Everyone on Sarah Records: Classic or Dud?

Now you might be talking about the Sarah attitude, but then we'd have to define it. I know what the Sarah Records of popular myth was about, but are there resources anywhere which reprint the actual manifestoes/explanations/fanzine articles the people behind the label wrote?

On this evidence, I have to say that Sarah utterly stinks and that virtually all of the music I heard was pathetic, tuneless, incompetant, unimaginative, boring and so lacking any kind of thrill that I'd rather lose a couple of limbs than ever have to hear ANY of it again. I almost grudgingly ADMIRE the way that Sarah managed to put together a collection of surely the very, very worst bands in the UK at that time. Bands whose names alone give off a overpowering stench of inadequacy. Tallulah Gosh! Boyracer! Sea Urchins! Fuck off.

Every detail of this label's sheer uselessness is dealt with......... 7-inch singles limited edition free badge indie-schmindy record collecting bollocks!

Yes, this is unfair. So before some trainspotter and his girlfriend come and harangue me, let me admit it. It's unfair. I'm BEING UNFAIR! That's because LIFE isn't fair, and if you're in The Sea Urchins or Action Painting you deserve having people be unfair to you. Because you're crap.

I have not heard later Field Mice or any Trembling Blue Stars, and I have heard that they are OK. The reason that I have not heard them is that I associate them with the other shite which I HAVE heard, and therefore there are always, oh, 5000 or so other records ahead of them in the queue demanding my attention. Let me know if I'm missing something.

Also, IF in the 90% of Sarah's output which I have not been exposed to, there is a potential Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, say or Slits or Massive Attack or Daft Punk please give me a wake-up call.

On the other hand there are a lot more ways to write about yourself than a confessional, honest, personal diary, and a lot of the bands on Sarah seemed to stick to that register pretty glumly. Several of them also weren't too much cop with tunes, which was fatal. There was something lovely about a Sarah record as a thing, though - the (poor) Another Sunny Day 7" I bought after hearing it on Peel was obviously an object that had been put together on a tiny budget but with a lot of care.

I also wonder how the bands feel about the "no re-pressing" policy, especially now there's an American market for all things Sarah. Isn't chairman Matt cheating them out of royalties and coverage for no reason other than personal bitterness dubiously disguised as waffle about socialism and pop art?

Sarah came from the generally fun Creation aesthetic but imbued it with a humourlessness (or at best, a silly, hysterical sense of humour) and self-importance that really killed off all the fun and coolness of running a small label against the world.

Which of course is to judge the label rather than the bands, but one of the problems with the label (and the pallid and forgettable music) was that it encouraged you to do this.

the point being, any other record label would re-release them now! If I was in an ex-sarah band I'd be furious that he's got this pompous attitude of "if you weren't there at the time, you don't deserve to know about it". Which he broke anyway, by re-releasing the Field Mice.

As it happens I liked Sarah's attitude: I thought the awkward sparkiness of it was let down too often by uninspired music. I've always loved the way Clare and Matt's taste managed to provoke such ranting, foaming hatred in people like Dr. C up there (it's funny to read someone slagging Sarah bands for 'incompetence' then going on to praise the Slits... I know there was nothing even remotely as good as The Slits on Sarah, but *honestly*...) Much of it just left me feeling a bit disappointed. That's a taste issue, though, and the label's attention to detail was crucial: they seemed genuinely to care about each release and that is in such contrast to so many of their contemporaries. What's more, the politics of autonomy is something which indie rock has quietly forgotten about. Much more comfortable and lucrative that way.

I think Sarah ended up in a no-win blind alley, backed there by too much tolerance of very ordinary music. I remain very suspicious of the overtones of nostalgia for an olde England. Village green romanticism is dangerous at best.

Which is a shame, because like Tom and presumably Tim I think some good records were made on Sarah.

It is interesting that some people froth with hatred over something as basically harmless as Sarah Records. Maybe someone could give the top three reasons? (preferably a disinterested cultural commentator, rather than the blur loving Dr. C)

*He speaks with authority, of course: the Visitors sole flexi came out on Sarah fo

Mark sums up much of the problem with Sarah in a more sober and considered way than I did. The thing is ... I don't have any particular bias against Sarah or their founders or small labels in general. I also didn't mean to rant to no effect. I want to hear other views, although I admit I think I'm right ;) (Remember Mr. Reasonable in the MM?)

It's just, it's just..... there is something, EVERYTHING about Sarah that makes me ANGRY. It's the way that most of their music fails on every level that pisses me off.

I'm not saying you need a large budget, a 48-track studio and Mutt Lange behind the desk. Far from it. Young Marble Giants 'Colossal Youth' was recorded on a shoestring, self produced, played on rudimentary instruments with little 'conventional' skill YET is GREAT!! So it can be done.

Tim - there is no contradiction in slamming the Sarah bands for 'incompetence' and the praising the Slits. In a 'musicianly' sense no doubt neither the Slits nor Sarah are exactly virtuosos. Of course that doesn't really matter if you have other things to offer. The Slits had a great attitude, great songs and a fantastic imagination. Just listen to 'Typical Girls' or anything else off 'Cut' for that matter. So don't confuse 'incompetence' with lack of instrumental chops.

Mark there's something I just don't get and it's this... You say :

'the problem was the records, not the label as such' !!!

What the fuck use is a record label if the music is no good? A record label is defined by the records, not the bloody newsletter or the personal ethics of the people that run it! If you can't cut it with great music, don't bother. Not all labels start out spectacularly, Factory for example, but at least they weren't so self-limiting as Sarah, and took the opportunity to evolve and re-define themselves as great bands came along. They could have used a good accountant though, and should have taken more care to actually press enough records to meet the demand in the shops. So no-one's perfect.

Look, I would genuinely like someone to tell me about some good records that came out on Sarah. As I said, I've only heard 10% or less. Let rip.

I think record labels often do interesting things outside of simply putting out records. The politics of the record industry: the tensions between art and commerce, mass production and attention to detail, are endlessly fascinating to me. Sarah had an individual take on these issues and what they were up to was always worthy of attention, *despite* the music. Also, the eternal artist-label-fan Mexican stand-off seemed to reach particular heights with them. If you're not interested in those things, that's fair enough.

What other record labels get under your skin, Doctor? El Records is another example of a label which is very interesting but which avoided putting out decent records for most of its lifetime. As is Creation, now I think about it.

P.S. Graham, what if they just don't want to keep spending time and effort on reissuing old and decreasingly relevant records? Every collectors shop in the world is full of unavailable vinyl... why should Sarah take stick for the unavailability of theirs?

Then that's fair enough

-not of course that it's any of my business to judge what is and isn't fair enough viz a viz what they repress-

but as they point out on their website, and pointed out in print at the time, it's a "pop art statement" never to re-press, even though they consider the records to be great, and even though there is clearly a market for them, and that's what I find annoying and pompous. And you know that behind it is an attitude of self-righteous snobbery. It's not that the music can't be put out by anyone else - obviously it can - it's just the attitude gets up my nose.

It seems unrealistic to create a collectors market and then moan about the fact that there's a collectors market. Another great 80s indie label living in a dreamworld. It frustrates me, because some of the music is good and I judge success partly by popularity.

El records are reissue crazy.. on which point, Surely El Records had an even more cracked-china-raised-elegantly-to- the-Viscount's-lips vision of England than Sarah?

El came over as more demonstrative, parodic and cosmopolitan (dare I say Europhile?) than Sarah, to me at least. No viscount's lips in Sarah-world.

Kiddie Porn vs Indie Pop. Discuss. Preferably without reference to Harvey's baby's arm. Tim, you see it as a "market". If you lool past that demographic, all it is is loads and loads of kids who want to hear Sarah music but can't because the records are so rare / expensive. Maybe this is because you were there and I wasn't. Do you want to protect them from Sarah?

Visceral, throwaway moments in music are fine, and if they last forever, then *great*. I think someone, maybe TH wrote this once on the indiepop list. You just feel that unlike Mike Alway's El (forgive me if he had a female co-worker I've forgotten about) Sarah never really wanted to succeed in terms of popularity and I can't forgive them for it! I can't forgive McGee *for* suceeding, however, so that leaves me all argued out. It's a pleasant sensation.

Harvey's baby's arm indeed! outrageous!

Myabe so many people want to bash Sarah because at least in the freaky trigger / sinister axis people periodically try to reclaim *their* lost youth by doing bad impersonations of Melody Maker circa 1990..?

Tom, what do you define "the Sarah attitude" as?

And can we have an El records thread?

Sarah - a great label in the tradition of Postcard & Creation records. A label dedicated to the dying 7" single, to cheap pop, to emotion, to socialism you CAN carry out in your daily life in our world, not to dogma and rhetoric, to living & not saying 'We are the blank generation', to the ideals of both punk rock & hippydom that everone found so embarassing. To be a thorn in everyone's side, despite being a marginal irrelevance. To make you think, to make you feel, to make you love, laugh, cry, and to make you rush in every Monday they release something to buy it, half the time for the insert they write as much as for the records.

Once upon a time Matt Haynes wrote a fanzine with a friend called Are You Scared To Get Happy? which had the unfortunate effect of being SO GOOD everyone tried to copy it & most fell on their faces, because Matt genuinely believed in what he thought & said, while the others believed what Matt said (hence causing problems & schisms as Matt's opinion changed).

At the same time Clare Wadd was writing Kvatch which I've never seen to my shame so I can't comment on it. So back to talking about Matt's end of it - AYSTGH, as it became known, was political with a small 'p' - it was about the politics of life & attacked the growing commercialism of the UK indie scene - the way that HIS heroes, like Alan McGee of Creation, had adopted the marketing tactics of the majors - ltd.ed singles, extra 12" tracks, etc. This resulted in a grand theory in favour of the 7" as the only true pop format, an attack on over-production of music, and over-pricing. And so appeared Sha-la-la records, set up by Matt & some like minded associates; releasing only flexi discs, distributed with fanzines, the label was an attempt at something pure - most of the flexis were 2 bands, although the Poppyheads issued a 4 track flexi-EP. Quite a lot of these flexis are simply brilliant & someone, somewhere ought to persuade the owners to make a compilation LP.

AYSTGH still makes amazingly inspiring reading these days - Matt's prose is as evocative (and 'wimpy') as much of the music he put out. The wimpy tag is a misnomer - it's angry (with capitalism, with sell- outs & compromise, with people who criticise without acting), it's beautiful in a way I can't explain (look read some of those notes on the single sleeves and you'll know what its like) - I once yelped aloud when somehow it came to close to the bone for me which is odd.It's hopelessly idealistic in the face of the fact that he knows it's all going to be shattered (maybe that's the beauty of it - the belief because you have to have something to believe in), it's heartbroken by bands like McCarthy preaching socialism then treating their fans like shit. But above all it communicates love.

At some point he & Clare got together (I think it had something to do with the Sea Urchins actually (Kvatch just beat Sha-La-La to getting them on a flexi)), moved in & formed Sarah, which was a kind of hard vinyl continuation of before.

Sarah 4 is the first joint fanzine & give's you an idea of their shared perspective on life - socialist ideals dashed on the rocks again & again but still hoping that maybe this time, maybe it might work.

Clare's half starts off with self-doubt about whether running a politically & ideologically sound record label and being a sociology student is really just an excuse not to get a crappy job - "Some days I hate myself so much it makes me CRY." But then she explains how important The Orchids are, and I can't explain just what her & Matt's style of prose does to me but it moves me & I now know why I love Sarah records so much. Walking 18 miles to see the Groove Farm - mention of places near where I was born (Sarah's based 5 minutes walk from the hospital, now a luxury old people's home because it was too nice a building for the NHS). Her & Matt's I don't know, yearning for something more, bring me that same feeling that Another Sunny Day & The Field Mice do - close to tears but happy because you know how alive you are. Obviously a lot of other people feel this way too, hence the success of Sarah!!

Matt's half is a hilarious story, half reality/half fantasy - Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream treated as a fantasy character like Santa, with his gnome Alan (I wonder who), and the introduction of the reindeer (later to crop up in the 'sleevenotes') - an attack on the music press (for calling him narrow- minded when rap fans are 'specialists'), on the fans (for not digging Talulah Gosh because the press made it so embarrasing), on Socialists (for listening to the Redskins & Billy Bragg instead of music to incite them indirectly to revolution), of love in Bristol (hmmm, yummy!). Importantly with this was the Another Sunny Day flexi, but I'll explain that later.......

Sarah 14 was two fanzines - Cold & Lemonade (together with the Christine's Cat flexi) - Clare's is a hilarious feminist rant (not hilarious because of it's politics but because of what she says) - it opens with a direct attack on fanzines written by boys for boys about girlie bands, or boys singing about girls "... but then it's probably because you kept blathering on about fields and trees and stars when all she wanted was a bloody good FUCK..." Anger at the fact that everyone just thought Sarah was Matt (and his girlfriend), and some self-mockery too ("and where... hem.... "Feminine Hygeine" items are not only TAXED, but are also found to contain vast amounts of cancer- inducing bleaches, it'd be hard not to believe someone was out to get me"). Mention made of Insight fanzine - run by Tim of Harriet Records - PO BOX 649, Cambridge, MA 02238

Matt's half is another amusing tale - starting off "I remember when we all used to ride bikes.... now we all want to sound like Dinosaur Jr.", of Fieldmice lyrics (see later again), more self-mockery, and attacks on the people who didn't follow the REAL point of AYSTGH (not what bands to like, a set of (non) production values, but an attitude, a way of life).

I've not seen Sunstroke yet, but I've read every other little slip of trash given away with the singles & brilliant & bitterly funny it is too. Recently the handouts have gone 2-sided, with the other side being a sad melancholy evocative piece of memory from Matt or Clare (strangely always putting me in the same frame of mind as Tea Time Song by The Pastels, but that's a reference just TOO snobby to be made (yep, I've got The Pastels 'Songs For Children' on tape.... another joke for some of you to get!).

Hell, I'm sat here reviewing the writings of the label bosses, and not the bands - my god - but it's almost as important, and what really distinguishes them from other labels (Ivo has This Mortal Coil, Alan McGhee has Biff Bang Pow! and Sarah write, and do they write!!). Record labels should ONLY be run by poets.

Following initial good press (a good few of the first 10 releases got Single Of The Weeks) the backlash against janglepop began in earnest & Sarah were knocked & derided to great extent, though this had the additional benefit of making them so unhip they became a cult (I bet Egg records, or Lust wish they were as publicly & vociferously hated) which ensured their success. The Field Mice saw something of a turning point, with Sensitive making John Peel's festive 50 & a few pre-conceptions beginning to fall - as they've made more money so've the records released mounted up - since this time last year we've had nearly 20 singles, and 7 mini-LPs/LPs, which is a good percentage of their catalogue (just under half) - considering that the other half took since November 1987 to mid-1990 to release, one can say that Sarah now looks to be safely established. The Fieldmice have layed down 14 tracks in the studio for a forthcoming full length LP, are not now going to split, the label have found a new group Blueboy (after an Orange Juice song I suspect) that they say is their best yet (I know what they mean! Until tommorow that is and they get another demo) who've recorded a debut single which means they've quite a bit in the pipeline. With time people's preconceptions of the label should fall, although I hope this isn't caused by them becoming less sensitive and emotional but my more people admitting that side of music into their lives, and the fact that 'the kids' coming up won't even be able to follow the jangly-pop-scene/backlash/reaction against the backlash thing. They'll cease to be as important then, as a label, but the music should always remain vital.

Julian Lawton

i think my favorite sarah record ever is "popkiss" (alternates - "what will we do next?", "and i wonder", "missing the moon", "boy meets world", "unhappy days", "fruitloopin'") but there's too much history tied in with pretty much every release for me to pick one alone

So (ten years on) there's the documentary film that's out, but I'd also like to recommend the book about to come out, which I just read today via an advance:

http://sarahrecords.org.uk/and/popkiss/

Outstanding revive, Ned. I know what I'm asking for for christmas.

Same here.

You read that whole book in one day? Damn, I didn't even get through the Arts & Leisure section today.

Yep. I do read fast.

Was waiting for this to be revived! I'm helping create/translate unofficial Chinese subtitles for that doco for a December screening; a local (Guangzhou) label/DIY collective have put out a Sarah records tribute compilation (four covers, eight "inspired by" originals):

https://fulllabel.bandcamp.com/album/our-secret-world

Ordered the book as a gift for them; hoping it makes it to China before I head back to NZ at the end of the year ^_^;;;

Hmm, think I'm going to have to get that comp!

the film is cinemas only at the moment, i think, but clare has facebooked a picture containing a pile of dvds so i guess that's imminent.

oh, actually, it's available to buy:
My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records
http://storyofsarahrecords.bigcartel.com/product/my-secret-world-the-story-of-sarah-records-dvd

book details here:
Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records
http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/popkiss-9781628922189/

can i make a poll of these artists or would i be murdered

No murdering shall take place.

wow men really got mad at twee 16 years ago

I was too scared to post in this thread 15 years ago. But at the time I was mystified that anyone could dislike Blueboy.

Holy shit at the hate upthread. Treeship please make that poll. You might have been murdered for it in 2001 apparently, but not 2017 nor would you now.

But at the time I was mystified that anyone could dislike Blueboy.

― erry red flag (f. hazel), Monday, August 28, 2017 9:59 AM (three years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I seriously came away with the same confusion skimming the top of this. Less so how can you not like them, but more what exactly motivated you to so strongly dislike them? I guess having very strong aggressive opinions about which guitar music is COOL and LEGIT is definitely a less popular thing these days than it was in 2001, which is nice.

Blueboy should be a household indiepop name, instead indie audiences just think of it as that Mac DeMarco song.

New (?) blueboy records out soon according to their Twitter account. not sure of details.

Test pressings of our first record of new recordings since 1998 have arrived. They will be available soon! With @PrecRecs @martins_world @small_circle @gemmamalley https://t.co/IdDkbrfY6k

— Blueboy (@officialblueboy) March 17, 2021

Uh, what? Wow!

thirty-odd years on Sarah Records still have a number of releases that hold up as the best of the 1990s... Blueboy's Unisex, Even As We Speak's Feral Pop Frenzy, Heavenly's Heavenly vs. Satan, Secret Shine's Untouched, The Field Mice's Coastal, and The Orchids' Epicurean, plus dozens upon dozens of classic singles (the first 4-5 label comps are flawless)

still haven't seen a minute of the documentary or read a page of the book

the book was interesting, although in retrospect I was happier with the myth from afar

I think East River Pipe is my favorite overall, partly because of the NJ roots we share. Field Mice & Blueboy next, then Brighter. "Holy Grail" 45 for me right now is Dirty Mags. But on the other hand I own a perfect copy of Emma's House! Also kicking myself for not buying East River Pipe's Even The Sun Was Afraid for $55 (or something) just given the going price nowadays. Felt high then.

Collectors grievances aside I deeply enjoy all this stuff and the many overlooked acts out there that don't benefit from the visibility "Sarah" gives them. Lots of amazing early 90s indiepop left to discover.

Seeing behind the curtain a bit via the book hasn't ruined the magic for me. I never got to see the documentary though (yet).

ah East River Pipe, the Throwing Muses of Sarah Records

I have the book and have a download of the documentary which I actually have at the top of my watch list. Maybe I will watch it this weekend

looking closer, that blueboy is the peel session from 94 so why he calls them 'new recordings' i don't know.

that label seems to be doing a few of these, Jasmine minks, bmx bandits...

I've got a number of Sarah 7 inches. I thought I might be sitting on a small fortune with my Eternal EP given the Slowdive connection but sadly not. If there was a poll I'd be voting for the Springfields (aka Velvet Crush) and the Sugargliders who were a pretty good early Go-Betweens tribute act.

The Sugargliders are how I become aware of Sarah as a wee bairn. I was all "wait, their newer singles are on some UK label? How fancy."

There are several prominent Sarah acts I still have absolutely no use for but that Sea Urchins compilation, Heavenly vs Satan, Unisex and Boyracer's Sarah EPs remain some of my favourite pop music evah.

Found the documentary on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nwiOEkzWcA
It explains why the Field Mice in 1991 was probably the most lacklustre gig I've ever attended.

Blueboy should be a household indiepop name, instead indie audiences just think of it as that Mac DeMarco song.

― Evan

You mean Tame Impala?

Mac has a song called Blue Boy.

Grantman what are some of the other 45s you have?

Blueboy should be a household indiepop name,

Oh I see. Tame Impala makes a cover of “Remember Me”, thought you meant that one.

watched the documentary this morning, pretty enjoyable and a lot of stuff to check out, understandably they were on the defensive half the time, people really fucking hated them without any good reason, I liked it most when they were talking about why they chose each band, though Claire still spent too long talking about why the more punky bands did actually fit the Sarah aesthetic. Would have liked more on The Field Mice, was Robert not interested in being interviewed?
was slightly annoyed at the sniping at acid house and my bloody valentine, there was no need for that.

Just watched it last night myself! Appreciated they at least put a spotlight on East River Pipe given they weren't necessarily spending time on every single act.

Not sure I saw what you mentioned as a snipe against MBV. Seems more like Matt saying that he preferred Secret Shine between the two as a sort of obviously biased hot take.

Yeah definitely weird that Bobby was absent from the interviews given all the praise they gave him either way.

I listen to Untouched far more than Loveless

Thanks for posting that link, enjoyed the doc a lot.

Untouched possibly holds the record for minimum length of time between (discount bin) purchase and re-sale for me. There was a certain feebleness to it that I just couldn't cope with, despite my pretty high tolerance for fey stuff. (I mean, some days I think the best My Bloody Valentine song is "Sunny Sundae Smile" FFS.) I seem to recall that the one track that approached the requisite level of oomph was the one wisely selected for There and Back Again Lane.

Well guys, Bobby Wratten is commenting on Beth Arzy's cat pictures on Instagram I'd just like to say: timely revive, cheers.

Now off to imagine what classic Field Mice songs written in the era of social media might have sounded like.

Oh I see. Tame Impala makes a cover of “Remember Me”, thought you meant that one.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Sunday, March 21, 2021 7:49 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

not the same blueboy

xp
I Can See Myspace Alone Forever
The Last Twitter
Emma's Tumblr Is Empty
etc

Anyone Else Isn't Youtube

Emma's Tumblr Is Empty

Oh, this is a keeper.

not the same blueboy

ha! I was going to post that but thought the Remember Me post was just a joke! A dance track sampling Woman of the Ghetto was never going to be on Sarah (two years too late in any case).

it was a joke, sorry, thought everyone was just rolling their eyes at it!

There was a certain feebleness to it that I just couldn't cope with, despite my pretty high tolerance for fey stuff.

haha, I always preferred the candy floss of Untouched to the treacle of Loveless... and it was produced by the guy from Alpha!

I really don't get the backlash over Action Painting and The Golden Dawn described in the documentary. Did people actually listen to the singles? Kinda wonder whether the disgruntled would even haved coped with the Razorcuts or Shop Assistants, or other seemingly obvious genre touchstones from the then very recent past. Amazing that expectations had narrowed so drastically even in the space of the first dozen or so singles.

I dont believe it was because they were too abrasive but because that sound was a step backward to the c86 era when the general direction of the label was moving forward.

I don’t remember any Sarah fans at the time being especially interested in the label (or music in general) “moving forward”. In fact quite the opposite - one of the things people would criticise the label for was musical conservatism and the response to that would be to talk about how good the songs were or how dreamy the records were, and that stylistic innovation was less important than those qualities.

Sample size: my friends, and this is all a long time ago so that could easily be wrong.

(And both things could be true - it's perfectly possible that the Golden Dawn were unappealing to early Sarah fans because they seemed old-fashioned or whatever, but I never heard a whiff of that reasoning at the time.)

Did anyone complain about the Talulah Gosh radio session thingy? Literally old AND kinda abrasive. (The second session anyway.) It's like the label itself was really struggling with these rules. :)

I don't recall anyone hating on Talulah Gosh but by the time those records came out ('92?) I was perhaps moving in different circles!

I think they were moving forward. Maybe not exploring bold new sounds, but exemplifying decent songwriting and atmospheric production as aesthetics was fresh at the time. It's a step away from the inspired but chaotic amateurism of the Creation roster circa 1984-88 which cast a long shadow over a certain part of the music scene. The Golden Dawn in particular seem like a Creation band from 1985. And some of the groups are using subtle electronics which point to the kind of poppy trip-hop style that eg. Saint Etienne mastered (and there are numerous intersects with St. Et). It's interesting to see development through Heavenly's four albums neatly illustrates a path from 80s indie to 90s Britpop. They were a rare survivor from 1986 who were still keeping up in 1996.

Fair enough - I have no memory of anyone in that world particularly valuing stylistic progression, though. Certainly not by the time the Golden Dawn thing came out, it would take a finer aesthetic sense than mine to detect enough progress in Sarahs 1-15 to justify the loathing piled on The Golden Dawn. (There is a third option of course: that the Golden Dawn single was absolutely terrible by any sensible measure and that people were already committed enough to Sarah as a project that they bought it and were heavily disappointed.)

As far as "decent songwriting" goes, the scene from which Sarah emerged was already utterly obsessed with great songs, everyone used to go on about it all the time! That was Sarah being a continuation of a thing rather than Sarah exemplifying progression away from a previous mode of indie.

My Secret World is a better song than Pristine Christine

Is it also that Sarah was, even by that early, already seen as something especially highly curated vs. just a label for everything under a particular genre umbrella?

It seems that you can split the independent labels of the 80s into two camps: highly curated or anything goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5jasu5ny7A

https://ndrthebridge.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-bridge-2
A great compilation of new output by Ex-Sarah bands. My faves: The massive shoegazing wave of Secret Shine's "Captivate This Broken Love" and Soundwire's dreampop hymn "Everything Is Real".

Great tip, I missed the first one and they're both fantastic! Lots of bands to follow up on.