Kevin Bronson on November 25th, 2014

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The DIY beauty of the Sarah Records sound lives on, almost two decades after the now-legendary label blew its last indie-pop kiss to the world. Sometimes it’s even Sarah Records alumni themselves keeping the flame burning. The Legendary House Cats is the solo project of John Girgus of Aberdeen, the SoCal-bred indie-poppers who had two releases on Sarah and a handful of others since. Some of Girgus’ former mates teamed up to release an album as the Luxembourg Signal in October, and now the singer-guitarist, who has also played with Languis, the Spider Problem and Non Ultra Joy, has released the EP “First Light.” The title track is a version of the song he co-wrote on the Luxembourg Signal’s album, and it joins four Girgus originals culled from four-track and memo recordings and mixed and mastered by Ulysses Noriega. The shadow of the past hangs over the melancholic “This Time,” a fuzzy, shimmering gem on which Girgus sings: “This time I’m moving on / Always on my own / The past that you flee, continually / Is the only home I’ve known.” “First Light” is out via iTunes and Bandcamp.

||| Stream: “This Time” and “First Light”

[Note: John Girgus has been a contributor to this blog, most recently with his interview with Lost Girls.]