Various - Matinée 50

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 1 / 9 / 2003

---

When I first started listening to the output of Matinee records, it felt like a different world to the rest of the indie music scene. In 2000 and 2001, though the seeds were being sown for the push back into the mainstream of ‘indie’ music, the stuff worth listening to was music by the likes of Godspeed, Flaming Lips, Hefner and Sigur Ros, music that for all its charm was consciously awkward, arty and abstract. Matinee on the other hand was unashamedly pop minded, and yet was completely independent, and completely reliant on zines and small distros such as ours for support. And Matinee has been the label that has defined the time I’ve been writing for Pennyblackmusic. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Sweeney (Simpatico and Sweet William) and Roy Thirlwall (Windmills and Melodie Group) twice each, and also Dick Preece of Lovejoy and the Snowdrops last year, as well as doing a label interview with Jimmy Tassos, the Matinee boss. I’ve also spent an awful lot of my time playing the records by the Lucksmiths, Ego, Slipslide, Pipas, Harper Lee, Airport Girl and the Guild League. If any label deserves to celebrate their 50th release in style then its Matinee. Here’s to the next 50!   And what better way to celebrate than to get most of your best acts together on a single CD, and have them cover each other’s songs. So Roy Thirlwall of Melodie Group tackles the Would Be Goods’ 'Emmanuelle Beart', and vice versa the Would Be Goods have a go at Roy’s defining moment so far, 'Summerness'. The quite exceptional Lucksmiths stamp their unique style all over 'Falling Off Of My Feet Again', an oldie from the Siddeleys. Two British bands have a go at Windmills numbers, Airport Girl do a relatively straight reading of 'Three Sixty Degrees', but add a new approach in terms of tone and sound quality, whilst Lovejoy remake my fave Windmills tune, 'Drug Autumn'as a delicious mellow electro indie pop classic. Perhaps the Windmills will have a go at playing it that way. Simpatico just can’t put a foot wrong in my eyes, and after his stunning 'Club Life' EP earlier this year, Jason Sweeney adds his distinctive, jingly electro folk shoegaze approach to 'Train’s Not Stopping' by Harper Lee. It’s a toss up between this and Pipas’ take on 'You Kill Me' for the compilation's best track. I think Simpatico just takes it, but it’s a photo finish! It was lovely to get nostalgic about great Matinee tracks from the recent past, but what this compilation really says is that Matinee’s bands are all just stepping into their best form now, and that the next 50 singles re going to be even better. Having said that, I haven’t got all of the first lot yet, so I suppose I’d best get going!

Track Listing:-

1 Gregory Webster - Untidy Towns,
2 Melodie Group - Emmanuelle Béart,
3 The Guild League - Between Delta and Delaware,
4 The Snowdrops - Summerness,
5 The Visitors - Sad Kaleidoscope,
6 Airport Girl - Three Sixty Degrees,
7 Pipas - You Kill Me,
8 The Lucksmiths - Falling Off Of My Feet Again,
9 Sportique - Goldmining,
10 The Windmills - Striking Out On Your Own,
11 The Pines - Darling, Don’t You Think?,
12 Harper Lee - Motorway,
13 Slipslide - Wildest Dream,
14 The Fairways - Sunday Lovely Sunday,
15 Would-Be-Goods - Southernmost,
16 Lovejoy - Drug Autumn,
17 Pale Sunday - Just Friends,
18 The Liberty Ship - Desert Song,
19 Simpático - Train Not Stopping,
20 Kosmonaut - Northern Angel

Label Links:-

http://matineerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/matineerecordings

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg