Acclaimed Glasgow band The Orchids made sophisticated pop music right back in the early 1990s for cult independent label Sarah Records. Formed in 1987, the five-piece recorded a string of singles as well as three excellent albums, Lyceum (1989), Unholy Soul (1991) and Striving For the Lazy Perfection (1994). Their songs were as emotionally pure as anything else on that label, but they were always a step ahead of their peers in terms of song arrangements and musical ambition. With a casual, unpretentious air they made writing perfect pop songs seem easy, almost accidental, and several great releases followed. The Orchids gained a passionate following.
From Glasgow, and proudly Scottish, the band shares a musical lineage with other great groups from that city, from Aztec Camera to Orange Juice, Lloyd Cole to Teenage Fanclub. All bands that specialize in song-writing that can tell big stories through small fragments, that can make the ordinary extraordinary. The band split in 1995 at the height of their powers. Most of their records were produced by Ian Carmichael of One Dove. They reformed in 2004, and have since released three more albums: Good to be a Stranger (2007), The Lost Star (2010), Beatitude#9 (2014).
Produced once again by Ian Carmichael, who has helped the band create a perfectly-crafted masterpiece, Dreaming Kind is their new album, eight years after their previous one, and it’s out now on Skep Wax Records, the label run by Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher.
Sun’s Signature – Sun’s Signature
Francesco Amoroso per TRISTE©
Qualche giorno fa (il 29 Agosto, per essere precisi) il social network di riferimento della generazione X (pieno anche di boomers, devo ammetterlo) era inondato di auguri per il compleanno di Elizabeth Fraser.
Così, dopo averla venerata per quarant’anni, ho scoperto che la donna con la voce più celestiale del pianeta ha solo pochi anni più di me.
In realtà non mi ero mai posto la domanda sulla sua età, né su qualsiasi altra cosa che riguardasse la sua natura terrena: mi è sempre sembrato superfluo, quasi blasfemo, indagare sulle cose terrene di questo essere ultraterreno.
Eppure anche Liz, a quanto pare, è un essere vivente e non un angelo (anche se ascoltandola cantare non si direbbe) e, come per tutti gli esseri viventi anche per lei (così come per gli stonati) il tempo passa, inesorabile.
Bubble Tea And Cigarettes – There’s Nothing But Pleasure

Tiziano Casola per TRISTE©
Si dice spesso che iscriversi all’università sia un modo per mantenersi irresponsabili, per rimandare il più possibile la mannaia dell’età adulta, che ormai, tolti di mezzo riti di passaggio del passato, come la leva militare o il matrimonio, coincide il più delle volte con l’ingresso nel mondo del lavoro. Sia che si tratti di una carriera stimolante e ricca di impegni, sia che si tratti della più drammatica necessità di dover in qualche modo arrivare a fine mese, dal mio punto di vista, quello cioè di uno che si appresta a recensire il disco dei Bubble Tea And Cigarettes, tra le due situazioni non c’è differenza alcuna, perché ad interessarmi è quello che questi due poli opposti hanno in comune: la mancanza di tempo da perdere in affari non produttivi.
Continua a leggere(Make Me a) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 81: Bubble Tea And Cigarettes

Bubble Tea And Cigarettes was founded in New York City where the two members Andi and Kat met. Starting in 2019, the project took shape in the couple’s bedroom where they record and produce their songs. Their dreamy ballads take the audience on an emotional journey with mellow and evocative melodies, breathy vocal and hazy ambiance full of reverb, – everything you need in a good dream pop song is here. Since then, they have released five songs digitally, and on September 2nd their debut album, There’s Nothing But Pleasure, will be out on Elefant Records. This release includes those five singles and three marvelous previously unreleased tracks. The album delves deeper into the preciousness that can be found in silence, of the magic of slow tempos, that seem to beat at the same pace as our heart. Where Andi and Kat’s voices, the reverb, the delays, the crystalline guitars all create a false sense of fragility, that everything could break at any given moment, of containment, and of course, of emotion. The songs also benefit from the great mixing work of Anthony “Rocky” Gallo(Norah Jones,Cat Power, The XX, Cigarettes After Sex, The Killers, The Clientele…) and the mastering of Greg Calbi (Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, David Bowie, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire, St. Vincent, Perfume Genius, Blondie, Aretha Franklin).
Continua a leggereThe Slow Summits – Time’s On Your Side
The Slow Summits is a four-piece pop band from Linköping, Sweden: Anders Nyberg, Lead vocals/Rhytm guitar/Percussion, Mattias Holmqvist Larsson, Bass guitar/Backing vocals, Karl Sunnermalm, Lead guitar/Acoustic guitar/Harmonica, Fredrik Svensson, Drums.
In their own words, “a bunch of stressed out middle class dreamers trying to write songs that will make the late washing up, the lawn mowing on rainy days, the ironing of non-iron shirts, the paying of past due bills and the early Saturday mornings in front of a telly showing people playing video games, a bit more jolly. Hopefully our songs will make you wonder, laugh, or nod in agreement. At best, they’ll be a momentary cure for the angst of everyday life, and will make you dance till your socks come off“.
Their previous releases consists in the -in some of the most indie corners of the indie establishment (like here), fairly acclaimed- EP Languid Belles and the singles Safe And Sorry, Not The One, Then Again and (Just Another) Holy Night.


