We're playing a full set this Friday (25th July) in the the foyer of the BBC Radio Merseyside for the Dave Monks Show. Stage time is 8.00 we should be doing about 40 mins. It's free but you need to have your name on the door so if you fancy it drop us a line. This gig will see us playing 'real' instruments for the first time. Woo!

Huw Stephens played album opener the Strangest of Times on his Wednesday Radio 1 show... which is nice.

There's a rather nice review of 'Lines' over at The Music Magazine which is an on-line mag which is full of smart writing. Here's what they said...

Testcard - Lines

Release date: 2nd June 2008
Label: Knave Records
Rating:

Before now probably the only music artist to have taken inspiration from a TV testcard was Jimi Hendrix ('The Wind Cried Mary' was apparently written after he was left watching BBC after the switch-off following an argument with his then girlfriend.) In these days of digital television, of course, the testcard may well be a thing of the past.

Whilst documenting modernity, Liverpudlian trio Testcard look somewhat to the past, not least in their choice of moniker. However theirs is a more recent past than that of Hendrix, although the tale of a man alone in a flat with nothing but the television for company is one that would feel familiar to anyone who listens to their music. They harness 1980s Italo-disco to lyrics that recall artists such as Soft Cell -lyrics such as "Is this the kind of kick you're looking for / Where you tie me to the chair and I beg for more" could come straight out of one of Marc Almond's bed-sit vignettes. Added to the mix are elements of power-pop and future disco, which complement the coolly observed tales of urban life.

There seems something of a contradiction at the heart of the record. On the one hand the music feels machine-like (the album title 'Lines' gives a good feel for the album, it does feel like music moving in lines, constructed, machined). However lyrically and vocally there is something more soulful going on, echoing perhaps those other '80s stalwarts the Pet Shop Boys. Whereas Tennant and Lowe always made a commodity of the immediacy of their pop hooks however, Testcard make you work a little harder. Whilst they both harness strong narrative song-writing to dance music, the musical template for Testcard is a little more left-field.

If you persevere you will find much to enjoy in the record. Not least the intelligence with which it is put together. Lyrics such as "Your note is lying in the space where you once were / My answerphone is full now, I'm paralysed and hurt" reveal a clever ability to extract emotion from minutiae.

Simply put, this is a finely crafted pop record. There is a contradiction between the machined feel of the music and the emotion of the lyrics, but this feels right. We live our lives in lines, but there is always a soul to be found if you look hard enough.

Stuart Crosse

Blimey it's hot here in Liverpool.

You can now listen to clips of all the album tracks at the lovely last.fm so go over to http://www.last.fm/music/Testcard and click on the Lines link if you like, like.

Talking of which, according to said last.fm there's a bunch of Testcard listeners in the Russian Federation so if any of you discover this post come and say hello. We like a bit of feedback.

Also the BBC show On the Wire played 'lines' the other night- a particularly pleasing spot play for Matt Testcard as the show was a formative influence on the lad back when he lived in Blackpool.

Cheers again to the ace Dave Monks show on BBC Radio Merseyside who's been hammering the album for the last few weeks. Looking forward to coming in for a session at the start of June.

'Music Business Intelligence Magazine' Five Eight gave Lines their album of the week last week- nice!

Five Eight is the best music industry magazine on the market by the way- always really clever, honest and realistic (and I'm saying that not just because they like the album).

Anyway here's what they said...

Testcard - Lines (Knave Recordings)

Debut album from electro Liverpudlians and it's shattering proof of a Mersey Sound utterly divorced from (yes, it's them) The Beatles and the latest wave of 'Psychedelic/Stoner Scousers' (The Coral, The Zutons). If anything, Testcard are looking across the Pennines to Sheffield (early Human League, Heaven 17) rather than to the hundreds of bars and impromptu venues scattered off Hope Street. Minimal bleeps and beats bring to mind electro pioneers Gary Numan (yes, he was), The Normal and even the early-Nineties Saint Etienne (without the leaning towards icy pastiche and lost cultural reference points), with breathless and yearning vocals. Burn down The Cavern, Eric's and The Bandwagon and erect winged synths on top of the Liver Building.

http://www.fiveeight.net/

The good old BBC has been previewing some tracks of the album (which is due for release on the 2nd of June). Dave Monks has played a couple of tracks on his brilliant Radio Merseyside show the Pool and we'll be going in to do a live session in the near future. His show is ace so have a listen here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/merseyside/aod.shtml?merseyside/the_pool

Gideon Coe has been playing some Testcard on his morning and evening shows on BBC6. If you want to have a listen you can find it through BBC Iplayer here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/gideon_coe/tracklisting.shtml