Catching up here with some purchase highlights from May and June and I know I’m late posting this! There’s been so many records coming out that it’s tough keeping up (and I’m on a budget now).

The Depreciation Guild – Dream About Me 7″ – Kanine Records
www.myspace.com/thedepreciationguild
I think you all know how much I love this single and the fact that it was so so very close to being a Shelflife release. I received my physical copies a few weeks back and it turned out so good. I must admit it is a bit strange seeing it in person after working in it for so long. Kanine did us proud!

Socialist Leisure Party – Turktown Saints 7″ – Cloudberry
www.myspace.com/thelampreys
Another fantastic release by Socialist Leisure Party. Some say this is even better than the Shelflife one (shhhhh!!!), but it’s all essential — meaning buy both, they complete each other! Order a copy from the Shelflife shop or direct from Cloudberry.

Seeland – Tomorrow Today CD – LOAF
www.myspace.com/seelanduk
Seeland is Tim Felton (ex-Broadcast), Billy Bainbridge (ex-Plone) and Neil McAuley. Luckily Skatterbrain tipped me off to them, and wow, I’d be surprised if this wasn’t on my top 10 albums of the year. An exceptional release!

Mock Stereo – Demo CD – Unreleased
www.myspace.com/mockstereo
And this may just be the demo of the year! Mock Stereo is a synth pop duo from Tel Aviv. It’s not anything that we’d ever really release on Shelflife, but it’s so damn catchy that we’re almost considering it. If you have a soft spot for cheesy 90s euro dance pop, you’ll love this. Listen on their myspace. The Elastica-esque “The Word” and “Super Daddio” are the stand-out tracks.

Service Clan Patch – Service
www.srvc.se/catalog/item.php?catno=JOIN
I recently joined Service Clan for life and received my Service patch. I know you’re all jealous! Join up and get The Embassy’s online-only releases!

The Kick Inside – Oh Vanity 7″ – Oddbox
www.myspace.com/thekickinside
Debut 7″ single from both The Kick Inside and Oddbox records. It reminds me of a more Smith-y My Teenage Stride. Order a copy here

Durutti Column – I Get Along Without You Very Well 7″ – Factory
www.myspace.com/durutticolumn
I finally found this single for a few bucks at Amoeba (SF). I forgot how good it was. Lindsay Wilson sings the A-side. This was Fac 64 released in 1983.

Harrison – Demos and Rarities vol. 1-2 CD – Riverhead
www.myspace.com/harrisonuk1984
Who ever thought we’d see a double cd demo and rarities collection from the lost UK band Harrison? Not me! Their “(There Is) No Refrain” 7″ has eluded me all these years, but now I have more Harrison than I can handle. I also never realized they sound a lot like Orange Juice, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Pick these up from here!

Liechtenstein – Survival Strategies In A Modern World 10″ – Slumberland / Fraction Discs
www.myspace.com/liechtensteinia
Slumberland is still flying high and this record is another masterpiece. Too bad Liechtenstein are not getting the same attention as The Pains, they surely deserve it.

Comet Gain – Broken Record Prayers LP – What’s Your Rupture?
www.myspace.com/thecometgain
What’s Your Rupture really outdid themselves on the packaging of this double LP gatefold collection. Gorgeous!

Tennishero – High Scenes 12″ – Fastcut
www.myspace.com/tennishero
I love this single! Oddly enough, they do a remix of Durutti Column’s “Sketch For Summer,” the same song Thieves Like Us sampled in “Drugs In My Body.”

One of the greatest things about Laura and I merging our record collections is that all of a sudden I have a wealth of new music to listen to… and mostly stuff that I never really gave a chance at the time. White Town fits that category for me. I obviously know “Your Woman” and think I had a copy of “Women in Technology” at one point. Still I never bothered to buy any of the singles.

So Laura played me “Hair Like Alain Delon” from the “Alain Delon” EP 7″ (Parasol, 1991) and it’s was shockingly good… even “P!O!P! classic” good reminding me of bands like East Village or The Desert Wolves. I would have never guessed this being a White Town song and now I feel a bit lame for missing it all these years. Anyway, she has pretty much all of Jyoti’s early singles so I’ll be checking out more.

Listen to White Town – Hair Like Alain Delon
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/b_whitetown.mp3]

www.whitetown.co.uk

“Dream About Me” by The Depreciation Guild is easily one of the singles of the year! In fact we think it’s so good that it was originally slated for a Shelflife release, but in the end it made more sense for a larger label like Kanine Records to take it under their wing.

Today Pitchfork debuted their new video for the song and it’s a classic!! Watch:

The “Dream About Me” single is out July 7th on 7″ & digital formats. You can pre-order the 7″ from Kanine here and get the mp3s free through e-mail right now. The b-side is “Listless” (another one of our faves).

The band is touring North America with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart in September. Don’t miss it!

www.myspace.com/thedepreciationguild

“Over 150 BPM” is a good description of my life lately. Hectic. So I’m craving this single from the Japanese pop band Citrus. They were definitely one of the most unique of the Trattoria catalogue blending neo-acoustic, post-punk and j-pop to create some rather insane yet very listenable recordings. Nowadays, I have trouble listening to a lot of that ’90s Shibuya-kei scene (still burned out on it I guess), but somehow Citrus still works for me.

Listen to Citrus – Colo Colo Meets The Stripes
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/b_citrus.mp3]

Here’s a great interview with Citrus frontman, Emori Takeaki.

Hello. It’s been a while I know. This month I’m trying to finish our second Tears Run Rings album so I’m dedicating all my free time to the studio. That said I’m hoping to start posting on a regular basis again soon. Today let’s start with an old request by Gilberto for Black Fantastic. It’s hopefully a fitting thank you since I just received the copies of the “Menina Infinito” comic he sent us (Thanks Gilberto!).

Black Fantastic was a short-lived collaboration between Matt from The Push Kings and Sterling from Madison Electric. They released the “Keep the Conversation Going” b/w “A Day’s Wait” 7″ on Saltwater Records (sw-001) in 1997. To my knowledge this was all they ever released. It’s actually been a while since I’ve played the single. It was one of my favorites of that period and happy to report still holds up well today. If you ask nicely I’ll post the B-side.

Listen to Black Fantastic – Keep The Conversation Going
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/b_blackfantastic.mp3]

Download the new 2009 Shelflife Records MP3 sampler for free below…

DOWNLOAD (80.8 MB)

Tracklisting:
1. Horse Shoes – The Imperial School (from LIFE1008: “The Imperial School”)
2. Days – Downhill (from LIFE1003: “Downhill”)
3. Socialist Leisure Party – Head In The Hay (demo version)
4. Burning Hearts – I Lost My Colour Vision (from LIFE057: “Aboa Sleeping”)
5. Champagne Riot – Scandinavian Warfare (from LIFE1006: “Paris And I”)
6. The Ruling Class – Flowers (from LIFE1005: “Tour de Force”)
7. Dub Noir – The Careerist (demo version)
8. Laura Watling – You Never Came (from LIFE059: “Songs From Dreams”)
9. Days – Simple Thing (from LIFE1003: “Downhill”)
10. Kuryakin – Take My Hand (from LIFE1004 “Still Here”)
11. Burning Hearts – Various Lives (from LIFE057: “Aboa Sleeping”)
12. Thieves Like Us – To Joy (from LIFE061: “Really Like To See You Again”)
13. Evening Lights – Don’t Turn the Light Out (from LIFE062: “The Disappointment”)
14. Free Loan Investments – Kick His Balls Out (from LIFE044 “Ever Been To Mexico”)
15. Warm Morning – Silver Rain (from LIFE1001: “Silver Rain”)
16. Language Of Flowers – Leaving (from LIFE051: “Songs About You”)
17. A Smile And a Ribbon – Book Cover (from LIFE1002: “The Boy I Wish I Never Met”)
18. Thieves Like Us – Sugar And Song (from LIFE058: “Play Music”)

Thieves Like Us – Really Like To See You Again

Good news! You don’t have to wait another two years for a new Thieves Like Us release. We’re pleased to announce a brand new 4 track EP “Really Like To See You Again” will be available on June 9th on limited 12″ vinyl and digital formats. You can grab a copy direct from us right now or from your favorite record shops on Tuesday.

The title track, “Really Like To See You Again,” is a new recording done in their studio in Paris. To us it sounds like “Low-Life” (New Order) era rhythm mixed over “Key of Dreams” (Section 25) soul… the perfect amount of synth bass, vulnerability, electronic toms, and hope. Both Robert Smith and Peter Hook were unavailable to play that twangy romantic guitar, so the band did it themselves. Sounds authentic too. The second track, “American Skies,” is a politico-socio commentary about the current economic slump. It sounds like a night drive in Miami and one for the dance floor. “Desire,” originally released on “Play Music,” is reworked and remixed for this release and we can’t get it out of our heads. If you loved this track before, this version is even better. The final song “To Joy,” is an old demo and the inspiration of “Really Like To See You Again.” It may just be the most perfect track ever conceived by the band and holds a special place in our hearts. The song was unfortunately left off the last album, so we’re quite pleased it makes it’s proper debut on this release… and on vinyl which it so rightly deserves.

Thieves Like Us US tour:
The band is playing select cities on the east and west coasts this month.
Don’t miss your chance to see them!

Jun 12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall, w/ Designer Drugs
Jun 13 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar w/ Dan Deacon, Black Dice
Jun 17 – San Francsico, CA @ TBA
Jun 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Heist (DJ Set)
Jun 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex w/ Esser, Nightwaves
Jun 20 – San Diego, CA @ TBA

Listen to Thieves Like Us – Really Like To See You Again
[dewplayer: http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/TLU3.mp3]

Order a copy here!

myspace.com/thieveslikeus