trembling blue stars
ltm catalog

Trembling Blue Stars were formed in 1995 by former Field Mice and Northern Picture Library songwriter Bobby Wratten, and also feature Beth Arzy (also of Aberdeen). To date the group have released five albums: Her Handwriting (1996), Lips That Taste of Tears (1998), Broken By Whispers (2000), Alive To Every Smile (2001) and The Seven Autumn Flowers (2004). Bobby and Beth are also members of The Occasional Keepers. To read full band biography click here. To purchase CDs click here.


HER HANDWRITING (LTMCD 2460) £10
On this debut album, originally issued in 1996, Bobby Wratten writes and performs almost all the material, assisted by co-producer Ian Catt of St Etienne. This remastered CD features both album and single versions of Abba on the Jukebox, the song placed at 19 in John Peel's Festive 50 for 1996, plus the b-side She's Always There as well as a previously unreleased demo version of Less Than Love. New artwork and liner notes by Michael Hill, 17 tracks, 74 minutes of music. Full tracklist: A Single Kiss, For This One, What Can I Say to Change Your Heart?, Abba on the Jukebox, The Far Too Simple Beauty, Less That Love, Less Than Love (Reprise), Do People Ever?, Last Summertime's Obsession, A London Story, Saffron Beautiful & Brown Eyed, Nobody But You, Two Octobers, To Keep Your Heart Whole, Abba on the Jukebox (7" version), She's Always There (b side), Less Than Love (early version).

Reviews: "Blue of hue, Her Handwriting marries Saint Etienne producer Ian Catt's soft electronics to Wratten's re-runs of rainy day romance. The closest he's come to rekindling the swooning hopelessness of his cherished former band, the Field Mice" (Uncut, 06/06); "One long litany of beauty and despair - simply magical" (Melody Maker, 6/96); "Really rather lovely - lush windswept pop that practically demands the use of the word gossamer" (NME, 5/96); "An album of breathtaking brilliance. If you need a modern reference point, think of the sun-kissed dreaminess of Electronic's Get the Message for the calm shock of A Single Kiss, and the rose-tinted perfection of Abba on the Jukebox. This is heaven in a teardrop" (Melody Maker, 6/96); "A classic break-up album, but ultimately a life-affirming affair" (Plan B, 2-3/05); "Delicate, trembling, wistful and quite, quite lovely" (Melody Maker, 5/96); "A record with which to grow old and sad gracefully" (Vox, 8/96); "Always ahead of his time, Wratten brought together indie pop and electronic music before it was cool to do so, and it's hard to argue with the lush, trippy beats of Abba on the Jukebox" (Exclaim!, 5/06)


LIPS THAT TASTE OF TEARS (LTMCD 2462) £10
The second TBS album, originally released on the Shinkansen label in 1998. This digitally remastered and expanded edition also includes satellite single The Rainbow, plus b-side track Though I Still Want to Fall Into Your Arms, as well as revised artwork and liner notes by Michael Hill. 15 tracks, 74 minutes of music. Full tracklist: All I Never Said, Headlights, Never Loved You More, The Rainbow, Made For Each Other, Letter Never Sent, I'm Tired I've Tried, You've Done Nothing Wrong Really, Old Photographs, Never Loved You More 2, Deserve, Cecilia in Black and White, Tailspin, Farewell to Forever, Though I Still Want to Fall Into Your Arms.

Reviews: "Almost a Field Mice reunion, with singer Annemari Davies and bassist Michael Hiscock fleetingly onboard. It's Wratten's most adventurous record, sighing with layered synths and his peculiar Byrdsian swagger. Four stars" (Uncut, 06/06);"Beauty crumbling in slow motion. Bobby Wratten is a quietmaster of romantic repression" (Melody Maker, 2/98); "The Rainbow sneaks a fiercely blistering love letter into some sweetly unsuspecting slinky grooves" (NME, 11/97); "This is the record that finally drags softy rock out of its bedroom, touches its safety blanket and kicks it into the big world of rock, with the challenge to make something epic of itself. Proper rock tunes, great swathes of spooky Glasto-electro breakbeats and, on Made For Each Other, a chest-bursting electro chorus" (NME, 2/98); "Not quite as downbeat as its predecessor, but there are still some devastatingly sad moments where Wratten doesn't so much wear his heart on his sleeve as his soul. With Her Handwriting, these are probably the two finest moments in the TBS canon" (Exclaim!, 5/06)

Go to Trembling Blue Stars biography
Go to The Field Mice catalog
Go to Northern Picture Library catalog
Go to The Occasional Keepers catalog

Go to shopping/mailorder

Return to LTM homepage