cinnamon songs

Reflector the Illuminator - Call Me Monday

2012-02-16T08:40:00.001Z

Here's a charming piece of twee pop from 1996. I'm not entirely certain about this, but I believe Reflector the Illuminator were originally from Albany, New York and known as Chomp; they later moved to DC and at some point changed their name but it's all a bit of a muddle to me. On the off chance that anyone can clear this up, please send info.

On the Zero Hour label.

East Village - Meet the Wife

2012-02-15T20:04:00.002Z

Overlooked late '80s jangle-pop band from Princes Risborough, England, wherever the hell that is (and seriously, who on earth thought that was a good name for a town?). Their singles were compiled for a 1994 collection on Summershine called Hotrod Hotel, and listening to it you can sort of see why they were overlooked: though pleasant enough, there wasn't anything particularly memorable about their music. No real stand-out tracks on the collection, either, but this is one of the nicer ones.

Fatal Microbes - Violence Grows

2012-02-14T19:10:00.003Z

I haven't posted any anarcho-punk for yonks now, so here's a classic from the genre. Fatal Microbes were a London band that included two children of the Poison Girls' Vi Subversa - amazing that she was old enough to have two children in their own band in 1979 - who later went on to form Rubella Ballet, the resemblance to whom is quite noticeable. I don't think the Microbes ever recorded anything after this, so they're pretty much the epitome of the one-hit wonder. Except it wasn't really that much of a hit, except among anarchist punks. Which I never was, incidentally, though I did find a lot of their music interesting.

If you're here solely for the indiepop, and don't like anything harsh, discordant or screechy, this isn't the one for you.

Very Truly Yours - Girls Tell You Secrets

2012-02-13T19:26:00.000Z

I know I've been posting a lot of girlpop lately but...but...well, just listen. This is a band from Chicago whose first single was released only last year, though its jangly guitars are straight out of a Housemartins record. Then the vocals kick in and...swoon.

A song that ticks all my boxes.

Giant Drag - Kevin is Gay

2012-02-12T18:35:00.002Z

LA duo Giant Drag's 2005 debut album, Hearts and Unicorns, was a fairly solid piece of early '90s-influenced indie rock - sort of a cross between MBV and Garbage - marred only by some really juvenile song titles (they actually get worse than this, believe it or not). The follow-up has been a long time in coming, though we did get a decent taster of an EP a couple years back.

I have the same sort of girlcrush on Annie Hardy that I had on Katie Jane Garside 20 years ago.

Heavenly - Cool Guitar Boy

2012-02-11T12:15:00.000Z

Heard this recently for the first time in years and it brought back such memories. I can clearly remember how excited I was when I got my copy of Heavenly vs Satan, put it on for the first time and heard this coming out of my speakers. Talulah Gosh were back! Well, sort of. The whole album didn't live up to their standards, but this, the opening track (along with a good few others) was everything I'd been waiting for. Bliss.

As a 21-year-old indiepop grrrl, I also remember simultaneously laughing ironically at the lyrics, and secretly identifying with them. Though I'd never have admitted the latter.

From 1991.

Metric - Help I'm Alive

2012-02-10T21:28:00.000Z

Metric are proof that you can be slick and radio-friendly and play songs with guitar riffs stolen straight out of 1980s' MTV promos and still be good. Of course, a voice like Emily Haines' doesn't hurt.

This one, their biggest hit, was in super heavy rotation on Dublin radio back in 2009 but somehow I never got tired of it. It's a great catchy tune, slightly offbeat, with some really clever wordplay - what's not to like?

From their fourth album, Fantasies.

Fun Boy Three - The Telephone Always Rings

2012-02-09T22:20:00.000Z

Eventually I'll probably post every Fun Boy Three single, if only for the excuse it gives me to watch the videos again. They're impossibly '80s, aren't they?

This was the third single from their self-titled debut album, from 1982. It's quite a cheery video for such a cynical song, but then Terry Hall always did do irony well.

Love and Rockets - Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man

2012-02-08T19:08:00.001Z

Yeah, I know. Love and Rockets? I see you sniggering in the back there. But in all fairness, this really is a deadly track, with a great driving rhythm and one of those choruses that works precisely because of its incredible simplicity. Unfortunately just after the halfway point there's a completely daft lyric that threatens to ruin the whole experience ("Alcohol is your yoga, baby") but you can't really expect a band made of Bauhaus alumni not to have at least one cringeworthy moment per song.

It's from their second album, Express, from 1986, which I actually rather like.

Beach Fossils - Fall Right In

2012-02-07T18:51:00.000Z

An almost unspeakably gorgeous track from Brooklyn's Beach Fossils, off their 2011 EP What a Pleasure. Reminds me a bit of the Orchids.

The Marnies - Electric Wires

2012-02-06T20:09:00.000Z

Yet another band I would never have heard of without the wonderful Wilfully Obscure, these were an Australian quartet who seem to have nothing to their name but this lone 7", from 1989. Pity, because it's quite a catchy little tune, with obvious Church influences in the guitars but also clearly drawing a bit from the C86 crowd. Whatever became of them?

The Clash - Safe European Home

2012-02-05T17:06:00.000Z

One of the more controversial Clash songs, due to the...erm...unfortunate ambiguity of Joe Strummer's intentions in writing it. Just try to ignore that (I do), because it is, really, a tremendous track in every other respect.

From 1978.

Postcode - It's Amazing It's Fantastic

2012-02-04T15:55:00.002Z

To make up for the sugary sweetness of yesterday's entry, here's something a little... different. Postcode are from the Isle of Man and are obsessed with zebras - well, you would be, wouldn't you? - and they also seem to really like the early Pixies a lot. Some of their stuff is pretty good.

This is from a 2010 EP, Zebracore Revisited (told you).

The Assembly - Never Never

2012-02-03T19:30:00.001Z

The cheesy '80s new wave synth-pop ballad isn't always my thing, but Vince Clarke did it better than most and Feargal Sharkey's voice really is the perfect mix of whiney and vulnerable for this song. A love-or-hate one, probably.

From 1983.

Dot Dash - There and Back Again Lane

2012-02-02T16:51:00.001Z

Dot Dash are sort of a Washington DC supergroup, although their pedigree probably doesn't mean much to people from outside the area. Truth be told, I lived in DC for a few years and I never heard of some of the bands these guys were in. But I'm sure they were great.

They're named for a Wire song, but it's definitely the pop more than the post-punk side of Wire they draw from. Which is fine by me.

Morton Valence - Sailors

2012-02-01T15:40:00.000Z

Great piece of electro-pop from this London band, released about five years ago. A re-recorded but very similar version appears on their latest (second) album, Me and Home James, from last year.

Brighter - Looks Like Rain

2012-01-31T17:36:00.001Z

An unusually upbeat number from Brighter, most of whose material was much more on the soft and fluffy end of the indiepop spectrum. Maybe since this one was on a label called Sturm und Drang instead of their usual Sarah they thought they should ratchet it up a bit. Or maybe not.

Anyway, it's one of the b-sides to the 1990 "Next Summer" flexi. The video appears to be some randomer's family photos.

The Mayfields - Seasons Pass

2012-01-30T13:45:00.000Z

Another great tune from the long-lost Mayfields, sounding very much like the Razorcuts here. I think you will agree it's a dreadful shame they didn't leave us with more before they disappeared.

This appeared on the K7 compilation Somethings Burning in Paradise, from 1988.

Adorable - Sunshine Smile

2012-01-29T21:14:00.001Z

Adorable's first and best-known single. It wasn't one of my favourites of theirs, but as b-list shoegaze hits go, I think it's aged better than a lot of its contemporaries. I still maintain they would have been taken more seriously if they hadn't combined such a twee-sounding band name with a twee-sounding title for the first song anyone ever heard of theirs.

From 1992.

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

2012-01-28T11:09:00.001Z

The thing I really like about this song is that it manages to be a supreme accomplishment without much obvious effort, like I'm not sure Kate and her band even fully grasped themselves what an amazing piece of work they were creating. Contrast with "Wuthering Heights" which, though I love that too, does have the air of "trying very hard" about it.

I remember when this album was released - God, I'm old - and this wasn't what I would have considered one of its highlights, based on either my own opinion or the songs that seemed to get noticed from it. "Running Up That Hill", "The Big Sky", "Cloudbusting" - those were everywhere, but this one barely registered at the time. Isn't it funny how often those turn out to be your favourites?

Whipping Boy - Twinkle

2012-01-27T21:26:00.000Z

Whipping Boy are one of those classic Irish alternative bands who people on this island get all misty-eyed thinking about but I bet hardly anyone outside Ireland knows who they are. See also: Microdisney. I don't think they were great and I have real qualms about some of their lyrics, but on the basis of their strongest material (like this song) you'd have to agree they deserved wider acclaim than they ever received.

This is from their second album, Heartworm, from 1995.

Young Prisms - Feel Fine

2012-01-26T16:50:00.000Z

Blissed-out fuzz from San Francisco. Nice to listen to in the right frame of mind, though I think they're best taken either in small doses, or with a significant amount of drugs (if you're so inclined).

This is from their debut album, last year's Friends for Now.

New Amusement - Jamboree

2012-01-25T17:57:00.000Z

One of my favourite Irish tracks of the past couple years, this is a super-high-octane one with chiming, blistering guitars (that's always a good combination) and the type of anthemic melody that you rarely get in a song at this pace. It was all over the radio a while ago, so I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a video for it.

It's from their 2010 full-length debut My Captain, on Any Other City records.

Jamboree by New Amusement

The Spinning Wheels - That's the Question

2012-01-24T15:47:00.000Z

Great piece of fast-paced jangly indiepop from 1990. Band was from Brighton, apparently, don't know anything else about them.

The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)

2012-01-23T14:39:00.000Z

I'm overdue for another '60s classic, so here's one I always thought was immense. Although originally recorded by Frankie Valli (!) this is the version most people will remember. And rightly so.

Loving the drummer's stripey shirt, too.

Lighthouse - A Change

2012-01-22T09:49:00.000Z

1994 release from the Waaaah! Singles Club. It's not one of my favourites, mainly because I find the vocals a bit off-putting. But less so on this track than on the others.

Don't know anything about the band.

Holly and the Italians - Rock Against Romance

2012-01-21T19:53:00.000Z

Anthemic tune from Holly Beth Vincent's debut album, The Right to be Italian. This is really very similar to that Nuns track I posted last week, although being released a year later (1981), it was considered new wave rather than punk. Labels, eh?

Glassacre - Tension Agreement

2012-01-20T22:15:00.000Z

This Aussie duo's 2006 Slow Attack EP consists of five songs of soft electronic pop which straddles the line between ambient and shoegaze. To be honest, most of it is a little too far over on the "ambient" side for me, but this one is quite lovely and actually reminds me of some of Sarah's more atmospheric artists, such as Eternal.

Let's Active - Every Word Means No

2012-01-19T18:03:00.000Z

Here's an eighties US college radio classic, from one of Mitch Easter's rare forays out from behind the scenes in the recording studio. This is from their 1983 debut EP Afoot, which sounds incredibly dated now but is still a pretty nice little collection of the mildly jangly power-pop so popular at the time.

The Ropers - Waiting

2012-01-18T15:54:00.000Z

Classic DC shoegaze from a real Slumberland treasure, the Ropers' 1993 debut Sunbathe EP. There's something so incredibly innocent about this it gives me goosebumps.

The Star Department - Antlers

2012-01-17T21:45:00.001Z

Newly-released track from these Dubliners' forthcoming debut album, The Pea Green Boat, though I swear this song has been kicking around for a couple years. The Star Department take bits and bobs from all the best genres, including indie-folk, twee, shoegaze and jangle-pop, and make a pretty nice concoction out of it all. I don't like this one as much as their previous best-known tune, "Embers" - it gets a bit meandery - but there's still enough in it to ensure them a place on the "ones to watch out for" list.

Technical difficulties

2012-01-16T21:57:00.001Z

Normal service will resume tomorrow, hopefully. Apologies.

The Family Cat - Place with a Name

2012-01-15T13:44:00.001Z

How cool were the Family Cat in the very late '80s/early '90s? Pretty fucking cool. So cool, in fact, that in the US city where I was living at the time, when a media war broke out between two indie record shops, one of them made a triumphal claim of oneupmanship over the other by pointing out that "We had the Family Cat before they did". (I was in London a couple months after this, and met the band and told them this story, and to say they were delighted would be a bit of an understatement. One of them told me there were little towns in the US that they had never heard of, where they were number one on the college radio station.)

There's probably an element of "you had to be there". There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about their music; catchy, shambolic indie guitar bands were kind of a dime a dozen in those days (aren't they always?) but something about the Family Cat really did stand them out from the rest. I suppose a lot of it just probably came down to attitude...and song titles like "Tom Verlaine". How can you go wrong with a song called "Tom Verlaine"?

I'll post that song another time but for now I think I'll go with this, their third single, from 1990. Probably the most "accessible" of their early material, it's a song that never fails to give me a lift - even though it's a little darker, lyrically, than the tempo and deceptively cheery chorus might suggest.

Bouquet - Before I Die

2012-01-14T14:38:00.000Z

Seriously twee band who may have been from Nottingham, Leeds or Sheffield depending on which website you believe (although this 1997 7" was recorded in Philadelphia and released on a French label, Aquavinyle). Erm...what more can I say about them besides "seriously twee"?

Nuns - Wild

2012-01-13T15:38:00.002Z

Another great tune from the Nuns' classic self-titled debut album. This was "punk" in 1980. I love it.

Shumai - Are You Jeff Corwin Experienced?

2012-01-12T21:16:00.000Z

Indie-girl-pop band from Boston, mid-2000s. I always thought they could have been a little bit better - maybe if they'd raised the tempo a notch, or not named songs after celebrity animal conservationists (like this one) - but still, they were enjoyable enough.

This is from what I think was their only album, 2004's Tastes Like Summer.

Prolapse - TCR

2012-01-11T13:48:00.000Z

A band I was never quite sure what to make of. Prolapse were from Leicester (though you'd never know it from Mick Derrick's thick Glasgow accent) and made music that could generally be summed up as "post-punk", although they fell between that genre's initial heyday and its 21st century revival. Which probably explains why nobody else really knew what to make of them, either. In fairness, though, they pushed the envelope of even as elastic a genre as that one - as you can hear from this song, which is really just a piece of manic pop. Very manic.

If you don't know what their name means, incidentally, don't ask. Just don't.

#Poundsign# - Oh! Dolly

2012-01-10T18:17:00.000Z

I posted something else from this 2000 album not too long ago but I've had this particularly infectious track on the brain lately, so here it is. Featuring Becky Barron (more recently of Scrabbel) on vocals.

Ride - Sennen

2012-01-09T14:12:00.001Z

Ride at their dreamiest, and with some of their nicest guitar ever. It's from the 1991 Today Forever EP.

Men of Westenesse - The Coldest Water

2012-01-08T10:02:00.000Z

The only single ever released by this Essex band, although they had enough material for a retrospective collection to be issued a couple years ago. Great jangly guitar pop that must have already sounded a bit retro when it came out in 1989.

Felt - Stained-Glass Windows in the Sky

2012-01-07T21:07:00.000Z

Lovely track from the lovely Poem of the River EP, from 1987. I'm not generally the biggest fan of Lawrence Hayward's lyrics, but I think he gets it just right in this one: less is more.

The Sugargliders - Skylight Salt

2012-01-06T15:45:00.002Z

B-side to "Another Faux Pas in the Cathedral of Love", an early 7" from this Melbourne band and, I think, their only record not to be released on either Summershine or Sarah (it was on Marineville, for whatever that's worth). I think it's a much better tune than the a-side, which is a bit too nerd-rock for my liking.

The Icicle Works - Hollow Horse

2012-01-05T13:27:00.003Z

The Icicle Works are often considered a one-hit wonder (for "Birds Fly"), even though their debut album was an absolute treasure from start to finish and their 1985 follow-up, The Small Price of a Bicycle, wasn't half bad either. This was its opening track.

Christmas break!

2011-12-17T04:43:00.000Z

I'm taking a long Christmas break folks. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you back on January 5th :)

The Young Bryan Superstar - You're Magnetic

2011-12-16T21:33:00.000Z

A nice little piece of indiepop from San Sebastian in the Basque country. They also went by the name El Joven Brian.

This was a self-titled four-song 7" from 1993.

The Harvest Ministers - You Do My World The World Of Good

2011-12-15T16:57:00.003Z

Surprised I haven't posted these yet. An Irish band on Sarah? They ought to be all over this blog. *hangs head in shame*

The Harvest Ministers have been around forever (well, since 1987) but don't have a huge discography to show for it: their fifth album was released only last year. They tend to be thought of as sort of a Will Merriman project rather than a proper band, though that's a bit unfair to Padraig McCaul, multi-instrumentalist, who I think has been a Harvest Minister for the duration. And who's a brilliant landscape painter in his own right, btw.

This was their first single, from 1992.

Primal Scream - Imperial

2011-12-14T20:21:00.003Z

A lot of indie snobs like me will tell you Sonic Flower Groove is the only Primal Scream album worth buying. I would beg to differ - not because I think any of the others are great, but because I don't think this one has that much going for it, either. It's all very earnest and innocuous neo-psychedelic pop but I just think it tries too hard and doesn't live up, in songwriting terms, to its influences.

And if I wasn't mad about it when it came out, most of it really hasn't aged well. But I always liked this one a lot, and still do.

The Radio Arts - 04:30 AM

2011-12-13T19:11:00.004Z

Decent little electro-pop band from Sweden, who don't seem to be around anymore. Shame.

This was from a 2005 EP.

Sloppy Joe - Sometimes

2011-12-12T15:48:00.003Z

Now here's a real treat, all the way from Tokyo. Sloppy Joe's debut album With Kisses Four came out this year, but you could be forgiven for thinking you'd discovered a lost treasure from the C86 era - they really do an amazing job of capturing that sound. To say that I absolutely love it! would be a significant understatement.

Check out Bandcamp for more.

The Calloways - Kalamazoo

2011-12-11T20:28:00.004Z

There is a decided lack of information available about this band. They may have been from Edinburgh, but they don't seem to have released much of anything. This very new-wavey track, which dates to the early-mid '80s, appeared on the wonderful 1996 cassette compilation A Sandwich and a Sweater. Anyone know anything about them?

Michael Knight - Coronation Street

2011-12-10T10:41:00.002Z

Michael Knight is supposed to be a band rather than a person, although really it's Irish singer-songwriter Richie Murphy + whoever happens to be playing back-up for him at any given time. "Their" music is quirky harmonic pop that often walks the fine line between clever and irritating, but when they get it right it's very very good indeed.

This is a track from their second album, I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This, from 2008, sounding remarkably like a Franz Ferdinand soundtrack to a spaghetti western.

Michael Knight - Coronation Street YBI11 by yesboyicecream

Aztec Camera - The Birth of the True

2011-12-09T18:22:00.002Z

It's probably an understatement to say that Aztec Camera's 1984 second album Knife was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't hate it the way that some people did, but I definitely agreed with its critics that it was much blander than the debut and that Mark Knopfler's production drained away a lot of the songs' charm. But having said that, there were still some really nice tracks on it and this was always my favourite.

References to burning down banks are, of course, particularly appropriate again these days.

Inspiral Carpets - Tainted Love

2011-12-08T20:02:00.003Z

I don't post a lot of cover versions here but I heard this one again the other day and it struck me that it's a really, really good example of a band taking a song that everybody knows and truly making it their own. Which is what a cover should be.

This actually isn't even the best Inspirals version of it - the one on the NME Ruby Trax collection is even better - but it's the only one I can find a video for online and I won't have the time to make one today. Just take my word for it.

McCarthy - Boy Meets Girl So What

2011-12-07T18:46:00.002Z

Typically cynical track from these rather dour Essex popsters. This was one of their later releases, a 1989 EP (they broke up the following year). It's not particularly one of their best but for some reason it invaded my head yesterday so I thought I might as well share it. I'm sort of in this kind of mood lately anyway.

BPeople - I Said Everybody

2011-12-06T16:09:00.003Z

Late '70s/early '80s no-wave sort of band from LA. I picked up a 7" of theirs when I was around 15, I think I found it in a bargain bin or something and thought it looked interesting. I didn't really "get it" at the time though. Rediscovered them a few years ago and while I don't think I was missing a lot, they had their moments, all right. If you're into this sort of thing, you can download a compilation album here.

The Dufflecoats - Sunny Tuesday Afternoon

2011-12-05T12:14:00.002Z

Cheshire band who may have also been called the Applicants, or may have just shared a member or two with the Applicants - there seems to be a bit of confusion on this point in webland. Anyway, they were twee and girly and fabulous and that is really all you need to know. Isn't it?

This is a track from the 1991 Waaaah! CD.

Apologies ...

2011-12-05T06:09:00.003Z

Another complete techfail yesterday in Chez Cinnamon. I'll be back when I've got caught up on everything else it kept me from doing!

T.Rex - Mambo Sun

2011-12-03T23:54:00.000Z

I've been posting a lot of really obscure stuff lately so here's something a bit better known. It's the first T.Rex song I can remember falling in love with. And I still love it - it's such a great example of how the most ludicrous, senseless lyrics can sometimes say so much.

The Big Gun - Heard About Love

2011-12-02T19:25:00.003Z

Another fantastic yet mystifyingly obscure '80s track, this one from a Scottish (Ayrshire) band who released one 7" and then disappeared. Can't say I blame them, actually - who would want to spend the rest of their career trying to live up to a first single as good as this one? It would probably only depress you.

The Ammonites - It Hurts Inside

2011-12-01T17:52:00.004Z

How about another track from that wonderful Everlasting Happiness collection? The Ammonites were a bunch of teenagers from Leicester and put out a number of tapes and 7"s in the late 1980s-early 1990s, as well as making a lot of compilation appearances. Indiepop with not a little punk-pop influence, great stuff altogether.

Shine! - I Just Can't Celebrate Today

2011-11-30T21:38:00.003Z

The sum total of what I know about this band is what appears on the YouTube page where I got this video from:

Shine! was a late 80's english pop band from Norfolk. They released a flexi in 1989 named "Millions And Millions" on Baz McHat Records. Then, their song "I Just Can't Celebrate Today" was featured on the "Everlasting Happiness" compilation.

If anyone has any more info, by all means please share it. In the meantime, enjoy the tune. It would be hard not to, the (misleadingly) downbeat title notwithstanding.

Working Week - Venceremos

2011-11-29T19:17:00.003Z

Here's a real blast from the past. I'd completely forgotten about this one! Working Week were one of a number of British jazz-pop groups active in the early to mid 1980s. It wasn't a genre I was terribly enamoured with, but at the time I thought everything Tracey Thorn touched was gold so of course I had to love this song (that's her on vocals, along with Robert Wyatt).

Actually, it's still pretty good, even if it's nothing like anything else I ever listen to. And the video is pure retro class.

Stellastarr - Lost in Time

2011-11-28T23:22:00.002Z

I certainly wouldn't be a fan of everything Stellastarr (or stellastarr*, if they insist) have done but I have to give them the nod for this track. Mainly because it does actually succeed in what so many of this genre fail miserably at, that is, actually being the big epic blockbuster of a song it wants to be. Credit where it's due.

It's from their second album Harmonies for the Haunted, from 2005.

New Amusement - Lights Go Down

2011-11-27T19:31:00.003Z

Dublin band on the wonderful Any Other City label. This one comes from their debut EP, 2008's Any Port in a Storm, and it is pure pop bliss which I don't think I will ever grow tired of. Nice video too.

Orange Juice - What Presence?!

2011-11-26T14:03:00.006Z

Fab song from The Orange Juice, their final album (from 1984). It's a bit of an odd one even by Orange Juice standards, with its twangy guitars and gospelly vocals at the end there - an ambitious track that could have been really horrible if it didn't work, which fortunately it does. Some of Edwyn's best rhyming, too.

REM - Time After Time

2011-11-25T17:22:00.002Z

From the 1984 Reckoning album. A nice, late night, mellow, relaxing-at-home sort of song. If you're going to smoke stuff to REM - not that I'm necessarily endorsing that, mind - this is the song to do it to.

Seeping into Cinemas - Chipped Teeth

2011-11-24T18:37:00.003Z

Dublin band whose debut album 100,000 Times was finally released this year to great local acclaim. Shy, quiet folk-tinged indiepop. The only negative thing about their music is that every time I see them I get really annoyed because I can hardly hear them play over people talking. People who talk at gigs by bands like this should be shot.

Chipped teeth by Seeping Into Cinemas

The Violet Pets - Violets are Blue

2011-11-23T21:33:00.002Z

Very young London band from the last decade who made records in their bedsits and gave them away. Apparently. Really liked everything I heard of theirs.

The Three O'Clock - Marjorie Tells Me

2011-11-22T17:24:00.002Z

Since I started doing this blog, I've been very pleased to see how many Three O'Clock fans there still are out there (judging by the number of people who end up here by searching for them). They were one of my favourite bands as a teenager - I was actually a member of their fan club, and I didn't join many fan clubs - but I could really count on my fingers the number of people I knew who seemed to have ever heard of them. It's heartening to know that I'm really not alone in my Three O'Clock love, even if this knowledge is about 25 years overdue.

This one's from the 1983 Baroque Hoedown EP. Not one of their better-known tunes, but isn't it just delightful?

Band of Holy Joy - What the Moon Saw

2011-11-21T13:32:00.002Z

Heard this song the other day for the first time in a good while and was struck again, as I always am, by what a wallop it packs in its (not quite) three minutes. Especially considering how slow it starts off. BoHJ are an acquired taste, no doubt, but what a reward you get for acquiring it.

From 1989.

OMD - Souvenir

2011-11-20T10:26:00.004Z

Another gem from early OMD, the band that always seemed to me to do the best job of contradicting Luddites' claims about synth-pop. You really couldn't credibly argue that electronic music was inherently emotionless in the face of stuff like this.

It was their most successful single ever, which is kind of surprising because I think they had a lot more obvious "hits" than this, but I guess that just shows how much better taste mainstream music listeners had thirty years ago.

It's from their third album, Architecture & Morality, from 1981.

Lilys - The Night Sun Over San Juan

2011-11-19T17:09:00.003Z

Speaking of DC-based Slumberland bands - well, Lilys used to be one, but that was a lifetime (and a number of musical styles) ago. It's rare for a band to last as long as they have and keep putting out records and actually get better, but I genuinely think their last album - 2006's Everything Wrong Is Imaginary - actually does outshine most of their earlier releases. It's miles ahead of the MBV-wannabeism of their early years, less self-indulgent than their "Nanny in Manhattan" era and while there's still a strong psychedelic influence, it's really the closest thing they've ever done to a pop record and they wear that style particularly well.

I hope they haven't called it a day at this point. I'd love to hear what else they might have in store for us.

Lorelei - Sometimes...

2011-11-18T14:19:00.004Z

B-side to "The Bitter Air", an early (1991) Slumberland 7" from this DC band who never recorded anything like this again (they lost their singer shortly after its release; she would later reappear in Racecar, who've made a couple appearances on this blog). The a-side is a slow, pretty atmospheric track but it's always been this one that's really grabbed me: a Perfect Pop tune with jangly guitars and heavenly female vocals. Where could you go wrong?

The Bongos - Splinters

2011-11-17T14:20:00.003Z

Another track from the Bongos' 1985 album, The Beat Hotel. This album got mixed reviews but I remember this song being widely acclaimed as one of the stand-out tracks and I would certainly agree. It actually strikes me as being like something the Sound might have done if they were more on the power-pop and less on the post-punk end of things. Wonderful, in any case.

Public Image Ltd - Public Image

2011-11-16T14:39:00.003Z

I never took to PiL, despite being a big fan of early post-punk generally. I'm not really sure why. I still find John Lydon one of the most interesting musical personalities around, so maybe I should go back and give his band another listen.

Anyway, here's one I always did like: their debut single, from 1978.

The Marmite Sisters - Trevor

2011-11-15T16:28:00.003Z

Leicester C86ish band who were around for about ten years but were remarkably unproductive, which might be attributed to the fact that they don't seem to have really taken themselves very seriously as a band. You can kind of tell this from their music (that's not meant as a put-down). Oh, and they weren't really sisters.

This is from a 1991 flexi.

April Showers - Abandon Ship

2011-11-14T16:44:00.003Z

Another 1980s Glasgow band, but one considerably less well-known than yesterday's entrant. Probably because this was (apparently) the only thing they ever released. It's a lovely piece of '80s new-wave pop, full of twee charm despite its slick production (you can thank Beatrice Colin's wonderfully pure, clear vocals for that. The charm, I mean, not the production). An overlooked gem of a record.

From 1984.

Orange Juice - Flesh of My Flesh

2011-11-13T11:06:00.003Z

From the 1982 Rip it Up album. This one doesn't seem to get mentioned very often in lists of Classic Orange Juice Songs, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - it means that every time I hear it I get a bit of a jolt at how fucking amazing it actually is. Of course, I'm probably ruining that now by posting this, but if it means I'm helping someone else experience the sheer delight of it for the first time, then I suppose it's worth it. You're welcome.

Brilliant lyrics in this one, too, from start to finish. Now that I think about it, why isn't this considered one of their classics?

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

2011-11-12T19:30:00.003Z

You might think I'm pushing the envelope with this one but I was listening to it this morning and it struck me that it has all the qualities of a great indiepop tune: it's short (really short), catchy as hell and full of snappy li'l couplets. So onto this blog it goes. Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that most of my readers know what I mean already, since you all have such good taste.

Enjoy.

The Hit Parade - In Gunnersbury Park

2011-11-11T21:01:00.002Z

One of about a billion singles released by this London band. This one, from 1991, was on Sarah, though you'd probably guess that within the first ten seconds even if I hadn't told you.

The Hermit Crabs - I Don't Know How

2011-11-10T15:50:00.004Z

Glasgow band who walk the fine line between indie-pop and indie-folk. I bet they get compared a lot to Camera Obscura.

This is from a 2009 EP.

The Thrift Shop - Begins (On the Fly Mix)

2011-11-09T15:03:00.003Z

The Thrift Shop was a side project of Neal from Philadelphia indiepoppers the Skywriters/Snow Fairies. I don't think they did much besides contribute to a couple of Red Square compilation albums, including this one from 2002.

Eggs - John's Bar Mitzvah

2011-11-08T20:15:00.004Z

Funny little DC band, around in the early-to-mid 1990s but having little in common with the Slumberland crowd dominating the local music scene at the time. I suppose you could call them indie art-rock.

Their debut album Bruiser from 1992 was a mixed bag but here's a nice track from it.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Ramona

2011-11-07T14:07:00.004Z

Here's another example of a band whose b-sides are better than a lot of bands' a-sides. In fact, in this case the song is marginally better than its own a-side... though it's a close call. It was on the "Young Adult Friction" 7" (2009), and it makes me swoon.

Slowdive - Beach Song

2011-11-06T20:16:00.002Z

I've never been a fan of Slowdive - most of the time I just find them, well, boring. But this song kicks. It's from a 1992 flexi.

Vivian Girls - I Can't Stay

2011-11-05T21:16:00.003Z

It occurred to me last night that although I've posted plenty of bands that are either linked to the Vivian Girls or are like the Vivian Girls, I've never posted an actual Vivian Girls song before. Silly me.

Here's a live version of a 2008 single. It's interesting how close to Talulah Gosh they sound, without all the Spectoresque studio embellishment of their recordings.

#poundsign# - Matinee Sunday

2011-11-04T15:00:00.004Z

Great San Francisco indiepop band with boy/girl vocals, active in the late 1990s. This is from their second album Underneath the Marquee, which was released in 2000 and seems to be the last thing they ever released.

They remind me a lot of Belle & Sebastian on this one, which is certainly no bad thing.

David Bowie – Kooks

2011-11-03T13:52:00.001Z

Always loved this track from the 1971 album Hunky Dory, which is one of my favourite Bowie albums. It was written for his then infant son Zowie. The kids in my own extended family always seem to enjoy it, too.

The Chills - Rain

2011-11-02T17:20:00.003Z

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet. It's a track from the Chills' first proper album, 1987's Brave Words, and it's just...perfect.

And when I say "perfect" I mean in the sense of it being an utterly superb little pop song, not in the sense of it being lyrically entirely appropriate for what's been going on outside my window all day, although that is also the case.

Cashier No 9 - The Lighthouse Will Lead You Out

2011-11-01T15:58:00.002Z

Jaunty little number from this Belfast band who have been getting a fair amount of positive media attention lately. They remind me a bit of the Charlatans on this track, which comes from their recently-released debut album To the Death of Fun.

Daisy Chainsaw - Natural Man

2011-10-31T08:34:00.003Z

Track from their 1992 debut album Eleventeen which lacks the band's usual manic energy but makes up for it in sheer weirdness. It's the only one that Katie Jane doesn't sing on; I've always assumed the vocals were guitarist Crispin Gray's but I'm not sure I have any actual reason to assume that. I could be completely wrong.

Buzz of Delight - In Summer

2011-10-30T08:03:00.003Z

I wasn't a fan at all of Matthew Sweet's solo material but he was in a couple decent bands in the early '80s, including this one who dissolved after their 1984 Sound Castles EP. This is the standout track, a genuinely delightful piece of twee power-pop not that far removed from Sixteen Tambourines-era Three O'Clock.

Moped - Window Shopping

2011-10-29T08:42:00.002+01:00

Moped were from New Jersey but released their lone album, the splendidly-titled It Won't Sound Any Better Tomorrow, on the Australian Summershine label. It was kind of typically mid-'90s boy/girl indie music, somewhere on the continuum that exists in my head between indiepop and indie rock - nothing you couldn't live without, but enjoyable enough. You can download it here.

My Bloody Valentine - I Believe

2011-10-28T20:23:00.004+01:00

B-side to "Feed Me With Your Kiss". I'll say that again: this was a b-side. I still can't quite wrap my head around that. You could take the best bits from the best a-sides of 95% of the records that have ever existed, and make the best a-side you could possibly make from them, and it still wouldn't be fit to wipe the dust off this song. Which was a b-side.

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit. But, seriously... can you believe this was only a b-side? I can't.

From 1988.

The Riptides - 77 Sunset Strip

2011-10-27T10:58:00.004+01:00

Following on from that Pointed Sticks post a little while ago here's some more classic but somewhat forgotten late '70s punk-pop, this time from Australia (Brisbane, to be precise). Robert Vickers of the Go-Betweens was in an early incarnation of this band, who I gather were significantly better known in their native country than outside of it.

This was their first single.

The Grooveyard - Summer

2011-10-26T18:20:00.003+01:00

From Brighton, apparently, but that's about all that I know about them.

This song appeared on the Uncle Arthur's Pop Parlour cassette compilation in 1987 and on a split flexi with "Sleepyhead" by Ever (which is also on Uncle Arthur) the following year. It's a great little piece of jangly-pop-with-flute. Terrible mixing, but who cares.

Thomas Dolby - One of Our Submarines

2011-10-25T14:35:00.002+01:00

Thomas Dolby has released some horrific material in his time (see: "Hyperactive") but The Golden Age of Wireless would be a guilty pleasure of mine were it not for the fact that I refuse to feel guilty about any of my listening habits. Admittedly some of it is a little too ploink ploink for my tastes, but this particular track would be lovely on any instrument and is no less so just because it's all synthy.

Apparently he wrote it about his uncle, who drowned in a submarine during World War 2.

The Chameleons – Thursday’s Child

2011-10-24T13:38:00.000+01:00

I haven’t posted nearly enough Chameleons here, and I see that I haven’t posted anything that isn’t on their magnificent 1983 debut album Script of the Bridge.

I’ll rectify the latter omission at some point. But not today.

The Stone Roses - All Across the Sand

2011-10-23T16:57:00.004+01:00

I was strangely underwhelmed by the news that the Stone Roses are to play in Dublin next year. Like many others of my generation, I worshipped the ground they walked on in their early years (though my own personal backlash began earlier than most - I never liked "Fools Gold", and I still don't). I never got to see them in their heyday; I still think their debut album is one of the finest ever released, and I've long since got over my reunionphobia. Yet it took me all of thirty seconds or so to decide not to bother with the Dublin gig, and I can't quite put my finger on why. I'll probably regret it later - when the tickets have shot up to €200 on the black market. Oh well.

Here's a b-side to "Sally Cinnamon". Bet they don't play this at the reunion gig!

His Name is Alive - Is This the Way the Tigers Do?

2011-10-22T17:23:00.003+01:00

From HNIA's remarkable Dirt Eaters EP from 1992. It's more abrasive than the other tracks on the EP, though less so than the scratchy and sireny bits might lead you to expect at the start.

If anyone has a clue what the words are about, don't tell me, I probably don't want to know.