When it comes to Slumberland Records' early bands, Black Tambourine is THE ONE. Their sweet, often pining and slightly lost indie pop music can either shake off the dust and get you up and moving, or can be the accompaniment to a day spent wandering around indoors dreaming - where ever you go, their sound can follow and fit any mood.
With members of Whorl and Velocity Girl (inc. Mike Schulman who co-founded Slumberland), along with vocalist Pam Berry, the group of friends from Washington, D.C. played indie pop at a time when the US was largely still in slumber, and the UK was leading the movement thanks to The Jesus & Mary Chain, the Pastels and Orange Juice, and Creation Records as a whole.
But despite writing such perfectly-formed melodies, Black Tambourine's life span was very short, with only two 7" singles released during their time playing together.
Luckily, thanks to a few compilation records released much later (Complete Recordings in '99 and Black Tambourine in 2010) their legacy remains intact for all to enjoy.
I wanted to write about Black Tambourine today as many of their early recordings have been shared on their Bandcamp page and can now be downloaded for free! The 'Lost Inner Ear' mixes were previously stolen, and so this is their first outing. Click the cover below to listen and keep -
