie Endo and got help from someone called Hideo to arrange the songs. Hideo also wrote “Airship Flight”.

According to the insert that came with the CDR it says that Yupitalk started in 2007 and was based in Tokyo.

The year after Yupitalk released a new CD called “The Pillows of Yupitalk”. I don’t think I have this one. This one is no longer a CDR but a CD. It was also released by Babyboom Records Japan (BBRJ 001) and included 7 songs! These were “Airship Flight”, “In Love”, “Last Human”, “Amorphophallus Gigas”, “Gift”, “Lizard Town” and “Shangria”. Something cool I found on Youtube is a video to promote this album.

She also appeared on the compilation “Series Two Compilation Vol. 20” with the song “Koi Wo Shiterutoiukoto” in 2009.

There is another release where Yupitalk was involved with. It dates from 2011 and is a collaboration between Ogasawara Hiroyuki and Yupitalk. Actually the release is called just like that, “Ogasawara Hiroyuki & Yupitalk”. This was released as a CD in 2011 by Babyboom Records (BBRJ-0012). This CD had four songs, “青[オガサワラヒロユキ×ユピトーク]”, “奇跡の亡骸[オガサワラヒロユキ]”, “神様がくれたもの[ユピトーク]”, “ギター[オガサワラヒロユキ]” and “ウォーリー[ユピトーク]”. The release included a music video DVDR.

If you want to listen to her songs there is a Soundcloud with all of them! That is really good news, right?

On Soundcloud there is also an EP titled “とかげの街” from 2007. I dont know if there was a CD release for this one. In any case here are the 5 songs for you to listen. These were “とかげの街“, “Home”, “アモルフォファルス・ギガス“, “ユピソング” and “雨の日も、晴れの日も(Piano Ver.)“. Also there’s another song called “1204 (demo)“.

Another nice find is a song of Yupitalk playing the song “Gift” live in 2009 at Connection. I am guessing this was a venue in Tokyo? Then there’s another video of her playing at Mona Records on January 1, 2008, another  two at Lush (here’s the other, playing the song “Last Human“) from October 11, 2007,

And last find is that of a Twitter account. I don’t undertand Japanese so it is a bit complicated for me to know if there’s any music talk here! The good thing is that Yurie seems to be active on it!

Yeah, that’s all for now. So who remembers Yupitalk? Maybe some of my Japanese friends do? Tell me more about this project! Did she play live much? Was the 2007 EP released properly? Was she involved with other bands?

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Listen
Yupitalk – Last Human

++ Your first release, according to your Bandcamp, is a 1996 18-song album called “Kreuzüber im Popkarton”. Of course I have to ask if this was your first ever release, and in what format was it available? Who released it?

„Kreuzüber im Popkarton“ was a Lo-Fi-4-Track-Album, which we recorded in two or three sessions 1995 + 1996 with the help of our good friend Uli Sick. It was never meant to be a record. Uli and I just had a couple of drinks and recorded some ideas via tascam-4-track-recorder. The result were 18 trashy indiepop-songs but it was never our intention to release them as a record. We just put them together and called it „our record“ – but we never had a label or something. We recorded it on tape and gave it to friends and people we met on gigs or clubnights. It was kind of word-of-mouth-advertising that people gave us positive feedback on so we decided to also put it out on the back then “new” medium CD-R.
It was not until we were asked to play live before we realized this could really be a „real record“. But as I said before, DKA never had a record deal. Everything was DIY and we spread the word on our own.

++ One thing I notice about this record is that there 4 songs dedicated to girls, “Fußball-Girl”, “Bond-Girl”, “Tank-Girl” and “Tanzflur-Girl”. What inspired each of them?

It was a kind of joke at that time to give any girl in our surrounding a proper nickname. At least two of those girls actually existed in our „entourage“. The „Fußball Girl“ played soccer in my hometown club and the „Tanzflur Girl“ was a girl that used to dance a lot in an indie-club that we visited frequently.

++ A year later you’d release “Baby, Achterbahn”. From the sleeve I guess there was a CD for this album? Is that so? I was wondering where did you usually record your records? Was it usually in the same studio? Always the same producer?

Yes, the album was again self-released on tape and CD-R.
The first recordings were really adventurous! The first album „Kreuzüber im Popkarton“ was done by me and Uli and a trashy drum computer. Although we meanwhile became a real band also “Baby, Achterbahn“ was recorded on 4-track-tape – on one day! Our friend Ulrich Sick stayed sober and did the recording. I wouldn’t call him producer really. Sicki just knew a bit more about the Tascam and didn’t drink as much as the rest of us. He just recorded us playing our new songs in the rehearsal room. I think the record still sounds really okay – regarding how it’s been recorded.

++ Then in 1998, yet another album, “Der 7. Beatle”. You wrote songs very fast! An album a year. Did you usually use all songs you wrote and record for every album? Or were there even songs that didn’t made the final cut? Oh, and who is/was your favourite Beatle?

“Der 7. Beatle” still is a record that we love. It would be ridiculous to call it „our breakthrough album“. But somehow it felt like we really where a band with good songs and some fans, playing gigs and so on. Uli and I were always writings tons of material, it hasn’t changed until now. Generally we take every song on an album that we write entirely. There were just a few tracks that were too silly to put on a record. But all three of us always liked the lo-fi-idea that bands like Guided by Voices present: to write heaps of songs, record them in a way that you wouldn’t call over-produced – and move on. I think still we have that mindset although meanwhile we have our records produced in a proper studio.
Hm, I am not sure if I have a favourite Beatle but Ringo seems to be the coolest guy of them. Ulis favourite Beatle is Keith Richards.

++ In 1999 you release “Lauter als der DJ”. I notice that the sound of the band is crispier compared to the more lo-fi recordings of the previous records. What changed?

“Lauter als der DJ“ is a milestone in the band’s history. Because we went in a studio for the first time. Those guys running that studio were not indie at all and didn’t get the idea of the band. But they were the only producers we knew at that time. They usually recorded terrible german soul, r’n’b whatever. And they didn’t want us to use a real drum kit in the studio. They wanted Peter to send them midi files. It still is funny to think about that. Finally he was allowed to play his drum kit – but as I said those guys didn’t understand it. And they really didn’t master the record. The sound is okay compared to the records before. But not Indie at all. But we tasted blood during that recordings and wanted to move on on that path. Luckily we met out later producer Freezer after that. And experienced how recording in a studio can also look like – if the producer understands the idea behind a band.

++ And I am excited to see a photo of Rudi Völler on the cover art. Was he your favourite German player? Or who was?

Certainly Rudi Völler is a German soccer legend. We are surprised but impressed that you know this guy. He was a great player, won the world cup for Germany and later on became the coach of the national team. He is one of our favorite players ever. But there are so many others: Gerd Müller, Uwe Seeler, Horst Hrubesch, Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, Pierre Littbarski, Thomas Hässler, Dieter Eilts, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Bastian Schweinsteiger. More names? No problem!

++ “Kollege Rock” is your next release, a 12-song album from the year 2000. I have to ask about the cover art. Who is it? Is it one of you?

“Kollege Rock” was an important record for us. We really grew as a band at that time. The recordings of this record were so adventurous. But to talk about that would go beyond the scope really. Our friend Sicki again was producing it, with mediocre skills, but very much patience. At that time we had a fourth band member: Rol was playing guitar and keyboard and even added some vocals. He was a better musician than we were so he could play the parts that were beyond our skills. By the way, that became our secret: to invite guests to play the more difficult parts. The title “Kollege Rock” was a play of words referring to the similarity of the nerdy Kollege Rock and the genre College Rock that was pretty popular at that time. The kid on the cover is just someone we spotted in a magazine. So if you know this guy: Tell him not to charge us. We never made any money with the record. Nor any other record.

++ 2001 is the first year I see no releases by the band. What happened this year? Was there a short break? Of course in 2002 you released yet another album, “1a Amok”. Again was this available in what format?

I think that must be some kind of coincidence. All the time we wrote songs, rehearsed and played life. Maybe we just couldn’t find a date to record the album. Or maybe it just took us some time to get in contact with our later producer Freezer. But since Uli moved to Hamburg late 2000 we all were in the same spot for the first time. So finally we could play together more often. I think at that time our songwriting really improved and we played pretty tight.
We also self-released the album on CD-R.

++ On that record, and on the next you add more “girls” to your repertoire, “Jeans Girl” and “Britpop-Girl”. How many “girl” songs did you make?

We always liked the idea to steal ideas of ourselves. Recycling is the magic world we like to use. Still our kind of humor obviously hasn’t changed so we wrote some more girl-songs. But I think we only wrote 5 of 6 „girl“ songs.

++ This next record was “Ohne Wham und Abba!”. Of course I have to ask if you were fans of Wham and/or Abba. If so, what’s your favourite song by them?

Again the title is just a play of worlds. “Ohne Wenn und Aber” in german means “without fuss or quibble” – and it just sounds similar to “Ohne Wham und Abba!”. None of us is really into Abba or Wham. Of course Abba recorded about a thousand big hits – but we wouldn’t ever put on a record.
Interesting fact about this record is that it is the only one we gave to a pressing plant to produce a proper CD. I still have innumerable copies in my cellar waiting to find a buyer.
All other records came out as self-made CD-Rs or tapes.

++ In 2005 there was a split 7″ with the band Boyracer on Open Records. How did this collaboration happen? Who were Open Records?

Open Records was the small and very short-lived DIY label of Steffi from Bavaria in the south of Germany. I got in contact with her via an online music forum from a German magazine called “Intro”. On their webpage they had a community with profiles before MySpace or Facebook existed. It kind of anticipated today’s social media platforms and was specialized on alternative music. We also met our later producer Lennart “Mr. Freezer” via this community.
I met Steffi personally at a gig from Hood in Hamburg and she told me she was planning to start a label to release records from a local Bavarian band called “Lost Name”. So I joked about releasing a 7” from Dr. König Arthus who Steffi also liked very much. And well – she agreed!
We wrote and recorded an exclusive song for the 7” (Liebeslinsen). The idea came to our mind to ask a cool band to appear on the split side. So I asked Stewart from Boyracer which I met on the Cannanes European tour where we became friends and emailed regularly after that. Stewart was excited about the idea and sent us some songs to choose. The original idea was to also include a Cannanes song on the 7” but unfortunately the Aussies were a bit too late with their contribution.
Steffi made a unique cover for every copy of the 7” with self-made photographs of Barbie and Playmobil motives (I think it was an edition of 300 copies). Really a very special part in our discography.
Sadly this 7” and a CD album from Lost Name were the only releases on Open Records as far as I know.

++ “Monster of Rock” from 2005 is the first release I see on Discogs, it is listed as a CDR. Was that the format it was available? And as I missed it the first time around, wondering how did you use to sell, distribute your records?

Our usual format in releasing records was the CD-R, because it was cheap and easy to copy. We barely sold any of our records, maybe a couple of copies at our concerts, but mostly we were giving away our CDs for free to our circle of friends or anyone who was interested in our music. We never had any real distribution.

++ Your last release dates from 2007, an 8-song mini-album called “Ende der Fahnenstange”. I guess the cartoons on the front cover are the three of you. Who is who here on the boat? Did you make the drawing?

After Peter told me and Uli he wanted to retire from making music (especially playing the drums) we decided to record one last album and do a last farewell gig in Hamburg. We made “Ende der Fahnenstange” and it still is a wonderful record in our eyes. The cartoon was drawn by Rol who used to be a member of DKA for 2 or 3 records. He is a comic illustrator and graphic designer so it was obvious to ask him. The small one with glasses is me, the tall slim guy is Peter aka The Pedderer and the blonde one is Uli.

++ And how come this was your last release? Was this always planned to be your farewell record?

Peter complained about his back. It hurt when playing the drums. Peter felt old (which he is!), wanted to leave and told us to move on without him. But we didn’t like that idea so we decided to do a last album and one last gig in Hamburg as a farewell concert. So it was totally planned to call it quits. And some of the lyrics on the record even play with our farewell.

++ And during your time, was there any interest from any labels to put your music out?

I remember a phone call from Olli Götzl (Marsh Marigold) after sending him our first tape (Kreuzüber im Popkarton). He was very friendly and offered us his help if we wanted to self-release the album but for Marsh Marigold the music was too “dark” and rocking. And he was not so much into German lyrics that time (except the Fünf Freunde). At least he liked our attitude and became a constant friend during our non-career.
In fact, there wasn’t any single whiff of interest by any other label. No problem at all for us, as any record deal would have been purely illusive. There was no intention in leaving our little amateur world.

++ What about compilation appearances by the band?

The following songs appeared on compilations (no exclusive tracks, all from our various albums):
– Fußball-Girl on “Ich hab’s mir anders überlegt” (CD, Klub der guten Hoffnung, 1998)
– Bond-Girl + Baby Achterbahn! on “Dicks, Vans, Dykes (Tape, Slappy Duck, 1998)
– Pustekuchen on “You gave me no chance … but now I wanna rule the world” (CD, Logintro, 2003)
– Schulterblick on “Out of Landverschickung” (CD, Logintro, 2004)
– Ende der Fahnenstange on “Your cassette pet” (Tape, 555 Recordings, 2008)

Day 327.

3 a.m. Again: it seems Michael Telles project Night Heron had to change their name because of some copyright law. A real shame. I liked that name. Now under the name 3 a.m. Again he is releasing a 20 song CD album called “Come Back from the Sun” on the veritable label Subjangle Records. The album is out now and as I said includes lots of songs, all of them packed with lovely and sweet melodies, packed with sunshine. Good stuff.

Wave Goodbye: also from Boston, Massachusetts, comes this one man project by Jack Downey. He is releasing an EP on February 19th called “Summer”. Right now we can preview one out of seven songs, the one called “Summer of Love”. It is a good one I think. Very early 2000s, reminding me a bit to The Javelins! That’s a good thing in my book!

The Churchhill Garden: “Fade Away” is the latest song by this Lucerne, Switzerland, project, by Andi Jossi and Krissy Vanderwoude. As with their previous songs we get this dreamy and hopeful atmosphere, with smart and elegant arrangements, and catchy melodies. One wonder when will there be a proper release. They deserve it.

The Fragiles: this solo project by David Settle from Philadelphia is releasing a cassette album on February 12. The album is called “On and On” and will include 10 songs. As it is becoming usual in Bandcamp only one song, “Kaleidoscope”, is available to preview. The track is very nice, fuzzy but poppy at the same time. Looking forward to listening to the rest.

Happy Cat Meows: now we head to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to discover this fun band! “Para Siempre en Internet” is a short EP with three songs, “Sunset Riders”, “Dormir-Me” and “Flores”. These are three catchy and upbeat pop songs  which seem perfect as we know down in the southern hemisphere they are in summer. Joyful pop!

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Been meaning to write about the Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, band for a while now. Not sure why I hadn’t yet, sure there are many bands, but I do own many records by them. So even though I’ve never talked or anything with the band members, I am a bit familiar with their music. So I can surely recommend them, right?

We know the band originally was formed by John Bingham on guitars and vocals, Simon Burgon on vocals, Phil Shorthouse on bass, Steve Frisby on guitar and Anni the drum machine. This formation recorded the flexi from 1987 that had two songs, “Metroland” and “Dorian’s Face”. This flexi was released by J.B. Di Griz (GRIZ 001) and also credits two more people, Joe Shevelan on tambourine and Pam on backing vocals. Martin Howells engineered the record and played the organ.

The band would end up releasing more of their output on the fine Leicester label Rutland Records. “Three Ghosts” (RUT 2) would be their first release on the label, a great 7″ single that included three songs. These were “Less than 1,000,000” on the A side and “Sweet and Stupid” and “Snow” on the B side. The 7″ came with a lyrics insert. This one came out in 1989.

Afterwards, in the same year, the band released a tape on the same label. It was called “November in St. Ann’s” (RUTT3). St. Ann’s being a district withing the city of Nottingham. Paying homage to their hometown perhaps? In any case this tape had four songs, “The Ballad of Johnny the Fish”, “On Howard Beach”, “And it Shines” and “Where’s Mine?”.

Next came another 7″ on Rutland, it was the single with “True West” on the A side and “Hide” on the B side. Catalog number was RUTEP 4. Martin Howells produced the songs that were recorded at Rooftop Studio. There is credits to Carl (no last name) for drumming.

1990. Time for another flexi. But not any flexi, it was a hard-flexi. That means there was an A side and a B side. That it is a record not as thin as a flexi, but not thick as a common 7″. Confusing? Not really. The catalog number was RUTEP 5 and the songs were “Cross!” on the A side and “Hey Solitude” on the B side. It is said that this record was given away for free with the Cliftonville FC fanzine “The Wee Red” in early 1990.

Lastly in 1993 we see changes and a new release. Changes in the label that put the record out. Now it was the German label Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 7). And also on the lineup of the band. This new 7″ was the “Startrippers” EP. It had the title song on the A side and “Angel Nineteen” and “Happy War (Xmas is Over)” on the flipside. John Bingham was the only original member, on guitar and bass. The new members were Ian Williams on vocals and guitar, Helen Williams on vocals and Steve Lawrence on drums. The record was once again recorded at Rooftop Studio and produced by Martin Howells.

There seems to be even a new lineup for a band afterwards, with John Bingham, Ian Williams and Haddon on Smith on guitar. Not sure which recordings were made by them. Could be some of the many compilation appearances?

Indeed, there are many of them. Starting with the song “Sweet and Stupid” that was included in the Boshi Label’s compilation tape “My Favourite Sunday Vol. 1” (RODDY 004) in 1989. Then they would have “The Ballad of Johnny the Fish” on the Roman Cabbage Vinyl LP comp “El Dorado” (Grey  2) in 1990. So yeah, first a Japanese compilation, then a German on.

And why not a Dutch compilation? In 1990 they would include their song “Hide” in the double vinyl compilation “Let’s have a Picnic and Barbecue some Corrupt Not Self-Programming Dee-Jays” (NOET 10) on  Noet Lachten Records. That same year their song “Sweet & Stupid” would show up on “And they Call it Pop” a tape compilation released by Fragrant. “Hide” would appear on the classic “Audacious” tape from 1990 as well.

In 1991 their song “True West” was included in “Berlincassette 2-91” released by Jarmusic. In 1992 their relationship with Meller Welle Produkte starts with the band having the song “Radio Friendly” in the cassette compilation “Sandcastles in the Sun” (MEL10). Then Discogs lists them appearing on a Swedish comp called “Amber Dregs” with the songs “Marianne Dreams” and “Ford Madonna”.

In 1995 the band appears on the Bliss Aquamarine tape “Sapphite” (BLISS020). Here they have two songs, “Mikoyan” and “Shipbuilding (in Reverse)”. Two years later, on another Bliss Aquamarine tape, this one called “Shimmering Opals” (BLISS 031) the band have the songs “Chelsea Winter” and “Old Angels”.

In 1999 the song “Startrippers” is included now on an Italian compilation, the tape “Broken Bits of You and Me” released by Best Kept Secret (LIE 004).

Discogs also lists the song “Ashley Watt” contributed to the tape “Indigo Violet” (BLISS 044) on Bliss Aquamarine, “Elsewhere Girl” on the Pearl fanzine compilation tape “The Noise and the Melodies” from Germany and “Marianne’s Dreams”, “Ford Madonna”, “Marianne Dreams Electric” and “Star Yer Headspace” on the tape “Ha Ha, Funny Feeling!” released by Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 15). Don’t know the release year for any of these three, but definitely they are later period of the band.

I don’t see any of the members being involved with other bands. It seems they were all about The Waiting List. What I do find on the web is sad news. John Bingham passed away in 2018. The newspaper Newark Advertiser has an article about it. Here we learn that John was involved in managing the Palace Theatre in his town. The article also seems to say that Simon Burgon is not with us anymore. Is that so?

Then there is a CD called “Television of Cruelty Season 2”. I don’t know which member of The Waiting List was in this band, but it does say that at least one song, “Teenage Wasteland” was co-written with John Bingham, who they were together in The Waiting List.

And that’s it. Sadly some sad news on this search for The Waiting List. But hopefully many of you remember them, saw them, and have great memories of them. Would be nice to find out more about the band of course. So any details let me know!

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Listen
The Waiting List – True West

Day 325.

I said I was going to share the Bandcamp for the new Verandan release, so here it is. Enjoy, and order the record of course!!

La Merienda: La Merienda is a great pop radio show from Extremadura, Spain. Agustín, who is behind the show, has put together a compilation of different intros for the show that many pop bands have recorded through the years including Cariño, Guatafan, Cristina Quesada and Marcos y Molduras among others.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: Slumberland announced the album “Uncommon Weather” by their neighbours (both label and band based in the Bay Area) and seems to be doing well! It will be released on April 9th, and the limited version of the release that includes a 7″ single and photo zine is already sold out. But don’t despair, the CD and regular vinyl versions are available. There are 13 songs in the album and the opening track, “Don’t Ever Pray in the Church of My Street” is available to preview.

Fine.: one of my favourite bands from the last months is this Boston, UK, combo formed by James Marsh and Alice Kat. It is jangly, upbeat, with great vocal melodies. I find it perfect. Great band and it seems they are working on an album. That’s very good news. I’d buy that album for sure. A 7″ would be nice wouldn’t it?

Telepathic Traffic: just discovered this Los Angeles dreampop band thanks to their cover of The Specials song “You’re Wondering Now”. It is an interesting twist. The band is formed by Harris Pittman, just him.

No Suits in Miami: before 2020 ended the great Lund, Sweden, band released “I’ll Never Lie Again (Just to Get a Synth from You)”. The band, who I have featured a few times, makes wonderful pop music, with classy arrangements and lovely melodies. Listening to this song of course I feel like I need a physical record of theirs… they don’t exist sadly, just a tape from back in 2018…

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So a few weeks ago I created an Instagram account to post photos of my records. Yeah, I know, not very original, but it is fun for me. There are so many good records I have that a little promotion doesn’t hurt anyone. And maybe I get to learn some stories people will share. Who knows.

Actually when I posted a photo of Oh Sweet Music!’s CDR (their one and only) that was released in 2004 by the great Smashing Time (SMT008), a few friends commented. One of them telling me he would pay good money for a copy of it! Another telling me he has been looking for it for ages with no luck. I wouldn’t have known!

You see, I was lucky. I got a copy of this CDR thanks to the great Martin Cannert from The Javelins/The Faintest Ideas, last time I met with him in Gothenburg. That was really great of course. Those days, traveling, having fun, new cities, seeing friends. He gave me a bunch of CDRs from the 2000s, a time where indiepop seemed to reign supreme in Sweden. A time that I tried to capture in a compilation called The Sound of Starke Adolf. I planned to do more volumes of these series of compilations, but it turned out a bit more difficult when trying to put together the 2nd volume, the bands seemed so uninterested that it was hard to get tracks and the CD booklet together. You know, you need photo and bio of a band for a proper release of this kind.

I don’t think I reached to Oh Sweet Music! then. I had this very long list of bands I had to contact, enough bands for 5 or 6 volumes. They were on that list of course.

So going back to this CD, we know that there were five songs on it, “Let’s Go to War”, “Reconsider Peace”, “Long Time Since Bedtime”, “The Astronaut” and “You Can’t Hug Your Children With Nuclear Arms Pt II”. The CDR came in a plastic sleeve. Taped to the sleeve was the tracklist and written down the URL to a website which doesn’t exist anymore.. And there was also a cloth sleeve, single sided, with the name of the band.

The band did appear on two compilations later on, so we know they had more songs. There are four songs by the band on the 2007 “Series Two Compilation Vol. 1” CDR that were “For Long Years”, “Song to Iraq”, “My Trip to Asia” and “Long Time Since Bedtime”. The year after on the “Series Two Compilation Vol. 12” they had just one song, “Oh, Daniel” which I believe was a Tafra cover.

On Last.fm it seems there were more songs by the band like “Oh Sweet Christmas!”, “I Can Win it Back”, “Poor Man’s Heaven”, “I’ve Lost Track of the World”, “(Fly Away For) Christmas”, “Berlin”, “Winter in Stockholm” and “Midsummer”

Sadly there’s not much more info on the web. I did find something interesting, I think Oh Sweet Music! performed in Buenos Aires in 2011. There’s a video of Oh Sweet Music! performing “Long Time Since Bedtime” at Zorzal-Mané in San Telmo, Buenos Aires. The light on the video is quite dark, so it is hard to see. But still, it is quite a treasure to find!

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Listen
Oh Sweet Music! – Let’s Go to War

Day 323. Today can finally share the Verandan new single, “Hideaway”, which will be the A side of the forthcoming 7″ by the great Finnish band. It will be released on Cloudberry of course, next month, on physical format. Wish it had been ready by now, but there are delays (no surprise there… grrr) with the pressing plant. Anyhow, pre-order button is up on the website and later today the Bandcamp page with this release will be up and running. Right now you can preview it on Soundcloud if you like! So yeah, very exc ited!! But can’t wait to receive the records, I’ll be more excited then ha ha!

Detective Larsson: Amanda Larsson has recorded a very nice EP called “21” which has 3 songs. The first one is the only original in the EP (the other two are covers of Dean Martin and Marianne Faithfull). This first track, called “21 (Dreamt of Freedom)” is really nice and haunting! One thing that takes it to another level are the superb and brilliant guitar arrangements by a friend of mine, Miguel Navarro, who used to be the jangle master in The Felt Tips.

Rachel Love: Rachel of Dolly Mixture, indeed! Here is a new song she has recorded called “Primrose Hill” which is utterly beautiful! Wow. Will this be released in some way soon? I would like that. There is the hint that she is signed to a record label called Cowchow Records, so might that mean we’ll see a proper physical release in the near future?

Lentillas de Colores: Cristina León and Dado (ex-Juniper Moon) from the city of León (I visited this city a year and a half ago and really liked it!), in Spain, are Lentillas de Colores. They have released not too long ago a 7″ vinyl with 4 songs called “Arrancacorazones”. They’ve recorded many demos before but this is their first proper EP release. It is really lovely, with fun melodies and lyrics.

Botanic Garden zine: this Shanghai fanzine is really good, even though I don’t understand Chinese. I have a few issues and you can tell it is done with love. In their latest number, #4, they interview the band All Romantic Days, which you can check their song “In Your Court”, if you follow the link. There’s also essays by BoringProductions’ Jovi and more.

Diaphane: I am not a big fan of instrumentals as you might know but this “Demo EP” from 1993 by ex-Les Autres’ Jimmy Arfosea is pretty good. You can listen luminous and chiming guitars on the 4 songs that make up this EP.

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Another band I’ve discovered recently through the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud is Eat the Sofa. What a curious name, right?

The song they shared is called “Love of My Life” and this song actually was included in a tape compilation from 1996 called “The Best of Farnborough Groove in the World – Ever! (Volume 6)”. Many of the bands that are featured on the Soundcloud have been part of these compilation series I’ve noticed.

The good thing with the people behind the Soundcloud and also the Facebook page is that they share a lot of interesting details which make my life easier when featuring the bands. For example we know that the band released two CD albums, “So Far So Good” and “Absolute Pondlife”. Neither of the two are on Discogs so I need to track them down in a different way.

One thing that is for sure is that the band played at the Guildford Folk & Blues Festival in Stoke Park, in Guidlford, in 1994. They also polayed alongside Vox Pop and Manfred Mann at the Guildford Civic Hall. I guess we can say that the band hailed from Guildford? Is that a good assumption?

The band was formed by Allen Broad, Jamie Legg, Dee Coley and another member whose name is still a mystery (!). May it be Duncan Siggers? The band was formed in 1994 and lasted until 1999. There were lineup changes of course. Allen Broad fronted the band until 1999 when he relocated to Amsterdam. We also know that Coley started as the drummer but moved to play bass when Legg joined.

In 2004 the band reunited and played a gig at the Holloway Hill Sports Club  in Godalming supported by Graham Firth. In 2006 they were still gigging, there was at least one gig in December of that year at The Sun, in Godalming, where they got support by The Two Deceivers and Sigg & Si.

Another gig we know of is the ones are from Friday January 14, 1994, at The Cricketers in Woking and from Saturday January 15, 1994, at The Parrot in Slyfield.

I’ve also seen at least a demo tape of the band called “So Far So Good”. Maybe that was the album? Maybe it wasn’t released as a tape?

Another thing I found is that Coley joined the band The Blazing Homesteads after Eat the Sofa split up.

And then I find a Facebook page for the band! Well actually, it is more of a Allan Broad page and his latest music. But there are some links to videos and songs by Eat the Sofa, so that’s good. I am just looking for information about the albums! And I finally do. I find the tracklist, but not yet how or who released them. So…

“So Far So Good” had ten songs, “Will You Ever Come Home”, “Now I Know Where I Am Going”, “It’s So Easy”, “You Can Come Along”, “Set Me Free”, “Searchin’ On a Monday”, “Aborigine Call / Getting Away from it All”, “Dry Your Eyes”, “Mailman” and “Here’s Looking at You”.

“Absolute Pondlife” on the other hand had 12 songs! They were “Behind the Bushes”, “To Keep You Here”, “Love’s Unkind”, “You Took it all Away”, “Midnight Train”, “Make it On Our Own”, “I Was for the Summertime”, “Hang Around a While”, “Out with the Girls”, “If it Takes Us All Night”, “Memory Coloured Gold” and “A.P.L.”.

There are more songs. There was a session called The Summer Sessions where the band recorded 9 songs. These were “I Love My Life”, “The Sunshine”, “Me Disease”, “Monsoon”, “If It Takes Us All Night”, “I Love My Life”, “Monsoon” and “I Was for the Summertime”. These seem to date from 1996.

Then I saw a tape from 1993 that seems to have more songs by the band. Not sure if these songs were released in any way, but they were called “It’s So Easy”, “Moon in Your Eyes”, “Will You Ever Come Home”, “Take a Little Look”, “Searchin’ on a Monday”, “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”, “Young to Run”, “Sally”, “Now I Know Where I’m Going”, “Run Together”, “Mailman”, “English Boy (Miles Away from Home)”, “Me + Julio Down by the School Yard”, “Set Me Free”, :”Here’s Looking at You”, “You Can Come Along”, “Dry Your Eyes” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday”.

Then on Youtube there’s a video of the band playing in April 1994 at the Guildford Lions! Cool!

More details. Before Eat the Sofa, Allan, Duncan and Dee were recording as The Hometown Boys. I should check them out.

And that’s it. I couldn’t find any info about the albums. They are on all digital platforms though. But you know, I like the physical format!

Who remembers this band?

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Listen
Eat the Sofa – Love My Life

Day 321.

Motorama: the most well-known Russian pop band is back with a new video for their song “Pole Star”. It is a gorgeous song, beautiful and haunting. The video’s vibe accompanies it perfectly. I dream of one day seeing them live. I doubt they’ll come to the US, so who knows…

The Young Untold: nice to stumble upon Baltimore’s The Young Untold on Bandcamp. Yeah, these recordings are not new, they date from 2008-2011. It is great crash-pop in the same being as The Faintest Ideas (who they toured with). Would be cool to do an interview sometime I think! Discover them if you don’t know them yet!

Still Dreams: two new songs by this Japanese duo are now a digital single on Elefant Records. The songs are “Live with Excuse” and “Telepathy”, both streaming on the label’s Bandcamp. Very lovely upbeat dreampop here by the duo formed by Ryuta and Maaya!

Axolotes Mexicanos: and there’s more from Elefant Records with a new song from this favourite band of mine. The song is called “Que te Pires” and there’s even a fun video for it! This song should be included in the upcoming album that will be released this year!

Aiko el Grupo: And lastly, on this quick review of Elefant Records we find the song “Amigos para Nunca (Confía y te la Lían)” by Aiko el Grupo. The song is only available digitally and has a cool video as well. Good start for the Madrid label this year.

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Time to fly to Sweden and check a very underrated band from the second part of the noughties, the Utah Rangers.

I was looking into my CD collection, especially those that came in a plastic sleeve, as those are harder to look at, as there is no spine. And of course, you guessed right, a Utah Rangers CD showed up. The only one of theirs that I own actually. Also the only one that came out on a label, their other releases were self-released. But I want to go in chronological order through their discography. So let’s do that.

The band was part of the explosion of CDr bands. Also of the explosion of Myspace bands. It was a great time for indiepop. Sweden was providing us amazing bedroom pop, lo-fi, upbeat songs. Utah Rangers was no exception.

They were a duo formed by Emil and Kristoffer. They play all the instruments in their songs including guitar, drums and synths. I am not sure where from Sweden they hailed from, but hopefully by the end of the post I’ll find out. One thing that is problematic is that there seems to be a soccer team from Utah called Utah Rangers FC. It was established back in 1982. I wonder if the band named after this club. Googling the band and filtering it not to show the soccer club is quite tricky.

Anyhow, one thing I do know is that the band started recording songs in 2006. But on Discogs the first release dates from 2007. It was a CDr called “The Golden Winter Tape” and included the songs “Far Side Galaxy”, “When the Snow Closed Down the Parks”, “Theme Song” and “You Will Be There, Outside My Window”. That same year the band released another CDr EP called “Breaking Your Heart Takes Training” which included the songs “Bad Day for a Bad Hair Day”, “March”, “Winter Suits” and “Let’s Sleep Now”. Both of these releases seem hard to track down now. I do hope to find these songs to listen.

In 2008 the band released another CDr EP. Again, all of these three releases I’ve mentioned were self-released. This one from 2008 was also self-titled and had 6 songs, “And You Will Know Us by the Eagle Slope”, “Bandit in a Box”, “Aquarium Bike Tour”, “Minor Estate”, “Sally” and “Pnts”.

The CDr I own was called “Old Statistics” and was released by the French label Anorak Records (anorakcd8). This EP actually was sort of a compilation of previously recorded songs. It included 5 of them and on the back of the sleeve it mentions who wrote the song and what year it was recorded. So, “Cracking up My Heart” was written by Emil and recorded in 2006, “Theme Song” was written by Kristoffer and recorded in 2007, “March” was written by Emil and recorded in 2007, “You and Me in a Rented Car, Two Small Bags and a Plastic Guitar” was written by Emil and recorded in 2006 and “Far Side Gallery” which was written by Emil and recorded in 2007.

Another cool thing is that they give song scores to each of the songs, ranging from Cool! all the way to Awesome!

The band also contributed songs to three compilations. The first one dates from 2007 and it was on the compilation “Club King Kong: Med Musiken i Mitten Vol. 2 Säsongen 06-07” released by Donkeyboys Records (DNKYBYS002). This CDR compiled by Mikael Andersson of course was put together for the Stockholm indie pop club night Club King Kong. The song the band contributed was called “Nick Krill”. That same year the band would contribute the song “You and Me in a Rented Car, Two Small Bags and a Plastic Guitar” to the CD comp “Souvenir Desde Umea” that was put together by the Spanish label Fikasound (FIKA001).

Lastly in 2009 there was a compilation called “SvenneCompilation #01” which included their song “Theme Song”. It is the first time I hear about this compilation, but looking at the playlist it looks great! This was put together in Vienna, Austria, fro the indiepop night Svennedisko. I had no clue there had been an indiepop night in Vienna!

The band also had a Myspace of course and there we see there was at least another song that wasn’t included in the releases, it was called “Manor Estate”.

What else can we find about them on the web? Well we know the band played the legendary Emmaboda Festival in 2007. They also played the New England Popfest in 2008 in Northampton, Massachusetts. Other gigs I found were at the Kafé De Luxe on November 9th, 2005, and on September 27, 2006, alongside the Salty Pirates. The Kafé de Luxe is a venue in Växjö. Did the band hail from there?

Not much more info on the web. I wonder if either Emil or Kristoffer were involved in any other bands. If there are more songs. It’d be great to know. What I’ve heard sounds great. But yeah, very little info. We need more info!

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Listen
Utah Rangers – Aquarium Bike Tour