Slumberland

That Powderburns 12" is quite fantastic. I spent years looking for it, too, and was tres chuffed when I finally tracked it down.

More people need to hear KG. Lo-fi Jesus and Mary Chain style pop with great song titles (example: "emilie, would you let me taste your mouth if i record your band?").

Sorry, bad at the descriptions, but my 3 KG singles are near the top of the list of my most prized possessions. And the fact that one of them is warped means I need a digital copy.

! ! !

i also hope the how 7" and the crabapples 7" lead to more records from slumberland, but i'm not holding my breath. the crabapples don't seem to active and both these records are from recordings that were put to tape a while ago. i've heard rumors of more how recordings that haven't seen the light of day. hopefully they make it out eventually because what's been released so far is stellar.

viva slumberland!

i also hope the how 7" and the crabapples 7" lead to more records from slumberland, but i'm not holding my breath. the crabapples don't seem to active and both these records are from recordings that were put to tape a while ago. i've heard rumors of more how recordings that haven't seen the light of day. hopefully they make it out eventually because what's been released so far is stellar.

viva slumberland!

i like this crystal stilts album

not bad at all huh

cause comotion lp good too

sexy kids & bricolage singles out now!

When I first got a job where I had internet in about 98/99 or so I mail-ordered pretty much everything Slumberland had in print at the time. <3 this label.

Crystal Stilts is good stuff, not sure what all the Interpol comparisons are about though. Haven't heard Cause Co-motion yet.

Anyone out there have the Sophia Green 7"? They might have put out two - I can't remember.

p.s. Not the Jane Pow song, but the band of the same name.

my friend was in sophia green, they later became magpie. i didn't know they actually had any releases, i had a cassette of their demos which were nice. she went on to be in Dart on Che.

Keyth, is your friend Lauren? If so, I had a cassette with the same demos. I used to trade mix tapes with her as part of a Prodigy usergroup (!) waaaay back in the day. As a kid growing up in the middle of heartland knowhere, she turned me on to a galaxy of stuff I probably never would have found out about otherwise, so I owe her some major props. Man, this small world keeps getting smaller by the day on these here internets.

l4uren? i met her once, bought records off her which she delivered to me while in aus visiting pals

haha xpost

btw, never knew about Dart. I'll have to look into that. Dunno how I missed that b/c I was an avid Che collector back in the mid-90s or so.

doggie and bugger both really good singles, album pretty good but a little weaker

also they did some good covers on the bsides

(field mice, pete astor and massive attack)

xposts: I'll look into that, tho some of that Che stuff is uber-hard to find. I'll give slsk the once over. Back then, Che was one of those labels (like Slumberland, Cherry Red, Sarah & others I can't think of) that I used to just buy from uncritically from the Parasol mail-order catalogs. Now that I think about it, I really kind of miss those days.

I'll give slsk the once over.

and i'll make sure i've got the album shared!

ES: the only problem with that is I use slrsk b/c I have a Mac. I dunno if that will work, but if yr on slrsk lemme know. Thanks for the thought tho.

ah.we can prob work something out

Releasing too much stuff all at once now. Funny how they were so quiet a few years ago.

too much? no way

sic alps 45 is pretty good for them, though i'm not a huge fan

interested to see what the brown recluse sings EP is like, i was pretty lukewarm on their (non-slumberland) mini album

they should revive dropbeat as well

I usually buy the actual 45's, so it is kind of a lot of stuff all at once. Maybe I'll grab the mp3s from emusic if they are up there.. The last few 45's seemed to have dropped in price in the shop from 5.99 to 3.99 so that is pretty good.

xpost from a year ago, yeah it was lauren, she was obsessed with summershine so it seems appropriate that she went to australia. was the dart field mice over 'and before the first kiss'? i remember them rehearsing that. i gave her an interview with bob w so she could figure out who to credit the song to since back then the field mice didn't put any credits on their records. does anyone here know shaun brennan? he traded me the field mice interview and demos long ago along with loads of chills things that ended up on the secret box years later. lauren married the guy who ran Che.

yes it was that FM song

I want them to re-issue the Lilys stuff, Swirlies, and I'd love to buy a ton of their CD single comps like the 6 song Velocity Girl one. (I like Simpatico just fine but I'd much rather prefer her singing style on those old tracks- sounds more natural. Also the shoegazey thing is a bit more of my style.)

the swirlies 45 is comp'd on 'what to do about them' which is still in print afaik. lilys stuff being OOP is pretty unfortunate. i was lucky that my copy of 'presence' isn't one of the dodgy ones. however, my VG EP is, i need to replace that one.

i would love a proper comp of some of their early vinyl releases, even though i have all the records. i was so obsessed with those records BITD

6 song Velocity Girl is in every junk bin in the Bay Area and seems to be 95 cents on Amazon, probably not going to reissue it. Lilys was reissued on Spin Art except the b-side from the single I think.

the VG ep is still available so no need to reissue it

all the early lilys albums are long gone as is spinart so i'm confused about your latter point

feb 14th and threw a day are on the summershine cd single of 'tone bender', threw a day is the hidden track on 'presence'

I guess my point was that I see a lot of Lilys used in the stores, seems like a lot of people just rip to their hard drive and sell it back.

Yeah the 6 song is still on sale on the Slumberland website. And Spin Art is done. I still found myself copies of "Eccsame the Photon Band" and "A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns"!!

only the whorl, powderburns and lorelei 45s (and the 'heaven' ep) haven't turned up on cd. and the big-jesus-trash-can cassette, which i've neither seen nor heard

xpost

oh ok, fair enough. as long as people can get 'em then i'm happy

Yeah there are some early Swirlies songs that don't show up on "What To Do About Them," which is why it would be nice.

Also any Swirlies fans have the bonus tracks that are only included on the Japanese version of "Cats Of The Wild Vol. 2"?

oh there are pre-slumberland swirlies tracks about? ooh

Don't know if its pre-slumberland but check out some early demos here:

http://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2009/07/splitting-difference-24.html

Esoj,
I know this has nothing to do with Slumberland, but is this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHARLOTTES-WEB-LP-INDIE-1990_W0QQitemZ390085690946QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Records?hash=item5ad2eb4642&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 the Australian band?

wow no idea why it is spaced like that

It looks neat though.

i'm strongly guessing not, i've never seen or heard of that record before & it doesn't appear in any of their discogs. might be worth emailing the seller to find out where it was pressed as none of the perth CW's records were released outside of aus (other than on import obv)

xpost

Yeah. I only saw a cass. of Charlottes Web stuff, that I knew was them, but it went for over $200 a few yrs ago. Figured that wasn't them. Slumberland should reissue that Easter stuff, since very few noticed the Summer Suns reissue.

i need that summer suns comp, ta for reminding me

I knew there were more Prodigy kids posting here besides me and Keith!

(Also, I just bought about half a dozen new Slumberland releases)

sweet

my fave releases from the third wave of slumberland:

both albums by the lodger
searching for the now v1 (for the roy moller side)
sexy kids - sisters are forever
bricolage lp
crystal stilts - love is a wave/sugarbaby
liechtenstein - survival strategies lp
searching for the now v5

oh and the champagne socialists single

I am annoyed with the popularity of the Pains causing the Searching for the Now 7" they're on to be out-of-print, my collection is incomplete. The School are so good, I hope they keep releasin' stuff. Also Brown Recluse. Lodger I can't get with.

holy shit $50 at tonevendor. wish i'd bought a physical copy now

I guess indie kids need something to pay mad money for since London Weekend is getting a re-release.

lool

having (some) stuff go up in value is literally the only thing i miss about buying physical vinyl

I can tell you moving my record collection up from Houston last week made me want to chuck it out the window all along the drive home just I wouldn't have to carry it inside.

Mail it to me!

there and back again lane just recently posted some charlottes web stuff and he says there was only 2-7"ers and 2 eps.
the lodger are so good. like sneaky feelings if david pine had written all of the songs.

the lodger give me a headache.

the devon williams 45 is a glorious piece of leamington spa-aping shimmery wonderment

bats + sarandon/membranes 45s out now wooo

S: Sleepyhead 45 w/ the b-side cover of Game Theory's "Like a Girl Jesus". So great.

brilliant colors album very disappointing... the shitty recording doesn't do the songs any favours, but then the lack of tunes don't do the songs any favours either

awww bummer! did you like any of the singles? they live in my neighborhood, and i like 'em!

i liked 'highly evolved'.. tbf i had high expectations.. and i feel their ideas are spread verrry thinly over an album's worth of songs

i hope they pull a vivian girls and follow it up with a cracker

woo Black Tambourine reish with unreleased trax out end of march

YES!

On vinyl, too!

if that mf comes with a dl code then i'll spring for the vinly

Oh is this the "new stuff" promised on their myspace? I got all excited about a reunion for a minute!

The Slumberland website seems to make it sound like simply unreleased material; I think they'd make a point about it being "new" if it was. And if there was any time for them to have a reunion, they would have been the "special guests" at the 20th anniversary concert in brooklyn in november! I mean, how do you have a 20th anniversary show with unannounced special guests, and then reveal it to be your most popular current artist? Pains of Being Pure at Heart are fine, but thats such a tease! I thought It would have been Black Tambourine or Velocity Girl...

Well, one of BT is 3000 miles away and scared of flying.

While appearing together onstage wasn't possible, WAV files are easier to pass around transatlantically...

tru

supposed to be a west coast reunion show or two, and henry's dress and velocity girl were rumored to be on the bill!

Well Black Tambourine was just one example. I would love to see Henry's Dress or Velocity Girl, but I'm on the damn freezing east coast.

I kinda wish I hadn't JUST bought the previous Black Tambourine CD with all the songs.

Yeah I was holding out for some reason, apparently luckily.

I kinda wish I hadn't JUST bought the previous Black Tambourine CD with all the songs.

^^^

capitalist bastards. i'm totally buying it.

I've had the CD for about 10 years, I'll probably still buy the new release but on vinyl instead.

"Features four new songs that the band reunited to record, including Buddy Holly and Suicide covers."

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/01/29/how-black-tambourine-reunited%E2%80%94sort-of%E2%80%94to-make-its-definitive-document/

wahhhhhhhhh reunion show announced, tickets purchased.

henrys dress, go sailor, boyracer, etc etc

Jealous...

The LP version will have the free download. Excited to get this.

Sold out :). Thought it would have sold out way before, but whatever, I can't wait.

http://vimeo.com/9369219

Black Tambourine video!

Gorgeous!

http://www.sfbg.com/2010/11/02/goldies-2010-lifetime-achievement-slumberland-records

the new Lorelei track has the most beautiful guitar sounds on it

some of the vocal is a touch annoying but overall it's pretty sweet

lorelei album is pretty sweet on first listen. "hole punch" is just gorgeous

I liked the one track I heard from it, definitely. I'll check out the whole thing soon!

this album is totally better than "stove"

Is that right? I won't put it off anymore.

Come to think of it though, Stove was pretty post-rocky for a Slumberland release. Tricked the label heads into signing them based on their 7" then went in mostly a different direction save a few tracks off that record.

Neil Halstead, Mark Van Hoen, and Nick Holton of the newly-formed Black Hearted Brother will release their debut album Stars Are Our Home on October 22nd on Slumberland Records. In anticipation of the release, The New York Times is streaming the album in full a week before

so teenage fanclub is the hip new influence huh

at least that's the impression i'm taking away from these tony molina and withered hand records

Withered Hand didn't grab me at the Chickfactor show.

i wouldn't want to be grabbed by a withered hand either

Ha, yeah

I thought Withered Hand were amazing at the Chickfactor show! I dig the album a lot, too.

I really love Withered Hand too; don't really hear a TFC thing going on there in particular.

To be fair, we were pretty tired and were ready to make the long journey back to Hoboken.

yeah i guess i overstated the TFC thing there a bit

there is a bit of TFC in the Tony Molina record, but the early Weezer influence is about 100x more prominent, right?

i might have to listen to some early weezer

dude

the Molina album is basically a distilled version of Weezer's debut "blue" album: the crunchy guitars, the hooks, the solos, in and out in 40- to 90-second chunks.

this is not to say it's better than the blue album, but if you like "dissed and dismissed" and you have not heard the blue album, you should probably go and do that, yeah.

Change My Ways is indeed very TFC, though.

not heard this Tony Molina album yet but his stuff as Ovens is excellent and described perfectly by the first line of the above post

An insane Slumberland sale is going on right now, until November 2: http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/sale

Black Tambourine, The Aislers Set, Veronica Falls...and so much more.

Great year for this label, I think: Tony Molina, Gold-Bears, Terry Malts EP and Allo Darlin' are all terrific.

Damn, sale over already!

Get anything?

I got:

The Bats - Dont You Rise 7inch

Bright Coloured Lights - Open Your Eyes 7inch

Belreve - Belreve 7inch

14 Iced Bears - Inside 7inch

various artists - The Saturday People/The Clientele split 7inch

The Earthmen - Cool Chick 59 7inch

Beatnik Filmstars - Pink Noize 7inch

various artists - Just A Taste CD

Weekend - Sports 2xLP

Sleepyhead - Punk Rock City USA LP

I got the new Allo Darlin' and Gold-Bears (both top 20 of 2014 for me) + Terry Malts' "Killing Time" LP and The Softies' self-titled EP (for $3.33 on CD)

was very tempted by Weekend stuff but...

Yeah, they opened for Medicine and sounded pretty good! It was a good price and "Jinx" wasn't as intriguing so I was happy to pick up "Sports".

Otherwise I was very excited by the sale since it's great they still so many old titles in stock for so cheap regardless of the sale. Awhile ago I got Ropers - All The Time direct from them for instance.

I wasn't too familiar with the newer titles but thought Veronica Falls sounded pretty good. I needed more time to research those so I held off.

However I should have picked up that Softies EP too...

last year's Veronica Falls album was AMAZING. top 5 of the year for me. but i love love love indie-pop...

i probably would've spent more time looking into some older stuff but worried i was gonna lose the sale prices.

wish i'd made an order with Relapse Records during their half-off sale on Halloween...oh well.

Yeah I love both Veronica Falls albums. I already have those, but I did pick up the Proper Ornaments LP, side project from the male VF singer/guitarist. It didn't do much for me when it first came out but it's been growing on me a lot the last couple of weeks. He also has a great other side project, Ultimate Painting, with a new album not on Slumberland, check it out). Also got:

Aislers Set - Terrible Things Happen (not sure why I don't have this already; I loved the other two albums back then)
Girls Names - both LPs (really like the first one, LOVE the second one -- it's like an indie pop Seventeen Seconds)
Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion
Frankie Rose - both LPs
Parasites - Something to Hold Onto single

Kinda regret not getting either of the Weekend LPs.

the proper ornaments is probably my favourite Slumberland thing they've done for a while. the tony molina is awesome but it's a reissue and also should have twice as many songs on it

the literature album is nice enough but it's like they have shaved off all their interesting edges to "slumberlandize" their sound which is disappointing.

did not know that about the ultimate painting album, interesting! trouble in mind (who put it out) is an excellent label

thanks for the heads up! I snagged the Lichtenstein album, the second Crystal Stilts, and some 45s... very good prices!

xpost, was gonna say, if Trouble In Mind were to have a similar sale, i'll be handing over my next paycheck. another one of the best labels going...

ilxors be raving over that ultimate painting album:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/23/ultimate-painting-ultimate-painting-review

Just listened to that Veronica Falls album from last year in its entirety... now I'm really bummed I didn't pick that up! It's great! Thanks alpine.

Teenage is one of my favorite songs of the past few years, and the rest isn't far behind. "Driving late at night, I let you listen to the music you like. Then I'll drop you home." <3<3

I listened to that Ultimate Painting album three or four times and found it pleasant, but I wasn't wowed. Certainly not in the same league as the past couple VF and Mazes albums. I will revisit, though.

I'm excited to dive into that "just a Taste" comp once it delivers.

http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/3?page=8&ret=catalog

wow, yeah, that looks like a treasure trove of twee

That's the soundtrack to my first year of university

Ultimate Painting US tour. DC gig 3-15 with the Twerps (Aussie band on Merge I think?) and Baltimore's Expert Alterations

That Twerps record seems like a great way to welcome spring.

A friend also praised that, so I need to go hear it. He likes it better than Ultimate P.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?ref=music

NY Times listening thing for another Slumberland band:

It’s hard to get a bead on Evans the Death after just one song. The young British rock group veers from folksy strumming to harmony-driven pop to screaming punk rock. They are, however, Londoners through and through.

Whatever that last sentence means

It means "Either way, it ultimately just sounds like Coldplay."

It doesn't though. It skews a lot earlier, to Britpop, Madchester, hints of No Depression even. First song is called "Intrinsic Grey," second one "Terrified," and so on, and the whole thing is unmistakably poverty stricken in a way I haven't encountered in a while. And because Slumberland often releases albums in nifty pairs, the new one by Young Guv, which is Ben Cook from Fucked Up doing an Exploding Hearts type thing, is good too.

ugh is nowhere safe from twerps discussion

Evans The Death are decent. The singer has an amazing voice. I keep hearing the new album is a step up, will need to check that out soonly.

ugh is nowhere safe from twerps discussion

― don't ask me why i posted this (electricsound), Friday, March 6, 2015 6:03 PM (4 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

What's the issue here? Looks like two singular comments about them to me.

any mention of that awful, awful group is enough for me

haha I'm not seeing what could be so hatable about them.

Wait a minute I saw you saying positive things about them on multiple threads what did they do to you recently?

ha since then they put out an ok album, a really really bad ep and a not very good album all complete with lazier and lazier lyrics

I have nothing against Twerps but they do make me wish I was listening to The Stevens. Since we're already off topic can I ask if anyone's heard "A History of Hygiene"? Might be premature to call it a classic but that's really the only word, like "Daddy's Highway" crossed with "Bee Thousand."

Facebook:
The Stevens shared a link to Twerps's timeline.
January 13, 2014 · Melbourne, Australia ·

like "Daddy's Highway" crossed with "Bee Thousand."

...excuse me this sounds amazing.

haha. stevens are great when they're good, though 'hygiene' could probably lose 3-4 songs..

Liked the EP more than the album, but yeah The Stevens are pretty great

Three new Slumberland releases since this thread lapsed:

Joanna Gruesome - Peanut Butter
Expert Alterations - EP
Linden - Rest & Be Thankful

I've heard and enjoyed them all. Anyone else keeping up?

Trying to keep up. They're having another big sale, ends today. Most LPs under $10 and CDs under $5.

I urge everyone to add Young Guv's "Kelly I'm Not a Creep" to their year-end playlists. And something by Evans the Death. Title track probably.

Only a few full-lengths from Slumberland this year but the Pete Astor one is really good. He could pass for either half of the Go-Betweens.

Love this tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG9u13Oxc0U

Also they're putting out the new Real Numbers album! http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/307

Never dreamed I'd see a Minneapolis band in their catalog (unless I'm forgetting one?) but this is a perfect fit.

Was reading about the upcoming 30th anniversary Chickfactor zine shows in London and NY and saw a reference to a band called the Jeanines who are gonna be at the NY show. Seeing some folks rave about their guitar pop. It's ok on first listen.

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/chickfactor-throwing-30th-anniversary-concerts-in-nyc-london/

NYC gets two shows: October 6 aboard The Frying Pan with The Aluminum Group, Jim Ruiz Set, and Beatrix Madell, DJs Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields) and Gaylord Fields, plus "vegan options in the restaurant, nautical photo ops and portraits and other fun stuff!" (tickets TBA); and October 8 at Union Pool with San Francisco bands Seablite and Artsick (mems Boyracer, Kids on a Crime Spree, Lunchbox), Jeanines and special guests TBA (tickets).

The London shows are at The Lexington on October 28 & 29 with Sacred Paws, Artsick and Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture) on night 1 and The Umbrellas, Birdie (Dolly Mixture, Saint Etienne) and Seablite on night 2. There's also a Hangover Lounge at the Betsey Trotwood on 10/30 with The Catenary Wires and more TBA.

https://www.chickfactor.com/

Posted here as Slumberland and Chickfactor share common interests

Kind of a brief Hangover Lounge on the Sunday I expect but it should be nice.

I attended a Chickfactor DC area anniversary gig once, but never NY or London.

Have mostly lost touch with this scene but am curious to check back in.

They co-hosted a funny little halloween outdoor showcase last night in SF:

Cheap Tissue (from LA) as CRIME... who absolutely killed it

and then!

The Umbrellas as My Bootleg Valentine. No Loveless songs, just pure jangle noise pop from the 80s. Amazingly recreated. There were about 50 people there, some real olds (older than me!) and then a ton of youth which was great to see.

The Umbrellas just released a new record and single (not-MBV related) so I grabbed a copy.

That sounds like it was fun. Old guy me remembers Slumberland label head from when he lived near me in Washington DC area

sounds great, would love to see a Crime tribute band, pre-shoegaze MBV sounds fun too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dywxtxVBnM

even not knowing what they looked like i knew that was going to be the umbrellas. their latest album is "how many 80s twee pop references can we stuff into every song". i can't hate on it tbh, it's a level of music nerdery i can respect

Umbrellas, Linda Smith playing near me close to Washington DC on June 12 @ Quarry House

Swansea Sound who contain members of Heavenly are doing some us gigs in June too

I need to catch up with Slumberland, I haven't paid attention for several years now

ha just read the thread to see electricsound slagging off the Twerps, I actually really liked that 2015 album lol

I saw Swansea Sound a few months ago, great gig. although not as good as seeing Heavenly last year (never saw them in the 90s because I only got into them just after they broke up after Mathew died)

fwiw, start with any of The Reds, Pinks and Purples albums in Slumberland, just absolutely killer. Will also vouch for The Umbrellas and Chime School.

oh I haven't heard them (R,P&Ps) but they are playing here in a few months so will check them out asap thanks

New Chime School is good, going to be checking out the Humdrum record later. I mean nothing groundbreaking with Chime School, just a very good half hour of quality jangle pop.

I went to the 35th anniversary Of Slumberland Records show in DC last night with Lorelei, Lightheaded, and Jeanines. Jeanines are Brooklyn twee pop, Lightheaded are New Jersey tweeting pop, and Lorelei are a longtime DC post punk trio briefly back from hiatus. Lorelei were my faves but Lightheaded had some good songs too.

They showed between bands a video compilation of various members of Slumberland bands from over the years wishing Mike Shulman of Slumberland congrats.

would like to see Lorelei. I might see the Jeanines in the summer, they are playing the Heavenly weekender, but on the Thursday which isn't covered by my weekend ticket

I was at the anniversary as well. Would highly recommend the Jeanines, CP, they were the highlight for me. Love that most recent album of theirs, pretty much every song sticks with me.

Jeanines drummer just talks so much, constantly between songs . He thinks he is funny but is so annoying. I think Lightheaded do the twee pop thing better than Jeanines.

Lorelei bassist is the Ceo of Amtrak by day and moved to Philadephia, and he and DC based guitarist Matt Dingee both have young kids, and Dingee also has a busy day job, so it's unlikely they'll tour or go overseas

wow, had no idea (took Amtrak down for the weekend. was great (until my return train got stuck in Newark)).

agree on the Jeanines drummer, not nearly so funny as he thinks and breaks the set flow. but the songs get me past that.

Umbrellas really are one of the best bands around, I feel EXTREMELY fortunate to get to seem them every month or so.

I need to check out that album by The Telephone Numbers, with Morgan from The Umbrellas and a bunch of other SF area indie-pop folks.