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Failed Flowers (Anna Burch & Fred Thomas) & Lake Ruth share new singles for Slumberland’s 30th Anniversary Singles Club, stream the A-sides on The FADER and Brooklyn Vegan

both 7″s are due 11/1 via Slumberland Records
sign up for the SLR30 Singles Subscription Series here

STREAM: Failed Flowers’ “Faces” – 
The FADER / SoundCloud

STREAM: Lake Ruth’s “Extended Leave” – 
Brooklyn Vegan / SoundCloud

Today Failed Flowers & Lake Ruth both share new singles ahead of their upcoming 7″s for Slumberland’s 30th Anniversary Singles Club. Failed Flowers premiered “Faces” via The Fader and Lake Ruth premiered “Extended Leave” via Brooklyn Vegan. Both singles are due out on 11/1; sign up for the SLR30 Subscription Series here.

If you know much about the history of the label, you know that Slumberland began in 1989 as a 7″ label and was always inspired by the ephemeral and often electric pleasures to be had from the perfect single. Featuring a concentrated taste of what an artist has to offer, the 7″ was traditionally the format of choice for young bands just getting their feet under them, as well as for chart-bound efforts by established bands. Over the last 29 years Slumberland has released over 130 7″s, and even though downloads and streaming and playlisting have stolen a lot of the “you heard it here first” thunder from the vinyl single, we think that there’s still something pretty magical about the not-so-humble 7″.

To help celebrate Slumberland’s 30th birthday and help folks reconnect with our favorite vinyl format, we have launched the SLR30 Singles Subscription Series, featuring 12 singles to be released over the course of the year, the final entry slated to appear right around Slumberland’s birthday in December 2019. The goal is to work with a group of artists not traditionally associated with the label, to showcase bands’ best material and, as always, to help get some of the finest music around out there in a tangible format.

 Failed Flowers:

Formed by friends in 2014 during a summer spent obsessing about the Sarah Records catalog, Michigan band Failed Flowers quickly developed into a shadowy, high-speed pop vehicle. Drawing at first from the wistful sighs of Sarah, the group grew more of an edge as they progressed, evoking elements of C86 granularity and shoegaze blur. The original lineup of bassist Erin Davis, drummer Miles Haney, and dual guitarist/singers Fred Thomas and Autumn Wetli played around the midwest for about a year, releasing an eight song demo before Wetli left the band. Close friend and collaborator Anna Burch stepped in during the spring of 2015, amplifying both the harmonies and the disquiet. This new lineup recorded a nine-song mini album of sharper material that saw release on the 25 Diamonds label before Thomas left Michigan for Montreal and Burch began a solo career with her own pristine indie-pop tunes. The band remained sporadically active, playing the occasional gig, doing a short run of shows with Protomartyr in 2017 and getting together to write and record in the increasingly rare moments when all parties were available. The two songs on this 7″ are the fruits of Failed Flowers’ most recent sessions and represent some of their most evolved work.

“Faces” is the first song Anna brought to the band, a wash of guitars and vocal harmonies that are somehow both quick and ambling. More melodic than most of the band’s recorded output, it walks in the same remarkably catchy territory as Anna’s always glowing solo work, though swimming through more waves of distortion.

Failed Flowers
Faces 7″
(Slumberland Records)
Street Date: November 1, 2019

Track List:

A: Faces
AA: Broken Screen

Lake Ruth:

Lake Ruth was formed in 2015 by multi-instrumentalist Hewson Chen of The New Lines, drummer Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck, Enon, SAVAK) and vocalist Allison Brice (The Eighteenth Day of May, The Silver Abduction). Their expanded live line-up includes René Dennis (The New Lines), James Canty (The Make-up, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists), and David Mason (Listening Center).

Inspired by 1960’s sonic experimentation, baroque psychedelia, library obscurities, vintage pop noir, Giallo soundtracks, kraut and jazz, Lake Ruth creates intriguing and unique music rich with multilayered instrumentation, propulsive rhythms and atmospheric vocals.

Following up two excellent albums and several singles, “Extended Leave” is their latest music and perhaps the sharpest, most incisive example of their deep, thought-provoking pop yet. Mysterious and melodic, both sides of this double-A side single ably demonstrate why Lake Ruth are one of the most interesting bands out there today.

Lake Ruth are opening for Luna at Elsewhere in NYC on 10/18

Lake Ruth
Extended Leave 7″
(Slumberland Records)
Street Date: November 1, 2019

Track List:

A: Extended Leave
AA: Strange Interiors