I continue working on the fanzine (this week I got another interview answered plus another song), I hope to have a better idea very soon for when I can publish it. Blog readers will be the first to know. I do think that the fanzine this time around will be dark blue/navy blue!
New music for this week? Here you go!
Remington Super 60: the Norwegian band is back with a new EP called just “New EP”! It will be released on tape by the Slovakian label Z Tapes in a limited run of 70 copies. The EP comes with 6 songs of terrific casiopop. It is amazing how this band gets better with the years!
Meltway: close to Norway, in Denmark, I discover this shoegaze band. They are releasing an EP titled “Everytime” on February 10th that will include 5 songs. So far we can preview just one of them, “From Blue”, which is a gorgeous lo-fi fuzzy track. The band is formed by Mathias Hammerstrøm, Mikkel Schmidt, Thomas Brunbjerg and Magnus Rullestad Bjørnsen.
The Radio Dept.: continuing with this Scandinavian journey we head to Malmö for the newest song by the legendary band The Radio Dept. It is called “The Absence of Birds” and there are two versions, the ‘normal’ one and also the one called “Untitled Version 2 by Civilistjävell”. I must say I prefer the original version, with lyrics, but have a listen yourselves. I really hope they come back soon to NYC!
The Reds, Pinks & Purples: three more songs by the most prolific of all indiepop bands around. The San Francisco band now presents us with “I Hope I Never Fall in Love”, “Is Your Mind that Free? (ver2)” and “I Wouldn’t Die for Anyone”. Time to give them a listen!
Melenas: wow! wow! wow! the Pamplona band is back with an amazing new song called “3 segundos”. They have put together a video for it that is so much fun! It looks very 80s kitsch, a parody of American series of the time. They are definitely one of my favourite bands right now and you have to remember that last year they made the best single of 2019. What will bring this year? A new album? More concerts around the world? I hope to catch them live again. What a great band!
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Sage: an aromatic plant with grayish-green leaves that are used as a culinary herb, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Who were Sage? Who were behind this wonderful lofi pop band? I want to know!
The band was around in the nineties, that is what I know. Was it a French band? I think so, that would definitely be my guess. I say that because they appeared on two French compilations and that was it. Which compilations were they? Okay, just a minute. Let’s go in chronological order.
I was to discover the sweet female vocals of Sage on a song called “Silence is the Safest Thing” that appeared on a 1996 cassette compilation called “Imbroglio” (PAM 008) that the French label Pâte A Modeler released. This label put out very fine tape compilations in the nineties, I would love to listen to them all. Anyone has digitized them by any chance?
Imbroglio means an extremely confused, complicated or embarrassing situation. I didn’t know this word existed in English if I am honest. I thought it was an Italian word only. Anyhow, the band contributed not just one song on it, but three. The other two were “What it Means” and “Directions for Use”. I would love to listen to them of course. Other bands on the compilation that are familiar to me are Ego and River, but then I don’t know the other ones! Who were Gallous? or Monsieur Soprano?
Then a few years later, in 1999, the band would contribute two songs to a comp tape called “Love Song”. This tape was released by A Secret Song (019), another tape label that released some tapes in the late 90s. The songs they gave away were “Silence is the Safest Thing” and “What it Means”. Two songs taht had previously appeared on the other compilation. Did they only record these three? Didn’t they have more songs? I’d like to find out. This tape feels more familiar to an indiepop fan as you see names like Gypsophile, Watoo Watoo or Tahiti 80.
Sadly aside from this information, information about the compilations there were in, I can’t find anything else on the web. I will need my French friends to help me on this one. Because I do want to know more about them!
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