Pale Lights Announce Waverly Place

If you’re a pop fan, or you followed us on our cassette release for Love Burns, you’ve got Pale Lights on your radar. Now you’ve got reason to celebrate, as the band just announced a collection of singles and 7″ tracks, combining them all in a compilation titled Waverly Place. So, this tune below is not a technically a brand new single, but a celebration of the great work that Pale Lights have accomplished in their time; you’ll find this track originally on the Seance for Something EP from 2016, which can inevitably lead you down a trail of great pop tunes, courtesy of Phil Sutton and friends. Waverly Place is out on Jigsaw Records/KUS this Friday!

The BVs Share Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures

What I’ve always adored about the BVs is their adherence to building albums where each tune feels purposeful; there’s intent in the style and the placement of tracks. It seems like we’re nearing another bit of that with their latest LP, if we’re to compare and contrast this new single with their first. “Clipping” came out at the end of last year, arriving as this bounding piece of energetic pop. But, today, they share the title track of their new album, and it’s a much more pensive piece, building slowly, churning and turning in upon itself a reflection of the imagery that flashes through the video (created and animated by the band’s Fred). Pictures flash and fade away, with drawings moving like op-art, where you’re unsure whether its the song or the image moving…or both. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the 2:40 moment hits and the exuberant nature of the band begins to shine through; lyrics are delivered more quickly and the drums seem to have a bit more snap, shifting the tune ever so slightly, naturally creating this feeling of longing that I hope you’ll love. Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures will be out on February 16th via Shelflife/KUS!

The BVs Announce Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures

I’m a bit late to this one, and by that I mean that three days is entirely too late to share the joy of the new BVs track for you. We’ve always loved the group, but this new single has them taking their buoyant brand of pop to the top; I almost jumped right out of my chair and started bouncing about in my classroom. That crushing guitar line shoves you right through the door, with this faint since of longing hanging about in the tones, all of it making me feel like I’ve finally found a musical home. It’s energetic and magical and you’ll find that you can’t pull yourself away. I didn’t even realize how much the band were huge sports enthusiasts either…as you can see in this fun video! They’ll drop Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures via Shelflife and Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten on February 16th.

The BVs Share Fresh Single

I boarded the BVs train nearly a decade ago, an adamant fan constantly enthused by the way they’ve reimagined their sound through the years. While they’ve been fairly quiet the last few years, they aim to make a big splash, thus the release of this incredible new extended version of “Warp.” While their page and the announcement of this fresh 12″ includes nods to krautrock and Yo La Tengo, there’s definitely bits of this that drip with the latter years of New Order to me, right before it splits into the acknowledged Cure nods. I mean, I haven’t had this much fun listening to an 8 minute track in years, all of which hooks you before you even near the 5 minute mark where the vocals make their foray. I knew I’d love that part, but the build up was brilliant, and then to stick the landing? Genius. They release the Warp 12″ on August 25th via KUS.

KUS Drops Lessinghof + Share Unreleased The New Lines Tune

Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten is one of our favorite labels, dropping beautiful pop pieces from all across the globe, and doing so in a rather exclusive fashion! They just reminded us that they’ve currently got their Lessinghof compilation available, gathering a bunch of tunes that have never before been pressed to vinyl, including one of the more recent ATH Records acts, Love, Burns! You’ll get a few covers, some obscure stuff and even some new tunes, but, I wanted to share with you this track from the New Lines. It’s apparently an old unreleased tune, which makes sense as the band have been quiet since 2016’s Love and Cannibalism; it was the perfect reminder I needed to go back and fall in love with that record again! Anyways, new and old tunes of the pop variety all in one great compilation, so get on it!

Cozy Slippers Share I Can’t Keep You Safe

If you’ve been casually reading through these posts, you likely have stumbled upon a Cozy Slippers track or two, and yet here we are hopping on the band’s latest single, with a little over a week before they drop their new LP. This track straddles nostalgic 90s pop and current indiepop trends; it brings light circular guitar jangles back and forth for your ears, but the vocals definitely seem like something you’d find in the best of 90s alternative rock. The song’s success works in both places, as the musicianship is sublimely spirited, with the vocals holding onto this dreamy assuredness. If you’re digging, the band release their self-titled LP via Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten.

Cozy Slippers Share Haunting Her Single

Think you need a pick-me-up, then I’ve got the right track to set you straight. This new Cozy Slippers single is just the perfect pop dream, and honestly, I didn’t expect such a magical tune to fall right into my lap. The crisp jangles of course fit perfect into my listening rotation, but I love the ending little solo with its classic rock flare. That said, if you’re not swooning from the vocal performance then you might want to get your speakers checked; the perfect notes getting hit remind of Neko on those early New Pornographers LPs, albeit one spun with a bit of indiepop in mind. The band release their self-titled LP via Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten/Subjangle on October 14th.

Cozy Slippers Announce New LP + Share Single

I hope you’re not afraid of bears, as this video is chock full of them, or at least one! But, the video comes with the joy of knowing that an LP is on the way from Cozy Slippers, with the added bonus that that’s just around the corner in October. As for the tune, it splits a nice balance between some psychedelically washed guitar grooves and a sugary sweet bounce from the vocals. Generally speaking, both styles are great, but its been a minute since I’ve heard them both balanced so seamlessly. Psycho-pop for the win? Whatever the genre, the self-titled release is out October 14th via Subjangle and Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten.

Love, Burns Announces It Should Have Been Tomorrow

It seems only fitting that we begin covering music in the new year by covering our first release of 2022; It Should Have Been Tomorrow by Love, Burns. The band is the solo project of Phil Sutton, who plays in Pale Lights (among other acts like Cinema Red and Blue and Comet Gain!), but the album features help from Kyle Forester, Hampus Ohland-Frolund, and Gary Olson…so it’s kind of a big deal! We’re releasing it in conjunction with Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten, Calico Cat Records and Jigsaw…all great labels run by admirable persons, so we’re fortunate to be part of this release (we’ll be handling the cassette version)! But, we can’t really convince you to pick it up without a little taste now can we? Here’s a few tunes from the album, which will be out on February 4th; buy it from us HERE.

Plus, Phil recently recorded a wonderful cover of the Wake’s “Crush the Flowers” with Suzanne Nienaber for Soleado, a Tribute to Siesta Records, organized by Fadeawayradiate. You can hear that below:

Phil photo courtesy of Dominick Mastrangelo Photography.

New Indiepop from Die Zartlichkeit

Sometimes a certain sound ends up being purely emotional, and it supersedes language barriers, which is precisely the case with this new Die Zartlichkeit single. While I’m not as up on my German as I’d like, the tonal quality of the track is absolutely sublime, calm and comfort, tying into my proposal that emotion is sometimes all you need. In a way, it reminds me of Finnish outfit Cats on Fire, playing unassuming jangle pop that seems like an indiepop lounge act. You can tap your toes, you can enjoy the black/white video, or can just let the smooth sound wash over you…but either way, grab the new 7″ from KUS!

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