The Andersen Tapes

In an interview with Slumberland Records' Michael Schulman, in the excellent Wrap Yr Troubles in Dreams 'zine, he mentions that his ambition is for the label to reach SLR100. It's these kinds of modest ambitions that make Cloudberry's achievement of over 90 singles in a little over a year seem all the more astonishing. However, one of the problems with such a prolific label is can be easy to get lost among the releases, and often it's the quiet, unassuming releases that get forgotten. I believe part of the reason releases by bands like Manhattan Love Suicides and Pains stand out and are popular is because they are so different from what would be considered the label's 'sound'. Although that theory doesn't really hold water; both those releases also stand out because they're brilliant.


Considering there are so many other bands with a similar sound, The Andersen Tapes' delicately arranged winsome folk-pop is the kind of thing that can be easily overlooked. Although, the difference is they do it better than almost anyone else and they're new single is probably my favourite Cloudberry release so far. I've been thinking recently about what makes the perfect 3" CD single, as opposed to a 7" single or 12" EP, and as I listen to these short subtle pop songs delivered with the most shockingly beautiful voice I've heard in a long time I can't help thinking this is how it should be. It creates a mood and sustaines it for 8 minutes and once it's floated out of my speakers all I want to do is press play again.



The Andersen Tapes - Turn To Speak


off to malta for a couple of weeks this weekend. i doubt i'll find any decent records while i'm there...