American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records is an independent record label founded in 2004 by Joe Spadaro.[1] The label also manages the Caulfield Sisters[2] and Tele Novella.[3]

American Laundromat Records
Founded2004 (2004)
FounderJoseph H. Spadaro
Distributor(s)Darla Records
GenreIndie rock
Country of originU.S.
LocationMystic, Connecticut
Official websitewww.alr-music.com

ALR specializes in almost annual indie rock compilation albums, which have included tracks by OK Go, The Dresden Dolls, and The Watson Twins. Compilation tributes have been dedicated to the Pixies, The Cure, Kim Deal, Neil Young, The Smiths, and the 1984 film Repo Man.[4] The release of a double-CD tribute album to Wes Anderson, I Saved Latin!, was released in May 2014 and includes covers of David Bowie and The Kinks.[5]

History

Founding

American Laundromat Records was founded in April 2004 by Joe Spadaro[1] in Huntington Village, New York on Long Island.[6] According to Spadaro, he used a small tax-refund to produce the compilation album Transistor,[7] which featured eight indie bands contributing two original songs each. The bands, including The Atomic Hep Cats and AM, were mostly on the East coast.[1] Transistor had moderate success on college radio.[7]

After several more releases, in the summer of 2006 the label relocated to Mystic, Connecticut. That year the label secured international distribution through Darla Records. Besides releasing debut EPs, LPs, and compilations, in 2007 ALR began a 7" vinyl series of split singles featuring tracks from the label's network of indie bands.[6]

Label signings

In 2005, the label began distributing Brooklyn-based all-girl indie band the Caulfield Sisters' debut EP Say It With Fire.[4] The band was afterwards named one of “NYC’s 10 Bands to Watch” by Time Out New York. The band was invited to perform on KEXP's Morning Show with John in NYC, and opened for Interpol.[6] In 2009 ALR released Julie Peel's debut album Near The Sun.[4] After the release Peel received an early invitation to showcase at SXSW in 2010, and tracks were placed in TV shows such as CW's Life Unexpected. The label also releases music by Dylan in the Movies.[6]

In late 2013 the label signed a new band: Tele Novella, an indie group based in Austin, Texas.[8] The pop foursome has members from a number of previous bands:[9] guitarist/vocalist Natalie Ribbons, bassist Jason Chronis, drummer Matt Simon, and Sarah La Puerta.[3] Ribbons was previously with Agent Ribbons, while Chronis and Simon were previously with indie band Voxtrot.[3] They have a 7" single, "Trouble in Paradise," that came out on April 22, 2014.[8]

Whatever, My Love is an album by The Juliana Hatfield Three, consisting of Hatfield, drummer Todd Philips, and bassist Dean Fisher. This is the band's first album in twenty two years.[10] The lead single, "If I Could," was released in December 2014 and was premiered in Rolling Stone.

Film

In 2013 American Laundromat Records added a movie section to their website, and began taking orders for the Criterion Collection release of Repo Man on Blu-ray and DVD.[6]

Compilations
High School Reunion - a tribute to those great 80's films!

After the success of the initial 2004 compilation, Transistor, the label began releasing indie rock-themed compilations and artist tributes on an almost yearly basis. In the fall of 2005 ALR produced its second record High School Reunion - a tribute to those great 80's films!, featuring indie-rockers such as Frank Black, Kristin Hersh, and The Dresden Dolls, and covering songs from 80's teen films.[4] All Music Guide called the project "One of the finest tribute records ever amassed," going on to say "let this serve as a blueprint for all future tribute sets."[11] Pitchfork,[12] Rolling Stone, VH1, Billboard, Spin, NME, and other publications covered the project as well.[6]

Artist tributes (Pixies, Neil Young, Kim, The Cure)

Afterwards came Dig For Fire - a tribute to Pixies, Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity[1] and Gigantic - a tribute to Kim Deal. The projects included contributions by bands such as They Might Be Giants, OK Go, Mogwai, and The Rosebuds.[4] In 2008 ALR began production on Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure[6] which was officially released on January 27, 2009. The latter was co-produced by Joe Spadaro, who produced a number of the other compilations as well. It featured covers by artists such as Tanya Donelly, The Brunettes, and Grand Duchy.[4] The album had a positive reception,[13] and acknowledgement from Robert Smith.[6]

Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies

In 2010 ALR released Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies, a collection of lullabies and popular songs re-imagined as lullabies by indie artists.[4] All proceeds from the project are donated to The Valerie Fund, a non-profit for children with cancer and blood disorders.[6] Among the artists who contributed are Dean & Britta, Say Hi, and Sigur Rós.[4] Release shows with live performances by The Leisure Society, The Real Tuesday Weld, Tanya Donelly, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Julie Peel were held in tandem with the release in London and New York City.[6]

The Smiths, Repo Man

Please Please Please: A Tribute To The Smiths was released in late 2011,[14] with tracks by Elk City, Greg Laswell, Cinerama, Stars, and others, with Spadaro again producing. A Tribute To Repo Man was released in 2012, featuring artists such as The Tellers and Matthew Sweet. The 1984 film had a soundtrack featuring punk rock by artists like Iggy Pop and Black Flag.[4]

I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson

In May 2014 American Laundromat Records released I Saved Latin!, a double-CD tribute compilation to film director Wes Anderson.[5] In November 2013 ALR had opened up their website for pre-orders, selling a "deluxe" edition that includes a vinyl single and various clothing and objects themed to Anderson's films and characters.[15] Among the covered artists are The Kinks, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and The Zombies.[16] Juliana Hatfield covers Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay," which was used in The Royal Tennenbaums, while Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin covers "Margaret Yang's Theme" from Rushmore, which was originally made for the film by Mark Mothersbaugh.[16] Other covers include Matt Pond's version of Nico's "These Days," and John Lennon's "Oh Yoko!" by The Ghost in You.[15]

The album was received positively by critics, with NME calling it "cohesive and pleasingly idiosyncratic,"[17] and Delusions of Adequacy stating that "most of [the songs] embrace a shared autumnal aesthetic, which closely adheres to Anderson’s whimsical vision."[18]

Artists
Current roster
Featured on compilations[2]

Discography

This list is organized by catalog number, a roughly chronological number system established by the label and typically printed on or assigned to each official release.

Cat. No. Title Artist Year Notes
ALR-0001TransistorVarious (The Atomic Hep Cats, The Lovable Rogues, The Modifiers, AM, and The Bennies)2004
ALR-0010High School Reunion
A Tribute to Those Great 80's Films!		Various ( John P. Strohm, Matthew Sweet, The Dresden Dolls, Caulfield Sisters, etc.)2005
ALR-0002Say It With FireCaulfield Sisters2005
ALR-0006"Divine Candy"Caulfield Sisters / Julie Peel2006
ALR-0007"So Long City Skies"John P. Strohm / Dylan in the Movies2007
ALR-0008"Heart of Gold"Tanya Donelly / Luff2007
ALR-0011Dig for Fire – A Tribute to PixiesVarious (John P. Strohm, OK Go, Dylan in the Movies, They Might Be Giants, Mogwai, Morning Theft, The Rosebuds, Joy Zipper, etc.)20073 editions - Limited Edition 1st Pressing (21 songs), Bonus 3-Song Vinyl, LP (15 songs)
ALR-0012Cinnamon Girl
Women Artists Cover Neil Young For Charity		Various (Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna, Veruca Salt, Dala, etc.)2008
ALR-0013Gigantic - a Tribute to Kim DealVarious (Rizzo, Francine, Witch Hats, Descartes A Kant, etc.)2008
ALR-0015Songs for Film & TVVarious (Veruca Salt, Dresden Dolls, They Might Be Giants, John P. Strohm, etc.)2008
ALR-0016"Everybody Hurts" / "Imagine"Elk City / Steve Rizzo2008
ALR-0018Just Like Heaven - A Tribute to The CureVarious (Joy Zipper, Dean and Britta, Elk City, The Rosebuds, etc.)2009
ALR-0019Near the SunJulie Peel2009
ALR-0022"Josephine If You Only Knew"Dylan in the Movies2010
ALR-0023Sing Me to Sleep – Indie LullabiesVarious (The Leisure Society, Casey Mcija, The Coctails, Say Hi, etc.)2010Three editions - limited 1st pressing (21 songs), bonus 3-song vinyl, LP (14 songs)
ALR-0024"Girl with the Black Tights"Dylan in the Movies2010Feat. Tanya Donelly
ALR-0025"Two Songs from Mohawk"Caulfield Sisters2011
ALR-0027Please Please Please: A Tribute To The SmithsVarious (Elk City, Greg Laswell, Cinerama, Stars, etc.)2011
ALR-0028A Tribute to Repo Man Various (The Tellers, Matthew Sweet, etc.)2012
ALR-0032I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes AndersonVarious2014
ALR-0035Whatever, My LoveThe Juliana Hatfield Three2015
ALR-0035Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-JohnJuliana Hatfield2018
ALR-0046WeirdJuliana Hatfield2019
"—" denotes unassigned catalog numbers. Sources: ALR-Music/aboutus
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gollark: SPUDNET stands for Super PotatOS Update/Debug NETwork, but it fell victim to scope creep.

References
  1. Corinne (February 7, 2007). "Label Spotlight: American Laundromat Records". PlugInMusic.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  2. "Bands". ALR-Music.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  3. "Current Roster: Tele Novella". ALR. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  4. "American Laundromat Records". Discogs. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  5. Minsker, Evan (November 19, 2013). "Wes Anderson Tribute Album to Feature Black Francis, Mike Watt, Kristin Hersh, More". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  6. Spadaro, Joe. "About ALR". ALR-Music.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  7. Boudreau, Mark (December 9, 2008). "The Rock and Roll Report Record Label Feature is on American Laundromat Records". Rock and Roll Report. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  8. "Tele Novella". ALR. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  9. Orr, Dacey (March 7, 2014). "Song Premiere: Tele Novella - "Trouble in Paradise"". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  10. Beauchemin, Molly (December 11, 2014). "Juliana Hatfield Three Reunite, Announce Sophomore Album Whatever, My Love". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  11. Luerssen, John D. "High School Reunion: A Tribute to Those Great 80's Films!". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  12. Moerder, Adam (January 4, 2006). "High School Reunion: A Tribute to Those Great 80s Films". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  13. Anderson, Rick. "Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to the Cure". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  14. Harr, Dan (November 2, 2011). "New Smiths Tribute drops December 13th from American Laundromat Records". Nashville Music News. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  15. Yotka, Steff (November 20, 2013). "play it again, wes". Nylon Magazine. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  16. Adams, Gregory (November 20, 2013). "Wes Anderson Tribute Gets Black Francis, Juliana Hatfield, Mike Watt, Kristin Hersh". Exclaim. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  17. Wright, Lisa (May 9, 2014). "Various Artists - 'I Saved Latin! - A Tribute To Wes Anderson'". NME. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
  18. Pannett, Adrian (May 13, 2014). "Various Artists – I Saved Latin! A Tribute To Wes Anderson". DOA (Delusions of Adequacy) [UK]. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
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