Good news for those on the east coast. A Smile and a Ribbon are heading to the states to play their first US tour in May. See below for dates confirmed so far. In other news, their 1000 series release “The Boy I Wish I Never Met” is now officially sold out at shelflife.com. If you missed it, there’s a few shops that still have copies in stock (Jigsaw, Fraction, Hands and Arms, Fastcut, etc). We’ll likely be carrying their upcoming 7″ on Cloudberry when it’s out (we’re all excited about that!).

May 23rd - NY, New York at the Littlefield
NYC Popfest w/ The Embassy (Sweden), The Secret History (NYC), Neverever (CA), Sea Lions (CA), Bunnygrunt (MO), Brown Recluse (PA), Apple Orchard (CA), The Young Friends (AZ), For Ex-Lovers Only (FL), Santa Monica Swim & Dive Club (MI)
(last.fm)

May 25th - Boston, Massachusetts at the Lizard Lounge
w/ The Smittens (VT), One Happy Island (MA), Allo Darlin’ (UK), Horowitz (UK), Hearts!Attack (UK)
(last.fm)

May 29th - Winooski/Burlington, Vermont at The Monkey House
w/ The Smittens (VT), Allo Darlin’ (UK) and Moustache Of Insanity (UK)
(last.fm)

May 30th - Montreal, Quebec Canada at Le Divan Orange
w/ The Smittens (VT), Allo Darlin’ (UK)
(last.fm)

Listen to A Smile and a Ribbon - Holding Hands
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/holdinghands.mp3

www.myspace.com/asaar

Well… it’s been of couple days, so I’m finally recovered, I think, after all of the plane flights and nights without sleep. Oh wait, this isn’t Ed, my name is Drew, you know, from Horse Shoes, and this is actually my first post on the Shelflife blog! Hopefully I will be doing more of these in the near future, but don’t get too excited, none of my deepest darkest secrets will be revealed on here.

I am just going to recap a little bit of my to London and what went on at London Popfest 2010 while I was there. Unfortunately I only was able to attend on the Saturday and Sunday event; There were other bands in the prior days I would have loved to see and meet. The trip went by like a blur, but there was never a wasted or dull moment.

So anyways, here is a little overview of my experience Saturday. Somehow I managed to escape New York to Detroit where I had to sit on a jet for an hour while the airport plowed some snow to make a cozy spot for our airplane. I then patiently waited out a six hour layover in Detroit; and of course another hour wait in the jet while it got de-iced. After all of that was said and done we managed to lift off and away we flew; fighting the perils of the Arctic Sea, from Canada, then over Greenland, Ireland and finally my destination, Heathrow international airport in London.

Now I did not get very good sleep on the plane. So basically I didn’t sleep for over twenty four hours. The jet lag kicked in around 7PM Saturday evening and everything was just a lethargic haze. I met a lot of great people in this haze, the members of Shrag ( WIAIWYA records ) were wonderful, Gorden of Ballboy ( Who also put on a very solid set ) and so many more. It was also great to finally put a face to the people whom I have had correspondence for so long with over the internet.

Sunday, February 28th was basically a Sarah Records reunion. A good majority of people involved came out.. Clare Wadd came out to Dj. Harvey Williams, Bobby Wratten and Beth Arzy were in the audience, and who could forget the headlining band the Wake joined by members of the Orchids?! The Wake put on a phenomenal set, they played a good mix of Factory era and Sarah era songs, a little something for everyone you could say. Everyone just seemed to be in a trance while they were playing. I for one was simply blown away. I for one never thought I would see them live in my lifetime let alone get to share an evening and a stage with them. In fact most of our day was spent talking with Caesar and the very lovely Carolyn of the Wake. They shared some deep secrets with us, but alas those are forever sealed.

All in all I received a lot of free records which I will hopefully get around to finishing and maybe do a post or two on here highlighting any favorites; I met some new faces and connected with ones I only thought to exist in the world of blogs, record labels and emails and got to entertain a lovely group of people.

Until next time,
-d

I just heard from Christoffer that he’s put up another free download. This time the debut release from his Cafe 2001 [a record company] label, a compilation called “This is the Cafe Superstar beat [volume 1]“. I remember loving this compilation when it first came out, so I highly recommend you grab this.

This comp features 14 tracks from Safariari, Micromars, Tøyen, Remington super 60, Påsan, Skistar, EPA, and Anothony Rochester. Compiled by Christer Jensen (Micromars) and Christoffer Schou (Remington Super 60/Cafe 2001).

Download here!

Listen to Micromars - Why Didn’t My Parents Buy Me A Casio
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/micromars.mp3

If you’re looking for a proper cd copy, it looks like Insound still has it listed here (although I have no idea if it’s actually in stock).

www.cafe2001.net/label

Katsen recently released a limited CDEP called “Basic Pleasure Unit” in the UK which sold out almost immemdiately. The EP features “It Hertz!” album track “Where Nobody Can Find Us,” a fantastic remix of “Florian,” and three brand new tracks. For those who missed it, we’re offering it digitally available now on Shelflife.com and iTunes in the US.

Here’s the tracklisting:
1. Where Nobody Can Find Us
2. Accidents In The Home
3. A Soulless Party
4. A Pulse
5. Florian (Luminous Vinyl Mix)

Order it here for $3.00!

Listen to Katsen - A Pulse
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/katsen_apulse.mp3

www.myspace.com/katsenbeeps

“I Lost My Color Vision”, recorded at Insikten, Jönköping, December 19, 2009:

“I Lost My Color Vision”, recorded at Silber, Hamburg, February 26, 2010:

“We Walked Among The Trees”, recorded at Silber, Hamburg, February 26, 2010:

www.myspace.com/burninghearts
www.shelflife.com/burninghearts

Here’s the brand new video from Champagne Riot for their song “Ingrid Bergman” (featuring Northern Portrait frontman Stefan Larsen on vocals). Enjoy!

www.champagneriot.com
myspace.com/champagneriot

Good news from the Norwegian label Cafe2001 [a record company]. They’re offering up a free 5 track download from Remington super 60 entitled the “Winter EP.” I still love their first album “Pling2001″ and it’s nice to see they’re back doing what they do best.

Listen to Remington super 60 - Sweet Winter
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/sweetwinter.mp3

Download the EP

Wow! Horse Shoes are now playing the London Popfest with newly added headliners The Wake. White Town and Leaving Mornington Crescent too! What an incredible line-up and I so wish I could attend! Those going, please take a lot of pictures.

Listen to The Wake - Something Outside (Live at Ayr Pavilion - April 15, 1983)
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/somethingoutside.mp3

www.londonpopfest.com

The Parcels & Pecan Sandies’ TV appearance on Haikai (Japan):

The Parcels’ set at Kindercore Expo 2000 Athens:

www.lightrotation.com/parcels

I must admit I have a pretty decent obsession going on with the Edition 59 Creation reissues. I have most (if not all) of these tracks on cd already (not to mention all the other formats), but there’s something special about seeing them as 3″ cds that I can’t resist. The Vollwert-Records digipak reissue of “Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel” is absolutely gorgeous (and I don’t actually own it on cd). Only 99 copies of that one. Looking forward to the Revolving Paint Dream stuff coming down the pike!

www.vollwert-records.de

Thieves Like Us debut a new song and video from their upcoming album “Again and Again”.

Fire wins out over my self doubt. Her blue sea was seeking me. Broken dreams were breaking me. Swam into the deep blue sea. Days were heavy with despair. Broken dreams were breaking me. Cherubs pushed for more and more. Painted hearts on my front door. Burnt my file and I was free. Swam into the deep blue sea. Never went back home again. Yesterday it fades away. Fire wins out over my self doubt. Her blue sea was seeking me. Fire wins out over my self doubt. Still I’ve never ever known love.

Download Thieves Like Us - Never Known Love
http://thieves-like-us.com/neverknownlove/Thieves%20Like%20Us%20-%20Never%20Known%20Love.mp3

www.thieves-like-us.com

Thieves Like us by //SLANG from //SLANG on Vimeo.

www.slangmag.com

Good news! Burning Hearts are heading to Germany in February! They’ll be joining The Ruling Class in Berlin. What a show that will be!

February 24 - Berlin at Bang Bang Club
Let’s Kiss and Make Up!
w/ The Ruling Class and Der Elegante Rest

February 26 - Hamburg at Silber
Hit The North
w/ Bye Bye Bicycle

www.myspace.com/burningheartsmusic

I’ve been listening to The Bridal Shop’s “From Seas” EP a lot again and I’m still so sad the band is no longer together. They were always one I had hoped to work with on Shelflife at some point. Luckily they did leave us with three fantastic releases. Their first EP “From Seas” is still my favorite. I’m carrying a few copies of the US CD version (released on Magic Marker Records) in the Shelflife shop for those interested. “Whale In Da Pain,” which you can listen to below, is them at their best!

Buy the EP ($7 plus shipping)

Listen to The Bridal Shop - Whale In Da Pain
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/b_bridalshop.mp3

www.myspace.com/thebridalshop

Horse Shoes are heading to the UK the end of February to play the London popfest as well as some other dates. Don’t miss it!

February 28th - London at the The Lexington
London Popfest w/ White Town (UK), Leaving Mornington Crescent (Sweden) & Humousexual (UK)

March 1st - Brixton at the The Windmill
w/ Panama Kings (Belfast) & Something Beginning With L (London)

NEW DATE ADDED! March 2nd - Camden at the The Lock Tavern

www.myspace.com/horseshoesmusic
www.horseshoesmusic.com

Korallreven’s “Loved-Up” made my top 20 songs of 2009 and when I heard Fastcut Records in Japan were releasing a 7″ of it, I thought I would offer up some copies in the Shelflife shop (while still expensive they’re probably $5 or so cheaper than if you ordered direct from Japan — Japanese 7″s have always been pricy… I guess they don’t like to lose money on them - ha).

Anyway, Korallreven is a project featuring Marcus Joons and Johan Duncansson (from the Radio Dept.) — and I think Daniel is part of it too, but I forget where I read that. The B-side of the single is the Nhessingtons remix of “Loved-Up,” which is equally great. Being Radio Dept. related I don’t imagine these singles will be in print for long. I’m excited that there’s talk of a new single and an album both called “The Truest Faith” coming sometime in the spring. Obviously I can’t wait for that!

Oh and I also stocked a few more Fastcut 7″s that I think are fantastic from Sail A Whale, Lake Heartbeat and Sad Day For Puppets.

Go buy some seven-inches!

Listen to Korallreven - Loved-Up
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/b_korallreven.mp3

www.myspace.com/korallrevenmusic

Thieves Like Us “Your Heart Feels” live on the French TV show Pigalle.

Also, here’s a new interview with Andy on The Sound and the Fury Blog.

www.thieves-like-us.com

I finally settled on my top 10 list of 2009, so I thought I’d get this podcast done today (it’s been exactly a year since our last one, so the timing couldn’t be any more perfect - ha). You’ll notice in the end Seeland beat out Sally Shapiro. “My Guilty Pleasure” just didn’t have the lasting power I thought it would, especially compared to how amazing that Cloetta Paris cd was last year. So Seeland takes the #1 spot. “Tomorrow Today” is a perfect album and one I hope gets the worldwide recognition it deserves. It’s also probably not a surprise to see Epic45 pretty high on my list (I know it’s an EP, but I’m counting it). Northern Portrait also just made it in time to take the 8th spot, inching CFCF and Keith Canisius and knocking A Place To Bury Strangers off. All and all a pretty good year for music, it was definitely a challenge to pick 20 top songs, but I’m pretty happy with the podcast. Hope you enjoy it!

Top 10 releases of 2009
1. Seeland - Tomorrow Today CD (LOAF)
2. Sally Shapiro - My Guilty Pleasure lp/cd (Paperbag)
3. Epic45 - In All The Empty Houses cd (Make Mine Music)
4. Röyksopp - Junior lp (Astralwerks)
5. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar lp/cd (Mis Ojos Discos)
6. So Cow - So Cow lp (Tic Tac Totally)
7. Cats On Fire - Our Temperance Movement cd (Johanna Kustannus/Matinée)
8. Northern Portrait - Criminal Art Lovers cd (Matinée)
9. CFCF - Continent lp/cd (Paperbag)
10. Keith Canisius - Waves cd (Quince)

runners up:
A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head lp (Mute)
Lake Heartbeat - Trust in Numbers cd (Service)
The Mary Onettes - Islands (Labrador)
Maribel - Aesthetics cd (Quince)
Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps lp (EMI)
SPC ECO - 3-D mp3 (self-released)

Podcast #3 - Top 20 songs of 2009
(in no particular order)
1. Sally Shapiro - Looking At The Stars
2. The Bridal Shop - Ideal State
3. The Mary Onettes - Puzzles
4. Korallreven - Loved-Up
5. Crystal Stilts - Love is a Wave
6. A Place To Bury Strangers - In Your Heart
7. Northrn Portrait - When Goodness Falls
8. Lake Heartbeat - Golden Chain
9. Sea Lions - Beautiful Day
10. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Shy
11. Averkiou - Wasted and High
12. Seeland - Captured
13. Memory Cassette - Surfin (Sail a Whale version)
14. Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot
15. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than the Stars (Saint Etienne Visits Lord Spank Mix)
16. The Depreciation Guild - Dream About Me
17. Cats On Fire - Letters From A Voyage to Sweden
18. Wake The President - Miss Tierney
19. Frankie Rose - Thee Only One
20. Epic45 - Ghosts On Tape

Listen to the Shelflife Records podcast: Subscribe using iTunes or subscribe to the feed.

More Champagne Riot goodness for you. The band has recorded a new holiday mp3 single called “Xmas Safari” available as a free download below! Happy holidays!

Download it here!

Listen to Champagne Riot - Xmas Safari
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/CR_xmas_safari.mp3

You can also still download their 2008 single “December Slopes” here!

myspace.com/champagneriot

Champagne Riot has been going through some exciting adventures this year reinventing themselves a few times over (from a solo project — to a duo — to a trio — and now back to a duo). The good news is that they have really settled in nicely with the latest line-up and have posted three new demo recordings on their myspace page. You can listen/download one of our favorites below called “Confessions of a Poker Pro.” Enjoy!

Their limited edition 1000 series release “Paris and I” is still available here for $15.

Listen to Champagne Riot - Confessions of a Poker Pro
http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/cr.mp3

www.myspace.com/champagneriot