Featuring Raymond McGinley and Dave McGowan from Teenage Fanclub in addition to Jim McCulloch, Anna Sheard and Stuart Kidd, the Snowgoose debut LP Harmony Springs will be released on vinyl only (with download code) on the Open Hearth label on Record Store Day, April 21st 2012. Other formats will follow at a later date.

Snowgoose activities on RSD are still being confirmed: keep an eye on the Snowgoose blog for updates on that and for more info on the Harmony Springs LP.

Domino/Geographic press release:

It’s no secret that within Domino there is a lot of love for Teenage Fanclub, and that some members of staff have a special fondness for the songs of singer, songwriter and bassist, Gerard Love.  In recent times, Gerard has been very much part of The Pastels, who operate occasional Domino imprint, Geographic.  The idea of an album of Gerard Love songs burned for a long time until eventually label enthusiasm prevailed, and Gerard agreed that it was an idea that he too was excited about.

From the outset, Gerard was clear that he wanted to establish a group name for the record, a name that was evocative and ambiguous, that could somehow place the music within a slightly blurry and imagined context.  He didn’t want to give the impression that the record was just about him.  Having settled on the name, Lightships, he sought out a cast of Glasgow-based friends to play on the record that was starting to take shape in his head; Dave McGowan (guitar, Teenage Fanclub), Brendan O’Hare (drums, from the first incarnation of Teenage Fanclub), Tom Crossley (flute, International Airport and The Pastels) and Bob Kildea (bass, Belle & Sebastian).

Liberated by a feeling that he had complete carte blanche to do whatever he wanted, Gerard came to a realisation that the key to the sound of the record would be tremolo, delay and flute.  At times the record has the dynamics of a soundtrack, as one of Tom Crossley’s flute lines weaves into the ether and Gerard’s vocals bounce off each other.  Or, as on Sweetness In Her Spark, the group lock into a relaxed and breezy groove that demands the windows be flung open.

Lightships is a name that perfectly captures the atmosphere of the music – sparkling and radiant and illuminated throughout by Love’s melodic gifts and taste for adventurous arrangements.  The overall sound, while as warm and immediate as the songs Gerard writes for Teenage Fanclub, is more free flowing and loose. Muddy Rivers is carried along on a wave of interlocked instrumentation while Photosynthesis is a hazy wash of flutes and echo.  On Silver And Gold, Gerard sings with a falsetto before a chorus of harmonies bursts into life.  With this music it’s as if he was looking to express something more personal, eccentric and introspective.

Electric Cables is an album of tender, observational songs, played with an invigorating and easy sense of purpose; the sound of friends enjoying one another’s company and allowing ideas and experiments to flourish.  It’s a complex and rewarding record that you’ll want to keep coming back to.  Slow illumination.

The album will be available on CD (GEOG35CD), vinyl (GEOG35LP) and digitally (GEOG35D).  All songs were written by Gerard Love, produced by Gerard Love and Bal Cooke.

Enjoy the evocative video for album opener Two Lines HERE.  You can pre-order the album HERE, and receive a free Lightships badge set with each order.

A new Jonny single ‘Dizzy Milk for Eric’ is available to download from the D.I.Y. Hearts website. The song was written and recorded in Osaka and Tokyo during the Jonny Japan tour.  It comes with two tracks: Wich is Wich and You Was Me, which were recorded live with Ritsuko and Emi from Shonen Knife at the Apollo Theater in Nagoya. All proceeds will be donated to Japans disaster relief fund through the Japanese Red Cross. Go get it peoples!

We’ll be playing our last summer show at the Sonorama festival in Burgos, Spain on Sunday August the 14th. The festival website can be found here.