8x8 - Inflorescence SB030, 250 copies out now on opal vinyl.

8x8 - Inflorescence (Sugarbush SB030), out now is 8x8's third album and only the second to be released on vinyl. This is pure genius: A magical blend of Beach Boys and Beatles inflected Pop tunes but in a very contemporary setting and by no means derivative or inferior at all to those great artists. Considering that this is a part time project and done on a very small budget with only two persons making the music you could, and I would, argue that this is a mini-masterpiece of modern Psychedelic Pop music. Track after track transports the listener to musical places long unvisited such is the majesty of this great record. Perhaps there is a hint of DIY to the recording process that manifests itself on the first play of the record, however any qualms (and I did not have any) are blown away in seconds as the lush quality of the playing and writing hits your ears. This is simply a record that will one day be revered and the sheer talent of its main protagonist, Lane Steinberg, will be nearly elevated to genius status. That is not to take anything away from Alex Khodchenko who plays guitar and also desibed the sleeve. The two musicians recorded this record over 6000 miles as one lives in New York and the other in Ukraine! A great work lovingly pieced together by two people who have never met in person but who obviously share a great musical affinity.  Buy this record, it is amazing. £19.99 including worldwide postage.

On transl. opal vinyl with postage

Trolley - Caught In The Darkness SB032, out now on vinyl, 250 copies only on "orange sorbet" vinyl!

Trolley - "Caught In the Darkness" (Sugarbush SB032), out now is the 2nd album by the amazing Trolley. Possibly the finest combination of Psych-Pop, Garage, Powerpop and Moptop Jangling heard in the past 20 years and in fact since the halcyon days of Voxx and Bomp records. However, Trolley have produced and album that puts even the finest records on those labels into a different context. Housed in a wonderful sleeve designed by Adam Widener (who also made out previous Trolley sleeve as well as Dukes of Kent and Greek Theatre) and pressed on beautiful orange vinyl this is a must have album. £19.99 including worldwide postage, 250 copies offered.

On orange sorbet vinyl with postage

THE HANGABOUTS - Illustrated Bird (SUGARBUSH SB031), the fabulous new album on vinyl by Detroit's HANGABOUTS is one of those albums that any label with a modicum of Pop sensibility will jump at the chance to release. From the same gaggle of bands on the Detroit scene that we have released previously (Nick Piunti, Chris Richards and the Subtractions) this album presents the gentle Psych-Pop side of Detroit, a city normally more associated with gritty urban toughness. No, these lads have crafted a lovely Pop record that, dare I say it, would not have sounded out of place in Big Star's cannon and even reminds me of McCartney's gentler side. Hey, even Emmitt Rhodes would surely dig this record. It is a master stroke of lush arrangements, jangling 12 and 6 string guitars, layered harmonies and, best of all, some really fantastic songs. No fillers on here, and one of the best pure pop albums I have heard in years. This is limited on vinyl to ONLY 300 copies, on see through orange vinyl. £19.99 including worldwide postage

On orange vinyl with postage
Please listen here:

THE GREEN PAJAMAS - "To The End Of The Sea" (SUGARBUSH SB029) out now on vinyl! Only 350 pressed.

THE GREEN PAJAMAS - "To The End Of The Sea" (SUGARBUSH SB029), well Jeff Kelly has done it again. There is obviously no reigning in this man's talent and at a stage in his musical life where the likes of Lennon, McCartney, Alex Chilton and other greats had basically started resting on their laurels and stopped making great records. Not our Jeff! With this record, the band's latest album, he has possibly made the finest and most balanced record of a long and glorious (as well as cult-like) career. It is the musical equivalent of a lengthy piece of finely stitched tapestry as the songs weave into one another and musical themes cascade from dark melancholia and longing to joyous peaks. On what must be a shoestring budget the band have made a record, no doubt helped by modern technology, that would have stood proudly besides Sgt. Pepper and, had it been released in that psychedelic summer, would be talked about in hushed tones of reverence by cognoscenti of all things fabulous. This record is great and while we are only a tiny label we do hope and wish that someday it will be spoken of in just such a way. Limited to only 350 copies it will be hard to reach the great wide world on vinyl only but one can only hope that the sounds created here find another, broader, audience now and forever. Be part of history now. £19.99 including worldwide postage!


Blue vinyl with postage
To listen please play this:

Gathered Leaves - Ptolemaic Terrascope sampler - out now, only 200 on vinyl - Bevis Frond, Hood, Sharron Kraus, Damon & Naomi


VARIOUS ARTISTS - "GATHERED LEAVES" (SUGARBUSH SB023), this is a really special album out on our own label. In case you wondered what had happened to SB023, here is the answer. I held this one back to coincide with the Autumn/Fall of this year. This ultra limited pressing (only 200 made) celebrates the music released and championed by the great 80s to 00s Psych fanzine THE PTOLEMAIC TERRASCOPE. Founded and run by NICK SALOMAN (aka Bevis Frond) and the legendary Phil McMullen this great mag dug up outsider music wherever it existed but also released limited edition CDs with the magazine. So here is a 2nd volume of collected works issued here for the 1st time on vinyl! The sound is beautiful considering the recordings are old and come from a variety of sources. It also represents a "lost" era in music: True 90s & 00s modern day Psychedelia. Not a retro post-Pebbles scene which thrived in paralell at the time but true deep British and American outsider Psych, a mine holding a treasure trove of music that really needs to be explored further. You can start here! The track list is:



Dipsomaniacs   Consume  0:03:37
Hood   For A Moment, Lost  0:02:33
The Green Pajamas   Emma is Crying 0:05:59
Six Organs of Admittance   Lament for Summer  0:04:35
Broken Dog   Will There Be Drinks?  0:02:33
Sharron Kraus   Seedless  0:03:57




Total for side 1 0:23:14



Damon & Naomi with Kurihara Eye of the Storm 0:05:01
The Bevis Frond   Silver  0:05:03
Saint Joan   December 0:09:24
Pat Orchard  Jacob  0:02:55




Total for side 2: 0:22:23

 On lovely coloured vinyl and only 200 copies. With Bevis Frond / Green Pajamas / Hood / Sharron Kraus / Damon & Naomi and others. (all prev. unreleased on vinyl) £19.99 inc p&p

Gathered Leaves LP (free postage)


Here are the sleevenotes, written by Phil McMullen:

“Gathered Leaves” is a collection of music originally included on the cover CDs
given away with copies of the Ptolemaic Terrascope between 1998 and 2004, the
leaves of course referring to the pages of the magazine. The Terrascope had
actually been around for ten years beforehand, but up until its 25th issue it
featured 7” vinyl EPs rather than CDs, and the idea behind this compilation was
to enshrine some of the material previously only available digitally on a format
worthy of its legacy status. I was in the fortunate position of being the editor of
the magazine throughout that period, and one of the privileges that came with
that role was to select the bands and artists who would be invited to contribute to
the cover disc. This was never anything less than a pleasure, since I loved
sharing with our readership the sounds that had largely provided the soundtrack
to the previous few months while the magazine was being assembled, and
because for some reason each and every artist we asked invariably pulled out all
the stops to give us something really very special. I can’t think of one single
occasion when we were sent something which was obviously an outtake or an
unrepresentative recording - and very often what we received was quite simply
outstanding. I like to believe it was because the Terrascope was important to
them as well, but realistically I suspect it was simply that the bands we tended to
befriend were all lovely people in any case.
The ten songs on this album are very much a case in point. They’re featured in
very approximately chronological order, with the opening song by the
Dipsomaniacs coming from the CD given away free with issue 25 in 1998. Nick
Saloman, who wrote the liner notes and did the mastering of the material,
numbered it POT25 and titled the collection “The Dawn of a New Era”. Hood and
the Green Pajamas came from POT 26 given away free with issue 26 in February
1999 (“the 26th Commandment”), Six Organs of Admittance from POT 28 in the
year 2000 (“This Is Pot”), Broken Dog from POT 29 (“The Pot Machine Turns
You On” released November 2000) and Sharron Kraus from POT 33 (“Potbuster”
released October 2002). Over on the B side, the sequencing goes to pot, as it were,
but I can reveal that Damon and Naomi and Kurihara were featured on POT31
(“Get Yer Pots Out” from 2002), the Bevis Frond is once again from POT29, St
Joan from POT32 and Pat Orchard was from POT26.
All of the bands had featured published in the same issue that the tracks
originally appeared. Often this was their first exposure, as the Terrascope had a
reputation for interviewing bands who were just starting out. The exceptions are
Damon and Naomi the ex-Galaxie 500 duo who here join forces with Michio
Kurihara of Japanese band Ghost, having first met each other at Terrastock 2 in
San Francisco in 1998, and of course the Bevis Frond and the Green Pajamas,
both already well established acts who presumably need no introduction,
although it’s worth remarking that the Green Pajamas contribution is a live cut
unavailable anywhere else that showcases Jeff Kelly’s often overlooked guitar
work to great effect, and that the Bevis Frond’s brilliant ’Silver’ is likewise
otherwise unreleased to the best of my knowledge.
Hood, from Leeds, had already released three albums and played at a Terrastock
festival as well (in fact, every band on here has played a Terrastock at some
point; often more than one). They were to go on to record several more albums
and in fact are still with us today, although they’ve never been a band which got
the recognition they fully deserved to my mind. Norway’s Dipsomaniacs were
active throughout the 1990s and beyond - a fabulous band with an entirely
healthy Beatles and Zombies fixation who were often likened to Guided by Voices.
Six Organs of Admittance are my good friend Ben Chasny’s band from
California. Still going today, and still notable for his extraordinarily brilliant
guitar work and imaginative compositions. Pat Orchard is another nimblefingered
guitarist and song-writer, originally from Devon, who has toured the
world but never really received the recognition he deserves. London-based
Terrascope favourites Broken Dog formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2004 ,
between which times they recorded some truly gorgeous songs often with dark,
brooding undertones, played just once at a Terrastock festival, and released five
albums and six EPs along the way. Nottingham’s Saint Joan were around for
even less time than Broken Dog (and also toured with them at one point; their
music mined a similar seam, yet often darker still). They were always very
special to us, and lead singer Ellen Mary McGee, who went on to have a
successful solo career, remains a close family friend. As indeed is the last name
on our list, Sharron Kraus - an English folk singer / songwriter steeped in the
traditions of England and Appalachia, her music influenced by gothic literature,
surrealism, myth and magic. We love her, and we think you will too.
Thanks to all of the artists mentioned above for allowing us to feature their songs
not once but twice now, and special thanks to Nick Saloman who brought all this
music to life for me back in the day, when often all I’d given him to work with was
a bag full of cassettes and some hastily scrawled notes about which songs to use.
Copyright as ever remains with the artists themselves.
Phil McMullen

Out now: Nick Piunti "Beyond The Static", one of the finest Powerpop albums ever released. Only 250 on vinyl here!


NICK PIUNTI - "BEYOND THE STATIC" (SUGARBUSH SB025), limited to only 250 copies on blue vinyl this is Nick Piunti's 2nd album released now on vinyl for the very first time!
Challenged with following a highly acclaimed album, Nick Piunti didn't overthink the task. He just focused on writing the best songs of his life and trusting an incredible group of musicians to help execute his vision. Beyond The Static manages to be both a consummate power pop album and the distinct work of a seasoned recording artist. If you somehow combined the best qualities of Matthew Sweet, Tom Petty, and Paul Westerberg into one songwriter, Nick Piunti would be the guy. Beyond The Static is a superb effort from a music lifer at the very top of his game. If you're a power pop fan and have yet to discover all the amazing sounds currently coming out of Detroit, stop reading right now and start listening! £18.99 including postage anywhere! (by the way, if you scroll down this page you will find we do still have copies of his amazing "13 In My Head" album!

Nick Piunti Beyond The Static LP (free postage)

Out now: DOM MARIANI "HOMESPUN BLUES & GREENS" limited to only 300 copies on blue vinyl. Ex-STEMS, SOMELOVES & DM3


DOM MARIANI - "HOMESPUN BLUES & GREENS" (SUGARBUSH SB026), is finally out on vinyl. Limited to only 300 copies worlwide on DEEP BLUE VINYL. This amazing album, recorded over a 2 year period in the early 2000's, stands alone as the one true Dom Mariani solo album in a catalogue spanning many changes.
Having forged a career fronting Australian garage rock legends The Stems, as well as respected powerpop combos, The Someloves and DM3, who released 3 critically acclaimed albums throughout the '90s, Mariani used some well earned down time to put together a diverse collection of tracks capturing the influences and sounds which drove him to musical distraction on one long playing platter.
Much like the Someloves sole album "Something Or Other", which gained positive reviews worldwide for its melodic collection of well produced tunes, "Homespun Blues and Greens" follows a similar trajectory in that the songs were pieced together over a period of time utilising different musicians. Released with little fanfare or promotion at the time, it took a road trip in October 2003 from his home in Fremantle in Western Australia with friend and co-writerJeff Baker to Mitch Easter's (R.E.M., Let's Active, Velvet Crush) Fidelitorium Studio in Kernesville, North Carolina to see the album take its final shape.
Referred to as Dom’s lost album, ‘Homespun Blues and Greens’ is a fine collection of songs dealing with personal themes set to a soundtrack of pure power pop melody, sizzling guitars and pop dripping vocals.
It would also be Dom’s last real pop album as he went on to explore other musical genres. We have worked hard on getting this album out on vinyl for over a year now and are incredibly pleased and proud to be working with a legend such as Dom Mariani is! Only 300 copies on blue vinyl - £19.99 including worldwide postage

Dom Mariani LP / blue vinyl (free postage)

Reviews of Junipers, Green Pajamas, 8x8, pugwash from the lovely www.terrascope.co.uk/ website







Home

 THE JUNIPERS - RED BOUQUET FAIR  LP
THE GREEN PAJAMAS - IF YOU KNEW WHAT I DREAMED  LP
8x8 - AZALEA'S ROOM   LP
PUGWASH - ALMOND TEA   LP
 (http://www.sugarbushrecords.com/)
Continuing their quest for Psych-Pop perfection, Sugarbush Records return with another quartet of excellent releases that will have you smiling as you groove through your day.

    First up the delightful melodic sweetness of The Junipers, whose latest album mixes Beatle-esque harmonies with a warm production and a box full of melodies that drift around you like the scent of a summer meadow. All this is beautifully summed up on ‘Follow Loretta’ a truly beautiful song and an early highlight on this collection. Keeping up the Beatles comparison, ‘Dig Me Up’ is classic UK Psychedelia with plenty of energy, whilst ‘Here Come The Winds’ rounds of side one with a flurry of sitar and a gently swaying heart. Over on side two, ‘Like A Merry Go Round’ has some wonderful strings (possibly a mellotron) and warm chiming guitar, whilst ‘Summer Queen’ has a Beach Boys vibe as it shimmers across the room, the whole collection rounded off perfectly by ‘Say Goodbye’ another glorious slice of melodic Psych that captures your ear. Over 12 songs this album never puts a foot wrong, gonna be a summer favourite methinks.

    It is well known that the Terrascope has had a long time love for The Green Pajamas and this release can only deepen this love as it contains live in the studio versions of some of their finest moments plus a couple of new songs. With a bright production, the live feel comes shining through, the band displaying plenty of energy right from the start as ‘Claire's Knee’ kicks things off in style, everyone in fine form and ready to rock. Equally good is ‘I Wait By The River’ the tune propelled by a sweetly grooving guitar and augmented by a Theremin or so it seems. With some lovely guitar throughout ‘Jackie’ is another classic tune that epitomises all that is good about the band, whilst ‘Emma Is Crying’ is a slow and beautiful tune laced with nostalgia. Over on side two the fun continues with the title track having some great lyrics and a Power Pop vibe, whilst a stripped down version of ‘Panda’ originally from the brilliant ‘Coffee In Nepal’ is achingly lovely and had to be played twice. This release offers further evidence of the song writing genius of Jeff Kelly and the power of The Green Pajamas, why they are not more well known and loved is a complete mystery to me, maybe we all like it that way.

    After the gentle string filled introduction of ‘Ice Wings’ things get much stranger as the title track from 8x8's latest release takes up deep into its psychedelic heart although the melody remains intact, shining out through the lysergic swirl, the tune a future classic. Softer in texture, ‘Laws Of Attraction’ mixes string and acoustic guitar sounding like a lost Moody Blues tune with Beatle harmonies, however it sounds it is another classic that demand attention. Adding a crisp modern production I was expecting ‘I'm A Werewolf, Baby’ to be a garage snarl, instead we get a soaring slice of piano led loveliness that remind me of XTC or 10cc. Ramping up the guitars a bit more, ‘The Tie In’ is a step closer to that garage snarl, although strings and melody soften the effect, the energy remains though. Sounding like a long lost track from those Rubbles compilations, ‘Dr Winklers Hands’ has Harpsichord and a glorious middle eight, whilst ‘Azalea's Dream’ has some dirty guitar lines and an epic feel as it reaches for the stars completing a fantastic voyage to planet Psych Pop. Pressed on red vinyl and with a striking cover this is yet another excellent release from Sugarbush.

   Originally released in 1999, ‘Almond Tea’ by Pugwash (not the former drummer of the Man band...) is brimming with sweet melody, the tunes reminding me of  ELO mixed with Radiohead, whilst some of the melodies suggest that time when Oasis wrote good songs that crawled under your skin. Opening with ‘Missing The Point’ the listener is immediately drawn into Pugwash's world and you find yourself drumming along to the tune whilst second guessing the lyrics (or maybe that is just me), the song having plenty of energy and a powerful production that allows it to soar from the speakers. Absolutely beautiful, ‘Finer Things In Life’ sounds like a Radiohead ballad, the lyrics catching hold of your heart as the music drift around them with a gentle jangle. With a lovely shuffle ‘Shine On Norvell Jefferson’ could have come straight from the White Album, the McCartney version, whilst ‘Two Wrongs’ could be a lost Brit Pop anthem its swagger tempered by the lovely ‘Getting Me Down Again’, the perfect end to side one. Throughout the album it is the song that is important and you can easily make comparisons, however the whole collection is a lesson in the art of melody and dynamics, the flow of the album perfectly judged with the melancholy beauty of ‘Always Be’ paired with the acoustic strum of ‘Could It Be The Same’ side two slowly getting louder until ‘Obvious’ releases the energy that was building, more Lennon than McCartney and definitely Psychedelic with phased guitar and plenty of attitude. Finally, ‘ Nonsense’ leads us out sounding like (pointless comparison time) like Dodgy covering a lost UK Psych tune, a great tune however your ears hear it completing another great album from Sugarbush, something I seem to be repeating in this review.

    With a distinctive style and sound this label continues to come up with the goods and I will raise a glass to that. (Simon Lewis)

THE CAROUSELS - "LOVE CHANGES LIKE THE SEASONS" (SUGARBUSH SB012) new pressing on GREEN VINYL, only 125 pressed!


THE CAROUSELS - "LOVE CHANGES LIKE THE SEASONS" (SUGARBUSH SB012), this is the mega rare and limited repress on see through GREEN VINYL. We have only issued 125 copies of this LP as a 2nd pressing and with 20 copies going straight to the band only 100 or so are up for grabs. This is by far the most limited pressing we have ever done. The original pressing (400 on black vinyl and 100 on purple vinyl) ar enow completely sold out. If you have not heard this - our best ever selling album - then expect 60s sounding Byrds / Burritos type Folk Rock, albeit with a distinctive Scottish twang! £19.99 including postage anywhere.

CAROUSELS / Green vinyl LP (free postage)

GREEN PAJAMAS - "IF YOU KNEW WHAT I DREAMED" (SUGARBUSH SB022), limited to 300 copies only on translucent green vinyl. Buy it here!

GREEN PAJAMAS - "IF YOU KNEW WHAT I DREAMED" (SUGARBUSH SB022), limited to 300 copies only on translucent green vinyl.
An amazing album that is finally out on vinyl. This was previously released as a download only album with live-in-the-studio versions of songs from Kelly's solo albums as well as a few of the band's oldies and two new songs. The sound quality is incredible and this pressing sounds particularly dynamic. The stripped-down production, always incredibly powerful, emphasizes the power of Kelly's melodies, making this an album of understated beauty and an absolutely essential addition to our catalogue.

Green Pajamas - If You Knew etc LP (free postage)

THE JUNIPERS "RED BOUQUET FAIR" (SUGARBUSH SB024) is now sold out.

THE JUNIPERS "RED BOUQUET FAIR" (SUGARBUSH SB024), the amazing Junipers release their second album on Sugarbush Records. Limited to 250 copies on red vinyl and only 235 copies on black vinyl, this is one of the absolute highlights of 2016 for us. Their first incredible album for us "Paint The Ground" sold out its first pressing in about 1 month back in 2014 and the yellow vinyl 2nd pressing is also almost sold out.
In short, this is a highly collectable and much loved band and we have no reason to assume this very limited pressing will also sell out in a short time. Musically, it is brilliant, a fantastic slice of 60s-tinged English Psychedelic Pop. Although only just released it has "classic" written all over it and will in time be seen and heard as one of the finest British Guitar Psych/Pop albums of all time.SOLD OUT.

SOME NEW REVIEWS from the wonderful PTOLEMAIC TERRASCOPE website! Duncan Maitland, Dowling Poole & Orgone Box

SOME NEW REVIEWS from the wonderful PTOLEMAIC TERRASCOPE website!



 As with so many releases on Sugarbush, The Dowling Pool have a sixties feel, jangly guitar, and plenty of melodic swagger, however on top of that the music on their latest album is very difficult to categorise, sure it is definitely psychedelic but there is also a seventies art rock bent and the song writing of Blur seems present as well especially on the opening salvo of “Rebecca Receiving” and the sprightly groove of “Fight, Fight, Fight”. Equally entertaining is “When She Knows, She Knows” a fine slice of UK pop with honky tonk piano and an arrangement that is more complex than it sounds, with the vocal harmonies reminding me of Queen in 1975, as does the following tune “Vox Pops” which could be an outtake from “A Night At The Opera” which is a good thing and illustrates the quality of the writing on the album. To end side one, “Willing To Change” is a delightful tune that you continue to sing as you flip the record over where you discover the delights of “Hope and Glory” which could be a brit-pop classic except it is better than that, a glorious musical romp with smart lyrics and plenty of musical changes reminding me of XTC at their finest. As the album moves on there is plenty to love and even a nod towards Prince on the lovely “Bring Back The Glow”. To end it all, the title track glows with warmth, a gentle way to leave an album that is overflowing with wonder and quality, an album that will be getting plenty of air time this summer.

Consisting of four track recording from the early nineties, “Lorne Park Tapes” chronicles the early musical development of Orgone Box through the songs of Rick Corcoran during a period where the main memories are “beach, pub,studio, train, rehearsals, gigging, ligging, someone's crash pad, repeat..”. To be fair the sleeves notes almost write the review themselves, a self confessed infatuation with The Beatles evident throughout the album, this obsession fighting with a love of melodic American Rock such as Tom Petty or Cheap Trick to produce song that could how the fab four would have sounded had they been American and famous in the seventies. This mix has resulted some excellent tunes that could define Power Pop, meaty guitar sweetened by melodic loveliness, with tunes such as “In The Right Hands” and “Hello Wonderland” making all the right moves and sounding very professional for four track recordings. Over eleven songs there is a definite personality and coherence to the tunes meaning they flow together to create a collection that all work together. Highlights include “Star” which has some great seventies guitar sounds and “Barbican” a tune with a darker lyrical content that reminds me of something by Cockney Rebel. Nice and noisy my favourite track is the excellent “Last Ride On The Jets”, guitar rocking out with abandon, plenty of jangle and shining with melodic sunshine, a perfect musical moment that makes me happy. To end, “Hard For Me” wears the Beatles influence proudly on its sleeve, a slightly muffled sound only adding to its charm.

With a twang of steel guitar and an easy strum, “Your Century” kicks off the latest release from Duncan Maitland with a laid back seventies vibe, bright production and plenty of hooks drawing you into the warm melodic charms of the track with the bit in the middle reminding me strongly of 10cc, the charms continued on “Terry The Toad” another delightful and very relaxed tune that is easy on the ear, beautifully arranged and filled with some great playing. As the side continues you realise just how good the song writing is, shades of The Lilac Time, XTC, Paul McCartney and (I might have to whisper this) Gilbert O'Sullivan to be heard in songs such as “Crash Position” or the lilting loveliness of “Handbirds”, side one finished in style with “Alien At Home”, a song so catchy you can sing along the first time you hear it. With no let up in quality on side two, listeners are guaranteed a good time as a sweet trumpet heralds in the slightly reggae groove of “Up To You” another catchy as hell tune, whilst the lazy messing about on the river feel of “Insect Under The Stone” is drenched in the scent of lilac and honeysuckle so languid is its intent, especially as the trumpet takes over the melody line, beautiful. Throughout this collection the harmonies are spot on, the playing immaculate and the flow of the album ensures a sunny and suitably mellow 40 minutes is to be enjoyed anytime. If you grew up listening to the radio in the seventies then the tunes will bring back memories, although this is no retro trip, just a collection of timeless and wonderful songs. So three album that are different in style yet all shine with the quality that you have come to expect from Sugarbush records. (Simon Lewis)

Pugwash on tour!

Well, as you all may know earlier on today (20th May 2016) the PUGWASH album ALMOND TEA finally arrived in a battered old white van dispatched from a brand new high-tech pressing plant from somewhere in the former Eastern Block. I feverishly played the record to test it and make sure it was grade A and good enough to unleash on the wider world. It was and I was mighty pleased. For some time now this has been the LP I have really looked forward to as I had pursued the lads for some years now in a valiant effort to publish something by them on vinyl. One day out of the blue, the call came from Thomas and we were given the go-ahead. Well, the months passed and the final product is here. I instantly phoned the boys and as fate would have it there were a mere 50 miles away travelling on the M25 to a gig. Screeching to a halt on the fast lane and turning on a penny the boys travelled about 10 miles in the wrong lane, weaving in and out of the oncoming traffic and only when it was convenient did they change onto the right side of the motorway to get to us here in Kent. Providence ensured it was a safe journey and only 4 hours it took them to travel the 50 miles back to us - it being a Friday afternoon in South East England. Tumbling out of the van, as they now only had 30 minutes to travel the next 150 miles to Somerset for this night's show, we adjourned to our cottage and after much hugging and chatting meeting the family and signing a few sleeves the lads took their Lps and headed off into the sunset. With cake to sustain them on their journey. So if you're in Frome tonight to see the band, remember what they had to go though to entertain you. Lovely lads they are and we hope we will see them again soon.
Colours

8by8 "AZALEAS ROOM" (SUGARBUSH RECORDS SB020) is out now on vinyl - only 300 copies, red vinyl. Free worldwide postage

8x8 (Eight by Eight) - AZALEA'S ROOM (SUGARBUSH RECORDS SB 020), out now on vinyl and limited to only 300 copies worldwide on red vinyl. This masterpiece courtesy of USA's LANE STEINBERG and Ukraine's ALEXANDER KHODCHENKO is finally out on vinyl! A magical blend of Brian Wilson-esque melodies fused with Psychedelia this is a very special album crafted by two incredibly gifted musicians. Lane Stienberg has one of the most wonderful voices I have ever hear and the songs he writes are nothing short of genius. This is by no means a sixties-only influenced album, there are elements of 80s Pop too and fans of XTC should definately take note as well. Utitmately this record is a field of its own and is one of the most original works we have released in our time as a record label. Please do not miss out on this fantastic records. Postage is included in the price by the way, anywhere in the world!

On red vinyl.

NEW DOWLING POOLE album "ONE HYDE PARK" out now on vinyl, only 300 copies + JACKDAW4 2LP set offer.


DOWLING POOLE - ONE HYDE PARK (SUGARBUSH SB018), limited to only 300 copies on vinyl, the amazing DOWLING POOLE are back with their new album - out on vinyl on our label! Another masterpiece of intelligent, well crafted Pop by these masters of hook, line & melody! One for fans of THE CARDIACS, XTC, WINGS, 10cc, SUPERTRAMP, JELLYFISH and any classic British Pop band you care to think of! From the opening single "Rebecca Receiving", a brilliant slice of English Pop, to the title track the production, melodies and lyrics are incredible. Check out their 1st album too (also out on our label), but in the meanwhile enjoy this amazing new album.


Dowling Poole - 1 Hyde Park
JACKDAW4 "RETROSPECTACLES" 2LP SET, another record in our "Special Imports Series" (IMP016), yes it is a very limited copy of WILLIE DOWLING'S previous band's (before DOWLING POOLE) two albums repackaged as a deluxe 2lp set on vinyl. Two incredible records of stinging, intelligent British Power-Pop. Amazing songs and all the trimmings you'd expect a project led by the genius Willie Dowling. Absolutely an essential addition to our catalogue, only £19.99 for 2 Lps including postage!!

JACKDAW4 2LP

SUGARBUSH LABEL NEWS MARCH 2016, PUGWASH, THE JUNIPERS, 8by8


SUGARBUSH LABEL NEWS & VIEWS, 10TH MARCH 2016. 

I am very much looking forward to Willie Dowling of the amazing DOWLING POOLE coming to visit next week. The pressing on vinyl of the new DOWLING POOLE album should be arriving today and Willie is swinging by here in Kent on his way from France to London. He is a tremendous fellow, hugely talented as you all know, and an engaging talker and although our meetings are generally over far too soon it is always a blast to see him. The new album ONE HYDE PARK is on general release in the first week of April this year and my label SUGARBUSH is lucky enough to have been asked to release the vinyl edition once again. 
This is limited to only 300 copies, which seems insane as an album should, and in the past would have, be selling thousands of copies. But such is the new age of vinyl, while we hear of a vinyl revival in reality the numbers shifted these days are very low. This does not detract from the fact that some incredible music is being made all the time and around the globe. But, despite all the hype, vinyl is a tiny fraction of the overall numbers of albums sold. Maybe people these days don't, on the whole, have the time to sit and listen to an album. I find the physical aspect of placing the vinyl on the deck after removing from the sleeve an integral part of the listening process, but I and possibly you, are now in a minority. Personally I don't really mind selling 300-500 copies of any album I release but for the artists it would be nice if they could count on bigger sales and therefore more money and exposure. But it is as it is.

Another great find in recent time is LANE STEINBERG, whose 8by8 album "AZALEA'S ROOM" I am releasing in a few weeks. This was an entirely lucky find. I was digging around in my stash of 80s singles a while back and found one I could not remember ever playing. It was by a USA band -  WALL OF ORCHIDS -  from the late 80s. I played it and it turned out to be a Pop classic of the highest order. Reading the credits on the back cover,  the name LANE STEINBERG jumped out and it became clear that he alone was the talent behind this great 7" record. My idea at that moment was to find him via the internet and to ask him if he had any other music in the vaults. So, find him I did in minutes and within a hour or so had played a batch of WALL OF ORCHIDS songs. I had also emailed him and lo and behold he replied the same day! We hatched a plan to issue a retrospective of the WALL OF ORCHIDS recordings. However, he mentioned a current new project, 8by8, which at that point I had filed in mind as a "must listen to at some point" project and put it aside for a while. When  I did finally get to listen to the 8by8 albums online I was pretty impressed. So much so that the WALL OF ORCHIDS album was put on hold and we agreed to issue the 8by8 album first. Mainly, because it was so good but also it is where Lane's energies are at the moment. So in a few months you may be one of the lucky 300 or so people who have a chance of owning this great album. With its layers of harmonies and intricate songs it is almost like a BEACH BOYS album for the 21st Century. While retaining a strong 1960s as well as 1980s feel the ideas and music are very much in the now while all the time retaining the sense of melody and arrangement that I like so much and that my releases are geared towards.

5 weeks ago I bumped into THE JUNIPERS' Pete Gough at a London record Fair. it was there that he confirmed the new JUNIPERS album RED BOUQUET FAIR was finally finished and that I would be hearing the album within the week. The boys were true to their word and sent the album over and it is - inevitably - incredible, clever, deep, heartfelt and as good if not better than their legendary PAINT THE GROUND album (currently enjoying good sales on our 2nd pressing). I love this band and the lads who are THE JUNIPERS are a great bunch and very accomplished musicians and writers. The album should set the world on fire but of course it will be only those "in the know" who will get to hear about it while leaving the rest to wallow in the likes of Justin Bieber et al. But that's how it blows. In time, however, as the cream slowly rises to the top you will be the proud owner of what will be considered one of the best even English Psych/pop albums.

The Junipers connection also finally made the great PUGWASH come our way, with an offer to release the ALMOND TEA album on vinyl. I of course jumped at the chance and hopefully the record should be with us within  months now. The test pressing sounds amazing and the whole project is a pleasure to be involved with. Well, that is it for this time. Cheers Markus Holler



New ORGONE BOX & DUNCAN MAITLAND LPs from SUGARBUSH RECORDS! ORDER NOW.

ORGONE BOX "THE LORNE PARK TAPES" (SUGARBUSH SB019), limited to 250 copies on melancholic black vinyl!
Rick Corcoran, one man Pop legend, returns to SUGARBUSH RCORDS with a fantastic album of vintage 4 track demos from the early 90's. With many previously unreleased and rare tracks classic this LO-FI LP nevertheless sounds like a lost gem from the late 60's. Guitars jangle and phase, vocals and harmonies flange in and out of range and the songs are some of the best the great man ever wrote. When I say "lo-fi" I am being disingenious actually, the sound (considering the limitations of the 4-track cassette medium) is actually superb, if a little closer to the mid-range than most modern recordings. If you liked his CENTAUR album (now deleted and sold out) you will love this 11 tracks of amazing Pop Confectionary valiantly produced on a vintage 4-track cassette recorder, lo-fi or not - this is Pop Heaven! This is very limited on vinyl and will not be repressed. Get it while you can! Tracks are:




side 1
1. bastard angel two
2. in the right hands
3. hello wonderland
4. star
5. the audition
6. just like a woman should be (alt. version)
side 2
1. barbican
2. my reply
3. storytime
4.last ride on the jets
5.hard for me


ORGONE BOX LORNE PARK LP


DUNCAN MAITLAND "LULLABIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY" (SUGARBUSH SB017), only 250 copies on coloured vinyl! £18.99 inc. postage. Ex Pugwash man Duncan Maitland sees his legendary album released on vinyl for the very first time. Featuring members of XTC, DIVINE COMEDY & PUGWASH this is a fantastic 60s tinged album of melody, harmony and brilliant playing. A review in "Powerpopaholic" sums it up thus: "Dublin native Duncan Maitland is joined by an all-star guest line-up on his smashing debut Lullabies for The 21st Century. Colin Moulding from XTC plays bass on the opening track, and also helping out are Fran King, Barry O’Brien, Keith Farrell and Tosh Flood (Pugwash). Recorded at his in-home studio, the album draws influences from many favorites. Starting with the richly melodic “Your Century” it has glowing background harmonies and driving bass line.  Followed by the flowing narrative of “Terry The Toad” it adds a great hook in the chorus, and “Crash Position” is a perfect example of modern Beach Boys pop, similar to Rick Gallego (Cloud Eleven).  These songs are not simple ear candy, but complex pop symphonies that don’t rely on a straight formulaic approach. Every song on the album is a meticulous study in pop smarts from the Beatlesque touches of “Alien At Home” and “Horror Stories” to the wistful atmosphere of “Supermarket Dream.”

Duncan Maitland LP


Out soon on SUGARBUSH RECORDS, new vinyl by ORGONE BOX "THE LORNE PARK TAPES"

The new ORGONE BOX album is out in about March 2016. Entitled "THE LORNE PARK TAPES" it features 4 track recordings from the early 90s spanning Rick sojourn in Markus Holler's SILENT BLUE, his time in the later incarnation of that band GREEN TAMBOURINES and finally to the recordings of the 1st Orgone Box album. This record will be limited to only 250 copies worldwide, more details to follow in due course. Track listing is as follows, please note that several tracks are different versions to the ones found on the THINGS THAT HAPPENED THEN CD that Bill Forsyth issued. (the Image above is a rough paste up of a sleeve idea we've had, the final product will be a little more polished)








side 1
1. bastard angel two
2. in the right hands
3. hello wonderland
4. star
5. the audition
6. just like a woman should be

side 2

1. barbican
2. my reply
3. storytime
4.last ride on the jets
5.hard for me
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