The time: 1991-1997
The place: Washington, DC
So many competing forces came together during this time period to make this period the most vital musically (in a rocknroll sense) in DC's history (all apologies to 1981-85). A quick sampling of the bands and artists at work in DC during that time - Fugazi, Jawbox, Tsunami, Velocity Girl, Lois, Bratmobile, Nation of Ulysses, Chisel, Hoover, The Impossible Five, Girls Against Boys, Shudder To Think, Make Up, Unrest, Lucy Brown, Bluetip, The Dismemberment Plan, Slant 6, Smart Went Crazy, Warmers, Frodus, Edsel, Eggs, Air Miami, The Ropers... - one can see the great diversity as well as the profound influence cast upon all things post-punk, alternative and indie.
Following the lead of Dischord and TeenBeat records, other DC-based labels sprung up during this period, most notably DeSoto (created by members of Jawbox), Simple Machines (created by members of Tsunami) and Slumberland (created by members of Velocity Girl and Big Jesus Trash Can). So much has been written about the DC sound - namely the post-punk sound of the late 80's/early 90's Dischord bands (Fugazi, Jawbox, Hoover, Capitol City Dusters, etc) - but a careful examination of the sound coming out of DC at that time demonstrates that a number of bands owed a lot more to the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ride than they did Bad Brains and Minor Threat.
Slumberland Records started operations in 1989 in nearby Silver Spring, MD as a means to release efforts by Brit-Pop/Shoegaze inspired bands like Velocity Girl and Black Tambourine. Like the pop influenced TeenBeat Records, Slumberland looked beyond the Beltway for its roster releasing efforts by Stereolab (UK), Small Factory (RI), The Swirlies (Boston), The Softies (Pacific NW) in addition to locals like The Lilys, Velocity Girl and The Ropers.
Having moved the operation to the left coast, Slumberland has weened its roster significantly now with a predominance of British bands - bringing it back to the source, I guess. 2007 saw releases from London's Sarandon and The Lodger from Leeds - both bands clearly read the label's formula for creating tight brilliant pop songs. Enjoy the new with the old.
Sarandon -
The Linguist (2007) - London, UK
The Lodger -
The Story's Over (2007) - Leeds, UK
The Lodger -
Let Her Go (2007) - Leeds, UK
The Lilys -
February Fourteenth (1991) - Washington, DC
Velocity Girl -
My Forgotten Favorite (1992) - Silver Spring, MD
Small Factory -
Giant Merry Go Round (1992) - Newport, RI
The Ropers -
Waiting (1993) - Washington, DC
The Ropers -
I Don't Mind (1994) - Washington, DC
Boyracer -
Passionflower (1994) - Leeds, UK
The Aislers Set -
California (1998) - San Francisco, CA
The Saturday People -
Slipping Through Your Fingertips (2001) - Washington, DC
and plenty more music to sample at the
Slumberland website.
