Blog

Socialist Leisure Party
ex-Action Painting! (Sarah Records) release new 8 track EP.

The eight songs that make up "Tactical POP! For Coffee Cadets" brim with a relentless vigour that needs no explanation to be understood. The band's briskly strummed guitars and galloping rhythms, and Hitchcock's eternally youthful voice, combine to make some of the most effortlessly engaging pop in recent - or even long-distant - memory. From the unashamedly romantic declaration that is "Scented Crowbar" to the band's eponymous theme song (a playful echo of Orange Juice's "Moscow Olympics"), this is music to which you can dance, fall in love, plot a revolution either personal or public. But it can't be ignored
Download Free MP3
Available now as part of the 1000 series on limited CD+7" format.

---> http://www.shelflife.com


Thieves Like Us
Thieves Like Us will visit the US on tour in June, playing select cities on the east and west coasts. On June 9, Shelflife will release a new 4 track 12"-only EP "Really Want To See You Again."
>> Download Free MP3



champagne riot US Tour
Champagne Riot will be supporting Northern Portrait this month for their first US tour.
May 23 - San Francisco, CA at House of Shields (San Francisco Popfest) - 3PM
w/ Gregory Webster, Brilliant Colors, Sourpatch

May 25 - Sacramento, CA at Old Ironside - 8PM
w/ Northern Portrait, Gregory Webster, Baby Grand
Tickets available at the door.

May 28 - Los Angeles, CA at The Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge - 8PM
w/ Northern Portrait, The Tartans (a Matinée Recordings/yay! Records night)
Advance tickets available via Ticketweb.

May 29 - Oxnard, CA at The Kenji Shack - 8PM
w/ Northern Portrait, Catwalk (a Matinée Recordings/Yay! Records night)
Tickets available at the door.

May 30 - Santa Barbara, CA at Reds Tapas and Wine Bar - 5PM
w/ Northern Portrait, Catwalk (a Matinée Recordings/Yay! Records night)
All ages happy hour show; advance tickets coming soon right here.

NEW RELEASE
Is it obvious Thieves Like Us and Shelflife are both big Factory Records fans? Their CD, Play Music, finally hits stores today. The best place to get it is always at www.shelflife.com

IN OTHER NEWS
Socialist Leisure Party (ex-Action Painting!, Sarah Records) are on deck for the next 1000 series release -- and Burning Hearts and champagne riot will be playing US popfests in May.

New Release
Burning Hearts debut album "Aboa Sleeping" hits stores today. Featuring members of Cats on Fire and Le Futur Pompiste, it already being called one of the top albums of 2009. Recommended for fans of Broadcast,The Magnetic Fields, Stereolab, Brittle Stars, and Camera Obscura.
---> http://www.shelflife.com/catalogue/LIFE057.html


On Tour Now
Burning Hearts, the ruling class, Thieves Like Us and The Depreciation Guild are on tour now. Check out our Myspace page for details.
---> http://www.myspace.com/shelfliferecords

Almost Sold Out
We only have a few copies of A Smile and a Ribbon's "The Boy I Wish I Never Met" and the ruling class' "Tour De Fource" left. If you've been waiting you might want to grab it now.
---> http://www.shelflife.com/shop.html

New Shelflife Blog
If you haven't seen it yet check out Shelflife's new music blog. You'll find unreleased Shelflife tracks, our favorite new artists, and classic 7"s that may have never been encoded to mp3 until now.
http://blog.shelflife.com

Shelflife is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders $25 and over for the entire month of December! Enter the code "HOLIDAY" when you check out!
http://www.shelflife.com


Shelflife 2009
We have a lot cooking next year (bad economy or not!). We're really excited for debut cd album release from the Burning Hearts (out in early Feb). After that more 1000 series (cd+7") releases from Socialist Leisure Party, HORSE SHOES and Dub Noir. We also have some exciting vinyl-only issues on the way! We'll tell you about those in the next update!

----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1003 - Days
----------------------------------------------------------
Some music seems not to have been made so much as it simply fell out of the sky, the product not of intensely scrutinized songwriting-by-committee and the chipped glamour of rehearsal rooms and recording studios, but some type of celestial will. If music is as serious as life to you, you know what this means, and you probably have in mind a handful of bands who you think have achieved it.

These seven songs – the first that Days have committed to any sort of official artifact – come from years of anonymous toil and tinkering in the band's native gothenburg, sweden. But they don't sound as though they came from anywhere in particular, or were ever troubled by anything as common and earthbound as mistakes, arguments, second guesses and broken strings. Taken as a whole, it doesn't sound like a debut, either – although its air of innocence, of untainted wonder at the beauty of life, could only have come from a band that, until now, has only existed in its own safely contained universe.

Of course, this is the great illusion that truly special bands are able to create. The reality of Days, and of their Downhill EP, is nothing so glamorous or otherworldly. We've made hundreds of recordings through the years, most of them now scattered on old cassettes, says guitarist John Ludvigsson, but these were the ones we were most happy with at that time. The making of songs has been a goal in itself, and we were quite happy just doing that for five or six years.

The band met as teenagers, randomly, through common friends, John recalls. Fabian's parents let us use his basement for a rehearsal room. Ever since, that came to be the place from which we would set out on our musical journey that led us to where we are now.

Although they aren't teenagers anymore, Downhill evokes a soft-focus memory of the best adolescent summer you (n)ever had: blazing hot sun, suburban fields and city sidewalks, and the latent anticipation of an inevitable leap into the wider experience of adulthood. I've come to realize it's downhill, sings fabian sahlqvist on the title track, and it sounds like both a resignation and a celebration, surrender and rapture. It's a song of almost ridiculous beauty, and Days repeat the trick six more times across the length of the EP.

We always try to make songs that can stand the test of time and stand for themselves – I think we've all lost track of our influences in the creative process of doing so, says John, politely declining comparisons to The Byrds, early Primal Scream, and the legendary cult indiepop label Sarah Records. We're not trying to be unique or redefine pop, but find and define what's beautiful and worthwhile in a seemingly conventional context.

Bull's-eye.

For fans of: The Smiths, The Wild Swans, The Left Banke, East Village, The Orchids
Artwork by: Anna Bjerger
CD: 5 tracks / 7: 2 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/


----------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE: A SMILE AND A RIBBON
----------------------------------------------------------
Shelflife Records continues it's comeback with the next installment
of it's combo 7-inch/CD collection: The Boy I Wish I Never Met by A
Smile and a Ribbon.

A Smile and a Ribbon is rebecca mehlman and martin lindqvist, a
Swedish combo who was more-than-willing to take the unlucky fate of
Rebecca's failed relationship and set it to music. The result is
bubblegum pop most sanguine. But watch out, this sweet spoonful of
sugar might give you a toothache if you're not careful. The Boy I
Wish I Never Met is a pure P!O!P! album that draws influences from
1950's girl bands, 90's twee, and a whole lot of quirky personality.
Its a not-so-innocent look at childhood fancy and lost love.

13 bittersweet songs on CD and Vinyl. A limited edition pressing of
300 copies.

For fans of: Pipas, Talulah Gosh, Free Loan Investments, Confetti, Language of Flowers

Photography by: Xavier Gomez
CD: 9 tracks / 7: 4 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/


----------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE:
----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1001 - Warm Morning Silver Rain CDEP+7
----------------------------------------------------------
FORTHCOMING:
----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1004 - Kuryakin Still Here CDEP+7
LIFE1005 - the ruling class Tour de Force CDEP+7
----------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1002 - A SMILE AND A RIBBON
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shelflife Records continues it's comeback with the next installment of it's combo 7-inch/CD collection: The Boy I Wish I Never Met by A Smile and a Ribbon.

A Smile and a Ribbon is Rebecca Mehlman and Martin Lindqvist, a Swedish combo who was more-than-willing to take the unlucky fate of Rebecca's failed relationship and set it to music. The result is bubblegum pop most sanguine. But watch out, this sweet spoonful of sugar might give you a toothache if you're not careful. The Boy I Wish I Never Met is a pure P!O!P! album that draws influences from 1950's girl bands, 90's twee, and a whole lot of quirky personality. Its a not-so-innocent look at childhood fancy and lost love.

13 bittersweet songs on CD and vinyl. A limited edition pressing of 300 copies.

For fans of: Pipas, Talulah Gosh, Free Loan Investments, Confetti, Language of Flowers

Photography by: Xavier Gomez
CD: 9 tracks 7: 4 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE: WARM MORNING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1001 - Silver Rain by Warm Morning.

Warm Morning are two brothers from Piacenza, Italy who play refined neo-acoustic pop music. With a delicate balance of figerstyle guitars, vocal harmonies, and elaborate string arrangements, they offer stripped-down psychedelia that comes straight from the heart.

Pulling influences from the last four decades, Warm Morning's polished vocal arrangements have all the charm of Liverpool's Lotus Eaters. Their pop sensibility is unmistakable; worthy of comparison to the legendary Fantastic Something. We herald the return of Shelflife with this release-- you don't want to miss it! Limited to 300 copies.

For fans of: Fantastic Something, The Lotus Eaters, and Kings of Convenience
Artwork by: Jill Bliss
CD: 5 tracks 7: 2 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACK CATALOG
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We've restocked our online back catalog with some titles that have been out of print for some time. Check it out.

--> http://www.shelflife.com/shop.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FORTHCOMING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1003 - Days Downhill CDEP+7
LIFE1004 - Kuryakin tba CDEP+7
LIFE1005 - the ruling class tba CDEP+7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1003 - Days
----------------------------------------------------------
Some music seems not to have been made so much as it simply fell out of the sky, the product not of intensely scrutinized songwriting-by-committee and the chipped glamour of rehearsal rooms and recording studios, but some type of celestial will. If music is as serious as life to you, you know what this means, and you probably have in mind a handful of bands who you think have achieved it.

These seven songs – the first that Days have committed to any sort of official artifact – come from years of anonymous toil and tinkering in the band's native gothenburg, sweden. But they don't sound as though they came from anywhere in particular, or were ever troubled by anything as common and earthbound as mistakes, arguments, second guesses and broken strings. Taken as a whole, it doesn't sound like a debut, either – although its air of innocence, of untainted wonder at the beauty of life, could only have come from a band that, until now, has only existed in its own safely contained universe.

Of course, this is the great illusion that truly special bands are able to create. The reality of Days, and of their Downhill EP, is nothing so glamorous or otherworldly. We've made hundreds of recordings through the years, most of them now scattered on old cassettes, says guitarist John Ludvigsson, but these were the ones we were most happy with at that time. The making of songs has been a goal in itself, and we were quite happy just doing that for five or six years.

The band met as teenagers, randomly, through common friends, John recalls. Fabian's parents let us use his basement for a rehearsal room. Ever since, that came to be the place from which we would set out on our musical journey that led us to where we are now.

Although they aren't teenagers anymore, Downhill evokes a soft-focus memory of the best adolescent summer you (n)ever had: blazing hot sun, suburban fields and city sidewalks, and the latent anticipation of an inevitable leap into the wider experience of adulthood. I've come to realize it's downhill, sings fabian sahlqvist on the title track, and it sounds like both a resignation and a celebration, surrender and rapture. It's a song of almost ridiculous beauty, and Days repeat the trick six more times across the length of the EP.

We always try to make songs that can stand the test of time and stand for themselves – I think we've all lost track of our influences in the creative process of doing so, says John, politely declining comparisons to The Byrds, early Primal Scream, and the legendary cult indiepop label Sarah Records. We're not trying to be unique or redefine pop, but find and define what's beautiful and worthwhile in a seemingly conventional context.

Bull's-eye.

For fans of: The Smiths, The Wild Swans, The Left Banke, East Village, The Orchids
Artwork by: Anna Bjerger
CD: 5 tracks / 7: 2 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/


----------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE: A SMILE AND A RIBBON
----------------------------------------------------------
Shelflife Records continues it's comeback with the next installment
of it's combo 7-inch/CD collection: The Boy I Wish I Never Met by A
Smile and a Ribbon.

A Smile and a Ribbon is rebecca mehlman and martin lindqvist, a
Swedish combo who was more-than-willing to take the unlucky fate of
Rebecca's failed relationship and set it to music. The result is
bubblegum pop most sanguine. But watch out, this sweet spoonful of
sugar might give you a toothache if you're not careful. The Boy I
Wish I Never Met is a pure P!O!P! album that draws influences from
1950's girl bands, 90's twee, and a whole lot of quirky personality.
Its a not-so-innocent look at childhood fancy and lost love.

13 bittersweet songs on CD and Vinyl. A limited edition pressing of
300 copies.

For fans of: Pipas, Talulah Gosh, Free Loan Investments, Confetti, Language of Flowers

Photography by: Xavier Gomez
CD: 9 tracks / 7: 4 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/


----------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE:
----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1001 - Warm Morning Silver Rain CDEP+7
----------------------------------------------------------
FORTHCOMING:
----------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1004 - Kuryakin Still Here CDEP+7
LIFE1005 - the ruling class Tour de Force CDEP+7
----------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1002 - A SMILE AND A RIBBON
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shelflife Records continues it's comeback with the next installment of it's combo 7-inch/CD collection: The Boy I Wish I Never Met by A Smile and a Ribbon.

A Smile and a Ribbon is Rebecca Mehlman and Martin Lindqvist, a Swedish combo who was more-than-willing to take the unlucky fate of Rebecca's failed relationship and set it to music. The result is bubblegum pop most sanguine. But watch out, this sweet spoonful of sugar might give you a toothache if you're not careful. The Boy I Wish I Never Met is a pure P!O!P! album that draws influences from 1950's girl bands, 90's twee, and a whole lot of quirky personality. Its a not-so-innocent look at childhood fancy and lost love.

13 bittersweet songs on CD and vinyl. A limited edition pressing of 300 copies.

For fans of: Pipas, Talulah Gosh, Free Loan Investments, Confetti, Language of Flowers

Photography by: Xavier Gomez
CD: 9 tracks 7: 4 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
STILL AVAILABLE: WARM MORNING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1001 - Silver Rain by Warm Morning.

Warm Morning are two brothers from Piacenza, Italy who play refined neo-acoustic pop music. With a delicate balance of figerstyle guitars, vocal harmonies, and elaborate string arrangements, they offer stripped-down psychedelia that comes straight from the heart.

Pulling influences from the last four decades, Warm Morning's polished vocal arrangements have all the charm of Liverpool's Lotus Eaters. Their pop sensibility is unmistakable; worthy of comparison to the legendary Fantastic Something. We herald the return of Shelflife with this release-- you don't want to miss it! Limited to 300 copies.

For fans of: Fantastic Something, The Lotus Eaters, and Kings of Convenience
Artwork by: Jill Bliss
CD: 5 tracks 7: 2 tracks

--> http://www.shelflife.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACK CATALOG
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We've restocked our online back catalog with some titles that have been out of print for some time. Check it out.

--> http://www.shelflife.com/shop.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FORTHCOMING
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE1003 - Days Downhill CDEP+7
LIFE1004 - Kuryakin tba CDEP+7
LIFE1005 - the ruling class tba CDEP+7
------------------------------------------------------------------------