Sadly, due to pesky volcanoes, a very disappointed Pocketbooks didn't make it to Copenhagen this weekend to play at the Popfest. We'd like to thank the lovely peeps behind it for inviting us, and we hope it was a fantastic weekend despite the disruption!
Special thanks to Roadside Poppies, who covered one of our songs, 'Cross The Line' in homage! Yes, that is our drummer Jonny on drums, who cleverly decided to travel to Denmark a few days ahead of us before the flight ban kicked in. As far as we know, he's still there!
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Copenhagen Popfest
Edit (16 April): We're sorry to say that due to the Iceland volcanic ash flight cancellations we are unable to travel to Copenhagen for the popfest. We're really sad to be missing out and hope to make it over to Denmark soon.
--------------------------------
We'll be playing at the first ever Copenhagen Popfest, which takes place from Friday 16 April to Sunday 18 April 2010.
We'll be playing at the first ever Copenhagen Popfest, which takes place from Friday 16 April to Sunday 18 April 2010.
The festival will be three days filled with international and Danish indiepop acts, and we can't tell you how much we are looking forward to it! The line up is as follows:
Friday:
NoMoreHeroes, Labrador, Liechtenstein, The Electric Popgroup, Pocketbooks
Saturday:
Ampel, The Boombox Hearts, Gregory Webster Trio, Leaving Mornington Crescent, Death Valley Sleepers, Compute, Rose Elinor Dougall, Horowitz, Northern Portrait
Sunday:
Roadside Poppies, Tellus About The Moon, Iiris Viljanen, Cats On Fire
The Popfest will take place at Råhuset - right in the heart of Copenhagen. More details will be unveiled shortly, and we'll post all the information up here. You can also keep up to speed with the festival through its various links: official site, facebook, last.fm, myspace, twitter.
Tickets are available from the following link: Copenhagen Popfest tickets
Hope to see some of you there!
(Last edited: 14 March 2010)
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09: compilation and launch night
We’re delighted to say that our song Fleeting Moments will appear on the forthcoming Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09 compilation.
The CD is released on 16 November, and we’re playing a free instore gig at Rough Trade East that evening to celebrate!
The CD is released on 16 November, and we’re playing a free instore gig at Rough Trade East that evening to celebrate!
About the compilation…
The CD features 25 tracks, with a mix of new and established names and a few familiar faces who we’ve been playing gigs over the last few years. We loved Rough Trade’s Indiepop 01 compilation which came out a few years ago, and we’re really thrilled to be on this new instalment.
You can find out more about the compilation here: Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09.
The tracklisting for the compilation is:
1. Tullycraft - The punks are writing love songs
The CD features 25 tracks, with a mix of new and established names and a few familiar faces who we’ve been playing gigs over the last few years. We loved Rough Trade’s Indiepop 01 compilation which came out a few years ago, and we’re really thrilled to be on this new instalment.
You can find out more about the compilation here: Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09.
The tracklisting for the compilation is:
1. Tullycraft - The punks are writing love songs
2. The Faintest Ideas - Nosebleeders on the track
3. Love Is All - Wishing well
4. Girls - Morning light
5. Vivian Girls - Moped girls
6. The Girls At Dawn - Never enough
7. Veronica Falls - Beachy head
8. Cause Co-motion - You lose
9. Betty and the Werewolves - David Cassidy
10. Pocketbooks - Fleeting moments
11. Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
12. Shrag - Hpelessly wasted
13. The Boy Least Likely To - The summer of a dormouse
14. The School - And suddenly
15. Play People - Goes out
16. Celestial - Somedays we are
17. Moscow Olympics - No winter, no autumn
18. Liechtenstein - Security by design
19. Minisnap - Leave it to you
20. Sad Day For Puppets - Marble gods
21. Dum Dum Girls - Longhair
22. The Legends - Seconds away
23. The Manhattan Love Suicides - Clusterf__k
24. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -103
25. The Bobby McGees - l.o.v.e/: a masonic youth
Launch night: Monday 16 November
On 16 November we’re playing at a launch night for the compilation at Rough Trade East in London.
We’ll be playing with Veronica Falls, Betty and The Werewolves and Sad Day For Puppets. Ian Watson (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?) and John Jervis (Where it’s At Is Where You Are) will also be spinning some tunes.
The launch night is completely free to attend. Please check the Rough Trade website nearer the time to see whether you need to collect a wristband or anything. The event starts at 6.30pm and the first band is on around 7pm. We’ll be playing a short set at around 8.15pm.
Hope to see you there!
Andy, Daniel, Emma, Ian and Jonny x
Launch night: Monday 16 November
On 16 November we’re playing at a launch night for the compilation at Rough Trade East in London.
We’ll be playing with Veronica Falls, Betty and The Werewolves and Sad Day For Puppets. Ian Watson (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?) and John Jervis (Where it’s At Is Where You Are) will also be spinning some tunes.
The launch night is completely free to attend. Please check the Rough Trade website nearer the time to see whether you need to collect a wristband or anything. The event starts at 6.30pm and the first band is on around 7pm. We’ll be playing a short set at around 8.15pm.
Hope to see you there!
Andy, Daniel, Emma, Ian and Jonny x
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Show with God Help The Girl / Japan album release
We're just writing with a few pieces of news from Pocketbooks HQ...
100 Club show with God Help The Girl
We’re really, really excited to let you know that we’ll be playing a show with God Help The Girl, the musical/film side project of Stuart Murdoch from Belle and Sebastian. It will take place at the 100 Club in London on Saturday 21 November and is being presented by How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Tickets go on sale at 5pm today and we think they might go pretty quickly. They will be available from: www.wegottickets.com/event/62466
Further information is available from How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Album release in Japan
This Wednesday our album 'Flight Paths' will be released in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau by the Japanese label Happy Prince. The release also includes the songs from our Waking UP EP and our free download track Summertime.
We are their 16th release, and they’ve also released albums by God Is An Astronaut and The Bird Ensemble. There's more information on the Happy Prince website.
The album is also available from Universal Records in the Philippines and from How Does It Feel To Be Loved? everywhere else in the world.
Other bits and pieces
We’ve a song on the upcoming Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09 compilation, which is coming out next month. More information about that will follow when we have it...
We’ve done interviews for the Stereopathic and ZMEMusic websites.
And finally, the Indietracks festival has been shortlisted in two categories in the UK Festival Awards: best small festival and the critic’s choice award for La Casa Azul. If you get a chance, it would be wonderful if you could please pop over and vote for the festival at www.festivalawards.com before 4 November.
Hope to see you at the 100 Club!
100 Club show with God Help The Girl
We’re really, really excited to let you know that we’ll be playing a show with God Help The Girl, the musical/film side project of Stuart Murdoch from Belle and Sebastian. It will take place at the 100 Club in London on Saturday 21 November and is being presented by How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Tickets go on sale at 5pm today and we think they might go pretty quickly. They will be available from: www.wegottickets.com/event/62466
Further information is available from How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Album release in Japan
This Wednesday our album 'Flight Paths' will be released in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau by the Japanese label Happy Prince. The release also includes the songs from our Waking UP EP and our free download track Summertime.
We are their 16th release, and they’ve also released albums by God Is An Astronaut and The Bird Ensemble. There's more information on the Happy Prince website.
The album is also available from Universal Records in the Philippines and from How Does It Feel To Be Loved? everywhere else in the world.
Other bits and pieces
We’ve a song on the upcoming Rough Trade Shops Indiepop 09 compilation, which is coming out next month. More information about that will follow when we have it...
We’ve done interviews for the Stereopathic and ZMEMusic websites.
And finally, the Indietracks festival has been shortlisted in two categories in the UK Festival Awards: best small festival and the critic’s choice award for La Casa Azul. If you get a chance, it would be wonderful if you could please pop over and vote for the festival at www.festivalawards.com before 4 November.
Hope to see you at the 100 Club!
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Lost album sleevenotes
Earlier this year, when we were sorting out the artwork for our album, we tried to write some sleevenotes. We tried to write something that would fit nicely alongside this photo of Primrose Hill which Kris took and then adapted for the final album cover.
We then realised that there wasn't actually enough space in the booklet for these sleevenotes, so we sadly had to drop the idea. Here they are now - enjoy!
"Primrose Hill is 256 feet high, 50 acres wide and perhaps offers the best panoramic view of London, from sunrise to sunset. While other views bear down on the city, Primrose Hill is the one place that looks out across the horizon and the highest points of its skyline. From there, almost all of the capital’s landmark buildings – St Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster, the London Eye, the British Telecom Tower and Canary Wharf – are clearly visible. If you look closely, you can just about see the British Telecom Tower on the cover of this record.
"The fact that we can see all these landmarks from Primrose Hill is more than just a happy coincidence, of course. Since the 18th century, there’s been a whole network of protected sightlines across the city, designed to make sure we can enjoy the occasional fleeting joy of a striking view on our journeys home.
"These sightlines are almost teasing in their simplicity though. Back down on the pavements, the opportunity to see a straight line between where you are and where you want to be rarely happens. In the daily rush of work or college, evenings out and unopened post, sometimes the books stay on their shelves and Bank Holiday plans pass by unrealised. There aren’t always any clear paths, just a series of steps.
"Last November, Primrose Hill was full of impromptu firework displays, kids playing music on speakers, couples drinking mulled wine and police cars happily keeping a low profile. We hadn’t really planned to be there beforehand, but enjoyed being part of it. The same’s probably true of our involvement in this record. We hope you enjoy it, however you got here."
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Pocketbooks take over HDIF this Saturday!
Due to Ian Watson being out of town this weekend, he's asked yours truly to step in en masse and take over DJ duties for the night!
First up will be the guest DJs John & Chris from The Orchids, who will be playing between 10.30 and midnight, then the Pocketbooks gang will take over and play 'til the bitter end.
We're chuffed to be asked, and we're really looking forward to it! Of course, we'll still be taking requests as usual so come and say hello.
It's at The Phoenix, Cavendish Square, from 9.30pm.
Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133686219547&ref=mf
See ya there!
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Indietracks Festival
Our show last Thursday at Jamm was pretty hard to top - we played with the excellent Northern Portrait, Standard Fare and Moustache of Insanity and had the most fun doing so, but as ever the Indietracks Festival was the most well spent weekend any pop group could ever dream of. There's plenty of photos and video on the internet already, but we've picked out a nice one of us doing 'Fleeting Moments' to show you:
And there's two more videos here:
Falling Leaves at Indietracks
Cross The Line at Indietracks
We've got a few more shows coming up, then we're having a bit of a rest, so catch us while you can!
And there's two more videos here:
Falling Leaves at Indietracks
Cross The Line at Indietracks
We've got a few more shows coming up, then we're having a bit of a rest, so catch us while you can!
Friday 14th August
Twee As F**k @ tbc, London
With Half Sisters, Noughts and Crosses Band, and Scraps
Friday 21st August
P!O!P Kombinat Berlin @ NBI, Berlin
With The Gresham Flyers
Saturday 26th September
A Fog Of Ideas @ Hand and Heart Gallery, Nottingham
With Horowitz, Of Mice And Mental Arithmetic and Half My Heart Beats DJs
We're also going into the studio next week to record a very special song for an exciting covers project - more of which at a later date!
See you soon!
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Flight Paths - out now!
Hi everyone,
It seems like ages ago when we were in a studio below a ukelele shop in Brick Lane spending a couple of weekends recording our first album. So we're now very excited to say the album is now in the shops. Here's a picture!
It's available on CD from all the best record shops, and you can also pick up the CD or MP3s from a host of online distributors, including iTunes, Amazon, HMV, Play.com etc. And it's also available on Universal Records in the Philippines.
However, by far the coolest way to buy the CD is directly from How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, which would mean less of your money goes to The Man!
Thanks so much to everyone who picked up an advance copy of the album. We've had some lovely responses, some airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Xfm, and also some really nice reviews. I hope it's okay to post a few of the reviews here, partly because some of our parents read this blog, and also because some of the reviews made us really happy!
"All at once demurring, flighty and flirty, bright eyed and bushy tailed, still calls to our minds the chirpy cosiness of Heavenly and the willowy hushed innocence and romance of Belle and Sebastian’s ‘Tigermilk’ whilst simultaneously found on this occasion nodding ever so slightly to Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes ‘You can’t hurry love’"
Losing Today magazine
"This is Bacharach, and this is Bob Stanley. This is all those 60s pop groups who never aspired to be as cocky or salacious as The Shangri-La’s. This is 6pm practice for choral song after school. This is The Pale Fountains. This is Dickon Edwards. This is Sarah Records without any delusions of inadequacy. None of these might seem to be recommendations to you.... I know what I like, and I like this."
Everett True (founder of Plan B and Careless Talk Costs Lives magazines)
"With better tunes than the over-hyped Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, they know whether it's little boy lost Andy Hudson or Emma Hall's summery delights that are required to sing each line.Sounding like a lost Sarah Records gem, it's endlessly cute and beguiling, not sickly like their peers." 8/10
Planet Sound, Channel 4 TV teletext
"Their girl group-inspired pop nuggets glisten at every turn, laden with harmonies and a keen melodic nous which hints at a fast-approaching songwriting maturity.... Plenty here to thrill and invigorate fans of earnest indie-pop. At times Flight Paths is wonderfully enchanting, and with songs like this it’s hard to resist Pocketbooks’ charms"
Bearded
"A stream of hummable, always likeable stories, bubbling with lyrical imagination, rippling with a determination to encompass all of London life into a series of vignettes"
In Love With These Times, In Spite Of These Times
And our favourite, from a south coast town...
"Perfectly sweet indie pop that makes young boys and girls in hooded windcheaters skip along merrily in time to their own racing jingle jangle heartbeats. It's Belle & Sebastian without the undertone." 4/5
Bournemouth Echo
Ahem, that's probably enough reviews, sorry. There's a full set of reviews on the following thread if you want to see any more(!): Pocketbooks - Flight Paths reviews
Hope to see you at the Indietracks festival later this month!
Andy, Daniel, Emma, Ian and Jonny x
It seems like ages ago when we were in a studio below a ukelele shop in Brick Lane spending a couple of weekends recording our first album. So we're now very excited to say the album is now in the shops. Here's a picture!
It's available on CD from all the best record shops, and you can also pick up the CD or MP3s from a host of online distributors, including iTunes, Amazon, HMV, Play.com etc. And it's also available on Universal Records in the Philippines.
However, by far the coolest way to buy the CD is directly from How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, which would mean less of your money goes to The Man!
Thanks so much to everyone who picked up an advance copy of the album. We've had some lovely responses, some airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Xfm, and also some really nice reviews. I hope it's okay to post a few of the reviews here, partly because some of our parents read this blog, and also because some of the reviews made us really happy!
"All at once demurring, flighty and flirty, bright eyed and bushy tailed, still calls to our minds the chirpy cosiness of Heavenly and the willowy hushed innocence and romance of Belle and Sebastian’s ‘Tigermilk’ whilst simultaneously found on this occasion nodding ever so slightly to Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes ‘You can’t hurry love’"
Losing Today magazine
"This is Bacharach, and this is Bob Stanley. This is all those 60s pop groups who never aspired to be as cocky or salacious as The Shangri-La’s. This is 6pm practice for choral song after school. This is The Pale Fountains. This is Dickon Edwards. This is Sarah Records without any delusions of inadequacy. None of these might seem to be recommendations to you.... I know what I like, and I like this."
Everett True (founder of Plan B and Careless Talk Costs Lives magazines)
"With better tunes than the over-hyped Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, they know whether it's little boy lost Andy Hudson or Emma Hall's summery delights that are required to sing each line.Sounding like a lost Sarah Records gem, it's endlessly cute and beguiling, not sickly like their peers." 8/10
Planet Sound, Channel 4 TV teletext
"Their girl group-inspired pop nuggets glisten at every turn, laden with harmonies and a keen melodic nous which hints at a fast-approaching songwriting maturity.... Plenty here to thrill and invigorate fans of earnest indie-pop. At times Flight Paths is wonderfully enchanting, and with songs like this it’s hard to resist Pocketbooks’ charms"
Bearded
"A stream of hummable, always likeable stories, bubbling with lyrical imagination, rippling with a determination to encompass all of London life into a series of vignettes"
In Love With These Times, In Spite Of These Times
And our favourite, from a south coast town...
"Perfectly sweet indie pop that makes young boys and girls in hooded windcheaters skip along merrily in time to their own racing jingle jangle heartbeats. It's Belle & Sebastian without the undertone." 4/5
Bournemouth Echo
Ahem, that's probably enough reviews, sorry. There's a full set of reviews on the following thread if you want to see any more(!): Pocketbooks - Flight Paths reviews
Hope to see you at the Indietracks festival later this month!
Andy, Daniel, Emma, Ian and Jonny x
Monday, 15 June 2009
Footsteps now released!
Our new single, 'Footsteps' has now been released! It's available on iTunes, or to download for free from here.The single is taken from our forthcoming album 'Flight Paths' which is released in July, but advance copies are available now from How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Enjoy!
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Pocketbooks in San Francisco!
Dan and Emma recently went all the way to San Francisco Popfest and played a short acoustic set. Here's a video of them doing a cover of Strawberry Switchblade's 'Since Yesterday' at the Dolores Park picnic on 24th May, shortly after Jonathan Richman had walked past with his dog and stopped for a look!
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