I can remember Archie walking into the University of Maryland Record Co-Op carrying the first release from Slumberland Records back in 1989. Even though I knew some of the people on that piece of vinyl -- mainly 'cause they were all regular customers at the Co-Op -- I was probably a bit cynical about the chances of the bands and label succeeding.
But hey, I was a jerk when I was 22 so what did I know then?
So now 25 years later it's time to celebrate what has become one of America's premier record labels. Mike and his Slumberland crew first focused on a certain kind of C86-inspired guitar-based pop, as well as the sort of music that would later come to be called shoegaze for lack of a better term. But these days Slumberland has a much wider range of acts.
There are 22 great reasons to get this compilation. I was thrilled to see such a rare Lorelei (pictured above from late 2012 here in D.C.) cut included -- from the awesome Why Popstars Can't Dance compilation -- and there are great tunes from Black Tambourine (of course), Veronica Falls, and Phil Wilson (of June Brides) too.
Grab this amazing collection now for free on Amazon!
And it includes one of the best singles of the last year, the self-referencing (for Slumberland Records, that is) "Black Tambourine" by Withered Hand with guest vocals from Pam Berry.