Tall Dwarfs - Life is Strange

Here's another band from the "lo-fi" side of the Flying Nun stables. I know a few Flying Nun fans who don't care much for Tall Dwarfs, and I can kind of understand why; their songs don't really have the killer pop hooks that that label is famous for (well, to the extent that it can be said to be "famous" for anything). Still better than most of the rubbish out there though.

This is from Fork Songs.

Delorentos - Leave It On

Here's something a little more up-to-date. Delorentos are a Dublin indie band, very popular locally, and while I find them generally rather average they have put out a couple really great pop tunes, this being one of them. It's from their first album, In Love With Detail.

Kirsty MacColl - They Don't Know

Since I've been on a girlpop kick lately, here's one by a goddess of the genre.

What a lovely voice Kirsty had. What a sad, sad loss.

Backwater - Supercool

I don't know much about Backwater but back in the 1990s they were rather hotly tipped by a lot of people to be the next big lo-fi band. Except their sound tended to be a bit heavier/punker than most lo-fi. Actually, I find most of their debut (and last?) album Angels Are Cool not terribly interesting. But I really like this song.

Sing-Sing - Feels Like Summer

Emma Anderson's post-Lush project, Sing-Sing never really reached that band's heights either in terms of overall quality or popularity but were nonetheless well worth listening to, particularly if (like me) you're a sucker for the classic girlpop sounds of the '60s. I mean, Dusty Springfield could have done this one. Is there any higher compliment?

Tones on Tail - Performance

Back in my gothier days, I used to really love Tones on Tail but listening to them now I find them pretty cringeworthy. I bet there are a lot of people thinking "I told you so". Yes, so you did.

Still think this one's pretty cool though.

Shonen Knife - Little Tree

Ah come on, you've got to like Shonen Knife. They've been around forever (though they sure as hell don't look it), they've put out a million albums and they sometimes play as a Ramones cover band. What's not to like?