jangle pop

The Jasmine Minks were a British indie band, whose early singles were amongst the first releases by Creation Records. Formed in early-‘80s London, the band were initially a trio centred around singer Jim Shepherd. After sending a demo tape to Melody Maker, the band were recruited by Alan McGee to record for the fledgling Creation label. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1985, and in 1986 the band recorded their only Peel session. Further albums Another Age (1988) and Scratch the Surface (1989) drew critical acclaim before the band split.

On first blush, this sounds like the latest gorgeous, jangly guitar pop record from somewhere north of Manchester. Belle and Sebastian meet the better moments of the Lightning Seeds, with Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame strumming away. But on closer listening there's a certain local twang to both the voices and the music on the second production from this unheralded Brisbane six-piece. There's nary a foot, or a note, wrong on this, and the Zebras can lay claim to being, if not the heirs, then at least the love child of the Go-Betweens.

Northern Portrait is a indie pop group from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was founded in July 2007. The band lists a few 80's bands among the influences (The Smiths, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Housemartins) and has recorded two EPs on the Matinée label, who signed them after just a few weeks after they uploaded their first demos on Myspace. An album is on the way.

The June Brides were an English pop music group, formed in London in 1983, by Phil Wilson and Simon Beesley of International Rescue. Influenced by Postcard-label bands such as Josef K and punk-era bands such as The Desperate Bicycles and The Television Personalities, their mix of guitar pop with viola and trumpet formed a blueprint for many of the c86 bands that would follow. First playing live as a band in August 1983...