The days of youth are over. Forgive the lack of updates on the blog on the last couple of weeks. After coming back from a great Labour Day weekend traveling around Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria, I ended up at the hospital. I was diagnosed a chronic disease. After five days I was discharged and started adapting to a new routine. I’m not ready yet though; I had to cancel a New York flight that I had scheduled this weekend, but I feel more comfortable each day that passes. I will be fine, and I look positively to what comes ahead. But I can’t deny that time has been a bit of a luxury this past week. Anyways, the world won’t halt its spinning for me, and nothing can make my projects and dreams crumble. So let’s make some good use of our time, let’s continue celebrating the music we love! Let’s keep up the fight! Nothing can stop indiepop!

As expected I haven’t listened to many CDs in these two weeks. These are the ones that have been on rotation at home:
1. Amor de Días – Street of the Love of Days (Merge)
2. Various Artists – Too Good To Be True: The Very Best of El Records 1985-1988 (Cherry Red)
3. The Cherry Orchard – These Restless Days (Firestation)
4. The What Gives – Up All Night With the What Gives (Bus Stop)
5. The Mondo Crescendo – Young, Naked and Happy With It (Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club)
6. The Kick Inside – Ever the Optimist (Promo CD)

Now onto some Cloudberry news. I have started working on the artwork for the Feverfew reissue. I feel a great excitement to work on a new format. The release will be part of a new series of records that I hope turn to be a success. Probably on next weekend’s post I’ll have the cover artwork and the tracklist to show. We are hoping for a November release. I’ll be keeping you updated. On the 7″ front the Youngfuck test pressings should be arriving this week. We are on schedule. Also artwork has been started for both upcoming 7″s by Nixon and Cassolette. And that’s it for now. Starting this week things will start moving faster again.

Many moons ago when I was in university I had to put together a portfolio with my work to graduate. As many as you know I was studying graphic design and ended up, trying to be overtly creative, a huge Victorian tin cookie box as my portfolio. It looked great and classy. It looked more like a treasure box than anything else. In there. I glued a folder binder onto the back side of the top flap and set up my printed works on there. Inside, as there was so much space in it, I could also transport the magazines, brochures, CDs, and more. It was perfect. Every time I went to an interview with it, the interviewer was fascinated about it. It felt good, nonetheless these days, I would rather just show a website with my work instead of carrying this huge box around! So I have my huge Victorian tin stored in one of my closets alongside scarfs and jackets that barely see the day of light in humid Miami.

Today I look tanned. Swimming in the Atlantic alongside some jellyfish has been my kind of fun this weekend . Lonely days ahead as my father has just left today after being with me for the past week. During the afternoons it always changes. Around 6pm it becomes rainy weather. It pours and the stray cats hide under the cars. These are the days of youth, my last ones. But I’m sure I’ll always be young at heart. And now I daydream of moving to Sweden in a year or two. And that’s where the obscure band of the week comes from, from that great country of lingonberry and pancakes.

Victorian Tin were from Karlstad, Sweden. A city that derives its name from the King Charles IX, and that lies on the river delta of Sweden’s longest river, Klarälven, which runs into Sweden’s largest lake, Vänern. It was a two piece formed by Erik Bergqvist and Christian Gustafsson. There were no proper releases but a 7 song tape that was distributed by Everlasting Records from Cambridge, UK, the same label that released the likes of Emily or A Riot of Colour. The story says that the band sent them a demo tape and the label suggested them to put a tape together with their best songs. There was a catalog number for it, “Bait2”. I wonder what was “Bait1”.  This may also mean that there were more recordings than these seven songs. And that would be great news!

The songs on the tape were: “Agony Flower”, “Alienation”, “Lonely Days”, “Fragments of Roses”, “Silvery Mouths”, “In My Rainy Weather”, “The Days of Youth”. And I believe this tape was put out at some point in 1990. The guys will later get involved with a band called “Searching for Beatrice” which you can listen on myspace. Other bands they were involved with were Scapegoat Palace, Phone a fish, Popetree, Stoker, Recidius Catonium, Emelies Garden, Baren med Vin & Josefin, and The Wonder Boys. I can only hope, feeling very curious, that they they continued making great jangle pop in the same tradition as Victorian Tin.

The last news from the guys were from 1999 when they formed Ephemeron. They have a myspace set up for this band as well but they haven’t logged in a couple of months. Who can blame them. Myspace is the messiest mess.

Supposedly there was a couple of years ago a Swedish fanzine that interviewed them. I believe the name of the zine was Billig Underhållning. If anyone has a copy of the interview and would be kind to translate to English, please do! I’m sure I’m not the only one interested in it.

And that’s about it. Six great songs, and one fantastic song that should have been an A side of a 7″ back in the day: “The Days of Youth”. Perhaps listening it many times works as the fountain of youth or something. I feel great when the first chords start chiming, a big smile on my face, and I think, nothing is lost, there’s so much to hope still.

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Listen
Victorian Tin – The Days of Youth