After a rather tiring and unsatisfying traipse around East London (we'll return soon with a better plan - there's so much to see and yet we managed to see almost nothing). We got to Rough Trade East in plenty of time, picked up our wristbands said "hi" to Damon & Naomi and introduced them to Adam (because that's what proud parents do when they get the chance) and then idled away until show time. Not getting a coffee because the Rough Trade espresso bar decided to close before the gig, and the thought of negotiating the hordes in/around Brick Lane was just too much for us to contemplate.

Damon & Naomi & Alasdair (MacLean of The Clientele) took the stage for their short set while a crowd of 40 or so watched on. The setlist was...

• Ueno Station
• Song To The Siren
• The Robot Speaks
• Turn Of The Century
• Cruel Queen

Damon's damaged finger prevented them from playing any songs from the album they were plugging (More Sad Hits) but a good selection of tracks and it was a treat to hear Cruel Queen as I was a bit disappointed they didn't play it last time they were in town. Over far too quickly, we chatted with Naomi, she quizzed Adam on whether he'd enjoyed the show ("it was alright") and then we made our way home. As we hung around after the show a flyer was popped into my hand telling me that they'd be back in town on January 9th at The Luminaire (!) which seemed to be a surprise to Naomi when I showed it to her.

More pictures on Flickr

Dean & Britta and Sonic Boom will appear on yet another Cheval Sombre 7" single. I Found it Not So will be released on the UK label Static Caravan in November and is available to pre-order direct from the label now. The order button says its sold out but the home page has the Paypal pre-order details.

These two sides of softly building melancholia find Cheval Sombre teaming up with Sonic Boom, who features here as well as lending production touches, and with Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna...) and Britta Phillips (Luna).
I Found It Not So is infused with a sense of sleepy reverie; a low-key lullaby which echoes and chimes while floating around your sub-conscious. Sumptuously trip-wired with sveltely layered psychotropic glazes of looping out of body transcendental hypnotics, plangent guitar melodies creep and intertwine, moving to a warm climax. It's all topped off with barely-there vocals, a whispered dream filled with a sense of longing which belies the almost post-coital atmosphere.

Dean plays guitar and Britta plays MicroKorg & Celesta and mixed the single.

Damon and Naomi's show this Sunday at London's Rough Trade East will be as a trio after Damon trimmed the top of his finger off while cutting an apple. The show will go ahead with Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele doing the bits that Damon's finger prevents him from doing.

How will Damon pull off this Django Reinhardt-like trick? We're all wondering. But coming to the rescue, fretwise, will be Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele -- he has graciously agreed to fill in for any missing fingers. Maybe the nasty accident will turn into something to celebrate?

The show will also provide the opportunity to buy a limited CDR of Damon & Naomi covering Irving Berlin's White Christmas which they recorded for the film Lovely, Still. Each CDR will come in a hand-drawn sleeve.

The show is free and starts at 7pm - collect wristbands from the shop one hour before showtime.

American Laundromat Records are streaming all the tracks from their upcoming tribute album to The Cure "Just Like Heaven". Dean and Britta cover Friday I'm in Love and the album also features contributions from The Wedding Present, Tanya Donnelly and Elk City.

To hear the whole album you can head over to the American Laundromat's web page and launch their radio player or you can go straight to the player using this link.

The album will be released to shops early next year but the label is taking pre-orders now at their online shop, which will be posted out before xmas.

Britta Philips, once of Luna and currently of Dean & Britta, provides a remix of 'Troubled Mind' which creates a bleary cloudy atmosphere which is brilliantly broken and carries along with a languid bluesy swagger. Absolutely, perfectly gorgeous.

The limited edition release is available to pre-order on the Trensmat website where you can also listen to short samples of a couple of tracks including Britta's mix.

Rough Trade are proud to announce an intimate in-store with ex Galaxie 500 members Damon & Naomi who are putting together an exclusive recording for this special event ,

As soon as I have any idea what this might be I'll pass it on.

The performance is at 7pm and FREE but you will need to pick up a wristband one hour prior to the gig.

I came across a podcast named after and featuring this "lost" luna track. Sucking Ice Cubes had its only official release as a bonus track on the Japanese release of Bewithced and in my opinion deserved a wider audience than that. Not a throwaway, a demo or an instrumental, Sucking Ice Cubes starts with guitar feedback (probably squalls of feedback because feedback always comes in squalls) not the expected start to a Luna song and carries on like it might have been a live gem if it had been given a chance - I can close my eyes and imagine this developing into the sort of stage classic that Black Postcards and 23 Minutes got to be...I can't imagine Dean & Britta doing it though...maybe it rocks too much?

Mp3: Luna - Sucking Ice Cubes (box.net)

I thought that it was probably time to start exposing some tracks that made obscure appearances and deserved to be heard by more folk. Up until now I've been reluctant to share officially released music but have made exceptions with tracks that have been hard to get hold of. If the copyright owner is bothered by my sharing of this track they should get in touch and the track will be removed.

The excellent blog The Sound of Indie recenly posted a lovely sounding track from Dean & Britta's "Galaxie 500 show" from a few weeks back (see previous post), I was among a number of people who pleaded for an opportunity to hear the whole show. Sadly Howard Wolfson a pundit for the vile "media" outlet Fox News apparantly also contacted the blog asking for more. The Sound of Indie responded...

I appreciate your interest in the Dean and Britta show and congrats on your new blog. I am in a bit of a quandary since it seems you are associated with Fox News. I, for one take to heart the simple axiom: “You are only as good as the company you keep”, which in the case of Fox News, as a company, doesn’t get any worse. Regardless your politically leanings or good intentions, you are simply another tool for the colossal super-conducting super-colliding horseshit/noise-generating machine that is Fox News.

[...]

So concerning the Dean and Britta show: If Obama wins this election, you and all TSOI readers will get a copy of the truly sublime recording. If, however, the unconscionable happens - that those other two are elected - no one will hear that full recording and Fox News will largely be to blame.

Saddened as I am not to be getting my paws on this recording (yet) I have to admire the stand taken by The Sound of Indie and point out that there are lots of reasons to vote Obama/Biden, and lots, LOTS more NOT TO VOTE FOR McCain/Palin...but just in case you needed another one...

In the meantime The Sound of Indie has posted another track from the show to whet your appetite...

Dean & Britta - Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste