The cat's out of the bag

Colin and Dana's labor of love is almost ready to see the light of day! Well, I guess it already is ready, it's just picking out it's favourite outfit. Let's Whisper have been a sort of Smittens side project for years, but The Shortest Days is their very first album. The firsts don't stop there, as it's also WeePOP's first full length! It's due out April 9th, so mark your calendars because you don't want to miss out on the hand-screened goodies. 

Like with the Keep A Secret EP, Colin and Dana's songwriting on The Shortest Days comes from opposite sides of the same spectrum to make an album that delivers far more than you'd expect from a band named "Let's Whisper," while still remaining coherent, and identifiably Whispered. 

Tullycraftian in its variety, you're as likely to hear something reminiscent of Pipas or Pocketbooks as you are The Smittens.  I've got no trouble saying this is one of the best albums of the year, and I'd be surprised if my mind's changed 8 months from now.  Order your copy here. I promise it'll literally make Spring seem better.

Give the title track a listen and tell me you don't want more.
The Shortest Days .mp3

Sssshhhhhhh.....

Keep your voice down. I've got a secret. No, I can't tell you, it wouldn't be much of a secret if I could, would it? I'll give you a hint though, I heard it from Camila, and she heard it from Colin, and it's wonderful. Almost as wonderful as the new WeePOP! Let's Wisper EP. Or maybe a little more. I'm not so sure, but I do know those four tracks on that little CD are the best four consecutive tracks I've heard in a long time. I also know Let's Whisper are a bunch of sadists. Well, two sadists anyways. Why would I say that? Because they schemed a diabolical scheme to rope unsuspecting listeners in with the catchy and oddly familiar "California Girls" before shutting off the power and whispering sweet nothings on "Snowy Sunday." You know what they do next? They turn the wintertime lull into a fucking discotheque with Colin imploring to "Meet Me on the Dance Floor." And once you're in the groove, bopping and shaking and shimmying, the music dies and you're back in Vermont in the middle of a fucking snowstorm with "Holly in Wintertime." Colin and Dana, you're the worst. Just for that, I'm telling everyone your dirty little secret...the one about Let's Whisper putting out a full length album on WeePOP!

Because I can...
Meet Me on the Dance Floor .mp3

NYC Popfest Hi-lite! Mustache of Insanity!

I was going to try to write something about all the bands playing the PopFest this year, but then Matt started first, so I decided not to steal his thunder, but now I've changed my mind. So first up is Moustache of Insanity, who are coming all the way from London before going on a mini tour of the Northeast (they play the PopFest on the 22nd at Spike Hill).

They had a release on WeePop! that was super-fun (yes that was hyphenated intentionally), and now have a EP out for free download, so you really don't have a reason not to listen to them. If you really need some specifics of why you should, how about: super-fun-DIY-casio-and-guitar-playing-out-of-key-singing-drum-machine-backing-pop-blast-YEOW! Translation: MOI (that's Moustache of Insanity) play simple songs that stray dangerously close to twee, in both subject and presentation. Utilizing a casio, guitar, and what could only be described as "sick" beats, MOI will charm their way into your heart riding on magic jumping beans. And they have more facial hair than I could ever hope to grow.

Anyways, here's their new EP Postcards to Strangers. Get it while you can!

Wee! Disappear!

WeePOP! just released their newest 3" CDR, and as expected it's super cute in every way. This time around it's We Disappear by the Transmittens. The Kansas duo combine what could only be described as jangly "twee" and synth-pop to create something special. For those of you who want an imaginary reference picture, think Pipas meets the Besties and Smittens with less guitars and more glitter. Clocking in at about 20 minutes, the packaging isn't the only thing that's super tiny and super cute. Just give the opening track "Marfa Texas" a listen if you don't believe me. The wonderful thing about the 10 tracks contained on this tiny disc is the variety. Some are super-mixed-down-fuzzy-fun, some are super summer-y, some are good ol' pop, and some cover the space in between, but all of them possess wryly written lyrics that will lodge in your mind if the keyboards, handclaps and guitars fail to first. Oh, and did I mention that it's limited to 160 copies?

The Sea at Night .mp3

It's been so long

So how about a massive update?
The Felt Tips have a new 3" CDR out on WeePOP! It's every bit as wonderful as their releases on Cloudberry, so I recommend heading over there and ordering yourself a copy! I'd also snag the weePOP-up compilation, seeing as it's pretty ace and a pop-up!

The One Who Got Away .mp3


Speaking of compilations, Matt finally finished up the Skatterbrain comp. Between the cover art and track-list it looks fantastic!

The new Pains album is available for pre-order over at Slumberland. You don't even know how great it is! This is the opening track...

Contender .mp3

And while I'm on the topic of pre-orders and noise, the new Asobi Seksu album is also available for pre-order over at Polyvinyl! Amazing.

Me & Mary .mp3

Something's awry at tweenet...

There's oodles of popfests now! Here's to you London and San Francisco! And while you're globe-trotting, Magic Marker Records turned 10! They're having a little shindig in Portland to celebrate. Dear Nora anyone?

I think that's it.

Little My's Seventh!

Glockenspiels, melodicas, violins, stylophones, boy/girl harmonies, handclaps. That pretty much sums up the new Little My EP, which, as it happens, just came out today! It's loads of fun (if the video for "Sellotape My Hands" is any indicator) and is available on the usual 3" CDR or as a lovely 7" on blue vinyl. Whichever format you fancy, you can order it from WeePOP! here. If you live in the UK, you can catch them live, because they're on tour!