If you can remember, last week we promised you a special and different Trawl for today. After ignoring the barrage of emails we had off thousands of screaming teenage girls wanting to know what we had in store, we can now reveal it to you. A drum role please…

Or not. Instead of looking at a single band this week, we're going to focus on one of the UK’s leading independent labels. And that means Tired And Lonesome Records. So this means instead of just looking at one artist or band as we typically do, you’ll be getting more for your money. Well, that’s if we charged you for looking. Which we should, frankly.

Everyone’s more than aware of all the bigwig record labels like EMI and V2 records constantly pumping out the same drivel which we all know is shit. Now and then something decent may come along but we’ve found that if you want to discover diverse, experimental and generally good stuff, then small independent labels are the way forward.

Before the rise of the internet it was extremely difficult for a small record label to get music out to people. Releases were often put on small runs of 500 copies on CD and vinyl due to a lack of funds to finance things. Often, many releases struggled to break even and make a profit, meaning a label's next record could take ages to come out. With the popularity of MySpace, though, there has been a sudden surge in small labels being able to get their artists' records heard. People can now easily get to hear songs through artists' websites, and with stores like iTunes selling millions of different types of songs, it’s easier for people to buy what they want. It also saves people the hassle of searching through millions of records on a Saturday afternoon in order to find a copy of a limited edition 7” single which was only one of 100 made. Still, it beats shopping with the girlfriend.

With a pleasantly hecklerspray-style attitude, the creators of Tired And Lonesome bluntly explain why they created the label:

“The label was started because we were generally bored and fucked off with how crap most bands are. That’s about it really. We just like to put out stuff made by people with a bit of imagination and a bit of mischievous spirit, not four cherubic looking lads from London making jangly indie music, looking for fame and money and girls. Leave that to us.”

We couldn’t agree more. The current crop of young cockney boys donned in skinny jeans sometimes makes us cry at night. Glad we’re not alone. But what exactly do Tired And Lonesome have to offer? When they say they offer music with some imagination and spirit, they aren’t wrong. Artists on the label include The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Robochrist, Polysics and someone we’ve already met on a previous trawl, Kid Carpet.

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are literally what the name suggests. A mum, dad and 12-year-old daughter perform weird but pleasant-sounding folk with lyrics made up from a random selection of old slides. Different to say the least. Robochrist makes music that pushes the boundaries of copyright and creativity. There’s a track on the Tired And Lonesome MySpace page for listening, but if you click onto his own page you’ll be able to hear the results of Queen mixed together with The Prodigy. It strangely works and will probably piss off more Queen fans then anything. We see it working easily down the local disco. Polysics make the kind of music that would confuse and scare anyone who didn’t leave the circle of safe Top 40 chart music. With vocals that don’t really make any sense and are hard to understand, happy keyboard melodies float over the fast and sometimes crazed drum beats. Imagine a fairy tale going wrong. This is the sort of music that would be dropped into the background. They are from Japan for God’s sake, so that explains some of the craziness.

With so many different sounds on the label, there is something for everyone. Well, that is if you like your music different. We know you want to hear more.

Read more:

Tired And Lonesome MySpace Page