moped girls

Blimey, I feel like I have been in hiding for months - I bury my head in work for a few weeks and all of a sudden there's a million bands I need to listen to, and new releases from bands I adore that I didn't even realise were out!

Take the Vivian Girls, for example - I hardly even realised they had released a new 7" recently! 'Moped Girls' continues with the same casually noisy insouciance that has come to define these three Brooklyn girls. Reggie the cat is a pretty cool addition to the film clip, too.

Released on For Us, you can buy yourself a copy of 'Moped Girls' here.

two killer shows...

There are two amazing shows coming up in the next week*, half a world away from each other, which you should be attending if you are even remotely nearby either of these two cities!

If you are located near the Whitest Suburb in Melbourne, like me, head to the Old Bar on Johnston Street for a ridiculously good night of pop. Mid-State Orange! Last Summer Cats show before they embark on USA domination! First Motifs show since they conquered Europe! I'm prepping my dancing shoes already.

Of course, if you want to make me cry, you will be attending this:

Clearly, any show containing three of my favourite bands from the past 12 months or so has to be incredible, but this is seriously beyond belief. Far out, I could see just ONE of those bands, I'd be delirious, but with that line up AND with Twee as Fuck AND Kevin from WYR? spinning discs, I couldn't think of anything better right now, especially when all I seem do these days is listen to Cause Co-Motion on repeat.

I think this is what you call mega New York jealousy (and mega, mega heartbreak).

* I'm sure there's definitely more than two amazing shows coming up in the next week, but these are clearly the only two I really, really care about. If you know of others that will make me exceedingly jealous, please feel free to tell me about them and I will no doubt take a photo of myself weeping with extreme jealousy.

tuesday night catch up #3: thieves like us

OK, last one for the night. When I was about 18 or so, Shelflife Records was one of my favourite record labels, releasing records by the likes of the Acid House Kings, The Shermans and the Free Loan Investments that swept my late teenage heart away in a shimmering sea of pop music. Those fine folk behind Shelflife have made a killer resurgence recently, and one of their latest, from Thieves Like Us, shows what Midas touch this label has. 

Shy, crushworthy lyrics combined with synths straight out of early 80s northern England deliver 'Really Like To See You Again' straight into your consciousness, Express Post style. It's the perfect 11pm track, when you've just eyed up the cute boy or girl over the other side of the dancefloor, but you don't want to sidle up too soon. You know you'll head over when they start playing The Smiths or Pet Shop Boys at 2am. You know what I mean. 

The four tracks on this 12" EP will all make you want to shimmer rather than shake on the dancefloor, and, with a mere 500 copies pressed, you'd be hard pressed to find a more glamorous release for your next discotheque. 

Buy 'Really Like To See You Again' from Shelflife here.

tuesday night catch up #2: pocketbooks

If you can't already tell, I have once again been super busy and am becoming more and more infrequent at this blogging business. It's awful, especially when there is so much to listen to and I'm stuck doing work (and watching Master Chef, uh oh) all the time. Gah! Hence, I am spending my Tuesday night catching up on everything great of late.

Anyway, some of my favourite blogs have already written about this, and I'm going to do the same - London's Pocketbooks will be releasing their new single, "Footsteps", via iTunes on June 15. It's a super little love song that will get your shoes shuffling straight away. Then, in July, the brilliant How Does It Feel To Be Loved? label will be releasing their debut record, Flight Paths, which I highly recommend for you to purchase, because it will add some extra sunshine to your summer or brighten those misty winter mornings, if you'll be spending your July hibernating indoors from the cold like me.

You can get your feet shuffling along already by downloading 'Footsteps' here!

tuesday night catch up #1: music that i like

Well, I guess you can gather what I like from reading my blog, but Music That I Like is the name of Everett True's excellent new blog, featuring many of his archived musings from Plan B as well as, hmm, a couple of new rants and raves. Mostly raves, though - who wants to write rants all the time? Not me.

In particular, you should read his interview with the beautiful, tragic Ronnie Spector. I wouldn't know what to say to her - I would just want her to sing.