Day 281.

The Blue Herons: what a great new song by the Lucerne, Switzerland, project formed by Andy Jossi and Gretchen DeVault. It is called “Go On” and it is a bright jangly track, reminding me of the fantastic Language of Flowers. What else can you ask! Top tune.

The Gabriels: a new indiepop band from the Midlands formed by Gudg, Fran, Leon and Stuart! The band have just uploaded their first song on Bandcamp called “Loose Canyon” and it is really lovely. The band says they are working on their debut album now. So we have that to look forward. But we need more than one song while we wait. Please release more tracks!

Gladie: this Philadelphia duo has been recommended in the past and why not do it again? Their new EP called “Raw Nerve” has three fun popsongs, “Got Nothing For Ya”, “No Call List” and a cover of “Song for the Man” by the Beastie Boys.

Slow Decades: now we jump back to the UK, to Newcastle. There this fine pop band called Slow Decades have released a new single called “Ambient Violence” which was recorded at the band’s own practice space. This is very well crafted lo-fi chamber pop. Sweet.

Monster Blomster: what a nice discovery, never heard this 1990s Trondheim, Norway band! My introduction is this self-titled 1993 demo tape. Their later releases are a bit rockier it seems but this tape has some solid songs!

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Maylove! For my seasons challenge, I choose the Japanese band who wrote the song “Spring Fever”!

I really like Japanese indiepop of the 90s. There are so many terrific songs and I have covered quite a few on the blog. Today I’ll feature one of the most important bands even though they never put out an album, just singles!

According to Discogs the earliest release of the band is a self-titled tape from 1992!! Most possibly this is a band’s demo. There is no catalog number and looks like a self-release. The songs on this cassette were “The Lionhead Fountain”, “Russian Hands and Roman Fingers” and “My Own Fellowship”.

The next year, 1993, the band releases their first 7″. It wouldn’t come out on a Japanese label but on the US based Sunday Records (Sunday 027). This 7″ had three songs, “Sing Little Clam Sing” on the A side and “Russian Hands and Roman Fingers” and “My Own Fellowship” on the B side. A very similar release to the first tape, right? Maybe Sunday Records heard this demo and picked the band?

The vocals of Maylove are credited to Mami Otomo and all instruments to Keisuke Hatsuda. Both of them involved in well known Japanese indiepop bands. Mami being in Bridge, Case of Cytherea and Chicago Bass. Keisuke had been in the great Budgie Jacket.

That same year, 1993, they had the song “Don’t Turn Me Back” on the tape comp “A Love Like Lead!” released in Japan by Lionhead Fountain (was this their own label? I ask because they had a song with the same name?). “My Own Fellowship” was also included in a compilation that same year, it was on the “Smash Tinkle – International Pop Underground” released by Pico Records from Germany.

1994 would be quite prolific. There were two 7″s on Motorway Records including the first reference on the label. “Come into My Cheeks” 7″ (MOTOR 001) had the title song and “The Boy Next Door” on the A side and “Hey Day” on the B side. “Blue Walking Shore” 7″ (MOTOR 004) had the title song also on the A side, and two on the B side, “Objector” and “That Scent”.

On the Contrast label compilation 7″, “Split Single Club” (CT 002), they had the song “Rosy”. Then the song “Drake Upward” appears on the Swedish compilation tape “Second Half” released by Records from the Cookie Nose Tower (003) and “Big Business Monkey” is on “A Tribute to Daniel Johnston Vol. 3″ compilation 7″ released by Little Teddy Recordings (LiTe 178).

1995 sees the light of a 4-song EP 7” on Elefant Records called “Girl of a Girl Dreaming” (ER 130). The A side had “All I Need is For Your Faith” and “In a Tinderbox Love Song” and the B had “Lionhead Fountain” and “Girl of a Girl Dreaming”. And now the spring song, “Spring Fever”, appears on the SpinART Records (SPART 39) compilation “LemonLive Volume One… A Pop Compilation”.

Their last 7″ came out in 1996. It was “That Word Big But” released in the US label Fuzzy Box (FUZ 004). The songs on it were “Wild Carnation” on the A side and “Drake Upward” and “Motorway Lights and Cars Beneath Us” on the flipside. The song “My Own Fellowship” also appears on the Elefant Records (ER 1029) compilation “Elefant Radio 68.2 FM Stereo”. Amazing really that the band released in so many countries!

The next appearances on compilations date from the year 2000 and both were on Sunday Records. “Russian Fingers, Roman Hand” appears on “Rolling Meadows Songs About Our Past Vol. 2” (SUNDAY 850) and “Don’t Turn Me Back” and “The Boy Next Door” on the “Sunny Sunday Smile Volume 2” (SUNDAY 880) CD compilations.

There is also another tape compilations called “Anorak Demos” that was put together by Anorak Records in France sometime in the early 90s. I don’t know what year it was released, but the band had the three early songs from their first tape on it, “The Lionhead Fountain”, “Russian Hands and Roman Fingers” and “My Own Fellowship”.

One interesting fact that I see on my friend’s Alex blog 7iete Pulgadas is that he says that Keisuke Hatsuda was the person behind Motorway Records! That makes sense!

But is there more information about this great band on the web? I don’t seem to have much luck looking for details about the band. When did they start? How did they meet? When did they split? Were there more releases? Did they play many gigs? Who would know?

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Listen
Maylove – Spring Fever