The Smittens - Love Record Breaker [10”]

Artist: The Smittens
Title: Love Record Breaker
Format: 10” vinyl album limited to 300 copies (6 hand screen printed covers in editions of 50)
Cat#: Fika039
Release date: 18th August 2014
Bandcamp | Spotify 

Love Record Breaker is a transitionary record for Burlington, Vermont’s The Smittens. 

They’ve grown to a 6 piece with the incorporation of New York soap maker Missy Bly, who having made a guest appearance on their previous LP, Believe Me, contributes the title track here and appears throughout the 8 tracks on vocals, providing a melodically fuller sound. It’s also the last record from The Smittens to feature Dana Kaplan’s vocals pre-transition and pre-testosterone, prior to his new voice and new vocal arrangements.

This is the most forward album from The Smittens so far: sluts, whores, dead pets, not wanting to live and a rather explicit discussion of indie politics all feature as part of this record. It includes a cover of US folk duo Indigo Girls’ Closer To Fine, a homage to their queer forebears as well as their geeky pasts; The Smittens describe the original as an “80s lesbian campfire anthem”.

The title track, Love Record Breaker, was written as a response to a friend’s cold hearted Conquistadorian conquests around town, from the perspective of someone who had been through his conveyor belt of gal pals. “I wanted to convey the anger and frustration that happens in that situation, but keeping a sense of dignity despite feeling like a slut in a long line of ‘sluts’ in waiting”.

This is also a record that has taken The Smittens back to their roots, completing the circle. Writing the track These Lips returned them to their collaborative and improvisational past, not as simple as it used to be with members now living in Philadelphia and New York. Growing from a jam about a lip infection preventing Dana from kissing his partner, The Smittens twisted and turned the meaning into something far saucier, implicating both the narrator and the listener.
Closing the album is a remix of These Days from Death Team’s Johen Rafael Tilli, a Swedish producer The Smittens met on a cruise ship in the Baltic Sea: “I wanted to create a sound that could combine Scandinavian queerness with Moog syntheziers, but at the same time breathe a sense of expectation”.

The album was recorded by The Smittens at Twee Valley Manor and mixed by Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) at his Marlborough Farms Studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Love Record Breaker comes on 10” black vinyl in one of 6 different hand screenprinted sleeves, each hand numbered and limited to 50.

The Smittens are friends first and open-hearted indiepop revolutionaries after that. 

Max Andrucki, Dana Kaplan, Colin Clary, Missy Bly, Holly Chagnon and David Zacharis switch up instruments, song-writing, and singing to create catchy, harmony-driven twee ballads, pop anthems, and queer love songs. Always brilliantly lyrical, and often brazenly political.

Press for Love Record Breaker

"The vocal arrangements sound great, the reverb 1950s guitar sound wonderful. There will be no dancing at the indie disco to this and its all the better for it... Arguably their most important album to date." Neon Filler [8.5/10]

"there is nothing really to compare the Smittens with which is good in itself, so you just have to let you hair down a bit if you have some and listen to the simple sounds, chuckle at the naughty lyrics, pour yourself a dry martini and morph into a whore. Marvellous!" Penny Black Music

"To pull off diversity in sound is a feat in itself, but to do so with a coherent sound is pure magic. Somehow, The Smittens do just that without any sign of strain. May they continue with equal exuberance." The Big Takeover

"There’s a certain sense of innocence in this song; it harkens back the the gifts of girl-groups of days gone by, accented by nice male backing tracks. You can’t listen to a song like this and not feel your emotions swell with joy." Austin Town Hall

"I love this!" [Upper West Side] Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

'Burlington band backs transgender singer' [interview] Burlington Free Press

Sydsvenkan feature

Cosines - Commuter Love [7"]

Commuter Love, the new single from Cosines, is out in shops today! You can pre-order it on vinyl or download it from us via our webshop. As with their debut Cosines schizophrenic nature is their strength with being able to float above the current indie pop crop by infusing elements of baroque pop, krautrock, sunshine pop revival, glam rock, and synth-driven new wave while never taking so much from any genre to bog themselves down and lose sight of crafting perfect pop hits.

A-side Commuter Love is the tale of someone who spends their days commuting to work set to a glam rock and romp. It’s an icy cool song about train commutes with nods to Blondie’s pouty pomp and Goldfrapp’s sultry stomp. Lyrics we can all relate to set to verse chorus verse, it’s a hit all the way to the top to help ease your working week and those daily travels. You know the moments where you are sitting there and you slip into your mind and you realize you are stationary and your life is passing you by. Time wasted in transit from station to station all to sit stationary at work at a desk or monitor only to get home to be so tired you are sat stationary again flipping from yet another type of station to station. You have more knowledge about the characters on tv and their lives than those of your friends.

The B-Side Disclosed Stories walks the line between sunshine revival, motorik krautrock-isms and stoic soul. It’s like if Camera Obscura was influenced by Neu! and fronted by Kirsty MacColl. The song recalls a place we’ve all been at some point where you have that one friend which is so close you think maybe it could work out, but you can’t ruin what you have. You are there for each other sharing those stories and times that are pure frustration watching each other make mistakes. You think if the person you were with was like them, but you know it will end it heartbreak if you did.

Cosines play The Sebright Arms on Friday the 16th of May for their single launch party, alongside Simon Love, Giant Burger and The Girls Are [DJs]. Tickets available here.

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Gin [12"/CD]

Artist: Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures
Title: Gin
Format: 12” LP on gin coloured vinyl / digipack CD with lyrics booklet
Cat#: Fika036LP/CD
Release date: 3rd March 2014
Bandcamp | Spotify

Stanley Brinks is joined by The Wave Pictures for their third album together; their first since 2010’s ‘Another One Just Like That’.

Recorded entirely live in the studio, without headphones or overdubs, and with a good deal of improvisation, ‘Gin’ is a modern-sounding, in a way avant-garde, old school recording of text-driven songs. The Wave Pictures didn't get a chance to learn the songs before the session, Stan having forgotten to put a stamp on the demo tape he'd sent them from Berlin.

To anyone familiar with Stanley Brinks' huge discography - more than 100 albums - ‘Gin’ might sound considerably more raw and less sophisticated than some of his previous recordings. However this body of work remains rich in jazzy sounds and original structures, the songs looser and full of playfulness, the lyrics encapsulating their essence.

It goes without saying that Gin - the drink - was the inspiration for the album; while writing, and while recording.

Press for Gin

"a set that's as wistful and charming as it is playful and self-concious" Uncut [8/10]

"The Wave Pictures' classy post-punkish bite is a great foil to Brinks' whimsy on these unhinged, loose-limbed story songs. Sometimes gin makes you win as much as sin." NME [6/10]

"typically rich in a variety of sounds and structures; the songs are looser, more playful and all the more endearing because of it" Loud and Quiet

"This is nerve-jangling, hard-surfaced, soft-centred funny, shot through with sadness. The new Lost Boys, the Unlikliest Lads." Rock n Reel [4/5]

"a joyous and celebratory record which crackles and sparkles with a joie de vivre which is sadly lacking from all too many of Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures’ contemporaries" Folk Radio

"Gin rises above the swiftness of its creation, thanks to these few detours that Brinks and The Wave Pictures take around their usual territory. The fact that the catchiest track from this session – the single ‘Orange Juice’ – is not included just underlines that these guys seem to seamlessly slot together when they hit the studio" Drowned In Sound

"The album is deceptively simple but has real depth and quality and the artists spark off each other; the Wave Pictures are skilled at what they do (David Tattersall fires off all sorts of fast and sharp solos) while Stanley Brinks, first with Herman Dune and now on his own, shows that he can twist a melody until it squeals with anguish. When the two parts come together as ‘Gin’, it’s a refreshing pick-me-up; a tonic in fact…" SoundsXP

"there are lead guitar breaks which are loud and clean, like a messy second-grunge-era approximation of the great early electric guitarists from the '50s like Les Paul and Jimmy Bryant, real nimble but a bit anarchic too" Norman Records [8/10]

"‘Parking Lots”’has a classic Wave Pictures groove, but ‘No Goodbyes’ has a brooding intensity I don't automatically associate with them. Instead of the dizzying guitars, a single chord is thrashed over and over. Brinks' vocal sound winsome, but with a knowing creepiness, as he spits out “I know better than to think too much”. Johnny Helm's furious drumming steals the show as the song draws to its end. 'Gin' reaches a delightful conclusion with the sweet ballad, “Not to Kiss You”, where Brinks writes sadly of a non-quite love affair, around a melody that could have fallen off Dylan's 'Blonde On Blonde'. It's a delightful end to an invigorating record." Penny Black Music

"human, imperfect and with mistakes that aren't ironed out but laid bare to be accepted rather than ridiculed. It's shambolic – yes, but still full of energy and lyrical idiosyncrasies that shine through" Americana UK

"Brinks’ adds an earnest and romantic edge as compared to The Wave Pictures’ slightly more irreverent stance, with drunken recollection seeming to inform his storytelling." Drunken Werewolf

"Gin exercises its creator’s idiosyncrasies more successfully, and, as on their previous two secondments, The Wave Pictures prove nicely suited to the record’s loose, improvisational style." The Skinny [3/5]

"There is a wonderful naïve feel to the album, more impressionistic than precise. It has an intensity like Gauguin, bright and colourful but still with that all is not right in paradise feel." Fatea Magazine

"punctuated by ripping guitar solos that sound like they’ve been recorded though a rusty tin can. In a good way" Is This Music [9/10]

"The result is as it should be: an honest, raw album that perfectly illustrates the journey musicians make while creating it. A staggeringly good album that’s definitely worth a place on your shelf." Outline Online [9/10]

"Gin [is] a fitting title for an album brimming with snickered lyrics and tipsy melodies" The Big Takeover

"the gentle bounce of ‘Max In The Elevator’ is infectiously pretty, the call and response vocals of ‘Parking Lots’ inherently hummable, and closing track ‘Not To Kiss You’ is all elegant romance." Subba Culture [6/10]

"Brinks relies on good old-fashioned narrative to get his message across, in songs reminiscent of Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, or the post-punk of David Thomas and Pere Ubu." Tasty Fanzine

"an album of riotous joy-bringing." York Press

"gentle and evocative rock" Peterborough Telegraph

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Spinola Bay [Digital]

Here's a free track to download! Recorded at the same time as Gin and Orange Juice, this track is an alternate version of Spinola Bay to the one that appears on Gin; here, Andre takes lead vocals alone. Enjoy!

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures are heading out on tour in March, supported by Freschard. Catch them here: 1 March Ramsgate - Ramsgate Music Hall [Tickets] 2 March Brighton - The Prince Albert [Tickets] 3 March London - The Old Queens Head [Tickets] 4 March Nottingham - The Maze [Tickets] 5 March Cardiff - The Moon Club [Tickets] 6 March Manchester - Chorlton Irish Club [Tickets] 7 March Hull - The Adelphi 8 March Wakefield - The Hop [Tickets] 9 March Newcastle - The Head Of Steam [Tickets] 10 March Edinburgh - Henry’s Cellar Bar 11 March Glasgow - CCA 12 March Belfast - [TBC] 13 March Galway - Roisin Dubh 14 March Cork - Triskel Arts Centre 15 March Dublin - Whelan’s 16 March Bangor - COB 17 March Bristol - Start The Bus

Making Marks - A Thousand Half-Truths [12"/CD]

We're finally releasing the debut LP from Norway's Making Marks! It comes on beautiful heavyweight 180g vinyl with a printed inner sleeve of lyrics and pictures and download code, and on a 6 panel CD digipack with full lyrics booklet too. Or you can simply download it from our webshop, iTunes etc.

“There’s a trace of Saint Etienne’s suburban romance to be heard in the superior pop of Making Marks, a Norwegian four-piece whose debut album puts a winning finish of wit and longing on the belts-and-braces indiepop undercoat.” Uncut

“It’s an effective blend, especially with the sad but beautiful vocals of singers Ola Innset and Nina Bø as well as the country twang of Innset’s picking style of electric guitar playing.” Neon Filler

“classic heartwarming indiepop” SoundsXP

“a strong contender for indie-pop album of the year” Inforty

“a summery album to brighten up the current wintery outlook” Scottish Express

“The consistently excellent male/female vocals on show make A Thousand Half-Truths less a smack in the face than a warming, gentle arm around the shoulder. Perfect for these cold winter nights.” Shout4Music

Buy heavyweight LP / digipack CD / download

We've also got all three of their earlier 7" singles available for you to buy alongside the album: Ticket Machine [their debut 7", includes Suburban Kids With Biblical Names remix] Barcodes [their follow up, includes Erik Skantze remix] Uten En Tråd [their Norwegian single, includes a b-side recorded and produced by Darren Hayman]

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Orange Juice [7"]

Artist: Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures
Title: Orange Juice
Format: 7” orange vinyl
Cat#: Fika033
Release date: 20th January 2014
Bandcamp | Spotify

"Brinks comes over all Modern Life Is Rubbish as he laments life’s disappointments, including a 21st-century ‘Panic’ refrain of “the radio sucks balls, I don’t relate to any of the music they’re playing at all”. The antidote, apparently, is a cocktail of “alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, ephedrine and orange juice”. That out of these it is the healthy option that is chosen for the song’s title shows the whole thing is done with a glint in the eye." For Folks Sake

"sounds like Herman Dune when they were charmingly naïve and elegantly simple, a rock’n’roll strum with an easy rhythm, anthemic chorus and some memorable lyrics... a great, singalong single that promises much for forthcoming album Gin" Sounds XP

"This is massively catchy. You’ll never be able to stop singing it. Over a ramshackle Jonathan Richman style lollop they advise us that basically everything is shit but they’ll get by with alcohol, tobacco, caffeine ephedrine and orange juice." Norman Records [8/10]

"In matching life's hangdog vagaries with love's jubilation, Orange Juice lifts gloom into hard-won glory. It's pure musical joy." Did Not Chart

"this fun little number could be my new theme song for surviving SxSW" Austin Town Hall

"It might sound slightly daft to say that you ‘know’ John Peel would have loved a particular band or song, but given that Stanley Brinks did get support from the legendary DJ before his death, I’m not really being that presumptuous about this." 17 Seconds

"Picking the best track out of the two is something of a challenge, so investing in both is recommended" The Sound Of Confusion

BBC 6 Music session with Marc Riley [broadcast 6th March 2014]

Azure Blue "Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt"

The new album from Azure Blue is finally out! Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt is the follow up to the Swedish Grammy award winning Rule Of Thirds (where previous winners have included Fika favourites The Knife, Jens Lekman and El Perro Del Mar).

Here in the UK we're putting out the LP: it comes on delicious maroon coloured semi-transparent 12" vinyl, inside a wonderfully textured reverse card sleeve and includes a download code. Our friends at Hybris are in charge of the CD and digital in Europe, with Matinee Records handling the same duties for North America. Anna Logue in Germany are also issuing a double gatefold edition, containing both the new LP and Azure Blue's debut LP on vinyl for the first time.

Copies of the vinyl LP are shipping now and we'll have copies of the CD shortly. We'll also be taking some copies of the gatefold double LP, which is available to pre-order now; we're expecting to receive this from Germany later in the autumn.

Buy Azure Blue - Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt

Vinyl LP

Azure Blue

The latest addition to the Fika Recordings roster is Swedish synthpop master Azure Blue, the new project from Tobias Isaksson (Irene, Laurel Music). After his delightful debut album last year, Rule Of Thirds, we're joining the Swedish label Hybris to bring you Azure Blue's sophomore album Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt on 12" maroon vinyl. Matinée Recordings will be releasing the CD in North America, while Anna Logue Records will be releasing a double LP featuring both the Rule Of Thirds and Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt LPs.

Listen to the singles from the upcoming album below, and then pre-order the new album on vinyl here

Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt is out September 30th 2013.

Azure Blue has grown into the hearts of music lovers around the world with his debut album Rule Of Thirds and a promotional tour of 10 countries. His debut received critical praise, winning a Swedish independent grammy award, Manifest, (previous winners include The Knife, Jens Lekman and El Perro Del Mar) for the best pop album in 2012.

"Nostalgia fuelled pop harking back to the heyday of Factory Records, Isaksson's material is deeply romantic with a deft production slight of hand that can single-handedly break your heart and indeed heal it in one fell swoop." The Line Of Best Fit (UK) "The best electro-pop record in recent memory." Blurt Magazine (USA) “His touch is tender and light, and the album’s best songs always swing to the sky, riding up on decades of learning from drum machines and tangled relationships” The Fader (USA)

Released today

Barcodes, the second single from Making Marks, is released today on 7" vinyl and download. There's a bonus track too, in the form of a Barcodes remix from Skantze Tanzen.

Also out today is the debut LP from Victoria and Jacob, in a gorgeous die cut sleeve on heavyweight 12" vinyl.

Victoria and Jacob's Cry Baby - out now!

Victoria and Jacob - Copyright- Heloise Faure 2013 - 2303SMALL

After a stunning acoustic set complete with a string section at the Union Chapel in London last weekend, Victoria and Jacob release Cry Baby, the second single from their upcoming debut album today. It is available as a download from iTunes, Spotify and the like, and direct from the Fika shop too. The single comes complete with all 8 of the remixes, from talented folk such as Darren Hayman, Antwerp and Cosines amongst others.

Their debut album is available to pre-order now on both CD and LP - the latter in particular looks absolutely stunning, coming in a die cut sleeve on heavyweight 180gsm vinyl.