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More About

• Tinkertoys
• Josef Hell
• Helen Love
• Sexuality
• Relationships

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If you think indie-pop is only about poodle skirts, cloying asexuality, and Tinkertoy instrumentation, buy this record. Yet another compilation compliments of vaunted British label/store Rough Trade Shops (which has released collections of altcountry, post-punk, rock, etc.), this set focuses mainly on the wealth of outrageously grand singles that came out of the U.K. in the mid-'80s, essentially the era that defined the term "indie-pop." You'll swoon to the desultory noise of AR Kane and the Jesus & Mary Chain, the brazen eroticism of Beat Happening, the femme-y Ramones-y gallop of Helen Love, the lo-fi fuzz of My Bloody Valentine, the girly pop of the Darling Buds (everything the Bangles wanted to be), and the rushing guitars of the Wedding Present and Josef K. Hell; there are even a few ace modern tracks from the likes of Aberfeldy and Camera Obscura to make you feel like this isn't some nostalgic pity party. Any release with two doses of Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Talulah Gosh) can't go wrong.