If P.O.P matters

On Heavy Rotation 12.04.2005

2005-04-12T10:33:00.000+02:00

01. Pelle Carlberg - go to hell miss rydell
02. South Ambulance - worry satellite
03. Wan Light - that grim reality
04. Le Futur Pompiste - the air that sorrounds us
05. Sambassadeur - between the lines
06. Douglas Heart - colona sonora
07. The Radio Dept. - I don't like it like this
08. Ingenting - en bättre dag
09. Edson - goosebombs on the inside
10. Acid House Kings - come josephine

All tracks can be found at Labrador Records

On Heavy Rotation 28.02.2005

2005-02-28T16:03:00.000+01:00

01. THE RADIO DEPT. - I Don't Like It Like This
02. PELLE CARLBERG - Go to Hell, Miss Rydell
03. THE HAPPY COUPLE - Another Sunny Day
04. LOVEJOY - Sid Vicious
05. BJÖRN KLEINHENZ - Starlit Queen
06. FIREFOX - Hotel
07. [BRUS] - Close To Fountains
08. SOUTH AMBULANCE - Die 5 times times 5
09. THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS - Lovestruck
10. HOMELAND - Venetian Blinds

The World Is A Groovy Place

2005-02-16T11:21:00.000+01:00

1. Airiel - Winks & Kisses 4xCD BOX SET (Clairecords)
All 4 discs of the Winks and Kisses series, housed together in a very limited box with a special accompanying 8-page full color booklet. Formed in 1997 by Jeremy Wrenn, Chicago's Airiel craft mesmerizing cascades of guitar-driven noise evocative of the Cocteau Twins and the Pale Saints. Their sound is as transportative as it is consuming, spiriting the listener away in a blur of aural flux and smash. MTV Local's Nick Marino called them "forward-thinking and yet reverent towards the early '90s heyday of dream-pop noise" -an apt description indeed: Airiel also pays homage to shoegaze's early-'90s heyday by issuing their output not as a single full-length, but via Winks & Kisses, a unique passel of separate (but equally captivating) EPs that harkens back to the days of the early 90's when bands like Lush, Chapterhouse, Ride, Slowdive, and hosts of other shoegazers became legendary for. The Winks and Kisses Box contains all four of Airiel's EPs from the series: Frosted, Dizzy, Melted, and Crackled. As previously mentioned, this box set is highly limited and will put all four of these releases into out-of-print status almost immediately...

2. Pia Fraus - Mooie Island EP CD (Seksound)
A brand new EP released on the band's own brand new label! This time the Pia's have whipped up 5 more tracks of that gorgeous, bubbly, sunshiney guitarpop/dreampop that they are notorious for. Two of the tracks here were featured at the Marko Maetamm and Pia Fraus Art Exhibition "Blood Olympics" at the Hobuspea Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia in Spring 2004. Also included is a video for Mooie Island, starring Priit Peterson and Liisu the Cat!! LIMITED to just 500 copies - all hand-numbered!!!

3. Aberdeen - Florida CD (Tremolo Arm Users Club)
Brand new EP from Aberdeen!!! 3 new tracks here, featuring more of that gorgeous pop from Beth (Trembling Blue Stars), John and Brian, and even some guest synth work by Ian Catt. Produced by Ian Catt (Field Mice, Saint Etienne, etc) and John Aberdeen.

4. Field Mice - Snowball + Singles CD (LTM)
LTM are proud to announce the first reissue on CD of the entire works of The Field Mice, the cult South London band who recorded for the Sarah label between 1988 and 1991. Snowball + Singles combines the first Field Mice album Snowball (released as a 10" mini lp in August 1989) with all tracks from their first three singles. Emma's House and Sensitive were released as bestselling 7-inchers on Sarah, while I Can See Myself Alone Forever was a strictly limited 7" on The Caff Corporation, the boutique label curated by Bob Stanley of St Etienne. Indeed Snowball includes Let's Kiss and Make Up, the song covered by St Etienne for their second single. This embarrassment of riches is completed by That's All This Is, a rare compilation track. Sensitive, incidently, was made Single of the Month by choosy French rock magazine Les Inrockuptibles, whose glowing review was signed by the entire editorial staff. Snowball runs for 70 minutes, features 17 remastered tracks, and contains detailed biographical notes in the booklet. The new artwork is by German designer Stefan Kassel. Career Precis: formed by Bobby Wratten and Michael Hiscock in suburban Mitcham in 1988, the band released eight singles and three albums on Sarah Records. In the process they became huge in France, and expanded from a duo to a five-piece before splitting at the end of 1991. Chief songwriter Bobby then formed Northern Picture Library, and currently fronts Trembling Blue Stars. The Field Mice compilation Coastal topped the UK indie charts in 1991, while their 1998 retrospective Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way? sold in excess of 10,000 copies

Also available and of course highly recommended (for those who don't have the original releases on SARAH Records):
Field Mice – Skywriting + Singles CD
Field Mice – For Keeps + Singles CD

5. Labrador - Instamatic Lovelife (Firestation Records)
Labrador is a Danish band led by Flemming Borby. It was formed in 1998 after the break up of the very praised danish band GREENE. In 2000 the first demo was out, and became “demo of the month” in GAFFA (Dainsh no.1 independent music-magazine) January 2000. In 2002 the first album “Goodbye Susanne” came out and included the single “In a Blue Balloon” which became a big radio-hit on Danish national radio P3. In 2004 second album “Instamatic Lovelife” was released in Denmark and Japan. The style of Labrador is contemporary popmusic, popmusic made in the beginning of the 21th century with inspiration from the great popartists of the sixties and seventies. Soft trumpet-lines, airy female-voices, flying guitars, blended with Flemming Borbys voice, makes you think of the time when Herb Alpert and Burt Baccharach was young, Brigitte Bardot looked good, and Serge Gainsbourg was alive! FST 058

If P.O.P matters (first Issue)

2005-02-07T10:57:00.000+01:00

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