Proper Ornaments is the project of James Hoare (Ultimate Painting, Veronica Falls) and Max Oscarnold (Toy, Pink Flames). Their chance meeting blossomed into an epicurean riot of luminous highs and cold, dismal crashes that conversely produced music that was very well ordered and faintly angelic. While 2014's "Wooden Head" was fuzzy and driving, on "Foxhole" they've sliced away a whole stratum of their sound, removing some distortion and lowering the frequency of plectrum strokes to allow more nuanced, piano-led ideas to emerge. The mood is dreamlike and pastoral, poetic and warmly expressive. Reference points of Velvet Underground and The Jesus & Mary Chain only tell part of the story - there is a cracked, wasted depth to "Foxhole" that draws you deep into the album's soundworld. Crucial.

LP » $14.00 CD » $9.00

We've all been waiting WAY too long for a new Tony Molina record, and this here eight song EP delivers in spades. Leaving the guitar crunch behind, Tony spotlights his formidable songwriting with spare, mostly acoustic arrangements that owe as much to early Bee Gees and Teenage Fanclub's mellower moments as they do to Georges Harrison and Martin. The sadness of this music has precedents in pop's past indeed, but in these songs you hear exactly what Tony found in those influences that shaped his experience -- years upon years of focus and isolation in developing his guitar and writing skills to speak to these truths. The main difference here is that where Tony's previous works felt casual and easy to digest, here we feel the full weight of his emotional needs pressed against the gentlest and most careful music of his career. The record's coda, a highlight reel of Thin Lizzy's "Banshee," indicates that the Tony you knew is still in there, but the game has changed, and the rules are entirely his own. Tony Molina is in complete control of his own destiny, and we should all care about where he's going.

12" vinyl » $14.00

Finally! We're excited to bring you the brilliant debut album from this Minneapolis band whose string of excellent singles and EPs have been staples on the SLR turntable. Well-crafted crash-pop is the order of the day, with echoes of such greats at Television Personalities, The McTells and Cause Co-Motion adding historical color to these great songs. Wordless Wonder's ten tunes are brief and perfectly-formed, benefitting from thoughtful production that expands the band's DIY approach into rich new areas. Cut at 45rpm for maximum oomph, this great album is guaranteed to take a stake out a permanent spot in your "now playing" pile.

LP » $13.00 CD » $8.00

Our punk heroes Terry Malts are back with their third album and it's their boldest pop statement yet. There's always been a melodic core to the Malts sound, but this time around the band has decided to focus on it, using enhanced studio techniques to emphasize the POP. The band's influences have always included flavors like the Flying Nun sound and classic power-pop, and now they put their augmented sonic palette in the service of some of their strongest tunes yet. It's still plenty punk, but also their most sophisticated outing yet.

LP » $13.00 CD » $8.00

Four great bands, two great labels and two continents meet on this stellar mini-LP. Frequent collaborators Slumberland Records and Fortuna POP! team up to bring you "Continental Drift," a smashing eight song sampler of some of the finest pop out there in 2016. Featuring new songs from Mercury Girls, The Spook School, Tigercats and Wildhoney, "Continental Drift," is a stellar survey of the state of independent pop in all its colors: tuneful, noisy, passionate and above all FUN.

LP » $13.00 CD » $8.00 cassette » $6.00

Joanna Gruesome release their first material since the departure of vocalist Alanna McArdle and it shows the band turning the page in a most authoritative fashion. Following a chance meeting in an occult bookshop, the band's new line up features two amazing and inspiring women, Kate Stonestreet (formerly of queer punks Pennycress) on melodic vocals/shouting/screaming and Roxy Brennan (of Two White Cranes and Grubs) on melodic vocals/keyboard, joining Owen Williams (guitar/vocals), George Nicholls (guitar), Max Warren (bass) and Dave Sandford (drums).

Bent Shapes' second album sees them taking their angular, literate indie rock in bold directions. Catchier, tougher and more focused then their debut, Wolves of Want marries smart songwriting to infectious, energetic playing and comes out a winner. With echoes of everyone from The Feelies to The Wedding Present and Unrest, this Boston band knows their history but also knows how to write great tunes, and this is a taut, expertly-written album that is at once personal and universal, reinvigorating indie rock with fresh relevance.

LP » $13.00 CD » $9.00

"Spilt Milk" is the brand new album from indie auteur Pete Astor, previously of The Loft, The Weather Prophets, and other esteemed acts. It was recorded onto 1/2 inch tape at the home studio of James Hoare of Ultimate Painting, The Proper Ornaments and Veronica Falls, with James playing guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and singing backing vocals. "He was", says Astor, "an amazing band." Other contributions came from members of Astor's live band, with Pam Berry (Black Tambourine, Withered Hand) supplying vocals, Jack Hayter (Hefner) on pedal steel, Alison Cotton (The Left Outsides) on viola, and Robin Christian (Male Bonding) and Susan Milanovic (Feathers) on drums.
ʉ۬The album has all the hallmarks of a future Pete Astor classic, drawing together key strands and tributaries of his work over the years, blending intuitive songwriting, acute lyrics and incisive melodies. After many years making more experimental, electronic music Astor has come full circle to the sound that made his name.

The second single from critically acclaimed album Rest And Be Thankful is an old school double A-side: "Broken Glass" and brand new track "Bones," featuring the lo-fi traditional skronk of young upstarts JR Green. "Bones" was written one wintery morning at the window of Inver Cottage, an old fisherman's croft on the shores of Loch Fyne. In December 2015 _Linden (Joe, Marco, Eric and Stuart) went to The Barne Studio in Duntocher with the wonderful JR Green; rehearsed, recorded and mixed the track on the same day. . . old skool! The day was beautifully captured by film-maker and Young Bafta winner Iain Henderson.

The Bay Area's finest folk/pop/psych/garage band returns with "All Odds End," another understated, marvelously-textured guitar pop album featuring a tweaked line-up that now includes the swirling keyboards of Carly Putnam and the rock-solid bass of Matt Bullimore. "All Odds End" is full of folky, garagey flavors that echo the Paisley Underground and the best of New Zealand's underground pop. The lovely, sympathetic production by Jason Quever (Papercuts, The Donkeys, Elisa Ambroglio) only serves to underline the timeless nature of the tunes, songs that are at once familiar and fresh and place The Mantles into a category all their own.

LP » $10.00 LP » $11.00 CD » $8.00

From The Boy Hairdressers, to The Groovy Little Numbers, to BMX Bandits, Superstar and even guest spots with Teenage Fanclub, Joe McAlinden has long been one of the key figures in the Scottish pop scene. Now he's back with his second album under the name Linden, and it's a peach. Like 2012's Bleached Highlights, the new album features Edwyn Collins behind the mixing desk, to help tease out the nuances in these gorgeously soulful pop songs. Joe is absolutely at the top of his game, making warm, melodic, emotionally literate music of the sort we just don't hear enough of anymore.

LP » $13.00 CD » $9.00

Baltimore's premier indiepop trio Expert Alterations have one eyebrow arched as they survey the surrounding pop landscape -- they know they can do better. Strip it down, keep it lean, sweat off the fat. Despite their propensity for reducing the elements of pop to its essential core, Expert Alterations are minimal, but not skeletal -- their bones are strong and their songs linger long after the music is over. The band's influences range from the well-trod (TVPs, The Wedding Present) to roads less traveled (Yeah Yeah Noh, Close Lobsters) and they process them into songs that can stand side-by-side with such standard-bearers. We loved their cassette demo from 2014 so much that we somehow finagled the band into letting us press this limited vinyl EP. One-sided with hand-stamped labels and a silk-screened jacket, it's a perfect pop artifact and one that won't be around for long.

12" vinyl » $10.00

Finally, Joanna Gruesome are back with their very eagerly-awaited second album! Rival groups will be disappointed to learn that the record is a further experiment in combining hyper melodic pop music with sonic violence. Officials have confirmed that the album contains a record number of hooks, traces of nut and elements of jangle pop, British hardcore punk, atonal music, screaming and drone organs. Yet they have issued warnings of "a marriage of radical politics with peanut butter spread." One authorized statement reads: "Weighing in at a concise 25 minutes, the album hurtles through its ten songs, each one a succinct, powerful gem."

LP » $12.00 CD » $9.00

We've been fans of Toronto's Young Guv for a mighty long time, and are very pleased to bring you this fantastic mini-LP. Coming on like Big Star produced by Prince, this record smoothly covers everything from the rhythm box pop of "Crushing Sensation" to the power-pop classicism of "Crawling Back To You," from the brilliant jangle of "Living The Dream" to the Tears For Fears-tinged 80s vibe of epic closer "Wrong Crowd." Young Guv has been releasing singles, EPs and tapes for several years now (not to mention his work with Fucked Up, The Bitters and his Bad Actors label), but with Ripe 4 Luv he's finally fully realized his pop vision.

LP » $11.00 CD » $7.00

Evans the Death return with their anxiously-awaited second album Expect Delays. Recorded again with producer Rory Atwell, the album bristles with an underlying tension and veers from rip-roaring noise to quiet contemplation, underpinned by Katherine Whitaker's extraordinary voice. First single "Don't Laugh At My Angry Face" perfectly encapsulates what the album is about: dark, noise, sonically ambitious but still totally melodic. "Enabler" and "Bad Year" are classic Brit Pop, all boisterous guitars and sing-along vocals. Add in the raucous "Idiot Button" and the languorous "Waste of Sunshine" and you get a picture of a band completely in sync, reaching for the stars and getting there. A brilliant, inventive album.

LP » $13.00 CD » $9.00

The Bay Area's garage-pop greats The Mantles are back with their first new recordings since Long Enough To Leave and a tweaked line-up featuring the swirling keyboards of Carly Putnam and the rock-solid bass of Matt Bullimore. Memory is an upbeat song that recalls some of the finest of the Paisley Underground bands. Buoyed by Justin's twangy lead guitar and Carly's organ, "Memory" boasts the kind of easy lope and indelible melody that The Mantles make seem so effortless. On the flip we have "Undelivered," a rootsy tune whose psychedelic keyboards and moody demeanor align it firmly with the best of New Zealand's Flying Nun label.

7" » $5.50

The Joanna Gruesome/Perfect Pussy mutual admiration society had an emergency meeting and this split single was the result. Each band does one original song and one cover, and the single comes with a super cool 24-page comic by renowned artist Phil McAndrew. It's a fantastic package, the bands' styles complementing each other perfectly. A brilliant racket, and a fun read.