Wednesday 31 March 2010

Baby Honey #004: with Chocolate Barry and Mr Wright!


BABY HONEY #004: Friday 9th April 2010: The Buffalo Bar: London

él Records are one of our all-time favourite labels here at Baby Honey towers, giving the world the likes of Momus, The King Of Luxembourg and Would-be-Goods. So it is our great pleasure to announce that this month's Baby Honey will be an él/Cherry Red special to celebrate the forthcoming Blueboy reissues. With giveaways and guest DJ Dominic (the Cherry Red man responsible for putting together those Blueboy reissues) we'll give you a sophisticated night with lots and lots of tunes from él & cherry red and our special blend of the finest, happiest indiepop, post-punk and soul. In addition, we will be hosting él legends and a band much inspired by the él aesthetic. Baby Honey #004 looks to be an unmissable event.

BANDS:
CHOCOLATE BARRY:
Chocolate Barry are without doubt one of the great 'lost' bands. Formed in Malmo they recorded one of the greatest indiepop singles of the nineties (the peerless 'I Cry Because Of You Argentina') and promptly fell off the radar. Now back and heavily inspired by él-affiliated legends The Monochrome Set, we are hugely proud to host their first ever British gig.

MR. WRIGHT:
Mr.Wright, who under the name Always released Thames Valley Leather Club on él and then continued with releases under his own name. The Metropolitan album on Siesta is a classic and the latest record Diary Of A Fool has the amazing Band Apart track.

DJs:
Dominic (él/Cherry Red)
Daniel Novakovic (So Tough! So Cute!)
Anastasia Cohen (Baby Honey)
Rory Mackie (Baby Honey)

Friday 9th April 2010
The Buffalo Bar, 259 Upper St, London N1 1RU. 020 7359 6191
9pm - 4am. £6/5 (flyer/concs) £3 after bands have finished.




Girls Names 12" EP.

Girls Names: Don't Let Me In (Captured Tracks 12" EP)

Judging by past releases Girls Names are huge fans of Beat Happening, but here they also crib a little bit of Crystal Stilts reverb-and-jangle, to fine affect. Title track 'Don't Let Me In' breezes by in a woozy kind of a way, sounding not unlike a more relaxed Veronica Falls, but 'Graveyard' is the real stand-out here; with Cathal T Cully's Calvin Johnson-esque vocals wrapped around a chiming, Flying Nun riff (as seems to be all the rage at Captured Tracks these days) and lots of nice, atmospheric echo. Somehow both epic and restrained, this comes highly recommended. And they're from Belfast, not Brooklyn! And the cover is dead nice! What more do you want?

Hear 'Don't Let Me In' on their myspace, or 'Graveyard' here.

Order the 12" here.










Monday 29 March 2010

Tiger Tape


Admittedly, upon initially hearing rumours of the suicide-slash-rebirth of Moofish Catfish as Tiger Tape, I was a bit skeptical in this new direction the girls wanted to take up. What would happen if their preciously unique sound got lost in transition?

Well, what happened was this: Agnes, Emilia, Kristina, and Wågis jumped into a car and drove five hours into Swedish woods to record a brilliantly ace new album: I Woke Up in Hökarängen.

The sound is more mature and confident - still the lyrics remain slightly naïve and gender-confused, yet a bit less awkward. The guitars are slightly heavier and the keyboards more melodic. Agnes' voice is not as shouty, yet remains raw and cherished. Emotionally, it's like being able to ride your favourite rollercoaster over and over on a rainy empty day at a theme park. Addictive.

Is this what waking up in Hökarängen feels like?



Okay, so there are some criticisms to the phrase Tiger Tape contributing to confusion of Tender Tiger Trap (not to mention being a difficult Google search!), but come on - at least the name remains feline based and the aforementioned references are great anyway. Another pro: now I can selfishly cherish my Moofish Catfish tote bag as a collector's item!

The album is out on April 16th, celebrated with a party in Stockholm by Cosy Recordings. A tour of Germany and a summer of festivals to follow!

Thus, Tiger Tape is more of an evolution rather than a start from scratch. A step forward, indeed!

Oh, and speaking of which, here's a little Easter present.

Monday 15 March 2010

Photos from Baby Honey #003

A few instant photos from last Friday, head over to flickr for more and add us if you haven't already!

Daniel + Rory

Betty and the Werewolves

Cats On Fire + Twig

More coming up as they get processed, so check back regularly.


Saturday 13 March 2010

Cats On Fire videos from last night!

Thanks to everyone who came out last night, enjoyed the bands, nibbled on cookies and twiglets, and spilt a few drinks on the dancefloor!

We had soo much fun: Betties did a fantastic fringe-shaking set, dreamy performance from Twig included a brand new Saxophone player and Ville of Cats on the drums, and of course the mighty Cats on Fire stole many indiepop hearts and graced us with a double encore!

The highlight of my evening was dancing with Ian HDIF to Cats' cover of White Town's 'Your Woman' and after having a dance with Mattias to the original version!

Tallest Baby Honey Daniel filmed two ace videos of Cats' set:





And if that wasn't enough, Cats on Fire will be releasing a compilation Dealing In Antiques which will include songs from their old demos, plus two new ones: The Hague (available as a digital download) and their version of Your Woman. Out 12th of May on Johanna Kustannus

Friday 12 March 2010

Baby Honey #3 tonight! Cats On Fire Download!


Hi everyone. The advance tickets have just sold out but there will be tickets at the door so come on down when we open (9 pm) if you want to catch the bands. If you just fancy a drink and a dance then we'll be playing the very best in Indiepop, Post-Punk, Northern Soul and Girl Groups 'til 4am, and if you come down after the bands (midnight), you'll be able to get in without problems and will only have to pay a measly £3!

STAGE TIMES:
9.45 Betty & The Werewolves
10.30 Twig
11.15 Cats On Fire
12 and onwards, indiepop dancing!

And if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, those lovely Cats On Fire boys have kindly agreed to share an mp3 (the brilliant 'Horoscope') with us all, as a wee taster for this evening!

Thursday 11 March 2010

Sourpatch mini-interview and download!



Hello Sourpatch, discovering your band helped make 2009 a great year for me, and your wonderful hit single 'I Want You Either Way' made my Top 20 Songs list. What were your favourite songs, LPs, new bands, popshows of 2009?

Rich: My favourites of 2009 were Leaving Mornington Crescent, new Magrudergrind LP, Roskopp, Superbad (R.I.P), Fleabag, new Pants Yell LP, Grass Widow records.

Nicole: New Julie Doiron, the new Rose Melberg.

Christine: Raincoats reissue, Mirah, Brilliant Colors, Screaming Females, Songs for Moms.

Mander: Pains of Being Pure at Heart LPs.

And what does 2010 hold for the band? Any new records? World tour? We'd love to see you come to the UK and there's a Baby Honey gig waiting for you if you want it!

Mander: Robo tripping.

Nicole: More videos, new recordings, and spring tour with Fleabag!

Rich:
We have enough to make another LP so hopefully something/anything new on vinyl and we'd love to go to England, but probably not till next year, can anyone help?

Your sound reminds me of some of my favourite bands ever;
Velocity Girl, Spinanes, Tiger Trap and Go Sailor! particularly. Were these important groups for you? Any more influences we should know about?

Rich: Wow! Ummmm...yea, they are important, we have so many influences it would take a whole storybook to name 'em all, but here are some more...

Nicole: Mazzy Star, The Cranberries, Gayle Garnett, Victory at Sea, Pam Berry.

Mander: Billie Holiday, Henry's Dress, Crass, Cub.

Christine: Kate Bush, Boyracer, The Raincoats, Aisler Set, Odetta, Bessie Smith, Patti Smith, Chrissy Hynde, Amelia Fletcher, Janet Weiss.

Rich: Superchunk, Undertones, anything Tracy Thorn, Allison Statton, The Wipers, The Lemonheads, Mary Lou Lord, That Dog, KIT, Dear Nora, this list could go on a lot longer!

Crushin' is a nigh-on perfect debut LP, any plans to release it in the UK? The shipping costs are crazy!

Mander: That would be awesome!!

Rich: If anyone offered we'd probably do that..hint hint!

The video for 'IWYEW' is ace and makes me want to pack a bag and head for California every time I watch it. What's the 'scene' like in San Jose? Is it a big Indiepop town? Any other local bands you'd like to recommend?

Rich: I honestly think we don't know or fit in to a lot of the local indiepop scene. I would like to play with a lot more pop bands but we tend to stick to a more punk/d.i.y side of the bay area. No dis, it's just that we aren't very clean cut in looks or sound.

Christine: The indie pop scene as it's defined here is more radio friendly. and when I say that I mean that the sound is more like the newest Built to Spill or Modest Mouse or new Stereolab; bands that are well known but still have roots and connections in the indie scene. The sound that we like to play is more punk than it is pop, or at least we'd like to think so.

Rich: The bay area scene is very hit or miss, we usually have more fun at small house shows than at legitimate venues so we try to play those more. Some great bands to check out; Opt Out, Fischer, Trouble, Trainwreck Riders, Ovens, Young Offenders.

Mander: Fleabag, Godstomper, Songs for Moms.

Nicole: Ugly Winner.

Christine: Grass Widow, Brilliant Colors, Albert Square, Forever ( who live in Portland now), Younger Lovers.

Not many people actually read our blog at the moment, so we're trying to bribe people to come visit by giving them free stuff. Do you have anything knocking around on mp3 we could shove in their direction if we make them promise to buy the LP?

Rich: Umm, well the only thing we have is this acoustic version of a song that nicole had recorded to show us all.

Christine: We recorded it with all of us but it got cut on the record, maybe it'll be on a comp in the future!?

Sourpatch: Party Of Five (Download)

Your Myspace status reads: "Fuckin' Pan! Fuckin' Cakes!" and, as it's recently been Pancake Day in the UK, this would seem like the ideal time to share Sourpatch's perfect pancake recipe with our readers.

Rich: You have a pancake day? Do your pancakes mean the same as ours?

Mandi: Go bananas for pancakes!

Christine: It's actually national pancake day here in the US on Feb 23rd, but I'm a waffle person myself.

Tell us a secret.

Rich: If Nicole drinks and smokes weed at the same time she freezes up like a vegetable and is scared of everything! It's pretty ridiculous.

Mandi: Plus she has four nipples. No joke.

Do you have any tattoos?

Rich: Yea, that's a weird one; I have two roses, two x's, a wooly mammoth/reaper sleeve on my left arm, a noise symbol on the other arm (I also play in a grind band - like Napalm Death), the words "empty head" above both of my wrists and a local vegetarian restaurant's logo on my other wrist (I got it on a tour as a joke - the joke is on me.)

Nicole: Red wagon, ice cream cone, k records logo, Rose Melberg tour poster logo (the one with the jumping boy.)

Christine: A replica of a tattoo my dad gave himself when he was 12, it's a rising sun but people think its a taco, a tarot card image meaning strength, the same Rose Melberg tatoo as Nicole (it was meant to be a friendship tattoo but she got hers 6 months later), and the words "though the return be never" on my forearm. It's from the Langston Hughes poem "No Regrets."

Mandi: A king on a bike on my thigh, I have 2 "W"'s tattooed on each butt cheek so when I do cartwheels it says "WOW MOM!" Hahaha!

Rich: Hahaha!

Christine: Hahaha!

Nicole: DUMB!

Wednesday 10 March 2010

New singles round-up.













Wild Nothing: Cloudbursting (Captured Tracks 7")

Here at Baby Honey Towers we hold up Kate Bush's 1985 masterwork Hounds Of Love as a bold example of pure pop perfection, an undeniably brilliant LP and a totem of absolute genius that should not be sullied by the hands of mere mortals (and yes Futureheads, we are talking to you here). However Wild Nothing's cover of the wonderful 'Cloudbursting' gets a pass. Why? Because it actually manages to out-weird the Queen of Weird herself, being as it is, a wonderfully gloopy, slo-mo-narco version with added drone and sine-wave. Like New Order trapped in a wind tunnel and ripped to the tits on plant food. Or something. Anyway you can listen to it here and order it here.

Sad Dad For Puppets: Again (Cloudberry 7")

I had the lovely Roque (head honcho of Cloudberry Records) staying on my couch for the duration of London Popfest and, upon leaving, he made me a gift of this, the latest 7" from Swedish newgazers Sad Day For Puppets. There's been some debate in P!OP! circles about whether the noiser, shoegaze inspired bands should really be considered indiepop at all, but I've always been a big fan of the genre and 'Again' is a cracking example, trading in the bands Dinosaur Jr-esque live energy for a more stately, elegiac feel. A mini-epic then, and therefore a far better leaving present than a boring bottle of wine. Cheers Roque! Download or order here.

Sambassadeur: Days (Labrador download only single)

This one came out a while back, but somehow passed me by until now. Imagine my delight then upon finding out that 'Days' is probably the best thing that Sambassadeur have ever done. An aching, gorgeous, nigh-on perfect orchestral pop song, with 'Dancing Queen' piano and soaring strings all layered over Anna Persson's astonishingly beautiful vocals. This wouldn't sound out of place on the last Camera Obscura record (or any Camera Obscura record come to that.) Download it from Labrador here. And pick up the LP too if you know what's good for you - it's a corker.

Meow Meow: I Wonder What Went Wrong (WIAIWYA free download)

The latest in Where It's At Is Where You Are's free download singles sees Liverpool's Meow Meow take centre stage. WIAIWYA reckon that 'I Wonder What Went Wrong' sounds like power-pop, Heavenly, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Tiger Trap, and they won't get much argument from me. The B-side is a charmingly evocative cover of Go Sailor's 'Ray Of Sunshine' on acoustic guitar, bongos and shaker, and you can get both tracks here.

The Lodger: Have A Little Faith In People (This Is Fake DIY download-only single)

The Lodger are back. And what's more they're back with a hugely infectious pop gem, with added brass! Sounding not a little unlike Billy Bragg's 'Sexuality' or even the Housemartins at their finest, this is an unashamedly mainstream sounding song, and all the better for it. It's the sort of thing that would have thousands of student union dancefloors shaking up and down the land if this was still 1986, and if this all sounds like a back-handed compliment, then it's not meant to be, 'Have A Little Faith In People' more than transcends it's influences and, if there was any justice in the world, would go on to be a huge hit in the pop charts proper. Download here.

Thursday 4 March 2010

New Summer Cats single!



Yes, the hotly anticipated new single from Summer Cats is finally here, in the form of a beautifully packaged 7" from Slumberland Records. B-Side 'TV Guide' is a perfectly acceptable slice of Sunshine/Bubblegum Pop, but the flip 'Your Timetable' is simply excellent, managing to sound like both a lost New Wave/Powerpop classic and 'Psychocandy'-era JAMC at the same time. Bonzer.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Baby Honey #3 with Cats On Fire, Twig and Betty & The Werewolves

Can you believe this?! The Cats On Fire are playing our next night! With the awesome jangly Twig and the spiky Betty & The Werewolves supporting! This is just too good to be true. And afterwards there's gonna be dancing that'll make London Popfests friday night pale in comparision. So please come down and send us a shout in the comments or on facebook or twitter if you have any requests!

Friday 12th February 2010
The Buffalo Bar, 259 Upper St, London N1 1RU. 020 7359 6191
9pm - 4am. £6/5 (flyer/concs) £3 after bands have finished.
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/71657

DJs:
Daniel Novakovic (So Tough! So Cute!)
Anastasia Cohen (Baby Honey)
Rory Mackie (Baby Honey)