Monday Roundup: Tuesday New Year Edition

Wherein I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar.



I've been listening to my massive, 650+ song Christmas playlist for a few weeks and now Spotify is going to recommend holiday music until April.

"Let's Cozy Up (Put Your Hands In My Muff)" - Barbara Dixon
I didn't know who Barbara Dixon was (now I do - is this like when Maeby pretended to be a Annette Austero but on Broadway instead?) or where this song came from, but now it's on the Christmas playlist, a veritable melting pot of the sacred and profane. A++++++++ selection, Spotify!

"X-MAS TIME! - Live version" - ShitKid
This doesn't grab me enough to go on The Playlist, but it's interesting enough for me to want to listen to their other releases. Can't fault Spotify then, I guess.

"Red River Rock" - Metronomy
This is... "Red River Valley"? But it sounds like a Christmas song? And The Oregon Trail at the same time? I don't know what to do with this one.

"Read My Mind" - Rebecca Black feat. Slayyyter
I love Rebecca Black. I'm not sure if I love this song, but I certainly like it well enough. The cover is wild, and I feel like I should watch the music video for context at some point.

"Last Night on Northgate" - The Long Blondes
That gorgeous anniversary vinyl has been released, and Spotify will also be adding all the b-sides to this playlist for ever and anon. That's not necessarily a complaint, and while I've certainly heard a lot of them, I don't recall this one. This is classic Long Blondes, on the less cinematic, dramatic side; it sounds more lighthearted, more DIY, more fun. Recommended.

"Buzzed" - BENNETT
This reminds me of "Playground" and other songs I was listening to in the summer of 2019, but those ones were... better. I know why Spotify added this - the remixes include one by Icona Pop. Sometimes the lyrics are interesting anthems ("Good girls don't go bad, they go back") but overall, it just feels like an incoherent message of depression and drugs from a(nother) white R&B artist.

"Landed on My Head" - Barenaked Ladies
I've noticed a few high-quality cuts from BNL over the past couple of years. This is no exception, turning well-worn lines and clichés on their head and throwing in a catchy chorus with just the right chord progression to boot.

"Leading" - Best Coast
I like a good '90s / early eughts throwback. This is a band I've meant to listen to for nearly a decade - they debut came out my personal wasteland of the early 2010s - but have never made the time for.

"Listen, The Snow Is Falling" - Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band
This is gorgeous.

"Let's Go" - The Beaches, Lights
Another band I've meant to dig into. This feels a little more early aughts, like an early iPod commercial, and I love it.

"We Are Children of the Light" - Black Dresses
I'm so delighted when Spotify gives me a band with an absolute bare bones bio. I'm dead serious here. Who the hell are they? A mystery! This is great.

"Featured Singer" - Cheekface
Someone wants to be the Talking Heads! This is fun and yet, I can't decide if the lyrics are also fun or depressing? THIS REMINDS ME OF A SONG I USED TO LISTEN TO CA. 2006 (it's not a Talking Heads song) AND I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT.

"Stepped On A Bee" - MisterWives
I was deeply into 2014's "Reflections," rolling in the throes of one of the crushiest crushes I've ever crushed, one of my handful of Guys I Know Because They Opened for OK Go That One Time, the best catalyst for getting away from a toxic ex but a situation which never panned out the way I wanted. And while I suppose that's always for the best, "Reflections" captured me in that moment perfectly - desperate, sad, sparkly, and dancing.
I was excited to hear them again so many years later, and yet, this feels so... generic. Sure, despite the fact that break-ups are universal, they still allow for "intensely personal reflection," but where the hell is it here? "We're all the clichés I swore would never come true" indeed.

"Spud Infinity" - Big Thief
This is a refreshing to follow up with - pared down, playful, nonsensical and yet makes all the sense in the world. I'm even willing to sit through this 1:00+ outro. I guess our elbows really are on their own.

"Walker" - Animal Collective
I'm 99% sure that it was Animal Collective which a friend dragged a bunch of us to go see at Hampshire College in like, 2004 or 2005, and we all complained so much that we subsequently dragged her away, and then Merriweather Post Pavillion came out and suddenly they were all over, and I thought, "Oh, maybe I should've paid more attention?" I can see the appeal here, but honestly, I was bored af at that show.

"sleeping with a frend - revisited version" - Neon Trees
Are "revisited versions" the new "record anniversary show"? I was never big on this particular single, and stripped down like this, "Ooh ooh, we're in danger / Sleeping with a friend" feels like the point is just too painfully obvious.

"Yellow Venus" - The Cribs
I got to see the Cribs early in their career, opening for Franz Ferdinand and playing at Siren '06, and then I just... stopped following around Men's Needs..., to my own detriment. They've put out a series of singles over the last year, and I'm grateful to Spotify for continually reminding me they exist. That ending tho.

"Favorite Person" - The Sunshine State, Hayley Gene Penner
Is this a Christmas song? Does it count as a Christmas song? The Sunshine State had a few releases last year that I got into, and I'm glad to see another, though this one vibes more melancholy than ones like "Dating a Drug Dealer." Those last few lines, though.

"My Weight" - Lady Pills
Is this a love song? This is a long song! It feels like a modern version of "Head over Feet," and friends, I've always loved that song. Another song that sticks the landing, too.

"Just For Love" - Bully
The kind of song that makes me feel like I should be at a divey rock club, holding a beer and bopping along without really knowing what's going on. That's a thing we used to do in the Before Times, right?

"Walking in the Air" - Gemma Cullingford
"Tis The Season" - Big Freedia
I told you - this will keep going until April.

Monday Roundup: NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

Where I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar. 

New John Rutter?  New Handel recordings? Early English Polyphony? I guess this is a reminder to clean up my massive Yuletide playlist. I’ll have to come back to the John Rutter EP - no holiday music yet! 

"No" - Little Mix 

Me, looking at the cover of this greatest hits collection: Weren’t there, like, four of them? What happened to the one with the lip fillers? 

 This led me down a rabbit hole of googling pictures of Jesy Nelson back in 2011 and hoooo boy she went full Ari, like... even more Ari than Ari. (Listen, I love Ari and I enjoy Little Mix, but people ain't wrong here.) Anyway, this is standard Little Mix, but nothing to write home about. 

"Sunrise/Sunset" - The Dodos 

Do I like the Dodos? I think I heard some of their stuff, liked it, then tried to get into their early aughts stuff and was like “meh.” I like this. It sounds, well, “early aughts indie” enough to evoke a certain nostalgia in me. The drive of it reminds me of Matt and Kim, the outro of the '60s, very generally. It’s repetitive, but not in a bad way; not quite earworm catchy but enough for your brain to latch onto.

"Never To Be Repeated" - The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes!!! It’s hard to tell if I’ve heard this before - Google says it was released in 2006, so very probably? This is classic Someone to Drive You Home-era Long Blondes, before "Couples", which felt more contrived. I started reading this interview in The Quietus, and it's fascinating. I miss this band, deeply, and their aesthetic. And that vinyl reissue looks gorgeous. 

"Barely Reason for a Smile" - NNAMDÏ, Lynyn

Every now and then, NNAMDÏ comes up in a playlist and I think, “I know that name…” and then I remember the absolute gem that is “let gO Of my egO.” I feel like this would go well on the alternative radio station out of Philly I used to listen to, and yet it feels cinematic and classical, a piece rediscovered and reinterpreted in the 21st century. 

"tend the garden" - Gang of Youths 

I overlistened to "the angel of 8th avenue" over the summer, and everything on this track is sweeping and lovely and somehow feels very New York and very Tom Waits at the same time. But maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. 

"Mr. Fix It" - Darlene Love 

Why does this make me think of New Year’s Eve? (It came on and I thought, "No, no holiday music yet!") (This is Barry's fault.) Doesn’t mean this isn’t great. 

"Pumpkin Spice Heaven" - Parry Gripp 

SPOTIFY. SPOTIFY, STOP. I. LISTENED. TO. ONE. ALBUM. A YEAR AGO. 

"Good As What You Give" - I Know Leopard 

Is this distorted or purposely out of tune? (Shows what I know, don't hire me for your next record.) I think I might’ve liked this when I was younger - it feels like a synthy, distorted DCFC with a dash of the ‘70s in the bridge - but it’s a bit too plodding for post-pandemic me. 

"Try a Little Act of Kindness" - OK Go 

Confession: I haven’t paid attention to any of OK Go’s more recent single releases. But my god, this sounds like their earlier stuff - squeaky clean, bright powerpop with just tinges of their fourth record. It’s for a soundtrack, so it sounds just a little contrived. I wish it was a little longer and given the opportunity to end a little more organically. A-, more like this, and a tour, please. 

"Billy Goodbye" - Franz Ferdinand 

FF’s releasing a greatest hits record and going on tour and Paul’s left the band and I’m not sure how I feel about all of those things together. But FF’s fourth record is absolutely my favorite, followed by their first, and this feels like a straight-up rock effort that mixes both of those eras with a little stadium rock feel and I love it. The bridge gets wonderfully weird. It’s catchy, fun, and wonderfully classic FF, keeping the energy going right up to the very end. 

"Fearless" - Hanson 

This is so dramatic! I keep seeing poll tweets from them about Against the World, and I honestly have no idea what it’s about. Is it a new record? A tour? This is not my favorite release from them, but it’s sort of like what Imagine Dragons might sound like if they were actually good. I’m still stuck on this summer's “Don’t Ever Change,” a ‘70s powerpop song that was magically transported and released in the Year of Our Lord 2021. 

"Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels (Just Dance Version)" - Todrick Hall
How many versions of this song can he release and get away with it?? 

"Teletron for the Populace" - The Apples in Stereo 

The Apples in Stereo? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time, a long time. But this is a hard “nope” from me. 

"Lonely Boy - BBC Session" - Black Keys 

I was not expecting to listen to this all the way through, since I usually skip over remixes and live versions in this playlist, but this recording is wonderfully unpolished. 

"Wake Me Up" - Foals 

And now for something different! So ‘80s! Reminds me of VHS or Beta, who were very derivatively ‘80s! (And whom I loved!) Reminds me of all the ‘80s stuff I just listened to on the Monster Jams playlist! Parts remind me of FF, which also shows how they tapped into the ‘80s too! I like the lyrics, too! This is great! 

"Love in New York" - HalfNoise 

After the bop that is “Wake Me Up,” I was ready to dismiss this, but it’s really lovely. It reminds me of Summer Fiction, about whom I got really worked up about a few years ago, but then I just... could not stand that guy live. This feels both sweeping and intimate. If this had come out in 2003, it might have been on the Garden State soundtrack; I don’t feel that’s a bad thing, because that record was the thing my first semester of college. The last line lingers: I’ll keep dreaming if you keep dreaming about us. 

"If U Can't Dance - Demo Version" - Spice Girls 

Normally, if you throw a demo version at me, I will automatically declare that it is the best thing ever and why did they even bother going into the studio and re-recording it because they just ruined it, but this is... hoo boy, this is not good. 

"Run Me Down" - Carla Prata 

I swear to the Universe, this did not show up on my playlist on Friday. I adore Prata, and this is exactly what I want and need right now.

"Holiday Rock" - Neon Trees 

NO, NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

Look, Ma, I made a mixlist! : 9 boys, 10 songs.

Let me break it down: Girl loves music. Girl loves message in music. Who wrote music? Oh, it was Attractive Boy who can play the guitar/bass/drums/sax (umm...no, not keyboard, really sorry). Music = the musician who wrote it which is what girl loves.
So, girl loves musician.
-- http://wellobviously.blogspot.com

If you've been keeping track, you’ll remember that I don't do year-end lists. First off, the thought of compiling my top 10/20/50 tracks or albums is daunting. But more importantly, I feel I'm totally unqualified to do so. I don't pay enough attention to new releases and, frankly, who the hell cares what I think is the "best" of the year? Who the hell cares what half of the "blogosphere" thinks was the best of the year? It just seems like a lot of yammering, a narcissistic ploy to validate ourselves and post about the same 10/20/50 bands, just rearranged a little bit each time.*

Annnnnnnnnyway. My gripes aside. When it comes down to it, 2008 has been a weird year.

There was that whole "going back to school after a year and a half of being away" thing and then the "graduating from college" thing, as well as the various problems of trying to find a job - any sort of job - in a recession, trying to get on my own two feet, and the whopping amounts of nostalgia complicating all of that. Life changing and evolving and, quite often, coming full circle. So many things ending, which only opens up beginnings.

I'm not talking about any of that.

I'm talking about the boys. Because, let's face it, we are prone to defining large portions of our existence by our romantic engagements, entanglements, or lack thereof. We broke up a year ago, I was dating him at the time, the year so-and-so broke my heart and the time spent getting over that, the summer girl, the fall girl, the winter girl.

And so, when it comes to the romantic engagement and entanglements and lack thereof, 2008 has been a peculiar year. Often fun, sometimes upsetting, but generally peculiar.

I don't do “best of” lists. I won’t tell you which records or songs or artists were "great in '08." I won’t make a mix listing my favourite cuts from the year. Run to Pitchfork for that sort of thing. Instead, I'll give you a 10-track mix – nine for the boys, one for myself – to commemorate the who and what and where of my wandering heart in the past year. I feel like it's a better way to sum it up.

Obviously, since I'm posting this on the Internet, any number of these fellows can – and probably will – read this. Frankly, that’s not my concern. But for anonymity’s sake, I’ll change up the names and the order.

For Ben:
Saturday Looks Good To Me – “Girl Of Mine”
The endless comparisons are not made with malicious intent. But nor are they meaningless.

For Christopher:
Looker – “Spit For Your Shine”
[link]
You can’t just be mine.

For Ethan:
Bowling For Soup - “Ohio (Come Back to Texas”
Too obvious? Let’s call it “very bad timing.”

For Eddie:
Scamper – “Wait Wait”
[link]
Darling, it’s been a long time coming. I still miss seeing your plates.

For Phillip:
Vampire Weekend – “Walcott”
Hey, remember that time we sat around listening to VW? Did I every say “thank you” for that weekend? If I didn’t, thank you. Please move back – the city suits you so well.

For Scott:
Salt ‘n Pepa – “Let’s Talk About Sex”
Oh, come on, you love it. Here’s to late summer nights. How boring they would have been otherwise…!

For Andy:
Bishop Allen – “The Monitor” (album version)
I’ll settle for one of the wisest things I’ve heard this year: “You’d think I’d understand that a rock ‘n roll band doesn’t mean a blessed thing.” Anything else would be too easy.

For John:
Nightmare of You – “I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard” (album version)
You are not the understated demo; you are the sweeping, cinematic album version. It took a year of losing and regaining a record to figure that out. I no longer feel this song, but it’s still yours. Thanks for all your patience.

For Cary:
She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
How do you deal with an island sitting between two people? Here’s to 2009 and all that it may bring.

The Long Blondes – “Guilt”
This is mine. I declared it mine circa March. It’s not that I’ve got or ever had boys lined up around the block; it’s just that, well, when one showed up, another five that I’d known longer followed suit. A wonderful and wonderfully heart-wrenching year.

And guilt has nothing to do with it.


Note: Half of these songs are in .mp3, the others are .m4a. I don't feel like wrestling with iTunes right now. Ignore the last five seconds of "The Monitor," too.

*(Quoting Heart On A Stick on this: "If you have Weaponize in your year's Top Ten you're immediately a more interesting person than anyone Number-Wunning Fleet Foxes, because at worst it suggests that you're blindly loyal to something other than the release schedule/leak pipeline.” Specific album references aside, I couldn’t agree more with the principles behind the statement.)

Oh, sadness : The Long Blondes are "calling it a day." Also releasing a bunch of b-sides.

We have decided to call it a day.

The main reason for this is that I suffered from a stroke in June and unfortunately I do not know when / if I will be well enough to play guitar again.

On behalf of the band I'd like to say a big thank you to anyone who ever came to one of our shows, bought one of our records or danced to one of our songs in a club. Thank you, if it wasn't for you the whole thing would have been pointless.

Finally on a personal note, thanks for all your well wishing messages.

Dorian xxx

Um. I'm pretty sure that means the entire band is splitting up, though maybe Dorian's just leaving and they've decided they're not really the Long Blondes without him anymore....?

I hope the poor guy gets better.

Also, GRR! Seriously, 2008? Epic fail on the "bands staying together" front.



In other news, the Long Blondes are releasing "Singles" today, which is a compilation of their pre-Rough Trade singles, A-sides, B-sides, and bonus tracks. (Get it? "Couples" and "Singles"? Clever clever.) It includes the following tracks:

"New Idols"
"Long Blonde"
"Autonomy Boy"
"Giddy Stratospheres"
"Polly"
"Darts"
"Appropriation (By Any Other Name)"
"My Heart Is Out Of Bounds"
"Lust In The Movies"
"Separated By Motorways" (alternative version)
"Big Infatuation"
"Peterborough"

You can buy it here.

The Long Blondes - "Fulwood Babylon"

Nothing's On Telly : Music's gone to the dogs.

Two new music videos from two of my favourites. First, The Long Blondes' "Guilt."



"Couples" was released today in the US. It's not Someone To Drive You Home but still rather brilliant.

Secondly, We Are Scientists' "Chick Lit."



Brain Thrust Mastery is released in the US on the 13th. I haven't taken to it too much, but this song has grown on me now.

In other news, I've heard rumours that one Micheal Tapper will be touring with one Bishop Allen this spring. Yippee!

Muxtape 1 : Coupling, v. 1.0

Yeah, I stole that image from Muxtape, you all know it.

So I've gone and joined up with this Muxtape business. Just because I like mixtapes/lists and such. Haven't actually listened to anybody else's mix, but. Whatevs.

I posted my first mux*, which isn't anything hugely special - I just wanted to get something on there. Feel free to go and enjoy while I scramble to get that Fall '06, etc. playlist together.

Coupling, version 1.0

Mux to be found here.


The whole point of this list is to put together songs that, for whatever reason, go together: because of a common theme or story, because one is a “remake” (and not merely a cover), because they remind me of each other, etc.

You can tell I started this a while ago (two years, I think), as there are three OK Go songs (and an SDR song, to boot). This is still a work-in-progress. There are a few more songs on this list on my iTunes (I cut it down to the more important ones, as Mux doesn’t allow you to post more than 12 at a time), and I continually add more as I go along and find more musical “couples,” so to speak.

1) “Maybe This Time” – OK Go
2) “Down For the Count” – OK Go

“MTT” is on OK Go’s second major label effort, Oh No, and has long been one of my favourites due to its simplicity and…well, snarkiness isn’t really the right word, but you get what I mean. I’ve always wanted to strip it down even more, and get a version that relies purely on the glockenspiel (or “rockenspiel,” as Tim Nordwind would put it) and vocal harmonies done in a round. Maybe a tiny bit of percussion. Maybe. “DFTC” came out as a b-side on the UK single for one of the songs from Oh No (though which song that was escapes me at the moment), and instantly became one of my favourites from the entire OK Go catalogue.

I’ve long wondered if these songs had anything to do with each other. They’re like bookend s: “MTT” ends with “Maybe, this time, you were wrong” and “DFTC” opens with “Maybe I’m wrong.”

3) “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” – The Smiths
4) “Please Please Please” – The Lashes

The Smiths one is a classic that I originally discovered because, surprise! OK Go once did a cover of it. (I told you, I started this thing aaaaaaages ago!) The Lashes version is in no way like the original, other than the refrain repeats “please please please let me get what I want” a few times. Think of it as a remake. Whether or not you consider remakes to be bastardizations of originals, that’s up to you, but I like it.

5) “My Window” – Secret Dakota Ring
6) “Thomas Window Paine” – DraculaZombieUSA

Witness the beginnings of my love for Serious Business. “My Window” is one of my favourite and one of the most infectious SDR songs. “TWP” is the DZUSA take on that same song, which means that you’ll probably hit the dancefloor in no time.

7) “Timourous Me” – Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
8) “T’s Song” – OK Go

Two very lovely songs, in their own ways, that share one very sad story. Go look it up to make sense of it all.

9) “Lust a Prima Vista” – The Spill Canvas
10) “Lust In The Movies” – The Long Blondes

Fall versus spring. “Prima Vista” is his take; “Movies” is my response. I just want to be a sweetheart.

11) “Jessie’s Girl” – Rick Springfield
12) “Coughing Up Roses” – Scamper

Sorry, loves- had to do it. If you haven’t heard “Roses,” the relation will become immediately obvious once you have. A friend of mine once started singing “I wish that I had Jessie’s girl” in the middle of the song. (Apparently, it’s really supposed to be “Jessie’s Girl” crossed with “Heat of the Moment,” but I’m only allowed 12 songs. And I don’t have “Heat of the Moment.”)

That doesn’t change the fact that I think it’s pretty brilliant, whether or not it needs a third verse.


*I initially typed "furst mux." Srsly.

Stuck In My Head: The Long Blondes - "Guilt"

La Trabendo, Paris

The Long Blondes' new record doesn't drop for about another month, but I've got a hold of what was supposed to be their lead single, "Guilt," and goodness gracious, this thing has been stuck in my head for about a week now. The funky rhythm that very literally makes me strut every time I listen to it on the way to class has lodged itself in my brain, but even more than that, I've very much taken to the lyrics:

I've got a boy and we've been together, you see,
Before I knew you, before you knew me
Now I've made my choice and I'm sticking to it
And guilt has nothing, nothing to do with it

The rest of the record sounds pretty good; it's not Someone To Drive You Home, but I think I need to spend more time with it as a whole, as opposed to with just this track. (I mean, why is this not the lead single anymore?)

The Long Blondes - "Guilt"


"Couples" drops 8 April. You can pre-order it here.
UK and US tour dates are listed at their 'Space.

The Long Blondes change first single, plus US tour dates.

Le Trabendo, Paris.

Last week, The Long Blondes announced that "Century," not "Guilt," will be the first single off their sophomore record, Couples, and it'll be released on 24 March, blah blah.

What I really want to point out is their new crop of US tour dates, which continues after their pretty extensive UK/Europe tour and kicks off in Philly on 14 May.

14/05/2008 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
16/05/2008 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
17/05/2008 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
19/05/2008 Boston, MA - Great Scott
20/05/2008 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret de Musee
22/05/2008 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
23/05/2008 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
24/05/2008 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
25/05/2008 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
28/05/2008 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
30/05/2008 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
31/05/2008 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
02/06/2008 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
04/06/2008 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour

19 May is the day after I graduate- who's coming with me and buying me drinks?


PS: I know! Two concerts so far this month and nary a word about either. Sorry, loves. Will get on that. (Assuming you want to read me squealing about the Spice Girls, that is...)

Stuck In My Head: The Long Blondes - "Peterborough"

Happy New Year, everyone. I don't know about you lot, but 2007 was a pretty crazy year for me. I don't think I've experienced one yet that was quite so life-changing, for both good and bad.

2008 (or whatever the hell you want to name it) is, so far, better than 2007, if only because I didn't spend New Year's Eve (or the day after, or the day after that) crying in the bathroom (or bawling on the dancefloor). It's hard to believe that was 365+ days ago- it feels alternatively like yesterday and a lifetime ago. What a way to kick off a year.

Back to now- I just recently stumbled on this b-side from the Long Blondes, "Peterborough," which I find both ironic and downright amusing, if only because the Long Blondes soundtracked much of 2007 for me, and the things and persons and events and feelings with which I associate their music have much to do with Ptown. In fact, guess where I was when the ball dropped in 2007?

The Long Blondes - "Peterborough"

Kate Jackson would rather be in Sheffield than Peterborough. So would I.


Here's to a 2008 that's a little quieter and hopefully a little happier than last year.


(The LB's new single and record drops this spring; they're touring the UK in March. Dates and info are available on their 'Space.)

New Release/New Tour Dates: The Long Blondes, Couples/"Guilt"

From The Long Blondes:

As a special xmas treat we have decided now is the time to announce three exciting bits of news: our new single, album and tour!

Our brand new single Guilt will be released on March 24th (aka Easter Monday), followed by the long awaited release of our second album "Couples", out on April 7th. Both the single and the album were produced by Superstar DJ / producer Erol Alkan, a long time friend and fan of ours.

We are also very happy to announce we are going back on the road again, here are the dates of our short UK tour:

Tuesday 11th March - Amersham Arms, New Cross, London
Tuesday 18th March - Fibbers, York
Wednesday 19th March - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
Thursday 20th March - The Lamp, Hull
Friday 21st March - Independent, Sunderland
Saturday 22nd March - Escobar, Wakefield
Monday 24th March - The Faversham, Leeds
Tuesday 25th March - The Cavern, Exeter
Wednesday 26th March - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

You can order tickets through all the usual outlets... these are pretty intimate venues and tickets are going to go pretty fast, so get booking! And keep checking MySpace / the website for more news....

Love, The LB's xx

Bah UK bah. We'll probably have to wait a bit more 'til Couples is released over here. (I should actually go pick up the US release of Someone To Drive You Home for the four b-sides they added to it.)

The Long Blondes - "You Could Have Both"


ETA: To hear a live version of "Guilt" from their 16/6/07 concert in San Francisco, head over to this post at Waves and Wires.