Sarandon

Sarandon's new LP is titled KIll Twee Pop!, out April 22nd on Slumberland. And after listening to their feisty pop, you'll actually hope they will.

Original post 10/8/2007: My documented love affair with Slumberland Records continues with Sarandon, the South London pop, post-pop, post-punk noise outfit and not the American actress. Led by sole remaining founding member Crayola, Sarandon are irrepressibly catchy with slightly bizarre lyrics. They're simple and possibly quite mad, to use the British meaning of the word, which explains why my seven year old says "The Linguist" makes her feel like wiggling.

From Kill Twee Pop!:
Welcome [MP3, 3.5MB, VBR]

Others:
The Linguist [MP3, 1.9MB, 128kbps]
Meet Warren [MP3, 1.4MB, 192kbps]

www.slumberlandrecords.com
www.sarandon.net

The Lodger

I'm starting to worry. Maybe cause it was my birthday recently I'm getting all nostalgic. Yes, I know things go in cycles, and the past few years of music have been heavily borrowing from the 80's, but that was my decade. I would hold a tape recorder up to the radio to record Wang Cheung. I bought Tears for Fears on tape, Joy Division on vinyl, the Smiths on CD, Camper van Beathoven on a t-shirt, and the Cure on a poster. I saw the Descendents live and Dance Craze and Athens, Ga, Inside/Out on VHS. The 80's were good to me. But it's the next cycle that's starting to worry me. Don't tell me you haven't seen the kids starting to sport long stringy hair and flannel shirts. We're on a fine line between the next "scene" going hippie or retro Pearl Jam. Let's just get it out of the way before my kids hit their teenage years.

The Lodger and their fine Yorkshire guitar pop, though, ain't going down without a fight. While influenced and even motivated by the songwriting of such guitar pop stalwarts as the Wedding Present and the Housemartins, this Leeds band's debut album Grown-ups, adds their own personal touch and a host of modern sensibilities, like crisp melodies, high-energy honesty and reverb-free drums, all evidenced in the outstanding "Let Her Go." Just what an old fella needs to feel young again.

My Advice Is On Loan [MP3, 3.2MB, VBR]
Let Her Go [MP3, 5.6MB, VBR]
The Story's Over [MP3, 3.4MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com
www.thelodger.net/
www.arc018.com

The Crabapples

Yes, OCD, you don't need to tell me. "Hi, my name is Clay, and I'm obsessively compulsed with Slumberland Records!" Hey, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And my problem is the self-described "loud but melodic...catchy tunes played with sloppy abandon" that are Slumberland Records and the Crabapples. Continuing with the self-descriptions, the Crabapples rush "along in a breathless blur, fuelled by lager, explosive tunes and a love of great pop." I'll be sure to bring that up at my first meeting...

London Belongs To Me (Pt. 2) [MP3, 2.5MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com

Henry's Dress

Slumberland Records changed my life. My first Slumberland purchase was the compilation Why Popstars Can't Dance, which introduced me to Rocketship, whose 7" "Hey, Hey Girl" I have completely worn out. My second Slumberland purchase is still the most prized piece of vinyl that I own: Henry's Dress "1620." (My failure to obtain the Henry's Dress/Rocketship split single released on Slumberland in 1996 and re-released in 1999 still haunts me.) Slumberland also introduced an entire new world of bands to me, many of whom have been my "favorite" band at particular points in time. The aformentioned Rocketship and Henry's Dress, plus Lilys, Small Factory, Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Swirlies, The Ropers, Jane Pow, Boyracer, Beatnik Filmstars, Hood, The Aislers Set, and The How.

I've mentioned Henry's Dress several times in my last few posts, so with the rebirth of the Slumberland website, it was time to finally get my beloved Henry's Dress on 3hive. Henry's Dress is my favorite band of all time, cause I simply keep coming back to them over the years, and each time it's like discovering their feedback-drenched, bass-heavy, punk-pop songs that could rarely reach three minutes all over again for the first time. I'll spare you a long history of the band and even more of my sentimentality, other than saying that former members can be found in The Aislers Set and The How so you can get on with the downloading.

from 1620:
1620 [MP3, 4.5MB, VBR]

from Henry's Dress:
Definitely Nothing [MP3, 2.0MB, VBR]
You Killed A Boy For Me [MP3, 1.5MB, VBR]

from Bust 'Em Green:
Hey Allison [MP3, 2.3MB, VBR]
Zero Zero Zero [MP3, 1.6MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com

The How

Who: Matt from the late, great Henry's Dress (seriously one of the best bands ever) and Stew from Boyracer. Also, The Who, the chief inspiration of Matt and Stew.
What: Self-described as "revved up Who-inspired mod-rock" that's "in the Spirit of '66."
Where: Not important.
When: First released "Dreaming of Lily" on a split single with The Aisler's Set back in 2000. "I Was a Boy" is from the current Happy Matt single out on Slumberland.
Why: Cause they can.
The How.

I Was a Boy [MP3, 5.5MB, VBR]

www.slumberlandrecords.com