PLEASE NOTE: This item is a pre-order and is scheduled to be released on March 20th, 2026. All orders including this item will ship on or around the release date. If your order includes additional items, your entire order will be held until all items are ready to ship. All scheduled ship dates are estimates and subject to change.
A true classic in the Twee Pop world and a staff favorite, this is a must have.
One of the clearest examples of an album that crafts a strange and beautiful world not quite like any other is Rocketship’s 1996 full-length debut "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness." Even upon arrival, this was an experience unto itself, and 30 years later, these eight songs of bittersweet bliss still feel new.
Rocketship spiked their deliciously melodic indiepop with buzzing organs, spacey interstitials and motorik repetition, aligning them with mid-90s peers like Stereolab and Unrest. "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness" is an album of unrepentantly vulnerable melodies, unusual seventh chords, lingering ambient interludes, and soft sentiments released at a time when unfriendly, self-conscious punk rock was the order of the day, a bold move indeed.
Returning to "A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness" with fresh ears, it becomes more obvious how quietly influential the album was. After several different waves of shoegaze revivalism, grunge distillation, and new bands perfecting the ‘90s slacker pop aesthetic yet again, elements of Rocketship’s intricate creative world have begun to surface in the sounds of subsequent generations.
Slumberland is delighted to release a 30th Anniversary edition of this instant classic, bringing it back on vinyl and CD after being out-of-print for years and tantalizing music fans with it's limited availability for decades.