Well the big news is that the Baby Lemonade CDs are here!! I am beyond excited and at the same time not worried anymore. You see it took quite a bit to put out this release. Maybe it is the one that has waited the longest. But I am so very happy they are here now. I will post a batch of the CDs tomorrow and hopefully by Monday finish with all pre-orders. So yeah, order yours if you like. The website is www.cloudberryrecords.com… just in case!

Now I have to run to work. I am a bit tired as stayed out late yesterday as NYC was lucky to have the visit of the great Patrik who used to play in Hormones in Abundance and The Garlands and who still makes music under Ring Snuten… among other many indiepop-related things! That was a fun night.

But maybe you only came to find new music from around the web. I have that too!

Vernon’s Future: If you follow the blog since its inception you might remember that a long time ago I interviewed a fantastic Liverpool band called Vernon’s Future. Turns out the band has been making music again and recording some very fine tunes, like their latest “Just Can’t Help Myself” which is a lovely poppy tune, haven’t lost any of the band’s freshness since they put out their album back in the 80s!

Mo Dotti: this band is totally new to me, but it seems that their dreampop sounds have been around since 2017 at least! They have just released a new song called “Gravity Well” which is sweet, precious and fragile at the same time.  Would definitely like to hear more by them!

Sports Dream: more dreamy pop, this time from Pamerston North in New Zealand. They have just released an EP on Papaiti Records. Sadly this cassette EP is now sold out. But you can still stream the five tracks that were included in it on Bandcamp.

Crux of Faith: a fuzzier one now, a shoegaze band from San Antonio, Texas. I remember back in 2004 when I spent a season there there was absolutely no good music. Now I find some good bands sometimes. Things evolve, can change for good. The latest track by the band is called “November Heat”, and I totally recommend it.

Luster: and yeah, it looks like I went on a shoegaze sort of trip today. Might be that not many classic indiepop bands are around? That we are more into the dreamier and fuzzier music these days? I wonder. I still miss a good ramshackle band. But in any case this LA band sounds pretty good! They are preparing a new album called “Turbulence” and they have shared the first single from it, “True to You”!

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Who were the Birmingham band Pinkie and his Band? I’ve heard their amazing track “Burn the Citadel Down” and I am in the need of knowing more of them. It is brilliant! It does sound a bit like Strawberry Switchblade or even Young Marble Giants, and that can only be a good thing!

This song was released in 1984 on Fluffy Records (Fluff 1) as a double A sided 7″. On the other A side two other songs are included, “Certificate of Violence” and “Scared (Hay Muerta en la Casa)”. I haven’t heard these two other songs though, but I am hoping that when I do they sound as great as “Burn the Citadel Down”. I also wonder why the last song name has a part, in parenthesis, written in Spanish. Maybe someone in the band knew the language?

The 7″ songs were recorded and mixed at F2 Studios in Mont Pleasant, London. The songs were arranged and produced by John J. Leahy.  Some copies are said to have come with a small A5 letter signed by Pinkie and an A4 promo poster. All of them came with an insert. This insert had some important information about the band.

For example the band members:
Pinkie on keyboards, voice overs, synthesizers, percussion and guitar.
Angie Henry: vocals
Donna Martin: vocals
Jon Riley: bass
Neil: additional percussion
Carl Mellon: alto sax

The photographs on the sleeve are credited to Kevin Livegren.

I am curious about Pinkie. Who is he? Is it John J. Leahy? I see that Leahy is credited for written the songs on the labels. Could it be? I need to find out.

There are no compilation appearances by the band. I instantly hit a wall that way.

I try different search phrases on google. Different keywords. But it looks like there’s nothing written about the band at all! I assumed this was an obscure release but is it this obscure? Only the one track that I’ve heard is available to stream on Soundcloud. And that’s all. So many questions are left. Were the people in the band involved in other bands? Are there more songs? Why no more releases?

I think I am going to need my Birmingham friends to help me this time!

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Listen
Pinkie and His Band – Burn the Citadel Down