THE CAROUSEL Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1994

 

Discogs

Twee/indie folk/pop/ethereal group, featuring members of Heavenly, Razorcuts, Marine Research, Talulah Gosh, Sportique, and Saturn V.

Tracklist

1		Henry Please Don't Chop Off My Head	3:28
2		Sugarbowl	2:11
3		Like A Honey Bee (Honey Bee)	2:54
4		Truelove	2:42
5		Sidesaddle	2:38
6		Baby Sweetness	3:04
7		G.U.N.	2:52
8		My Boy And His Motorbike	3:15

SPORTIQUE Black Is A Very Popular Colour 1999

 

Discogs

Sportique Biography by Stewart Mason

After the demise of the popular late-'80s indie band the Razorcuts, singer/guitarist Gregory Webster did time in a couple of minor and short-lived side project bands, the Carousel and Saturn V, in his native Oxford, England, before forming Sportique in 1997. Although the band is otherwise entirely composed of people with other musical duties (keyboardist and singer Amelia Fletcher and bassist Rob Pursey have worked together in Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, and Tender Trap; and drummer Mark Flunder was in both the Television Personalities and the McTells, among others), Sportique has thrived, even managing more releases than the Razorcuts did during their four-year run.

Sportique released three singles in 1998, "The Kids Are Solid Gold," "If You Ever Change Your Mind," and "Tiny Clues," all on the cumbersomely-named U.K. indie Where It's At Is Where You Are. Their debut album, Black Is a Very Popular Colour, came out in April 1999 on the slightly larger indie Matinee Recordings, which also released an all-new single, "Love and Remains," in July of that year. A second album, Modern Museums, followed in the summer of 2002.

Tracklist

1		Just Friends	2:28
2		Anatomy Of A Fool	3:07
3		P58	2:39
4		It Couldn't Last Forever	4:17
5		The Impersonator	3:10
6		If You Ever Change Your Mind	3:00
7		Tiny Clues	2:45
8		The Cover	3:14
9		Northern Sky	3:31
10		A World Without Pity	3:40

MARINE RESEARCH Sounds From The Gulf Stream 1999

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Mike DaRonco

Marine Research formed in late 1997 as a continuation of Heavenly -- who disbanded the prior year following the tragic suicide of drummer Mathew Fletcher. With the remaining four-fifths of Heavenly moving on with drummer John Stanley (aka DJ Downfall), Amelia Fletcher (vocals), Cathy Rogers (vocals/keyboards), Rob Pursey (bass), and Peter Momtchiloff (guitar) continued with their formula of uppity twee-pop and punk rock undertones that root back from their Talulah Gosh days. Immediately releasing their debut single "Queen B" in 1998 and a split EP with Built to Spill, K Records eventually signed the Oxford quintet that resulted in the CD EP Parallel Horizons and the full-length Sounds of the Gulf Stream later on that same year.

 

Tracklist

1	Parallel Horizontal
2	You And A Girl
3	Hopefulness To Hopelessness
4	Queen B
5	Chucking Out Time
6	Glamour Gap
7	At The Lost And Found
8	Venn Diagram
9	End Of The Affair
10	Y.Y.U.B.

 

HEAVENLY Heavenly Vs. Satan 1991

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

Formed from the ashes of C-86 giants Talulah Gosh, Heavenly spearheaded the twee-pop charge of the 1990s, becoming the legendary Sarah Records label's biggest international stars. The four founding members of Heavenly -- vocalist Amelia Fletcher, her drummer brother Mathew, guitarist Peter Momtchiloff and bassist Robert Pursey -- were also among the founding members of Talulah Gosh back in 1985; their new project followed in a direction similar to their previous work, retaining their trademark sweetness-and-light pop flavor but with a tighter, more mature sense of craftsmanship. Formed in Oxford, England during the summer of 1989, Heavenly debuted early the following year with their Sarah label single "I Fell in Love Last Night," a second seven-inch, "Our Love Is Heavenly," preceded the release of the mini-album Heavenly vs. Satan in early 1991. Keyboardist and backing vocalist Cathy Rogers was recruited for the full-length follow-up, Le Jardin de Heavenly; the first of the band's releases to receive an overseas release thanks to a licensing deal with Calvin Johnson's K Records, it helped further establish Heavenly as Sarah's flagship act in the wake of labelmates the Field Mice's recent demise. Another EP, P.U.N.K. Girl, appeared in 1993, and in 1994 Heavenly issued their second LP, The Decline and Fall of Heavenly. After completing 1996's Operation Heavenly, tragedy struck when Mathew Fletcher -- also the group's primary songwriter -- took his own life on June 14 of that year; Heavenly immediately ceased to exist, although the surviving members later announced their intentions to carry on under the name Marine Research. 

Tracklist

1	Cool Guitar Boy	3:12
2	Boyfriend Stays The Same	4:37
3	Lemonhead Boy	3:27
4	Shallow	4:41
5	Wish Me Gone	4:08
6	Don't Be Fooled	4:15
7	It's You	2:30
8	Stop Before You Say It	5:25