February F-POP! Propaganda. Click For Infos.
Comrades,
It’s been an exciting week at the Presidential Palace with some great reviews for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s album since its release a week again, not least from those makers or breakers at Pitchfork who rated the record a massive 8.4. The album is called simply, with a justifiable degree of self-confidence, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, and it contains ten of the best pop songs you’ll ever hear, including the singles “Come Saturday” and “Everything With You”. It’s available to order from us now on CD or beautiful 12″ vinyl LP for the princely sum of £10 (UK) or £10.50 (Europe) by paypal to ministryoffinance@fortunapop.com
Equally exciting in its own way is London’s very first international popfest, a gathering of indiepop fans, bands, clubs and labels from around the world which we’ve been busily organising with our friends Spiral Scratch and WIAIWYA records. Over the weekend more than twenty bands will be playing in four venues, London’s finest indie clubs will be spinning the tunes, there will be fanzine and record stalls, pop quizzes, films… and more besides. Four days of running around this brilliant city celebrating some amazing bands, meeting some old friends for the first time, swapping records, tapes and fanzines, drinking, dancing and, well, you know… doing what people do at festivals. For those of you who haven’t yet seen the full smorgasbord on offer, it looks like this…
Thursday 26th Feb @ Jamm: PELLE CARLBERG, The School, Pocketbooks, Let’s Whisper, plus DJ Ian Watson (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?)
Friday 27th Feb (2-6pm) @ Roxy Bar & Screen: Film screening – “1234” and “Slamptumentary”
Friday 27th Feb @ The Buffalo Bar: TENDER TRAP, Zipper, Betty and the Werewolves, Allo Darlin’, plus Fortuna POP! and Cosy Den DJs
Saturday 28th Feb Alldayer @ The Macbeth: COMET GAIN, Milky Wimpshake, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, (almost all) The Smittens, Leichtenstein, Action Biker, The Loves, Town Bike, Pete Green’s Corporate Juggernaut, plus Spiral Scratch, WeePOP!, Fraction Discs and Half My Heart Beats DJs
Sunday 1st March @ The Salmon & Compass: Julian Henry & Harvey Williams play the songs of The Hit Parade and Another Sunny Day, Gregory Webster, The Middle Ones, plus Hangover Lounge DJs
The four day popfest passes are now nearly sold out – at the time of writing there were only five left. If you do want to come to all four days and want one of these last few passes you can buy them here. Remember, only four day pass holders will gain entry to the Friday and Sunday shows.
A limited number of individual tickets are available for the Thursday night here for £6 and for the Saturday alldayer here for £10 advance. And don’t forget to check out the website for all sorts of other information such as the mix cd swap!
Finally, Fortuna POP! is starting a new venture with the Track & Field label promoting shows under the name Secret Knowledge. Soon we’ll start a new mailing list just for Secret Knowledge gigs, so this list will only be about records and gigs related to Fortuna POP! acts, but for now we’d like to tell you about our first Secret Knowledge show which takes place at The Lexington on Thursday 5th March and features our old friend Darren Hayman and his band The Secondary Modern, the wonderful Shirley Lee of Spearmint, and the ever excellent Esiotrot. A fine way to start I think. Tickets are here.
Hasta luego,
El Presidente
*** LONDON POPFEST OPENING NIGHT ***
London Popfest presents
Pelle Carlberg (Sweden) + The School + Pocketbooks + Let’s Whisper (USA)
Plus Guest DJ Ian Watson (How Does It Feel To Be Loved)
Thursday 26th February 7:30pm
Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, London, SW9 2LH
Nearest tubes : Brixton / Stockwell / Kennington
Tel : 020 7274 5537
Web: http://www.brixtonjamm.org
E-mail : info@brixtonjamm.org
Advance: £6 from We Got Tickets/Door: £8
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/44470
PELLE CARLBERG
The former singer of Swedish indie popsters Edson made a big splash in the indiepop world a few years ago when he released the brilliant single, “Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls” – a super danceable slice of euphoric folky indie pop reminiscent of early B&S. His new album, “The Lilac Time”, is better still, and tips a wry nod to his inspirations with a song called “1983 (Pelle & Sebastian)”! Pelle will be accompanied by the talented Jonathan who will play bass guitar and drums… simultaneously!
“Killer tunes that lodge in your mind, dissolving like sugar lumps into your blood stream.” (Kitten Painting)
http://www.myspace.com/pellecarlberg
THE SCHOOL
Originally formed by Liz Hunt of The Loves as a side-project, The School have turned into genuine contenders, inking a 2-album deal with Spain’s Elefant records, home of Camera Obscura. Indiepop with a strong 1960s influence, The School are just putting the finishing touches to their debut album with producer Ian Catt (Saint Etienne, The Field Mice, Trembling Blue Stars) for release later this year.
“A swoonsome waltz through the best bits of Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and 60s girl groups.” (How Does It Feel To Be Loved)
http://www.myspace.com/theschoolband
POCKETBOOKS
Pocketbooks are a pop band from London, combining melodic boy/girl harmonies, spiralling guitars and delicate piano lines. Since appearing on How Does It Feel To Loved’s seminal “The Kids At The Club” compilation they’ve released a single on Atomic Beat records and an EP on their own Make Do And Mend label, been played on BBC 6music and played fabulous pop shows with the likes of The School, Radio Luxembourg, Butcher Boy and Saturday Looks Good To Me. Think Camera Obscura, The Pastels, Belle and Sebastian, The Sundays and expect a sprinkling of dazzling 60s soul alongside some sparkling indiepop charm!
“Nuggets of exquisitely crafted pop that slyly references the timid bashfulness of ‘Tigermilk’ era Belle and Sebastian and the spring-hued shimmer pop of early Heavenly” (Losing Today)
http://www.pocketbooks.org.com/
www.myspace.com/pocketbooks
LET’S WHISPER
Let’s whisper is Dana Kaplan and Colin Clary, both of whom you might have heard of from their solo projects and their other band The Smittens. They play the sweetest, catchiest pop songs – check out their cd on WeePOP! or take a listen to their MySpace.
http://www.myspace.com/letswhispermusic
*** LONDON POPFEST – FRIDAY AFTERNOON FILMS ***
London Popfest presents…
“1234”
+
“Slamptumentary”
Friday 27th February 2pm – 6pm
Roxy Bar & Screen
128-132 Borough High Street
London SE1 1LB
Tel: 020 7407 4057
E-mail: press@roxybarandscreen.com
Website: www.roxybarandscreen.com
FREE ENTRY
1234, Dir. Giles Borg, London, Carson Films, 2008
Bespectacled cardigan-wearer Stevie (guitar, vocals) endures a job he despises and can’t get a girlfriend, but at least he has music. With his mate Neil (drums), he’s been kicking about in bands for a while, but it is not until the pair team up with Billy Dixon (guitar), a more experienced hand with drive and ambition, and Billy’s cute pal Emily (bass) that the possibility they might be on to something good suggests itself. With a demo to tout, Stevie beats a well-trodden path to record company doors, but finds he has to manage the tensions developing within the band while keeping his own aspirations in check.
There have been plenty of films about bands in the past, yet Giles Borg’s knowing, warm and witty film feels original and honest, the product of time spent in dives watching bands before anyone else has heard of them. A spirited, independent film about the spirit of independence, 1 2 3 4 revels in referencing The Yummy Fur, Prolapse and Comet Gain, as much as more obvious touchstones The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and the Pixies (the soundtrack is a killer, natch). Watch it here, so that in six months time when everyone’s raving about it, you can claim, “I saw it first”.
Slamptumentary, Dir. Nick Allot, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Slampt, 1995
AKA 1995: the year punk rock got fixed. Only 50 VHS copies ever existed, but now there’s an updated Slamptumentary including extra footage, a priceless document of the Slampt Underground Organisation, home of Kenickie and The Yummy Fur and one of the greatest DIY labels ever the world ever saw!
*** LONDON POPFEST ALLDAYER ***
London Popfest presents
Comet Gain + Milky Wimpshake + Help Stamp Out Loneliness + (almost all) The Smittens (USA) + Liechtenstein (Sweden) + Action Biker (Sweden) + The Loves + Town Bike + The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut
plus Spiral Scratch, WeePOP!, Fraction Discs and Half My Heart Beats DJs playing indiepop, indiepop and more indiepop till late
Saturday 28th February 3pm
The Macbeth, 70 Hoxton Street, Shoreditch, London N1 6LP
Nearest tube : Old Street
Tel : 020 7739 5095
Web: www.myspace.com/themacbethuk
E-mail : macbethoffice@googlemail.com
Advance: £10 from We Got Tickets / Door: £12
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/43627
COMET GAIN
Formed in London, England, in 1993, and influenced as much by the riot-grrrl movement as by the music of the girl-group era, Comet Gain mix punk-pop aesthetics with a more abstract northern soul sensibility. Originally signed to Wiiija Records, the original line-up split in 1997, songwriter David Feck assembling an all-new roster for the band’s subsequent albums ‘Tigertown Pictures’, ‘Réalistes’ and ‘City Fallen Leaves’, released on Kill Rock Stars in the US and Track & Field in Europe. Magical, passionate and emotional, inspired in equal parts by The Go-Betweens, Godard, Irma Thomas, dance parties, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, falling in love, mod and hootenannies, Comet Gain are one of the finest British bands of our time.
“Raw and vital records steeped in leader David Christian’s actual, angry, and true poetry and the group’s raw and alive sound.” – All Music Guide
www.myspace.com/cometgain
MILKY WIMPSHAKE
If you like your punk rock thrills laced with fuzzy pop melodies and intelligent, funny lyrics then Newcastle’s Milky Wimpshake are the band for you. The spiritual godfathers of the North-East scene that spawned The Futureheads, frontman Pete Dale was formerly überlord of the now defunct indie label Slampt, responsible for launching a thousand fanzines and nearly as many bands, Kenickie and The Yummy Fur included. The ‘Shake themselves are most often compared to the Buzzcocks and The Undertones, with a dash of Billy Bragg’s lyrical gift for combining the personal and the political with a light-handed wit.
“If you like the Buzzcocks, The Brilliant Corners or have a secret fond place in your heart for The Pooh Sticks ‘On Tape’, you’ll probably love Milky Wimpshake.” (Jyoti Mishra, White Town)
www.microsofa.net/mw
HELP STAMP OUT LONELINESS
Fresh out of nowhere and featuring Colm and Bentley from indie popsters Language Of Flowers, Help Stamp Out Loneliness – named after a Nancy Sinatra song, of course – are, in their own words, “a lounge-gaze-krautpop band”. It’s singer D. Lucille Campbell who’s the real star here though, her Siouxsie glamour and Nico-esque vocals make a unique mix when coupled with the band’s poppy Stereolab-ish tunes.
“Catchy, cheer-uppy, get-dancey tunes that shimmy along powered by big hits of Blondie-style sparkly pop.” (Kitten Painting)
http://www.myspace.com/helpstampoutloneliness
(ALMOST ALL) THE SMITTENS (USA)
Colin Clary plays guitar and sings in the five-piece DIY indiepop explosion that is The Smittens from Vermont, USA. Nicknamed “the Charming Smitten” for his ability to talk his way in to everyone’s heart, Colin is a busy boy – his work as a solo artist has earned him indie-rock star status and he is in at least seven other bands (Colin Clary and the Magogs and Let’s Whisper included). Colin will be joined here by at least one other Smitten, but no ex-members of The Smiths.
“If the Disney Channel were run by K Records, the Smittens would be the hugest… Their multi-tracked harmonies, sugar-rush guitar melodies, and DIY synth burbles and cute outfits are relentlessly, huggably adorable.” – Boston Phoenix
http://www.smittens.com
LIECHTENSTEIN (SWEDEN)
Liechtenstein are an all-girl indiepop quartet from Gothenburg, Sweden who play a unique brand of shambling yet dreamy guitar pop. Taking their influences from 80’s post punk, C86 and combining it with 60s girl group sensibilities they create a sound similar to such mid-eighties greats as Talulah Gosh, Shop Assistants and The Vaselines and will shortly release an album on Slumberland (USA) and Fraction Discs (Europe).
“Their début single provides three slices of indie pop that takes its cues and inspirations from the likes of Dolly Mixture, Girls At Our Best, Mo-dettes and the Shop Assistants… an early contender for single of the year” (Indie MP3)
http://www.myspace.com/liechtensteinia
ACTION BIKER (SWEDEN)
In 1983, the very same year Kraftwerk released Tour de France and Dolly Mixture released Demonstration Tapes, Swedish electro pop chanteuse Sarah Nyberg Pergament was born in Trelleborg, Sweden. Her one-woman project Action Biker is named after the classic C64-game. Influences such as Young Marble Giants, Broadcast, Francoise Hardy, Saint Etienne, Stereolab and The Human League form the basis of her textured synths, tapping drum machines and lush vocals in what she herself describes as “baroque on synths”. Her debut album was released last year on Friendly Noise.
“Her breezy way around ’60s pop is filtered through ’80s indie culture and 21st century computer-based recording but still sounds sweet and rich” (All Music Guide)
http://www.myspace.com/actionbiker
THE LOVES
From Cardiff, The Loves mix pop psychedelia and C86 indie with a dash of Jack Daniels and beatnik cool. They released their debut single on Radio One DJ Huw Stephens’ Boobytrap Singles Club in 2001 and then made several singles and an LP with the esteemed Track And Field Organisation. They also recorded four Peel Sessions in two years (one of which was broadcast live from Peel Acres on Valentine’s Day), and have recorded sessions for Marc Riley on BBC 6Music and BBC Radio Wales. Their second album “Technicolour” was released on Fortuna POP! and was made Album Of The Week by The Sunday Times. A new album “Three” is set for release in early 2009.
‘A wide-eyed retro-chic indie-pop sextet that sound like The Monkees playing at being The Velvet Underground.’ – (NME)
http://www.myspace.com/lovetheloves
TOWN BIKE
Town Bike formed in the summer of 2006 as an overtly-pop reaction to the dull hipster indie rock that dominated the dancefloors of Liverpool’s punk scene. Having gained allies in the likes of Steve Lamaqc and Everett True, the band’s ode to McFly’s fittest member (the Myspace-conquering Dougie) found them a new audience of teens worldwide. More pertinently, their debut EP When Good Kids Go Bad combines the sweet indiepop sounds of Helen Love and early Kenickie with the raw pop-punk of the Ramones and The Queers to brattily addictive effect.
“The 33 seconds of Town Bike’s Cock Muff Bumhole is the undoubted highlight, outdoing Helen Love in a spurt of surf sixties pop and a tirade of potty mouth lyrics” (Indie mp3)
www.myspace.com/townbike
THE PETE GREEN CORPORATE JUGGERNAUT
The one-man indiepop troubadour gets himself a band. Expect the usual topics… songs about Grimsby Town, the travails of being in an indie band, other general life-affirming stuff… but with a backbeat. And no, the new band hasn’t got a MySpace either.
“Pete Green’s big-hearted lo-fi acoustic indiepop is dripping with pathos, wit and charm” (SoundsXP)
www.sparklemotion.co.uk
*** DARREN HAYMAN + SHIRLEY LEE + ESIOTROT ***
Secret Knowledge presents
Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern + Shirley Lee (Spearmint) + Esiotrot
Thursday 5th March 7:30pm
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JB
Nearest tubes : King’s Cross / Angel
Tel : 020 7837 5387
Web: www.whiteheatmayfair.com
E-mail: matty@irlondon.com
Advance: £7 from We Got Tickets/Door: £9
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/44472
DARREN HAYMAN AND THE SECONDARY MODERN
Former Hefner front man Darren Hayman returns with his band The Secondary Modern to promote his critically acclaimed new album “Pram Town” on the Track & Field label, a concept album (loosely termed a ‘folk opera’ by its creator) based on the Essex town of Harlow. While it may seem a bizarre central theme for a whole album, Hayman evokes an equally nostalgic and romantic atmosphere with songs about life and love in the suburbs that showcase Hayman’s eye for detail and ear for folk-pop melodies.
“London’s laureate of sexual dysfunction, discomfort, and dog-eared under-achievement… the match of Ray Davies, or any of the quintessentially English masters.” – The Guardian
www.hefnet.com
www.myspace.com/darrenhayman
SHIRLEY LEE
The main songwriter for, and singer with, London-based cult Indie band Spearmint, Shirley Lee has just released his debut solo album, full of his trademark classic British Pop songwriting and dazzling lyrics. An extremely personal collection of love songs, hence the decision to make it a solo album, the songs were recorded with Brian O’Shaunessy at Blackhorse Studios in London (Primal Scream, Broken Family Band), as well as by Shirley at home.
“A timely reminder of how unpretentious and uncomplicated indie music used to be” (Tasty)
www.shirleylee.co.uk
www.myspace.com/shirleyleeuk
ESIOTROT
Esiotrot are a 7 strong indie pop band from Brighton, meeting at university through a love of art and wearing cardigans. With a penchant for badly tuned guitars, they have often been compared to the Velvet Underground, Hefner, The Pastels and Beat Happening amongst others.
“Hefner are maybe the most obvious connection, but there are hints of The Pastels, The Orchids, The Visitors, Ballboy, Hidden Cameras… I really do love Esiotrot with a large chunk of my heart.” (Tangents)
www.myspace.com/esiotrotschmesiotrot
*** BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL – A Fortuna POP! compilation ***
It’s finally out – our Be True To Your School compilation with 25 Smash Hits from the vaults of Fortuna POP! in a dead posh digipak with a booklet with pics of the bands and ramblings and everything. Here’s the full tracklisting:
1. Y Sun Over Discordia / Discordia
2. Home / Finlay
3. Oh Katrina / Tender Trap
4. Blinky / Sodastream
5. Itsuko Got Married / Bearsuit
6. Catchy Monkey / Mark 700
7. Take It To Fantastic / Cannonball Jane
8. You’re The Prettiest Thing / The Chemistry Experiment
9. Xs and Os / The Loves
10. Yvonne / micktravis
11. Rob A Bank / The Butterflies Of Love
12. Dialling Mitt / Spraydog
13. I’m A Tiger / International Strike Force
14. TK1 / Twinkie
15. Talking Backwards / Fanfarlo
16. T-Shirt Weather / The Lucksmiths
17. Work’s All Right (If It’s A Proper Job) / MJ Hibbett
18. Fallen Angel / Taking Pictures
19. Between Delta And Delaware / Airport Girl
20. Starving Hungry In Tescos / Mogul
21. Dialling Tone / Milky Wimpshake
22. The Walk / The Aislers Set
23. Too Old / Would-Be-Goods
24. You Can Hide Your Love Forever / Comet Gain
25. Small Music / Homescience
Pretty cool huh? And the best part is that it’s only £5! If you want to order one here’s the lowdown…
BY POST: Send a cheque, postal order or IMO made payable to ‘Fortuna POP!’ to 4 Mayfield House, Rushcroft Road, Brixton, London. SW2 1LD. UK.
BY PAYPAL: Use our PayPal address ministryoffinance@fortunapop.com
For orders in Europe but outside the UK, please add 50p per item ordered. Outside of Europe, please add £1.00 per item ordered.
“An amazing roster… dive straight in to these nuggets of pop perfection and appreciate the label for all it’s done for us.” (Drowned In Sound)
“The Fortuna POP! and Track and Field labels have given me more musical pleasure than just about any other labels in the past decade and the POP! legacy is laid out here to see. One for the year-end best ofs, I think.” (SoundsXP)
“It oozes authenticity reminiscent of ‘Nuggets’, the great proto-punk-psych compilation series. If you can’t enjoy this, despite its flaws, you are a bad person.” (CMU Daily)
“If the idea of a library full of undiscovered, indie pop gold appeals to you – and it should – then this is Motown Greatest Hits volumes 1,2 and 3 for your hungry little mind.” (Artrocker)
“A mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous, of bedroom pop glory (from both the guitars and samplers divisions), DIY sonic wreckage, classic songwriting and cackhanded tomfoolery.” (Fire Escape Talking)
“As befits any indie label worth its salt, there’s often an almost wilful stylistic schizophrenia to the catalogue, which reflects the taste of its founders as much as its audience. And that’s how it should be; the sleevenotes themselves are enlightenment enough on that one. Credit crunch be damned: music is (almost) its own reward – if you’re true to it.” (Record Collector)
*** NEW LUCKSMITHS ALBUM FIRST FROST ***
A trip across Bass Strait this past winter to Tasmania has yielded First Frost – The Lucksmiths’ finest and most eclectic album to date. Camped out in the wilderness, the band was free to explore and expand the musical palette, and with all four members contributing songs, the end result is an expansive 14-song offering bound to surprise anyone who thought they had The Lucksmiths pegged as sounding too much like The Lucksmiths…
Opening cut, the Kinks-y “The Town and the Hills”, sets out some of the album’s central themes, examining the distance (geographical and metaphorical) between city and country, while “California in Popular Song” is a sweet slice of sun-kissed pastoral pop complete with sweeping strings and a throaty low-down guitar; combine this with some gentle fingerpicking and Tali White’s pensive vocal, and it’s already become your new favourite Lucksmiths song! Meanwhile, recent live hits, the jangly “Good Light” and the surprisingly glam-rockin’ “A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed)” — the latter concerning a late-night drunken escapade at a public swimming pool — both receive a fine rendering on First Frost . Elsewhere on the album, The Lucksmiths’ familiar strum is traded in for brief dalliances with a disorderly fuzz pedal, a choir of misplaced mittens, and a bird that just wants to know why you got drunk. Intrigued…?
First Frost is available in the shops from November 1, distributed by the kindly folk at Cargo. It’s also available RIGHT NOW to order from us, the kindly folk at Fortuna POP! for £10, ordering details here http://www.fortunapop.com/records/buy.html
(You can read more about the recording process for First Frost and how the mice in the studio got involved in guitarist Marty Donald’s recording diary here http://www.messandnoise.com/articles/3325911)
*** NEW FIVE SONG WIMPSHAKE EP ***
The new EP from Newcastle’s fun-loving bedroom anarcho-syndicalists – a credit crunch busting value for money five songs long with covers of songs by The Yummy Fur and The Isley Brothers as well as three fizzing punk-pop originals.
A potent mixture of fizzing pop tunes, punk attitude and protest folk Milky Wimpshake have released numerous singles and compilation tracks on assorted indie labels since forming in 1993, along with three albums, 1998’s “Bus Route To Your Heart” released on singer Pete Dale’s own legendarySlampt label, 2001’s “Lovers, Not Fighters”, issued on the ultra-hip Troubleman Unlimited label (Erase Erata, Rogers Sisters) in the States, and 2005’s “Popshaped”, the latter two both on Fortuna POP! in the UK and Europe. For many Milky Wimpshake are the spiritual godfathers of the now-thriving North-East music scene, and as überlord of the Slampt label Pete was responsible for launching a hundred fanzines and as many bands, Kenickie included. Futureheads guitarist Ross Millard has paid respect to the band in the pages of NME and on Sky Sports Soccer AM!
This EP features 3 fizzing new original tunes: punk love song “One Good Use For My Heart”; the self-explanatory “(Show Me The Way To) Anarchy”; and the nonsense poetry of “Milky Cliché”; plus a medley of the old music hall number “If You Want To Know The Time Ask A Policeman” andThe Yummy Fur’s “Policeman”; and a recording of a live favourite, their cover of The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart Of Mine”. All adhere to the classic Milky Wimpshake sound – buzzsaw guitar (thinkRamones, Buzzcocks), simple bass, garage-y drums, throwaway but intelligent and humorous lyrics – and will be warmly received by their many fans and new listeners alike.
Again, in the shops soon but available from us NOW for £3, ordering details here http://www.fortunapop.com/records/buy.html
*** NEW-ISH SOUNDS ***
Fortuna POP! last batch of releases are still available for you to order…
HAYMAN, WATKINS, TROUT & LEE (CD ALBUM £10)
“The best bluegrass band ever” (The Lipster)
From the first jangle of banjo, its sentimental heart beats strongly and beautifully. A soft melancholy prevails, cut from the same sentimental cloth as the songs of the Proclaimers. Mesmerising observations emerge, too, with the wryly-titled Fine Young Cannibals boasting the best: “The filter fell loose from the skin/ And stuck to the prettiest lip anyone has ever kissed/ I’ve been waiting all day for this. (Guardian – **** stars)
Hefner’s Darren Hayman contributes four originals, including Dirty Tube Train, on which barnyard instrumentation details a daily dose of sexual temptation somewhere on the Northern line. Dave Tattersall’s Bethnal Green sounds like a cardigan-clad 1980s Scottish indie band covering Lucinda Williams’s Am I Too Blue?. Two surprisingly affecting Townes Van Zandt covers complete this rather special little record. (The Sunday Times – **** stars)
This super group project (of sorts) has put together a very appealing album… this is no mere pastiche; there is a distinct Bethnal accent to this music that enables it to be funny and touching without straying into dodgy or gauche territory. (Kruger)
This is intimate music, ballads of mundane domesticity to make you smile, songs about love, shandy, calling in sick, Calor gas stoves, and unrequited, commuter-lust on the tube train. In little ways, I’m reminded of the Violent Femmes, the first Incredible String Band album, Country Joe and the Fish, Leadbelly and Lonnie Donegan, but the band does have a unique sound all of its own. (Tasty)
Hayman, Watkins, Trout & Lee dishes up invigorating slices of country and bluegrass, fresh from the depths of East London with wickedly funny, witty lyrics. HWT&L is an acquired taste, but if you fancy something a bit different, it’s really not a bad place to start. (Subba-Cultcha)
A lovely record filled with sweet tunes and pretty melodies. Hayman, Warkins, Trout & Lee’s debut is a cheerful and lovely collection of traditional, cover and original tunes that flow cohesively to create an upbeat and lively album that’s great listening if you’re feeling a bit down. (Room Thirteen)
Miraculously, the whole thing works rather well. Hayman’s ever-tremulous voice is backed up by gentle ukelele and plenty of off-kilter sentiment, and this, we guess, makes it anti-anti folk, or something. (New Noise)
THE BOY WHO COULDN’T STOP DREAMING – CLUB 8 (CD ALBUM £10)
“Exquisite, perfect creamy dreamy pop, classic sunny Swedish minimal pop. Karolina Komstedt’s voice is perfect, perfectly beautiful, she has the ability to gently melt just about everything with her perfect perfect beautiful voice. Classic sensual creamy sunny breezy indie pop that just really is perfect. Classic beguiling St. Etienne, Cardigans, Whipped Cream style indie pop and a just right in every way mix of melancholia and sunshine – gloriously good. This is just perfect simple clever dreamy indie pop. Beautiful, you really need to go find it.” (Organ)
“Focused on the melancholy pop that is their forte, Karolina Komstedt’s breathy vocals are very much to the fore on these ravishingly pretty melodies. These songs about love and the fleeting nature of existence pack an emotional punch. (**** Q)
“it throbs to the pulse of deliciously bittersweet guitar melodies, a lifelong passion for The Smiths and even a shaking of Latin percussion” (**** Metro)
“Hushed vocals soar dreamlike through the glacial-pop of Club 8’s oeuvre; shoe gazing, 60’s girl bands and a penchant for Belle & Sebastian worshipping Rule the waves, a perfect partner to the sheer wonder of Asobi Seksu!” (SubbaCultcha)
“And no wonder he couldn’t stop dreaming, if he was listening to this album. After a four-year absence, Sweden’s Club 8 provide the dreamiest dreampop imaginable, with Karolina Komstedt’s feather-light voice placed delicately over Johan Angergard’s gently evolving backing tracks.” (4 Stars, The Sunday Times)
“The kind of sweet Swedish pop that makes references to the Concretes, Camara Obscura and Belle and Sebastian kinda unavoidable, and their sixth album is assured,classy and, in Whatever You Want and When I Come Around, home to at least two choruses that hit you like a sunbeam. Delicious.” (Buzz)
“A gorgeous offering from Swedish duo Club 8… cool and melodic ditties, ranging from classy 60s pop ballads to the more upbeat slices of pop. File under: Yummy.” (AllGigs)
“Club 8 are on sparkling form here, seemingly having absorbed a little bit of extra pop-nous, a la Peter, Bjorn And John while the sugary finish of Karolina’s vocals, brings to mind Saint Etienne chanteuse Sarah Cracknell or Dubstar at their most angelic. This is comedown music imbued strangely with the ghostly groove of the swinging Sixties. Themes of loss and death are beautifully rendered, as melancholic as the pale winter sunlight.” (NARC)
“An absolute bundle of Scandinavian indie-pop brilliance from start to finish… the vocals are beautiful from Karolina Komstedt, weaving a dreamy pop way around the instrumentation with nods to bands like The Concretes, St Etienne, Joy Zipper and Husky Rescue as reference points. I’m so glad that i’ve been blessed with this album, it’s really wet my appetite to hear more. (The Beat Surrender)
“Six albums in and the Swedes of Club 8 are showing no signs of dipping in quality. The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming is another album of delightful female fronted indie pop… listen carefully and you’ll see it’s a gem.” (Russell’s Reviews)
“They do this well, the Swedes. Clean guitars, vocals like water over ice, frictionless.” (Plan B) “An album that sounds like warm breath steaming up frosty windows, fairy lights reflected in faraway eyes, and smiles going distant and dreamy whilst ice cubes melt into vanilla vodka.“ (Kitten Painting)
“The duo of Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård have seemingly given us the Summer album of the year. Err…six months too early. Fey, filigree pop music of the highest caliber… the finest 60s-influenced, acoustic-led pop south of the arctic circle… exquisitely delicate and melodically seductive.“ (BBC Music)
“Club 8 hark back to the glory days of C86 indie-pop: ‘The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming’ recalls the summery guitars of Sarah Records and Simon and Garfunkle harmonies. Jaunty beats, cheerful strumming and a dose of Neil Young’s more pastoral side: a derivative mixture, yet one that will fill the gap until the next Belle and Sebastian release.” (Is This Music?)
CAN’T WAIT ANOTHER DAY – THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR (CD ALBUM £10)
“The finest baritone warble in indie rock, unfailingly catchy pop tunes and perfectly pitched melancholy ballads… the Ladybug Transistor’s best work equals the best pop music made at any time in the past 50 years.” (All Music Guide)
“Six albums in, Can’t Wait Another Day develops the Ladybug’s earlier indiepop and psychedelic sounds towards a sound which is more classic baroque pop, with a glorious melancholic lilt and the sort of impressive crooning you thought was lost decades ago… it strengthens their reputation as purveyors of intricately arranged and stately pop songs. (SoundsXP)
“Forty minutes of Pop in its most beguilingly classical, sparklingly emotional form.” (Miwsig)
“A surprisingly mature collection, all playful guitar lines and smooth saxophones. Gary Olson’s baritone is worthy of the late Lee Hazlewood while other tracks find the middle ground between Burt Bacharach and Belle and Sebastian” (Uncut)
“Brooklyn’s The Ladybug Transistor have been playing their elegant, lovelorn pop since 1995. Their latest sees strings and brass adding lushness to songs of heartache. File next to Belle & Sebastian, The Magnetic Fields and The Go-Betweens”(Q)
“Newcomers will enjoy Gary Olson rounding his vowels like an indie pop Scott Walker, and hearing organs and warm guitars roll by like 1960s beauties. Long-term fans will envelop themselves happily in the album’s soft loveliness” (The Guardian)
TO ORDER THESE MINOR GEMS IN A SEA OF MEDIOCRITY…
BY POST: Send a cheque, postal order or IMO made payable to ‘Fortuna POP!’ to 4 Mayfield House, Rushcroft Road, Brixton, London. SW2 1LD. UK.
BY PAYPAL: Use our PayPal address ministryoffinance@fortunapop.com For orders in Europe but outside the UK, please add 50p per item ordered. Outside of Europe, please add £1.00 per item ordered.
