Tender Trap were an English indiepop/

twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation '' C86''. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-gi ...

band based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, formed in 2001 by three of the five members of

Marine Research Marine Research were an indiepop group, based in Oxford/London (UK), formed in 1997 by four of the five members of Heavenly ( Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Cathy Rogers and Rob Pursey), following the death of Heavenly drummer Mathew ...

- Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, and John Downfall. Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were previously in the twee pop bands

Talulah Gosh Talulah Gosh were an English guitar-pop group from Oxford, and one of the leading bands of the indiepop movement, taking their name from the headline of an NME interview with Clare Grogan. They supposedly formed in 1986 when Amelia Fletcher ...

and Heavenly, and some have seen Tender Trap as representing a return to the pop aesthetic of those earlier bands. On their first, electronically slanted album ''Film Molecules'', the songs demonstrate an eclectic mix of musical styles, with a clear nod to the similarly eclectic approach taken by

The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...

on their ''69 Love Songs'' album. The band took their name from a line in the song "One Step Forward" by Even as We Speak. The band's initial intention was to be a recording outfit only, due to their hatred of transporting drums from place to place. They compromised by playing live but using a CD player for backing beats. Additional live performers have included

Claudia Gonson Claudia Miriam Gonson (born April 5, 1968) is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She often provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums. She is also the band's manager. Gonson met ...

(of The Magnetic Fields) on drums, and Lupe Núñez-Fernández of Pipas and Amor de Días, who was a guest vocalist on the ''Language Lessons'' EP and the second album ''6 Billion People''. After a quiet 2007–2008, Tender Trap reformed at the beginning of 2009 as a five piece, with additional members Elizabeth Morris (also in

Allo Darlin' Allo Darlin' are an indie pop band based in London consisting of singer Elizabeth Morris, guitarist Paul Rains, drummer Michael Collins and bassist Bill Botting. They released three albums on independent record labels between 2010 and 2014, befor ...

) on guitar and vocals and Katrina Dixon (formerly of Police Cat, Sally Skull and The Garden City Project) on drums and vocals. They performed on the main stage at

Indietracks Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway – Butterley, Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, England. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction railway station, Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variet ...

festival in Derbyshire in July 2009 and the indoor stage in July 2010. Elizabeth Morris left to concentrate on Allo Darlin' in August 2010 and Emily Bennett (Betty And The Werewolves) joined the following month on guitar and vocals. In 2010, Tender Trap released ''Dansette Dansette'', an album that finds Fletcher working with "up-and-coming British indie luminaries, rediscovering her musical beginnings, and continuing to incorporate and impart feminist consciousness through sharp, yet tender, pop songs" , Venus Zine 2010 Tender Trap article. In 2012 they released their latest album ''Ten Songs About Girls'', amidst somewhat of a revival of the '80s and '90s

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

sound. As of 2014, the band is on indefinite hiatus, and Fletcher and Pursey now perform as The Catenary Wires.

Discography

Albums * ''Film Molecules'' (2002),

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

/ Fortuna Pop! /

Elefant Records Elefant Records is an independent record label based in Madrid, Spain. History Elefant Records was founded in 1989 by Luis Calvo as an offshoot of a fanzine he produced called "La Línea del Arco". In 2014, the label's 25th anniversary was celebr ...

* ''6 Billion People'' (2006), Fortuna Pop! / Matinée Recordings * ''Dansette Dansette'' (2010), Fortuna Pop! * ''Ten Songs About Girls'' (2012), Fortuna Pop! EPs and Singles * "Face of 73" 7" (2002),

* "Oh Katrina" 7" (2002), Fortuna Pop! * ''¿Como Te Llamas?'' EP (2004),

* ''Language Lessons'' EP (2005), Matinée Recordings * "Fireworks" CD / download single (2009), Fortuna Pop! * "Do You Want a Boyfriend?" CD / 7" (2010), Fortuna Pop! * "Dansette Dansette!" CD single (2010), Fortuna Pop! * "Girls With Guns" CD single (2010), Fortuna Pop! * "Step One" 7" (2012), Fortuna Pop! Appearances * '' Fields And Streams'' (2002),

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

References

External links

Tender Trap
at Matinée Recordings {{Authority control Indie rock groups from London K Records artists Musical groups established in 2001 English indie pop groups