Phosphene and Friends
'I See a Sign Defined' 7" EP
(Egg 63)

Phosphene is the electronic/acoustic music project created by Glasgow-based John Cavanagh, after four years as a member of the duo Electroscope. Phosphene has released three full-length albums, featuring collaborations with Lol Coxhill, Raymond McDonald and John McKeown (1990s/Yummy Fur), amongst others. Collaborators on this record are: Bridget St John, Isobell Campbell, Bill Wells and Nalle.

"Glasgow's John Cavanagh (aka Phosphene) continues delving into the ranks of John Peel's Dandelion label with this new release (previously he has recorded with Lol Coxhill). Now he has connected with Dandelion's resident chanteuse, Bridget St John, for a lovely and fascinating set of tunes. On 'I See a Sign Defined', Bridget takes the lead vocal and her dark voice wraps elegantly around Cavanagh's arrangements.The flip features Glasgow trio, Nalle, singing one of Bridget's signature tunes to near communal effect. What a nice pairing" [John Dale, The Wire]

"'I see a sign defined' features a very special guest appearance on vocals of a certain Bridget St John, of whom the musical aficionados among you will need no introductions. Often referred to as the English Nico, Bridget St John released a handful of acclaimed albums in a brief but productive 6 year period regularly working with the likes of Ron Geesin and John Martyn, her debut album ’Ask me no questions’ had the distinction of not only being the inaugural release for the late John Peel’s short lived Dandelion label but was produced by the bearded one. Sadly record sales and the affection of the record buying public did not follow acclaim and for the best part of three long decades St John retreated into obscurity. Like uncovering a rarefied and precious heirloom from a forgotten age hidden in cobwebs, dust and shyly hiding in the shadows of an old attic, ’See a sign defined’ is a beautifully bleak baroque folk styled nugget wrapped in oddly affecting Farfisa (courtesy of Bill Wells) signatures and playfully crafted nursery room accents that hypnotically combine to numbing pastel hued grandeur. Invested with a deep sense of introspection brought about by St John’s trembling timbre, it informs an eerie spectral majesty eliciting a message of hope a bit like a less cosmically inclined and bruised on the inside Stereolab seeking solace and relocating their space age bachelor pad to the homely and cosy confines of a tumble down woodshed. Replete with dream like soft psyche undercurrents and a tingling noire-esque classicism, brought to bear by Isobel Campbell’s cello arrangements ’See a Sign Defined’ is all at once tearfully touching, tender and timeless - to be handled with care. Over on the flip the favour is repaid in kind as members of Nalle shimmy up to Cavanagh for a deliciously crooked retread of Bridget St John’s ’Ask Me No Questions’. A gorgeously disorientating slice of freeform campfire folk that creaks, caresses, ebbs and flows with a particular fetching and distractive air tripped tenderly with wafts of harmonic interplays overlain across flurries of shimmering acoustics which we suspect fans of both the Virgin Passages and Animal Collective will no doubt lap up by the bucket load" [Mark Barton, Losing Today]

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.50

US: $8.50

Roy Moller
'Ferme la Bouche' 7" EP
(Egg 53)

Described by Rough Trade as "a fantastic songwriter from Glasgow", the story behind Roy Moller’s new single is something of an alternative history of Glasgow pop. Roy has contributed to Stevie Jackson-authored Belle & Sebastian songs such as 'Seymour Stein', 'Chickfactor', 'Travelin' Light' & 'Roy Walker' (named after him). Stevie has returned the favour by co-producing 'First You Fall In Love' and 'Speak When I’m Spoken To' on this EP, maintaining a tradition established by Roy's first single, 'Maximum Smile', released on Hamburg's Felicite Singles Club in 2003. Stevie also plays guitar on these tracks, which also feature Belle & Sebastian's Bob Kildea on bass. Moller seductively draws together the varying strands of West Coast pop and 60's shimmer, and when aligned to his frail strokes of melodic classicism, radiate with such warmth and disarming guile as to have you breathless. Roy’s way with melodies and harmony has earned him comparisons to Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys, as well as Ray Davies, and perhaps inevitably, Belle & Sebastian.

'First You Fall in Love' (MP3)
'Leave it Well Alone' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Mittens on Strings
'Pushing Buttons' 7" EP
(Egg 46)

Long overdue debut vinyl release from the Kentucky based collaborative ensemble. Their sound has been likened to the so-called ’Love Rock’ scene (Beat Happening, et al), which emerged out of Olympia, Washington in the late 80’s – minimalist, wide-eyed and defiantly lo-fi. Melodic pop mixes with darker folk textures. Vocals display a bare, emotional content, the music is always simple, yet contains subtle accents.

"More fine and dandy life-affirming pop from the Pickled Egg factory of musical dreams, comes courtesy of Indiana / Kentucky ensemble Mittens on Strings. Limited to just 300 pressings – so skates on now pop kids because this is quite gem-like. ‘Pushing Buttons’ features four cutely crafted cuts of gently ambling folky pop, that opens with the brittle melancholic strains of the Red House Painters-like ‘La talking box’. Then there’s the wonky wheels almost falling off country tinged ‘Party’. Elsewhere there’s the strangely skewiff and admittedly best track here ‘Down Payment’, which pops its head up and magically turns everything on its head for a brief celebratory instant, recalling for a second Mary Hopkins of all people. Damn good we say" [Mark Barton, Losing Today]

'It Fell to Me' (MP3)
'Party' (MP3)
'Down Payment' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Big Eyes
'I See Creatures' 7" EP
(Egg 45)

7" EP featuring three new instrumental tracks. 'Gentle Neck' kicks things off with its acoustic Far-Eastern swells and violin loops, the theme not melancholic, not up-beat, but lurking somewhere in-between. Next comes 'Black Beak', with its violent string codas. This track, perhaps more than any previously, explores baroque harmonies and tones, coupled with an incessant chasing rhythm. Lastly is 'A Death Dance', inspired by the movements made by weasels when they are hypnotising their prey. A kind of Victorian hoedown!

"A really stark and swirly instrumental blend of psychedelic influences held in check, as they might have been on a classic Elektra LP (or maybe a Nick Nicely 45). The way they weave the acoustic guitar into the arrangements, really reminds me of mid-period Love (if they had been into doing movie soundtracks), but not in a way that I could easily explain" [Byron Coley, The Wire]
'Gentle Neck' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Caruso
'You Heard Me' 7" EP
(Egg 41)

Caruso is Matt DeBellis from North Carolina, USA, and this is his second release. 'You Heard Me' features a set of gorgeous miniatures. 'You Heard Me' is the 21 century 8-track classic. The masterly edit hints at great sounds to come from Caruso. DeBellis is a chameleon. One moment he pleases the Mille Plateaux community and then swiftly persues in a fashion that will make Twisted Nerve ears drip with indie ooze. Caruso's EP is all eclectic romanticism that re-arranges your schale of music much better than Beck will ever do.

'Anna's Dream' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Pop-Off Tuesday
'Helicopter' 7"
(Egg 37)

"I hear breakbeats! Yet on the turntable is a 7" single from Japan's innovative pop duo Pop Off Tuesday. 'Helicopter' excels in impact, and in brevity. Multi-instrumentalist Hiroki builds a thick structure from possibly mid 80's New York rap beats, over which the dream-like vocals of Minori work like eerie vapours. The attraction of 'Helicopter' stems from its mystery. Pop Off Tuesday is about the beauty in the odd" [Maarten Schiethart, Pennyblackmusic]

"It’s like this. Hiroki is an octopoid sonic chef equipped with only one piece of equipment: a Moulinex blender wired crazily to a DAT recorder. He is largely in control of 4 of his arms, but the remaining quartet are liable to do whatever they please. This typically involves stuffing loads of extra samples into the brew that Hiroki was making to back up Minori’s ethereal folk/pop songs. Helicopter is a prime example. It’s a beautiful song, sung beautifully by a Japanese Liz Frazer fighting the language barrier. The backing track is an audio compendium that includes snatches of cop-film funk, twangs, acid bleeps, whistles and bells. It’s to Hiroki’s credit that his four good arms manage to keep the brew so clear and season it to such perfection. No-one else makes records this way. No-one else sounds like Pop Off Tuesday" [Robots & Electronic Brains]

'Helicopter' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Oddfellows Casino
'Giant Redwoods / Put the Bird to Sleep' 7"
(Egg 35)

"Every so often a single comes out of the blue by a band I've never heard of that knocks my socks off: gloriously crafted songs, beautifully produced and arranged, mid-period Beach Boys wide-eyed melancholy, Felt-esque swirling Hammond accompaniment, this has 'classic single' bursting from its grooves" [Gayle Brogan, The Melody Bar]

'Giant Redwoods' (MP3)
'Put the Bird to Sleep' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Daniel Johnston and Slow Death vs the Instant Coffin
'Sinning is Easy' 7" EP
(Egg 33)

"This exclusive Pickled Egg three track 7" is compelling to say the least. 'Sinning is easy, you don't have to try' is the hook and message. 'A Prayer from the Depths' is just that, a shopping list to god for cheap thrills to take away the existential malaise; girls, cigarettes, anything, read in a pathetic whining voice. Experts in the field, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, have rarely presented such a powerful drama pitting filthiness against godliness - I advise you to get this record as soon as possible" [Steve Hanson, Ptolemaic Terrascope]

SOLD OUT

Homescience
'End the Year' 7" EP
(Egg 26)

Debut four song ep from Edinburgh's Homescience.

"Aural jewel in the crown of the ever-consistent Pickled Egg. This 4 tracker is slow to kick in, but give it time, and I promise you will wear the vinyl out. Playing the mix and match game, Homescience draw on such luminaries as the Velvet Underground, Pavement and Will Oldham, while dipping their toes into the slacker generation and the wacky variations of West Coast pop. Not a chink in the armour in any of these 4 tracks, this is thoroughly recommended" [Mark Barton, Losing Today]

'Carol K' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

The Go! Team
'Get it Together' 7" EP
(Egg 23)

Debut release from Brighton's multi-instrumenatlist Go! Team. Last few copies, hence the increased price.

"A glorious hybrid indeed! Heavily distorted electro hip hop drums pair up with childlike tootles and warm guitar chords" [Record Collector, Single of the month]

"Banjo, theremin and recorder is hardly the most rock 'n roll of instrument roll calls, but it works a treat on these children's TV themes gone sinister. A very bright start from the band off its head on a dangerous mixture of Sunny Delight and bad aspirin...More of this please!" [Steve Hanson, Ptolemaic Terrascope]

'Get it Together!' (MP3)
'Kill The Klansmen' (MP3)

Download Get It Together EP from eMusic
Download Get it Together EP from Karmadownload

UK: £5.00

EU: €8.50

US: $11.00

Farina
'Two People' 7" EP
(Egg 19)

"Farina are a London based three piece, who delight in getting some of the most unusual sounds and melodies from traditional instrumentation. 'If She Could Blame Him' ably demonstrates why whistling on songs should be more common - nay compulsory. 'Displace' on the other hand can despatch a grown man to a weeping heap at ten paces, and I should know" [Mark Barton, Record Mart & Buyer]

"It's easy to turn into an adjective monster on these occasions, so I'll stick to just a couple: unusual and moving" [Jimmy Possession, Robots & Electronic Brains]

'Two People' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Gulliver
'Boujouba' 7" EP
(Egg 17)

Second 7" EP from "the French Momus"

"Like Momus, Gulliver understands that trash can be fun if dressed up and delivered with style" [John Cavanagh, BBC Radio Scotland]

"Wholly absorbing, it'll move you to tears without understanding a word." [Jimmy Possession, Robots & Electronic Brains]

'Pierre et Marie' (MP3)
'Petite Route' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

By Costal Cafe
'Me' 7" EP
(Egg 16)

"A single with 6 songs promises to be nothing if not edgy and distracted – especially if it’s a six song 7" from a Swedish band. By Coastal Café rises to the challenge with burnout bedroom simplicity" [Magnet]

"The songs are very short, but that doesn’t stop them from being as telling as a rock opera. Simple sentiments are made all the more poignant by rough and ready sounding instrumentation on the wonderful 'Yeah Mary Green'. 'Don’t make my heart go wild', they plead, yet going wild is exactly what they do" [Record Collector]

'Yeah, Mary Green' (MP3)
'Holiday at Sea' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Le Bleu
'Toujours La' 7"
(Egg 15)

Debut release from Francophile Scottish popsters.

"To these ears, this wondrous piece of seamless synth pop is simply too good to pass up. 'Toujours Là' is simply magnifique: a bedroom OMD from Edinburgh singing in French with an echo-laden whistling solo" [Gayle Brogan, Boa/Melody Bar]

"Minimal arrangements dream of Brel, with guitar, electric percussion and ersatz Gallic charm wafting cafe society/bohemian aromas around like an old neglected Weekend track" [Ptolemaic Terrascope]

'Toujours La' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Bablicon
'Chunks of Syrup Amidst Plain Yoghurt' 7"
(Egg 12)

"Bablicon are a besuited trio who deconstruct jazz with a ferocity but innate musicality and grooviness which beggars belief" [Joe Cushley, Mojo]

"Sounds like a beat-up merry-go-round about to wobble off its axis and roll down the hill with kids screaming in delight as they’re flung off into the night" [Magnet]

Note!! The 'B' Side tracks, 'Silicon Diodes', is not available on any album (and also happens to be quite excellent!)

'Chunks of Syrup Amidst Plain Yoghurt' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Gulliver
'Humalayo' 7" EP
(Egg 11)

Gulliver might be described as a kind of Gallic White Town or French Momus, offering up a set of poetic, largely synth-based melancholy pop songs, seemingly about loves old and new, lost and found, actual and desired, lasting and ephemeral, pure and even tainted ...and all sung beautifully in French.

"Poetry meets melody on a Casio Keyboard" [Record Collector ]

"Gulliver might be a genius of high songwriting. 'Humalayo' climbs melodic mountains" [Magic!]

'a l'imparfait' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Sodastream
'Turnstyle' 7" EP
(Egg 10)

Sodastream formed in Perth, Western Australia at the beginning of 1997. Their first EP 'Enjoy', er, enjoyed considerable airplay from John Peel, resulting in the track 'Turnstyle' featuring in his Festive 50 for 1998. Their 2nd EP 'Practical Footwear' was recorded in August '98 after the departure of their drummer and took a more acoustic slant. Subsequently they have released 2 LPs for Tugboat Records. This Pickled Egg 7" (their debut UK release) contains tracks from the first 2 EPs, plus the exclusive 'Evening Song'.


SOLD OUT

Savoy Grand
'The Moving Air / Millions of People' 7"
(Egg 9)

Debut release from Nottingham-based quartet, and purveyors of slow, minimalist, fragile, emotional and highly inventive jazz influenced pop.

"Strings creep in, and a man who routinely pens lines as fine as 'Hold the line/Help me out of a lifelong dive/Headlong into what might have been' begins a study on yearning, regret and dismay. The cruel trick of hope is exposed. A cello emits a stately groan of hope. It's all quite devastating. Single of the week, if it weren't so damn sunny" [Kitty Empire, NME]

"Desperately sparse, emotionally primed... theirs is a high-quality melancholy, devoid of maudlin whining" [Victoria Segal, NME]

'The Moving Air' (WAV)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

The Evolution Control Committee
'The Whipped Cream Mixes' 7"
(Egg 8)

Public Enemy collides with Herb Alpert... quite literally! Recorded way back in 1996, and released on Pickled Egg in 1999, this is the granddaddy of the 'bootleg' or 'cut & shut' scene: years ahead of its time, and still unsurpassed.

"It's crazy, it's genius. Why didn't I think of it?!" [Fatboy Slim]

'Rebel Without a Pause' (WAV)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

Daniel Johnston
'Dream Scream / Funeral Girl' 7"
(Egg 6)

Daniel's first new recording for 4 years. Pickled Egg are extremely proud to have released this single from the Austin, Texas songwriter genius. Ltd edition white vinyl repress now available. No.12 in Peel's Festive 50!!

SOLD OUT

'Dream Scream' (MP3)

The Freed Unit
'Widdershins' 7"
(Egg 4)

"Like a Mogadon Kraftwerk, the Freed Unit ride along, their vehicle a bed of synthetic beats, electronic bubbles and a vocoder. But where Kraftwerk had the teutonic efficiency and clinical regimentation of the clean, smooth and fast autobahn, the Freed Unit have only the congested, dirty, ill-repaired, speed-restricted M1. And therein lies the difference: The 'werk are stark, precise and digital, the Unit are multi-faceted, inexact and analogue and, when they make it onto the M25, unstoppable" [Jimmy Possession, Robots & Electronic Brains]

'Widdershins' (WAV)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

L'augmentation
'Soleil / D is for Dum Dum' 7"
(Egg 3)

Francophile space pop by way Birmingham. What do they put in that West Midlands water? The perfect soundtrack for sepia-tinted, rain-drenched afternoons in Paris. Or Moseley. Excellent debut single.

SOLD OUT

'Soleil' (WAV)

Pop-Off Tuesday
'Unworldly' 7" EP
(Egg 2)

A 6-and-a-half minute opus of stunning beauty from the Japanese experimental pop duo. Record Collector Single of the Month, and No.5 in Peel's 1998 Festive 50!!

"Japanese duo Hiroki & Minori construct an industrial landscape that retains room for feelings. Over six minutes, a fragile ballad flowers into something genuinely moving, as Minori tries to stay afloat amongst the clattering, invasive sound of Hiroki's 'machines'. It's an emotional symphony in noise, rising and falling in waves of sonic invention, before tipping a coy wink to Nico and 'All Tomorrow's Parties'. Quite superb" [Record Collector]

"Pop Off Tuesday are the end of pop music: nothing can follow this and measure up. A truly magnificent record then, which a brooding sense of mystery serves only to enhance" [Jimmy Possession, Robots & Electronic Brains]

'Unworldly' (MP3)

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00

The Melons
'Black and Blue / Eskimo' 7"
(Egg 1)

Mark Radcliffe favourites in uncharacteristically sombre mood.

"If guitar pop was the Beano, the Melons would be Walter the Softie. 'Eskimo' is the faster of the two songs here: girl vocals and rippling guitars underpinned by a bit of melodica. 'Black and Blue' is a bruised tale, on the edge of breakdown all the way through" [Jimmy Possession, Robots & Electronic Brains]

UK: £3.00

EU: €5.00

US: $7.00