Limited edition hand made cassette album on Fika Recordings. We're dead chuffed to be able to put out this beauty of an album from our friends Allo Darlin'. It feels like they've been an important part of the Fika family already - Bill Botting has appeared on a couple of Fika releases as Moustache Of Insanity (alongside Niklas Vestberg), and Elizabeth Morris makes a brief appearance on Moustache's first cassette release on Fika Recordings back in 2011.
Thanks for Fortuna Pop and Slumberland for letting us do this super-limited cassette package! They'll be releasing the album on LP and CD in Europe and North America respectively.
The cassette will come with a cute little 16 page insert booklet, containing illustrations and lyrics. We'll be Fika-ing it up too, with a tea bag and a cake recipe: expect a bag of Allo Darjeelin' and instructions on how to make Elizabeth's Mum's Sacher Torte...
This should start shipping at the start of May!
Includes unlimited streaming of Europe
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
The darlings of the UK's indiepop scene, Allo Darlin's second album 'Europe' follows on from their critically acclaimed and hugely successful self-titled debut. The London-based four-piece - led by Australian songbird Elizabeth Morris, with guitarist Paul Rains, Bill Botting on the bass and Michael Collins on drums - create perfect, sophisticated pop gems and know how to put on a joyous, effervescent, fun-filled live show. Having built up an intensely loyal and ever-increasing fanbase, Allo Darlin's reputation has developed at its own pace, from just one girl strumming a ukulele to headlining London's Scala and touring all over the world. Their self-titled debut was released to universal acclaim with plaudits including being named no. 2 record of the year by online retailer emusic and a glowing 1,200 word essay by legendary go-between Mr Robert Forster in the Australian critical magazine The Monthly. Achingly personal, incredibly poignant and familiar all at once, Elizabeth Morris' songwriting has deepened and developed since their debut, although they've lost none of their ability to create sophisticated, intelligent pop music with an uplifting, joyous feel. There's a sense though that the feel of the new record, 'Europe', reflects the changes in the world since their debut in 2009 - with riots and protests across the globe and a deepening feeling of gloom, a carefree album didn't seem appropriate. Singer Elizabeth Morris explains: "I wanted to make beautiful songs and end up with a beautiful album, not necessarily an album full of three minute pop songs. the songs have an awareness of a darker place but end up coming out the other side." 'Europe' is chock full of memorable songs including the first single 'Capricornia', which conjures up the bleached sunlight of summer in the area from which Elizabeth hails in Australia. then there's the title track and next single 'Europe', a celebration of the togetherness that pulled the band through a disastrous tour of the continent last year, when noxious fumes in their tour van nearly put paid to them altogether. There's the epic 'Still Young', the song that their friends the wave pictures refer to as their 'Born To Run', the wonderful 'Northern Lights' about spending new year's eve in Sweden and 'Wonderland', the last song written for the album and one of the band's favourites. Perhaps the two best songs on the album are the ballads. If Elizabeth describes the extraordinary 'Tallulah' as "probably the best song i've written", then 'some people say' runs it close for sheer, heartfelt emotion. Gloriously catchy, brilliantly uplifting and charmingly intelligent, 'Europe' is one of the most exciting albums of the year, with Allo Darlin' pleasing their existing loyal fanbase as well as winning over hoards of new admirers. The album is proof that Allo Darlin' will be one of the bands to watch out for in 2012.
Allo Darlin' are a fan's band. They are close friends who found each other and the music they make in London. Elizabeth and Bill are from Australia, Mike and Paul are from Kent.
The name of this album perfectly encapsulates everything I love about Elizabeth's musical output from the Darlings to Allo Darlin' to these precious songs: an unyielding optimism that is never naive, and by being so, becomes wildly contagious. Some music tells you that "everything will be ok", but her music actually makes you believe it, even when the lyrics hint at doubt. Michael Feck
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Another great album - dean wareham, joanna gruesome, lonely tourist, dorotea, the chills, manhattan love suicides & spearmint are all highlights but the whole lot is pretty darn great really martin kiosk