Feb 08

New Video: The Yellow Melodies – “Our Time Is Over”

The Yellow Melodies are proud to release another video of the song “Our Time Is Over”, taken from their much loved and brilliant “Life” album which was released on The Beautiful Music on CD as well, as on Hurrah! Musica on Vinyl.

The album has been well received and is still winning the hearts of fans worldwide. One listen to this song and the album, it’s clear to see why as The Yellow Melodies master the perfect pop song, and include influences from the 60’s Pop & Psych underground as well as traces of mod and soul sounds with a nod to bands like the BMX Bandits, Television Personalities, Superstar, Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, and many others.

The video paints a cautionary tale to warn of our destructive behavior and the possible results but still manages to infuse hope and a positive vibe as it ends with “Is this the end, or the start of something really beautiful?”

This is a song and album you need in your life – listen and enjoy!

Jul 26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Proto Retro by Dot Dash

Dot Dash’s new album Proto Retro, the band’s sixth long player, out now on TBM. Proudly our 42nd release!

Coming off of 2016’s amped-up, fuzzed-out Searchlights, the 12 track Proto Retro sees Dot Dash taking a poppier, janglier direction but one that retains the punky, garagey energy that has marked the band’s previous releases.

Proto Retro was recorded at Inner Ear and The Bastille in Arlington, Virginia and produced by Geoff Sanoff (Lloyd Cole, Darlene Love, Television.)

Dot Dash is a Washington D.C.-based trio — Terry Banks (guitar & vocals), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Danny Ingram (drums.) Ex-bands within the Dot Dash orbit include power-poppy indie rockers Julie Ocean; harDCore pioneers Youth Brigade and The Untouchables; indiepoppers The Saturday People, Tree Fort Angst, Glo-Worm, and St. Christopher; plus Swervedriver and Strange Boutique.

Along the way, Dot Dash has played shows with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Richard Lloyd (ex-Television), The B-52s, The Monochrome Set, The Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, The Dickies, Ash, Hugh Cornwell (ex-Stranglers), The Clientele, Stiff Little Fingers, The Godfathers, The Bats, Ian Hunter (ex-Mott The Hoople), The Fleshtones, Urge Overkill, Glen Matlock (ex-Sex Pistols), The Drums, Ultimate Painting, The Trashcan Sinatras, Sylvain Sylvain (ex-New York Dolls), Drivin’n’Cryin, Frankie Rose, Tommy Keene, The Empty Hearts, Wussy, Matt Pond PA, Moon Duo, Terry Malts, Soulside, Jack Grisham (TSOL), Wax Idols, Chris Stamey (ex-dB’s), Allo Darlin’, The Supersuckers, Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), X___X, The Explorers Club, D.O.A., Elf Power, Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian), Eternal Summers & lots of other rocking combos.

To order the physical CD :

DotDash

Beauty 042 NOW AVAILABLE!!
$15.00 CDN

To order the electronic version: BandCamp

Oct 29

NEW RELEASE! “LIFE” by The Yellow Melodies

Life by The Yellow MelodiesWe are extremely proud to be involved in the release of “one of SPAIN’S finest power pop bands who are hero’s of their craft!” as Jeremy from Jam Records once described them. He went on to say: “The Yellow Melodies are engaged in the indie sounds of bands like Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, BMX Bandits … and the Pooh Sticks. The innocent sound of these bands once created a new movement that is still influential today! The Yellow Melodies pay sincere tribute to that movement in a most effective way! Hail the indie pop scene!”
 

Rafa Skam, from The Yellow Melodies once described Duglas T Stewart (BMX Bandits) as a band who had “a love of POP with capital letters, with an extraordinary musical sensitivity, an authentic and charming type” and those words I think capture the essence of The Yellow Melodies perfectly. They are a band who truly love POP, regardless of its shape or form, whether it’s indie pop, psych pop, orchestral pop, power pop, mod or beat, its first and foremost pure POP! They play music from the heart, with true passion and with style and flair. They remind you of (and are obviously inspired by) bands such as the Television Personalities, BMX Bandits, Monograph, The Wedding Present, The Pastels, Teenage Fanclub, Superstar, The Merrymakers, The Saturday People and many other similar bands and over the years have recorded many fine covers of some of their musical heroes (including 2 fine tribute EP’s for The Beautiful Music).

Their new album “Life”, their eighth album, contains nine brand new original songs, of the finest POP! you will hear this year and is being released in conjunction with their own label DISCOS IMPRESCINDIBLES and also HURRAH! MÚSICA for a vinyl edition for those so inclined. 

Here are a few more quotes from previous releases: “The Yellow Melodies are an indie pop band from Spain whose music combines classic jangle and harmony-filled indie Brit pop and psychedelic influences of the 60’s and 70’s with contemporary instrumentation and production, and a charming delivery.” (Ray -Koolkat); “Great Spanish power pop that explores a variety of power pop bands like The Church, Temples, Television Personalities, The Merrymakers, and Carrots. The band is very interesting and the sounds mix power pop and jangle with psychedelia. From time to time the orchestral flourishes bring a bit of Left Banke to the table” (Jeremy – Jam Records); “… the stars here are The Yellow Melodies, who put a vibrant sheen on each track, with appealing hooks and great harmonies” (Scott – When You Motor Away); anyway you get the idea – this is a release you will love and treasure for years.

The Beautiful Music
LIFE by The Yellow Melodies/em>
Beauty 041 NOW AVAILABLE!!
$15.00 CDN


The Beautiful Music

Jun 27

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Janglewaves by Skytone

Janglewaves
Skytone is back with this summer’s playlist! Janglewaves is the latest album from Skytone, we think it’s fantastic but here is what the web is saying:

Ottawa’s Skytone don’t really fit into a neat little package for consumers, but that’s precisely why I love the group. Sure, their brand new album Jangle Waves has the aforementioned jangling, but there are also moments that lean towards swinging croons like in “Second Hand Shops.” They almost adopt a beach vibe with “Missing You” only to move into dreamy pop territory with the following tune, “Lonely Holiday.” Throughout the listen, you’ll likely find yourself enveloped in warm harmonies reminiscent of the sun you’re trying to avoid outside your window; it’s the power of pure pop at its best!
Nathan Lankford (austintownhall.com)

“Evoking sun-dappled drives to the lake on a summer day or wine-on-the lawn evening with good friends, and leavened with jangle and hints of ’70s soft rock, JangleWaves is a welcome addition to the summer playlist. The album is the latest from melodic indie pop band Skytone, which is comprised of brothers Rodney and Darius Doddridge. While the Canadian duo does, indeed, pack a lot of jangle in their compositions, dream pop, power pop and a liberal dose of beach pop all live harmoniously, melodically, and pleasingly, in JangleWaves. Good vocals, good guitars, and good times. Summer is here, and JangleWaves is coming along.” – (whenyoumotoraway.blogspot.ca)skyline

“Ottawa’s Skytone would have you believe that they Jangle and of course they do, but not in that 12 string way that you would envisage. This is Great Pop, done with a croon and the jangle is in a 80’s sort of way, although the harmonies are very much mid 70’s Pop Rock.

All this works beautifully, Jangle Waves is wonderfully laid back. The guitar riffs are very C86, but there’s plenty more thrown into the mix. Drop In The Water is all funky in a Mid 80’s vibe that you can imagine appearing on Hit Mix 86. Think of Lloyd Cole fronting Johnny Hates Jazz.” -(hearasingle.blogspot.ca)

You can sample more of the new album here: 

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/janglewaves/id1250418287

Bandcamp: https://skytone1.bandcamp.com/album/janglewaves

May 17

Holding Hands Under a Cloudless Sky – A Tribute to the Television Personalities: Vol 4

They said it couldn’t happen here, but it did. They said we could never pull it off, but here it is the 4th volume of the Television Personalities tribute series “Holding Hands Under a Cloudless Sky”. Eight years in the making and a long overdue release with all your favourite (and soon to be favourite) artists. And as Alan McGee once said: 

The shambolic genius behind Television Personalities made me realise that I could run a label. Yet this great songwriter still hasn’t been fully recognized for his contribution to music” … “I’m not a nostalgic person, but the first TVP gig I saw in 1982 changed my life. Back then, the first two TVP albums And Don’t the Kids Just Love It and Mummy You’re Not Watching Me established Treacy as the UK’s version of Jonathan Richman, as re-imagined by Ray Davies.

“Holding Hands Under A Cloudless Sky”
Television Personalities Tribute – Volume 4

1. THE YELLOW MELODIES – Look Back In Anger
2. SIMON BISH & ANDY FONDA – Silly Things Lovers Do
3. DOT DASH – Jackanory Stories
4. THE STEINBECKS – Strangely Beautiful
5. SKYTONE – The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming
6. JEREMY – A Good And Faithful Servant
7. PAUL BONIN & THE CHOSEN FEW – How I Learned To Love The Bomb
8. THE PENELOPES – Stop And Smell The Roses
9. THE MILESTONE BAND – Honey For The Bears
10. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG ZOMBIE – She’s My Yoko
11. PRETTY EYES FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA – She Lives for the Moment
12. THE PUDDLE – You Are Special And You Always Will Be
13. AJ JACKSON – If I Could Write Poetry
14. I SATELLITE – This Hearts Not Made Of Stone
15. THE JUST JOANS – I Hope He’s Everything You Wanted Me To Be…
16. THE PRISTINES – The Painted Word
17. THE DUPONT CIRCLES – How I Learned To Love The Bomb
18. ROBERT SCOTT – Stop And Smell The Roses
19. TODD SHUSTER – Someone To Share My Life With
20. CHESTER – Silly Girl
21. PAUL MESSIS – If That’s What Love Is
22. SCHUMAN THE HUMAN – Look Back In Anger

 

Special Offer: Be one of the first 100 to order and receive the bonus disc for free. This includes another 25 tracks!

The Beautiful Music

Holding Hands Under a Cloudless Sky
Various Artists – TVP Tribute 4
Beauty 025PRE-Order NOW AVAILABLE!!
$15.00 CDN


“1980s indie would have sounded very different without Treacy. The international indie underground would sound very different today, too, had it not been for Treacy. His bare honesty, direct DIY approach and emotional fragility have made him one of the biggest influences on that scene in the past decade, revered by the latest generation of hip guitar bands as at least a touchtone and in many cases as their founding father.”

 
The Beautiful Music

Mar 31

For Immediate Release: “Sweet Magnolias” by Nick Danger & SKYTONE

For those of you who have follow our little label since the beginning you will recognize the artist connected with the first two releases on The Beautiful Music.

It has been a long friendship both on and off stage between Nick Danger and SKYTONE, which finally brought them together to record “Sweet Magnolias”(Beauty 037). This is a 7 track album of songs written and recorded originally by Nick and the DCR/The Social Icons, but this time out he is supported musically by his good friends. For a lark they decided to record this live off the… lawn, outside a little cottage on Mink Lake. Captured in raw single takes, the environment plays its own part with electro surges, seagulls, laptop stutter, motor boats and kids at play.

In addition they recorded “Sweet Jane” from The Velvet Underground’s catalog and also Leonard Cohen’s “Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye”. This was all captured on video by the way over here on Youtube

This album is now available on Bandcamp for download and a physical CD is available here from thebeautifulmusic.com. Have a listen below:

The Beautiful Music

Nick Danger & SKYTONE
Sweet Magnolias(CD Version)
Beauty 037 NOW AVAILABLE!!


Download: https://dangercity.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-magnolias
The Beautiful Music

Feb 28

Skytone: a big 2016 and hopefully even bigger 2017!

The Doddridge brothers have been very busy fellas lately!

Rather than concentrating on a new Lp, they have been steadily releasing a stream of fantastic singles.

First, in April 2016 came Bright and Better Days.

The catchy Second Hand Shops followed in June.

In September, they released the dreamy Flower House.

October saw 80’s-infused dancer On My Mind. A pair of remixes of On My Mind by L.A.’s John Girgus were then released in December.


Their latest single and first of 2017 is this month’s Lonely Holiday. Looking forward to hear what pop gems they come out with next!

Jan 14

ARMSTRONG Fragments And Curiosities

ARMSTRONG Fragments And Curiosities.

Armstrong’s (aka Julian Pitt) new album, Fragments And Curiosities, is Julian’s third long player (and second on Canadian indie label The Beautiful Music). It is out now — available as a CD (directly from the label) and from select distributors, with digital download coming soon.

Armstrong is one of those mysterious and elusive bands that stays well beneath the surface (just try and find any information on-line), but anyone willing to dive a bit deeper is richly rewarded with pearls of great value and will appeal to fans of pur pastoral or jangle Pop like Aztec Camera / Roddy Frame, Pale Fountains, Prefab Sprout, The Divine Comedy, Andy Pawluk, Red House Painters, The Zombies, etc. The new album is eagerly anticipated and sought out by a growing number of fans, and is a welcome return. Alex Green wrote about his debut album: “Under Blue Skies is one of the most satisfying and melodic albums in recent memory…Armstrong’s lustrous debut presents Pitt as the new unheralded prince of pastoral pop. With a voice that lilts and soars like Roddy Frame or The Pearlfisher’s David Scott, Pitt is truly a splendid find.” – Caught In The Carousel. David Bash, the noted Pop authority and founder of the International Pop Overthrow music festival recognized Julian’s talent and had him play the festival in Liverpool at the Cavern Club.

An old NME review made a similar comparison to Aztec Camera as well as Teenage Fanclub and Ash in reviewing an earlier 7” single. BBC’s Tom Robinson added “Classic, Vintage, Orchestral Pop Songwriting”. On “Songs About The Weather” Powerpopaholic stated: “Fans of sunshine and baroque pop would do well to check out the latest album from Armstrong … If you enjoy wistful ballads and sun-kissed melodies that are brimming with emotion you’ll want to listen to Armstrong”

Some of the simplest forms of pop music are the ones that become the most meaningful to us, which is where I’m left after spending some time with this new Armstrong track. It’s part of the new album, which features unearthed recordings and B-Sides, and this listen is making the world just a bit brighter today. You’ll mostly hear the voice of Julian Pitt lightly draped atop strummed guitar and piano play. If you need a great ballad, or just generally looking for something to make you feel good, then go here. – http://austintownhall.com/2017/01/23/new-music-from-armstrong/

This album is a compilation of rare tracks and semi-live rehearsals with the 4 Bonus Tracks salvaged from poor audio sources, but were sadly the only remaining documents of that era so we wanted to include them, thus the title “Fragments And Curiosities”. Overall it makes for a beautiful album and will provide you with a much needed relief from this ‘Crazy World’ as we await the completion of Julian’s next album “Happy Graffiti”. Sit back, Enjoy!

Special thanks to http://www.analora-photoart.de for the beautiful starfish photo for the artwork.

The Beautiful Music

armstrong julian pitt fragments

Armstrong
Fragments And Curiosities
Beauty 033 NOW AVAILABLE!!
$12.00 CDN

The Beautiful Music

“Fragments And Curiosities – The 4Track Sessions” is available as a CD (Beauty 033) directly from The Beautiful Music’s secure, PayPal-enabled ordering portal at www.thebeautifulmusic.com and for a limited time will come with a free copy of “Songs About The Weather” (Beauty 014)

Jan 01

2016 finalé: That year sounded beautiful!

That year sounded beautiful! Another year has come and gone and what a year it’s been, it’s been our most successful years to date and we’re not talking about making any money, as our fame is only imaginary, but we’re talking about getting our music heard by folks around the world. Isn’t that what it’s all about. Wally even made a few guest appearances on CKCU including a great show with Steve Kirkland for their funding drive and a few surprise visits to the Wednesday Special Blend with DJ tic and he also joined the amazing team at This Is How It Feels To Be Indie on Coast & County Radio (Thanks Adam!). We had quite a few releases also.

 

Dot Dash

This year Dot Dash released their 5th and loudest album and their songs were featured on countless radio stations with a BIG thanks to CKCU (Dick, tic & Steve), Adam Jeffrey at Coast & County Radio, Indi Pulse & many others. The reviews have been amazing and they have also made quite a few year-end “best of” lists and rightfully so as anyone who has heard their music has been blown away by their talent. Two blogs even put together compilation releases of their songs – Last Day Deaf:

http://lastdaydeaf.com/dot-dash-5-5-5-ldd05-2016/

Which even had a fine review of the free sampler here by the amazing “When You Motor Away” Blog:

http://lastdaydeaf.com/dot-dash-5-5-5-ldd05-2016/

Another sampler with 10 free songs can be found on the “This Is Indie” blog here:

http://this-is-indie.blogspot.ca/2016/12/dot-dash-overwiew-2016.html

 

Roy Moller

After many years of compiling Roy released not one but 2 amazing albums in one with Loader Than War making this fine observation”Moller’s latest missive is a tour de force of sparkling lo-fi gems, recorded with the immediacy of a Ty Segall album, but anchored in timeless songwriting” – http://louderthanwar.com/roy-moller-theres-a-thousand-untold-stories-album-review/

and Pennyblack Music commented that this album “is yet another triumph for the Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Roy Moller. It comes (if you get your hands on an early copy) with a limited edition bonus disc and is packed with the great stories and melodies that he is renowned for.” – http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Review/10480/R/Roy-Moller-CD-There-is-a-Thousand-Untold-Stories

This album is a treasure just waiting to be discovered.

 

Skytone

Although not releasing a physical product this year (excluding a few promotional CD’s that slipped out), the boys have been hard at work putting together their new album and have released at least 4 singles so far from the new album, and they have been magnificent examples of the genre they invented “Janglewave” and you can hear them on their Bandcamp page – https://skytone1.bandcamp.com/

Another highlight has been working with the legendary John Girgus (Aberdeen, The Legendary House Cats, & more) on a Remix of “On My Mind” which has taken the song to new hights and rivals some of the best remixes that New Order have released.

 

TVP Tribute – Volume 4

Although promised for release in 2016, have no fear, we are getting closer, it’s just our excitement gets ahead of us at times. It is coming and it’s coming soon. A few songs were leaked on CKCU and “This Is How It Feels To Be Indie” if you happened to be listening and you know this will be the most amazing tribute of 2017.

 

how’s that for a start

 

Wally

Sep 21

TBM Quarterly Report

the beautiful musicI know the title is misleading but we wanted to stay in touch with our fans on all levels. Most of our posts these days are in the Twitter-verse here: https://twitter.com/WallyTBM these are Wally’s up to the minute muses on what’s what and who’s who in our TBM world and elsewhere. We also do all of our album and single releases on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Beautiful-Music/495348020570057 . Our website is truly the epicentre of all things beauty ?

Just as a quick update here is what has been happening over the last few months here at TBM Headquarters here in Ottawa.

skytone-8bitSKYTONE: In the world of jangle-pop comes the latest releases from our dynamic duo. Lots of kind words from the reviewers and fans alike:
“brothers with a keen ear for melodies that pack more sunshine and warmth per decibel than you would have thought possible.”
“perfectly captures the spirit of the summer day with its vibrant and beautiful vocals and the 80s/90s jangle pop sounds are making me move”

Try it yourself, extend the summer! https://skytone1.bandcamp.com/

Dot Dash: Always busy on the scene, on tour or in the studio creating another masterpiece. If you are in the Washington D.C area you can catch Dot Dash at Rock & Roll Hotel on October 4th. If you haven’t had a chance to hear or see them please check out the streams available here: https://soundcloud.com/user-655653418/sets/dot-dash and they are also on Bandcamp.

“Dot Dash makes a wild escape from their previous escapade and the pumped-up pop of Earthquakes & Tidal Waves. The follow-up amps up their raw spirit on Searchlights, a new album that exploits the gritty factions of punk prose that stems from their founding.”- http://www.selectivememorymag.com/2016/07/26/dot-dash-searchlights-beautiful-music/

Still available is the special offer which is a bit insane, of all 5 albums electronically when you purchase one of the CD hard copies: http://thebeautifulmusic.com/dot-dash-special-offer/

Roy Moller: In fine tradition Roy’s latest endeavour has produced some fantastic gems and the critics are loving it. Here is beautiful write up: http://louderthanwar.com/roy-moller-theres-a-thousand-untold-stories-album-review/ and here’s a direct link to some tracks personally selected by Roy: https://soundcloud.com/user-655653418/sets/roy-moller

TVP4: The Dream Inspires but this angry silence has gone on long enough! TVP4 is in cue, mixed, mastered awaiting final artwork and pressing!!!! It will be out this year!

Sweet Magnolias: Taking a careening u-turn from their current trajectories, a brilliant off the floor outdoor recording of some classic DCR songs lead by Nick and backed by SKYTONE. We are uncertain the release date but it is awaiting the final touches on the artwork and you can expect it later this month.

julian-pittARMSTRONG: Julian Pitt is back with his follow up to “Songs About the Weather”. The new release is entitled “Fragments & Curiosities – The 4-Track Sessions” and boasts 14 tracks of the most beautiful brilliance that can be seen from space. http://thebeautifulmusic.com/the-bands/armstrong/

TBM on Soundcloud: We have created an account and are using the Soundcloud Tab on our Facebook page. We plan to upload selected tracks from our new releases, compilations and classic albums as time allows. Here is a link to us on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-655653418/sets

As time allows we are going to be updating our website to be more mobile friendly.

Thanks again for your continued support and loyalty, stay beautiful.
Wally and the TBM