PopMatters recently published their best-of-2013 lists, and Lorna'sHeart of Wire came in at #4 on the Best Indie-Pop Albums of the Year list. Appearing on the Top 10 list alongside acts like The Pastels, Math and Physics Club, and Veronica Falls, PopMatters noted Heart of Wire, "Has a sense of slow-motion to it, a sense of being out of step with the world around them. At the same time, the music is especially well-timed, the singers and instruments notably in sync. This one is more elaborately arranged than the others, and is extra beautiful and moving for it, mainly because of that quality of careful calibration, of being engineered for emotional effect, especially for those of us predisposed to enjoy patient, pretty music."
Words On Music announces the release of "The Stars of Winnetka" - the fifth album by the Nottingham sextet Lorna. The record is a digital-only collection of nine stunning original ("The First Person to Arrive," "Snowlights") and traditional ("Little Donkey," "Shalom Chaverim") holiday- and winter-themed compositions including two reworkings of songs from the band's first two records ("Building Beautiful Buildings" and "Snowsong"). The album features the trademark vocal harmonies of husband and wife members Mark Rolfe and Sharon Cohen-Rolfe and skilled musical arrangements that intricately weave together a wide array of woodwinds, strings, keys, and percussion. The digital album is available on iTunes.
Mark Bandola, co-singer/songwriter of London's beloved The Lucy Show, has launched a new musical project called The Ramsgate Hovercraft. Copies of the band's debut album, Arcane Empire, are available from the band for pre-order now to help get the music out of the studio and onto vinyl. Arcane Empire is 90 minutes of The Ramsgate Hovercraft's unique space rock style featuring complex multi-layered sounds with a huge range of influences including krautrock, prog rock, modern jazz and classical, performed on guitar, sax, various classic synths and improvised instruments. Fans can support the band and the vinyl release of Arcane Empire by contributing to their indiegogo campaign.
Ten years ago today Find Yourself Along the Way - the debut album by the Los Angeles quartet The Meeting Places - was released by Words On Music. Recorded by famed musician and producer Aaron Espinonza (Elliott Smith, Earlimart, The Breeders), the album was recognized as an instant shoegaze/dream pop classic by critics and remains a fan-favorite in the genre today. The band is currently at work on their third record – the follow-up to their sophomore release, 2006's Numbered Days.
To coincide with the UK release of Lorna's fourth album, Heart of Wire, Words On Music announces the release of the record's debut single, "As She Goes By" on Monday, 29 April 2013. The two-song digital single is available exclusively through iTunes. The single is a new mix of the track that includes additional strings by the band. "As She Goes By" is backed with "Kuskova" - an upbeat flirtation with the band's dream pop/shoegaze roots with blurred, languid vocals by Rolfe and Cohen-Rolfe channeling Slowdive's Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell.
New Lorna video for "Old Shanklin Sunset" April 22, 2013
Lorna has released a new video for "Old Shanklin Sunset," the third track off their new fourth album Heart of Wire. The song, sung by Sharon Cohen-Rolfe, recalls the bands affinity with Scottish pop acts like Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian.
Words On Music is now shipping orders of Heart of Wire, the fourth album by Nottingham's Lorna in advance of its official release in late March. The band's fourth record finds the UK sextet delivering nine more songs of bittersweet melodies and delicate harmonies that alternately flirts with Scottish pop and Lynchian closing time ballads. The album includes a reworking of "November Kicks Again" from Lorna's 2001 7", a version of For Stars' "Whose Idea," and guest vocals by Coastal's Jason Gough. To order and listen to song samples click here.
Ten years ago this week, Words On Music released Coalesced, the sixth full-length record by For Against. The record launched a decade-long association (and counting) between Words On Music and the post-punk trio, which now includes three new albums, three reissues, and an EP.
Words On Music is now shipping orders for Tomorrow's Yesterday, the third record by Germany's Almost Charlie, in advance of its October 9th USA release date. Following up on their acclaimed American debut The Plural of Yes (2009, Words On Music), Berlin singer / multi-instrumentalist Dirk Homuth and New York City lyricist Charlie Mason present 11 new wistful gems on a record that will leave its mark as one of the indispensable indie pop albums of 2012.
With an idiosyncratic flair and unmatched tunefulness, Tomorrow's Yesterday summons giants like Nick Drake, The Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel as departure points to begin an infectious tour of chamber and acoustic pop over beds of lush harmonies, strings, glockenspiel, ukulele, sitar, woodwinds, and melodica. For more information about Tomorrow's Yesterday, to listen to full song samples, and to place your order visit here. Signposts: The Beatles, Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience, I Am Kloot.
Incidental Music by The Green Kingdom was released this week on Words On Music's sister label: Tench. The album will appeal to fans of Eno's Ambient album series and has received a chorus of high praise:
"The finished recordings are only to be described as magnificent. The understated nature of this record, as noted previously, paradoxically results in an album that cannot be ignored." — Futuresequence
"One of the most relaxing albums we've heard in a while." — A Closer Listen
"The moments frozen on Incidental Music are the sleep-induced extra five minutes of sleep at the weekend, the melodic birdsong in the trees." — Fluid Radio
Nottingham's Lorna has just completed recording and mixing their fourth album, Heart of Wire, to be released by Words On Music in late 2012. The nine-song record finds the husband and wife team of Mark and Sharon Rolfe delivering their patented vocal harmonies over more buoyant compositions this time around than on 2008's introspective Writing Down Things to Say — such as the Teenage Fanclub-esque "As She Goes By" and the American Analog Set-infused "Whatever Happened to Andi Walsh."
Steeped with woodwinds and strings, Heart of Wire still takes time to breathe, and explores time and space with more serene compositions such as the Twin Peaks-inspired closer "Chasing Amy" and the 1950s orchestra-laden "Mina and Marco."
The album includes a reworking of "November Kicks Again" from Lorna’s 2001 7", a version of For Stars' "Whose Idea," and guest vocals by Coastal's Jason Gough. Signposts: Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian, Coastal, David Lynch.
For Against will soon see a vinyl reissue of its first three records, courtesy of a Words On Music license to the New York label Captured Tracks. A vinyl box set of Echelons (1987, 2004 Words On Music reissue), December (1988, 2005 Words On Music reissue), and In the Marshes (1990, 2007 Words On Music reissue) will be released in December 2012 in a limited edition box set of the three records.
Nottingham's Lorna will be sharing the stage in July with Words On Music favorite The Psychedelic Furs. The Furs and Lorna will perform at Nottingham Rock City on July 6th. Lorna has recently finished recording their fourth album, Heart of Wire, which will be released by Words On Music this autumn. The band will also be playing the Sheffield Tramlines Festival on July 22nd.
Words On Music is now shipping orders for Remembrances, a collection of 17 rare tracks by the seminal London post-punk quartet The Lucy Show. The album stretches from their first 7" single in 1983 to their last recording session in 1992 and all 17 songs are being released on CD for the first time.
Among the songs found on Remembrances are both sides of their "Leonardo da Vinci" 7" (a John Peel favorite in '83), a previously unreleased version of their stateside hit "The Price of Love," five demo tracks from their debut album …undone, a John Leckie-produced outtake from their sophomore album Mania, and two songs from a 1992 session that reunited singers Rob Vandeven and Mark Bandola with original guitarist Pete Barraclough.
Issued in a six-panel digipak with detailed liner notes about each recording, Remembrances is shipping now in advance of its December 13th North American release.
Signposts: The Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychedelic Furs.
Captured Tracks kicks off its Shoegaze Archive series with an expanded CD + vinyl reissue of Should's A Folding Sieve. The reissue (licensed from Words On Music) contains several previously unreleased tracks and is an essentially complete collection of songs recorded in Austin TX from 1992-1995. The 18-song CD edition is different than the 2002 Words On Music reissue, which is currently out of print. The vinyl version comes with digital download of all songs on the CD. This is the first time A Folding Sieve has been released on vinyl. Also released today is a special limited edition cassette entitled Resonate that is a reproduction of the pre-Folding Sieve cassette released on the Austin label Whirlingpool in 1993.
"Slumberland" from Should's recent album Like a Fire Without Sound will appear on the Tuesday Oct. 4th episode of the new FOX comedy New Girl, which stars Zooey Deschanel (She & Him, (500) Days of Summer).
It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing - the brilliant debut album by the English post-punk quartet Scumbag Philosopher - is released today in North America.
The nine-song record's rhythmic frame of stabbing basslines and a sparse, but ferocious, two-drum kit anchors the kind of angular, buzzing guitars found on early Wire or Gang of Four records. Call and response vocals between Grant Madden's soliloquizing baritone and drummer Anne Reekie's alto siren skewer popular and consumerist culture with alternating sincerity and sardonicism befitting its punk origins.
The end result is an album brimming with fiery confidence and songs that compel your hips to move to what is anti-hip and your mind to contemplate all the reasons why along the way. Signposts: Wire, Gang of Four, The Fall.
Scumbag Philosopher is opening for The Fall for its June UK tour dates.
Click here for more information and to order, to download the album at iTunes, and to see the video for the new single, "God Is Dead So I Listen to Radiohead".
Should - "Turned Tables"
Filmed, Edited and Directed by Dustin Lane.
Art Direction and Color Timing by Sherry Lee.
Starring: Isabella Bonaduce and Blues Williams.
It has been 13 years since Should's last album proper, the complex shoegaze/postrock haze of 1998's Feed Like Fishes. While much time has passed, the core elements of Should have not wavered: the ultra-sweet male/female vocal melodies, the penchant for the unexpected, and the ability to find beauty in the minimal. The band's immaculately crafted third album, Like a Fire Without Sound, infuses the pop sensibilities of Eno and Yo La Tengo while maintaining the personal eccentricities and atmospheric flourishes that have always set Should apart.
Like A Fire Without Sound is shipping now exclusively through Words On Music in advance of its April 26th release date.
"Scumbag Philosopher," the first single by Scumbag Philosopher's debut album It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing, was released today and is available through iTunes. The track is an exclusive, single version of the song and was mixed by Phil Vinall (Pulp, Elastica, Placebo, The Auteurs). The video for the song can be viewed here. It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing is shipping now exclusively through Words On Music in advance of its mid-May USA and June UK/Europe release dates.
The first in a series of releases of rare For Against material begins with the three-song Black Soap EP, with orders are shipping now exclusively through Words On Music in advance of its March 2011 release date.
The CD-EP includes two previous unreleased tracks from recording sessions in 1984 with the band's original lineup of Jeff Runnings (vocals, bass), Harry Dingman (guitar), and Greg Hill (drums). The EP closes with “Amen Yves (White Circles)” - a previously unreleased mix of the fan favorite and European darkwave club staple.
"Black Soap" is a torrid, sharp post-punk composition that highlights the bands early Joy Division/Warsaw influences. "Dark Good Friday" is equally frenetic, but showcases Runnings’ unmistakable soaring vocal melodies and Dingman’s atmospheric fretwork.
Lorna has released a Christmas EP to benefit the Daisy Garland Charity that is available directly from the band as a digital download here.
The digital download EP contains full artwork including scores from the recording and hand written lyrics alongside a collection of photography taken by Matt Harrison of the band. Recorded by Lorna members Mark Rolfe, Sharon Cohen-Rolfe, Andy Bullock and Matt Harrison, the EP is the first recording to feature Lorna's newest addition, classically trained cellist Paul Skinner.
The opening track "The First Person to Arrive" is bittersweet love song, evoking influences from the likes of The Velvet Underground and Low. Also included is a new recording of "Snowsong" - originally released on the band's seminal 2005 album, Static Patterns and Souvenirs. The new version is a completely different take, employing an echoed piano, flutes, cellos, and various samples. "Shalom Chaverim," sung in a Hebrew, is an original Hebrew carol that closes the release.
The release is only available until February 1, 2011. After placing your order you will receive an email with download instructions. The Daisy Garland is a charity close to Lorna's heart and one they have supported through music in the past. For a preview of the EP, see the promotional video here.
Lorna will be performing for a charity event at The Boatclub in Nottingham at a family friendly tribute afternoon to Matador Records. Six bands/DJs will each include a cover from one of the great Matador records artists (Pavement, Guided by voices, Mogwai, Built to spill, Arab Strap, etc.). Expect some festive covers too! All profits will go to Macular Degeneration charities to raise money for music to be purchased in various eye clinics. £5 on the door, kids for a quid. No age restriction. First band on at 3.30 pm, curfew at 8 pm. Artists performing include: Lorna, Strings of Seville, Japanese Sleepers, Sugar and Lust, Emily Cash, The Saboteurs, and The Amber Herd.
Words On Music is excited to announce the launch of its sister label, Tench Records. Tench will focus on instrumental / ambient / electroacoustic / experimental music that has a significant melodic component. Please visit the website here:
The debut release for Tench is the full-length solo debut of M. Ostermeier — the driving force behind the shoegaze/postrock band Should. Chance Reconstruction features acoustic piano melodies floating atop abstract electronics and field recordings that decorate the periphery. The reflective, melancholic songs on Chance Reconstruction range from meandering tone poems to miniature Goldmund-esque piano pieces. Vital Weekly describes the disc as "a sort of digital Americana" and declares it "an excellent quiet, spacious, atmospheric disc of music." For fans of Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Labradford, Peter Broderick, and Rafael Anton Irisarri.
Words On Music has discovered a few In The Marshes t-shirts remaining from For Against's last European tour. All shirts are long sleeve and all are size medium. The design, by guitarist Harry Dingman III, is lifted from the In The Marshesreissue album cover, and the t-shirt comes in two colors: black and navy blue. Please visit our order page for more details.
Words On Music announces the singing of the Norfolk, England post-punk quartet Scumbag Philosopher. The band's debut album, It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing, will be released this autumn, preceded by the single "God Is Dead So I Listen to Radiohead." Release dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Legendary post-punk trio For Against will play its first New York (and East Coast) show in 15 years this summer, at the Big Takeover 30th Anniversary Festival. The two-day festival will take place at The Bell House in Brooklyn, with For Against performing on Saturday, July 31st. Other artists performing on the 31st include Mark Burgess (The Chameleons), Jon Auer (The Posies), Astrid Williamson, and Springhouse. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
The second solo release of M. Ostermeier of Should was released on Hibernate Recordings last month. Audio Gourmet says that Lakefront "...is full of detail and intelligent design - you'll soon get lost in what could easily be one of the releases of 2010. A must buy for any fan of ambient music."
M. Ostermeier’s recent solo debut Percolate (Parvoart, Jan 2010) featured fragile Rhodes and acoustic piano melodies atop minimal downtempo electronics and Labradford-esque guitar tones. That release garnered strong reviews in The Wire and Textura for juxtaposing melancholic stillness with restrained post-rock urgency.
Here on the 30-minute album Lakefront, the skeletal acoustic piano remains but the minimal beats have evaporated, and we are left with something more organic, more haunting. Harold Budd and Sylvain Chauveau are still apt references for the piano fragments, but the infusion of acoustic recordings and darker guitar and electronics brings to mind Deaf Center, Stars of the Lid, and Type Records. The melancholic mood that builds throughout Lakefront evokes feelings of nostalgia and regret. One theme present in Marc’s mind as he was writing these pieces was how the passing of time necessarily brings uncertainty to one’s recollection of the past – an uncertainty that has its own poignancy. The release was mastered by Taylor Deupree (12k).
More details about Lakefront (including ordering info) can be found here or at Hibernate.
The German microlabel [ parvoart ] recordings has released Percolate, the first solo release by M. Ostermeier of Should.
Percolate's instrumentals are built from skeletal piano melodies and augmented with electronics and acoustic recordings that evoke ur-post-rock legends Labradford in their Mi Media Naranja and El Luxo So phase, or later-period Harold Budd (once he'd dropped the heavy reverb and chorus effects). Percolate is filled with understated melodies played on both acoustic and rhodes piano while the electronic elements — a skeletal beat here, a pad or sample there — are used sparingly to couch the piano, not overwhelm it. At the emotional core of the mini-album (on the tracks "Clockwork" and "Scratchy") these elements are joined by a third — airy, melancholic, twangy guitar worthy of Marc Nelson, Ry Cooder, or Loren Connors. Although Marc’s stated aim was to create something that "evoked a melancholic stillness", the mini-album is not monochromatic — the penultimate track "Continuity" hints at ambient techno while the closer "Persuasion" ends on a wistful, blissful, and somnambulistic note, that whilst not ecstatic, seems to hint that maybe life isn't so bad after all.
The year will be a busy one for M. Ostermeier releases, which include the mini-album Lakefront on Hibernate followed by a full-length CD on Words On Music. More information and songs can be found on M. Ostermeier's website.
More details about Percolate (including ordering info for this limited, numbered edition) can be found here.
Two songs from Percolate:
Also released on [ parvo art ] is a compilation entitled Advent that includes an exclusive M. Ostermeier track and songs by Stephen Spera, Will Long, Neve, John R. Carlson, Porzellan, R. Kitch, Duncan Ó Ceallaigh, and Alpe. The compilation is a meditation and celebration of all things wintry. If the cover looks vaguely familiar, it is because it is a deliberate homage to Joy Division's elegiac Atmosphere single. More details about this compilation can be found here.
Lorna will play its first UK show in five years on December 6th at The Boat Club in Nottingham. The event, entitled "It’s a Wonderful Life," will benefit The Daisy Garland, a local charity for children with epilepsy, and includes performances by four other artists. Lorna will also be debuting its latest member, cellist/harpist/oboist Paul Skinner. The event runs from 3–7 pm with a 5 GBP charge at the door.
Words On Music is now shipping orders for …undone, the reissue of the classic 1985 post-punk debut by the London quartet The Lucy Show. Produced by Steve Lovell (Blur, James) and Steve Power (Robbie Williams, Blur), …undone was a CMJ #1 album on U.S. college radio, led by the single "Ephemeral (This Is No Heaven)" and the title track. Through 11 seamless compositions, …undone gracefully injects howling guitars and psychedelic flourishes into infectious pop songs with hook-laden choruses. Recorded with strings by Fiona Stephen (Belle and Sebastian, David Byrne).
The importance of …undone's place extends well beyond its post-punk canvas. As Jack Rabid, editor of The Big Takeover, explains, the record is a "touchstone bridging the early Magazine/Bunnymen/Sound/Comsat Angels U.K. post-punk pinnacle and the House of Love and Stones Roses emergence, sparking the shoegaze-dreampop explosion."
Words On Music is proud to announce the release of the debut music video by Almost Charlie for their acclaimed new record The Plural of Yes. "Love Condensed" is an animated short film that follows the protagonist on an otherworldly journey rich with symbolism and images both eye opening and heartrending.
The filmmakers' (Berlin's Markus Schmidt & Björn Otto of ad arta) use of perspective and scale challenge the viewer in an emotive tug-of-war between the narrow, existential search by the protagonist and the broader, worldly questions about love and meaning his search conveys.
Words On Music is now shipping orders for Never Been, the 9th record by the Lincoln, Nebraska post-punk trio For Against in advance of its November 10th USA release date. The nine-song record, the second reuniting singer/bassist Jeffrey Runnings with original guitarist Harry Dingman III, showcases the depth and breadth of For Against's sonic palate — alternating angular, foot-stomping post-punk with lush, atmospheric ballads and dark Joy Division-esque dirges. Click here to order and learn more about Never Been.
Rob Vandeven, co-singer/songwriter of The Lucy Show, has just released his first solo record, Lost Days. The 11-song album tours jangle pop ("I Thought I Saw You"), electro-pop ("Baby You’re a Star"), and includes perhaps the most heart rendering song Vandeven has written in his 25 years of making records (the mandolin-tinged "Home"). Lucy Show guitarist Pete Barraclough appears on two tracks, and Lucy Show co-singer/songwriter Mark Bandola plays keyboards on another. Also appearing are Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths from Archive. Lost Days is now available digitally here.
Seven songs by four Words On Music artists appear in the new independent film, The Purest Blue. Written and directed by Dustin Lane, the film stars Olivia Alaina May in a tale akin to a grittier Pretty Woman, without the happy ending (with a cast that includes Isabella Bonaduce). The film includes songs by The Meeting Places, For Against, Coastal, and Should. Limited Festival Edition DVDs can be purchased here.
The Plural of Yes, the North American debut record by Berlin's Almost Charlie, was released today by Words On Music in North America. The record's 13 compositions, a cunning blend of gifted melodies and chamber pop atmospherics, are the inimitable offspring of a transatlantic songwriting duo who, to this day, have never met. Berlin singer-guitarist Dirk Homuth and American lyricist Charlie Mason formed their songwriting partnership in 2003. On The Plural Of Yes Homuth reveals himself to be a connoisseur of timeless pop craftsmanship — distilling the heady years of AM-radio splendor, from Bacharach to The Beatles, into 13 addicting indie-pop coated pills. Signposts: The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Belle and Sebastian, Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience.
Critics have heralded the new release:
While lyricist Charlie Mason and singer-guitarist Dirk Homuth may not know each other personally — the duo has never met — you wouldn't know it from their music, which blends their separate work seamlessly. (A peppier Postal Service!) Yes is slick, like the '60s-era pop record it wants to be, but never detached; there's real emotion in these tracks. Much of this is achieved by Homuth, whose impressive instrumental skill — from harmonica to sitar to glockenspiel — lends each song its own unique stamp. A- -- Entertainment Weekly
In a world where any number of polite indie bands are desperately trying to be the new version of the Beach Boys or Crosby, Stills & Nash, it's almost sweet to see one band aim at simply being the Beatles, or at least a refracted version of the Fab Four via a sunny, low-key, and easygoing power pop lens. The Plural of Yes (is) something that might make most people want to search out the acts that clearly served as an inspiration — besides the Beatles, there are inevitable echoes of Big Star, later XTC, Cheap Trick, T. Rex, the Smiths — it's almost a greatest hits of elegantly hooky and wistful guitar pop in general.
-- All Music Guide
Words On Music announces the signing of its 11th artist — Berlin, Germany's Almost Charlie. The band's North American debut release, The Plural of Yes, will be released in late spring.
For Against's latest record, Shade Side Sunny Side, has made the Best Albums of 2008 lists of several magazines and writers across the world including Jack Rabid (The Big Takeover), Indieville (Canada), Cults e Raridades Musicais (Portugal), Power of Pop, Hablo Ennui, [SIC] Magazine (Belgium), Leonard's Lair (UK), and Projecto Scellophane (Portugal).
Magic Bullets will embark on an 11-date, 10 city tour next Thursday, including shows in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and their home state of California. "Will Scarlett," one of the band's standout tracks from their debut album, a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love, was recently featured on an episode of "Gossip Girl." For a full tour listing, visit our shows page.
December 26, 2008
Words On Music has added three new For Against t-shirts to our on-line store including a repress of our popular "Trees" design, this time with magenta printing on a black shirt, just like the original 1985 Autocrat 7". We also have two "Shade Side Sunny Side" shirts - in indigo blue and black - designed by guitarist Harry Dingman III. See the new shirts here.
December 26, 2008 Lorna's new record, Writing Down Things To Say, has just been named by PopMatters as one of the Top 10 Best Indie Pop Records of 2008! Read the feature here.
December 6, 2008 The Meeting Places will open for German/Danish noise-rock trio 18th Dye in Silverlake, California on December 13th. The band recently added a fifth member to the group, keyboardist and vocalist Laura Llamas. The band continues to write new material for their upcoming third album.
November 17, 2008
Lorna's new album, Writing Down Things To Say, is released on Tuesday, November 18th, in the USA. The UK and European release dates for the album will be in early 2009.
October 9, 2008
Words On Music is now shipping orders of Lorna'sWriting Down Things To Say, the third record by Nottingham England's orchestral pop songsmiths. The quartet follow up their highly acclaimed 2005 record Static Patterns and Souvenirs with that rare album that eschews convenient classification - embracing an expansive sonic palette without sounding eclectic. This is in no small part due to the dozens of instruments Lorna is able to skillfully perform and weave into the record's nine compositions, touring folk, old-time country, chamber pop, post-rock, and even avante-lounge along the way. Signposts: Mojave 3, Coastal, American Analog Set, Nick Drake, The Blue Nile.
October 9, 2008
Lincoln, Nebraska's renowned post-punk trio For Against, celebrating their 25th year, is set to embark next week on a 12-date, 6-nation European tour, to promote the release of the band's 7th album, Shade Side Sunny Side. For Against will perform in Italy (Milan, Rome, Turin), Greece (Athens), France (Paris, Strasbourg), Germany (Berlin, Leipzig, Bochum, Hamburg), Belgium (Brussels), and The Netherlands (Amsterdam). Visit the shows page for more details.
August 22, 2008 For Against will make its first ever performance in the deep South since its formation in 1984 in a one-off show in Atlanta, Georgia on November 8, 2008. Tickets for the show, which will be held at The Earl, are available at www.badearl.com or www.ticketalternative.com. Twin Tigers will be the opening act.
July 1, 2008 Kabluey, an independent feature film featuring Magic Bullets' "Heatstroke" during its closing credits, is opening in select theaters this month. The film, winner for "Best Narrative Feature" at the Austin Film Festival, stars Lisa Kudrow, Scott Prendergast, Christine Taylor, Teri Garr, Conchata Ferrell, Chris Parnell, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It opens on July 4th in New York City, followed by Los Angeles (July 11), Austin (July 25), and San Francisco (August 1).
June 23, 2008 The Meeting Places will be playing their first show since 2006 in Silver Lake, California on July 24th. Guitarist Scott McDonald recently returned to the band after a year-long hiatus. See the shows page for more details.
May 28, 2008 Magic Bullets have announced a dozen tour dates for the summer, including the BFD Festival in Mountain View, California (with The Kooks, Cypress Hill) and the American Eagle Outfitters New American Music Union Festival in Pittsburgh (with Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, The Roots). The band will also be playing two shows in California in June with Andy Rourke (The Smiths) DJ-ing. See the shows page for more details and other dates.
May 26, 2008
Seminal independent music magazine The Big Takeover has weighed in on the new For Against record, Shade Side Sunny Side, and calls it the 'Album Of The Year' so far: "This is just a fabulous work, one of the most unnerving and yet often resplendently gorgeous records I've heard in some time. Every time I play it, it unfolds new layers of feeling, unlocking new mysteries of the clash between head and heart, and digs in harder with the simple clarity of its musical force. Album of the year? So far it sure as hell is." - Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover
April 22, 2008 The Meeting Places announce guitarist Scott McDonald has returned to the group and that the Los Angeles quartet is rehearsing once again. McDonald had been on indefinite hiatus from the band since late 2006.
April 8, 2008 Shade Side Sunny Side, the 7th studio album by the Lincoln, Nebraska trio For Against, is released today! Critics are already celebrating the the band's first record in six years. All Music Guide writes: "It's a pleasure to hear a group that has constantly defied the odds still sound fresh and vibrant. Far from returning to the days of December and earlier, this is very much a For Against of now rather than of then, the sweet melancholia of the past turned both more haunted and more angry. Runnings' seemingly deathless voice retains its light, clear quality, as all the group's albums have always shown, but matched again with Dingman's powerful playing, it just seems all that much more right."
April 7, 2008
Watch CBS's The Ghost Whisperer this Friday and you'll hear "Wide Awake," from The Meeting Places' debut record, Find Yourself Along The Way.
March 4, 2008
Words On Music is now shipping orders for Shade Side Sunny Side, For Against's seventh full-length record and first studio album since 2002. As the Lincoln, Nebraska trio approaches their 25th anniversary on the independent music scene, For Against has reemerged with an exclamation point: Shade Side Sunny Side is a landmark record, boasting For Against's darkest (and loudest) material to date. The post-punk roots of For Against's early years are firmly in place, but presented throughout nine new songs with a more expansive and atmospheric sonic palette. The album marks the return of original guitarist Harry Dingman, in his first recordings with the band since the 1988 seminal dream pop record, December.
February 28, 2008 Magic Bullets perform at San Francisco's annual Noise Pop Festival tonight at Mezzanine (with MTV's Human Giant and Voxhaul Broadcast).
<February 4, 2008 Magic Bullets' video "Yesterday's Seen Better Days" has been accepted to the Noise Pop Film Festival.
January 3, 2008
Words On Music's latest official For Against t-shirt (WMT-03) is now available! This is a limited edition shirt documenting For Against's first European festival appearance at Tanned Tin, Castellon, Spain in November 2007. The design is light blue printing on a dark choloclate shirt, 7.4" wide x 9.6" tall. Designed by For Against guitarist Harry Dingman III. Sizes S, M, and L are available.
January 2, 2008
On January 18th, Magic Bullets will embark on a month long West Coast tour alongside Seattle's The Blakes. The San Francisco sextet will be performing 22 dates plus some additional radio appearances along the way. Check out our shows page for details.
January 1, 2008
"Hall of Fame," a standout track from The Meeting Places' 2006 album Numbered Days, will be included on CBS' The Ghost Whisperer on Friday, January 4, 2008. The song will play during a scene in which Jennifer Love Hewitt's character is in an antique store reading a blog in the first quarter of the show.
November 20, 2007
Words On Music now has small and medium sizes back in stock (in addition to large and extra-large) for both designs of our For Against t-shirts. The "Trees" and "December" t-shirts were designed by For Against guitarist, Harry Dingman.
November 9, 2007 For Against played the Tanned Tin Festival last weekend in Castellón, Spain. Other bands appearing at the annual festival include The Sea and Cake, Dolorean, Wolf Eyes, Xiu Xiu, Deerhunter, and Asobi Seksu.
October 1, 2007 Magic Bullets open for Perry Farrell's Satellite Party! On Tuesday, October 2nd, Magic Bullets will open for Perry Farrell's new band Satellite Party at an event curated by SPIN and Gen Art at Bloomingdale's in San Francisco. The event will include a silent auction featuring collectors edition photographs of John Varvatos' iconic rock and roll ad campaign to benefit VH1 Save The Music.
August 27, 2007
Words On Music is now shipping orders for In The Marshes - our third For Against reissue. In The Marshes has never before been released on CD, and it is reissued in a six-panel digipak designed by Bruce Licher. In The Marshes was recorded in 1986 and reflects For Against's darkest and most experimental material, bringing to mind the ethereal sounds of 4AD (This Mortal Coil) and Factory Records (New Order). This CD reissue includes two exclusive bonus tracks: a studio version of "Amnesia" and the original version of the fan favorite "Amen Yves" (both with Greg Hill on live drums).
July 21, 2007 Magic Bullets launch their 2007 West Coast tour this week in support of their debut album, a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love. The tour begins July 22 in Los Angeles at The Echo, then heads to Seattle, Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, and culminates in their hometown of San Francisco, in a show sponsored by Filter magazine. Visit our shows page for more details.
May 29, 2007 a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love, the debut album by the San Francisco sextet Magic Bullets, was released today by Words On Music and is available on our order page. The band was SPIN.com's Artist of the Day, and critics are lauding Magic Bullets' sound: "A band that can pull off sounding simultaneously like The Feelies and Joy Division is one that bears watching. Recommended." (All Music Guide). "Drawing influences from U.K. post-punk outfits like Gang of Four and Joy Division, Magic Bullets' recipe for success is powerful precision and impressive musicianship. The final ingredient is Benson's chameleon-like voice, evoking similarities to Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell" (SPIN.com).
May 14, 2007 Magic Bullets are Spin.com's Band of the Day today. Spin describes the ingredients for the band's recipie for success as, "Powerful precision, impressive musicianship, and Benson's chameleon-like voice."
April 27, 2007 a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love, the debut album by the San Francisco sextet Magic Bullets, is available for purchase and is shipping now exclusively through Words On Music's website, in advance of its May 29, 2007 official worldwide release. The 10-song record makes friends with the rich traditions of post-punk (Gang of Four), new wave (early Talking Heads) and C86 (The Wedding Present), whilst introducing themselves to contemporaries influenced by these scenes (The Walkmen, French Kicks) with their own secret handshake. Singer Philip Benson boasts a poised, dynamic croon, yet does not overshadow the band's intricate musicianship — a crafty layering of Felt-esque melodies onto Bizarro-era chords. Already gaining a huge buzz in the Bay area, Magic Bullets' debut record is one of the breakthrough albums of 2007.
March 7, 2007
Words On Music now offers t-shirts for sale in our on-line shop. The first shirts are a pair of lovely For Against designs, both created by For Against guitarist Harry Dingman III. The "Trees" t-shirt resurrects the cover image of For Against's ultra-rare Autocrat / It's a Lie 7" single, released in 1985. The "December" shirt is a modified reprint of For Against's first official t-shirt from 1988 from the legendary December record. All shirts are available in men's sizes M, L, and XL. To order t-shirts and see close-up images of the designs, please visit here.
February 25, 2007 Magic Bullets will be performing at the 2007 Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco, opening for French Kicks on March 1st at Slim's. An official release date of the band's debut album a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love will be announced by Words On Music very shortly.
December 25, 2006
Words On Music would like to thank everyone for making 2006 its best year yet! We are quite excited for the coming year as 2007 will be our busiest year to date: new releases on the horizon include the debut record by San Francisco's Magic Bullets, the third record by Nottingham's Lorna, the seventh studio album by Nebraska's For Against, as well as a Lucy Show rarities double-CD and a reissue of For Against'sIn The Marshes. Thanks once again to all Words On Music fans across the globe for your continued support of our label!
December 24, 2006 For Against, starting its 24th year as one of America's most beloved trios, is now officially in the studio recording their as yet untitled 7th album to be released by Words On Music in 2007. The band has worked up more than a dozen songs over the past two years with original guitarist Harry Dingman rejoining the group in 2004 - sixteen years after his departure. Dingman joins original singer/bassist Jeffrey Runnings and drummer Paul Engelhard who has played in For Against since 1990. For Against will be playing two shows in Athens, Greece in mid-March which include some of this new material.
November 7, 2006 Fiel Garvie has just released a video to "Airsong," the second single from their new album, Caught Laughing. You can view it at You Tube here.
October 2, 2006 Numbered Days, the second album of luminious, infectious noise-pop by Los Angeles' The Meeting Places, is released this week worldwide by Words On Music. With Numbered Days the quartet has written ten new songs that craftily combine melodic indie-pop with the tremulous soundscapes first explored on their 2003 debut Find Yourself Along The Way. Numbered Days was recorded at The Ship by Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, Earlimart).
September 27, 2006
Words On Music is delighted to announce the signing of the San Francisco sextet Magic Bullets. The band's debut album, a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love, will be released by Words On Music in early 2007. The record's 10 songs make friends with the rich traditions of post-punk (Gang of Four), new wave (early Talking Heads) and C86 (The Wedding Present), but introduce themselves to these scenes with their own secret handshake. Singer Philip Benson's poised, dynamic croon towers over his contemporaries, yet does not overshadow his own band's intricate musicianship — a layering of Felt-esque melodies onto Bizarro-era chords. Already gaining a huge buzz in the Bay area, Magic Bullets will drop one of the breakthrough albums of 2007.
August 7, 2006 Caught Laughing, the third album by the Norwich, England quintet Fiel Garvie, is released this week in North America (UK and European releases to follow in mid-September). Caught Laughing continues Fiel Garvie's reformulation of pop music through nine spellbinding new songs that suggest the work of Low, Stereolab, Sigur Ros, and Mercury Rev. Rather than abandoning the pop form altogether, Fiel Garvie cunningly sidesteps its conventions with a distinctive flair and ambience that does not cloud the quintet's fluency in melodies and hooks. Caught Laughing was mixed by Geoff Allen (Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai).
June 18, 2006
The release of Numbered Days, the second album by Los Angeles' The Meeting Places, has been set for October 3, 2006. For their sophomore record the quartet has written ten new songs that craftily combine melodic indie-pop with the tremulous soundscapes first explored on their debut Find Yourself Along The Way (Words On Music, 2003). Numbered Days was recorded at The Ship by Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, Earlimart).
June 17, 2006 Lucy Show fans take note! Birdsnest, the second album by Typewriter (the new project by Lucy Show singer Mark Bandola), was released this month on Moineaux Internationaux Records. On Birdsnest, Typewriter fashions a majestic tapestry guided by the hands of The Beatles, Brian Eno, Captain Beefheart, Spacemen 3, and Bandola's old 1980s post-punk London outfit, The Lucy Show. Bandola's voice is unmistakable and he employs it to great effect throughout the record, venturing into bittersweet ballads, upbeat Roxy Music romanticism, and Eastern-influenced Beatles. The album also includes eleven instrumentals that serve not only as stylistic bridges to the vocal compositions, but also as a creative outlet feeding Typewriter's more experimental appetite. For more information and to purchase a copy of this record, please visit: www.typewriter-music.com
January 6, 2006
Words On Music announces the launch of the For Against Archive. For Against has one of the longest tenures on America's independent music scene - dating back to 1984. For the thousands of For Against fans, especially those throughout the world that have never had the opportunity to see the band perform in person, we have created the Archive to document the band's history through photographs, flyers, and other historical information. This Archive will be updated as Words On Music locates and identifies more original source material. If you have any For Against archival documents that you would like to see posted here, please contact Words On Music.
November 15, 2005
Words On Music's reissue of Mania, the second album by London's The Lucy Show, is released this week in the USA, Canada, and Germany! The album will be released on December 5, 2005 in France and January 30, 2006 in the UK.
November 9, 2005 The Meeting Places have completed a video to "On Our Own," one of the standout tracks to their debut album Find Yourself Along The Way. The video is available for download at the bands website here: www.themeetingplaces.com/video/.
September 27, 2005
Words On Music is now shipping orders for Mania, the long out-of-print second album by London's The Lucy Show. First released in 1986, Mania is a classic post-punk album, along side the best recordings of the era by The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, and Jesus and Mary Chain. The album injects gorgeous, poignant melodies onto a textured soundscape, ricocheting with shimmering guitars from the production of the legendary John Leckie (New Order, Stone Roses, Radiohead, Trashcan Sinatras, Felt). Words On Music's re-release of Mania remasters all 10 album tracks, plus seven additional bonus tracks (five of which have never been commercially released). The re-release also includes the video to their MTV hit "A Million Things" and liner notes written by The Big Takeover editor Jack Rabid. The album will be released across the US on November 15, 2005, but is available now exclusively through Words On Music's mail order.
September 26, 2005 December, For Against's long out-of-print second album, was officially released this week across the USA. Orders are shipping now from Words On Music. The December reissue has been remastered and is issued in a new six-panel digipak design by Bruce Licher. The CD also includes two RARE videos for "Autocrat" and "Echelons" from their Echelons album. These videos were shot in 1987 but have never previously been released to the public. December is the rare album that doubles as both a post-punk and dream pop masterpiece. "One of the finest dream pop records made." - All Music Guide
September 24, 2005 Fiel Garvie has nearly completed the mixing of their third album in Scotland with Geoff Allen (Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, The Proclaimers, Arab Strap). Look for a 2006 release.
August 20, 2005
Orders are shipping now for Words On Music's reissue of December, For Against's long out-of-print second album from 1988. The December reissue has been remastered and is issued in a new six-panel digipak design by Bruce Licher. The CD will also include two RARE videos for "Autocrat" and "Echelons" from their Echelons album. These videos were shot in 1987 but have never previously been released to the public. December is a fan favorite and the album is now considered by critics to be a forerunner of the dream pop scene popularized in England just a year or two later. "One of the best dream pop records made." - All Music Guide
July 21, 2005
Words On Music announces the forthcoming release of the long out of print second album by London's The Lucy Show. Mania, first released in 1986, is a classic post-punk album, along side the best recordings of the era by The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Jesus and Mary Chain. The album injects gorgeous, poignant melodies onto a textured soundscape, ricocheting with shimmering guitars from the production of the legendary John Leckie (New Order, Stone Roses, Radiohead, Trashcan Sinatras, Felt). Words On Music's re-release of Mania remasters all 10 album tracks, plus seven additional bonus tracks (five of which have never been commercially released). The re-release also includes the video to their MTV hit "A Million Things" and liner notes written by The Big Takeover editor Jack Rabid. Look for a late Autumn 2005 release.
July 15, 2005 Lorna's new record, Static Patterns and Souvenirs, was released this week in the UK. MOJO heralds the album as: "Languid indie beauty from Nottingham. A languorous intoxication decanted from torch tradition, the Velvet's third album, and the delicate end of '90s shoegazing, Static Patterns and Souvenirs owes almost nothing to contemporary musical fashion." The album was released in France in June and in April in the USA.
March 19, 2005 Static Patterns and Souvenirs, the second album of beautifully orchestrated songwriting by Nottingham England's Lorna, is exclusively available from Words On Music ahead of its release date and is shipping now. Fans of Coastal, Mojave 3, Camera Obscura, Mazzy Star, Lambchop, and Angelo Badalamenti take note!
March 11, 2005 The Meeting Places perform at SXSW! Austin, Texas residents please come out to see a grand show courtesy of The Meeting Places as they return to play South By Southwest for the second time in three years. This year they will perform at the SoHo Lounge, 217 E. 6th Street on Saturday, March 19th at 8:00 P.M. Club #: 512-472-1916.
February 20, 2005
Words On Music is delighted to announce that Nottingham, England's Lorna has signed to Words On Music for the worldwide release of their second album, Static Patterns and Souvenirs. The album is tentatively scheduled for a late April/early May 2005 release in the United States, with UK, French, and Spanish releases dates shortly thereafter. Static Patterns and Souvenirs showcases eleven highly orchestrated songs led by the vocal teaming of Mark Rolfe, Sharon Cohen, and James Allen that alternately embraces Scottish pop, postrock, folk, and dream pop. An official release date will be set shortly.
February 18, 2005
Words On Music is profiled in the latest print issue of Emoragei magazine from Quebec. Read the on-line edition (in French)here.
February 10, 2005
France, Spain, and the United Kingdom have all seen recent release dates of new Words On Music albums. A Houseguest's Wish was released in the United Kingdom through Shellshock on January 31st. For Against's Echelons, Coastal's Halfway To You, and A Houseguest's Wish were released in Spain on February 2nd through Dock. Echelons and Halfway To You were released in France through Rock Revolution on January 10, whereas A Houseguest's Wish was released last December 15.
February 1, 2005
Words On Music releases are making several Best of 2004 album lists. Jack Rabid, editor of The Big Takeover, recently named For Against's Echelons and A Houseguest's Wish: Translations of Wire's 'Outdoor Miner' among his top albums of 2004. Somewhere Cold (Canada) ranked A Houseguest's Wish as the #1 compilation album of the year and Coastal's Halfway To You as the #4 album of the year. England's Whisperin' and Hollerin' ranked A Houseguest's Wish #13 and Echelons #17 in their top reissues and compilations list. Emoragei Magazine's Sophie de Lisio (Canada) ranked Echelons the #3 album of the year. Music critic Piero Scaruffi ranked Halfway To You among his Top 20 albums of 2004. La Magic Box (France) named A Houseguest's Wish as the #18 album of 2004.
October 24, 2004
Words On Music announces it will re-release For Against's long out-of-print and highly sought after second album December in Spring 2005. The album will be remastered with Bruce Licher contributing a new six-panel digipack design. Thanks to Independent Project Records for making this re-release possible!
October 5, 2004 A Houseguest's Wish: Translations of Wire's 'Outdoor Miner'will be released by Words On Music on November 9, 2004. The album is available now exclusively through Words On Music. A Houseguest's Wish is Words On Music's 25th Anniversary tribute to the Wire's seminal pop song, "Outdoor Miner." Words On Music has assembled interpretations by 19 artists from five countries into one stunning and diverse collection — including versions by Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), Typewriter (Mark Bandola of The Lucy Show), Lush, Flying Saucer Attack, and Kick On The Floods (Carlos Forster of For Stars). It also includes renditions by three Words On Music artists — The Meeting Places, Fiel Garvie, and Should.
September 9, 2004 For Against reforms for its first live show in years! For Against announces it has reformed with original guitarist Harry Dingman III (from the Echelons and December albums). The band is currently writing new material and is also rehearsing many of the old songs — the latter will be on display at their first live show in years on September 24, 2004 at Knickerbockers in Lincoln, Nebraska. To Jeff, Paul, and Harry: thank you!
July 2, 2004
We are now shipping orders for Echelons, the re-release of For Against's debut album from 1987 — available for the first time on CD! The album will be available in stores on August 10th, but is available now exclusively from Words On Music. The album has been remastered with an original 6-panel digipack design by Bruce Licher (Scenic).
June 27, 2004
We are now shipping orders for Coastal's new album, Halfway To You, available exclusively through Words On Music. The album will be available in stores on August 10th. Halfway To You is the most sophisticated and stunning collection of Coastal songs to date. The album features nine new songs that retain the fragile beauty of the band's debut album, but evoke a more textured ambiance, owing in part to the wider array of instrumentation employed — such as cello, viola, acoustic guitar, and found samples.
April 15, 2004
Words On Music announces the addition of Adam Franklin to our "Outdoor Miner" tribute album, A Houseguest's Wish. Franklin is the talented songwriter behind Toshack Highway and the seminal and wholly unique 1990s English band Swervedriver. Words On Music are lifelong admirers of Adam's music and are celebrating this wonderful addition to the project!
February 29, 2004
Three more artists are confirmed to appear on A Houseguest's Wish, our "Outdoor Miner" tribute album: a newly recorded version by New York City's The Sems (Audraglint Records), plus previously recorded versions by Lush (4AD Records), and Flying Saucer Attack (Domino Records).
February 23, 2004 Fiel Garvie recently shot a video in Italy for their current single "I Didn't Say," also found on the group's Leave Me Out Of This album. The video is currently being edited. In the meantime use this link to view a RealMedia live version of another album track, "Doortime."
February 4, 2004
Words On Music is delighted to announce the re-release Echelons, the stunning debut album by For Against from 1987, previously unavailable on CD! The album will be remastered, with design by Bruce Licher (Scenic). Words On Music greatly appreciates the support of Independent Project Records to make this re-release possible. No official release date has been set, but we are aiming for May/June 2004.
January 14, 2004
Recent Words On Music releases have appeared on a number of Best-Of-2003 lists from across the globe. The Meeting Places debut CD, Find Yourself Along The Way, was named Album Of The Year by Sense (Greece), and also listed by Indieville (Canada), Whisperin and Hollerin (UK), and Italian critic Maurizio Marino (Rockerilla) as one of 2003's top releases. Fiel Garvie's new album, Leave Me Out Of This, was listed by Bodyspace (Portugal), Whisperin and Hollerin (UK), and Canadian critic David Antrobus (Flak Magazine).
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