Words On Music

Tench: a new sister label of Words On Music
August 16, 2010

Words On Music is excited to announce the launch of its sister label, Tench Records. Tench will focus on instrumental / ambient / electroacoustic / experimental music that has a significant melodic component. Please visit the website here:

www.tenchrec.com

The debut release for Tench is the full-length solo debut of M. Ostermeier — the driving force behind the shoegaze/postrock band Should. Chance Reconstruction features acoustic piano melodies floating atop abstract electronics and field recordings that decorate the periphery. The reflective, melancholic songs on Chance Reconstruction range from meandering tone poems to miniature Goldmund-esque piano pieces. Vital Weekly describes the disc as "a sort of digital Americana" and declares it "an excellent quiet, spacious, atmospheric disc of music." For fans of Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Labradford, Peter Broderick, and Rafael Anton Irisarri.

Here are two songs from Chance Reconstruction

WORDS ON MUSIC 50% OFF SUMMER SALE!!
July 5, 2010

Words On Music announces it's 2nd Annual half-price summer sale that spans the entire Words On Music CD catalog! Every in-print title is currently marked 50% off. That means all CDs are just $5 in the USA and Canada and $7 to the rest of the world - with free shipping! Visit our order page to stock up now! Sale ends August 31st.

For Against In The Marshes t-shirts for sale
May 29, 2010

Words On Music has discovered a few In The Marshes t-shirts remaining from For Against's last European tour. All shirts are long sleeve and all are size medium. The design, by guitarist Harry Dingman III, is lifted from the In The Marshes reissue album cover, and the t-shirt comes in two colors: black and navy blue. Please visit our order page for more details.

New For Against 7” series to launch this summer!
May 28, 2010

Words On Music is excited to announce the launching of a new For Against 7" series beginning this summer. The inaugural release, "Black Soap" / "Dark Good Friday," contains two previous unreleased tracks from recording sessions in 1984 with the band's original lineup of Jeff Runnings (vocals, bass), Harry Dingman (guitar), and Greg Hill (drums). "Black Soap" is a torrid, sharp post-punk composition that highlights the bands early Joy Division/Warsaw influences. "Dark Good Friday" is equally frenetic, but showcases Runnings' unmistakable soaring vocal melodies and Dingman’s atmospheric fretwork. The release will be available for preordering in a few weeks with a release date slated for late July. UPDATE: the 7" will be released in September.

Scumbag Philosopher signed to Words On Music!
May 27, 2010

Words On Music announces the singing of the Norfolk, England post-punk quartet Scumbag Philosopher. The band's debut album, It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing, will be released this autumn, preceded by the single "God Is Dead So I Listen to Radiohead." Release dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

For Against to play New York for first time in 15 years!
May 23, 2010

Legendary post-punk trio For Against will play its first New York (and East Coast) show in 15 years this summer, at the Big Takeover 30th Anniversary Festival. The two-day festival will take place at The Bell House in Brooklyn, with For Against performing on Saturday, July 31st. Other artists performing on the 31st include Mark Burgess (The Chameleons), Jon Auer (The Posies), Astrid Williamson, and Springhouse. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

Hibernate releases M. Ostermeier's Lakefront
April 30, 2010

The second solo release of M. Ostermeier of Should was released on Hibernate Recordings last month. Audio Gourmet says that Lakefront "...is full of detail and intelligent design - you'll soon get lost in what could easily be one of the releases of 2010. A must buy for any fan of ambient music."

M. Ostermeier’s recent solo debut Percolate (Parvoart, Jan 2010) featured fragile Rhodes and acoustic piano melodies atop minimal downtempo electronics and Labradford-esque guitar tones. That release garnered strong reviews in The Wire and Textura for juxtaposing melancholic stillness with restrained post-rock urgency.

Here on the 30-minute album Lakefront, the skeletal acoustic piano remains but the minimal beats have evaporated, and we are left with something more organic, more haunting. Harold Budd and Sylvain Chauveau are still apt references for the piano fragments, but the infusion of acoustic recordings and darker guitar and electronics brings to mind Deaf Center, Stars of the Lid, and Type Records. The melancholic mood that builds throughout Lakefront evokes feelings of nostalgia and regret. One theme present in Marc’s mind as he was writing these pieces was how the passing of time necessarily brings uncertainty to one’s recollection of the past – an uncertainty that has its own poignancy. The release was mastered by Taylor Deupree (12k).

More details about Lakefront (including ordering info) can be found here or at Hibernate.

Two songs from Lakefront:

Mini-album released by M. Ostermeier of Should
January 8, 2010

The German microlabel [ parvoart ] recordings has released Percolate, the first solo release by M. Ostermeier of Should.

Percolate's instrumentals are built from skeletal piano melodies and augmented with electronics and acoustic recordings that evoke ur-post-rock legends Labradford in their Mi Media Naranja and El Luxo So phase, or later-period Harold Budd (once he'd dropped the heavy reverb and chorus effects). Percolate is filled with understated melodies played on both acoustic and rhodes piano while the electronic elements — a skeletal beat here, a pad or sample there — are used sparingly to couch the piano, not overwhelm it. At the emotional core of the mini-album (on the tracks "Clockwork" and "Scratchy") these elements are joined by a third — airy, melancholic, twangy guitar worthy of Marc Nelson, Ry Cooder, or Loren Connors. Although Marc’s stated aim was to create something that "evoked a melancholic stillness", the mini-album is not monochromatic — the penultimate track "Continuity" hints at ambient techno while the closer "Persuasion" ends on a wistful, blissful, and somnambulistic note, that whilst not ecstatic, seems to hint that maybe life isn't so bad after all.

The year will be a busy one for M. Ostermeier releases, which include the mini-album Lakefront on Hibernate followed by a full-length CD on Words On Music. More information and songs can be found on M. Ostermeier's website.

More details about Percolate (including ordering info for this limited, numbered edition) can be found here.

Two songs from Percolate:

Also released on [ parvo art ] is a compilation entitled Advent that includes an exclusive M. Ostermeier track and songs by Stephen Spera, Will Long, Neve, John R. Carlson, Porzellan, R. Kitch, Duncan Ó Ceallaigh, and Alpe. The compilation is a meditation and celebration of all things wintry. If the cover looks vaguely familiar, it is because it is a deliberate homage to Joy Division's elegiac Atmosphere single. More details about this compilation can be found here.

First Lorna show in five years
November 15, 2009

Lorna will play its first UK show in five years on December 6th at The Boat Club in Nottingham. The event, entitled "It’s a Wonderful Life," will benefit The Daisy Garland, a local charity for children with epilepsy, and includes performances by four other artists. Lorna will also be debuting its latest member, cellist/harpist/oboist Paul Skinner. The event runs from 3–7 pm with a 5 GBP charge at the door.

The Lucy Show's ...undone is shipping now!
November 4, 2009

Words On Music is now shipping orders for …undone, the reissue of the classic 1985 post-punk debut by the London quartet The Lucy Show. Produced by Steve Lovell (Blur, James) and Steve Power (Robbie Williams, Blur), …undone was a CMJ #1 album on U.S. college radio, led by the single "Ephemeral (This Is No Heaven)" and the title track. Through 11 seamless compositions, …undone gracefully injects howling guitars and psychedelic flourishes into infectious pop songs with hook-laden choruses. Recorded with strings by Fiona Stephen (Belle and Sebastian, David Byrne).

The importance of …undone's place extends well beyond its post-punk canvas. As Jack Rabid, editor of The Big Takeover, explains, the record is a "touchstone bridging the early Magazine/Bunnymen/Sound/Comsat Angels U.K. post-punk pinnacle and the House of Love and Stones Roses emergence, sparking the shoegaze-dreampop explosion."

Signposts: The Cure, Jesus & Mary Chain.

Video for Almost Charlie's "Love Condensed"
October 31, 2009

Words On Music is proud to announce the release of the debut music video by Almost Charlie for their acclaimed new record The Plural of Yes. "Love Condensed" is an animated short film that follows the protagonist on an otherworldly journey rich with symbolism and images both eye opening and heartrending.

The filmmakers' (Berlin's Markus Schmidt & Björn Otto of ad arta) use of perspective and scale challenge the viewer in an emotive tug-of-war between the narrow, existential search by the protagonist and the broader, worldly questions about love and meaning his search conveys.

New For Against album Never Been shipping now!
October 16, 2009

Words On Music is now shipping orders for Never Been, the 9th record by the Lincoln, Nebraska post-punk trio For Against in advance of its November 10th USA release date. The nine-song record, the second reuniting singer/bassist Jeffrey Runnings with original guitarist Harry Dingman III, showcases the depth and breadth of For Against's sonic palate — alternating angular, foot-stomping post-punk with lush, atmospheric ballads and dark Joy Division-esque dirges. Click here to order and learn more about Never Been.

Rob Vandeven's first solo album released
September 26, 2009

Rob Vandeven, co-singer/songwriter of The Lucy Show, has just released his first solo record, Lost Days. The 11-song album tours jangle pop ("I Thought I Saw You"), electro-pop ("Baby You’re a Star"), and includes perhaps the most heart rendering song Vandeven has written in his 25 years of making records (the mandolin-tinged "Home"). Lucy Show guitarist Pete Barraclough appears on two tracks, and Lucy Show co-singer/songwriter Mark Bandola plays keyboards on another. Also appearing are Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths from Archive. Lost Days is now available digitally here.

Words On Music artists on The Purest Blue soundtrack
September 25, 2009

Seven songs by four Words On Music artists appear in the new independent film, The Purest Blue. Written and directed by Dustin Lane, the film stars Olivia Alaina May in a tale akin to a grittier Pretty Woman, without the happy ending (with a cast that includes Isabella Bonaduce). The film includes songs by The Meeting Places, For Against, Coastal, and Should. Limited Festival Edition DVDs can be purchased here.

Almost Charlie's The Plural of Yes released today
May 19, 2009

The Plural of Yes, the North American debut record by Berlin's Almost Charlie, was released today by Words On Music in North America. The record's 13 compositions, a cunning blend of gifted melodies and chamber pop atmospherics, are the inimitable offspring of a transatlantic songwriting duo who, to this day, have never met. Berlin singer-guitarist Dirk Homuth and American lyricist Charlie Mason formed their songwriting partnership in 2003. On The Plural Of Yes Homuth reveals himself to be a connoisseur of timeless pop craftsmanship — distilling the heady years of AM-radio splendor, from Bacharach to The Beatles, into 13 addicting indie-pop coated pills. Signposts: The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Belle and Sebastian, Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience.

Critics have heralded the new release:

While lyricist Charlie Mason and singer-guitarist Dirk Homuth may not know each other personally — the duo has never met — you wouldn't know it from their music, which blends their separate work seamlessly. (A peppier Postal Service!) Yes is slick, like the '60s-era pop record it wants to be, but never detached; there's real emotion in these tracks. Much of this is achieved by Homuth, whose impressive instrumental skill — from harmonica to sitar to glockenspiel — lends each song its own unique stamp. A-
-- Entertainment Weekly

In a world where any number of polite indie bands are desperately trying to be the new version of the Beach Boys or Crosby, Stills & Nash, it's almost sweet to see one band aim at simply being the Beatles, or at least a refracted version of the Fab Four via a sunny, low-key, and easygoing power pop lens. The Plural of Yes (is) something that might make most people want to search out the acts that clearly served as an inspiration — besides the Beatles, there are inevitable echoes of Big Star, later XTC, Cheap Trick, T. Rex, the Smiths — it's almost a greatest hits of elegantly hooky and wistful guitar pop in general.
-- All Music Guide

Words On Music signs Berlin's Almost Charlie
February 16, 2009

Words On Music announces the signing of its 11th artist — Berlin, Germany's Almost Charlie. The band's North American debut release, The Plural of Yes, will be released in late spring.

For Against's Shade Side Sunny Side makes 'Best of 2008' Lists
February 5, 2009

For Against's latest record, Shade Side Sunny Side, has made the Best Albums of 2008 lists of several magazines and writers across the world including Jack Rabid (The Big Takeover), Indieville (Canada), Cults e Raridades Musicais (Portugal), Power of Pop, Hablo Ennui, [SIC] Magazine (Belgium), Leonard's Lair (UK), and Projecto Scellophane (Portugal).

Magic Bullet tour dates
January 17, 2009

Magic Bullets will embark on an 11-date, 10 city tour next Thursday, including shows in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and their home state of California. "Will Scarlett," one of the band's standout tracks from their debut album, a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love, was recently featured on an episode of "Gossip Girl." For a full tour listing, visit our shows page.