Post War Glamour Girls – debut 7″ out now!

‘Ode to Harry Dean’ / ‘Spitting Pearls’, the brilliant debut single from Post War Glamour girls, will be officially out tomorrow, Monday 10th Ocotber. You can get it in both vinyl and digital form from the band’s Bandcamp page, or from one of these fine outlets (with more to come):

Jumbo (Leeds)
Crash (Leeds)
Rough Trade (London)
Love Music (Glasgow)
The Mold Record Shop (Flintshire)
Norman (Leeds)

A few choice review quotes:

“A sinuous and sinewy, slow motion collision, or collusion between The Human League and the kind of raw, but silkily menacing records that Dennis Hopper would make, you know. This is almost impossibly classy, cabaret, disco, darkness, big words with meaning. Is it any good? Yes, yes, yes. The riff for “Ode To Harry Dean” jags and chimes against the shrieks and everyone we loved yesterday can be killed, a lot. Post War Glamour Girls are it.”- Unpeeled

“The most exciting new band I’ve discovered … Pixies-ish extreme dynamics that transitions between dark ferocity at times and a poetic lullaby-gentleness at others.”- Lost at E Minor

“There is a brooding charm that shines throughout the work of Leeds based fourpiece Post War Glamour Girls. The band seem to channel a similar energy to fellow avant-garde rockers Wild Beasts. What seperates them however is a demented sense of menace that builds as the song progresses into a cataclysm of rage towards the conclusion. The sounds of Post War Glamour Girls might be a bit of an acquired taste, but its one that you would savour again and again.” – Metaphorical Boat

“a bit like a young Nick Cave fronting dark math-indie with the melodrama turned up to maximum. “Spitting Pearls” is a prime example, building up to a swell of duelling post-rock guitars and singer James now howling like a man possessed as bassist Alice sings softly as if to try and soothe his catharsis.”  – Music Dash

Once you’ve bought the single, catch the band live somewhere soon:

9th Oct- Spice Of Life, LONDON w/ Thomas Truax
12th Oct- Brudenell, LEEDS w/ Heart-Ships + Moody Gowns
19th Oct- The Hop, WAKEFIELD w/ John Cooper Clarke
22nd Oct- The Kings Arms, SALFORD w/ The Louche F.C
25th Nov- Mello Mello, LIVERPOOL w/ The Cubical
1st Dec- Bar Up, HALIFAX w/ Gold

New Wind-Up Birds single out 27 June

‘Meet Me at the Depot’ / ‘Popman’ is the new double-A sided single from the Wind-Up Birds and it’s flipping ace. Both tracks were recorded earlier this year in Leeds by Whiskas (ex-Forward Russia) and look set to build on the acclaim and adoration attracted by last year’s ‘Tyre Fire’ and ‘Courage Now, For Tomorrow Will Be Worse’. The reviews are already rolling in…

“Coming off somewhere between The Fall and Art Brut, Leeds’ literary punksters are showing melodic promise and attitude to boot… a thrashing celebration of laziness and pop ambition” – 4 out of 5, Artrocker

“…the Wind Up Birds are important. They plough a very acceptable furrow in the rant as music field because they are articulate, talented and abrasive, not because they’re from the ever loving north … Cute, sharp, clever and rocking, we love them now as we loved them before and as you will love them in the future.” – Unpeeled.net

“Blimey I can feel hairs standing on the back of my neck and the sinews tightening, panic stricken agit punk pop all the way from Leeds courtesy of the Wind-Up Birds who thus far have seemingly tuned heads, garnered admiring glances and won acclaim from all fortunate enough to have them veer up on their radar [...] directly channelled frenzied bored anthem brittleness” – Losingtoday.com

“these two tracks alone somehow condense all the excitement thus generated by the 80′s post-punk explosion into just over 5-minutes . . . Musically, lyrically, conceptually nigh on fucking perfect, this is the kind of A-side we used to put on over and over and over again. [...] Fuckingfantastic!” – Jean Ecoule, Mudkiss.com

But don’t take their word for it, have a listen to the tracks yourself on the band’s Bandcamp page, and preoder the lovely 7″ vinyl while you’re at it!

New Wind-Up Birds oldies out now via Bandcamp

Acting Thick for Money is an ace compilation of early recordings by The Wind-Up Birds, available now via the band’s Bandcamp page. The idea is to give you all a chance to hear some of the ace stuff they were giving away at gigs in the few years before their debut single proper was released by Sturdy Records last year. The tracklisting is…

Round Here
Stay Close To the Driver
Bastard Required
Two Minute Hate
Long Term Sick
The New Eighties
The Federation of Detached Youth
Escape From New Yorkshire
She Was Reliable
Slow Reader
Everybody Loves The Idiot Boys

The release is a pay-what-you-like deal, ie you get it for whatever you think it’s worth. And don’t forget the Bandcamp site also has last year’s singles ‘Tyre Fire’ and ‘Courage, for Tomorrow Will Be Worse’. Meanwhile, stand by for the next single, ‘Meet Me at the Depot’/'Popman’, recorded a couple of weeks back with Whiskas at House of Mook and due out in June. Very good.

Here’s a new video for ‘Round Here’, a track first heard on the first-ever Wind-Up Birds demo back in 2004…

Introducing… Post War Glamour Girls

The latest addition to the Sturdy roster is undoutably one of the most exciting bands to have emerged in Leeds over the past year or so. Post War Glamour Girls come on like Nick Cave fronting Portishead, or Tom Waits grappling with Modest Mouse – ie they’re flipping brilliant, and unbelieveably are all barely in their twenties. Since emerging fully-formed into the world barely six months ago, it’s been virtually impossible to go out to a gig without tripping over these lot, a little further up the bill every time, which is probably why they’ve landed a plum slot at the amazing Live at Leeds festival next weekend.

The double-A single ‘Ode to Harry Dean’ / ‘Spitting Pearls’ will be out on October 10th, but in the meantime have a look at a rather special interview here or listen to a live version of ‘Harry Dean’ here…

Wind-Up Birds out now!

Here’s a video for ‘Some Slum Clearances’, one of the tracks on the sensational new EP ‘Courage, For Tomorrow Will Be Worse’ by The Wind-Up Birds. The vinyl and CD are available to buy now – see the releases page to buy online, or get yourself to one of the following discerning pop shops:

Picadilly Records (Manchester)
Banquet Records (Kingston-upon-Thames)
Love Music (Glasgow)
Norman Records (Leeds)
Rough Trade (London)
Action Records (Preston)
Resident Records (Brighton)
Rounder Records (Brighton)
Mold Records (Clwyd)
Jumbo Records (Leeds)
Crash Records (Leeds)

Phew. Still not convinced? Then have a look at some of the lovely press they’ve had:

Artrocker (“exhilarating rant-rock… a deceptively indie-rock format soon giving way to an enjoyably psychotic temperament.)
A New Band A Day (“not only a band whose vision is obscured by a grim drizzle that just won’t shift, but also a gift for sharp storytelling via explorative and cunning lyrics”)
The POP! Stereo (“This is the kind of band that bashes you on the side of the head with an Oxford Press Guide to Paleontology and then reads to you from it.”)
Unpeeled (“It‘s funny and tragic and bleak and angry and it’s genuine and that’s why no fucker will buy it.”)

Oh and come see them at The Cockpit in Leeds this Friday, 10th December. Facebook

New Wind-Up Birds EP out Dec 6th

‘Courage Now, For Tomorrow Will Be Worse’ is a 4-track EP, following up The Wind-Up Birds’ their debut single ‘Tyre Fire’/'There Won’t Always Be an England’ from earlier this year. It will be available on CD, limited 7″ (200 only, free digital downlaod with each copy) and the usual flavours of download (iTunes and the rest).

The band are launching the EP with a gig at the Don’t Falter clubnight at Baby Jupiter in Leeds on Dec 4th. Facebook event here.

“Articulate, aggressive, and determinedly northern indie rock. They place the spotlight firmly on their wordy ‘singer’ … his approach places him within a lineage of urgent, literate, speak-singing frontmen which began with Mark E Smith and includes talents like Art Brut’s Eddie Argos … The band provide a perfect backdrop, taut and tense when they need to be, crashing and furious at other points. You’ll be singing the choruses to surging opener ‘Good Shop Shuts’ and angry political rant ‘Some Slum Clearances’ long after the EP’s last note has sounded.” – Contact Music

“Something you should listen to … The Wind-Up Birds make the incredibly difficult task of writing from the heart and the brain seem very easy ... it’s funny and tragic and bleak and angry and it’s genuine.” – Unpeeled

Check out the video for This Boat’s Going Nowhere Tonight, Son from the EP:

The Wind-Up Birds’ website
The Wind-Up Birds on Facebook
The Wind-Up Birds on Myspace
The Wind-Up Birds on Last FM

Sequins for sale

Minor delay with this one, but the lovely vinyl for the Sequins single is finally here, having had an extended holiday at the pressing plant in Germany when customs went a bit bananas. You will be able to buy it either NOW or VERY SOON (depending how efficient their shelf stacking operatives are) from Rough Trade (London), Midnight (Coventry), Norman (Leeds), Pure Groove (London), Banquet (Kingston upon Thames), Jumbo (Leeds) and Crash (Leeds), with hopefully a couple more to come. Or! you can order it direct from us here (including a CD version for the vinyl impaired).

What’s that? Physical formats are a monstrous anachronism, you say? Well go away and buy it on iTunes or Emusic then, but don’t come crying to us about the knawing emptiness you’ll inevitably feel in your soul. Or something.

Oh, and while we’re on, here’s the video for Man Alive:

Sequins out Monday

The Sequins’ new single, ‘Japan / Alive’ will be out on Monday, 8th November. SoundsXP describes it as “choc full of goodies… quirky, urgent and extremely enjoyable”, and they’re absolutely right.  Cerys Matthews must think so too, cos she’s very kindly been playing it on 6Music. Have a listen here, buy it here (or at one of the independent shops up and down the country who will be stocking it… more details on that very shortly), and come to the launch gig as part of the internationally famous Don’t Falter clubnight at Baby Jupiter in Leeds this Saturday. Oh yes.

Man Alive, it’s The Sequins!

Sturdy Records are very excited to be working with Coventry’s finest glam-indiepop exports The Sequins. If you haven’t come across these lot, they have been releasing records since 2005 on labels like Tough Love and Indie MP3, and are splendid enough to have had XFM’s John Kennedy proclaiming himself “lost in the world of the Sequins”, The Fly declaring them “an absolute must for indiepopsters everwhere”, not to mention NME crowing as only they can about “Wild Beasts-style goosey-voicedness strapped to Sparksian glam melodies, worn with an air of Maccabees wistfulness.”

And? Well, their new double-A single Man Alive / On the Streets of Japan will be out on Sturdy Records on Monday 8th November. As well as the gorgeous 7″ (we’re getting quite a collection of those now), you’ll also be able to get it on CD or digital download. And it’s very, very good. More soon.

Now is the time of the Tyre Fire

So yeah, the second Sturdy Records release, ‘Tyre Fire’ by The Wind-Up Birds, was released this Monday following a fantastic launch gig at a packed-out Cockpit Room 3 at the weekend. You can pick the lovely 7″ up NOW from your local pop shop (approved suppliers include Rough Trade in London, Action in Preston, and Norman, Crash and Jumbo in Leeds), or failing that get it direct from us here – or if you’re boring, try iTunes here.

Many thanks to all the bloggers who’ve posting about the Wind-Up Birds over the last few weeks, and also to The Organ for making it Single of the Week!

Keep an eye out for the truly amazing video for ‘Tyre Fire’ directed by the truly amazing Paul Morricone – coming soon!