Veronica Falls Into Lake

So CT are finally putting out the first single by Veronica Falls from London. Since hearing the a-side early last year hopes have been very high (but also a bit hesitant considering the longevity of the members' previous outfits) for future material. "Beachy Head" on the Rough Trade 09 compilation fueled expectations even more, and I think that Roxanne really comes into her own as lead singer on the b-side "Starry Eyes". I haven't heard Roky Erickson's original (from 1975) but I can't imagine him matching this gorgeous vocal.

Another new CT release is the debut 7" from Beach Fossils, which is a nice taster for the upcoming LP on Woodsist. The a-side "Daydream" inevitably makes me picture an uptempo Real Estate (which is a great idea!), while the b-side sounds more like a slowed down variation on "Have Love, Will Travel". They definitely do better with the brisk jangle of the a-side.

Plenty more 7"s are available to order from the CT website now, including the first single off of Wetdog's second album.

Take Off Your Mask, It's Me

It's been a bit of slow start to this year, or maybe I have just been busy finishing up one of my degrees and moving house. But the only great album that has come out so far in January is Standard Fare's debut The Noyelle Beat. Well, it's not really out, but if you pre-order it you get an instant download in mp3 or flac! And for only £10 - can you get a better deal? It looks like a co-release between Thee SPC and a label called Melodic, so I guess the Bar/None deal has been postponed or maybe won't happen. Who cares when the album gives us 13 fantastic songs in a comfortable 38 minutes?

It's no wonder the album has followed so quickly on the heels of the single "Fifteen" (that just came out on Thee SPC) considering some of their songs (including "Fifteen") are almost three years old now. They've been captured very well on tape, retaining the energy of their live appearances. Of which I was lucky enough to catch 3 last year, most recently at The Windmill in December. You'll recognise most of the songs from gigs (if you've seen them!), the ones that sound new to me are "Secret Little Sweetheart" and "I Know It's Hard" and they are both making me smile. A contender for album of the year already, innit?

Actually, I don't know how Standard Fare do it. They're just one of those three-pieces that seem to work organically and make perfect pop seem stupidly simple. In that sense they remind me of Bearsuit. But Standard Fare have a unique resource in Emma Kupa, vocalist and bass player. The bending vocal melody of "Wow" is something not many people would pull off. It's one of my favourite songs on the album, as well as "Be Into Us" - can there be more POP titles than those?

I'm also eager to hear Sourpatch's first album, which is coming out on Happy Happy Birthday to Me next month. And while Slumberland are having a rest Matinée have pushed out the first release of the year with The Matinée Grand Prix, a compilation that feels like a follow-up to The Matinée Hit Parade. While not quite matching the latter's promised "a-side quality throughout", it's certainly an essential companion to the two recent albums from Northern Portrait and The Electric Pop Group. Those both came out at about the same time, at the tail end of December, and the compilation features exclusive non-album tracks from both groups. Northern Portrait have contributed a beatiful slow number called "Stirling Moss" which is not far off a "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" in a racecar. Otherwise The Matinée Grand Prix is notable for three things: 1) the return of Simpático! 2) a new (yes, new) song from Math & Physics Club 3) the last Lucksmiths song to be released. The Luckies' "Get-to-Bed Birds" is really something - I think it's better than anything on their last album actually.

I just found out that Fireflies put out another free download ep last year, called Butterscotch. A co-release between Lavender and Music Is My Girlfriend like the last one, it should surely whet your appetite for the album that came out in November. I've been playing that lots since Christmas, and the ep is suitable winter listening too, with two songs called "Winter" and "Sledding"! But Autumn Almanac is even better. If Lisle had only varied the rhythms a bit more it could have been a would-be classic!

It looks like Fair Ohs is a band to watch in 2010. Their first single "Summer Lake"/"Almost Island" is out now and is a huge improvement from their tape as 'Thee Fair Ohs'. Our Days On the Pacific Rim, released by Suplex Cassettes (now revealed as the bass player's label!) was a tad too Black Flag-inspired for my taste, but the two new sides are upbeat POP with slightly exotic rhythms. Get it from Sex Is Disgusting now! There's also split with Leeds darlings Spectrals coming up soon, pre-orders are shipped from Tough Love in February.

Man Without a Movie Camera

Now that I have finished my essay I can finally get around to posting my best-of list for last year. I had two late contenders in Northern Portrait and Fireflies, the latter whom had actually released his second album in November already. But the undisputed no. 1 is still The Mantles' self-titled debut lp. For someone with one foot in the garage and the other on a stack of indiepop flexis, this album couldn't have hit home better. They've managed the meld better than any other band who has tried it over the last year, and many many have tried.

1. The Mantles - s/t (Siltbreeze)
2. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - s/t (Slumberland)
3. The Clientele - Bonfires On the Heath (Merge)
4. Cola Jet Set - Guitarras y Tambores (Elefant)
5. Christmas Island - Blackout Summer (In the Red)
6. Pocketbooks - Flight Paths (HDIF Label)
7. Northern Portrait - Criminal Art Lovers (Matinée)
8. God Help the Girl - s/t (Rough Trade)
9. Liechtenstein - Survival Strategies In a Modern World (Fraction Discs/Slumberland)
10. Afternoon Naps - Parade (Happy Happy Birthday to Me)
12. The Crayon Fields - All the Pleasures of the World (Chapter)
12. Cats On Fire - Our Temperance Movement (HDIF Label)
13. Knight School - The Poor & the Needy Need to Party (Lostmusic)
14. Fireflies - Autumn Almanac (Littlemusic)
15. Pants Yell! - Received Pronounciation (Slumberland)
16. Butcher Boy - React Or Die (HDIF Label)
17. Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (In the Red)
18. Brilliant Colors - Introducing (Slumberland)
19. The Fresh & Onlys - Grey-Eyed Girls (Woodsist)
20. Pens - Hey Friend, What You Doing? (De Stijl)

Tough deciding between the Pens and Tyvek albums, but I've definitely played Pens more.

The Gig Worked But the Audience Survived

So Northern Portrait managed to squeeze in an album release just before 2009 came to a snowy halt. And Criminal Art Lovers will definitely be on my end-of-year list, which I haven't finished yet because I had a sneaking suspicion this album would need to be on there. It's got 9 new songs, only their hit (well I understand if people would call it that) "Crazy" is a repeat. The album opens with the grand "The Münchhausen In Me" and immediately we can conclude that is the best the Danes have ever been. They even dare to introduce some glockenspiel towards the end, without tarnishing the grandeur. The song following "Crazy" at #3 is crucial to the album - it has to be of the same caliber as that, their now most recognisable tune, or the record would feel disappointing. Northern Portrait manage this commendably by putting "The Operation Worked But the Patient Died" at #4, a song frequenters of their Myspace have been able to enjoy for many months already. It is one of their slowest songs but also one of the most impressive. Another new favourite is the frighteningly titled "Murder Weapon", which jangles along at yes, a heart-stopping pace. The highlight of their live sets last summer, "What Happens Next" sounds good as well but lacks that extra boost the surprise attack of the Rickenbacker at the move into major key gave. What's this? "That's When My Headaches Begin" shows that the group is not without wit either, as Stefan sings "armed with these weapons of self-distraction" in a tender lament on the temptations of drink. The closing track "New Favourite Moment" (which we also got to hear live) winds up the album on a positive note with its exuberant picked guitar. It strikes the listener that this album, not unlike The Sundays in production, could well have been a radio staple if it had only been mixed and mastered more suitably, with a bit more low end etc. Thankfully it isn't, Northern Portrait stay just the right side of well-produced. If there's anything that needs more compression it is the collar of one's shirt.

Guitars In the Garage

One of the best discoveries so far this year is Lydia Marcelle's other two singles. Her "The Girl He Needs" from 1967 has been one of my alltime favourites since ploughing through the Girls In the Garage series, but Rateyourmusic has two more singles listed. I've heard "Everybody Dance" from her debut, but it was nowhere as great as her second a-side "It's Not Like You", which you can find on the northern soul comp Wigan Forever (and also on Youtube). If anyone has the other sides, please let me know!

The other big surprise was Cécilia et Ses Ennuis, who sound like The Bristols singing in French. Their four eps all come from the same recording session at Toerag, so no surprise there. Their singer Cécilia Meneau also runs a record label and has played with the legendary garagepunk group The No-Talents, and later with Opération S. She also sings in garage supergroup Cécilia & die Sauerkrauts, that include members of the also French Les Terribles, The Mummies and King Kahn & the Shrines.

In other female garage group news, The Flips are about to release their second 7" - this time on Hozac. Their debut came out last year, and I was particularly impressed with "I Still Wanna Be His Girl" which is quite jangly. Otherwise they sound quite similar to Stolen Hearts, who are also great.

Late last year I also listened to some Japanese girl groups, like the amazing The Apricots, who Pierre told me about. I think they only have one album, called Swingin'! Smilin'!. Then The Bunnies, who have released at least two albums and are apparently still playing. I've only heard their second album Ooh Wee Baby, which was great but not as great as The Pebbles, who I finally heard today. They are from Japan as well, and Sympathy For the Record Industry reissued their first album in 1997. I don't know if they have released any more albums, but here is an interview with them. For a great introduction to similar Japanese bands, check out the compilation My Summer Love on Daiki Sound.

There Is Life After Birth

First post of the year! And it's about time to clear up that list of recommended releases to the right. The last record to make the list, before I start one for 2010, is Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club and their mini-album Mild Honey (great Beach Boys reference!). SMS&DC is Tim Sendra, previously of such notable pop ventures as Veronica Lake and Madison Electric. According to Myspace, he's been using the alias since 2003. The seven songs on the record sound as playful as anything he has recorded though computer recording makes for better sound quality then the old 4-track. While not chronicling independent pop on the otherwise very dependent Allmusic, Sendra's got another blog called None More Twee, together with co-author Margaret. He's just posted his faves of 2009, so check it out.

Albums
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart s/t (Slumberland)
Pocketbooks Flight Paths (HDIF Label)
Burning Hearts Aboa Sleeping (Shelflife)
Pens Hey Friend, What You Doing? (De Stijl)
Wavves Wavvves (Fat Possum)
Shrag s/t (WIAIWYA)
Knight School The Poor & the Needy Need to Party (Lostmusic)
The Besties Home Free (Hugpatch)
Butcher Boy React Or Die (HDIF Label)
The Loves Three (Fortuna Pop)
Cats On Fire Our Temperance Movement (HDIF Label)
Tenniscoats Temporacha (ROOM40)
Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career (4AD)
Blank Dogs Under and Under (In the Red)
Blackberry Wine Modern Living: A Survival Handbook (Pony Proof)
Cola Jet Set Guitarras y Tambores (Elefant)
The Wave Pictures If You Leave It Alone (Moshi Moshi)
Woods Songs of Shame (Shrimper)
Eat Skull EUSTA Kill (self-released tour CDR)
Eat Skull Wild and Inside (Siltbreeze)
Liechtenstein Survival Strategies In a Modern World (Fraction Discs/Slumberland)
Bricolage s/t (Slumberland)
Girls At Our Best! Pleasure (Cherry Red reissue)
Mr. Wright Diary of a Fool (Series Two)
Cheap Red s/t (555)
The Relationships Space (Big Red Sky)
Let's Wrestle In the Court of the Wrestling Let's (Stolen)
God Help the Girl s/t (Rough Trade)
Slow Club Yeah So (Moshi Moshi)
The Beets Spit On the Face of People Who Don't Want to Be Cool (Captured Tracks)
Thee Oh Sees Help (In the Red)
Ye Olde Maids God Blesses Us, Mother Dresses Us (Art Fag)
Vivian Girls Everything Goes Wrong (In the Red)
A Sunny Day In Glasgow Ashes Grammar (Mis Ojos)
Tyvek s/t (Siltbreeze)
Ray Rumours Le Pont Suspendu (Stitch-Stitch)
The Clientele Bonfires On the Heath (Merge)
Pants Yell! Received Pronounciation (Slumberland)
Grass Widow s/t (Make a Mess)
Another Sunny Day London Weekend (Cherry Red reissue)
Hurrah! Tell God I'm Here (Cherry Red reissue)
The Claim Black Path – Retrospective 1985–1992 (Cherry Red)
The Ogdens Hellish Mad Rush (Firestation)
The Close Lobsters Forever, Until Victory! (Fire)
Ty Segall Lemons (Goner)
Afternoon Naps Parade (Happy Happy Birthday to Me)
Bunnygrunt Matt Harnish & Other Delights (Happy Happy Birthday to Me)
The Crayon Fields All the Pleasures of the World (Chapter)
Rose Melberg Homemade Ship (WIAIWYA)
The Mantles s/t (Siltbreeze)
The Fresh & Onlys s/t (Castle Face)
The Intelligence Fake Surfers (In the Red)
Christmas Island Blackout Summer (In the Red)
The Fresh & Onlys Grey-Eyed Girls (Woodsist)
The Procedure Club Music For Leisure Time (Series Two)
The Medusa Snare Cinderella (Squirrel)
The Pearly Gatecrashers But Wait, There's More (Plastilina)
Hollows s/t (Addenda)
The Gladeyes Psychosis of Love (Lil' Chief)
The Brunettes Paper Dolls (Lil' Chief)
The Manhattan Love Suicides Louder and Longer (Squirrel re-release)
Brilliant Colors Introducing (Slumberland)
Theoretical Girl Divided (Memphis Industries)
Real Estate s/t (Woodsist)
Wetdog Frauhaus! (Captured Tracks/Angular)
Tesco Chainstore Mascara Good Foundations (Bubblegum)
Voluntary Butler Scheme At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea (Split)
Box Elders Alice and Friends (Goner)
Fireflies Autumn Almanac (Littlemusic)
The Electric Pop Group Seconds (Matinée)
Northern Portrait Criminal Art Lover (Matinée)
Zoey van Goey The Cage Was Unlocked All Along (Chemikal Undergound)
Fungi Girls Seafaring Pyramids (Play Pinball)
Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club Mild Honey (Little Pocket)

Singles & EPs
Wake the President/Je Suis Animal split single (Electric Honey/Lucky Number Nine 7")
Very Truly Yours/The Understudies split ep (Cloudberry EP)
The Morning Paper/Moscow Olympics split single (Lostmusic 7")
The Specific Heats Back Through Tyme (Hugpatch EP)
Dum Dum Girls s/t (Zoo Music EP)
BMX Bandits Love (Elefant EP)
The Sea Lions Let's Groove (YAY! EP)
The Loves The Ex Gurlfriend (download EP)
The Felt Tips Bough & Sold (WeePOP! EP)
The Just Joans Love and Other Hideous Accidents (WeePOP! EP)
Electricity In Our Homes Silver Medal In Gymnastics (4AD 7")
Ipso Facto If... (Vinyl Junkie EP)
Dum Dum Girls Yours Alone (Captured Tracks 12")
Liechtenstein Everything's For Sale (Drill Building EP)
Mutating Meltdown Fantasy (M'Lady's 7")
Comet Gain Herbert Hunke (Germs of Youth 7")
The Voluntary Butler Scheme Multiplayer (Split 7")
The Bumblebees s/t (self-released ep)
Dum Dum Girls Longhair (HoZac 7")
Colin Clary Every Little Thing Counts (WeePOP! EP)
Brilliant Colors s/t (Make a Mess 7")
Brilliant Colors Highly Evolved (Captured Tracks 7")
The Mayfair Set Already Warm (Captured Tracks 7")
Blank Dogs Seconds (Captured Tracks 12")
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart Young Adult Friction (Slumberland 7")
Crystal Stilts Love Is a Wave (Slumberland 7")
The Bridal Shop In Fragments (Plastilina EP)
Woods Sunlit (Captured Tracks 7")
Little Girls Youth Tunes (Captured Tracks 7")
Kid Romance Fuck Punx (Captured Tracks 7")
Very Truly Yours Reminders (self-released EP)
German Measles Demos Sorry (Captured Tracks CS)
Little Girls Youth Tunes (Captured Tracks 7")
Vivian Girls Moped Girls (For Us 7")
The Artisans s/t (Cloudberry EP)
caUSE co-MOTION! Because Because Because (Slumberland EP)
Help Stamp Out Loneliness Torvill and Dean (Papillons Noirs 7")
Help Stamp Out Loneliness Pacific Trash Vortex (WIAIWYA 7")
Standard Fare/Slow Down Tallahassee split-single (Thee SPC 7")
Boy Genius Blame Love (Greenpop 7")
The Motifs People Like Us (Cosy EP)
California Gold s/t (self-released EP)
The Proctors s/t (Cloudberry EP)
Socialist Leisure Party Turktown Saints (Cloudberry 7")
Socialist Leisure Party Tactical POP! for Coffee Cadets (Shelflife EP + 7")
The Depreciation Guild Dream About Me (Kanine 7")
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart Higher Than the Stars (Slumberland 12")
The Champagne Socialists Blue Genes (Slumberland 7")
Eux Autres You're Alight (Bons Mots 7")
Eux Autres Strangled Days (WIAIWYA 10")
The Smittens/The Just Joans split single (WeePOP! 7")
Tender Trap Fireworks (Fortuna Pop)
Spectrals Leave Me Be (Captured Tracks 7")
The Drums Summertime! (Twenty Seven EP)
PENS/Crocodiles/Dum Dum Girls/Grafitti Island split single (Art Fag 7")
The Cavalcade Meet You In the Rain (self-released EP)
Brown Recluse The Soft Skin (Slumberland 12")
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart Come Saturday (Slumberland 7")
Sic Alps L. Mansion (Slumberland 7")
God Help the Girl Stills (Rough Trade 10")
Apple Orchard Leafy Lanes (Haymarket EP)
Wildwood Lights True Love Woes (self-released EP)
Real Estate Fake Blues (Woodsist 7")
The Mayfair Set Young One (Captured Tracks 12")
Grass Widow s/t (Captured Tracks 12")
Horowitz Super Snuggles (This Almighty Pop! EP)
Ty Segall/Black Time (Telephone Explosion split-12")
The Cave Weddings Bring Your Love (HoZac 7")
The Sugarplums s/t (self-released ep)
Strawberry Whiplash Picture Perfect (Matinée EP)
The Magic Kids Hey Boy (Goner 7")
Gregory Webster Promised Land (WIAIWYA 7")
The Girls At Dawn Never Enough (HoZac 7")
Woven Bones With You Alone (HoZac 7")
Ganglians Blood On the Sand (Captured Tracks 7")
Woven Bones Janie (Needless 7")
German Measles Wild (Captured Tracks 12")
Woven Bones Your Sorcery (Sweet Rot 7")
Christmas Island Nineteen (Captured Tracks 7")
The Cavalcade For You (Edition 59 EP)
Warm Morning Sleepy (Edition 59 EP)
Pale Man Made/Leaving Mornington Crescent (Cloudberry split-ep)
Leaving Mornington Crescent Corners (Susy EP)
Woven Bones The Minus Touch (Zoo Music 12")
Maria Love Is Something I Know Nothing About (YAY! 7")
Sea Lions/Watercolor Paintings (YAY! split-12")
The Mantles Bad Design (Slumberland/Dulc-i-Tone 7")
Stolen Hearts Heart Collector (Douchemaster 7")
Real Estate Suburban Beverage (Underwater Peoples 7")
The Blanche Hudson Weekend The Letters to Daddy EP (Squirrel 7")
The Girls At Dawn s/t (Captured Tracks 12")
Shrag Rabbit Kids (WIAIWYA 7")
Best Coast When I'm With You (Black Iris digital single)
Beachniks s/t (Captured Tracks 7")
The Garlands/The Sugarplums split (Atomic Beat 7")
Electricity In Our Homes We Agree Completely (Parlour 12")
Felt Letters 600,000 Bands (M'Lady's 7")
Fergus & Geronimo Harder Than It's Ever Been (Woodsist 7")
Fergus & Geronimo Blind Muslim Girl (Tic Tac Totally 7")
Fergus & Geronimo Tell It, In My Ear (Transparent 7")
The Flips s/t (Stankhouse 7")
The Metric Mile Trade Fours (digital EP)

Eight Metric Miles High

Speaking of The Metric Mile, it pays to visit your favourite bands' Myspace! I recently saw that The Metric Mile released a new ep in November, called Trade Fours, following up last year's brilliant "In Praise of Ski Jumpers" single. This time it is just a digital release, but these four songs are more than worth a visit to your nearest digital store. The duo/group have proved an uncanny ability to follow up their original masterpiece How to Beat the SAT indefinitely. That ep was probably the best thing Unpopular released, and as close to The Wake anyone has ever got. Their self-released 7" from 2008 held two songs that were ever bit as good. And now, "The Difference Is" and "Legion" would easily have placed this ep on my end-of-year list had I only discovered it sooner! Plus points for the brilliant title "Tell Me In a Taxi" and the tasteful little 12-string solo in the opening track.

Lest the Decade Leave You Listless

Thank you for suggestions about albums that should make the list of the best records of the decade. I have done some revising and ended up with a list of twenty. Ordering is always the tough part, but I think I am sufficiently happy about this to post it. A list like this ultimately says more about the person compiling it, in my case someone for whom the time period has coincided with that of my adolescence. The decade started two days after my 14th birthday and now I am 24. I have found that a lot of the albums that still mean incredibly much to me are from the first half of the decade, which was when my musical tastes formed. Several of those records I may not have discovered until a few years after they came out though, so actually I should have listed the year I first heard them. Also, surprisingly many of these bands have become people I have met or in some cases even got to know. Which is a good thing of course, since one's relation to one's favourite albums is a personal one in the first place. In fact there are only seven here that I haven't met a member of, and nine that I haven't seen play live. Here is the list, with a few words about each item.

1. The Clientele - The Violet Hour (2003)
The Clientele have released four albums so far, all in this decade, and they would all deserve a place on here. So them getting the first spot is not solely due to the merits of The Violet Hour. But since I had to pick one album I chose this over the perhaps superiorly recorded and arranged subsequent albums. It was also the first I got to know, having discovered them in 2002, so of course it was exciting to 'be there' as it was released. Another reason is that this is the only album of theirs sporting their 'original' sound. The basic three-piece with some guitar overdubs. Like Galaxie 500, they proved there is so much one can do with this basic setting, when all three musicians work together. It is also the Clientele album that contains their longest song, "The House Always Win", which I have been fortunate enough to hear live, on my own request. I'm thankful I've got to see them four times this decade, got to interview them the second time round, and have enjoyed talking to at least Alasdair and James the last three. The personalities of the band members perhaps shouldn't be allowed to influence this list, but I can't stop it.

2. Camera Obscura - Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (2002)
In 2003, Camera Obscura seemed like a viable alternative to B&S, who had started down the path to a new sound with Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Underachievers Please Try Harder was the first album I got, but I was quick to pick up their debut album as well. Perhaps the songwriting had improved on their second album, but Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi seemed more endearing in its more unified sound and Tracyanne's still undeveloped voice. Furthermore, it was even closer to the early B&S, with whom they had once shared a drummer, and Stuart Murdoch was said to have 'produced' the record, as well as writing the lush string arrangements for "Eighties Fan". What would they have become without this endorsement? I think they released an album at just the right time. They debuted with their If You're Feeling Sinister, if you will. Judging by their early singles, had they released a Tigermilk before that, it wouldn't have been nearly as compelling. The single version of "Eighties Fan" really sounds tame compared to the album recording. The first time I went to Glasgow, I got to meet Gavin who still worked in Avalanche, but it took until the summer of 2006 before I got to see them play, by which time they had stopped performing most of their early material.

3. The Fairways - Is Everything All Right? (2000)
I was relatively late to pick up on The Fairways, well at least until after they had split up. Since then I have been obsessed with all of Kenji's projects, including Skypark, Uni, The Young Tradition and Clayhips. This album is the closest he ever got having a real, organic group around him, the fruit of which was one of the best recorded and most solid albums ever. I would have liked to see Skypark's material recorded in the same fashion, but on this album it is still Kenji's beautifully breathy voice and Leavitt's clear and full lead guitar that take the main stage. I finally got to meet Kenji in July, now strangely enough as Shelflife Records label mates. But unfortunately I will never get to see The Fairways live.

4. Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
Unlike Reeling At All, who also have this album on a similar list, my relationship to this album is not very problematic. After all, I didn't hear B&S until 2002 I think, and listened to the first four albums with exactly the same expectations and on the same conditions. Naturally, I could only accept things that older B&S fans would find peculiar, such as the ridiculously long album title, the several songs not written and sung by Stuart and the slightly different sound. And although I don't love it as unconditionally all the way through as I do the first three records, it was still immensely important to me. Those four albums had a combined effect on me that I still think is more important than anything that has affected me in my life. Perhaps it is idiotically romantic to call a musical thing the most important thing in one's life, or maybe just selfish. But it is equally impossible for me to rate this album in a rational way. I have been forced to give it a number here, but really that doesn't mean more than giving my right arm a #4 in a list of my body parts, ordered by importance.

5. The Lucksmiths - Why That Doesn't Surprise Me (2002)
Along with say, B&S, Hefner and Pavement (and yes, probably Bright Eyes as well), The Lucksmiths was among the most important bands to me for a few years. Only months after hearing B&S I borrowed this album at the library in town, where I used to go to take out 10 new cds every other week. It seems forever imbued with the warmth and sunshine of that summer, the uncommonly full bass guitar as round and bouncy as the sand on our local beach. Again, this album was recorded by the time the group had perfected the recording and mixing process, making it sound different than previous, perhaps more popular records among the Lucksmiths fanbase. After all, they'd been together for about 10 years at this point, and not surprisingly they'd left behind that sometimes tinny sound and had muted the outrageous witticisms slightly. While still quite basic, the songwriting here is impeccable and along with the first B&S albums, this is what I looked to when I tried to learn how to play guitar. Luckily The Lucksmiths (sorry, it rubs of easily) like Sweden and I got to see them here three times before their final European tour this year, on which I (incredulously) got to support them twice. It was truly amazing to spend two days together with these guys, who bring a new meaning to 'nice'.

6. Language of Flowers - Songs About You (2004)
2004 was another important year, during which I started uni and pretty much never saw any of my school mates again. A large part of the year was soundtracked by Language of Flowers, whom I had heard started out in Belfast of all places. Like many bands that I discovered at the time, I first heard them through the then essential radio show P3 Pop on national radio, at the time presented by Hanna Fahl (later in Kissing Mirrors). The song was "Tara Mascara", which sounds slightly different than the rest of the album, but perhaps closest to what they wanted to sound like. I vaguely remember The Smiths being mentioned on the radio, and when I later got to interview them (for the student radio) they mentioned The Smiths, Heavenly and (particularly their lead guitarist) Jim Beattie-era Primal Scream as bands they wanted to sound like. It is an archetypal indiepop album, but to me it sounds like neither of those groups. In a review I wrote of the album (maybe the first proper one I ever wrote) I likened them instead to Lush, due to the chorus-tinged guitar sound. Lush was a band I had listened to plenty in 2004 and 2003, and Songs About You (including "Tara Mascara", but excluding "Christmas") could well have been the last Lush album, had it sounded a bit more like Split, but still been as poppy. Language of Flowers was always a band better at drinking than playing live (even though they tried to combine these two practices on occasion), but I much enjoyed both gigs I saw them do. Two of the members have carried on making music, check out Help Stamp Out Loneliness if you haven't already heard them.

7. Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls (2008)
In the future, I predict it will be difficult to justify the prominent position of this record. But at the time (and still now to some extent) VG was just a band I instinctively and wholeheartedly loved, in the same way I had loved The Ramones in high school. There is no question that the album was a watershed, and it was also my natural favourite of last year. Back then a lot of the hip indie music (cf. Pitchfork) seemed caught in an experimenting post-Animal Collective acid-folk soup, and the bread was getting stale. No one can claim that what VG did was new and unique, but it was badly needed. Perhaps they have now played out their role (even though this year's second album is great too) because now not only all the bedroom bands in Brooklyn sound like they have never listened to anything else than The Clean, JAMC and Black Tambourine, but bands across the US and increasingly in Europe as well. I got to see VG twice (during one day!) and I still want them to tour Sweden properly, but they should have done it last year.

8. Pants Yell! - Alison Statton (2007)
Another band I have turned out to form a very personal relationship with is Pants Yell!, who almost came to mean as much to me as B&S during that otherwise unremarkable summer of 2006 when they came to Sweden. We were several eager fans who spent the days of the Emmaboda festival and the subsequent alldayer in Bräkne-Hoby (pictured on the cover of Alison Statton), hanging out with Carly, Andrew and Sterling. Their second album Recent Drama just having been released, expectations on their live show were high. It goes without saying that they didn't disappoint. That was also the first I heard of their new material, which was going to form part of the next album. Alison Statton finally came out at the end of the following year and in my end-of-year list it was only trumped by the majestic God Help the Clientele. It was about twice as ambitious as Recent Drama and I have expounded my love for it at length on here before. It is a very important album in my eyes, and having a song named after one of mine was of course very special.

9. Pipas - Chunnel Autumnal (2000, reissued 2006)
Pipas' A Short Film About Sleeping was probably the first indiepop 7" I bought, must have been 2004. It left a lasting impression on me to say the least. When they came to Sweden later that year (with Alice of Arthur and Martha in tow), we were quick to attack them with microphones - and even convinced them to record a couple of tracks in the radio studio. I must see if I can find them, the version of "Amsterdam" was heartbreaking! Chunnel Autumnal had come out on their own microscopic label Long Lost Cousin and had sold out well before 2004. So I guess I didn't hear it until 2006, but that only meant I cherished it all the more. Because all Pipas records, except perhaps A Cat Escaped, would merit a place here. Another Pipas record feels unlikely, but then again the brilliant Sorry Love was recorded long distance.

10. The Saturday People - The Saturday People (2001)
The first Slumberland release on the list and the first band I have met no members of, although we used to see Ara around a bit when he was studying in Lund. And of course I have seen Terry Banks' old band St. Christopher after their comeback. A true allstar indiepop group and I won't even bother to list the other bands these guys have been in. The main songwriters seem to have been Banks and Greg Pavlovcak, and admittedly they sound a bit like Tree Fort Angst and a lot like The Castaway Stones. But this group is greater than the sum of its parts and the 15 tracks on the album skillfully blend clattery Slumberland vintage with 60s garage sounds. They do a masterful take of Jan & Dean's "Lullaby In the Rain" and manage to match its beauty with the original "Working For the Weekend".

11. The Aislers Set - The Last Match (2000)
The Aislers Set is a band I have neglected the last few years. Perhaps I never got over the fact I missed my only chance to see them live, was it in 2003? But whenever I listen to their records I am reminded of how much I liked them and 12-string guitars before I could recognise the sound of one. I prefer this record to the other one they released this decade, How I Learned to Write Backwards. And they still seem strangely overlooked by the kids, even though half the new bands on Slumberland and Captured Tracks sound like them.

12. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (2009)
One of the best things I have done is to put on a gig for this band in Malmö, and the whole thing happened more out of luck than anything else since they had already far outgrown gigs of that size. But unlike Vivian Girls, it had taken a while for POBPAH to catch on. When their first ep came out in 2007 it seemed unlikely that they would go further than other bands on Cloudberry. The Metric Mile that Peggy played with before are still virtually unknown. But clearly, we weren't the only ones who liked their instantly appealing pop songs. People had lived with these songs a long time by the time the record came out, its release probably delayed by all the touring. And we can argue about the production of the album, whether the ep versions sounded better etc, but they are still the same songs, and they are still great. It will be interesting to see if they can follow it up, without trying to please as many people as possible.

13. The Relict - Tomorrow Is Again (2003)
This might be a surprising choice, or merely a way to get more Clientele on the list. But I just love Innes Phillips' songs, The Relict being the vehicle for his songwriting after leaving The Clientele (before they released their first single). It usually includes members of said band and other London scenesters and in fact, a few songs have been released as both The Relict and The Clientele songs (cf. the latter's It's Art Dad demos compilation). One of the joys of the record is hearing two of the best female voices in indiepop harmonising together: Lupe from Pipas and Pamela from The Pines etc. The album followed a string of 7"s and splits and contains some of the same songs but in new versions with vastly improved sound quality and the added benefit of Mark Keen's metronomic drum sticks. And the record label Vegas Morn is clearly a reference to Felt. Any more Relict material has not appeared since - did Innes move to Australia?

14. Louis Philippe - An Unknown Spring (2007)
Philippe (or Auclair in real life) has worked with The Clientele since Strange Geometry, and for An Unknown Spring Alasdair and Mel returned the favour. It was his first album since The Wonder of It All in 2004, when I first encountered his music. The new album was similarly financed (by subscription) but couldn't have been more different. The Wonder of It All didn't impress me much and it took a couple of years for me to work through his back catalogue, starting at él Records in 1986 (at least for his solo recordings). The Louis Philippe of the 90s verged sometimes on cheesiness in his polished sound, but An Unkown Spring avoided the wince-worthy keyboard sounds and was also his most complex and ambitious work since 1989's Yuri Gagarin. It is so much more accomplished than most popular music it almost feels out of place on this list.

15. Slipslide - The World Can Wait (2003)
Matinée was the first indiepop label I got into, primarily due to the generous offerings of their sounds page. Two of the first mp3s I downloaded were Slipslide's "Eden" and "Baked Alaska". I had no idea the former was actually a new version of the Eva Luna song. Since then I have grown to love all of Graeme Elston's previous groups, including Eva Luna. Compared to his teenage group Love Parade, the sound of Slipslide's only album is very grown-up. But at the time it was the best album Matinée had put out. It's got a very nostalgic sound, the 12-string guitars somehow reminding me of watching tv as a child. It is actually quite similar to the first Stone Roses album, without the 'hits'. Graeme's voice sounds better than it ever did and the production is spot on. Slipslide proved they still have the knack to bash out jangly goodness with "Let Things Fall Apart" on The Matinée Hit Parade from a couple of years ago, but I am quite content if they remain a one-album-wonder - much like The Bodines, whose "Slip Slide" single they might feasibly have culled their name from.

16. The Motifs - Away (2007)
Now here's a problem for you list makers: The Motifs released their first album Dots in 2006 (50 copies made), Away was released in Japan the next year, featuring the same songs plus 10 more! Are they both individual albums? Last year their first release back home in Australia came out, a 23-track lp featuring songs from all previous releases and three new songs. I decided to call the latter a compilation, and since Dots was only a limited cdr I have put Away on this list. That The Motifs should even be on the list is indisputable of course. I like them as much as I have ever loved Pipas, and I cherish the four songs I got to hear live in Melbourne a few months ago.

17. The Airfields - Up All Night (2008)
I am certain the first album from The Airfields impressed everyone who heard it. Sure, the Laneways 10" was great, but to me Up All Night keeps a first class standard all the way through in a way not even The Field Mice managed on their full lengths. It came out at the perfect time of year as well, winter. This year has been sadly lacking in Airfields action - when is the next single coming out? It does not look probable that I will go to Canada in the next decade, so I hope they will come to me (or at least somewhere a bit closer).

18. Pocketbooks - Flight Paths (2009)
Neither Pocketbooks nor POBPAH got the first spot in my best-of-2009 list (coming soon), but out of all the albums released this year, I think Flight Paths is the one of the most enduring quality. A timeless album in other words. Lyrically compact, perfectly recorded by Simon Trought, I can't see myself tiring of it. Pocketbooks as a band have improved at an incredible rate since 2006. They have perfected their craft and I am greatly looking forward to the next album, and hopefully more gigs in Sweden. I admit I might be biased here, but getting to design the sleeve was purely an honour.

19. Niza - Canciones de Temoporada (2002)
With the amount of Spanish pop I have been listening to the last two years, this list must inevitably include something of Spanish origin. I didn't discover Niza until late last year I think, but immediately I started searching for a copy of their only album, released by Elefant. The record is indeed as classy as Grego Soria's cover art suggests, and actually sounds more like a Siesta production. Madrid-based Uke is their new project and I wanted play with them on A Smile and a Ribbon's summer tour, but unfortunately we never got as far as Spain. And, if you still haven't seen this video, you simply must.

20. The Autumn Leaves - Long Lost Friend (2008)
And the last spot goes to The Autumn Leaves, who made an unlikely comeback last year with their first album in 7 years. Treats and Treasures is one of my favourites of the 90s and this their third and last album is just as good. Their Byrds/Leaves-inspired folkrock works perfectly because the songwriting is so strong. They also manage the best Bee Gees cover (and you know there are many) I have ever heard. This is hardly an indiepop record, but essential for any lover of acoustic and Rickenbacker 12-strings. It doesn't have to be done differently than it was in 1966 to be of interest in this decade, which is hereby over.

Fed Pop Stars

Been listening to Dolly Mixture singles today, and I can't seem to find that website that had all the demos and live stuff. So in case anyone missed it here is their intended (or so I've read) first single "Dead Rainbow". It's mentioned on Wikipedia as a cover, but that can't be right. It may well be that it is about Gary Glitter though. In any case here it is, in lo-fi mp3 form. I can understand if the members are hesitant to re-releasing their 'white album' since the sound quality of the demos seems to have been average even on the original pressing. But why not a singles compilation? After all, "Everything and More" and "Remember This" are among the best singles of the 80s.

CLOUD 112 Dolly Mixture - Dead Rainbow

An Inch a Month

All in all it's been a pretty good year - for singles. I had trouble narrowing my list of favourites down to 20 even! And here it is.

1. Spectrals - Leave Me Be b/w Suit Yourself (Captured Tracks)

I knew this was going to be the single of the year, soon as I found it on Myspace through the CT profile in the spring. I've played it pretty much everywhere I've been and finally getting it on 7" vinyl only makes me like it more.

2. Christmas Island - Nineteen b/w Twenty Nine (Captured Tracks)

CT nails the two first positions, Christmas Island coming second with their brilliant 'conceptual' single about life a decade apart. The a-side is the normal "growing up in a small town, nothing ever happens" story while the latter is quite a heartfelt look at aging, both sides in the form of breakneck pop riding on rollercoaster melodies. The two sides of the sleeve seem to picture the band's two main members as nerdy school kids - I like it!

3. The Cave Weddings - Bring Your Love b/w Let's Drive (HoZac)

Brogues tipped me about this one. A perfect garage-pop single with two stunning tracks. I was too late to get the limited coloured vinyl, but that hasn't stopped me from constantly flipping this over to decide which track is the best.

4. Best Coast - When I'm With You b/w This Is Real (Black Iris)

Apparently you can get this as a vinyl 7" - by winning some sort of competition that involves signing up to Lala. No way Black Iris! Well miss Best Coast is already recording the full length, and the singles will probably be on there too. This is by far the best of her three offerings in the 7" racks this year.

5. The Magic Kids - Hey Boy b/w Good to Be (Goner)

The Magic Kids came from nowhere and made the best indiepop single in ages. Call them Beach Boys ripoffs, but Bryan Wilson himself would tear his hair (if he still has any) to write songs as good as this again. I want more!

6. The Sea Lions - Let's Groove EP (YAY!)

Adorned with what is probably the best sleeve of this bunch, The Sea Lions debut disc is an instrumental pop monster. The b-sides prove they know their way around a vocal as well - these are three perfect This Poison!esque stormers. A new split with Watercolor Paintings is already out, but I haven't got it yet.

7. Very Truy Yours - Reminders CDEP (self-released)

This hand-crafted beauty holds five polished numbers that sound more like Camera Obscura than they do themselves these days. Quite a mellow bunch of tunes, but perfect for the late autumn.

8. The Garlands/The Sugarplums - split EP (Atomic Beat)

This should be available on the Atomic Beat website as soon as they've got some inserts printed. You can't say no to two new tracks from Roger Gunnarsson's The Garlands, but The Sugarplums prove their worth too on their first proper release. Get their CDR ep if you crave more.

9. German Measles - Wild 12" (Captured Tracks)

German Measles promised unbelievably much with the CT demo cassette, and Gary Olson has done a good job getting this party mayhem down on tape (analog I should hope). GM would be nothing without their enigmatic frontman, who lands just the right side of luny on "Totally Wild". Desperate Bicycles if they recorded for Brent (or pick your own obscure 60s garage label).

10. The Girls At Dawn - s/t 12" (Captured Tracks)

A big step up from the first 7" on HoZac, these four songs so good I can't wait for their album coming out next, and all the other upcoming goodies listed on their Myspace. "Tomorrow Will Be Yesterday" would have been one of the classiest tracks on Girls In the Garage if the girls had been their mothers.

11. The Specific Heats - Back Through Tyme EP (Hugpatch)

Coming home from Indietracks and SH's literally smoking performance I couldn't wait to play this lavender-coloured 7", which had arrived in the post while I was in New Zealand. No songs about icecream here! This is moody, twangy garage. Now we want Cursed!, if a truly cursed album can ever really be released that is.

12. Crystal Stilts - Love Is a Wave b/w Sugar Baby (Slumberland)

CS's only release this year (not counting the UK single with two album cuts) is a brilliant pop tune, which I like more than most of the songs on their album. Have they got a new drummer yet? Let's hope they haven't lost any momentum.

13. Brilliant Colors - s/t EP (Make a Mess)

I still prefer these version to the ones on the recent lp on Slumberland - a lot more dynamic and unique. Sold out, but available on a CT 12" including the two sides of the "Highly Evolved" single.

14. Standard Fare/Slow Down Tallahassee - split-EP (Thee SPC)

Mostly for the Standard Fare side, "Dancing", which is one of the biggest hits of 2009. Apparently got them signed to Bar/None! The new single on SPC is available in January next year.

15. Liechtenstein - Everything's For Sale CDEP (Drill Building)

Preceding the album by a few months, this Swedish CDR release is a more humble (and more humbly produced) ep with three exclusive and brilliant tracks. Good cover too!

16. Fergus & Geronimo - Blind Muslim Girl b/w Powerful Lovin' (Tic Tac Totally)

Having to pick a favourite among this year's three F&G singles, I'd have to settle for this one. The two sides here are equally great, even though "Harder Than It's Ever Been" from their Woodsist 7" would give them a run for their money.

17. The Cavalcade - Meet You In the Rain CDEP (self-released)

The Cavalcalde is one the year's best new pop groups. The Edition 59 ep was good, but nowhere near as interesting as this 5-track ep. Maybe with a drummer they could even challenge The Clientele at their own game?

18. God Help the Girl - Stills 10" (Rough Trade)

I still love the GHTG album, and this ep made up of 'outtakes' features the best song graced by Stuart's voice in a long time, "He's a Loving Kind of Boy". The other tracks definitely maintain the same standard as the album. But when will we get to see the actual musical?

19. Grass Widow - s/t 12" (Captured Tracks)

Their first album, put out by Make a Mess, was brilliant, but on this ep they've really outdone themselves. "Lulu's Lips" is even better than the best of Neo Boys.

20. The Depreciation Guild - Dream About Me b/w Listless (Kanine)

While the POBPAH did not make the list ("Come Saturday" would have, but since it's merely a new version of the Searching For the Now split-single, I skipped it), Kurt's own band just made it with the brilliant Bank of England-era-Blueboy guitar squalls of "Dream About Me". Available on white vinyl from Kanine Records, who have also given their first album a proper release. New material coming in 2010!