It's Christmas time at BIG STIR RECORDS, and that can only mean it's time for our DOUBLE A-SIDE CHRISTMAS SINGLE, featuring a seasonal tune apiece from two of BSR's own fine artists, KAI DANZBERG and BLAKE JONES & THE TRIKE SHOP!

"String Lights and Hold On" by BLAKE and the gang and "If Santa" from KAI will be released on Friday, December 14, and are available for preorder now:

www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles

KAI DANZBERG's new original "If Santa" is a delightful holiday romp from the sessions for his forthcoming album Not Only Sunshine. Self-produced with a breezy sheen worthy of ELO or Jellyfish, the tune will also remind pop fans of the charms of the Christmas albums of yesteryear from The Beach Boys and Phil Spector. It's ear candy of the hightest order, imbued with the innocence and romantic longing of youth and the assured confidence of of a young master of his craft. Sure to become a seasonal perennial amongst fans of melody and pop songcraft, the song is exclusively available as part of this Double A-Side!

"String Lights and Hold On" from BLAKE JONES & THE TRIKE SHOP brings an urgent jingle-jangle dual 12-string guitar and flute arrangement to bear on a more questioning look at Christmas in the 21st century. Blake describes it as a Holiday-themed extension of the band's acclaimed 2018 album Make: "We live in a miraculous world. We live in a broken world. What can one’s reaction to this be, other than: String Lights!..and.. Hold on! Musically it’s a bunch of pop music Legos stuck in succession---not really having the standard verse, chorus, bridge sort of patterns. I like the idea of things bouncing frantically along, yet still being coherent." The melodic strength of the tune soars with the help of returning guitarist Michael Scott, and the bouncing quirk of prime-era XTC will surely come to mind!

Happy Holidays from all of us at BIG STIR RECORDS, and thanks for your support of the Digital Singles Series! One more release before the end of the year, and it's a great one... stay tuned!

It's the seventh consecutive hit in the BIG STIR DIGITAL SINGLES series: “Act Fast” b/w “Golden Gloves” from TRIP WIRE!

“Act Fast” is one of the catalysts for the Digital Singles series. Recorded during sessions for TRIP WIRE's followup to their acclaimed 2017 album Cold Gas Giants, the song was given a low-key release earlier this year. It caught the ears of BSR's Rex and Christina as they were preparing an episode of their BIG STIR RADAR HOUR radio show and struck them immediately as a perfect single, jangly, breezy and beautiful with an undercurrent of melancholy that hit home immediately. But it seemed to get lost in the news cycle and flurry of other releases, and we couldn't help wanting to get it to a few more ears!

The band has donated a brand new track, “Golden Gloves” for the B-side. This is an exclusive “band only” version of the song which will feature a string section when the forthcoming TRIP WIRE album is released in 2019. It's just as lovely in this form, and an essential exclusive for completists.

TRIP WIRE are beloved stalwarts of the San Franciso Bay area pop-rock scene. Always a terrific live act with sharp tunes penned by founders MARTY SCHNEIDER and BILL HUNT (both on guitar and vocals), they have recently evolved into a sort of power pop supergroup with the addition of the mighty STU SHADER on the drums and JEFF SHELTON, celebrated main man of THE WELL WISHERS and THE SPINNING JENNIES, on bass, guitar and vocals. TRIP WIRE now also serves as the live edition of THE WELL WISHERS and the three songwriting voices only enhance the depth of styles on offer, and as a live band they're positively riveting (trust us, we know)!

Both tunes are written by Schneider with “Act Fast” sung by Shelton. Together they suggest a more varied sonic pallet, although the new record is sure to feature the bristling live energy that made Cold Gas Giants such a gripping listen. We can't wait to hear the whole album, but for now we're proud to present a preview of what's coming from TRIP WIRE in the new year!

www.tripwire1.bandcamp.com/album/cold-gas-giants

www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles

BIG STIR RECORDS is proud to announce the latest in our ongoing DIGITAL SINGLES series: “Love Song for an Island” b/w a remix of the song, from mylittlebrother!

WILL HARRIS is simply one of the finest songwriters and performers we know, blending wry, sometimes quite dark humor with and pathos with a true gift for soaring melody that never fails to connect (who else could produce a boisterous toe-tapper with the title “We're All Gonna Die”?). As a band, mylittlebrother can seemingly do anything and everything, from piano-based balladry to heavy psych rock, brassy music hall, lilting folk shuffles and more, all with quirky and inviting aplomb.

The group, based in Cumbria in Northern England, is also a captivating live act, and it was on tour in the UK that Christina and Rex of The Armoires fell in love with the band, well before founding Big Stir Records. Highly respected on their home turf, mylittlebrother are less recognized in the US and we've long hoped to help change that! We've featured them on our Big Stir Traveling International Roadshow compilation and are delighted to be including “Love Song for an Island” in our Digital Singles Series.

Accompanied by a video that's as beautiful and arresting as the tune, “Love Song” pays tribute to mylittlebrother's home region of Cumbria in plaintive and haunting style, with Harris's vocals and electric piano painting a watery portrait of longing. In a first for the Digital Singles Series, the b-side is a remix of the A-side by David Teasdale which amps up the ambiance and adds a pulsing beat to the ballad.

mylittlebrother are Will Harris (keys and vocals), Dan Mason (guitar and vocals), Robin Howson (bass and vocals), Simon Buttress (drums and vocals) and Amy Tweddle (guitar). They're currently finishing up their second full-length LP for release in early 2019. Their earlier work can and should be sought out on their Bandcamp page and news on the forthcoming album is coming shortly!

www.mylittlebrother.bandcamp.com/

www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles

BIG STIR RECORDS, in conjunction with the fine folks at SPYDERPOP RECORDS, is proud to present the fifth in our Digital Singles Series, "Day Glow All Night" b/w "Lost in a Daydream" from LANNIE FLOWERS, available for preorder now and officially released Friday, November 23.

There's a rather amazing story behind these technically-reissued singles. While working on his forthcoming SpyderPop album Home, FLOWERS, famed as a founder of THE PENGWINS and for his own celebrated solo work, has been releasing one single a month as a free download via the label's website.

None of the songs will be appearing on Home. All of them are permanently withdrawn after one month to make way for the next one. Poof, gone forever, too bad if you missed it. And all of them are fantastic.

This has been a big topic of conversation on the pop scene. If these are the "outtakes", how great is the final record going to be? What's gonna happen to these tunes? Perhaps there are plans. Who can say?

It was the sheer awesomeness of this tale that compelled us to ask SpyderPop to loan us just two of the tunes to give them a more permanent home, and spread the word about this rather amazing project. Thankfully they agreed and Lannie personally selected the tracks which make up the single.

The first single, “Day Glow All Night” (originally released on March 2, 2018), is a joyous slice of power pop about a charismatic girl who is always “on” who can’t seem to focus on our smitten narrator. It's now the A-side of BSDS-0005.

The B-side, “Lost In A Daydream,” was originally released April 6, 2018, and evokes a lyrical and aural nod to The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” reminding us of those halcyon days of the sixties and being lost in our daydreams.

The "March to Home" series draws on the considerable studio talents of Scott Trammell on drums and Pat Buchanan on guitars, keyboards and bass (Idle Jets, Hall and Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Alice Cooper, Marshall Crenshaw and many more) and continues to this day – check out the ninth in the series, "Doin' Fine", at the Spyderpop website and stay tuned for more in the BSR Digital Singles Series as well!

www.spyderpop.com

www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles