Kids on a Crime Spree - I Don't Want to Call You Baby, Baby

Oakland, California band. If you're into the whole Beach Boys-meet-the-Ramones-in-the-garage-with-Phil-Spector-producing thing you'll want to check them out.

It's from their 2011 debut EP, We Love You So Bad. On Slumberland, naturally.

Brilliant Colors - Absolutely Anything

Not to be confused with '80s Bristolians the Brilliant Corners, or Dublin's Gorgeous Colours, these are a San Francisco band with short fuzzy pop tunes that recall the punkier side of the Shop Assistants. And with that description you just know it's gonna be on Slumberland, don't you? I'm not entirely sold on the vocals, but the tunes are great.

From their 2009 debut album, Introducing Brilliant Colors.

 

The Lodger - A Year Since Last Summer

Leeds band active since the mid-2000s but recalling all your favourite '80s indie/jangle-pop. My only reservation about them is I'm not mad about the vocals, but the songs are (mostly) strong enough to compensate.

This is a track from their second album, 2008's Life is Sweet.

Crystal Stilts - Crystal Stilts

Another band I can't believe hasn't made an appearance here yet, Crystal Stilts are of course one of the reasons I regret not being in Brooklyn anymore. Obviously I was way before my time.

This track, from their 2008 debut album Alight of Night, always reminds me of the Mary Chain's "Kill Surf City".

The Ropers - Waiting

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.

Lorelei - Sometimes...

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 Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Ramona

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.

Neverever - Young and Dumb

Neverever are from Scotland but based in LA and that actually tells you quite a bit about their music too - it's like every classic Scottish girlpop band you love, with surfboards. Sheer delight.

This is from their debut album Angelic Swells (great name, that) released last year. On Slumberland, naturally.

Liechtenstein - Roses in the Park

Liechtenstein, despite their name, are not actually from Liechtenstein (is anybody actually from Liechtenstein?) They're from Sweden, but they sound a bit Scottish. Well, more specifically they sound a bit like the Shop Assistants. But that's OK.

This is a track from their 2009 debut album on Slumberland.

Velocity Girl - I Don't Care If You Go

More American shoegaze. This was Velocity Girl's first single, dating from 1990 and featuring Bridget Cross on vocals. Her syrupy-sweet (if not entirely on key) voice is a nice counterpart to the very lo-fi sound, and this recording has a bit of an edge to it that the band lost when Bridget left to join Unrest and was replaced with the more technically gifted but, IMHO, blander Sarah Shannon. In any case, it's a fine early example of the twee-meets-shoegaze sound that was to become Slumberland's trademark.

Re-released on a 1993 compilation EP, which is the cover image you see on this video.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Everything With You

Great 2009 single from the Pains, sounding remarkably like Ecstasy and Wine-era MBV. Which is no bad thing.

Frankie Rose - Thee Only One

I can see that haven't posted anything recent in a while, so here's a 2009 single from ex-Vivian Girl/Crystal Stilt/Dum-Dum Girl Frankie Rose. (What a pedigree!) It's pretty much what you'd expect, which is to say, a great piece of bubbly fuzzy guitar pop. On Slumberland.

Sleepyhead - Different Colored Letters

A really nice track from New York's Sleepyhead, not normally one of my favourite Slumberland bands - most of their stuff was more indie-rock than shoegaze or twee. It's from their 1993 debut album Punk Rock City USA.

Weekend - End Times

Not the Young Marble Giants spinoff, but a San Francisco band who've stolen their name and, so far anyway, seem to have gotten away with it. Good modern indie shoegaze stuff, on Slumberland, naturally.

Whorl - Maybe It's Better

An early Slumberland single from back when that label was still based in the Washington DC area. Very typical shoegazey pop, similar to early Velocity Girl (there was some overlap in membership) - apart from the vocals of course. This is a really nice track.

Small Factory - The Giant Merry-Go-Round

It's a source of great sadness to me that I will never be able to make the Small Factory post I want to make. That's because it would require the technology to go back in time to 1992, grab Small Factory as they were then and transport them not onto a crappy mpeg to view in your browser but actually off the screen and into your living room. Because no recording will ever, ever capture what Small Factory were live. I know it's a cliché but you really did have to be there.

This recording, a b-side to their second single "What to Want", comes closer than most to capturing their live spirit. Still pretty far off though.

Brown Recluse - Night Train

Baroque pop from Philadelphia...they certainly don't sound like a band who takes its name from a poisonous spider.

This is a song that appeared on a 2009 EP, The Soft Skin. Slumberland. Need I say more?

The Aislers Set - Melody not Malaise

The Aislers Set were a San Francisco band formed from the ashes of Henry's Dress. I don't think they exist any more, which is really a shame - their three albums and numerous singles were some of the brightest C86-inspired indie girlpop of the last fifteen years or so. Anyone know what they're up to now?

This is the last song on their last album, 2003's How I Learned to Write Backwards.

Cause Co-Motion! - I Lie Awake

Yet another wonderful Brooklyn band of the past few years. The high price of real estate in Manhattan has certainly been a boon to the Kings County music scene.

Cause Co-Motion!'s recipe is one part lo-fi indiepop, one part '70s punk, run through a blender for about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Yes, it's that good.

This was a 2008 single.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday

One of the songs of the year last year, if not of the decade. If you aren't listening to TPOBPAH yet, what on earth are you waiting for?