Hello everyone and happy February. See, I really meant it when I said I'd be doing monthly website updates this year! It's my mother's birthday today and I'm quite proud of myself for, along with my five brothers and sisters, planning a surprise birthday trip for her to visit my brother Chris who is living in Australia for two years. Coincidentally, today is also James Dean's birthday although he died when he was 24 and my mother is still very much alive. So exactly what does this have to do with pop music? Nothing really...

...except that when we were arranging her travel last month, my wife and I took advantage of the insanely cheap fares to the UK and planned a short trip to London next week to check in on the Matinée artist colony there. In addition to hanging out with the customary glitterati, we'll also be cheering the release of the "Modern Museums" CD and 10" from label veterans Sportique (image below) and the "Troublesome" 7" from fresh signings Pipas (as you see to your left). There is detailed information on each release up now on the catalog page and a bit more written in the January update, which you can access via our new archive link below.

As part of the revelry, both bands are playing release parties next weekend in London, so why not stop by with your salutations and enjoy some superb sounds while you're at it? Pipas are playing a Stylus evening on Saturday the 16th upstairs at the Blue Posts pub on the corner of Newman and Eastcastle Streets just north of Oxford Street (tube: Tottenham Court Road). The hip dealers at Stylus have promised a top evening of chatting, chewing, drinking, hip-shaking, celebrating, nudging, cavorting, and slobbering...plus the standard assortment of celebrity deejays, t-shirt decals and other treats. We'll have plenty of copies of the band's fine new 7" (matinée 035) on hand too. Entry is a mere £2, doors open at 7pm and everything is supposed to finish up by 10 so if you're double booked that evening why not make this your early stop?

The following day, Sportique will be launching "Modern Museums" (matcd015) at a special one-off 50 Watts of Power presentation at the Betsey Trotwood on Farringdon Road just across from the Guardian building (tube: Farringdon). It's a lunchtime show, with the band playing a selection of songs from the new LP and new material from their work-in-progress third long player at around 2pm. There'll be a dansette soundsystem on hand and if you splash out on the wildly reasonable entrance fee of 99p you may even get a nice bit of cake too. In reviewing the new album, Nightshift wrote: "Sportique...sound as fresh as any bunch of teeny punk-pop wannabes, probably because, with their doctorates and executive jobs, they simply don't have to try to impress anyone but themselves. It's a lesson more bands could learn early on," while Tasty summarized the album as "twisted genius in glorious stereo." For future planning, the band will play at the Bull & Gate next month, on the 26th with the Butterflies of Love, so mark that down in your dayplanner as it's sure to be an electrifying affair.

While we're on the subject of live shows, Would-Be-Goods have just scheduled a London performance for Thursday February 21st. This is also sponsored by 50 Watts of Power and will commence at 8pm at Buffalo Bars Highbury Corner (formerly something called Po Na Na's, tube: Highbury & Islington). Also on the bill are a band called the Folk Orchestra about which I can't tell you anything aside from the description from 50 Watts which is "a lithe and loose-limbed collective of left-field indie misfits merging monosonic music-hall minimalism and barbiturate ballads." You've been warned.

Would-Be-Goods will be previewing songs from forthcoming album "Brief Lives" (matcd017) which is set for release on March 25th via Matinée and Fortuna POP! The album features 16 outstanding songs across which Jessica Griffin spins a world peopled with crazed historical characters, mysterious cabaret performers and arch sophisticates. Lovers meet and part before a backdrop of chromed sports cars and elegant coffee bars, soundtracked by Peter Momtchiloff's brilliantly expressive guitar. None of the songs appear on the band's recent "Emmanuelle Béart" or "Sugar Mummy" singles so buy them up before they're gone!

Also released on March 25th is the savoury new album from The Lucksmiths! Following in the tradition of the Australian trio's highly popular "Happy Secret" album in 1999, "Where Were We?" (matcd019) is an assortment of non-album tracks from singles and various artist compilations over the past three years. Fourteen tracks in total, the album features six songs previously unreleased in the US - including a brand new composition with indie legend Pam Berry on backing vocals - alongside favorites like "T-Shirt Weather", "Even Stevens" and "Friendless Summer."

Fellow Australians Simpático grace us with their debut album "The Difference Between Alone & Lonely" (matcd016) next month also. Following the critical success of the band's "Postal Museum" EP last year, Simpático was immersed in listening to records by Sea Stories, the Triffids, Rabbit's Wedding and other Australian bands from the 80's and early 90's. This album is a dedication to that sound - warm, summery and melancholic tunes that reflect the harsh and dramatic Australian landscape matched with a longing and desire for lost loves. Twelve songs - all exclusive to this release - strike the perfect balance of guitars and electronica alongside Jason Sweeney's wonderfully dulcet voice. Look for it on March 11th.

The Snowdrops "Mad World" 7" (matinée 029) is still on the way, along with the debut 7" from Nottingham's The Liberty Ship called "I Guess You Didn't See Her" (matinée 036). Both feature cover versions, the Snowdrops doing Tears for Fears and the Liberty Ship doing the Byrds. The inserts are printed for both already with a March heading so there you go... they'll be out next month as well! Exact details on these and the rest of the coming soon posse (Airport Girl cdep, The Windmills cdep, Razorcuts CD, Lovejoy CD, Fairways CD...) in the March update.

The Matinée press machine continues to churn out modest results...this month's recommended reading includes online sites Tasty (UK) and Pinoy Central (Philippines) in addition to bookmarked favorites IndiePages, Pennyblack, Tangents, In Love With These Times, Splendid and Aquamarine. Of special note are two Windmills interviews recently posted...one with lead guitarist Tony Pankhurst on About the Music and a second with vocalist and guitarist Roy Thirlwall in Pennyblack magazine. Pinoy Central should be publishing exclusive interviews with Lovejoy, Harper Lee and Would-Be-Goods sometime this month too.

Speaking of people we like, Berlin's Firestation Tower Records has been delivering releases of the utmost quality lately, most notably anything by German band Avocadoclub. Their "Too Much Space To Walk Away" is just about the finest song I've heard in a long while. Buy anything with their name on it, and while you're at it check out the label's other fine releases.

For anyone in Sweden or Spain experiencing difficulty finding Matinée releases, we've now secured distribution deals with Benno and Delicious Goldfish in the former, and Annika and Canciones Huerfanas in the latter. Check the Order page for links to these and many other fine Matinée merchants worldwide. Special thanks to everyone who patronized the website with orders last month. Perhaps due to the snazzy new one-click ordering buttons... or the ability to use PayPal... or the fact that our records really are quite good, we experienced a big increase in web sales for which we are grateful. Just for the record, the top sellers for the month were as follows:

10. Harper Lee - Train Not Stopping cdep
9. The Pines - Dieppe Won't You 7"
8. The Windmills - Sunlight CD
7. Lovejoy - Plays Biff Bang Pow! 7"
6. Slipslide - Sleeptalk 7"
5. Would-Be-Goods - Emmanuelle Béart cdep
4. Sportique - Modern Museums 10"
3. Would-Be-Goods - Sugar Mummy 7"
2. Pipas - Chunnel Autumnal 10"
1. Sportique - Modern Museums CD

Please note that the Matinée shop will be closed from February 12th - February 21st, so all orders received during this time will be shipped on February 22nd. Upon our return, we will have copies of some March releases for advance sales exclusively through the website. Until then, have a good month and hope to see some of you at the Pipas and Sportique shows.

Jimmy xx