Belle And Sebastian were undoubtedly my favourite band a decade ago and although my interest has waned in recent years, i’ll always love them. Over four years since The Life Pursuit (has it really been that long?!), there’s finally a release date for the new album, which is called Belle And Sebastian Write About Love. It’s hitting the shelves on the 11th of October and that’s the cover you can see above. And they’re back in Belfast in December! The first time they played here (December 2001 in the Mandela Hall) was one of my favourite shows of all time. Isobel Campbell was wearing a Bob Dylan dress, there was a real christmas party atmosphere and they did lots of fun covers. One highlight being Richard Colburn singing Cool For Cats by Squeeze whilst reading the lyrics off a newspaper he was holding up. My friend Briggsy caught the newspaper when he threw it into the crowd afterwards! Let’s hope this year’s show will be every bit as special.

I’ve been a big fan of WeePOP! Records since the release of Let’s Whisper‘s wonderful Make Me Smile EP in the summer of 2008, which was my introduction to the lovely pop sounds of Colin Clary (whose other band the Smittens became a big favourite of mine soon after). Since then WeePOP! have went on to release some fantastic EPs by some of my favourite artists such as a split 7″ featuring the Smittens and the Just Joans (as mentioned in my interview with David Pope last month) and the stonking classic Allo Darlin’ single Henry Rollins Don’t Dance. The appeal of WeePOP! doesn’t lie solely with the music, either. Each release comes in beautiful hand-crafted packages with a certificate of authenticity stating your record’s number. The attention to detail puts many other record labels out there to shame. There’s nothing I like more than to come home to find a package from WeePOP!, complete with sweets and a sweet handwritten note by label boss Camila.

WeePOP! have been quiet the last few months but they have some fantastic new releases from Stars Of Aviation and the Just Joans on the horizon. And not least a new EP by the 1959 Hat Co. which broke WeePOP!’s 6 month silence at the start of June. The 1959 Hat Co. produce a hazy, summery kind of pop, with a nice ’60s baroque vibe crossed with classic ’80s indiepop not too far removed from Postcard-era Orange Juice. At 9 minutes, Awesome Sneakers is a compact, breezy good time perfect for this time of year.

Snap it up from WeePOP! here before it’s too late!

Recently I was very curious to know what my beloved Just Joans were up to so when I went on Myspace to message them, I decided to ask them to do a wee interview instead. If you require an introduction to the Just Joans, I recommend you listen to their song Friday Afternoons from the album Last Tango In Motherwell. Besides being an absolutely perfect sad pop song, it nicely sums up their incredible talent for capturing that feeling of desperation for something better.

Hi David! We’re all very excited about the Just Joans return to Indietracks this summer. What does the festival mean to you?

“I’m not a huge festival fan. I had a bad experience with a T In The Park portaloo when I was 17 and never fully recovered. The horror. Saying that, we all love Indietracks. We played in 2008 and it was probably the first time we all felt like we were in an actual real life band. We went back last year as punters and again had a really lovely weekend. We will be eternally grateful to Stuart and the rest of the Indietracks team for having us.”

What bands are you looking forward to catching there this year?

“So many good bands playing again this year – Allo, Darlin’, Mexican Kids At Home, The Felt Tips, The Specific Heats and of course The Smittens, although one of the best things about Indietracks is just pottering about and seeing bands you’ve never heard of before.”

The name Coia crops up in a couple of your songs (Coia’s Empty and What Do We Do Now). Is he a real life person?

“Coia was one of my best friends when I was 16-18. I remember getting drunk for the first time with him, going to one of my first gigs (Oasis – Newcastle, 1997) with him and forming my first band with him. However, shortly after leaving school we completely lost touch and I haven’t seen him for over ten years. I guess a lot of our songs are quite nostalgic or concerned with the passing of time and lost youth. I think he’s become a character who represents all that stuff. Jesus, that sounds pretentious.”

Your last release was a split single with the Smittens which came out on WeePOP! Records last summer. How did this collaboration come about?

“We first met the Smittens just before Indietracks in 2008 and immediately fell in love with them musically and socially, and sexually! They are literally the nicest people you will ever meet. Fortunately they seemed to like us too and since we’re on the same label – the sublime WeePOP! Records, it seemed quite natural to do a wee EP together. We’re looking forward to catching up with them musically and socially, and sexually again this summer. Not really sexually.”

What’s next for the Just Joans?

“We’re surprisingly busy at the moment. We’re finishing off a new EP called Your Pain Is A Joke Next To Mines which we should be releasing on WeePOP! in time for Indietracks. We’re also looking towards a christmas EP – Teardrops ‘Neath Mistletoe, and possibly a ‘best of’ album early next year. ‘Best Of’ probably isn’t the best description. It’ll be more of a scrapbook of ineptitude entitled For Those About To Weep….”

Thank you, David!

This weekend sees the return of the Spanish band Zipper, in the form of a new EP on Bubblegum Records entitled Last Chance For Friday’s Badge. This band first caught my attention at the first London Popfest. Perfect punky indiepop in the vain of Talulah Gosh, Fat Tulips and Free Loan Investments. It’s their first all new release since their debut album in 2008 – 11, which is very welcome indeed. And it doesn’t end there! They have new singles coming out on Cloudberry and Elefant in the upcoming months!

Buy the new EP at Bubblegum Records here.

Since Amelia Fletcher’s current band Tender Trap resurfaced early last year after a lengthy hiatus, they have been a very exciting proposition indeed. The addition of Katrina Dixon on drums (stand-up, in true c86 style) and Elizabeth Morris (of the ever wonderful Allo, Darlin’) appears to have given them a real shot in the arm, judging by their recent live shows. To further this notion, Tender Trap MK2 have released two wonderful singles in the last year – the fizzy Fireworks (backed by the even better Grand National) and Girls With Guns, which you can download for free from FortunaPOP! here. In my opinion, the new songs trump everything they’ve done before and are closer to the sound of Talulah Gosh and Heavenly.

The 3rd Tender Trap album, entitled Dansette Dansette, will be landing soon. Be sure to check out it’s wonderful Chris Summerlin-designed artwork here.