Top 10: Slumberland Records 7"s

In celebrating the 20th anniversary of Slumberland Records we contemplated listing the label's best albums as we've already done for Matador and Merge earlier this year, but we realized that Slumberland's tradition is built more on the 7" release than it is on the full album. Since they started the label has put out more 7" singles than anything else and they've all been a magnificent mix of styles and sounds. Bands as varied as caUSE co-MOTION!, Stereolab, the Swirlies, Crystal Stilts, and Sleepyhead have all released 7"s with the label and because of that we opted for the Top 10 7"s in the history of the record label. Amazingly a good portion of these are still in print and should be a must have for any good vinyl collector, but if you're more of the casual fan you'll find mp3's from each release below and a ton more mp3's are to be had just be browsing through the catalog page on Slumberland's website. If you're not all that familiar with the history of the label this should be a good intro into what the label was all about before bands like Pants Yell! and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took over! As always feel free to chime in with your own favorites in the comments or to rail against our choices!

10. Crystal Stilts Love Is A Wave; Following the wave of rave reviews their debut album Alight of Night brought our, Crystal Stilts followed it up with a two song 7" release earlier this year. The two songs were brand new tunes meant to keep the excitement over the debut LP going while the band worked on new songs for their proper follow-up. But this is not just any place holder, these two songs are as solid and as sharp as anything the band had previously done, setting a new bar for what is sure to be a highly anticipated sophomore release. "Love Is A Wave" and "Sugarbaby" have since become fan favorites at their shows and certainly could have been squeezed right onto the band's debut record.
Crystal Stilts - "Love Is A Wave"

9. The Ropers Sunbathe; The Brits may get most of the attention when it comes to shoegaze pop, but the Americans of the early 90's certainly weren't strangers to it either. The Ropers Sunbathe 7" is about as good an example of it as their is. With their swirling folk like melodies, and powerful sound this band would be huge if they were releasing this music right now. Instead they are mostly left to the few diehards that were truly ahead of the curve way back in the early days of Slumberland. As if that weren't enough the history behind this 7" is that one of the band members placed it in the hand of one of the Slumberland employees at a show and the demo tape wound up being what the label pressed for the band's 7"! That shit would never happen in this day and age.
The Ropers - "Waiting"

8. Velocity Girl I Don't Care If You Go; One of the original Slumberland acts, Velocity Girl would fit in so well these days that it's almost not even funny. The melodic pop tunes springing forth on this 7" would easily work alongside the breezy girl group vocals of the present day, but back then most ladies were more into the whole empowering riot grrrl thing which this is nowhere even close to. The sweet sounds a lilting voices of the band are so gentle and soothing yet there is no doubt that these girls can straight up rock as well. It kind of makes me wish I had known what to listen to back in 1989, instead I was busy playing with GI Joes and Tranformers.
Velocity Girl - "I Don't Care If You Go"

7. Stereolab John Cage Bubblegum; At this point Stereolab are still a widely recognized band, possibly the most notable name Slumberland ever released, but back in 1993 the band had barely made the smallest of splashes here in the States. Limited to 1400 copies, some with a stick of baseball card like bubblegum this may be the hardest to find piece of the Stereolab catalog. Unfortunately it is out-of-print at the moment so you'll have to go crate diving and get very very lucky if you want to score a copy of this 7" but it would be well worth getting your hands on if you could.
Stereolab - "John Cage Bubblegum"

6. caUSE co-MOTION! I Lie Awake; After releasing a series of singles on labels like What's Yr Rupture and the band's own Can't Cope, caUSE co-MOTION! found a new home at Slumberland and released this fantastic, 3-song 7" to celebrate their new digs. The songs here are as catchy as anything the band has released, though being honest all their songs are practically impossible to get rid of once you've heard them. It's a fast paced, frantic assault of pop music with those crashing cymbal hits and that reverb happy guitar sound. They've been one of my favorite acts of the past few years so this definitely stands as one of my personal favorites in the long line of Slumberland releases.
caUSE co-MOTION! - "I Lie Awake"

5. The Aislers Set The Red Door; In asking a bunch of the current crop of Slumberland artists about their own favorite Slumberland artists one of the names that most frequently came up was The Aislers Set. On this three song single the band re-record "The Red Door" a tune that had appeared on their breakout 2000 release The Last Match. It also includes a live version of "Warm Girls" and the fantastic "Summer's Reprise". With all the peppy organ playing and the quiet, lovely vocals this is music that's tough not to fall for and you can see why a band like this would help influence the current generation of Slumberland stars.
The Aislers Set - "Summer's Reprise"

4. Swirlies Didn't Understand; Once again, an American shoegaze band that doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Swirlies assaulted ear drums in their heyday with songs that were loud and vicious, but that also featured a warming pop undertone with beautiful melodies and harmonies that are hard to find comparison to. This three song 7" is a perfect example of what they did best keeping songs short but powerful, launching with that opening drum blast before going into the prettier singing parts. The guitars soar throughout the mix, but really it all comes back to how the loud sounds and quiet singing blend together for the perfect shoegaze sound.
Swirlies - "Sarah Sitting"

3. Sleepyhead Punk Rock City USA; Along with bands like Yo La Tengo and Small Factory, Sleepyhead helped dominate the underground rock scene in New York in the early 90's. The band did a masterful job of taking cute pop songs and turning them into power rock anthems. With the gorgeous female vocals and rocking sounds this is a fine example of the power pop trio working their magic and doing so without fear to let it all hang out and let the guitarist roll out a solo every once in a while. The two tunes here, "Like A Girl Jesus" and "Punk Rock City USA" should be legendary indie rock tunes, but instead fly just under the radar where fans can quietly marvel at their precise pop fury.
Sleepyhead - "Like A Girl Jesus"

2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Young Adult Friction; Out of all the new bands Slumberland has been putting out the last two or three years, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has to be our personal favorites. Their sounds are the definition of perfect pop music with those lovely guy/girl harmonies mixing with all that noise. This 7" was our first taste of the band, a lead-in to the self-titled debut album that would become on of our favorites of this year. The music is pure, clean and wonderful from whatever angle you look at it and there really is no fighting the catchy nature of their pop tunes. They do a great job of channeling the older Slumberland bands and mixing in their own outside influences as well.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Everything With You"

1. Various Artists What Kind of Heaven Do You Want?; Why not finish this list of with the very start of it all? Slumberland's first ever release was a split 7" with the label's founders, Black Tambourine, Velocity Girl, and Powderburns all getting a song on it. They are all just short tastes of the great music that would be put out over the next 20-years but you can hear the start of it on each one of them. All of them are a bit messy, but then that's half the allure of Slumberland Records to begin with so why wouldn't it be that way. Most of these acts have faded away and given way to the newer acts willing to keep the torch going, but you can hear all the excitement and energy that was poured into this three song 7" and really marvel at what it led to.
Black Tambourine - "Pam's Tan"