Radio Khartoum: sophisticated left-field pop, imaginary soundtracks, graphics by Bügelfrei, and the occasional off topic rant. US distribution for a few select items from Vespertine & Son, Friendly Noise, and Quince Records. French travelers should note that it's "Radio Khartoum" and not "Radio Karthoum".

CAVIL: Mares’ Tails. CD $12 buy CD LP $14 buy vinyl 

Lullabies of everyday betrayal and yearning after migratory geese, airborne plastic bags, aeroplanes, train whistles, and other phantoms of freedom. From the dark, wet pavement of a Pennine town to the waltz-infested waters of “Piranha Canal”, these folk nocturnes from Northern England will sit nicely next to your Tindersticks and Montgolfier Brothers records.

“Swims somewhere in the same sea with Ben Watt’s North Marine Drive or Beaumont’s No Time Like the Past. A melancholy, almost spiritual album. A very personal joy. Something you might be tempted to keep all to yourself…” —Corey W. Schmidt, Central Services »Listen here.

THE HEPBURNS: How the Fallen Are Mighty. CD $12 buy CD LP $14 buy vinyl 

The Hepburns at their cattiest. Classic Welsh guitar pop in celebration of civil servants, hack writers, sexual anoraks, glowering cashiers, Mrs Rochesters and other personae non gratae.

“A mosaic of witty, fantastical, individualistic songs that sound well alone and collectively form a breathtaking panorama of lyrical imagery and eclectic sound. I don’t know where this work stands in today’s polluted pop waters, but I fancy that back in the more bracing airs of 1981 it would have been celebrated as the major achievement it surely is.” —Mike Alway, él Records »Listen here.

 



Recent arrivals

in the Friendly Goods dept.:
 

CRASH CITY SAINTS: Glow in the Dark Music. $14 buy CD 

Quince Records (Japan). Quince Records (Japan) signed Crash City Saints (Kalamazoo, Michigan) for their melodies and for songwriter Joshua Garman’s persistence of vision and 10-plus year commitment to the elemental spirits of shoegaze: feedback noise, emotional beat, floating loops, and dreamy melodies. GLOW IN THE DARK MUSIC is the group’s first proper long player, collecting recordings from 2005–2010, from the RETURNER EP through the freshly minted “Broke” (featuring Glowfriends vocalist April Morris), and proving, in Quince’s words, that “beautiful noise can still make everyone dance.” Recommended if you like The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Bailter Space, Skywave, Medicine, Chapterhouse, Astrobrite, and The Stone Roses. »Listen here.

ARNAUD FLEURENT-DIDIER: La Reproduction. $20 buy vinyl 

La Musique du Film (France). 180 gram vinyl. New album from the artist formerly known as Notre-Dame (check the Quince page for more, as we’ve been trying — and succeeding — to stock a trickle of the early Japanese releases lately). Records like this are the reason why we like French produce so much. There’s that melodic sensibility that we love about the great 60s and 70s composers, there are plenty of baroque touches, and there’s this blazing intensity. Nouvelle vague for now. »Tracklisting and video here.

MAÑANA: Interruptions. $14 buy CD

Quince Records (Japan). Swiss shoegazery in a Mew/Sigur Ros vein. »Listen here.

MIXTAPES & CELLMATES: Rox. $14 buy CD

Quince Records (Japan). Second album from Stockholm combo. Japanese version features two exclusive bonus tracks: “Summer” and “Apoidea.” »Listen here.

SPC ECO: SPC ECO 3-D (Japanese Version). $14 buy CD 

Quince Records (Japan). The return of Dean Garcia (Curve)… »Listen here.

KEITH CANISIUS: Waves. $14 buy CD 

Quince Records (Japan). Layered goodness from Rumskib man, Keith C. »Listen here.

NO AND THE MAYBES: No And The Maybes. $14 buy CD 

Quince Records (Japan). Eccentric pop from Denmark, courtesy of our globe-hopping, music-shopping friends at Quince. »Listen here.

SOLAR POWERED PEOPLE: Living Through the Low. $14 buy CD 

Quince Records (Japan). Spacerock/shoegaze from the Central Valley of California (not so far from RK HQ) brought back to our shores by way of Japan. Think Slowdive, Ride, Swervedriver, Failure, Interpol, Joy Division… »Listen here.

AT SWIM TWO BIRDS: Before You Left. $13 buy CD 

Vespertine & Son (UK). A fresh batch of nocturnal confessionals by RPM Quigley, man without compare (and voice of the Montgolfier Brothers). Bring on the ache! “Melancholia with healing powers in short then…” —adequacy.net »Listen here.

TESTBILD!: Aquatint. $13 buy CD 

Friendly Noise (Sweden). A beautiful and ambitious album by Testbild! informed by the otherworldly lapping of waves in a forgotten harbor where a lighthouse librarian, left to her own devices when the other lighthouse personnel suddenly disappear, carries on her cataloguing… »Listen here.

REMINGTON SUPER 60: Go System Go! $13 buy CD 

Cafe 2001 (Norway). Previously a difficult find on these shores, the RK shop has landed a box of this lovely Norwegian album from 2006. On the surface, Remington are about as happy-go-lucky as ever, but there’s some serious musical craft at work in this confection. Light, but ever so packed with harmonic sophistication. Triumphant stuff. »Listen here.

RK Newsletter:

New Release Forecast:

September 2010:

Daniel Carlson: Aviary Jackson (Folkwit)
V.O.: Obstacles (Folkwit)
Louise Le May: Tell Me One Thing That Is New (Folkwit)
RadioSeed (Ecovillage side project): tba (Quince)

later:

Testbild!: The Lolita Wagner Case
The Hepburns: Where the Missing Words Live
The Hepburns: Insomniac's Lullaby
Testbild!: Bed Stilt

RK Playlist July 2010:

Dolly Mixture: Everything and More 1978–1984
David Shire: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three OST
The Radio Dept.: Clinging to a Scheme
Les Maledictus Sound: s/t
Northern Lights: Vancouver Dreaming
Laudanum: Your Place & Time Will Be Mine
Enoch Light: Permissive Polyphonics
Fan Modine: Homeland
Ramsey Lewis: Mother Nature's Son
The Nits: New Flat
John Barry: The Ipcress File OST
Apple Orchard: A Month of Spring
Evie Sands: Any Way That You Want Me
 Der Englische Garten: s/t
Mr & Mrs Muffins (demos)

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