A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness Rocketship

Rocketship are one those rare groups who don’t release a lot of records, but when they do, they really count. Back when Slumberland first released A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness in January 1996, the LP had a rippling impact on the international indiepop scene, and even today yr bound to hear their influence on new kids on the block The Cords, The Umbrellas, Chime School, etcetera.

Their Hey, Hey Girl single on Bus Stop was a complete killer, and everybody was dying to see what would come next. The two tracks on Slumberland’s Why Popstars Can’t Dance compilation (which is definitely worth scoping out if you haven’t heard it before) further upped the stakes – could their album possibly be as good as we would hope?

The answer was an emphatic “YES!”. Dustin, Heidi, Verna and Jim outdid themselves on this gorgeous record, blending their patented swoon-some pop confections with spacey interludes and a judicious use of repetition. Every track is perfectly honed gem, sparkling in its completeness. From the breathless rush of I Love You Like The Way I Used To Do to the sublime Kisses Are Always Promises to the ineffably sad Friendships and Love, this amazing record continues to prove its indie pop holy grail status with its melodic invention. Effortless mastery of the pop idiom.

No pop fan should miss this one (but you knew that already) and no collection is complete without it, so we’re very happy to bring you this 30th anniversary reissue edition on gorgeous metallic copper vinyl LP. With gratitude to our friends at Slumberland as always.