#cloudberry records

[bandcampsnoop]

2/6/26.

Postal Blue began as a 4 piece band in the late 1990s. Of course, I'm learning about the band here in the early days of 2026 - I first listened to the new EP "Anxiety of Influence". From the first guitar/bass notes on "Man to Child" I assumed I was listening to a British C86 or C86 adjacent band.

And while I assume Postal Blue would be honored with the C86 comparison, the adjacent is a hard sell, at least geographically. The band is from Brazil (one website mentions Sao Paolo). Their indie pop credentials are solid having released music on Shelflife, Cloudberry, Dufflecoat, and Jigsaw Records (you can find physical releases on Discogs). I chose this split with with Pale Sunday as an easily digestible one (this 7" was a co-release from Dufflecoat and Jigsaw).

As for influences, the clearest to me are The Smiths, The Go-Betweens and R.E.M. Adriano (Postal Blue is now down to a one-man outfit) was asked who his favorite bands were and he mentioned friends The Very Most, The Royal Landscaping Society and Soft Science.

[dambi-3]

[whatsthesound]

The Parallelograms, “Making Faces”

One of those tracks I really want to buy on ‘Bandcamp Friday’ but which is out of reach. It’s only available as part of record with tracks from a release I’ve bought before, with shipping etc added on. 

The key bit of trivia here is that The Parallelograms were originally a Rosehips tribute band called The Fucking Rosehips, who managed to get many of the original Rosehips on stage with them at least once.

[bandcampsnoop]

2/3/19.

I’d bought a digital copy of “Creep Academy” from My Teenage Stride years ago on eMusic and pretty much forgot about them.  Then on the front page of Bandcamp today, “Ears Like Golden Bats” was featured.  The description stated,  “ A classic of NYC indiepop comes to Bandcamp, with hooks galore and sparkling guitars that recall The Chills and The Bats.”  

This is a CD release available from Discogs, Amazon and the like.  It really does recall the early New Zealand sound (not so much “Creep Academy”).  Any fans of Pale Lights, Finnmark! or Cloudberry Records might want to click through and listen to everything My Teenage Stride (Jedediah Smith...mountain man?) has to offer.

My Teenage Stride are a NYC based band.  

[bandcampsnoop]

1/12/24.

I've been listening to "Time" by Beachwood Sparks from the Sandbox Sessions a lot lately. I've always been drawn to sweet pop in the Americana (I really don't actually like that label) style - The Jayhawks, Wilco, and The Autumn Defense are other examples.

Then, Rowan Smith's "Slow Clouds" came across my radar this morning. Smith was a member of Macguffins (Melbourne, Australia) in the late 80s and early 90s (Cloudberry Records has an excellent CD retrospective available).

After listening to "Slow Clouds" I almost immediately came across Misty Lanes "Colourless Green Ideas" on Third Eye Stimuli Records. Misty Lanes is the vehicle for the work of Steven Schouten. Bandcamp describes his music as influenced by The 13th Floor Elevators and The Kinks.

[polaroidblog]

Distant lights

I primi due EP trent’anni fa, l’album d’esordio nel 2021: i Suncharms hanno un ritmo di lavoro tranquillo che mi piace...

[soliti]

Suomalaisyhtye Verandan julkaisi kenties vuoden komeimman singlen – ennakkokuuntele se Rumbassa täältä

[bandcampsnoop]

10/11/19.

Taking a Friday night shortcut to some older pop gold. This is a 2008 7″ on Cloudberry Records that I had never heard until this evening. Minisnap is Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean, and Malcolm Grant -- 3/4 of The Bats. Paul's distinctive bass playing and Kaye's winsome melodies have only grown more magical as they head into four decades of playing together. As for something new, here is a great short documentary directed by some New Zealand film students profiling The Bats.