| ATOMIC | WWW.ATOMIC-OFFICIAL.COM |
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Atomic can look back on more than 200 concerts, not only in their homeland of Germany, but also Austria, Switzerland and the UK. Given that we are talking about a German guitar band, this was a huge undertaking, but one which helped them to achieve a solid reputation among the indie-guitar subculture. The band are a true "indie" success story and not simply a commercial product of a major label or corporation. Their story began back in 2000 in the deep Bavarian forest where twin brothers Thomas and Rainer Marschel started out on their musical quest to make their dream come true. Like so many bands these days, they adopted the motto of "do it yourself" with their first release The Big Issue in 2002 which earned them more than just respect. The self distributed mini-album was even talked about in the NME and thousands of copies were sold only through their homepage and at gigs. They are now set to release their stunning 2nd album titled Coming Up From The Streets on Pink Hedgehog! |
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Soul Sister (Coming Up From The Streets) |
| ANTON BARBEAU | WWW.ANTONBARBEAU.COM |
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Anton Barbeau is a cult-hero's cult hero. With his esoteric and highly personalized brand of psychedelic power pop, his "mind bending" stage show that borders on rock shamanism, and his auto neurotic humour, he is quietly yet quickly building a global fan-base. Anton has headlined shows in London, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Anton has shared the stage with the likes of Weezer, Robyn Hitchcock and even a reformed Bay City Rollers, and has recently finished work on two new solo albums. The first, In The Village Of The Apple Sun, is a Beatles-meets-Julian Cope-meets-Joe Meek psychedelic pop odyssey featuring Cake's Gabe Nelson and Oxford folkstress Sharron Kraus. The sister disk, Drug Free, mixes traditional American/English pop structures with Kraut-inflected space rock. Oh, and yes, Adrienne Barbeau is defenitely still his cousin! |
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Magic Metal Apron (Drug Free) |
| THE BITTER LITTLE CIDER APPLES | WWW.DOWNLOAD.COM |
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The Bitter Little Cider
Apples are another band that proves there
is something genuinely unique about the West
Country music scene. They have been together
for years, and during that time they have been writing
and performing some of the finest pop music to come out
of the area, or indeed anywhere! Incredibly hard to
categorize, they could be The Monkees for the
21st century. One minute they're pure garage pop (XTC or R.E.M.), next
thing you know they've mutated into The
Cure, before evolving again into
Crazy Horse. "If Pete
Doherty were addicted to Cherry
Coke he could probably join The
Bitter Little Cider Apples. Like The
Libertines' estranged leader. This UK quartet
writes concise, urgent guitar pop, except theirs trades
opiated confusion for sugary rock thrills." |
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Sad Lady (Still) |
| THE BLACK WATCH | WWW.THEBLACKWATCHMUSIC.COM |
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The Black Watch are from Los
Angeles, and are the musical vehicle for John
Andrew Fredrick, a Ph.D. in English who
teaches in The Writing Program at The University Of
Southern California. He writes "witty, literate,
unpretentious songs in the vein of Robyn
Hitchcock", and Pink
Hedgehog are proud to be releasing their
first ever UK pressings. Starting with The Innercity
Garden EP and followed by their amazing new full
length album, The Hypnotizing Sea. "A Californian with a love of classic British pop, John Andrew Fredrick writes witty, literate, unpretentious songs in the vein of Robyn Hitchcock or his good friend The Jazz Butcher - but with a particularly American expansiveness. (Oxford Nightshift) |
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The Shakespeare Song (The Hypnotizing Sea) |
| SI JUBB | WWW.MYSPACE.COM |
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"Si combines cool and upbeat yet simple melodies, jangly guitar chords and vocals delivered in a bemused yet emphatic tone and thoroughly London accent. I was blown away by some of this guy's fervently punk spirited lyrics; often tender and heartfelt, they somehow manage to be just spot on with what they're trying to say. This all reminds me of the impassioned punk spirit of Frank Turner. And I love Frank Turner. The harsh, sharp, semi-acoustic sound of his guitar was reminiscent of some of the more mellow tunes from early Libertines or Razorlight. Before going solo, Si has been on tour with Babyshambles. This is his latest musical project and he's on a mini tour in London now. If you are bit of a jaded youth like me, or you like a bit of rock or punk but your feeling a little more mellow today, go and see him! You need to see him live for the full Si Jubb experience!" (Sarah Rayner) |
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State Of My Union (Demonstration) |
| CHEESE | WWW.DOWNLOAD.COM |
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Cheese are fronted
by the incredibly talented Marco Rossi, also known
for his role as guitarist in the highly respected
Scottish outfit called The Kevin McDermott
Orchestra and lounge-core wizzards Gothic
Chicken. Listening to Marco's songs you can
easily hear where he's coming from. The
Beatles, Television, Big
Star and Teenage Fanclub are all
obvious influences. It's not surprising that someone with
such good taste in music would come up with so many
strong and intelligent pop originals of his own. "With
influences ranging from XTC to Badfinger, Cheese |
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Zero And Counting You Down (Enlarge Your Johnson) |
| ELECTRASY | WWW.MYSPACE.COM |
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Electrasy was formed by combining Ecstasy and Electric. Back in the late 90s they recorded some songs (including one called 'Morning Afterglow') in PJ Harveys home near Bridport, which lead to a major record deal with MCA/Universal and eventually the debut album Beautiful Insane (1998). Following TV appearances (including TFI Friday) and a Top 20 hit in the UK, MCA/Universal merged with Polygram and Electrasy walked away. Nige and Steve then met with Clive Davis (Arista) in the penthouse suite of the rather posh Dorchester Hotel in London and a new deal was made. Alex joined on bass, freeing up Nige to play second guitar, and their second album (In Here We Fall) was released. The record did well and they were asked to record a third album which they called Wired For Dreaming... but Electrasy parted company with Arista and it looked like it would remain unreleased. Until now... Pink Hedgehog are proud to be able to offer you their third (and best we think!) album. |
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Dr Zack (Wired For Dreaming) |
| SIMON FELTON | WWW.MYSPACE.COM |
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Simon Felton is the
young, handsome and talented singer/bass player with
hugely successful pop band Garfields Birthday. He also
runs the equally successful independent label Pink
Hedgehog Records and maintains this website,
including the bit you are currently reading. He lives in
the seaside town of Weymouth, England
and likes reading books by Evelyn Waugh, Truman
Capote and P.G. Wodehouse. His dog is
called Frodo. "A true renaissance man of power pop. I’m amazed that he runs a record label (Pink Hedgehog Records), plays in Garfields Birthday and has the time to put such a strong assortment of power-pop gems together!" (Ronnie Dannelley, Ear Candy) |
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My Stupid Friend (Symmetry) |
| FREAK CIRCUS | WWW.FREAKCIRCUS.INFO |
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"I can't let the day pass without congratulating Dorset's most talented practitioners of the dark arts, Freak Circus, on the release of their unreasonably bracing new CD, which the Wolf Man and Aquafibio pressed into my hand the other night following a spirited and commendably varied display on the Rendezvous dance floor (they truly are The Greatest Dancers). Straight from the first track, it's like being present at a punk/new wave masterclass: Buzzcocks accessibility married to the guitar sound of early Wire, topped off with the surf 'n' scurf aesthetic of The Ramones, performed with the intensity and intelligence of Pavement or The Temple Cooper Clause. You could throw The Only Ones into the equation as well in the tightly-drilled arrangement of 'All You Need Is A Gun', while 'Mercury Falls' and 'My Lullaby' reveal a talent for gently inscrutable restraint merely hinted at in the past ('My Lullaby' reminds me of Da Capo-era Love, which is praise indeed)." Released January 2008! |
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Chemistry (Freak Shall Inherit The Earth) |
| GARFIELDS BIRTHDAY | WWW.GARFIELDSBIRTHDAY.COM |
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Weymouth is a small sea-side town on the South Coast of England. Better known for it's golden beaches, candyfloss and donkey rides, it is also the home of Garfields Birthday. Born from the ashes of some young hopefuls called Magic Alex, James, Simon, Shane and Ady first came together in 1995. After an early gig at the legendary venue TJs in Wales, supporting ex-Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley and his band The Lovers, they got the chance to record some tracks for their label TJs Records. They eventually appeared on their debut album called Peepshow in 1999. Words And Pictures and Chrome Jungle followed, then in 2004, they were asked to play at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, which has prompted them into playing a few more gigs and trips back into the studio to record the Mr Newton EP in 2005 followed by tracks for a new album during 2006 and 2007. That album, called Let Them Eat Cake, will be released in May 2008! |
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Molly's Eyes (Let Them Eat Cake) |
| HAMFATTER | WWW.HAMFATTER.NET |
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Hamfatter are three
thoroughbred musicians from Cambridge. Their
latest album Girls In Graz is a concentrated
charge of intelligent power-pop. Their skilful blend of
various styles including Pop, Folk and Jazz is a true
work of art, a unified sound that calls for a new
definition of Brit-Pop! This music has guts and you can
feel the sheer joy which they take in performing. The
word Hamfatter refers to the itinerant musicians
of the past who literally sang for their supper. “Very happy, very friendly guitar-pop with a great sense of humour that scorns rock posturing, and by doing so achieves an exuberant energy. A bit like Badly Drawn Boy if someone sprinkled amphetamines in his tea. Recommended!” (Falter, Austria) |
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Sziget (We Get Wrecked) (Single) |
| PETER LACEY | POSITIVELY BEAMIN (FAN CLUB) |
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Peter's music has often been compared
to Brian Wilson and The
Beach Boys, due to his wonderful harmonies and
arrangements, and to Paul McCartney’s
early work, with it's strength of melody and warm
homespun production. However, with each new album, Peter
is establishing himself as a uniquely talented artist in
his own right. “Beach Boys fans will love it,
as will anyone who still “A
singer-songwriter of great scope and vision” |
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Hey Rose (Permanent Wave) |
| MONDO JET SET | WWW.MONDOJETSET.CO.UK |
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Somebody loved Marlowe,
and so did we. Marlowe is no more
and Mondo Jet Set has taken
its place. We lost out because we are lazy and don’t
care. We made a record, They Would've Hated You
Anyway. We didn’t mean to. It happened in
between visits to the dole office. It’s pretty and
lo fi. We made another record after that called No
Fun With… (Marlowe) and it wasn’t very
good and never saw the light of day. We broke up. We got
back together. We changed our name. We made another
record and it’s now finished. The record is called Henry After A Nightlife. |
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Bad Lines (Henry After A Nightlife) |
| SCHNAUSER | WWW.SCHNAUSER.CO.UK |
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Schnauser play a
mixture of psychedelic pop and instrumentals and have
been influenced by a wide range of 60's bands including Soft
Machine, Egg, Blossom
Toes, The Doors, The
Kinks, Love and The
Beatles. They formed in Yerevan, Armenia in 2003
after a chance meeting between Jurgen and Ken during
their National service. After accidentally shooting Ken in the pelvis, Jurgen dragged his seemingly lifeless body three miles through driving rain and minefields to the local vetinary surgeons who operated immediately. They vowed to join forces as a musical team with Ken's cousin Klaus on drums and Jurgen's table tennis partner Nikolai on organ. The rest is history! |
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Keep On Digging (Kill All Humans) |
| ROGER TARRY | WWW.ROGERTARRY.NET |
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The name Roger Tarry has been synonymous with tender bittersweet melancholy and light countrified tunes since 2002. His debut EP It’s Not You was a triumph of intimate recording attracting airplay from legendary Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq prompting listener feedback on the quality and extraordinary beauty of his performance. Proving they can spot a good thing the song was snapped up in 2004 by Sony Pictures TV and has been used on the hit TV series Dawson’s Creek. Playing with renewed vigour and the backing of Ben Goode on bass, Chris Lewis on drums and Toby Field on piano, Roger has taken his songs to audiences throughout the UK picking up new fans with his charming on-stage manner but most importantly with a collection of songs that simply have to be heard. |
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Just Like Oceans (Last Time I Was There) |
| STEVE WILSON | WWW.THESTEVEWILSONBAND.CO.UK |
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You often hear loose talk about the merits of "real music" played on "real instruments" by "real people". It's almost become a cliche now, but this seemingly bald statement brandishes a sharp little sword of truth. Personally speaking, by way of example, I prefer air to air conditioning, and a romantic evening meal for two as opposed to a night with a blow-up doll. The most important point of the original statement, however, is the bit about "real people", which is where Steve Wilson comes in. The integrity, quiet passion and gentle nature of his songs are all innate. They go with the territory, in the same modest but endlessly satisfying way that night follows day. In the end, it's really all about the essential "heart" I mentioned earlier. Some may scoff at this notion; but you won't get very far without one. |
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Looking For An Idiot (Sideshows And Fairytales) |
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