THE BUS STOP LABEL was originally around in the 80s and released The Springfields (pre Velvet Crush) first 7" in America at the same time as Sarah released it over here. The label continued into the 90s, then took a break, and has now returned. It is a recommended label for those who are after a variety of indiepop with more maturity and sophistication than the norm. The band members have, more often than not, had a long history in music and it shows.

I have a number of CDEPs on the label which are packaged like old school indiepop 7"s, with a wraparound sleeve and plastic bag. First up is Whenever We're Together by Allen Clapp. The title track is classy sunshine pop meets melancholic laid-back pop, with Rhodes piano and strings. Sad September is along similar lines - has hints of mainstream 70s pop (Allen Clapp is an Elton John fan so that would explain that) but it comes across in a way that's palatable for indiepop fans. Night Falls is a rather more low-key affair and for that reason is my favourite track here. This is definitely indiepop - no sophisticated string arrangements or 70s influences on display here, just a relatively stripped down song, with drum machine that gives it rather a homemade feel.

Greg Murray has had singles out on most of the current indiepop labels, Bus Stop being no exception. I have here his Edge EP (I think there's another one out too but I don't have this). Greg makes homemade melancholic pop, sometimes with a 60s touch, sometimes more reminiscent of 80s indiepop bands such as Brighter. Daggers is a beautiful song which proves not all tracks with vocal harmonies are happy sunshiney stuff. Slowmo is a bit different from Greg's usual sound, off-centre pop with a dash of American folk, has some unusual and effective use of harmonica. Greg Murray is a talented songwriter and it's great to see that so many labels have taken an interest in his music.

John Moremen has been involved in music for the last 20 years, playing in several bands, the most familiar being Half Japanese. His most recent band is The Orange Peels, but he also records solo material and has an EP out on Bus Stop, simply called EP. Never Told You This is 60s tinged janglepop, reminds me of Velvet Crush. The guitar playing in From The Outside is reminiscent of that of The Monochrome Set. Time For Everyone is a predominantly acoustic song but has more of a full band sound than you might expect. Cemetery Row begins with some melancholic piano courtesy of Alison Faith Levy of The Loud Family, then it completely changes style, becoming 70s-ish powerpop with an added country twang.

Bronze have an interesting history. Long term indiepop fans will recognise their singer/songwriter Paul Handyside from 80s band Hurrah! (who were not technically indie being on Arista, but played indie-ish music). Their bassist Rob Tickell couldn't have been from a more different musical background - I'm familiar with his former band Stan, who were around in the 90s but played the sort of rock that was mainstream in the 80s. I would never have expected him to join an indie band with records out on Bus Stop! Bronze have an EP, Let It Rain, and an album The Statue In The Stone. Starting with the single, Let It Rain is powerful, melodic pop that sounds totally at home on Bus Stop and is recommended for fans of Velvet Crush or Teenage Fanclub. The Statue In The Stone has more of a punky influence and is along the lines of 70s powerpop bands. We Stand Alone is more laid-back and the song itself wouldn't have sounded out of place performed by Stan, but instead of 80s style soft rock instrumentation, they opt for a slightly country tinged, 60s-ish sort of thing.

Then there's the album The Statue In The Stone, which features the title track and Let It Rain, plus 10 other songs. There is a song called Presence of Greatness - the title suggests a Velvet Crush influence, and the music itself is suitably jangly/powerpoppy, but it has an additional 80s rock touch. The jangly powerpop sound continues throughout the album, sometimes with an added rock influence, sometimes not. Listening to this band, it isn't all that surprising now that Rob Tickell is involved; whilst they are essentially a Rickenbacker-fuelled powerpop band, there is a detectable 80s rock influence here as well. Pilot To Your Plane is one of my favourite tracks here - upbeat powerpop with a strong tune, which ends in an instrumental psych-out. Other stand-out tracks include the 70s-ish Motel of Love, and Feel It Now which is 80s-ish indierock/powerpop.

The bizarrely named The Girl With The Replaceable Head is a one-woman band described as 'an English rose with an American dream'. Her debut EP Ride My Star is out on Bus Stop. The title track is understated, drumless, melancholic pop. Bobby's On Fire starts with some echoey atmospheric guitar, then adds vocals and strummy guitar. Sun Will Let You Down features the 'Spag Western/surf guitar' mentioned in the press release but despite this, the music is neither country or surf but a sophisticated brand of melancholic pop which features a very melodically strong 'sha-la-la' section.

Following the split of The Wind, Lane Steinberg formed the solo project Wall Of Orchids. All instruments were played by himself and recorded in a 24 track studio to create a sound with depth. Two tracks were released as a 7" which now changes hands for silly money amongst collectors, and these two songs have now been made available again on a 5 song EP, Great Blue. This EP also includes a track from the same sessions as the original single, and a couple of other unreleased tracks from the mid 90s. Great Blue is the kind of stuff I tend to mainly associate with Bus Stop - powerful and ultra-melodic with vocal harmonies and in much the same vein as bands like Teenage Fanclub or Velvet Crush. If Not Now, When? sounds like it's probably influenced by The Beach Boys. No One Is Looking At The Rain is strong melodic pop, reminds me a bit of the Lilys in places, and at other times has more of an old-style soul touch. Come Back To Me is smooth melodic pop with orchestrated bits. Life Must Go On has so many vocal harmonies it gives the feel of the backing vocals being done by a choir!

These days Lane Steinberg is in Tan Sleeve along with Steve Barry, also from The Wind. They have a 4 song EP, Fall Love. The first two tracks are piano based and are much more of a soft-pop/easy listening thing than Lane's previous band. This sound is a bit too middle of the road for me to be really comfortable with it. It Doesn't Snow In New York Anymore also introduces guitar and percussion and is best defined as alt-country. I like this track a lot more than the first two. Final track Take A Piece While It Lasts is harmony pop with piano, guitars, bass and percussion - again on the soft-pop side but its more full arrangement takes it out of excessively middle of the road territory.

More to my taste, and more expected of Bus Stop, are The Beatifics, whose The Way We Never Were album is out on Bus Stop. This is really brilliant powerpop, highly recommended for fans of Teenage Fanclub, Cosmic Rough Riders or assorted bands on Rainbow Quartz. They also have a more laid-back side; a couple of tracks here are melancholic pop with strings and vintage keyboards. This is a really strong, melodic album - superb stuff.

I was very interested to hear that Bus Stop have a couple of releases planned by Hellfire Sermons, the excellent 80s/early 90s band with previous releases on Esurient and Dishy. These I am very keen to hear! For more info contact info@busstoplabel.com

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