Songs of Joy

A 13 track indie pop album (41m 29s) — released May 13th 2016 on Gare du Nord Records

Gare Du Nord Records release "Songs of Joy" by Picturebox on 13th May. The follow up to 2015's well-received "The Garden Path" sees Robert Halcrow leading Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge), Alex Williams (Fleeting Things) and longtime collaborator Ben Lockwood through 13 tracks of wonky pop and Canterbury lo-fi.

Recorded alongside bass-playing duties for Pete Astor, Citizen Helene and Papernut Cambridge, these 12 songs and 1 instrumental are the other side of the Canterbury coin first flipped on "The Garden Path" - harking back to the memorably named Wilf's Tropicals pet fish shop, Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury Crusaders Speedway team, as well as music from the past: Garden Song, featuring guests Ash Cooke (Pulco) and Helene Bradley (Citizen Helene), is a cut-up cover of a song by Rod, Matt and Jane (pre-Freddy) from the ITV children's show "Rainbow".

Early Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, Syd era Pink Floyd/solo Barrett, The Beatles and Blur again inform this collection. In the words of P. Astor, "Up the English gents!".

“Blinking lovely. It's like Pulp having some argy bargy with The Bees at an indie pop disco.” - Johnno Casson The Garden Path Album Review

“Pure pop music without pretence.....a refreshing example of the current state of DIY production and values.” - Louder Than War Home Taping album Review

“Halcrow and his crew in Picturebox have crafted something special here. Catchy and direct, these tunes are worth treasuring.” - Glenn Griffith A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed

“a darn clever track, managing to pack a lot of fun into its short three minutes.” - Neon Filler Graffiti EP Review

“Another fine effort from the Gare du Nord outcasts, whose humble ranks swell with perfectly crafted pop from the sticks.” - Monolith Cocktail Graffiti EP Review

That's a jolly number! - Tom Ravenscroft Fancyman BBC 6 Airplay

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