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
[dewplayer: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
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/cr.mp3]

www.myspace.com/champagneriot

Here’s a new video for The Consultants “Snow Fell (It’s Night)”. The song is off their 2005 debut on Shelflife called “Work From Home.” Order a copy here!

www.myspace.com/theconsultantsband

I just noticed that the Shelflife blog is a year old today! Wow, time sure flies when you’re not posting regularly (ha!)… Anyway, I hope everyone has enjoyed our posts over the last year. It’s been so much fun sharing the music we love.

So let’s start “year two” with a preview of a song that Laura and I have been working on called “Let’s Go”. It’s another exclusive track that will appear on her “Songs From Dreams” release, which is very close to being completed (another month I’d say). Laura wants you to know the mix is still “rough” and not mastered, but to me, the song is so darn good none of that matters. Enjoy it and here’s to another year!

Listen to Laura Watling “Let’s Go” (rough mix):
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/letsgo.mp3]

Today we’re pleased to announce the official North American release of “It Hertz!,” the debut album from Brighton’s synthpop heroes Katsen. From the moment I heard “Chequered Flag” and “Where Nobody Can Find Us,” I was instantly in love. Katsen’s sound reminds me at times of a casio-driven version of Section 25’s “From The Hip” or the upbeat moments of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s “Architecture & Morality” re-recorded by Altered Images. And unlike many modern synthpop groups today, they don’t hide behind their electronics. They simply know how to write really fantastic pop songs and it shows on “It Hertz!”

The UK version of the album was released to rave reviews last month by Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation. Our version has a slightly different track order and instead of The Pixies cover “Cactus”, we have their version of Black Box Recorder’s “Start As You Mean To Go On.” It’s pressed in a 6 panel digipack with amazing (and mind-blowing) cat collage artwork done by singer Donna Grimaldi (and modeled alongside our own cat, Xabi, below. He’s a Katsen fan!).

Listen to “Where Nobody Can Find Us”:
[dewplayer:http://www.shelflife.com/mp3-bin/katsen.mp3]

Watch some videos:

$10.00 + shipping

Tracklisting:
1. Let’s Build A City
2. Chequered Flag
3. Start As You Mean To Go On
4. Island In An Island
5. What You Want
6. Drax
7. German Film Star
8. It Hertz!
9. Constellation
10. Where Nobody Can Find Us
11. I’m A Doctor
12. Florian

www.myspace.com/katsenbeeps