After London Popfest we shot a short session with a production company in Brixton called Blindeye Films. We think they did a nice job! Hope you enjoy!

I Can’t Decide ( The Brixton Session )

I’ve been super excited since I heard that Deep Space Recordings was planning to release The Fauns debut LP on vinyl. Well, today is the day! Their double LP version is now available in a lovely gatefold sleeve. I’ve loved this band ever since I heard their song “Lovestruck” (check out the video below), which has a very classic “Brittle Stars” type sound going on. Of course we picked up some copies for the Shelflife shop, so order one below.

The Fauns
The Fauns
BUY NOW – $17

www.myspace.com/thefauns
Deep Space Recordings

More info here: www.myspace.com/asaar

Fastcut Records in Japan have come to our rescue and reissued The Suede Crocodiles “Stop The Rain” 7″. For those who aren’t already fans of this obscure Glasgow band, you can catch up here on the NoStrings site. The original 7″ was released in 1983 and to say it’s rare is an understatement. The single typically sells in that $150-200 range when it does come up on eBay (I know I never could afford to thrown down for a copy) and it’s evaded me in my many, many record store hunts over the years.

The reissue is really high quality. The artwork is from what I can tell exactly the same as the original down to the NoStrings logo label artwork (with the addition of the Fastcut logo and cat number of course – see below).

I was lucky to get my hands on some copies for the Shelflife shop as the singles almost sold out on preorder in Japan way before it was even released. I do apologize for the $15 price tag here, but they’re quite expensive wholesale — I guess a good deal of licensing costs involved. If you’re like me, it’s well worth it to own a copy on 7″ vinyl, even if we all already have the comp LP on Accident. I only have a handful of these, so grab it before this version is also a rarity.

$15 – Order a copy here!

Listen to The Suede Crocodiles – Stop The Rain
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/stoptherain.mp3]

www.fastcut.jp
www.nostringsrecords.com

I must say I’m super impressed with the Tim and Sam “Life Stream” deluxe edition. It features a wooden box (apparently handmade) that has a painted feather on it done up by the band and includes both the CD and LP versions of the album, a t-shirt, a Tim and Sam teabag, a poster, and a personal letter from the band. Makes me want to do more DIY type stuff with Shelflife. Now I just need to find a place to keep it as it doesn’t fit on our record shelves.

Sadly it looks like this version (not sure how many there were) is now sold out. You can still order the LP, CD and/or t-shirt here!

www.myspace.com/timandsamstimandthesambandwithtimandsam

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
[dewplayer: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