The Death of Pop - Gardens

Bournemouth based jangle-gazers The Death of Pop caught our attention last year with their fantastic single "Whenever", followed by their subsequent E.P "Fifths". Since then, they released an E.P over the summer (which features the short but sweet "Rayban Party"), and are now gearing up to release a new single as part of the Too Pure Singles Club.

"Gardens" is a song which pays tribute to the botanical influences of the band (seriously - this is an actual quote from their press release - "Without the tender co-cultivation of music and plants...The Death of Pop would be a very different band"). Once again, the song demonstrates the band's nous for mixing up post-punk, jangle-pop and shoegaze in their own delectable fashion.

"Gardens" will be released as a 7" single later this month.

Sea Pinks - Dream Happening

Exciting news for any fans of Northern Irish jangle-pop, for Belfast's Chief of chiming guitars Neil Brogan, aka Sea Pinks, will the releasing the project's fourth studio album next month. To preview the release, the have released a new track to be taken from the album, "Dream Happening". It follows on nicely from their last single "An Exploded View" in its jangly, nostalgic sound, and should sufficiently whet your appetite before next month.

"Dream Happening" is taken from the album "Dreaming Tracks", will be released on September 29th.

The Death of Pop - Mirage

Last month, this blog introduced Bournemouth jangle-gaze band The Death of Pop with their spectacular single, "Whenever". So taken was I with the song and the band that I instantly purchased the accompanying E.P, "Fifths", which wasn't due to be released for a few weeks yet. Well, yesterday the E.P arrived, which came in the form of a download code, a fanzine which features the lyrics and chord sequences of every song on the E.P (the former being very useful for music like this, where the vocals are usually buried 20 feet in the mix), and a physical copy of one of the E.P's tracks, "Mirage", in a very special format -

For the uninitiated, that's a Flexidisc, which is about the thickness of a piece of paper, with grooves that allows it to be played on a record player. The format was popular up until the 80s, as its size allowed it to be easily included as a giveaway in music magazines, before it fell out of favour as CDs, and later MP3s, took over. However, in recent years the format has started to reappear alongside the revival of vinyl, for reasons of not just nostalgia and novelty, but also economy (it is about three times cheaper to print a Flexidisc single than a comparable 7", "solid" vinyl). The one drawback of the format is that due to its slightly flimsy nature, the sound doesn't usually come out right, with a tendency to skip uncontrollably.

So, how does the Flexidisc of "Mirage" fare? There's only one way to find out -

Actually, there were several, but the option
 I went for was this one.

The good news is that the song managed to make it all the way to the end without skipping once. The even better news was that the sound quality was comparable with a standard, "solid" vinyl, with only a slightly more noticeable crackling sound.. If I hadn't bought the thing myself, I would never have known the difference. 

And the best news? The song on the Flexidisc by The Death of Pop, "Mirage", is a ruddy fine song indeed, very much reminiscent of the best shoegaze-y tunes that Ride ever recorded. You can listen to the song digitally below, but if you are able to, I very much recommend tracking down a copy that you can play on a record player, as the warmth and depth of the song is much better than in the stream. It's available to buy now from Art Is Hard Records, but given that it's a limited edition of 250, if you want to get it, you'd better be quick.

So, is Flexidisc the format of the future? It does have its limitations - music can only be pressed on one side of the disc, and although "Mirage" has held up well, other singles I've used on the format have been rather temperamental. Also, the use of the format could be seen as a gimmick which can detract from what should be the most important aspect - the music itself. 

However, it's a light and easy transportable product, and it is more affordable nature over "solid" 7" singles would make it handy for an artist on a budget to get their music onto record. Even so, we're probably not going to get an onslaught on artists releasing on the format in the foreseeable future, although if that did happen, I for one would not complain. 

The Death of Pop - Whenever

If you're going to give your band as grandiose and statement-making a name as The Death of Pop, then you'd better mark darn sure your music is darn near perfect. Thankfully, the Bournemouth 5-piece have absolutely nothing to worry about, at least if "Whenever" is anything to go by.

The song demonstrates the band's self-described 'janglegaze' sound, that is a song that mixes the sonic onslaught and introversion of shoegaze with the chiming guitars of jangle-pop, like it exists somewhere in the netherworld between My Bloody Valentine & Teenage Fanclub (with a member of the band wearing a t-shirt of the latter band in the above profile picture with such gloomy pride). It is also somewhat ironic that in spite of their name, the song is incredibly poppy and accessible, as a result of the irresistible vocal hook that just implores you to listen to the band again and again. Sound of 2015, anybody?

"Whatever" is taken from the E.P "Fifths", which will be released as a Flexidisk & zine on July 28th through Art Is Hard Records.

The Sun Electric Band - In the Clouds

Are you disappointed the your pop doesn't have enough jangle in it? Is the only thing in harmony in your life the balance of good bacteria in your stomach? Are you tired of waiting several more years for a new Teenage Fanclub record to come out? If so, then The Sun Electric Band is for you.

"In the Clouds" shows the Mancunian 5-piece on top form. With their sumptuous harmonies, ringing guitars, and feel-good lyrics, the song sounds like it's a forgotten gem culled from the "Grand Prix" recording sessions, which is of course no bad thing indeed.

"In the Clouds" is taken from The Sun Electric Band's debut E.P, "Want to Feel Like..", which is available now.

This Many Boyfriends - I Don't Like You (Cos You Don't Like the Pastels)

I'm a great fan of jangly indie-pop, which is why I was glad to hear about Leeds five-piece This Many Boyfriends. They are releasing their Steve Lamacq approved single "Young Lovers Go Pop" on August 22th, but until then here is their quirky, self aware "I Don't Like You (Cos You Don't Like the Pastels)".

They describe themselves as "funpop", a description I can hardly argue against.



I Don't Like You (Cos You Don't Like The Pastels) by This Many Boyfriends