I have all the right to feel blue

Jessica and Henry = The Burning Hearts!

Aboa Sleeping is the debut LP from new Shelflife signees Burning Hearts. Burning Hearts are a duo created by Henry Ojala of Cats on Fire and Jessica Rapo of Le Futur Pompiste. I'd been looking forward to hearing their debut for some time now, and a few weeks ago I finally got to! As I expected, it's some of the best sunny, elecro pop I've heard in some time – probably since the last Club 8 record. In fact, some of the songs on Aboa Sleeping remind me quite a lot of Club 8 – "Various Lives" and "Close To Her" in particular. Elsewhere the songs bring to mind Stereolab (sorry guys, they do!) and even, sometimes, their late label-mates, Brittle Stars.

Album opener "I Lost My Colour Vision" is a gem. Placing it in the first spot was a good idea, too, as I can't see how anyone could resist AT LEAST tapping a toe to this one. The song opens with a bouncy, reverbed – almost watery – bassline and a quick programmed drumbeat. Once upon a time, I used to have a few qualms with programmed drums, but those days are long since gone and I think they really work well here (and throughout the rest of the record), keeping the song constantly moving straight through the chorus – which is just brilliant as well. I've got Jessica's vocals – "No colours can change my mood, I have all the right to feel blue, if that's what I'm into" (I think) – stuck in my head, and I'm sure you will, too. Jessica's soft and airy voice holds down the rest of the album as well, painting a blue sky and clouds above the album's already lush landscapes.

Aboa Sleeping is brilliant and catchy indiepop and quite a nice return to form for Shelflife Records – they've got a quite a record on their hands here. It's pretty early, but I think Burning Hearts have already made one of my favorite records of 2009! Aboa Sleeping will be out on February 10th and I'd highly recommend heading over to Shelflife and preordering the LP right now! Here's one of my favorite songs from the record to convince you a bit more, if you weren't already!

[MP3]: Burning Hearts :: Various Lives (Highly Recommended!!!)

Burning Hearts on MySpace!

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The tremendously overlooked Cyclon86!

Until yesterday when I stumbled upon their deserted MySpace page by chance, I had never heard of Japan's Cyclon86. An amazing band by any pop-loving boy/girl's standards, Cyclon86 work jangling guitars, buzzing organs and synths, and super sweet vocals together is a way that just makes me want to scream "perfect!". It sounds somewhere between Rocketship and Stereolab to me, but head over to the MySpace page and listen for yourself. Being that their website is almost 100% in Japanese, I'm having a tough time learning too much about them or where I can find their music. If you've got any more information, please let me know!!!

Cyclon86 on MySpace!

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By The Window In The Sky

Photo in cover art by QXZ on Flickr.

I said I was gonna start doing mixes more often, so here we go, another one. I'm particularly proud of this one because I think it flows quite well, and as the cover says, it's very good for a nice walk in the cold morning air. Note that the effect of this mix can be enhanced even more so if it happens to still be dark outside and there is a touch of low-lying fog. If the title of the mix doesn't ring a bell to you immediately, then it surely will by the time you finish it. Um, I guess I don't have anything else to say, I'll let the songs speak for themselves. Enjoy, please!

DOWNLOAD IT!
[ZIP]: By The Window In The Sky (13 tracks, 110mb)

01. Eric's Trip :: Stove
02. The Relict :: Letters
03. St. Christopher :: Crystal Clear
04. Brian :: You Don't Want A Boyfriend
05. California Snow Story :: My Life Is Only A Daydream
06. Nord Express :: This Magic Moment
07. The Cat's Miaow :: Hollow Inside
08. Rodney Allen :: Julianne
09. The Fat Tulips :: My Secret Place
10. Moscow Olympics :: Safe
11. Lorelei :: The Bitter Air
12. Stereolab :: Pack Yr Romantic Mind
13. Yo La Tengo :: Deeper Into Movies

Okay, enjoy please, I love you. Bye for now.

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Modular: "Playa Biquini"

Pablo and Mariana of Modular.

When I think of space age synth pop – cause I really think about it so often – I inevitably think of Stereolab. Thing is, there's plenty more bands out there right now doing this relatively pigeon-holed genre justice; maybe not Stereolab-sized justice, but justice nonetheless. I say this after recently coming upon the Buenos Aires-based band, Modular. Named after the legendary Moog Modular analog synthesizer, the band basically sounds like what you would hope: woodwinds, brass, buzzes, beeps, farfisa organ, along with the ever important jangly guitar and moog, for good measure. This track comes from from their 2005 record, El Triangulo de las Bermudas. Hope you like!

[MP3]: Modular :: Playa Biquini (Highly Recommended)

I'm really not sure how you would buy any of their records, but I assuming your best bet would be to message them on MySpace.

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Shoegaze Mélange Two!

Having a mélange on a Friday? I must be out of our minds!

I said I wanted to post some more, and since I wasn't lying, here's some more. These five that I've chosen span the entire genre of shoegaze pretty well. I wanted to throw in some Pale Saints, too, but I ended up running out of space, or well, the will to post six songs instead of five. For those of you who've never heard Stereolab's "Jenny Ondioline", it's really awesome, but long as hell, so there's a warning for you. It's like 18ish minutes. All songs are obviously highly recommended, folks!

[MP3]: Blindside :: Anvil
from the Teenage Goth Suicide Cult EP [Summershine Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Jane From Occupied Europe :: Mourning Glass
from the Coloursound LP [Seven Percent Records, 1991]

[MP3]: Swervedriver :: Last Train To Satansville
from the Mezcalhead LP [Creation Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Stereolab :: Jenny Ondioline
from the Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements LP [Elektra Records, 1993]

[MP3]: Black Tambourine :: Black Car
from the Complete Recordings LP [Slumberland Records, 1999]

Bye! Enjoy! Etc!

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