sarah-records

Sarah Records is now on Bandcamp

UK indie label Sarah Records was founded in 1987 by Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes in Bristol, England and, over the course of eight years, was home to all manner of hushed, jangling, shy pop, and some noisy music too, mostly released on 7″ singles. For some, Sarah was as much a secret club as a label where fans would buy anything the label released. (For others, Sarah was derided as the epitome of shambolic, pointlessly twee, cardigan-wearing indiepop.) Their roster included such groups as Heavenly, The Field Mice, Boyracer, The Orchids, The Sea Urchins Another Sunny Day, and Sarah has proved influential — Sweden’s Labrador Records probably wouldn’t exist without it, and bands like Belle and Sebastian, The Pains at Being Pure at Heart and others owe a lot to the label’s sound.

If you’re unfamiliar with Sarah, there’s the 2015 documentary My Secret World, and the label is now excitingly on Bandcamp, with releases by The Field Mice, Boyracer, Heavenly, Blueboy, many of their singles compilations, and more now available for streaming and download. You can listen to some of those below.

In related news, Emotional Response records recently reissued a few Sarah Records releases on vinyl: Action Painting!‘s Trial Cuts, Boyracer‘s Fling Yr Bonnet Over The Windmill, Even as We Speak‘s Feral Pop Frenzy, and compilation of new/unreleased songs from those three bands as well as Secret Shine. You can stream those below as well.