happy happy birthday to me records

This Just In: New LPs from HHBTM Records

Andy Fenstermaker
November 28, 2012November 28, 2012

I got a package the other week from HHBTM full of new releases from the Athens, GA-based label. Mike at the label was kind enough to pass along the latest albums he’s releasing. Four records to be exact: new LPs from Eureka California, Orca Team, Sweater Girls, and Tunabunny. I’ve been a fan of HHBTM for ages, dating at least back to 2006, if not further. Anyway, here are some details on each of the records. Read More »This Just In: New LPs from HHBTM Records

Tunabunny: I Miss You (You Miss Me Yes) [Video]

Andy Fenstermaker
November 10, 2010November 7, 2010

They call it transcendental dance pop, which sounds pretty good to me. I’d add in hints of punk and plenty of noise to that description, though. Tunabunny is the latest great thing to come out of Athens, Georgia, a place that needs no introduction when it comes to great independent music. And their new self-titled LP is on Happy Happy Birthday To Me, a label that should also need no introduction. Read More »Tunabunny: I Miss You (You Miss Me Yes) [Video]

Baby Calendar: Gingerbread Dog [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
March 9, 2010May 13, 2023

Gingerbread Dog is the debut release on HHBTM for this Florida trio. Baby Calendar has released before, but it was… Read More »Baby Calendar: Gingerbread Dog [Album Review]

Sourpatch [Feature]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 25, 2010February 24, 2010

Bouncy, 90s-influenced, female-fronted pop band Sourpatch recently released a new album, Crushin’ on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records. It’s your standard HHBTM release, filled with pop music created by bands that have affections toward a similar, 90s era punk-pop (when punk-pop was actually good). Read More »Sourpatch [Feature]

Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 4, 2010February 3, 2010

In the grunge music of the 90s we saw the mass standardization of the head-bang. For you young ones, thatâ€™s when you take your nasty, long, greasy, unwashed hair and whip it from back to front and front to back in rapid motions. The result, obviously, is brain damage. Thatâ€™s what rock-n-roll will do for ya. Pop, on the other hand, takes that motion and reduces it to a quick nod. The good news is that you have more brain cells to kill with vices such as alcohol. The music of Keith John Adams may draw heavily from rock influences, but his music is so filled with pop that the music and your favorite local Stout or Lager will go hand-in-hand like two brand new teenage lovers. Read More »Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]

Hotpants Romance: It’s A Heatwave [Album Review]

Ron Trembath
September 22, 2009September 20, 2009

Hotpants Romance are so perfectly strange they’re almost hard to comprehend. They boast their work as “three girls, three years, three chords”. They really are as simple as that on the surface. Yet, there are so many things from their album It’s A Heatwave that are shiny, bright, and utterly complicated in the most splendid of ways. Laura, Lowri, and Kate seem to enjoy the frame of mind and sound they have developed by the large amount of energy they exude through each track. Read More »Hotpants Romance: It’s A Heatwave [Album Review]

Afternoon Naps: Parade [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
September 21, 2009September 20, 2009

This may come as a surprise: Ohio is a hot spot for up-and-coming indie pop artists. There’s Pomegranates out of Cincinnati and Bears in Cleveland. Rounding out the power trio is Cleveland’s Afternoon Naps. Catchy melodies and memorable vocal hooks can be found throughout their sophomore release, Parades. But there’s much more behind the music of Afternoon Naps that makes them one of the most promising pop bands around. Read More »Afternoon Naps: Parade [Album Review]

Eux Autres: Cold City [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
June 27, 2009

Cold City finds the Larimer siblings that make up Eux Autres maturing as musicians and songwriters. Where Hell Is Eux Autres included many viable tracks, the recordings were stiff. Still, despite the slightly lower production value, many of those older songs remain true favorites; and Cold City packs in several new favorites as well. Read More »Eux Autres: Cold City [Album Review]

Fishboy: Nom [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
June 19, 2009June 18, 2009

In retrospect, Fishboy‘s Albatross should have garnered my #1 album slot for 2007. Seriously: the album remains one of the most-listened-to albums even today. The oft dubbed Twee Rock Opera was a truly brilliant concoction. And, as front-man Eric Michener quietly hints at a follow-up, he releases Nom, a nine-song EP consisting of rejects from the original concept album. Read More »Fishboy: Nom [Album Review]

The Lolligags: Out Of Perversity Join Hands [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
February 4, 2009April 11, 2009

Written by Fense

Okay, something has changed chemically in my brain since the last time I listened to The Lolligags (MySpace). Either that, or this band has altered the way they write songs. To be honest – completely honest, bearing my soul here folks – I didn’t really care for The Lolligags’ EP from last year. There was a catchy song or two, but it failed to hold my interest. Well, that sad fate is no longer. Out of Perversity Join Hands is absolutely brilliant! Read More »The Lolligags: Out Of Perversity Join Hands [Album Review]