Doolittle, the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, was released on April 17, 1989, on 4AD records. The album was an instant critical success and became the band's breakthrough album. Doolittle was especially well received in Europe, where the British music weeklies Melody Maker and Sounds named it their album of the year. Pixies' main songwriter and lead vocalist Black Francis wrote the idiosyncratic lyrics, which allude to surrealist imagery, biblical violence, and descriptions of torture and death.
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.
Efterklang is a Danish art pop, indie rock band from Copenhagen, formed in December 2000. Efterklang emerged in the front half of the 2000s with an enchanting blend of atmospheric pop and lushly arranged orchestral rock elements. The band found an audience, especially in Europe, after releasing their first two albums on England's the Leaf Label; the attention led to a deal with 4AD. The band has recorded five studio albums and are currently signed to City Slang.
The Wolfgang Press are an English post-punk band, originally active from 1983 to 1995. The core of the band during that era was Michael Allen, Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar). They reformed in 2024 with Stephen Gray, brother of Andrew, replacing Cox, to release a new LP titled "A 2nd Shape" on Downwards Records.
Camera Obscura are a Scottish indie pop band from Glasgow. The group formed in 1996, and have released six studio albums to date. Led by primary singer and songwriter Tracyanne Campbell, the band consists of guitarist/vocalist Kenny McKeeve, bassist Gavin Dunbar, and drummer Lee Thomson. Following the death of long-serving keyboardist Carey Lander, the band went on hiatus from 2015 to 2018. After reuniting in 2019 and adding Donna Maciocia as a permanent member, Camera Obscura released their first new album in 11 years, Look to the East, Look to the West, to critical acclaim.
Gang Gang Dance is an American band based in Manhattan, New York City. They are known for their distinctive sound which blends elements of psych-rock, ambient electronics, hip-hop, and Eastern music influences with the vocals of singer Lizzi Bougatsos. They have released several albums to critical praise, including Saint Dymphna (2008) and Eye Contact (2011). They are currently signed to the British label 4AD and previously recorded on labels such as Warp and The Social Registry.
Gala is the debut compilation album by the English alternative rock band Lush, released in 1990 by 4AD as an introduction to the US and Japanese markets, comprising the band's earliest releases in reverse chronological order, plus two additional tracks.
Broken Records are a band from Edinburgh, Scotland, which formed in December 2006. The band are signed to 4AD and released their debut album, Until the Earth Begins to Part, in June 2009. Their second album Let Me Come Home was released in October 2010, and their third Weights and Pulleys in May 2014.
The Soft Pack was an indie rock band from San Diego, United States.
A Brief History of Love is the debut album from British electronic rock duo the Big Pink. The album was released on 14 September 2009 on 4AD. The Big Pink signed with 4AD in February 2009, and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act. The band were also named as "one of the most likely breakout acts of 2009" by the BBC. Prior to the album's release, the band issued three singles: "Too Young to Love"/"Crystal Visions" on the House Anxiety label in October 2008, "Velvet" on 4AD in April 2009, and the non-album track "Stop the World" in June 2009. "Dominos", the album's first proper single and the band's fourth single overall, preceded the album on 7 September.
"Dominos" is the first single from The Big Pink's debut album A Brief History of Love. "Dominos" was released as a digital download and on 7" vinyl on September 7, 2009, a week before the release of the album. The song was co-produced by the band and record producer Paul Epworth, and mixed by Rich Costey. In their native United Kingdom, the song peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #27 and #10 on the Irish Singles Chart in the Republic of Ireland. The single's B-side, "She's No Sense", features vocals from Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.
"Stop the World" is the third single by The Big Pink. "Stop the World" was released as a digital download and on 7" vinyl on 29 June 2009, and is not included on their debut album A Brief History of Love. The song was co-produced by the band and British record producer Paul Epworth, and mixed by Rich Costey. The single also includes an exclusive B-side, titled "Crushed Water."
"Velvet" is the second single by The Big Pink, and their first single with the 4AD label. "Velvet" was released as a digital download and on 7-inch vinyl on April 20, 2009, and was later included on their debut album A Brief History of Love in September 2009. "Velvet" was re-issued as a single on February 15, 2010. The song was self-produced by the band, and mixed by producer Alan Moulder. The 7-inch single features the exclusive B-side "An Introduction to Awareness", while the 12-inch single features a cover version of Otis Redding's 1964 song "These Arms of Mine".
"Too Young to Love" is the debut single by The Big Pink. "Too Young to Love" was released with the double A-side track "Crystal Visions" on 7" vinyl on October 7, 2008, and both tracks were later re-recorded and included on their debut album A Brief History of Love in September 2009. The song was self-produced by the band, and the single was a limited edition pressing of only 500 copies. The sleeve features a homoerotic photograph by Dennis Cooper as its cover. Similarly, a limited edition 12" single for "Too Young to Love," released in Japan only on April 1, 2009, features more of Cooper's photography as its cover. The 12" also features an early version of "Count Backwards from Ten," which was also re-recorded for the debut album, and the exclusive non-album track "With You."
Magic Chairs is the third studio album from Danish indie rock group Efterklang. The album is the band's first release on their new label 4AD, and was released on February 22, 2010 and a day later in North America. The album was also released on the band's own label, Rumraket, in Scandinavia. The band began recording the album in January 2009 in studios across Copenhagen and Århus, Denmark, and mixed the album with producer Gareth Jones. The first single "Modern Drift" was released as a free MP3 track on 4AD's website on November 19, 2009, and the music video for the song premiered on January 25, 2010.
Before Today is the eighth studio album by American recording artist Ariel Pink, credited to "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti", and released on June 8, 2010. The album marked Pink's debut on the record label 4AD. It was his first official LP of new recordings since 2003's Worn Copy and his first written and recorded with a supporting band, referred to in the liner notes as "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti".
"Girls Fall Like Dominoes" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj. It serves as the seventh single from some deluxe editions of her debut album Pink Friday (2010). The song's chorus is sampled from "Dominos", a 2009 single by British indie rock band The Big Pink. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was originally released as an international iTunes Store bonus track on Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday; however it was released later on all editions of the album in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2011. The single was released on April 11, 2011 in Australia. It was released on April 15, 2011 as the fourth UK single after "Moment 4 Life". "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" became a top 20 hit in New Zealand, reaching number 13.
Future This is the second studio album by English electronic rock duo the Big Pink, released on 11 January 2012 by 4AD. The album was preceded by the release of lead single "Stay Gold" on 14 November 2011.
Purity Ring is a Canadian electronic pop band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, formed in 2010. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist/producer Corin Roddick and vocalist Megan James. They released their debut album Shrines in 2012 to critical acclaim, followed by Another Eternity in 2015 and Womb in 2020. The band released an EP, Graves, on June 3, 2022.
Shrines is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Purity Ring. It was released on July 20, 2012, by 4AD. Purity Ring recorded the album separately at home over several months, sending their parts via email. Shrines has been described as an electropop, synth-pop, dream pop, and indie pop album, incorporating hip hop-inspired production and "striking" lyrics. It was produced by Purity Ring, with additional production by Jon Hopkins.
