RED ALERT: Time for you to watch the new Clipping video for “True Believer” from their Hugo Award-Nominated album (#kindofabigdeal), Splendor & Misery. “True Believer” was directed by longtime Clipping collaborator, Carlos Lopez-Estrada, and stars guest vocalist Paul Outlaw as an astronaut floating from planet earth into outer space.

Avoid future FOMO by following Clipping everywhere in space and time: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | clppng.com

Splendor & Misery is available on CD/LP/DL/CASS worldwide from Sub Pop right over here and Deathbomb Arc here. The album features highlights “Baby Don’t Sleep,” “A Better Place,” and “Air ‘Em Out,” was produced by the band, and mixed by Steve Kaplan in Los Angeles.  The Wriggle EP is also available from Sub Pop, here.

We’ve been bustling hard at the Airport Store in preparation for the 10-year anniversary of Sub Pop’s sister label, Hardly Art. To commemorate this special occasion, which coincides with National Poetry Month, I’ve decided some light verse is called for…

Ehh emmm..

The Birthday Wall

I’ll see you in May,

We’ll have a party for you.

I’ll see you in May,

If you have the chance to stop through!

Our little sister is turning ten,

And she’s way cooler than she’s ever been.

With The Julie Ruin last year,

And the new Chastity Belt almost here!

She’s filled an entire wall,

With a decade of filling our hearts.

From Arthur and Yu to Dude York,

To Hardly Art, we pop a cork!

If you’re coming to town,

An extravaganza with friends and the fam,

On the eighteenth and nineteenth of May,

Let us all celebrate!

But if you’re just passing by,

Keep your eyes peeled for an excellent find.

The hundredth HA release,

Is still but a mystery…

I’ll see you in May,

I really hope that I do!

There’ll be buttons and stickers and tunes for all your ‘tudes,

Hardly Art, We Love You!!!

If you are just now discovering this not-so-little-anymore gem of a label or looking to check out something new, we have some suggestions for you!

Hardly Art Picks from the Staff of the Sub Pop Airport Store:

1.) Javier - Magic Trick, Ruler of the Night (2012)

- This lovely little side band from the Fresh and Onlys’ Tim Cohen is a real San Francisco treat!

2.) Rebecca - IAN SWEET, Shapeshifter (2016)

- Listen to this while ‘blading on Alki. Blade or Die!

3.) Emily - Grave Babies, Crusher (2013)

- Perf industrial metal guitar tones and affected vocals 4 ever.

4.) Ben - Fergus and Geronimo, Unlearn (2011)

- Pre Parquet Courts. Music with jokes, but not joke music.

5.) Bailey - Protomartyr, The Agent Intellect (2015)

- Descriptions of Joe Casey: “Protomartyr are awesome, but they look like three scared teens who started a band with their alcoholic uncle.” “He’s like an inverse Bono.”

6.) Kane - Chastity Belt, I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone (2017)

- Shimmering, indie, feminist punk from Seattle’s favorite group of friends!

7.) Audrey - Broken Water, Tempest (2012)

- Wall of guitar noise á la Sonic Youth, by way of Olympia, WA.

8.) Jacob - Carissa’s Wierd, Songs About Leaving (2002, reissued 2010)

- Slow-core, unassuming supergroup whose members would become Band of Horses, Sera Cahoone, Grand Archives and S (Jenn Champion).

9.) Rachel - Shannon and the Clams, Dreams in the Rat House (2013)

- Shannon Shaw is a doo-wop dream boat!

10.) Olivia - Black Marble, A Different Arrangement (2012)

- Strangely revealing synth pop for your magical journey into the darkness.

It has been and continues to be a true honor representing all the local weirdos, punx, queers, poets, and female artists of Hardly Art at our store. We’re looking forward to what’s coming next*! The future is already someone’s dream.:)

XO

Olivia Saint

Assistant Store Manager

*Speaking of what’s coming next… how ‘bout not one but TWO celebratory birthday shows, this coming May 18th and 19th at Seattle’s Chop Suey?! Details are here.

Late last night, Father John Misty delivered a stellar performance of “Ballad of the Dying Man” from Pure Comedy (out this week on Friday, April 7th) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

And now, BEHOLD: Father John Misty has scheduled (a veritable fuck ton of) 2017 international headlining tour dates this fall in support of Pure Comedy (which, BTW is out this Friday on Sub Pop and Bella Union). The new round of dates span September 13th in Boston at Blue Hills Pavilion through November 20th in Lisbon, Portugal at Coliseu dos Recreios. Early pre-sales for these new shows begin April 10th at 10am (local time), with tickets on sale to general public on Wednesday April 12th at 10am (local time) in Europe, Thursday April 13th at 10am (local time) in Canada, and Friday April 14th at 10am in the U.S. (local time).
 
Support for these shows will come from Weyes Blood (September 18th-October 6th; October 11th-November 16th; November 18th-20th), Tim Heidecker (April 12th), Dams of the West (May 5th-10th; May 15th),  Entrance (May 24th), Adam Green (May 11th), Hamilton Leithauser (June 27th-June 28th), Phosphorescent (September 13th-15th; October 7th), Tennis (August 19th), Jenny Lewis (August 25th), and Adanowsky (June 7th).
 
Father John Misty’s spring & summer international festival schedule includes Coachella (April 14th & 21st), Glastonbury (June 21st-25th), Down the Rabbit Hole Festival in Ewijk, Netherlands (June 23rd-25th), Roskilde (June 30th), Splendour in the Grass (July 21- 23), Fuji Rock (July 28th - July 30th), Winnipeg’s Interstellar Rodeo (August 18th), and Portland, Oregon’s Project Pabst (August 26th).
 
Apr. 12 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey’s [Sold Out] @
Apr. 14 - Indio, CA - Coachella [Sold Out]
Apr. 21 - Indio, CA - Coachella [Sold Out]
May 05 - Toronto, ON - Royal Alexandra Theatre [Sold Out] %
May 06 - Toronto, ON - Royal Alexandra Theatre [Sold Out] %
May 10 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre [Sold Out] %
May 11 - Brooklyn, NY - BrooklynSteel !
May 13 - Mayer, Arizona - FORM Arcosanti Festival
May 15 - Chicago, IL  - Chicago Theatre [Sold Out] %
May 24 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre #
May 26 - Burnaby, BC - Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park
Jun. 07 - Mexico City, MX - Teatro Metropolitan***
Jun. 22 - 24 Oslo, NO - Piknik I Parken Festival
Jun. 21 - 25 - Somerset,UK - Glastonbury Festival
Jun. 23 - 25 - Ewijk, NL - Down the Rabbit Hole Festival
Jun. 27 - Lund, SE -Merejet !!
Jun. 28 - Stockholm, SE - Cirkus !!
June 30 - Roskilde, DK - Roskilde Festival
Jul.  21 - 23 - Wooyung, AUS - Splendour in The Grass Festival
Jul. 28 - 30 -  Niigata, JP - Fuji Rock Festival
Aug. 04 - 06 - Montreal, QC - Osheaga Festival
Aug. 18 - Winnipeg, MB - Interstellar Rodeo - The Forks
Aug. 19 - Minneapolis, MN - Surly Brewing Festival Field *
Aug. 25 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre **
Aug. 26 - Portland, OR - Project Pabst
Aug. 31- Sep. 03 - Dorset, UK - End of the Road Festival
Sep. 01 - Sep. 03 -  Stradbally, IE - Electric Picnic
Sep. 13 - Boston, MA - Blue Hills Pavilion $
Sep. 14 - Port Chester, NY - Capitol Theatre $
Sep. 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Skyline Stage at the Mann $
Sep. 18 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall ^
Sep. 19 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre ^
Sep. 20 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre ^
Sep. 22 - St. Louis, MO - Peabody Opera House ^
Sep. 23 - Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre ^
Sep. 25 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium ^
Sep. 26 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium ^
Sep. 27 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle ^
Sep. 29 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall ^
Sep. 30 - Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory ^
Oct. 01 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall ^
Oct. 04 - Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theatre ^
Oct. 05 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park ^
Oct. 06 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park ^
Oct. 07 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre $
Oct. 11 - Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theatre ^
Oct. 12 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl ^
Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre ^
Oct. 14 - Pomona, CA - Fox Theater Pomona ^
Nov. 11 - Paris, FR - Le Trianon ^
Nov. 12 - Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique ^
Nov. 14 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s ^
Nov. 16 - Milan, IT - Fabrique 
Nov. 18 - Barcelona, ES - Razzmatazz ^
Nov. 19 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera ^
Nov. 20 - Lisbon, PT - Coliseu dos Recreios ^
 
@ with Tim Heidecker
% w/ Dams of the West
# w/ Entrance
^ w/ Weyes Blood
! w/ Adam Green
!! w/ Hamilton Leithauser
$ w/ Phosphorescent
*w/ Tennis
**w/ Jenny Lewis
*** w/ Adanowsky

North American tour begins in May, with European dates to follow.

We (Sub Pop Records, that is) are over the moon to announce that NYC-based band Frankie Cosmos has joined the Sub Pop Family in a universe-spanning type of record deal. The band, comprised of Greta Kline (vox & guitars), David Maine (bass guitar), Lauren Martin (keyboards, synthesizers & vox) and Luke Pyenson (drums), have been touring the world extensively in support of their 2016 release Next Thing (Bayonet Records) which received critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NY Times, Paste, Rolling Stone, DIY Magazine and many more. 

Watch the band’s in-studio performance of “Sinister” off Next Thing right here, and an intimate ‘Take Away Show’ performance of “Highway and Trees” (Meat cover) + “O Dreaded C Town” over here.

Frankie Cosmos is currently working on new material and will continue to tour throughout the remainder of the year. They kick-off a North American tour on May 5th in Boston, MA, which includes a performance at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago on July 14th. Additionally, the band will visit Europe for a series of shows July 28th-August 8th. (Current dates below.)

If you haven’t yet, now’s the time to start following Frankie Cosmos everywhere in the known, err… cosmos! –> Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | frankiecosmosband.com

About Frankie Cosmos:

Originally the solo project of prolific New York City-based songwriter Greta Kline, Frankie Cosmos has blossomed into a four-piece band including David Maine, Lauren Martin, and Luke Pyenson.

The first studio release as Frankie Cosmos, Zentropy (Double Double Whammy), garnered wide acclaim upon its release, including New York magazine’s #1 Pop Album of 2014 and a Pitchfork Best New Track for “Birthday Song.” Recorded as a two-piece with Aaron Maine on drums, Frankie Cosmos began performing live as a three-piece with Aaron’s brother David on bass, and later as a four-piece with Gabrielle Smith on keyboard. The next studio release, 2015’s Fit Me In EP (Bayonet), combined Kline’s honest, lyrically-driven songwriting with Maine’s affinity for synth-driven production, and earned the project another Best New Track for “Young.” Lauren and Luke joined the group in late 2015 on keyboard and drums, leaving Gabrielle and Aaron to pursue their personal projects—Eskimeaux and Porches—and cementing the band’s current lineup.

The group’s most recent release is the critically-lauded Next Thing (2016, Bayonet), which has been praised for memorable lyrics that are both clever and concise, deeply personal and widely relatable; beautiful three-part vocal harmonies that enhance catchy pop melodies; and increasingly sophisticated instrumental arrangements that reflect a rapidly maturing band continuing to grow. The album received a coveted Best New Music designation from Pitchfork as well as exceptional reviews from the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and others. The band’s live show, honed during extensive touring of North America, Europe, Oceania and Japan, has also received glowing feedback for its mix of energy, intimacy and levity.

In their off-time, the bandmates of Frankie Cosmos practice a variety of other jobs and hobbies including textile design, food journalism, massage therapy, cooking, mixed martial arts, reading, painting, and petting dogs.

After reading through hundreds of wonderfully thoughtful and inspirational applications, we here at Sub Pop Records have chosen three extraordinarily qualified students for our 2017 Sub Pop Loser scholarship.

Our $7000 winner this year is Tia Shekelle of Bellingham High School in Bellingham Washington. Tia won us over big-time with her explosive zine work, beautiful art, eye catching photography, and incredible productivity. Between dance, drums, bass, writing, volunteering, film making, painting, and being a high school senior we were blown away by how much awesome stuff Tia is doing. In her community in Bellingham she has volunteered many hours to the Make.Shift gallery DIY space as well as planned parenthood and a local zine club. We really think that Tia has a bright future ahead of her, and her message of inclusivity really resonated with us. She is definitely one of the most talented and exciting applicants to apply for our Loser Scholarship. 

Ariana Watson will be taking home $5000 this year as a Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winner. From Seaside, Oregon, Aria won us over with her #signedbytrump photography, which was one of the best pieces we’ve seen in all of our years of looking at Loser Scholarship applications. Her photography and the message behind it works beautifully and sends a loud message of strength. In her essay Aria explained how her art and politics led to cyber-bullying and many other unfortunate incidents that young feminists often deal with but her mental toughness and resolve in the face of adversity spoke to our scholarship selection committee. At the MUSE international women’s conference Aria was able to speak about her work and inspire hundreds to represent the voiceless, to stand up for what they believe in. Montana is Aria’s next destination where she will be pursuing health studies, we wish her the best.

Raven Smith will be getting $3000 as a Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winner. Talking on the radio while truly being herself did not come easy to Raven. After moving to Spokane she struggled to find her niche but found an outlet at her local radio station KYRS. At KYRS Raven worked her way from volunteer CD organizer onto the air where she nervously stuttered her sputtered first words but eventually gained confidence and found her own voice. Wow, it turns out her radio show Basement Beats is fantastic, despite starting out nervous she has become a great on air DJ. On top of working with KYRS on their Raise Your Voice campaign Raven has also become a powerful writer and public speaker, her words are very powerful. We know there are big things coming up for Raven and we are very excited to see where the future takes her. 

This year we had so many great applicants for the Loser Scholarship, it was really hard to choose our winners. For those losers who didn’t win this year, thanks for playing, we loved your applications too, and know many of you will go on to inspire us in your future endeavors. 

[Photo Credit: Steve Gullick]

Hello, good looking music appreciator. We have some exciting news for you! Stereogum has just premiered Marika Hackman’s “My Lover Cindy,” the newest track from ’I’m Not Your Man’ (out June 2nd). Have a listen to it here.

Stereogum says of the track, ““If I was a liar, I would call you my friend,” London-based songwriter Marika Hackman opens on her new single “My Lover Cindy.” It’s an immediately biting line that embodies the rule rather than the exception on her upcoming album I’m Not Your Man, a collection of unabashedly real songs. Hackman’s greatest weapon is her words, and she uses her dark wit to lure you in while conveying strong messages about her life and society [see premiere April 6th].”

Pro Tip: Now is the time to begin following Marika Hackman via The Internets: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

“MY LOVER CINDY”
If I was a liar
I would call you my friend
Let’s hope the feeling’s mutual in the end.
 
Symbiosis
Can we keep it how it was?
Now the levy’s broken I want more
 
‘Cause I’m a greedy pig
I’m gonna get my fill
I’m gonna keep my eyes on the prize
And I’ll suck you dry I will
 
I’m no pariah
But I’ll try to pretend
And hope you keep your distance
Now and then
 
Same prognosis
It was fated from the start
We could be together
Take my heart
 
But I’m a lousy lover
Even if I try
I can go for a couple of weeks
Then the feelings calcify
 
And it burns away my mind 
I don’t know why I know why but I like you
 
‘Cause I’m a greedy pig
I’m gonna get my fill
I’m gonna keep my eyes on the prize
And I’ll suck you dry I will
 
‘Cause I’m a fucking pig
I’m gonna get my fill
I’m gonna keep my eyes on the prize
And I’ll suck you dry I will.
Oh I will.

There’s an open-ended nature to I’m Not Your Man: the discussions within, conversations on femininity, sex and sexual identity, millennial ennui, the pressures of living in a social media bubble and the perils of being young in a fast-paced industry. Says Marika, “The record’s all about female relationships, romance and breakdowns, but there’s also a dim worldview going on. I’m Not Your Man can either mean, ‘I’m not your man, I’m your woman’, or it can mean, ‘I’m not a part of this…’,” explains Marika. It’s a fiery statement from a songwriter who no longer wants to be shackled to limiting descriptions [read more here].

I’m Not Your Man will be released on CD / LP / DL / CS and is now available to preorder in North America from Sub Pop here and Marika Hackman’s official website here. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the Loser edition on green and orange swirled vinyl with a bonus 7” (while supplies last). There will also be a new t-shirt design available.