MASCOTT - Dreamer's Book  CD (Red Panda: rpr001: 708527130124)  $12.00

EXCLUSIVE.  Kendall Jane Meade is Mascott. She is a New York artist with an inimitable sound steeped in 60s folk and 70s pop. Her new album, Dreamer¹s Book, is packed with melody, harmony, intensity and good, old-fashioned pop songs. The album took almost two years to complete, as Meade took nearly a year off Mascott to tour the world playing keyboards and bass with Sparklehorse. Dreamer's Book is a lush, pop masterpiece, sure to pull on your heartstrings with it's passion and sincerity. Mascott has released two acclaimed albums on Le Grand Magistery. Her first full length, Follow the Sound, was produced by rock luminary Jim O'Rourke and hailed as one of the best albums of 2001 by the Village Voice. Red Panda is Meade's own label. Dreamer's Book, produced by Sparklehorse bandmate Al Weatherhead (Mary Timony) features cameos by Parice Scott Minor (Sparklehorse), Mary Timony (Helium), Joan Wasser (Joanaspolicewoman, Dambuilders), Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and Thom Monahan (Pernice Brothers). "Ms. Meade has a natural reserve that makes her talent at creating seductive pop all the more intriguing." -- ­The New York Times. "Honey-voiced Mascott singer Kendall Meade." -- Rolling Stone. "It'd been too long since Follow the Sound, Mascott's debut, enchanted the music critics of the world with it's opiate prettiness" -- Philadelphia Weekly. Influenced by: Wings, The Band, Fairport Convention, Elton John, Bread, Linda Ronstadt, Karin Dalton, Richard and Mimi Farina.

NAYSAYER, THE - Kitten Time  CD (Red Panda: rpr002: 708527130223)  $12.00

EXCLUSIVE.  "...one of the fresher indie-pop personae of recent years..." -CMJ In four short years, Anna Padgett, aka the Naysayer, has released two critically acclaimed full length albums and one hard-to-miss e.p., marking her as a prolific and ever-evolving songwriter. For Deathwhisker (2000) and Heaven, Hell or Houston (2002), Padgett joined forces with Cynthia Nelson (Retsin, Ruby Falls) and Tara Jane O'Neil (King Cobra, Retsin, Rodan) to create two albums that deftly showcased her unique lyrical style. Rollicking pop songs combined with minimalist ballads to tell Padgett's stories in a concise, harrowing, and sometimes absurd voice. The Naysayer's most recent e.p, Pure Beauty (2003), was decidedly countrified, with pedal steel, tragic narratives, a Terry Allen cover and a title track dedicated to her boyfriend's manhood. Critics applauded, while fans wondered what the hell Padgett was going to do next. This summer, Red Panda Records is proud to release The Naysayer's most heartbreaking narrative and evocative album to date: Kitten Time. Kitten Time is hauntingly spare, like a Leonard Cohen album sprinkled with Syd Barrett fairy dust. It is also expressive and forceful, with bright bursts of psychedelic grandeur. As always Padgett's songs are lyric-driven, and showcase a startlingly straightforward and vivid descriptive style. There are ships to jump from, fires to put out, good people, weird people and personified shrimp. There are phones that ring and ring, a champagne Jesus to pray to and a reinvented Christmas carol. You'll visit Amarillo, Bora Bora, Louisiana and suburban New Jersey. You'll follow the Kitten Time kitten through the deepest of Naysayer dumps to emerge at a hard-won, surprisingly happy ending. Recorded in NYC by James Baluyut (+/-, Versus), Kitten Time features guest appearances by Padgett's revolving group of collaborators: Karla Schickele (Ida, k.), Geoff Soule (Fuck) Miggy Littleton (White Magic, Blood on the Wall, ex-Ida), Elizabeth Venable, Kendall Meade (Mascott, Sparklehorse) and Rainy Orteca (Mascott, Jonaspolicewoman). It's Kitten Time!

JENNIFER O'CONNOR - The Color and the Light  CD (Red Panda: rpr003: 708527130322)  $12.00

EXCLUSIVE.  Sometimes a talent comes along that stops you in your tracks. It's a voice that's aching and real. It's a song that's as uncompromising as it is unsentimental. It's a record that moves your feet and tugs at your heart. It's the sound of Jennifer O'Connor singing songs from her album, The Color and the Light. After making a name in the Atlanta music scene with her former band Violet, O'Connor moved to New York and promptly announced her arrival with her self produced EP - Truth Love Work - a sparse, affecting solo project that earned her comparisons to fellow Brooklyn transplant Elliott Smith. Following on its heels, was O'Connor's self-titled full-length record, earning raves for its stunning attention to narrative and emotional detail. The strength of that record led to gigs in France, England, and across the USA. Jennifer's new album, The Color and the Light, was produced by Al Weatherhead (Mary Timony, Mascott) at the Sound of Music in August of 2004 and features additional instrumentation courtesy of Richmond, Virginia band Maki. The strength of O'Connor's songwriting and guitarwork, coupled with Maki's contributions expands greatly on the sparser sounds of her previous releases. Listen once and find immediate links to such artists as Mazzy Star and Liz Phair. Listen again and the surface similarities fade away: Jennifer O'Connor sounds like no one who's come before, proving she's a musician as dynamic and essential as the color and the light. "Singer-songstress O'Connor's mature melancholic songs flow nice and slow like a lazy stroll through a rainy day with a fine selection of Elliott Smith and Liz Phair on your walkmen." – Village Voice "O'Connor is only interested in making music that she herself likes and respects, and it shows." – London Times "O'Connor's work communicates the belief in the perfect song; the song that reminds you or makes you look forward to, the song with that line that cuts right through to you, the song with the melody that you can't resist." – Pop Matters Reviews: Erasing Clouds

NAYSAYER, THE - Smoke Reality  CD (Red Panda: RPR004: 708527130421)  $12.00

EXCLUSIVE.  The Naysayer’s new record Smoke Reality was designed to mess up your mind. Anna Padgett is the Naysayer: a Texan/Louisianian Brooklyn transplant whose lyrics may shock you, confuse you, make you laugh out loud, turn red, or feel like puking. Despite the ganja vibe evoked by the title, you don’t have to be on drugs to enjoy Smoke Reality. Anna’s straight thoughts are way more psychedelic than your stoned ones. However, this is not to say that her songs don’t sometimes stray towards the gay. If it’s not working with a boy, she gets a girl: “Leave no stone unturned.” And when Anna sings, “Why don’t we do it on a leaf?” you might find yourself thinking, “That is so much sexier than doing it in the road.” However, not every song is about the pansexual paradigm. All the human emotions get dressed up in Anna’s poetic love: “Lose Yourself in Nature and Find Peace” is a city dweller’s vision of spiritual nirvana; “Parents” is a politically-charged cautionary tale addressed to anyone who has ever had them. “I’m a Shark” is straight-up, “Don’t Mess with Texas”-style punk; the title track conjures up visions of Judee Sill jamming with the Sea and Cake. Expertly recorded by Tara Jane O’Neil in the Oregon woods, with amazing drumming by Geoff Soule (Fuck) and additional instrumentation provided by Tara Jane and Elizabeth Venable, Smoke Reality challenges the unwritten rule of current music writing: classify, categorize, stick everything in a bag. In keeping with her previous four releases, the Naysayer continues to say no to facile codification. This is bagless music, people!Repeated listens of Smoke Reality reward the listener with new layers of melodic and lyrical complexity. Some of the best music demands an ounce of participation on the part of the listener. Listen carefully, and this album may speak to you about your own crazy life situation. It might also affect your dreams… Don’t wait until you’re dead to find out what you’ve been missing! Tracklisting: 1. smoke reality 2. parents 3. do it on a leaf 4. I’m a shark 5. hot headed hores 6. miss & hate 7. topanga 8. clean girl 9. insult to your manhood 10. don’t look up at me 11. lose yourself in nature and find peace 12. leave no stone unturned 13. come back 14. love horse 15. fear menu The Naysayer played the 2005 All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in the UK, curated by Slint.• Naysayer collaborators, past and present, include Tara Jane O’Neil, Geoff Soule (Fuck), James Baluyut (+/-), Ruth Keating, Matt Sutton, and Karla Schickele (Ida), Miggy Littleton (Blood on the Wall, White Magic), Kendall Jane Meade (Mascott)... Press from the Naysayer’s last full-length, Kitten Time:“Singer-songwriter Anna Padgett calls herself THE NAYSAYER, but her quietly intense “On Fire” is so good, we can’t help but say, Yes!” – Entertainment Weekly“Sixteen brief, quiet, sardonic meditations that require your full attention.” - The Village Voice (Robert Christgau)“...an album full of as much sadness and despair as it is of hidden chortles and quirky, deadpan storytelling.” –Venus“Those unmoved by Liz Phair’s high-gloss refashioning could do far worse than discover the Naysayer...” –LA Weekly (Franklin Bruno)“Is it possible to be more deadpan than Lou Reed? Anna Padgett, aka the Naysayer, seems perfectly willing to give the reigning king of moodiness a run for his money.” –Exclaim! (Canada) Reviews: Indie Judas

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