Welcome to the new blog "If P.O.P matters". In here you'll find collected news and links of the most important and current Indie POP music releases. All records listed below are highly recommended and a MUST for your private music collection.
1. THE RADIO DEPT. »This Past Week« (Labrador Records)
"Something has happened with The Radio Dept. They no longer need walls of distortion to express themselves, but keep the sounds quiet, put their trust in the unbelievably beautiful song writing and in this way manage to get through so much stronger." The Cricket
Just turn on your CD-Player and press endless repeat ... Definitely the best record within the last months, years ...
2. TREMBLING BLUE STARS »The seven autumn flowers« (Elefant Records)
On the fifth album by TBS, Bobby Wratten´s songs share the spirit of 70s songwriters such as JACKSON BROWNE (particularly on his most intimate and disheartening albums), or NICK DRAKE´s romanticism, along with a present day focus that adds synth-pop elements and a great deal of synth sounds (intelligently mixed with acoustic arrangements as in "If I handle you with care"), or melodic walls of sound as in "Moonlight on snow". On the production desk they are again assisted by Ian Catt (SAINT ETIENNE´s engineer and contributor). This is TBS´s first brand new material in three years, and this reflects in new territories such as the dub inflections in "The rhythm of your breathing", with a broken rhythm and bass lines of unequivocal Jamaican roots (they have invented indie-dub!), or in the open recognition of their post-punk roots, paying homage to THE CURE and 80´s music with "All eternal things". There´s a limited edition of this album in double 10", for vinyl lovers.
Watch out for the new E.P. "Bathed In Blue" which will be released on 28.02.2005.
3. PIPAS »Chunnel Autumnal« (Matinee Records)
This is a reissue of the sold out Pipas debut originally released on 10" vinyl in 2001. At the time, Pipas were just another unknown South London duo writing songs to record on their laptops but somewhere along the way they became an international sensation, selling thousands of records, topping countless year-end lists, and charming live audiences in England, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Australia, USA and Greece. Needless to say the original pressing of 300 was not sufficient to meet demand and as a result the eight songs that comprised the original 10" achieved a sort of legendary status with many fans only hearing the songs live or on tape. This brilliant reissue CD adds three bonus tracks from the debut Matinée 45, 'A Short Film About Sleeping,' collecting all Pipas songs previously unavailable on CD in one suave matte finish digipak.
4. Camera Obscura »I love my Jean« (Elefant Records)
Three new, excellent songs by the Glaswegians, honouring this time the work of poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), considered to be Scotland´s national poet. Tracyanne Campbell has put to music with her musical flair two of Burns‚ poems ("I love my Jean" and "A red, red rose"), and has completed the tracklist with a jangly, country-ish, melancholy-tinged song of her own, "Marathon not a sprint". The three songs share though the quintessential CAMERA OBSCURA sound, with Tracyanne´s beautiful voice unveiling the melodies over a background formed by pianos and acoustic guitars, an example of timeless, classic beauty. Just have a listen on the Elefant homepage.
The single is also a posthumous tribute to BBC DJ John Peel, who helped and befriended the band since their first single. Release date: 21st February [2005]
5. HARPER LEE »All Things Can Be Mended« (Matinee Records)
Remarkable third album from acclaimed English duo Harper Lee. Named after the famous American author of the classic novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ the band formed in 1999 with a plan to release one brilliant single, take the world by storm, and withdraw from the public eye just as Lee did following the success of her single novel. Luckily, the modest success of its debut did not afford the band an early retirement so they continue creating classic releases to this day. One of Matinée’s most popular acts, Harper Lee has earned passionate reviews for its three singles and previous albums ‘Go Back To Bed’ (2001) and ‘Everything’s Going To Be OK’ (2002). Band members Keris Howard and Laura Bridge layer guitars, keyboards, percussion and vocals in an intricate yet uncomplicated fashion that is uniquely Harper Lee. The new album builds on the duo’s signature sound with the addition of enhanced electronica, trumpets, and backing vocals, plus additional upbeat flourishes that recall the poppier moments from Howard’s former bands Brighter and Hal. The most impressive Harper Lee record to date, ‘All Things Can Be Mended’ is a genuine masterpiece in modern melancholy. (matcd033)
6. DOUGLAS HEART »I could see the smallest things« (Labrador)
A new EP from Douglas Heart sounding like the 1st Stone Roses album and My Bloody Valentine around ‘Isn’t anything’, while the bass and drums makes us remember how nice Steve Albini’s production used to be. CD/EP-LAB067
7. THE SOUND OF YOUNG SWEDEN VOL.3 (Labrador)
There’s more great Swedish band than can possibly fit into one single label. The Sound Of Young Sweden Vol#4 contains 7 non-Labrador bands and 14 songs. This is the hottest upcoming Swedish pop acts. CD-LAB065
8. JENS LEKMAN »When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog« (Secretly Canadian)
Singer and Songwriter Jens Lekman was one of the most promising acts in 2004. You'll find a nice review @ Pop Matters here. No need to say more... Please check out as well the "Department Of Forgotten Songs" which are free available as mp3-files.
9. GREG MURRAY »Tymes Ten« (Firestation)
This man has the talent to write astonishing songs, plays about 13 different kinds of instruments and musically rolls the Magnetic Fields, Belle & Sebastian, Mercury Rev and Kings of Convenience into one. According to the man himself he is deeply influenced by The Smiths, Sam&Dave as well as Teenage Fanclub. Born in Ireland GREG MURRAY now lives in England where his forthcoming album is already expected to become an outstanding record within the “Quiet Is The New Loud” movement. This isn’t only due to the fact that his songs were already released by ‘Elefant’ in Spain, ‘Bus Stop’ and ‘Shelflife Records’ in the US and ‘Plastic Pancake Records’ in France. Firestation Records and Andy Woods (ex-‘Ugly Man-Records’, I Am Kloot, Elbow) are utterly convinced to have discovered a great talent in GREG MURRAY. He went to the studio along with producer John Kettle of ‘Twisted Nerve’ (Badly Drawn Boy, Aidan Smith) to record his album “Tymes Ten” including ten songs which teem with beauty and brilliance!
10. LABRADOR KINGSIZE VOL#2 (Labrador)
For anyone who are not familiar with this record label. Kingsize Vol# 2 contains the finest moments from the last two years of Labrador releases, so we probably don’t even need to tell you how great this compilation is. 25 songs - 78 minutes of splendid pop. CD-LAB052
On heavy rotation:
01. The Radio Dept. - This Past Week
02. The Lovekevins - Stop Beeing Perfect
03. Douglas Heart - Always No High
04. The Wedding Present - Interstate 5
05. Testbild! - Rain And Air
06. The Seashells - Never Seen Anything Like This
07. The Go Team - Junior Kickstart
08. Kings Of Convenience - Misread
09. [Ingenting] - Ingenting Duger
10. Edson - Up With The Lark
07. February 2005
by Peter
