First week after holidays. Also first week going back to the office since the pandemic started. Two days a week for now I have to come to the office. The bad news of the weekend was that my refrigerator stopped working. I am hoping that can be solved asap from the landlord. But yeah, not the best situation! Hope everything is going well for you all!

Mo Dotti: time to discover this cool sounding noise pop band from Los Angeles. Their latest release dates from March and was a CD EP titled “Guided Imagery”. There is also a a cassette version of this I believe. The EP has 6 songs, one of them being a cover of The 6ths’ “All Dressed Up in Dreams”.

Cassettes on Tape: now to Chicago. There we discover this band that says they are heavily influenced by college radio and the 80s and 90s UK indie scene. They mention usual names like The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine so it is no surprise that their songs are quite nice. Their latest release is “Pinks and Greys”, a digital single.

The Bug Club: when I found out about this Welsh band a few months ago I was happily surprised. Now there’s great news about them. “Green Dream in F#” is an album they will be releasing on October digitally and CD and next February in vinyl. The album will have 14 songs, one of them, “It’s Art”, is available to preview.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: two new songs by Glenn Donaldson’s prolific project. These are “The World Should be Ashamed” and “Take the Long Way Through a Day”. I was wondering the other day if all of his songs would be compiled in a way or another, especially the ones that haven’t been on albums…

CIEL: and lastly the South Coast of England band CIEL. The second single of their upcoming EP “Not in the Sun, Nor in the Dark” has just been released. It is titled “Baby Don’t You Know” and it is a superb song. It has great melodies but at the same time has an edge. They also have a few gigs lined up in London coming up at The Victoria in Dalston and The Shacklewell Arms.

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I found an account on Youtube now, through a stoneeyedkiller post, by someone that was in a band called Marc and his Members. This band sounds ace, clearly influenced by The Smiths. So yes, had to find out more details about them.

11 years ago three videos were uploaded to Youtube. The band hailed from Germany, where from? Not sure yet. Let’s see if I can find that out. The account owner is called MrBassgott. No names. But let’s see what we find.

The first song I find is “Schoolboy“. This one dates from 1987 and was part of a 4 track demo I think. On the photo of the band we see they were a three-piece.

The second song is called “So Close“. This is also a demo but dates from 1988.

Lastly, there is a cool video of the band playing the Hamburger Journal in May of 1988. I don’t know which song this one is…

But there are some other details. We know now that the band hailed from Wilhelmshaven.

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmshaven is the centre of the “JadeBay” business region (which has around 330,000 inhabitants) and is Germany’s main military port. The adjacent Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park (part of the Wattenmeer UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site) provides the basis for the major tourism industry in the region.

Then we know the band was around 1986 to 1990. Then from 1991 to 1992 there was a different lineup but kept the name.

The original members were:
Marcus Gensior on vocals and guitar
Jürgen Kussin on guitar and vocals
Andre Hofinga on bass
Ralf Neumann on drums
Thorsten Eckhardt on keys

Marcus was the one who usually wrote the band’s songs. And on the TV video the person playing keys was Volker Rath who was also the band’s manager.

On the Youtube channel there’s lots of stuff. For example I find a band called Certain Images that had thee same lineup. There’s a great song called “Some How” from 1989 that you wonder why they didn’t use the name Marc and his Members.

By now I have the feeling the channel is Andre Hofinga’s. There’s a few videos of his solo music as well of other bands he has been like Die Tip Tops and Die Citrusrüden.

I find a website for a musician called Marc Gensior. Is it the same Marcus Gensior from Marc and his Members? I wonder as I don’t see a mention of his 80s band on his website.

This is a great find and if someone does a new volume of obscure German indiepop they should be aware of them and have them for sure! I also wonder about their demo tapes. How many were there, and how many songs did they record. I would definitely like to hear more by them!

Edit: Just heard from the band BOB, they say that Marc and his Members opened for them at Wilhelmshaven on November 30, 1990 at the Kling Klang venue.

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Marc and his Members – Schoolboy

Back from holidays!

Orders placed during the last two weeks will be posted tomorrow.

Other than that, not much news. I had a good time in France and Belgium. Saw many museums, cathedrals, churches, and castles. Also lots of great food, though I am a bit tired of fries by now!

Was also lucky to meet Yves from Hands and Arms and Joanny who is part of the Paris Popfest team.

Anyways, next holidays are in September. In the meantime expect posts like usual.

Pipiolas: “El Verano que me Debes” is the name of the 10″ Elefant Records is releasing by this newish Spanish band. The  record includes just 4 songs packed with great pop tunes. The songs are not as immediate as other bands Elefant releases, but these are really lovely. The band is formed by Paula and Adriana who met at the Royal college of the Performing Arts where they studied acting.

No Suits in Miami: this is a must have for me. The Swedish band from Lund released their album “Nothing Ever Happens” earlier this year, but now the American edition, released by Shelflife is finally available. I’ve praised this band time and time again and is one of my favourites of the last few years. So don’t miss it.

Monogamy: now a Chicago band that sounds great. If you like bedroom pop, lo-fi pop, this will be up your street. The band is releasing a lathe cut 7″ on July 29 with two songs. It is very limited, 50 copies. The A side is available to preview and is titled “Never Seen You Dance” and is really good!

Lande Hekt: Bristol’s Lande Hekt is a favourite too. I have reviewed them a few times and always loved their songs. Now here is some great news. On September 23 the band is releasing an album! It will be titled “House Without a View” and will include 11 songs. We can now preview “Gay Space Cadets”, just the one song. The album is going to be released on CD and vinyl and on UK and US versions!

Ribbon Stage: who are these New Yorkers? Never heard about them! And they love Dolly Mixture and the Shop Assistants! Wow! I need to go and check them out when they play live. The band is releasing an 11-song album  on October 12 and will be titled “Hit with the Most”. One song to preview, “Playing Possum”, but what a fun song it is!

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It’s been years since I thought I had to find out more about The Best Wishes, write about them, feature them on the blog. I don’t have an answer why it has taken such a long time, but it is better late than never.

The Best Wishes were an American band that released a 7″ single and a split 7″ single with Bella Vista. I don’t own any of these records, which is a shame, but I have heard a few of their songs and always enjoyed them.

Their first release was the “Shoebox Full of Love EP” in 1997. It was released by the Secret label (SHHH 7), the label that had released The Rosehips compilation. This was the label run by Leonard from Bella Vista. And even though I never interviewed him about Secret, I did interview him about the great Bella Vista.

300 copies were made of this record that featured Catherine Holt and Josh Feldman. The EP included 5 songs, “Luckiest Love”, “Sticker Box” and “Love is for Saturdays” on the A side and “Can’t Wait for Summer” and “Boy of my Dreams” on the B side. The songs had been recorded in October of 1996 at Tummy Button.

Catherine would contribute vocals to a Musical Chairs’ song called “Brand New Day”, but not sure if she was involved in other bands. Josh in the other hand was in caUSE co-MOTION! and in Sapphire Mansions.

The band’s second release was the split 7″ with Bella Vista. This time around it was released on Turn Up the Treble! (02). This label was Josh’s record label. Each band contributed two songs, and we find The Best Wishes’ on the B side. They were “I Never Wanted Any of This” and “Beautiful Morning”. This last track was actually a cover of the wonderful Snowbirds (another band that I need to feature on the blog). On this song David Klein, from caUSE co-MOTION!, The German Measles, What Next? and arno Kleni!, contributed guitar.

Other than these releases the band had the song “Boy of My Dreams” on a Shelflife compilation tape called “I’ve Got it Now… A Popfest Compilation” that was put together for the 1997 NYC Popfest.

Then in 1998 they appeared on “Seven Summers International Pop Volume 2” released by Kindercore (KC023) and TweeNet. On this CD comp put together by the great Peter Hahndorf  the band contributed the song “The Best Sort of Wishes”.

I find some info about their time at NYC Popfest 97. Mike Appelstein mentions that The Best Wishes stayed at his place inn Hoboken. I believe The Best Wishes hailed from Connecticut, but I might be wrong. He also mentions that the band had some great songs that weren’t included in the EP. He also gives us some of his own insights:
The Best Wishes, aka The Artists Formerly Known as Shoebox Full of Love. Of all the bands that played on Friday, I was especially glad they got ap appear, because Catherine and Josh have been making shimmery pop songs in their bedrooms and dorm rooms for a few years now and releasing them on poorly-distributed cassette and 7″ releases. Along with the Receptionists, Vehicle Flips, Kitty Craft, the Moonlings and the like, the Best Wishes epitomize the best by-product of the lo-fi revolution — private, melodic, quietly winning songs that come across almost as musical journal entries. At Fez on Friday night, Catherine and Josh played about half old Shoebox Full of Love material (“Can’t Wait for Summer,” “Luckiest Love,” “Boy Of My Dreams,” etc.), and maybe half new songs that were just slightly edgier. What I hadn’t noticed up until Friday was just how distinctive Josh’s drumming is. He is like a college-aged Dave Weckerman and Stan Demeski, except he does it all himself with just a floor tom, snare and cymbal. They were model houseguests, and our post-show dinner at Kiev was fun, too. Some friendly advice to you all: stick to the obvious dishes when you go to Kiev. Do NOT order stuffed cabbage. Just trust me. Don’t.

So were they called Shoebox Full of Love previously?

And that’s all I could find about them. Who remembers them? Where can we find more songs by them?

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The Best Wishes – Luckiest Love

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Last post until… July 22. I’m going on holidays after 3 years… Also be aware that for the label, all orders that are placed starting today until the 22nd will be posted on July 23rd. Thanks again!

See you soon!

Detergente Líquido: Alberto Rodway, Laura Arias, Ernesto Rodríguez, Fran Muñoz and Félix García are behind this Spanish band that released last June a cassette album called “Contumacia en Primavera” on the very good Japanese indiepop label Galaxy Train. The first pressing of this tape is still available. The tape has 11 songs and comes with a lyric sheet in Spanish and English as well as band and label stickers.

Desario: the newest release on Sunday Records is Desario’s “Signal and Noise”.  This 9 song album is coming out on July 15 on both CD and vinyl. The band from Sacramento, California, know how to make some superb dreampop as we can see on the two songs available to preview, “Strange Shapes” and “Things We Left Behind”.

El Vacío de Romeo: another Spanish band, this time from Seville. The duo formed by Francisco Naranjo and Diego Ruiz has just released “Ñ Inglesa”, a 5 song-EP. The bio tells us that the duo has been making music since the late 80s, but I must say I’ve never heard about this band before.

Space Daze: so Jigsaw Records is releasing a CD compilation of all the previous online releases by the ex-Seapony project Space Daze. This CD includes 34 songs! Wow, this is very well worth getting. The compilation is titled “Prior to Being” and is actually the 2nd compilation of digital releases by the band.

Louïse Papier: and lastly, a band from France. Makes sense, I am traveling there later tonight. But this band hails from Brest. I won’t be near that city. I hope to visit one day of course. Louïse Papier is formed by Blanche Leblond and Victor Gobbé and their first release is “Les Idées Roses” and sounds great. It is a synth-pop EP, with clear influences of the 80s. My favourite song is the title song.

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Another Youtube account that has some treasures. That is the account of a UK musician called Ian Matthews.

There he has uploaded two “videos”. One is for their song “Trousers”, a studio version recorded back in the 80s and the other is a gig!

The “Trousers” song has been put together over a live performance at The Cartoon in Croydon in 1988. Did the band hail from this area in the South of London?

The live gig is also from that same venue, The Cartoon. Also from 1988. There the band played 7 songs, “Please”, “Promises”, “Throw Your Love Away…”, “Take Me Away”, “Trousers”, “She’s So Cool” and “Northern Souls”.

On this last link we get the names of the band members, Ian Matthews on guitar and vocals, Mick Taylor on guitar, Greg Jones on bass and John McCarthy on drums.

Later on Ian would be in a band called Hunkydory! in the early 90s and more recently on a project called Promis & Matthews where he collaborated with Jose Promis.

I was also curious about The Cartoon. I found an article about it on a website called Closed Pubs. The pub closed in 2006 and was located in West Croydon on a street called London Road.

Not much more on this band, but hopefully we can hear more studio versions of their songs. “Trousers” is a superb jangle pop song!

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GIFT – Trousers

Penultimate post before going on holidays and happy 4th of July to US readers!

The Photocopies: a new EP from Sean Turner’s project The Photocopies! The Londoner who know lives in Michigan, has been making some superb indiepop in the last few years. Subjangle had released a CD for him. And now a new 4 song EP where he sings about problematic relationships.

Neil Brogan: I wasn’t that crazy about the Belfast band Sea Pinks but I really enjoy Neil’s solo work. His latest release is “Things Keep Getting in the Way”, a delicious slice of pop music. This will be released as a very limited CD, just 50 copies, and will include not just this song but 11 more!! The rest of tracks are not on Bandcamp, but listening to this first single out of this album you know it is going to be quality.

The Chesterf!elds: 38 years since the Yeovil classic band formed, and 28 after their last release, they are putting out “Our Songbird Has Gone”! This 7″ seems to be sold out now. It was announced a few days ago and it seems there is no chance to get a copy! The A side is “Our Songbird Has Gone” and the B side is “Girl on a Boat (NYC Popfest 2016 Souvenir)”. The title song is a tribute to band member Dave Goldsworthy who was killed in a hit and run accident in 2003.

Helen Love: a summer single from Wales top band! “Come Out Sunshine” is out now as a digital single from Alcopop! Records. Not much more info about this release, other than it is great!

Slo Moon: and the last recommendation today is another digital single. This one comes from Savannah, Georgia, and it is a dreampop track. Titled “Please Don’t Wake Me, I’m Dreaming”, the song has a cinematic vibe. It swoons and has a really nice melody.

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Back in 2018 Nick Degg shared three songs by the band Hey Red Bus on his Youtube channel. These were : “Rings and Things“, “I’ve Seen the Rain” and “Street Angels“.

The songs are accompanied by photographs of the band.

And other than that he doesn’t give us many details. Just that the songs come from tapes dating from 1985 and that the band hailed from Stoke.

We know from the photos that Hey Red Bus was a four-piece. Four lads. Nick Degg was one of the band members. But who were the other ones? I think that maybe one of them was called Phil? Anyone could confirm?

Nick is now a poet of course. He has a Facebook page of course. He published the book “I Come from a Town” in 2021.

Then I find an entry on Stokebeat about a band called The Ya-Yas. It seems that Hey Red Bus evolved into Captain Cat and later into The Ya-Yas. Would be fantastic to find recordings by these bands. Here Nick finally gives us details about Hey Red Bus! He says:
“The first incarnation was HEY RED BUS formed in Hanley in 1985, we used to see each other at gigs, record fairs, and early Hacienda nights. PHIL HEATH (Gtr & Vocal) and PAUL HORVATH (Bass) were the nucleus, and NICK DEGG (Gtr) and MARK BOSSONS (Drums) joined soon after. The first gig was at The Antelope on 1st Aug 85 followed by a clutch of other local gigs, before support slots with James, and Green on Red at The Gatehouse/Stafford.
The sound was pretty different for the time, being more atuned to a Manchester/Liverpool audience. Only five years later on hearing The La’s ‘There She Goes’ I realised how far ahead we were, as thats the closest I have heard anyone sound since.
In late ’86 PHIL wanted to concentrate on his guitar playing, which was already superb, so JON HILL came in on vocals, and MARK left to be replaced by PAUL BURGESS on drums. Also we swapped from Rickenbacker and acoustics to a Telecaster and Gibson semi accoustic so the sound became fuller and more “Stonsey”. It was around this time we became CAPTAIN CAT.”

That’s all I could find but it wasn’t little. More than I expected. Hopefully we’ll learn more about this great sounding band soon!

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Listen
Hey Red Bus – I’ve Seen the Rain

The Hermitts: the solo project of Matt Hicks, a member of the mighty Horowitz, released a 7″ EP last May on the Greek label Old Bad Habits. The record is titled “Weight of the World” and includes 4 songs, the title track, “On the Other Hand”, “Hold Tight” and “Tables Turned”. The songs are melodic and fuzzy. It sounds a bit like Horowitz sometimes, but also you see the Jesus and Mary Chain, or what about the Prayers? Yeah! This is a very fine record and is limited to 150 copies.

Blues Lawyer: here’s a very nice flexi with two songs by this Oakland, California, combo. I wasn’t aware of them until today which is a shame as this flexi was released last July, a year ago! The good thing, is that this limited release, 250 copies, is still available!

The No-Yeahs: always happy to find a new song by girlonbus’ musical project. “Reno” is a superb lo-fi bedroom pop song that brings to memory the days of CDR, soulseek, Mitt Sista Liv, Starke Adolf, and yeah… those wonderful days. It is a sound that you don’t hear much anymore!

Phandom Handshakes: here’s a new digital single by the New York duo formed by Federica Tassano and Matt Sklar from New York. The song has some superb vocals I think and was inspired about a New Yorker article about an elderly lady who suddenly starts having hallucinations. Interesting. It is titled “The Flowery Man” and is great!

Launder: now a dreampop band from Los Angeles. Actually a solo project of John Cudlip. He is releasing “Happening” on July 15 on vinyl and CD. This album will include 13 songs and four of them can be previewed in his Bandcamp. It’s good!

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If I had done this in order I would have written about Moonscope first and about Burning Winter second. But as I discovered Burning Winter first…

Glad that I discovered Moonscope though…

You can read about Burning Winter in my previous post. Two of their members, Darren Rowe and Phillippa Rees, were previously in the late 80s, Newcastle, New South Wales, band Moonscope.

On the Youtube account by redwalrus68 I had discovered many songs by Burning Winter, but there was one upload by Moonscope. It was for the song “Coming Back”.

There we learn some details about it. There was actually a 7″ for this song. On the B side we find the song “Bitterness”.m

The single came out in 1989 on Skink Records (SR-01). I don’t know about this label but doesn’t look like a self-release. There is a second release  by this label by a Newcastle band called Bark. Probably a local label then?

The band was formed by Darren Rowe on lead vocals and bass, Matthew Laver on guitar, Phillippa Rees on flute and vocals, Drew Mellor on drums and percussion. They mention that “Coming Back” was an uncommon song for them. That the song’s pop sound was atypical for the band’s ambient and progressive style. This is the only song I’ve heard from them so far, so I can’t compare. In any case, as I love pop music, I really enjoy “Coming Back”.

The two songs on the single were recorded by Tim Ryan at Trackdown Studios in Bondi Junction, Sydney, in 1989. Darren wrote thee A side while Matthew Laver the B side.

On Discogs we find the 7″ but there are no compilation appearances listed. No other releases either.

Thanks to Discogs I found more bands that Darren Rowe had been involved with and that I didn’t list on my Burning Winter post. These include the bands Hipslingers and Doradus.

Not much more info online. I wonder about their other songs, if they weren’t pop enough as mentioned on Youtube. Would be good to listen to them of course and see. “Coming Back” is a terrific song, and how I wish I could do one day a compilation of obscure Australian indiepop… a project that didn’t happen for so many reasons…

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Moonscope – Coming Back

Some good news for our European friends is that I will be bringing to Paris records to Hands and Arms, the great mailorder and store that is based in the French capital. So, if you are in Europe and want to save on postage, check this great store next month and order from them!

Again, I’ll be in Paris and Brussels next month, anyone that wants a record let me know and I’ll bring with me. I know postage is a killer.

3 A.M. Again: Subjangle Records is releasing a limited CD titled “Let Me Take a Picture”. This collection of songs by the Gloucester, MA, band includes 18 songs of wonderful pop. I have recommended this band time and time again, so there’s no need to continue praising them. They know how to craft wonderful pop songs. So have a listen and order one of these rare CDs!

Blue-Very Pavilion Vol. 2 – 3rd Anniversary Edition: another superb release on Blue-Very label from Japan. This one is a CD compilation of many covers by many superb bands including Bubblegum Lemonade, Den Baron, Ivory Past, The Caraway and more.

Re:lapse: continuing in Japan, here is a great shoegaze band called Re:lapse. Their latest song is a digital single titled “Say” that the band says was inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Medicine, Westkust and The Primitives.

Soft Set: the latest from the Toronto duo formed by James Gray and Nathan Athay is a digital single titled “Diamond”. Here we find some great jangly guitars and post punk vocals. Nice!

Wilt: the second single from the band’s upcoming EP that Shelflife Records is releasing on July 1st is titled “Amour”. It is up now on the band’s Bandcamp so you can all check out this new track by the Manchester combo. On this song Thomas Lee and Mayzie Cocco Wallen from the Melbourne band Oceans contribute vocals.

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Giraffe in English. Giraff På Engelska.

Fredrik Trossö, Christian Lilja and Jonas Svefors formed this terrific Swedish band that released a CDR titled “Ta Inte Sönder Någonting Nu” in 2003.

I was able to include them in Plastilina Records’ “The Sound of Starke Adolf Vol. 1” (PLAST020) in 2011. There they told me a bit of their story:

You have probably heard the story before; a few young friends who decides to start a band in an attempt to canalize their middle class teen-angst into something fun and good sounding. This is a true statement about Giraff på engelska, but not very interesting. Instead it’s the numerous members that at different points in the short time span of GPE played and rehearsed with the band (none mentioned, none forgotten). If there was a contest regarding the most members over the shortest time, it’s more than certain that this band would win the gold. 

With a main troop of three people, more members than anyone tried to count, came and went. Songs were written, composed, rehearsed and thrown away before anyone learned how to spell twee punk. As strange as it seems, only three people ended up recording the CD-R single and only two of them were part of the original trio. Nonetheless, all of the members legacy echoed on between the walls of the garage. With these rough pop gems, a name with pun and an adventurous mind, GPE made a few, but very memorable gigs on the swedish indie scene. But that, of course is another story and again, one you have probably heard a thousand times before.

The song I included was called “Need to Be Cheated”. This song had originally appeared on the 2003 CDR they self-released. The other two songs that were on that record were “Falling in Love Again” and “Contempt to the Rich”. The producer of the CDR was Hampus Bengtsson according to Popfakta.

The CDR was distributed by Popkonst I believe. They also announced a new demo to be put out in September of 2003, but I don’t think that was ever released.

The only other appearance of the band was on the compilation “This is Popkonst and We Love You” (POPK02) that came out in 2004 on Popkonst. The song they contributed was “Falling in Love”.

I am now filled with nostalgia. How I wish I had released a second volume of the Starke Adolf compilation. Maybe I should do it some day. I think it is one of my most favourite records I have released.

Christian Lilja would later be in the band Pale Corners who released a split 3″ CD in Cloudberry. He was also in The Last Party. I believe nowadays he works as a publicist for Universal Music Sweden.

I believe Fredrik Tross¨ö is now a photographer in Malmö. I recently discovered that he used to have a Myspace for his solo music with songs like “My guineapig”, “Jag Minns” or “Xmas Love”. Sadly can’t listen to them.

That’s what I could find, that’s what I remember. I don’t have a copy of the CDR which is a shame, but it was great to be able to work with them even if it was for a compilation.

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Giraff På Engelska – Need to be Cheated

Happy Monday! last full week of posts. I think next week I’ll post on Monday and Wednesday only. Wednesday afternoon we fly to Paris. So yeah, again, just a friendly reminder that if you want to save on postage and want some releases from our label, send us a message and I’ll be more than happy to bring the records to your city.

Skiftande Enheter: I remember missing the first 7″ by this wonderful Gothenburg band. Well, I wasn’t going to miss their second! So I just ordered “Öppna Landskap EP”, a 7″ released by Happiest Place Records last February. The EP has 4 wonderful songs. Definitely a favourite band, one to continue following!

Shinowa/Alvysinger: last May the Blue-Very label released a special split tape with the wonderful Shinowa and the Cloudberry-favourite Alvysinger. On this tape each band contributes 3 songs. Shinowa covers “Wallflower” by The Monochrome Set and Alvysinger does a rendition of “Open Air Song” by Peter and the Lions. The EP is still available and includes a fanzine!

Axolotes Mexicanos feat. Ciberchico: this one is sort of an oldie. As you know I wasn’t posting on my blog for many months late last year and early this year. So I missed a bunch of releases. I just discovered that Axolotes Mexicanos released “Dile Que Me Quieres” last November. A poppy and fun song for which they also put together a video.

Pierre Andersson Ek: Here is the solo project by this artist and neighborhood rascal from Landskrona. He makes some top shoegaze sounds. For a taste of it do check his latest digital single “For a While”.

Orange & Lemons: the legendary pinoy band put together a sort of concept album last April. Titled “La Bulaqueña”, the album features a band going back to their Bulacan roots, paying tribute to the Tagalog language and important figures and artistic landmarks of their country including Juan Luna, Nicanor Abelardo and Jose Rizal (who I read not that long ago!).

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I just discovered that “The Meaning of Life” 7″ that The Loneliest Christmas Tree put out on the Bus Stop Label in 1992 is actually a reissue! Did you know this?

Turns out a 7″ with the songs “The Meaning of Life” and “Purgatory” was released years before, in 1987 on Loud Records Inc.(LOUD 01). I wanted to think this was the band’s own label but I see this label also released a 7″ by a band called Pariahs. That 7″ looks interesting by the way, anyone knows how it sounded like?

Back to “The Meaning of Life 7”. The songs had been recorded in autumn of 1987 at Pine Trax in Holyoake in Massachusetts. Mark Merrigan had been the producer with Dave Pine engineering.

A little more background info about this American band. They were formed by Stephen Rand on vocals, Dan Oxenberg on guitar and vocals, Jon Shere on guitar, Randy Peacock on bass and Josh Belknap on drums.

We know Josh Belknap had been in a few indiepop bands including The Caroline Know who released on Bus Stop and The Veronica Cartwrights. He was also in Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds. Jon Shere was in the Supreme Dicks. Dan Oxemberg was also in the Supreme Dicks and Volume. And Stephen Rand was in The Caroline Know. Sadly I just found out that Stephen passed away in 2011.

I think the band hailed from Boston. I’ll see if I can confirm this while I write these lines. The 7″ that Bus Stop re-released in 1992 included one more song, “The Treasure Chest of Me” which was recorded at Chez Spike in February of 1992. Maybe there was a reunion of sorts? This song was written by Steve Ausbury and was engineered by Spike Priggen. The catalog number for this record was BUS020. Another interesting detail of this release is that the artwork has a credit unlike the original release. Andre Busi is credited for the cool sleeve graphic.

Then I find out that The Loneliest Christmas Tree is the name of a story by Deborah Allen. But this story came out in 2011. Did she steal the name?

Then I find something amazing. A reunion gig, 19:10 minutes of footage, of the band playing the Knitting Factory in New York City! This reunion gig dates from 1994 and it is terribly cool! In the comments section someone mentions the band had played at the Zone in Springfield in 1989.

That’s indeed a great find. Sadly I couldn’t find any other songs by the band. You’d think they would have recorded more. And also you wonder what are they up to now.

Anyone remembers them?

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The Loneliest Christmas Tree – The Meaning of Life

Another reminder that in a little more than a week I’ll be heading to France and Belgium. Any people in Paris or Brussels that may want some records, please let me know in advance and I’ll be happy to bring them with me.

Flowertown: the upcoming tape album “Half Yesterday” by the Bay Area band Flowertown is available to pre-order but you need to act fast. Very few copies are still available from their label, Paisley Shirt Records. The album has just 8 songs and two of them, “Half Yesterday” and “Beachwalkers”, are available to listen at the moment. Great work here by the duo of Karina Gill and Mike Ramos.

Robert Sekula: this is really GREAT! There’s a new single by the `14 Iced Bears singer/songwriter! It is called “Pamela” and it sounds superb. For sure, the vocals take me back to hours and hours of me playing the 14 Iced Bears, but I do find the melodies and the song itself is much more upbeat than his mid-80s band. The song is out now as a download-only release on Shambotic Recordings. I really hope it gets released in a physical format!

Armstrong: the Welsh band that releases on the fine The Beautiful Music label has put together “Clarence Place”, a compilation album that includes new and old songs. And how many songs? 17 songs! Quite a bit! Julian Pitt, the man behind the band, has has made this available for free download.

Lisasinson: “Canción de Entretiempo” is the new hit by the Valencia duo! This song is just a digital single but the good news is that the band has put together a video for it. I hope they release a new record soon.

Cour de Récré: another digital single, with a video, on Elefant Records. This one is by a trio formed by Quentin, Stan and Chloé from Toulouse, France. The song is titled “À L’ombre D’une Jeune Fille En Pierre” and it is a nice mellow track that eventually becomes into a much more fun electronic disco song!

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After writing about Moose Club I needed to write about Rhythm Method. If you read my post on Moose Club you’ll see that I mention that Bill Blair had played keyboards in Moose Club, a project by Dean Gifford.

Before that project he was in Rhythm Method where he also coincided with Dean. Rhythm Method was formed by Andy Norton on vocals, Dean Gifford on guitar, Miles Dunkley on bass, Shane Blackshaw on drums and Bill Blair on keyboards.

The first recording I find by this band I find is “Straight Talk“. It dates from December 12, 1987 and was recorded at Attic Studios in Stroud. The engineer was Franco Lautieri. Bill plaayed an Ensoniq Mirage, a Roland Juno 106 and a Yamaha FB-01. He mentions that the piano solo he plays in this song was Bruce Hornsby inspired.

The next recordings date from Sunday May 22, 1988. Same engineer, same studios. Same keyboards for Bill too. Two songs were recorded that time,
“Jealous Heart” and “Hope in Hell”. So far “Jealous Heart” is my favourite song by this band and it is the one that made me write this post. It is a great song!

Two more songs were recorded on Saturday October 29, 1988. These were “Into Yourself” and “Strawberry Blonde”. These were recorded at Dungeon Studios in Chipping Norton. Of this set, “Strawberry Blonde” is my fave.

As you will notice the band’s music style changes quite a bit. Their next recordings prove that. Three songs were recorded on Sunday December 4, 1988, at Dungeon Studios. These are perhaps the songs I like the least by the band. Other style for sure, not what I normally like. These were “Walkin’ on Hot Coals”, “Only Myself to Blame” and “Prejudice”. As you’ll notice not very indiepop these ones.

The other recordings by Rhythm Method are live recordings! There is a full gig of them playing at Gloucester Park in July 1988. 9 songs were played that time: “Hope in Hell”, “Straight Talk”, “Crocodile Tears”, “Walk on By”, “Heart in Doubt”, “Up to My Neck”, “Strawberry Blonde”, “All Around the World” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”.

At this gig, John Eeles was their engineer and Steve Clutson did backing vocals. It was on a Saturday. The date? July 30th. Bill shares some anecdotes about this gig: A few problems with the mix on the first couple of tracks (think it was John Eeles coping pretty well with a load of different bands and some really bad weather), but it settles down as the set progresses. Not a bad set, “Straight Talk” still stands out as one of the most complex pieces I’ve ever played live, in terms of the sheer number of keyboard sounds per minute, all played live and on just three keyboards.

Outside the Youtube channel couldn’t find any other info on the band. But this was a good investigative work! Any more details about them, please share!

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Listen

Rhythm Method – Jealous Heart

It’s hard not to keep thinking about how disappointing is the state of indiepop right now. It does feel labels are losing their magic, their power, their allure. I mean indiepop labels. I do see bands finding home in other sort of labels, ones that are not boutique labels but labels that release all sorts of music. Maybe that’s the future. Indiepop labels with the exception of a few are struggling these days. It would be silly to not notice that the problem is economic. Records are much more expensive these days. They are pressed in limited quantities, and then the shipping costs double the price of the record. Also the lack of festivals, where you’d set up a merch table and was able to sell many records, is another big factor. With the inflation that’s going on right now, there are definitely other priorities for people. I don’t know if this will be fixed someday. I want to be positive, but I don’t want to be naive now. What’s your take on this? Will we get back someday to what it was?

An Ocean of Embers: what a superb song is “Butterfly Girl”! The duo formed by Jimmy Arfosea and Elsa Muller cover here the classic song by The Nightblooms and they do it just right! The Nantes band gives us here different versions of their cover, 5 different versions. So do check them all out!

The Caraway: the Japanese band is back with “Starry Eyes EP”. That’s great news. The bad news is that this limited pressing on Blue-Very Label is already sold out. Two of the songs, “Starry Eyes” and “Flash Back” are available to listen on the band’s Bandcamp, and as you can expect, they are great.

Cheerbleederz: “Even in Jest” is the naame of the new album this London combo formed by Kathryn Woods, Phoebe Cross and Sophie Mackenzie are releasing on July 27. As far as I know Alcopop! Records is putting it out but I don’t see a physical release. The album will have 10 songs, and three of them are up to preview. Also the band is touring the UK in July, so if you are lucky and they play your town, check them out!

Grazer: The Melbourne shoegaze band is back with “Melancholics Anonymous”. The duo formed by Matt and Mollie are releasing their new album on August 12. No physical release it seems, just digital. One song to preview on this one, out of 9, the really really good “These Days (Pass Me By)”.

The OK Nines: on my previous post I recommended their EP “Chien Renaissance”. Today I recommend a new digital single called “Puppy Pants (I Lost My)”… a very surfy, 60-vibe track!

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So stoneeyedkiller shared a killer song called “I Remember” by a band called Moose Club. I was immediately hooked and went on a detective investigation, see if there was anything I could find about this band!

Turns out the band is more of a solo project by Dean Gifford. Bill Blair had originally uploaded a 2-song demo back in 2019 with the songs “Don’t Want to Talk About It” and “I Remember”. This demo dates from 1990, and the only other detail Bill shares was that he played keys on this demo. He played a Korg M1.

I notice my friend Joel from Portugal beat me to it and asked Bill about more songs by Dean. Bill shares us another demo by Dean. It is a superb song, right? But we don’t know the name of it. Was this also a Moose Club track? Or on this one Dean preferred to just use his name?

But we do know too that Bill Blair and Dean Gifford were in a band called Rhythm Method prior to Moose Club. While looking at Bill’s account I notice I have written about his Youtube account before! When I wrote about Apple Mosaic! Bill was an early member of the Gloucester band.

I wonder why I didn’t listen to the songs by Rhythm Method or Dean Gifford’s projects before. They are there and maybe there’s even more to discover.

I definitely would love to find out more about all the projects Bill and Dean were involved with.

Anyone remember these cool bands?

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Listen
Moose Club – I Remember

Thanks so much to Johnny Dutton for the interview! I had written about A Month of Sundays time ago and was hoping to learn more details about the band. I had tried interviewing Neil Preston but I guess live got in the way and never got a chance to hear his insights. Happily Johnny, who was early on on A Month of Sundays, was able to share some interesting stories about the band! Also he has shared a photo of the band playing in 1998 and a press clipping from 1989! Enjoy!

++ Were you or any of the members involved in other bands before being in A Month of Sundays?

Terry, Neil and myself all went to St Mark’s College together. At the age of 14 we decided to put together a band when we realised we all played an instrument. In fact looking at a interview with a magazine in 1989, Terry says “Neil and I were jamming one day when John rode past and heard us. It was just me on drums and Neil on guitar. John rolled up and he came in and started playing scales.  I thought, wow man, scales, this is where rock ‘n’ roll begins and ends.”

We then recruited another friend from school, Neil Magro and he played synthesizer. We started playing school dances and parties as Mirror Images (we thought that was a fitting name because of Neil and Terry being twins). Somewhere between 1985 and 1987 Mark (who also went to St Mark’s but was a year older than us) joined the band and on Wed 2nd March 1988 we played our first pub gig at the Fitzgerald Hotel.

So yeah, to answer your question, none of us had been in other bands before AMOS.

++ Were you all originally from Perth?

Neil, Terry and Mark were living in Morley and I was living in Dianella (neighbouring suburbs east of Perth City) and we’d all head to the back shed at Neil and Terry’s place nearly every Sunday to jam.

++ How was your city at the time? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

DaDa Records and 78s were the best. We even did a live performance at DaDas once in their basement.

The Old Melbourne put on a lot of good days and really tired to help out the local bands. The Shenton park Hotel and the Seaview Tavern were also really great places to play as well as check out other up and coming bands.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

After I left the band they brought in Caleb Merry and after Caleb they brought in Grant Fersat. I believe (and I could be wrong so you might want to check with the boys) that after Grant they decided to perform as a three piece. To be honest, they have always had a big sound so they really didn’t need an extra guitarist.

++ What’s the story behind the name A Month of Sundays?

This is a quote from Neil taken from an interview in 1989 “We actually went up to the state library and took out a book on colloquialisms, and after picking a few terms, decided on that one”.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

In the shed behind Neil and Terry’s parents’ place. After many years of doing that we started hiring a studio in East Perth. In fact it was right near the Claisebrook Station where the cover of Bell Book and Candle was taken (if my memory serves me correctly).

++ You were around in the late 80s and early 90s and I feel there were lots of great Australian guitar pop bands at the time. Did you feel part of a scene at all? What were your favourite Aussie bands then?

The Stems

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

It started with The Smiths, The Church, REM, Big Star, Matthew Sweet and other jangly pop bands then moved onto more heavier guitar bands like The Replacements.

++ Your first release as far as I know was “Bell, Book and Candle” a 6-track tape. I suppose this was a self-release, but I wonder because of the format if this was a proper release or more of a demo?

From memory it was a “proper” release. I think that format was all a bunch of young kids could afford at the time. Any money we made from gigs went into a kitty for recording or gig related expenses. I never saw a cent from this band, but that’s the way we wanted to do it.

++ “Faithfully Patient” 7″ was next. This one was released by Amos. Who were they? Who was behind this label and how did you end up signing with them?

AMOS = A Month Of Sundays. So, self released basically.

++ I really love the A side, “Faithfully Patient”, and was wondering if you could tell me the story behind this song? What inspired it?

Neil will have to answer this. He wrote the song. In fact I think he wrote all the songs and brought them to us to mould into the AMOS sound.

++ “Seesaw Child” was your next record and on this one Dom Mariani guest appeared! How cool! Were you friends? Or how did this collaboration come to be?

Dom was a friend of the band. I think Neil and Dom got to talking and arranged for Dom to co-produce.

++ “Idiot Star” came out in 1994 and something that always caught my attention from this release is the art, the photos on it.  Who is the kid in the photos?

I believe that’s an old photo of Neil. (But I could be wrong) I know the single cover for Faithfully Patient is Neil’s legs.

++ You also appeared on a few compilations. For example on the classic “Out of the Woodwork” that featured many of the best Australian bands at the time. Do you remember how you end up there?

I can only remember the studio session. Not sure how we came to do it or who asked us to get involved.

++ If you were to choose your favourite A Month of Sundays’ song, which one would that be and why?

Any of the ones I recorded with the band. ha ha  I really enjoyed all the songs Neil wrote during my time in the band. He’s one very talented songwriter.

++ Was there ever interest by other music labels? Perhaps big ones?

Not that I know of. We were hoping the momentum would keep going after our Eastern States tour but it all kind of seemed to slow down a bit and that’s when I started contemplating leaving the band.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

One of my personal favourites was supporting Spy vs Spy at Curtain Uni on 9th Sept 1988. I was a big fan of that band at the time so they were rock Gods to me.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands?

Once I left AMOS I started up a band called Cartoon Horrors for a few years and then got into Rockabilly in a big way. I form a Rockabilly outfit called Johnny Law & The Pistol Packin’ Daddies and released 4 full length albums and 1 single. We’ve played in places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France etc. As of Dec last year the band has been performing for 20 years.

A few years ago I also started up another band called Atomic Stagecoach where we take 1980s songs and tweak them to sound like they may have been written and recorded in the 1950s. It’s a really fun band.

++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?

Not with me there hasn’t.  I turn up to their shows when I can. Sometimes Neil even gives me a shout out from the stage. ha ha

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

E-press magazine loved the band. I have all the articles ever written about the band while I was with them.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

For me it was working with legends like Dom Mariani, Errol Tout and Greg Dear.

Winning a West Coast Rock award for Most Popular WA Cassette.

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Listen

A Month of Sundays – Faithfully Patient