Allo Allo Allo (Darlin')

The fabulous Allo, Darlin' have a new single out. Henry Rollins Don't Dance (if the title alone isn't enough to make you want to buy the single then there's really not a lot I can do for you) is backed with Dear Stephen Hawking and Heartbeat Chilli. Elizabeth sounds spookily like Frente's Angie Hart on the latter, by the way. Here, have a listen and see if I'm not right!

And while you're over there, you may as well buy the tracks in mp3 form. Be rude not to really. Alternatively, you can buy the single on good old 7" vinyl from the Weepop shop. Now there's lovely.

Whisper to ice cream

Some facts about Let's Whisper: They are: multi-instrumentalist and singer Dana Kaplan, slightly fewer instruments and vocals Colin Clary, bassist Steve Williams and drummer Jason Routhier. Colin and Dana are also in a band called The Smittens. They live in Burlington, Vermont. In the United States. Their pop is of the twee - and Wee - variety; they currently have a six-track CD, the Make Me Smile EP, out on WeePOP! records. I like it very much, and I think you will too. Here're a couple of my favourite tracks.

Let's Whisper - Dylan's Song mp3 (for 7 days)

Let's Whisper - When You Were Eating Ice Cream mp3 (for 7 days)

Make Me Smile is available in a strictly limited edition release of 160 copies, so if you want one you'll have to nip over to the WeePOP! shop and get your order in a bit sharpish!

Gringo Stars

Derbyshire five-piece Mexican Kids At Home currently have a rather splendid 4-track EP, When We All Live In Igloos, out on WeePOP! records, and it's full to bursting with folky pop goodness. Some always-welcome boy-girl vocals, too. A couple of things do bother me, however:

1) I'm beginning to suspect that, what with them being from the East Midlands and all, they may not be Mexican at all. A suspicion that's further strengthened by:

2) Not only do they (with the title of their EP) prophesize that we'll all end up living in dome-shaped structures fashioned from blocks of snow, on their MySpace page they actually claim to live in igloos already! Surely this just isn't feasible in a place like Derbyshire; or Mexico, for that matter. No, something's not quite right here. Readers, I think that - gasp! - Mexican Kids At Home have been lying to us.

I know, I'm as sickened by the whole shoddy affair as the rest of you. How do they sleep at night?! Really, the sooner they 'fess up and change their name to something more realistic like English Kids Possibly At Home But Definitely Not In An Igloo, the better I'll like it.

Mexican Kids At Home - A Tiny Bronco mp3 (for 7 days)

Buy we We All Live In Igloos* at the WeePOP! shop.

*it's a limited release of 160 copies, so you'll have to put your order in a bit sharpish to get one.

Check this out, Darlings!

My favourite release of 2008 so far just has to be the Photo EP by The Darlings (on WeePOP! records). Now, normally I'd bang on about the virtues of said EP at some length here, but fortunately (for you and for me) Knut over at the excellent Eardrums Music has already written an informative and entertaining review of it, which you can read here.

Eardrums also have a track from the Photo EP, Emily, available for free download - which is handy as the EP itself has now sold out!

Now apparently it's Valentine's Day today (something I genuinely hadn't even realised until reading it on another blog a few minutes ago), so, as a sop to the soppy, here are a couple of classic lurve songs!

10,000 Maniacs - I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You mp3

Pale Saints - Kinky Love mp3

(mp3s available for 7 days)

Buy 10,000 Maniacs and Pale Saints stuff here.

Buy WeePOP! releases here.

"I don't know about things that have happened before"

Melbourne-based The Motifs are currently Alexis (the band originator), Neil, Chris and May and they're lovely! They produce wonderful dollops of delicate melody, sugar-coated harmonies, and sheer joy and turn them into beautiful and diddy songs. The longest track on the EP I'm about to talk about is a whopping two minutes and twenty one seconds! Coincidentally it's also my favourite.

WeePOP! - that bastion of good taste - has recently released The Motifs' six song EP entitled Matches, which was mostly recorded in Japan. I believe it's The Motifs' third release (the others were Dots on Music Is My Girlfriend and Away on Lost In Found Records) and on this form I sincerely hope they'll have many more! Below you can download a song from Matches. If I were you, I'd get over to WeePOP! sharpish as they've only got a few copies left!

The Motifs - Tell Me More mp3 (right click and save as)

Hear more at The Motifs' myspace page and buy The Motifs' Dots in download form from Klicktrack and Away from Lost In Found.

As a bonus here's another song:

The Motifs - Diagonal mp3 (right click and save as)

I love The Motifs - they're ace!

"And they love call and response"

Andy from Pocketbooks has a solo side project, Sunny Intervals, and has recently released his debut EP on WeePOP! Records. The Call And Response EP is just the kind of lovely lo-fi pop you'd be expecting if you've ever heard Pocketbooks. And since the weather has turned a bit grim and miserable, it was a real pick-me-up when this cheery gem in its beautifully hand-made cardboard sleeve, complete with mini insert, landed in my frozen hands. From the second that Let The City Run Away With Us chimes in, it's like a whirlwind romance! You can't help but be swept along with the stories of London nights out, train trips and things. The delicate bedroom keyboard sound is beefed up a bit with guitar backing and piano parts that make this EP really something special.

Sunny Intervals - Sixty Seconds To Fall In Love mp3 (right click and save as)

This project is so lo-fi that the Sunny Intervals website is on Geocities - imagine that! Seriously, there's plenty more tracks to listen to there, but if I were you, I'd head straight over to WeePOP! and get yourself a copy of the limited release Sunny Intervals EP.

You can see Sunny Intervals live on the 18th November at The Enterprise in London. It's a Pop, Look and Listen gig with Misty Roses and previously blogged about Hong Kong In The 60s (who incidentally have just put two new tracks up to stream on their myspace page. Also putting new tracks up on myspace are TMAP favourites Hari and Aino).

"Who took the fun and left a mental?"

Roadside Poppies started as a one man project (that man being Matloob Qureshi) and expanded into a whole band from Cambridge. A gentle, humourous, lovesong-writing tweepop band.
They have recently released the Cycling and Crying EP on WeePOP! Records and, very generously, they allow you to download 'Just Another Lovesong' from it for free. But you know you want to buy the EP as well, don't you?

Roadside Poppies - Just Another Lovesong mp3 (right click and save as)

On the Roadside Poppies website there is a whole album's-worth of (sing-a-long-able) songs to download as well. My personal favourites are 'A Cheap Laugh', 'The Evil Vegan' and the song below, 'A Gentleman Alone'. Enjoy!

Roadside Poppies - a Gentleman Alone mp3 (right click and save as)

Roadside Poppies website