New Jumping Ships EP up for pre-order (and free download yo!)

Holllllaaaaa – as if draining the country dry of burritos and jager during their lengthy tour with LighGuides wasn’t enough, alt-rock 4 piece Jumping Ships are back and sounding bigger than ever! Unleashing brand new 6 track EP ‘Standard Bearer’ in mid-September with us boys in the PoP hood, you can pre-order it now all fresh and lovely in all of it’s splendid glory.

Sounding a bit like Hundred Reasons meets Reuben with a bit of epic big brash Lost Prophet style pop rock epic twinge about it (you can see why we liked them right), the Brighton 4-piece have had a remarkable summer, and this little beauty should just about top it off – and perfectly soundrack the ultimate autumnal romp, booting leaves about or playing conkers – or something like that ☺

But don’t take our word for it, oh no no… Or Rocksound (10/10), Big Cheese or Artrocker (not cos we’re liars or anything, but we’ve heard you poppers have the strongest of ears)… So take a listen to one of the brand new tracks from the EP below (and download it for free why not)…

And then purchase pre-order from the shop, or any of your favoured digital etailers, should you be so bold…
Jumping Ships will be rocking something of a launch celebration at Southsea Festival on the 17th September, and a proper full old homecoming celebration show in Brighton. South Coasters – take note x

Jumping Ships – Heart and Hope

So the pint-sized Brighton pop-kings Jumping Ships released their first single with Alcopop on Monday. Smashing times were had at the launch show at the OBL, and we’ve barely recovered… Much praise has been received for it from across the blogosphere – and you aint gonna believe the review it got in Rock Sound (more to come on that)….

Both new songs are outstanding said Ambassador Beats, Snapshots and Snippets called in Anthemic! Music in Oxford got a little confused about radiators but seemed to like it nonetheless, whilst Eclectically Challenged were ‘proper charmed’. Shout 4 Music gave it 8/10 and Keep Pop Loud reckon it’s HUGE! They’re not wrong.

And just in case you need any more convincing? Listen below to the 3 track single (including a remix by Alex R Winter which is ACE. Available fairly cheap on iTunes, or from our shop even cheaper (with the option of an awesome T-Shirt single too!)…

Jumping Ships CD/T-Shirt single & new Tour!

OH YEAH! Payday’s in and you need some stunning new threads no? Well, now’s the time to indulge. Alcopop’s newest young hip kids Jumping Ships are kicking with a new 3 TRK single ‘Heart and Hope’ – released all on CD (yeah)/ MP3 (why not) and a CD + T-Shirt Megadeal package (both) for just 8 sheets! It looks pretty damn hot too, no…? Oh, and the tees are strictly limited to just 50 – so don’t leave it too long.

It comes out on the 7th March (coinciding with a pretty damn splendid evening show at The Old Blue Last) – and I promise you’ll love it. Speaking of tour… You can catch them around the country on the following dates….

28th Feb – Portsmouth (Cellars)
2nd Mar – Reading Purple Turtle
3rd Mar – Basingstoke
4th Mar – Hastings Tubman
6th Mar – Cardiff Buffalo Bar
7th Mar – London, The Old Blue Last
9th Mar – Westminster University
10th Mar – Brighton, The Green Door Store
11th Mar- Wimbledon

See you there yo… xxx This is the introduction for one HOT Jumping Ships summer….

Alcopop showcase at The Great Escape festival

Ah the stony beaches of Brighton! Wind whipping bitterly through your bones as you breeze (quite literally) along the pier, rich with places to literally throw your money away. Whether you want to roll balls at holes to win a crap cuddly fish, or spend 30 seconds asking ‘how do I make this computer horse fucking move’ and paying £1 for the privelage. Brighton is an idiot’s dream… And I love it.

For me it’s synonymous with great times, excess and horrible drunken behaviour with horrible drunken bands (AKA Stagecoach, Blakfish et al) – oh and the first ice cream of the year, complete with flake, and usually kicked out of my hand.

In short it’s brilliant! But with money so easily parted from fools, how on earth are you supposed to live frugally at The Great Escape, whether you have a wristband or not? Well here’s the answer in poster form… Courtesy of Wowee Zowee promotions and our good pals Idle Hands and Ray Gun (design by @ryannevill).

To cut a long story short – Alcopop showcase at TGE in my favourite pub in the city, free entry, during the day 12-4pm… With all these bands! Lose? No way. See you there yeah, and this time the ice creams on you fate!

Alcopop@ The Great Escape – highlights, low lights and Kev’s plight

Ah The Great Escape – Brighton’s most hazy weekend, and this year – quite the most splendid weekend of 2009. Mass vomiting, plenty o’ partial nudity and winds so blustery that anchoring oneself to the pier would have been a good move were just a few highlights, and amidst the 1000’s of bands I wanted to see but missed due to over packed schedules, booze and the mighty Pav Tav – I caught some real highlights.

1.) Sam Isaac, who rocked like a gentle hurricane on the Thursday night – topping even Future of the Left with his accomplished set, making me very excited about forthcoming album bears.

2.) Riddim Saunter, a Japanese power-pop band who set the pier alight with delightful tunes, an over-happy drummer who never quite found his stool – and have definitely camped out for a good long stay deep within my heart.

3.) Idlewild – who topped off a really accomplished set by playing Low Lights, one of my favourite tracks from Hope is Important And…

4.) Kev BSM – who puked in his own mouth 4 times in one night. Congratulations Kev.

Overall though, it was just a remarkably pleasant experience, with just too many lovely people to mention. Whatsmore, we cast our first compilation into the tempestuous Brighton Ocean to produce a lovely video (on its way), outdrank our pressing hero Dave DMS (shame on you Dave) and dropped ice cream all over the pier.

I bloody love Brighton.

Stars and Sons ‘In the Ocean’ 7″ available to preorder! Tasty rare MP3 with every copy

I was told by so-called ‘reliable’ chum Crunkfish that today was International Caps Lock day… Therefore, I saved this post ready to cram full of capitals. Loads of them. I was going to start at the beginning and literally thrash it so full of big ol’ letters that the majority of people would stop reading almost immediately.

Somewhat luckily he was wrong. It was yesterday! So therefore I’ll keep the caps to a minimum, and leave the news to tell itself – namely that the very limited 7″ copies of Stars and Son’s ‘In the Ocean’ are available NOW to pre-order, which is pretty awesome news.

You can order it from our shop, along with a whole heap of oher exciting releases (and it will cost you no more than 50p for postage however many you go for) – and whatsmore… Everyone who orders will receive a free MP3 piano version of the A-side via email, which is not only gorgoeus, but won’t be available on the vinyl or from any of your favourite digital music stores, giving you 3 tracks for the price of one, and something to enjoy while you’re waiting for the vinyl to drop on the release date (17th November).

Huw Stephens has said of S&S that they are “Big brash intelligent indie pop” – and he’s not bloody wrong. Check them out here, and then (when you’ve fallen in love) buy the single here…

Alcopop sign hot new indie-pop talent…

You may have seen it in our recent update, hand delivered so lovingly to your mailboxes (ah come on now – we don’t spam you that often) – but just in case you didn’t, it is my proud duty to inform you all that Alcopop have recently added to our roster – with none other than Brighton-based happening indie kids – Stars & Sons.

Already firm favourites amongst some of the coolest kids amongst the blogosphere… MP3hugger advise you to “forget about all the music you’ve ever heard, just clear your head and start from scratch again like an 8 year old in the company of Sgt. Peppers for the first time”, while A New Band a Day holler from the rooftops “Good work, Stars and Sons”. Well indeed…

And they make quite an effort with their presentation too!

All opinions aside though, I confidently predict that this band will melt your heart, and make you reassess EXACTLY what it is you love about indie-pop! For Alcopop archivists (and I know there are plenty out there ) Mike – who fronts the band (look at him jigging around below there)- used to be in the original 4 or 5 Magicians line-up, and was instrumental in the ‘Forever on the Edge’ single that came out on Alcopop Records a good year ago.

Listing their influences as Monkey Island, Sam and Max, Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle – not to mention Wham… Stars and Sons are quite simply awesome! Go and check them out at their MySpace page, and look out for the single ‘In the Ocean’ coming out in November on very limited 7″ vinyl….

Woop!

We Move out today – This City single available!

Coming to the end of a pretty bangin’ UK tour – with a show at London Barfly tomorrow (congratulations to Niall and Thomas who won pairs of tickets by the way) – it’s good news for us at Alcopop Records, as today sees Brighton rockers This City release limited edition 7” (to 500) single ‘We Move’… Today!

Full of the kind of heavy disco-based rhythms that have made the boys such a favourite with the likes of Kerrang, NME, Radio 1, XFM and all the other hip places that have taken them to heart – we’re lucky enough to be working with them now before they hit unimaginable heights!

You can get the vinyl from the band when they play live (best), direct from us (awesome), or from any good record shop or your favourite digital music retailer (still bloody ace – you have magnificent taste), and add something a bit sexy to your record (or MP3) collection…

Meanwhile, any internet savvy types may have noticed that Sam Isaac has been somewhat dominating the blogosphere this week, with a whole heap of blogs getting involved with the awesome remixes crafted by James Yuell and Rod Thomas. MP3 Hugger, Zombie Attack, Alter the Press, indierocker.net are just some of the gents in the know.

Also, exciting news to come in the next few days as Alcopop have signed one of THE hottest properties right now, to release his [a gender-based clue there] debut single before the end of the year… Oh, and I’m currently in some form of musical infatuation (as if I wasn’t already) with Andrew WK – whose gig on Saturday was magnificent, and saw me pop backstage to talk to great man himself, and be gifted with a number of his beers. What a gent…

This City full page features in NME and Kerrang

Wow – this week has been a bloody good one for us, and the music-press buying public alike, as lovable tattooed Brighton rockers This City have had a big ‘ol full-page spread in not one – but two of the nations top rags. Discussing everything from ‘the band food game’ to how they met, they really are bloody great articles – and prove (if proof was needed) just why all at Alcopop HQ love them quite as much as we do.

The single ‘We Move’ (a fucking tour de force of a tune) can be pre-ordered now on very limited edition 7” vinyl (ltd to 500) – and is released on the 22^nd September. Check out the MySpace, or order from the shop.

Meanwhile – here’s that tasty press…

More roster news: Alcopop sign This City for next single

So just days after our last exciting announcement – namely that Wakefield-based Pavilion have signed up to the Alcopop rosta, it is with more joy that we can announce –ahem- that Brighton rockers This City will be releasing their next record, ‘We Move’ on Alcopop on the 1st September!

This City have “been already been described in review as “like The Travelling Wilburys if it was made of members of Bloc Party and At The Drive In”. Maybe if you throw in the eyeball-popping nuances of Blood Brothers, the same turn-on-a-sixpence disco-jerk rhythms of the more danceable end of punk (think Les Savy Fav or !Forward Russia!), the impassioned cacophony of mid 80s Dischord Records-led emotional hardcore, the pop sensibility of tykes such as The Automatic and subtract the reference to Tom Petty and co, we might just be inclined to agree…”

In their short career, they’ve already performed a Radio 1 session for Huw Stephens, supported the likes of Biffy Clyro, Future Of The Left, Sparta, CapDown and As I Lay Dying and been lauded by everyone from Fierce Panda’s Simon Williams to Radio 1’s dream trio of Lowe, Lamacq and Stephens to NME to The Guardian. And what’s more they’re playing 4 shows (in Birmingham, Exeter, Portsmouth and London) with the legendary Rival Schools.

Pop over to their MySpace page to hear their quite frankly awesome stuff – or pop down to Rival Schools early if you’ve lucked out with a ticket tomorrow!