Plastic Picnic is a Brooklyn based band comprised of four Pacific Northwest transplants. The duos – Lute and Panerio, and Hunt and Taylor – developed their styles playing in separate Seattle projects. It wasn’t until moving east that the pairs were brought together by a mutual friend. Instantly compatible, the group shared a taste for lyrically forthright indie rock paired with driving 80's rhythms, sweetly spun melodies and atmospheric synth and guitar work.

Slumberland began operations in 1989 as a collective effort consisting of members of DC area bands Velocity Girl, Big Jesus Trash Can/Whorl, Black Tambourine and Powderburns. We were inspired by such musical happenings as C86, early Creation, Postcard, K, Bus Stop, lower East Side noise, and also the renegade art aesthetics & methods of people like Cage, Burroughs and Duchamp. The explosion of punk had left behind a thriving network of 'zines, labels and distributors and we felt that there was room for our noise-loving, pop-obsessed aesthetic. While there were loads of US indie labels releasing a steady stream of 7"s, there wasn't much pop going on. Notable exceptions included Bus Stop, K and Picture Book, and we hoped to join that group and help chisel out some space for melodies amongst the noise.

Early releases from Velocity Girl, Whorl and Black Tambourine struck a note, and we found like-minded popsters getting in touch from all over the world. As we expanded the label roster and our own horizons, the goal was always to share great songs and interesting sounds from a range of styles. Our first burst of activity through the 1990s and early 2000s brought seminal records by legendary bands like Stereolab, Rocketship, The Ropers, Lorelei, The Aislers Set, Hood and Boyracer.

By the mid 2000s we were seeing a resurgence of interest in guitar pop and the start of the ongoing vinyl revival: the perfect environment for Slumberland! We launched into our latest phase of activity with as string of classic releases from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Stilts, Frankie Rose, Veronica Falls, Allo Darlin', Joanna Gruesome and so many more.

2025 is our thirty-sixth (!) year we are still at it, ploughing our own furrow and bringing you unique, genre-defining (and genre-defying!) releases from bands like The Laughing Chimes, Humdrum, The Cords, Autocamper, Jeanines, The Umbrellas, Neutrals, Artsick, Kids On A Crime Spree, Papercuts, Lightheaded, Tony Jay, Chime School, Lunchbox and many, many more. Indie fashions come and go but we're still thrilled by great songs and the new ways that pop can be rejuvenated to fit the times.

Hello June’s songs are so emotionally open and resonant that they sometimes feel like leaps of faith. The West Virginia indie rock outfit fronted by songwriter Sarah Rudy thrives on interrogating a feeling with a disarming, scalpel-like precision. It’s this clarifying honesty that’s garnered the band rave reviews from NPR, Paste Magazine, and No Depression. It’s also the driving force behind their forthcoming album Artifacts, which is out October 6 via 31 Tigers Records. Across 11 gorgeous and raw tracks, Rudy sings about death, birth, hope, and despair with grace and nuance. “I landed on the title because if there’s one thing we’re left with, it’s memories of other people: artifacts that we take with us through life,” says Rudy.

Cara Nicolas is a 2010 graduate of Ursuline Academy in Blue Ash (Cincinnati), Ohio. She is a junior at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio where she is studying Public Relations. She loves reading, writing, snow skiing, Harley Davidson motorcycle riding and long walks in the park with her dog but music is her favorite hobby. She has been playing piano since the age of 6 and started playing guitar about 3 1/2 years ago. She also has several videos on www.youtube.com under Cara Nicolas. She also sings female vocals for the Cincinnati, Ohio based Jackson Brown tribute band, "Looking East".


Toronto-based music blog finding the best new music in the feeds. To the point track features, videos, quick reviews and streaming playlists.

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