Target Practice

Slumberland started in 1989 as a collective effort consisting of members of DC-area bands Velocity Girl, Whorl, Black Tambourine and Powderburns. We were inspired by musical happenings like C86, early Creation, Postcard, Flying Nun, lower East Side noise, and also the renegade art & music of people like Cage, Burroughs and Duchamp. The explosion of punk had left behind a thriving network of 'zines, labels and distributors and we felt that there was room for our noise-loving, pop-obsessed aesthetic. While there were loads of US indie labels releasing a steady stream of 7"s, there wasn't much pop going on. Notable exceptions included K and Bus Stop, and we hoped to join them and help chisel out some space for melodies amongst the noise. Early releases from Velocity Girl, Whorl and Black Tambourine struck a note, and we found like-minded popsters getting in touch from all over the world. As we expanded the label roster and our horizons, the goal was always to share great songs and interesting sounds from a range of styles. Our first burst of activity brought seminal records by legendary bands like Stereolab, Rocketship, The Ropers, Lorelei, The Aislers Set, Hood and Boyracer. By the mid 2000s we were seeing a resurgence of interest in guitar pop and the start of the ongoing vinyl revival: the perfect environment for Slumberland! We launched into our latest phase of activity with as string of classic releases from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Stilts, Frankie Rose, Veronica Falls, Allo Darlin', Joanna Gruesome and so many more. 2024 is our thirty-fifth year we are still here, ploughing our own furrow and bringing you unique, genre-defining (and genre-defying!) releases from bands like The Reds, Pinks & Purples, The Umbrellas, Neutrals, Artsick, Kids On A Crime Spree, Papercuts, Lightheaded, Tony Jay, Chime School, Lunchbox and many, many more.

[slumberlandrecords]

Wonderful Telephone Numbers interview by Jeff Kelson in the new issue of The Big Takeover. Still one of the best music mags out there, still on paper, still writing about the good stuff. I'm blushing a little. Go get it! https://bigtakeover.com/news/big-takeover-issue-98-the-wedding-present-cover-about-to-ship

[slumberlandrecords]

Velocity Girl "1989-1992"

Velocity Girl "1989-1992" Links. Available on all popular platforms.

Coming soon: a compilation of Velocity Girl's early years, including scarce 7"s, b-sides, split singles, some unreleased songs, a few covers, the big hit, and much more, going all the way back to the first SLR release. Lovingly remastered from the original tapes, with extensive liner notes, rare band photos and more!

"1989-1992" is available on CD, transparent orange vinyl, and a limited white-and-orange creamsicle vinyl edition that's shared between SLR and our friends at Monorail Music in Glasgow. It's out August 18th and up for pre-orders now.

[slumberlandrecords]

A little SLR snapshot, circa Fall 1992. Some pretty good records there, I reckon. I sure do miss 1992 prices.

[slumberlandrecords]

Rocketship "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness" 30th Anniversary Edition

Rocketship "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness" 30th Anniversary Edition Links. Available on all popular platforms.

'Cause people have been asking: yes, our reissue of Rocketship's classic "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness" has been out of stock at retail for a while. It's taken longer than we hoped, but a repress is on the way. In the meantime, you can get it direct from us.

[slumberlandrecords]

We’re super excited about the new Real Numbers album - 100% solid gold perfect pop. Watch the video for “Never Never Again” and excited too!

[slumberlandrecords]

Beginnings

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he

Some distraction from dystopia with a brand-new episode of the Andy Beckerman's Beginnings podcast, featuring Dusty Reske of Rocketship! Talking about highly-sensitive people, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, moving to Texas, authentic emotions + MORE!

[slumberlandrecords]

It's pretty awesome that The Umbrellas are playing some shows with Heavenly in the PNW very soon! 26 Jun • Portland, Aladdin Theatre 27 Jun • Seattle, The Crocodile 28 Jun • Vancouver, BC, Hollywood Theatre A nice opportunity to revisit their last album "Fairweather Friend," which is packed with brilliant pop tunes, including this classic!

[slumberlandrecords]

Real Numbers "Was It Always This Way"

Real Numbers "Was It Always This Way" Links. Available on all popular platforms.

Minneapolis' Real Numbers return with the gorgeously pop-tastic “Was It Always This Way,” ten expectant, exuberant songs mixing hope and despair, the future and the past, all set to the sounds of late-80s/early-90s UK indiepop. Out August 14th, but up for pre-orders now on CD and classic black vinyl LP. Some cool pre-order bundles on our Bandcamp too. Absolutely love this one!

[slumberlandrecords]

The Telephone Numbers "Scarecrow II" LP/CD

The Telephone Numbers "Scarecrow II" LP/CD Links. Available on all popular platforms.

We're way excited to announce that SF all-stars The Telephone Numbers 2nd album, "Scarecrow II," is out October 10th. Journeying from rootsy jangle to rambunctious power-pop to refined elegance, "Scarecrow II" bursts with warmth, smarts and terrific tunes.

The first single from The Telephone Numbers' "Scarecrow II" is "Be Right Down," a tough jangler featuring Thomas' earnest lyrics and Morgan’s heavenly backing vocals. Major Minneapolis/Athens vibes and we are here for it. Go listen!

[slumberlandrecords]

Autocamper's ace debut album out now!

Happy release day to Autocamper! “What Do You Do All Day?” is a 10 out of 10 showcase for the band's timeless indiepop charm, weaving in crucial, timeless flavors from C81 Sound of Young Scotland to early Flying Nun to 90s DIY. Not twee, not anorak, not lucky, just pop!

“What Do You Do All Day?” is out now on Safe Suburban Home in UK/Europe and on Slumberland everywhere else. The yellow vinyl looks good enough to eat!

Get your copy now! https://li.sten.to/autocamper-all-day

Also keep an eye out for Autocamper on the road all summer, including a run of shows with Chime School!

[slumberlandrecords]

Allo Darlin' "Bright Nights" Out Now!

Happy release day to this absolute beauty! It's been a decade since the last Allo Darlin' album and not a minute has been wasted - "Bright Nights" bursts with joy, experience, warmth, melody, twang 'n' jangle and oh those gorgeous tunes. Well worth the wait!

"Bright Nights" is out now on Slumberland in North America and on Fika Recordings everywhere else. Hit the link below for buying/streaming options, we're quite fond of our magenta and black vinyl versions, and the CD comes with a nice fold-out lyric poster.

Get it here: http://li.sten.to/allo-darlin-bright-nights

[slumberlandrecords]

Slumberland Records | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

View slumberlandrecs’s Linktree to discover and stream music from top platforms like YouTube, Spotify here. Your next favorite track is just

The first half of the year is in the books and we're mighty proud of the half-dozen albums we’ve released so far. Times are beyond tough but art helps and these beauties def make me feel better.

More to be announced soon, you can catch up with us here: https://linktr.ee/slumberlandrecs

[dustedmagazine]

Lightheaded — Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming (Slumberland)

Lightheaded makes a muscular kind of twee pop, with shimmering, wafting, girl-group vocals floating above a surprisingly emphatic foundation of rock-oriented guitars and drums. The opening track of this third full-length, “Same Drop” is feather-light but grounded, juxtaposing swoony, dreamy vocals with clarion runs of guitar and a trailing rattle of tambourine.

The quartet, though from New Jersey, hails in a spiritual sense from C86-era Britain, and the lineage of Postcard Records bands like the Field Mice and Heavenly. In fact, Lightheaded toured the UK with Heavenly last year, which may account for the bright but self-effacing “Me and Amelia Fletcher,” whose lyrics confide, “Me and Amelia Fletcher/she doesn’t know cos I never met her/want to start a band with Amelia Fletcher/that could be the name cos she’s so much better.”

Much of the action in Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming is internal. Songs occur in rooms with closed doors, on solitary beds and within the confines of the narrator’s head. They swirl up in giddy, adrenaline-charged climaxes and fall back in dissolute pools of echo and fuzz. The sound is summery—full of breezes and sunshine and floral flourishes—but the stories are shut up inside, staring out the window, perhaps, wondering if it’s worth braving the ebb and flow. “Mercury Girl” clears away the cobwebs with one of the disc’s clearest, most aggressive jangles and its hardest drums. It crescendos into full-on baroque pop exuberance towards the end, a sweeping, swirling climax of harmonies, keyboards and percussion, and yet the lyrics look inward, “I’ve thought of you more than you think.”

This album is backloaded, with several of the best tracks coming right at the end, like the Left Banke-ish folk psychedelic “Garden” and “Patti Girl” which shares the same guitar lick, but in a more rock setting. Doo-woppy “Love Is Overrated” is just as good, with its stop-stepping, Phil Spector rhythm (boom bah-boom-boom etc.) and wheedling organ threads. The vocals don’t come in until nearly halfway through, but when they do, surrounded by string flourishes, they bloom like night flowers, sweet, overwhelmingly so, but touched with mystery and sadness.  

Jennifer Kelly

[slumberlandrecords]

Lightheaded - Thnking, Dreaming, Scheming!

Lightheaded - Thnking, Dreaming, Scheming! Links. Available on all popular platforms.

Lightheaded's album "Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!" is out June 27th and it's beautiful soft/folk/baroque/indiepop from start to finish. So SO good and available for pre-order now from us and Skep Wax.

[slumberlandrecords]

Jeanines "How Long Can It Last" LP/CD

Jeanines "How Long Can It Last" LP/CD Links. Available on all popular platforms.

Jeanines' new album “How Long Can It Last" is coming soon and it’s their best yet! Crisp, melodic pop that splits the difference between 1966 Sunset Strip LA folk/rock and early 80s DIY pop of the Cherry Red/Rough Trade variety, with their deepest set of songs yet.

[slumberlandrecords]

Lightheaded - The View From Your Room

Listen to The View From Your Room by Lightheaded.

The new single "The View From Your Room" is Lightheaded at their best -- a dreamy blend of girl group vibes with deep Wall of Sound production and a slightly-delic sound that hearkens back to the best of 60s LA Sunset Strip/Laurel Canyon folk-rock.

[slumberlandrecords]

Jeanines - What's Lost

Listen to What's Lost by Jeanines.

"What's Lost" is one of the centerpieces of Jeanines' terrific new album "How Long Can It Last," a succinct and evocative bit of 60s-tinged paisley pop that combines a timeless melody with unsparing lyrics that contrast nicely with the upbeat tune. Jeanines can do no wrong!