Well, happy Valentines to everyone tomorrow. Here are some great new indiepop finds from around the web:
The Claim: the classic band will be playing a gig on March 23rd at the legendary 100 Club in London. I wish I could be there. But that’s not all. The better part of the news is that their also classic album “Boomy Tella” is going to be re-released on vinyl and CD by the superb A Turntable Friend label. It will even include 4 demo tracks that weren’t in the original record on Esurient Communications!
Jenny Genius: a new indiepop band from New Haven in Connecticut that has just put up their first demo on the web. This demo has 3 songs, “Slow Going”, “Bump & Bones” and “Lately”. They are formed by Maggie, Chris and Dand, and we’ll keep an eye on them of course.
Sungaze: this Cincinnati, Ohio, band have just released their latest digital single which is called “New Familiar”. It is available on Bandcamp but a video has been made for it, so I’m directing you there. Because it is always nicer to put images to a pretty song, isn’t it?
Ping Pong Club: this Bandung, Indonesia, band have already been featured on the blog. Because they keep getting better I keep recommending them of course. This month the band is releasing their album “Retrospective” which includes 9 songs, many of them released as digital singles in the past. It does look like the album is only available digitally unless someone can’t tell me not?
Châteaubriand: “Saison Froide” is my introduction to this superb sounding band from Montreal, Quebec. This is not their first ever release, it seems the band has been putting songs since December 2016. But well, as it is common to me I only find about them 2 years or so after. This digital EP I’m listening now has 5 songs. It does look like it is only available digitally, which is quite a shame as I believe it deserves to be on a physical format. Don’t you agree?
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I’ve been tracking this record for years. But I have no luck. Maybe by posting about it on the blog someone will give me a hand. I would love to hear the B side someday. Would love to play the record at home. Again and again. I’m positive that one day that will happen.
I know very little about The Other Side. I know that they were a British band and that they put out a 7″ in 1987 on their own Casual Sax label (SRT8KS1432). Actually there were no B sides on it. it was a double A sided single. The A side has the wonderful “Is it Any Wonder” and the AA had “Let’s be Perfect”.
As I said I had listened to the catchy “Is it Any Wonder” with its casual sax on it. A top track, upbeat, and classic heartfelt British vocals over jangly guitars. Who were they?
On 45cat there are scans of the back of the sleeve. Thanks to it I know that the two songs were recorded at Granny Studios in London. I also know the band members:
Chris Goulding – vocals/guitar
Ada Sayegh – keyboards/backing vocals
Paul Kipps – bass
Spike Jefferson – sax
Martin Kelly – drums
Both songs are credited to Goulding.
I see an address for Martin Kelly too. One in West Drayton. Was that where the band were based?
West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England with a station on the Great Western main line from London Paddington. It was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District of Middlesex, which became part of Greater London in 1965. The settlement is centred close to the Colne Valley regional park 2 1⁄2 miles (4 km) north (and north-west respectively) of terminals 5 and 1 to 3 of London’s largest airport.
So quite close to London city. That makes sense.
I believe I’ve tracked Spike Jefferson on the web, on Mandy.com. It must be him. In his bio it mentions he has recorded music and has played the sax. These days though he is an actor and has been, for 5 years, a lookalike of Sven-Goran Eriksson in ifferent TV programmes and was the star of “Sven, The Coach, The Cash, and his Lovers”.
Chris Goulding proves to be much difficult to track. There seems to be an NHS employee with that name in the area of Hillingdon. But who knows. I keep getting results of a basketball player.
For Ada Sayegh I find an instagram, but it looks like that chances are that it is a daughter or someone in her family. Not her.
There is a Paul Kipps at the University of Toronto. A renowned artist. I like the connection musician-visual artist, but because of the location I tend to think this might not be the same Paul.
Martin Kelly? Well, sadly that’s a common name and it is pretty hard to know.
And that’s as far as I could get. I want to think they were involved in other bands. But I can’t seem to find any information on that. If they were from London, even from suburban London, they must have played gigs, must have met people. I’m sure someone remembers them. It can’t be that there’s nothing about them on the web!
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