To order, click the white checkbox[es] to the left of the "Artist" field, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the box marked "add checked item".

The first single, "Inside," appeared on TV Personality Mark Flunder's Frank label in late 1986 and was an instant success. BBC recording sessions for John Peel and fanzine/music weekly adulation quickly followed. A second single for Frank, "Balloon Song," further consolidated their following. The band toured England and Europe and the press was ecstatic. The late '80s revival of classic guitar-based pop was kind to the 'Bears, and Sekula's talent at penning catchy, twisted melodies earned them a coveted spot as one of the best of the lot. A third single sealed the deal, the raucous "Come Get Me" on the then-new label Sarah.

The band went on to release their self-titled debut album in 1988 - a masterpiece of psychedelic pop that turned a lot of heads with its ambition and skilled songcraft. A raft of singles and a second album in 1991 followed, and the band quietly disbanded in 1992.

In The Beginning compiles those classic first three singles in their entirety, along with eight never-before-released BBC session cuts and four demos/live tracks. This is the complete story of the band's most seminal, influential recordings. Upbeat, punky songs like "Inside" and "Balloon Song" are tempered by dreamy ballads like "Cut" and the folky "Like A Dolphin." Every tune is a perfect little gem, combining memorable melodies with punchy guitar noise and infectious enthusiasm. These songs have had an undeniable influence on indie pop in the years since, and 14 Iced Bears stand tall with contemporaries like The Pastels and The June Brides as cornerstones of the indie scene.

• Essential compilation from influential and sorely missed UK indie pop champions
  
• Collects impossible-to-find seven-inches from the Sarah and Frank labels
  
• Fans of the Pastels, the June Brides and the Creation and Sarah labels will need this

  30-second RealAudio excerpts:

  Inside
  Blue Suit
  Cut
  Balloon Song
  Train Song
  Like a Dolphin
  Lie to Choose
  Come Get Me
  Sure to See
  Unhappy Days
  Balloon Song
  Shy (-) Like You
  Train Song
  Cut
  Miles Away
  Spangle
  Hay Fever
  If I Said
  Jumped in a Puddle
  Gave You My Coat
  Ring the Far Bell
  I Don't Know Why

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

Like their previous records, I Lie Awake is produced to crash-boom-bang perfection by Tim Barnes (Rogers Sisters, Sonic Youth). A blazing chaos of jangle, clatter, and thump - busted strings and broken hearts. Hummable tunes to scratch that TVPs/Pastels/Comet Gain itch, with more than a dash of 14 Iced Bears and Desperate Bicycles in there too. Three doses of pure DIY pop pleasure, straight from the garage to your ears, feet and heart.

caUSE co-MOTION! have been playing at gigs and parties around NYC and across the country since 2002, sharing stages with folks like Love Is All, Tyvek and Vivian Girls while developing their unique sound and a rabid, enthusiastic group of fans. I Lie Awake might be their most concentrated blast yet, and is an ideal taster for the compilation CD featuring all of the bands singles, due out on Slumberland later this fall.

From the mod-ish pogo of "Quality (Not Quantity)" to the angular "The Earnest Young Man Song" to the full-on near-hardcore of "Crabapples For Change" this great EP rushes along in a breathless blur, fuelled by lager, explosive tunes and a love of great pop. The band included members of The Frenchmen and Black Tambourine, and this single is sure to please all fans of scrappy punk-ish pop. All copies pressed on colored vinyl in a hand-stamped sleeve.

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

As great as Grown-Ups is, Life Is Sweet, The Lodger's brand new full-length, ups the ante even further. More textural and varied thanits predecessor, Life Is Sweet is still filled with gorgeous melodies and catchy tunes, but is also deeper and more thoughtful, full of emotional peaks and valleys. Rather than just chip in with an album of "more of the same," the band has paid extra attention to the arrangements, with 12-string and acoustic guitars, lap steel, and violin adding crucial detail and depth to the tunes.

And what about the songs? These are easily the strongest batch of Lodger tunes yet. Opener "My Finest Hour" is an upbeat charmer that reminds one of The Pale Fountains, setting a wistful tone for the rest of the album. First single "The Good Old Days" is pure Sound of Young Scotland energy; with its scratchy riff, driving drums, sing-along chorus, and bouncing bass, it's bound to fill dancefloors for years to come. "Honey" is a beautiful country-tinged lament, and "A Year Since Last Summer" is pure guitar-pop pleasure, a two-minute tribute to the genius of The Housemartins.

And so it goes-- superb tune after superb tune, each one distinct from the others but together building Life Is Sweet into an assured example of the pop songwriter's and band's craft. It's a true classic-- a brilliantly written, produced, and sequenced album that reveals new facets and produces new favorites with each listen.

"Full of glittering gems, Grown-Ups is proof that the best things come in small packages. You won't hear a better album this year, we promise you that." --This Is Fake DIY

"Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2007" --Amazon.com

30-second MP3 excerpts:

My Finest Hour
The Good Old Days
Falling Down
Honey
The Conversation
A Hero's Welcome
A Year Since Last Summer
An Unwelcome Guest
Running Low
Nothing Left (To Say)
Famous Last Words

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

Go to iTunes to browse downloads for Lodger "Life is Sweet"

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music Service and emusic, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

A 2005 BBC session for Rob Da Bank's ONEmusic show was quickly followed by a fourth 7 track ep, "The June Bride," featuring guest appearances from Phil Wilson (The June Brides) and Alan Brown (Big Flame, Great Leap Forward, A Witness). Production work was once again handled with aplomb by Ant Chapman, noted for work with Bis, Spearmint and The Klaxxons.

In late 2006 all four EPs were collected onto a single album entitled The Completist's Library (Wrath Records, UK / HHBTM, USA) and the good reviews and radio play kept coming. And for good reason-- Sarandon offer a perfect picture of how to make relevant post-punk in the 21st century. Short, sharp tunes are pared down to their most essential elements-- a riff, a melody, a smart lyric. Never overstaying their welcome, Sarandon dispense with the unnecessary to focus on communication, bringing to mind the concision of groups like Wire, Big Flame, The Wolfhounds and Josef K. Yes, it's pop, but a biting and restless brand that recalls the diverse musical re-imaginings that were a signal feature of the first wave of post-punk DIY experimentalists.

Now its 2007. The group now consists of Crayola, Stephen Gilchrist (Graham Coxon, Charlotte Hatherley, The Fuses) on drums and Alan Brown on bass. This new ep, "Joe's Record" is a tribute to ex bass player Joe and features a guest appearance on Hammond Organ from Scritti Politti's Rhodri Marsden. It is Sarandon's first release on Slumberland. Could this label be Sarandon's natural home? The band certainly think so, and we do too.

What's been said:

"Britain's finest scratchy, abrasive indie-pop trio (circa C86, and not the Bob Stanley/Alan McGee twee/jangly/crap side of that comp either): formed in late 2003, listen to Wolfhounds, Bogshed, June Brides, Josef K, Big Flame, Shrubs, A Witness... "and they sound like none of the above," boasts the press release. Ridiculous! They sound exactly like all the above, and that's why I fucking love them so." - Everett True, Plan B

"More songs than any individual band deserves, Sarandon seem to chuck 'em out for fun." - Maps

"These boys are up there with the best. Top brit indie perfection." - Norman Records

"Sarandon aren't interested in the crap that surrounds a good song, but the key ingredients behind it. That's why each one of these songs is an irresistible blast of jangling, clattering post-punk. No waiting around for the chorus here. Thee whole song is a chorus." - Sandman

"If you prefer your rock & roll with a high IQ - then Sarandon may just be the eclectic combo for you." - Trakmarx

"An undeniable low-key genius." - The Wire

"Sarandon make Arctic Monkeys and Bromheads Jacket and their like sound positively radio fodder." - Artrocker

"Sarandon are awesome, like Big Flame fronted by Billy Childish." - Go Magazine

"The ultimate listen for those with drastically small attention spans, catchy as the flu, incredibly listenable and very, very short." - The Fly

"Pretty much essential." - Unpopular

Some points of comparison include Big Flame, The Minutemen, Bogshed, Fire Engines, and The Fall, and though Sarandon share musical DNA with those groups, they've forged their own path and unique sound. Crayola marries naggingly catchy tunes to corruscating blasts of guitar mayhem, combining the punchy, driving tunes with surprisingly memorable melodies and smart lyrics. It's pop, but possibly the angriest and most aggressive pop ever heard.

Kill Twee Pop! is the first fruit of a line-up consisting of Crayola, Tom Greenhalgh on drums, and ex-Big Flame/Great Leap Forward legend Alan Brown on bass. Brown and Greenhalgh are an incredibly tight and powerful rhythm section, providing Crayola with such a sure foundation that he's now letting the songs stretch out a bit-- one tune even breaking the three-minute barrier-- which is fitting as this is the first proper Sarandon album, and it shows them at their itchy, spiky, angular, aggressive, enthusiastic best.

From the chugging "Welcome" to the blues-by-way-of-The Birthday Party "The Completist's Library" to the insanely catchy "Mike's Dollar" and the croon-tastic "The Discotheque Is My Lover," this album is packed with great tunes, recalling the best of '80s post-punk and bringing it bang up-to-date with passion, humor and wit. Kill Twee Pop! is a call-to-arms for those tired of paint-by-the-numbers indie, a ration of passion in these cynical times, an antidote to your massive haircut, a soundtrack for your next dance party, an updated cubist pop manifesto.

"... an undeniable low-key genius." --The Wire

"These boys are up there with the best. Top brit indie perfection." --Norman Records

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Kill Twee Pop!
Welcome
Lippy
Remember Mavis?
The Completist's Library
Joe's Record
Very Flexible
Good Working Practice
Mike's Dollar
The Discotheque Is My Lover
Mark
Massive Haircut

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

Go to iTunes to browse downloads for Sarandon "Kill Twee Pop!"

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music Service and emusic, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

Featuring an impeccable pedigree with members of Velocity Girl, The Ropers, Tree Fort Angst and The Castaway Stones, the 'People effortlessly combine '60s folk-pop and soft-rock with power-pop and '80s jangle. Fan of such groups as Biff Bang Pow, Orange Juice, The Grass Roots and The Weather Prophets should feel right at home with the 'People's sweet sounds. The guitars clang and strum, Dan Searing's drums pop along and the stellar tunes put you in orbit. The song-writing is a particular high-point, fuelled by the complementary styles of frontmen Greg Pavlovcak and Terry Banks. The arrangements are full and effective, supplementing the standard band line-up with added percussion and piano. Bassist Archie Moore's production talents are in full evidence - this record sounds magnificent.

The Saturday People have developed a solid following over the last few years, releasing two great seven-inches and gigging up and down the East Coast with groups like The Clientele, Ladybug Transistor, and Aden and the Lucksmiths. The recent release of a split seven-inch with The Clientele has locked the 'People firmly within the hearts of the record-buying pop public.

• Classic tunes, great playing and infectious enthusiasm--The Saturday People have it all in spades
  
• Features members of Slumberland plushies Velocity Girl and The Ropers
  
• The Slumberland Commitment™ is your assurance of quality

  30-second RealAudio excerpts:

  No Matter Where You Are
  Find Out
  Upside-Down Girl
  Grace (Kinky On Your Leg Mix)
  Working for the Weekend
  That Settles That
  Slipping Through Your Fingertips
  The Man Without Qualities, Part II
  California Girls
  Sound of Yesterday
  Lullabye in the Rain
  Twilight Story
  The Man Without Qualities, Part I
  The Castle
  Ghost of a Chance

  If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

  

  For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

Ranging from the baroque '60s pop of opener "Catherine Says" to the up-tempo C86-flavored indie-pop of "Languor In The Balcony" to the '79-style punk of "The Train #2" and the late-night loneliness of "Unfinished Paintings," How I Learned To Write Backwards expertly winds together so many strands of pop history with such personality, atmosphere and style that there's never any doubt that you're listening to a band with vision. Far from being a "name the reference" game, The Aislers use the past as inspiration rather than a blueprint, so the echoes you might hear of, say, Phil Spector's wall of sound or Laura Nyro's soulful lyricism are so well integrated that they're more akin to the spice in the stew rather than the stock of the soup.

The undisputed greatness of The Aislers Set has won them a rabid following, and they count as fans and tour-mates such diverse groups as Belle & Sebastian, Black Dice, The Gossip and Sleater-Kinney. Excellent press has come from all corners of media-land, from The Village Voice and Spin to Chickfactor and Big Takeover. They were very well received on their UK and Swedish tours last spring, and their session for the BBC's John Peel has been aired several times due to popular demand. Where The Last Match succeeded on all levels, How I Learned To Write Backwards is even stronger and looks set to reach even more people, more ears, more places.

• CD released by Suicide Squeeze - doh!
  
• Seductive melding of vintage US / UK indie sounds with Spectoresque production
  
• A favorite band of many who should know

  If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

  

  For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

The Last Match is even more ambitious in conception, upping the ante even farther into more orchestral areas. While the songs are still driving and catchy as a fish hook, the arrangements are far more sophisticated, with instrumentation augmented by a full-time organ player and various horns, giving the tunes the timeless feel of classic groups like the early Bee Gees, the Zombies and The Millenium.

This brilliant exercise in pop science easily skirts the retro-copyism of many '60s disciples through its sheer songwriting power and the originality of the ideas. Tracks like "The Last Match" and "Bang Bang Bang" are bold new benchmarks, their influences being completely subsumed into Amy's distinctive vision. The band's other songwriter, Wyatt, also does himself proud with his contributions, especially the plaintive "Lonely Side of Town."

Still preferring to record in the garage where they are allowed unlimited time for experimentation, the band has had no problem crafting an amazing sounding album that could have sprung fully-formed from the hallowed studios of Gold Star. This is no murky lo-fi production, but a fully rounded and rich-sounding recording with a warm, analog sound. Between the peerless songs, the clever arranging and the ingenius production, The Last Match is a golden moment for fans of pop, and should cement the band's reputation as a key pop band.

• Bold, confident synthesis of mod, pop, punk, indie and oldie

• Puncture and Chickfactor have already committed to feature articles on the band-- what are you waiting for?

  Download a free MP3 :

  The Last Match

  Streaming MP3 (high-bandwidth connections only):

  The Last Match

  30-second RealAudio excerpts:

  The Way to Market Station
  Hit the Snow
  Chicago New York
  One Half Laughing
  Been Hiding
  Balloon Song
  Lonely Side of Town
  Last Match
  Christmas Song
  The Walk
  The Red Door
  Fairnt Chairnt
  We Give Up
  Bang Bang Bang

  If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the iTunes button immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to the iTunes Music Service page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

  

  For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

Upbeat A-side "Happy Matt" will have you frugging in no time, throwing more shapes on the dancefloor than the Ace Face himself. On the flip, "I Was A Boy" Matt sings oh-so-sweetly while Stew pummels his drum kit into submission; midway through the song bursts into a complete feedback frenzy, going all red with purple flashes. Two ace tunes to end your summer, all wrapped up in colored vinyl and a hand-screened transparent sleeve.

First in a series of split singles. The Company is Roy Moller (noted Glasgow popster), Gary Thom and Stevie Jackson (Belle 7 Sebastian). "Join The Dots" foot-stomping, hand-clapping glam pop of the highest order.

The Hermit Crabs are a folk-pop band from Glasgow with a string of popular releases on Matinee.

Both songs are exclusive. Full color sleeve, color vinyl, etc.

Bye! is Archie Moore from Velocity Girl and Saturday People, his contribution is a great slice of Spectorian power pop. The Happy Couple were a German group who released a handful of exceptional singles. their contribution is an elegant piece of St Etienne-meets-Northern Picture Library electronic pop.

Both songs are exclusive. Full color sleeve, color vinyl, etc

"Sometimes I Think About You" is a striking re-think of a classic tune from Scots pop legends The Pastels, and points to a very interesting 2008 for A Sunny Day In Glasgow.

The Sunny Street is a pop duo based in London, but comprised of two quite talented French folks: Remi and Delphine, both of whom are also in Electrophoenvintage. Taking their musical cues from such touchstones as New Order, Felt, Brighter and Trembling Blue Stars, they started The Sunny Street in 2006 after moving to London. Their sound is captivating and melancholic, capturing the fragile and haunting feelings that go along with love and life.

Their 2007 album They Hurt You Everyday on Sweden's Lavender label is a real treat, a gentle swoon of acoustic guitars and the most hushed of vocals, wrapped around tunes that really stick in the head. It's one of our favorites from last year and we hope only the beginning for this pair.

"Pottery & Glass" is previously unreleased and an excellent introduction to the sublime charms of The Sunny Street.

Over the course of a self-released EP, a limited 3" cd single and one-half of a split 7", The Pains have demonstrated an absolute mastery of noise/jangle pop, their songs being a perfect distillation of classic pop melody and thrilling, rushing guitar noise that has taste-making blogs like Stereogum, Skatterbrain and Drowned In Sound tripping over themselves in search of superlatives. Now joined by drummer Kurt, The Pains proudly bring you "Come Saturday," a new tune exclusive to this single and sure to become the sound track of your summer. Keep an eye out for their album later in 2008 on Slumberland.

Summer Cats are a five piece pop band from Melbourne, Australia. Like most people from Melbourne, they spend their time either: a) enjoying summer or b) waiting for summer to arrive. Musically they are something of a cross between Stereolab and the Go-Betweens, blending driving motorik pop with catchy songcraft.

They've released a series of singles and EPs that have caused quite a buzz in the international pop underground, and with positive reviews appearing in places like Pitchfork and Popmatters and more singles coming soon it's clear that Summer Cats are going to have a big summer.

"Let's Go!" is exclusive to this single and it's giddy, distorted rush is downright infectious, the song blazing by at 100mph leaving you breathless from shouting along and jumping around the living room. Pure pop power!

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