Tag: sarah records

Skep Wax Announce Under the Bridge 2

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How does a label follow up a brilliant compilation like Under the Bridge? Well, Skep Wax aims to double down on their foray into the compilation world by tossing us Under the Bridge 2. If you thought they had heavy-hitters from the Sarah Records catalogue in round one, you won’t be surprised to find acts like the Hit Parade or St Christopher nestling up to acts like the Orchids and Boyracer. It’s basically a who’s-who of your indiepop heroes, working together again to shine a light on the genre. You’ll get a casual ballad opening the door to the new LP courtesy of the Gentle Spring, then its spun right around into the rambunctious jangling of Action Painting! Also, Skep Wax always does really cool things, so they’re hosting a live listening party featuring a lot of the artists, so you’ll want to RSVP for that event on April 5th; the LP is out the following day!

The Orchids Return with New Album

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Guess it’s a Sarah Records sort of Monday, which I’m totally okay with over here. After the Useless Users announcement, let’s turn our attention to the Orchids. The Glaswegian outfit have announced a brand new LP, Dreaming Kind, their first record since 2014. For fifteen seconds they tease us, hanging with some wee ambient bits before the song just seems to drop in from the heavens, with James’ voice in particular embracing you as it crosses through your speakers. At times, the tones of the guitars and keys leave a darker note to the song, but one can’t escape the melody churned out, especially when that chorus hits you. Dreaming Kind will be released by Skep Wax on September 2nd. And, if you’re ordering from the States, the label’s worked out a deal with American distributor Jigsaw, so you won’t have to worry about shipping costs! Grab it quick!

Useless Users Announce We Are All

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With historical lineage and ties to Sarah Records, you’re likely going to love Useless Users (members of Secret Shine, Action Painting, Even as We Speak), but please don’t go into thinking this is a revisiting of the days of old! Useless Users are onto something new, something a little more dedicated towards a denser realm of pop music. The opening track on the band’s debut creeps along, bubbling bass working over sharp little beats; the vocals have this ghostly aura, with guitars ringing about behind it. While the opener exudes patience, the group still maintain their murkier edges while pushing a bit of a pace, as you see on “I Am Forton Wreck;” this is likely where folks are giving the band early Pulp nods! What I’m hearing is a bunch of great tunes, written by songwriters I already loved, so I expect We Are All to fulfill my wildest dreams; it drops on July 3rd via Emotional Response Records.

Skep Wax Announces Under the Bridge

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I’ve made no secret of my affection for Sarah Records, so it’s great to see that our friends at Skep Wax (partners in our Swansea Sound release) are rekindling the Sarah flame with a new compilation, Under the Bridge. There’s 14 songs, many with original Sarah Records acts like Secret Shine and the Orchids, releasing exclusive content specifically for this compilation, with a few related acts like The Catenary Wires and Jetstream Pony also being thrown into the fray. I love that the collection points at what all these bands are doing now, rather than continuously praising them for all they’ve done before (but read that Bandcamp Guide HERE). Hopefully these new recordings give you a glimpse at what you may (though hopefully you didn’t!) have missed over the years…all leading up to the release of the LP on March 18th.

Heavenly!

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Heavenly is not new obviously, it was the band we were in in the 1990s. But lockdown also gave us the time to delve into the storage boxes in our cupboards and get a bit nostalgic. Ian from Damaged Goods Records had suggested putting out a compilation of material a while ago. We thought it would be good to collect up all the singles and make an album out of them. Some of those singles are very hard to get hold of now. The process of putting the album together was great in that it also brought us back in touch with people wed known back then, and reminded us of the amazing scenes we were lucky to be part of. Sarah Records in Bristol, determinedly releasing music for the love of it in the face of contempt from the major labels and the London journalists who serviced them; K Records and the Olympia scene generally, where Beat Happening were creating great music and where Riot Grrrl was coming into being. Plus the vibrant indie scenes in Europe and Japan. Hearing the old songs brought that all back to us. We got hold of some old footage that was shot in the Capitol Theatre in Olympia in the 90s, and we edited it into a video for P.U.N.K. Girl. Its archive material, but it captures something of the time.

Buy from Damaged Goods

Heavenly Share So Little Deserve Video + Announce Singles Compilation

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One of the great thing about the vinyl resurgence has been the reemergence of hard to find gems through various reissues. If you’re like me, and a Sarah Records fan, those original hits can be hard to find, and if found, quite pricy! But, thanks to Damaged Goods, we’re all being gifted the deserved compilation treatment for Heavenly; they’ve organized all the singles for A Bout De Heavenly: The Singles. Now, we could go on and on and rave about the band’s signature sound, trace lineage back to Talulah Gosh or move forward to current projects like Catenary Wires/European Sun…but don’t you just want to hear Amelia sing? I love how her voice soars over that jangling jittery guitar as everything falls into messy pop euphoria for the chorus. We all deserve such great pop music. This never before seen video has just recently been digitized from Super 8 footage Rob had.

He had this to say about the video: “This video has never been made public before. We didnt like it at the time, but now I think its the best one. I only had a couple of rolls of Super 8, which is one of the reasons its in slow motion: I had to make a little go a long way! I love the footage of Mathew in this video, though the fact that he is clearly so happy in it makes it a bit hard to watch.”

Enjoy the video and Pre-Order the LP.

Stream the New EP from Even As We Speak

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Surely you’ve heard about Sarah Records, especially with the rise of of indiepop in the indie realm as of late (or on this site anyways). But, many of the bands from that early period of pop have either reformed or been given their long deserved due. Even As We Speak, fortunately, have gone back in the studio and recorded their first work since 1993. Even 25 years on, they don’t seem to have missed a beat, crafting timeless pop music on The Black Forest EP. The EP begins slowly (energy wise), and then jumps off with the standout track, “Such a Good Feeling.” You’ll be able to get your hands on the EP from Emotional Response.

Jittery Pop from Boyracer

photo02There’s a bit of a staggering stutter that comes to the guitar work in the opening moments of this new single from Boyracer.  It should come as no surprise as the band’s been releasing catchy pop tunes for their 20+ career…landing on labels like Slumberland and Sarah Records.  Sadly, the word on the street is that this might be their final EP, which will come out on Emotional Response, the label run by the band’s Stewart Anderson.  The label is about to release a slew of new singles from the likes of Hulaboy and Safe Distance, but I figured this one is a must for your radar.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BOYRACER-the-kind-of-man-you-really-are-MP3.mp3]

Download: Boyracer – The Kind of Man You Really Are [MP3]

New Music from Secret Shine

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It seems strange to me that there were all these incredible bands rocking around the British Isles long ago, yet they hardly got recognition.  Somehow, shoegaze music returned to the fold, and with it, many of these great bands.  Such is the case with Secret Shine, one of the bands from the great Sarah Records catalog.  The group has returned, and will release The Beginning and the End on December 25th.  If you’ve been loving groups like Pains of Being Pure at Heart, or others that border on shoegaze/dream pop territory, then this will be the perfect fit for your collection.  This single is warm, hazy, but overall, absolutely beautiful. Get down with the past, as its the present now.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/secret-shine-no-more-inside.mp3]

Download: Secret Shine – No More Inside [MP3]

New Tunes from Minks

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You know that we’re fans of the NY label Captured Tracks, and they’ve just lined up another solid release coming our way January 11th.  Minks will be releasing their record, By the Hedge, and while many people have had the band on their radar for some time, it seems like their star can only grow larger nowadays.  Personally, this definitely has a Sarah Records feel to it, with a bit of coated jangling going on, using warm male/female vocals counterparts to smear gentle pop harmonies all over your speakers.  Looks like January 11th is going to be a sweet time for good tunes. Agree?

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Minks-Cemetary-Rain.mp3]

Download: Minks – Cemetary Rain [MP3]

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