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THE SOUP DRAGONS: The Sun Is In The Sky E.P. (7″, Subway SUBWAY 2, 1986)

A confession; I’m not so cool that I bought this record when it first came out – I was only thirteen years old at the time and, in fact, listening more to Rick Astley and Debbie Gibson. So maybe I’m even cooler than cool. Or something. As I got into indie-pop throughout the late eighties […]

RAZORBLADE SMILE: This Accurate Pain (7″, Chocolate Narcotic CHOC 01, 1992)

Another artefact from the mire of early-to-mid-nineties indie-pop that I got myself so deeply into: I’ll never have enough seven inch singles in wraparound sleeves with photocopied inserts, even if the wraparound sleeve in this case sports a very unpleasant image that looks like it was printed out from an Atari ST with a low […]

AMANDA BY NIGHT: Silvermilk EP (7″, Alienor ALIEN η, 1994)

Another little glimpse into the most obscure of obscurities: this single came out on French indie-pop label Alienor in the nineties, presumably in a pretty low run. Alienor were one of the many labels I’d regularly buy up new releases from. Back then, the way we’d find out about new things wasn’t the instant hit […]

VARIOUS: Pulley (7″, Simple Machines SMR 003, 1991)

A wee slab of indie rock history here, kind of… Simple Machines were an inspirational label in their early nineties heyday, pulling together underground music strands and sharing the love with unending positivity. And, at the same time, releasing countless brilliant discs featuring all kinds of bands that are now varying degrees of legendary. Pulley […]

MAKITA: Rover (7″, The Great Pop Supplement GPS03, ?)

Another release on the always-beautiful Great Pop Supplement label: this one looks particularly fine, with its tracing paper wraparound sleeve, hand-finished with a stamp and a comic strip cut from what looks to be an old Dandy or Beano. This is one of GPS’ earlier releases, back when every one came as a limited run […]

VERONICA LAKE/CRAYON: Sleepyhouse/This Dream Is Gone (7″, Cher Doll CHER 001, 1992)

It doesn’t get much more DIY indie pop than this… hand-finished, sprayed, brilliant wraparound sleeve, hand numbered in pencil (number 130 out of just 400 copies), a couple of inserts included. I love it. How could anybody ever prefer a slimline jewel-cased CD over the artistry so obviously inherent in this record’s packaging? (Not that […]

LITHOPS: Tubino See Through (7″, Static Caravan VAN 1, 1998)

The very enigmatic first release from Static Caravan Recordings: you can see pointers here to affirm that this label wasn’t one trying to play the majors at their own game. The cover is a scratchy, hand-finished print with no suggestion of who this record is by. Even on the back there is scant information – […]

HIGH RISK GROUP: Daddy Rolex (7″, Harriet 006, 1991)

This record came in to my possession via the magic of eBay, seven or eight years back. Some kind soul in Brighton was selling a pile of around thirty underground/indie-pop seven inches in one lot, which I snapped up for some bargain price like £15 or something. Good times. It was super-exciting when a chunky […]

SHOP ASSISTANTS: Here It Comes (7″, Avalanche AGAP 001, 1989)

Can’t remember where or when I bought this record, but I do know that it was some second-hand record shop where I got excited about stumbling across it – along with another Shoppies single ‘Big E Power’ – not only ‘cos I like the band but also ‘cos the sleeve is sooo much the perfect […]