Robot Wars-ome

Couldn’t decide between that title or Robot-o Baggio. Did I pick the wrong one?

Who cares anyway, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN WIN THIS!

You may recognise this little fella from the front cover of the forthcoming Freeze The Atlantic album. It’s a piece of indie rock gold right there and he could be all yours, and all you need to do is pre-order a copy of their brilliant album to be in with a chance!

Simply buy a copy of the album from our webstore before the release date (17th Sept) and then on that day we’ll draw one of your lucky names out of a hat to receive the prize.

And don’t worry if you’ve already pre-ordered, you’ll automatically be entered into the draw. And you’re AWESOME for being so quick.

Good luck!

New Site.. New site!

Hello and welcome to the old Alcopop! site – thanks for dropping by, but as of April 2012 we’ve moved on over to here at www.ilovealcopop.co.uk – so swing by to get all the latest announcements. Do feel free to order from here and stuff, the shop is still up and working properly and the label history winds ever on in blog posts dating right back to 2006 *ah, those days* – but you can find all that and more over on the new PoP site. Hopefully see you there <3

New Gunning for Tamar wristwatch EP – OUT TODAY

It’s been quite a week in Texas, poppin’ and rocking SXSW and keeping the good ship Alcopop! steadied from a series of hotel computers and frantic borrowed phone calls – but it’s all coming to an end, and as i board the cramped, sweaty Greyhound bus to Dallas to swing back home, I must forget the warm embrace of the midwest – and moreover let you handsome bunch know about the stunning new EP from Gunning for Tamar…   The Time Trophies EP! OUT TODAY yo! Yes it’s packed with 5 fantastic songs, 2 of which are remixes by the epic maybeshewill and Jr JoFo, but what’s more – it’s truly one for the fans of alternative formats… Cos this baby comes on a gorgeous looking, tangerine, silver faced wristwatch… It’s gone down real good fresh out of the pack, but they’re going fast (from us, Banquet Records or Truck Store). SO do be swift when ordering…

Keeping real good time (I’ve been wearing one since Christmas), each watch comes with a QR/download code on the back of the timepiece to download the full EP (320kpbs), and in honour of the title track can be worn as your very own ‘Time Trophy’. Or you can buy it in a +CD format for an extra £1 (no fancy packaging on the CD though), or with a gig ticket to GFT’s launch show in Oxford with Jumping Ships on March 24^th for a tenner. Strictly limited, we only have 300 of these bad boys up for sale, for the reasonably reasonable price of £7…. Pah, enough talking from me… You probably just want to see the things right…? Done! Ohhhhh yes!

Your lovely face in January Rocksound! With us :-)

So of all the wonderful print music mags we owe a great deal of love to (Big Cheese, Artrocker, Q, Clash, Kerrang, Loud and Quiet and many more) Rocksound have supported us so kindly for years, and being a tight little indie operation we VERY rarely take out ads.

But now, with a good rummage round the back of the PoP HQ sofa we’ve scraped together enough coins to get a ¼ page ad in January’s edition… But we need your help. Rather than some boring ad preaching about us, we think we ought to be showing off the awesome pop community – people like you who buy CDs, come to shows, get involved – and generally keep being awesome, despite the entire industry telling you the physical format is dead… So we want to feature you in our ad if you fancy it – your face as part of the Alcopop! Gang in Rocksound mag.

SO YEAH – WE WANT YOUR FACES IN OUR ROCKSOUND AD please. Then when January comes round we can all look it and go yeah! Fit, Fit, Fit – Alcopop! Records has a very strong look – and we’ll be proud, and every other label will be jealous So yeah, if you or a pal want in – do get involved. Just send us a photo to info@ilovealcopop.co.uk and you’ll be part of it.

As a kick off, here’s one that came in from no less than little Matty Stagecoach. Be alongside him. Oh yes x

Long Live Katie Malco.

I was busy cutting a hundred Katie Malco sleeves last night as you know, more envelopes need packed, when it occurred to me that I’d left the streaming of one of the most beautiful records ever to be released on Alcopop! to our good pals at DIY. This of course is a strong plan, they’re bloody lovely – but despite my slack updates of this missive of all things PoP, stats show you handsome kids still come around calling in ever lager numbers.

This is eternally good of you, and I shall endeavour to flourish more posts upon this bloggy wall. It’s mental – you know, back in the early days I used to have to eek around for news of all things PoP to make sure the walls were full. Now there’s so much happening I just don’t have time to update it! I need to invest in some of that type while you talk software, though I bet it doesn’t work very well. Irrit maje owp myy posters irregible (see what I did there)

- so without further ado. Miss Malco if you will ladies and gentlemen… Who is also on tour with Ross My First Tooth this week: 1st December – Cafe Irie in Newquay, 2nd December – Toast in Falmouth, 3rd December – The Benbow in Penzance. Triple covered lush EP available from the shop, yes, yes!

New Social Club EP for pre-order

So they’re basically bursting out of this months Rock Sound Magazine with an 8/10 live review, exposure feature and plenty love, they’re off on tour with Saves the Day – and all of them are as tasty as Apple Pie. Now we’ve got the delightful job of announcing that The Social Club’s first of 3 concept EP’s ‘For Drinking’ is up for pre-order, with beer mat included in the tasty package.

It sounds like everything that soundtracks your most beautifully drunken, booze fuelled sunshine afternoon with pals – it’s Snug meets Snuff meets Elvis Costello and a big slice of Midget thrust in for good measure. And it’s all available here in our shop for just a £5 note (or digital currency – whatever). They’re ex Captain Everything, Fireapple Red – and Wartgore Hellsnicker…. and this is how damn good the lead track ‘The Remedy’ is. Go buy. Limited to 333!

LightGuides Samba Samba Samba – out NOOOOOWWWW!

Hurrah – you’ve heard all about it, you’ve seen em on tour with Jumping Ships (perhaps). You’ve thought, yes.. they’re a hot bunch! But now, bringing the ‘Scottish Rock’ (so hot right now) LightGuides are a breath of fresh air from north of the border… And although a must for the fans of Biffy Clyro, The Xcerts and Twin Atlantic – there’s no doubt that with their barrage of twin guitar tumultuous melody, LightGuides bring something wholly new! And it’s out now – in fine format, lovely CD and stuff – with glow in the dark tee now all but sold out, sorry xxx

Rocksound loved it, Big CHeese adored, Punktastic are all over this and a litany of ace blogs are killing for it yup. So we reckon you might like it too… But you know, tell us more about them no doubt you cry – so here’s some more stuff, ripped straight from the press release (but thats OK cos I wrote it right?)

Mark Cowan (lead vocals/guitar), brother Dave Cowan (drums/vocals) and childhood friend Martin Murray (guitar) cite American influences like Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonfire, Brand New, and The Get Up Kids, though make no secret of their appreciation for Blink 182, Paramore and a whole glorious era of pop-punk in between. They’ve already picked up plenty of admiration from the likes of RockSound, Big Cheese and The Skinny – and played with the likes of Johnny Foreigner, The Xcerts, Frightened Rabbit, dropping in at T in the Park and The Great Escape on the way.

Get it – simply by clicking on this link with the option of enjoying this idyllic shot of LG and JS below – awww x

New LightGuides Mini-Album up for pre-sale, with PoP Shop only glow in the dark tees!

So it may be a couple of weeks away, but what with the Jumping Ships/LightGuides tour and the fact we’ve listened to it about 734 times and think it’s only fair you get a chance to do the same… It’s with great pleasure that we can announce that the most exciting thing out of Scotland right now – the new LightGuides 7 track mini-album ‘Samba Samba Samba’ is going up for pre-sale, alongside a very limited edition (to just 50, ever) T Shirt bundle, that features a TOTALLY rad glow in the dark front print…

In the light a normal LightGuides boy, but in a club or at night a mad, freaky character all glowing tattoos, teeth and eyes – proper Samba Samba Samba… (Tees all pale yellow except for skinnyfit which are in pink).

Ideal for fans of The Xcerts and Biffy, if you like your stuff full of energy and melody this is for you. It is, it is! RockSound have absolutely fallen for these guys in a big way as next months mag will testify, and there’s a whole heap of reviews a coming. The CD looks all lovely and is a nice matte finish, and if you order now we’ll ensure you get your CD/Shirts well in advance of release date on the 28^th August.

Included below is a track to listen and ingest should you not have heard these chaps before

Also remember that postage rates are standard however much you get, so even if you want 10 CDs and a tee and a vinyl you’ll still only pay £1 UK p&p – yup

New LightGuides single…. May 25th!

Why write one blogpost when you can write two. Ole sweet poppers, one to warm the cockles this and at no expense… The good news is coming thick and fast now. As you will no dout be aware, we recently signed heroic Scottish power-alt-pop punkers LightGuides, and their first new single is coming soon… And what’s even better – it’s free!

Hammering your ears, and showing them a right good time – ‘Old Bucket Seats‘ will be up and freely available on Wednesday 25th May as a free download from their website (www.lightguidesmusic.co.uk) in exchange for an e-mail address, or maybe a kiss – one or the other. For those of you north of the border, they will also be having a launch the same night at Captain’s Rest, Glasgow – no doubt ripping the holy s**t out of it if evidence of last week’s power set at The Great Escape is anything to go by.

It seems a shame not to give it to you now really – but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait… In the meantime though, take a look at this awesome tour video (and just maybe you’ll be able to hear it all anyway – winner!)– all spliced together from a load of lovely footage taken over the last few months. Enjoooooy ‘Old Bucket Seats’!

Old Bucket Seats from Light Guides on Vimeo.

Hiero-Hiero-Hieroglyphics!

Yeah it’s out – and for any of you not yet versed in the beauty of the Crash My Ride EP by some of Alcopop’s finest, Stagecoach, then perhaps its time to have yourself a little taste yo. Right here, right no!

Doing sample battle with long-time producing collaborator James Kenosha (Dinosaur Pile-Up, Pulled Apart By Horses) and pop-star Ex Planes, Stagecoach have backed the single with a pair of spectacular remixes to ‘back the rock up’. Ex Planes got his break co-writing songs on Kylie’s Body Language album and has produced a string of brilliant disco-punk remixes for Kylie, Lily Allen, Bat for Lashes and Gorillaz (so Stagecoach were obviously next on his hitlist!) – whilst Kenosha ransacked his studio vaults to create one of his finest pieces of work to date.

So have a listen below, and get involved in the Coach bandwagon (does that work?). Yup!