Bridgetown Records Holiday Batch

Easily one of my favorite labels of 2010 was Bridgetown Records out of California. From Vehicle Blues’ Changer, to Weed Diamond Carry On + Sweater Kids, to Ancient Crux’s Stage Fright + Live in LA, and to my favorite in the split between Kevin Greenspon and Cloud Nothings, the label doesn’t stop releasing an eclectic mix of pop, ambient, lo-fi, and garage. There Holiday Batch is now available, with releases from Jen Paul / No Lakes, Trudgers, Whirl, and School Knights. Each item is $6 (postage paid), or you can get them all together for $20, and order soon because they are all selling pretty fast.  Personally, I can say that the Whirl cassette is terrific, but check out descriptions for each release below along with MP3s.

Bridgetown #34
School Knights – Rush S.K. cdr
During a brief break in output in his other band Weed Diamond, guitarist Michael Stein has paired up with Zack Roif to debut a powerful new pop duo that explores themes of school and youth, stripped down to thick octave chords and heavier drum rhythms not far off from a more punk-influenced Weed Diamond, but still just as carefree and fun-loving. Edition of 100.
MP3: || “Cliques” ||

Bridgetown #35
Trudgers – Bedrooms On Fire cdr
Dark, catchy and haunting stories of self-imposed tragedy. While others have taken the safe road and played by the limiting rules within the confines of goth revival genres, Brently Mitzner blends elements from a wider variety of musical styles to form a unique and authentic document of youthful despair and trite optimism. Revived from the original 4-tracked cassette masters for a Goaty Tapes release recorded in 2008. Edition of 75, includes lyric sheet.
MP3: || “Crashing In Your Car” ||

Bridgetown #36
Whirl – Distressor cassette
Debut album of dense, swirling shoegaze from this new 6 piece with members strewn about the San Francisco bay area. 7 songs of soothing, razor sharp guitar textures backed by soft, pillowy female vocals, anchored by a keen sense of timing and composition. Edition of 100 pro-duplicated cassettes with metallic imprinting and packaged in white cases with pro-printed j-cards.
MP3: || “Leave” ||

Bridgetown #38
Jen Paul / No Lakes – 1965 Ghost + Cherry Sap cdr
4-tracked shoegaze that stretches from hazy dreams to just shy of fleeting nightmares, told by guitar drenched in a blur of reverb and smeared on ferric tape. Jen Paul’s first CD and longest release to date, totaling 16 songs, all new material written after her split 12″ LP with Jeans Wilder on La Station Radar. Includes an out of print cassette available digitally for the first time from the original masters backed with a new album called Cherry Sap. Edition of 75.
MP3: || “Bottled Ships” ||