this must be heaven (this week in mail order and the fma!)
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Since I initially heard Liechtenstein I have been craving more, and back in June, as a surprise, klk brought back a copy of their new 10″ Survival Strategies in the Modern World that she picked up at Aquarius (I’m still so jealous that I’ve never been to that store). I absolutely love this record, it gives me the same satisfaction that I get while listening to Tiger Trap and Talulah Gosh, but with a slightly updated sound. Liechtenstein also refuses to get lost in the fuzziness that is so popular these days, and I now have very little motivation to put on albums by Pens and Vivian Girls when I know that I will be much more satisfied by Liechtenstein (or Talulah Gosh for that matter).
Liechtenstein’s 10″ while wonderful is pretty short, a mini LP of nine songs, and in my searching of the internet I came across another amazing offering from the Free Music Archive. When Liechtenstein was in the states back in June they stopped by WFMU and recorded a set for one of my favorite radio shows, Michael Goodstein’s Choking on Cufflinks. The set is up in it’s entirety for free download from the FMA…and I’ve been particularly into these two:
[mp3] Liechtenstein- “All At Once” (via the FMA)
[mp3] Liechtenstein- “Everythings for Sale” (via the FMA)
[full album download/stream] Liechtenstein- Live on Choking on Cufflinks 6/6/09
This live set includes songs from their out of print cd-r and 7″s so it is totally worth checking out (“Everythings for Sale” is one of them).
Liechtenstein have also recently participated in Slumberland Records‘ Searching for the Now Series.
Here is why Slumberland does Searching for the Now:
We here at Slumberland have always believed in the 7″ single as the greatest medium for pop music. 7″s are cheap and portable, a great way to hear new bands without spending too much cash, and similarly a great way for bands to get their music out there without going broke. Add in a cool sleeve, maybe some color vinyl and the odd sticker or badge and you have an unbeatable little package.
The last few years have seen a real resurgence of great pop, and we find ourselves with a favorite new band almost every week. Or at least a few favorite new songs. We’ve puzzled over how to make more of this terrific music available, and our solution is our new split single series Searching For The Now. Our plan is to release two limited-edition split 7″ singles every ten weeks or so, then compile every eight singles onto CDs to keep them available. Note that this is not a subscription series — while we are limiting each single to one pressing, they’ll be available from your favorite indie record retailers and mail orders, and of course directly from Slumberland. All singles will be pressed on color vinyl and packaged in special sleeves — full-color, letterpress, silkscreen or something else cool. (more info here).
I fully agree with Slumberland’s vision with this series, and I feel like it speaks to me as a record buyer. They are 100% correct in thinking that the 7″ is a great medium (both affordable, and digestible) for checking out new bands, and Slumberland is able to keep these records inexpensive ($5), and I am more likely to invest time in something that I buy for a couple of dollars than something I get off the internet for free. Slumberland also has been kind enough to give us Liechtenstein’s new studio track “This Must Be Heaven” as a free downloadable sample.
[mp3] Liechtenstein- “This Must Be Heaven” (via Slumberland. How can you resist that vinyl…Buy it here)
“This Must be Heaven” is pretty much a perfect pop song in my mind, and again like the 10″ it leaves me wanting more.
Liechtenstein recently lost Naemi, but they have found Ulrika to take over playing bass in the band. And back in August they spent a couple days in a Gotland studio recording some new songs…I can’t wait for these to see the light of day. Any news is good news if it’s coming from these ladies.
In the mean time…here is their video for “Security By Design”
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