News from 2018

NEWS : THU, SEP 27, 2018 at 7:00 AM

Fleet Foxes Share “Isles” From Special Edition Release First Collection 2006 - 2009, Out November 9th

Fleet Foxes recently announced a special limited-edition collection to mark the 10th anniversary of their debut album. Entitled First Collection 2006 – 2009, it will be released on November 9.  Today, the band have shared “Isles,” originally released in 2008 as the b-side to the UK 7” single for “White Winter Hymnal.” As-yet-unreleased in any form outside of the UK and Europe, “Isles” is included on the B-Sides and Rarities 10” or CD.

Listen to “Isles” here and watch the trailer for the special edition featuring archival footage here.

First Collection 2006 – 2009 features content spanning the early days of Fleet Foxes’ career, including the self-titled full-length debut album on 12” vinyl, as well as the Sun Giant EP on 10” vinyl and the first vinyl releases of both the very limited-edition, previously only self-released The Fleet Foxes EP on 10” and B-sides & Rarities on 10”. See full tracklisting below.  In addition the release will feature a 32-page booklet including show flyers, lyrics, and artwork from the period. The special edition will also be released on CD and on all digital platforms. Pre-order the collection here.




Posted by Jason Baxter

NEWS : THU, OCT 4, 2018 at 7:00 AM

Watch Low’s New Video for “Poor Sucker,” from Their Extraordinary New Album ‘Double Negative’ (out now)

“…It is extraordinary that Low is doing such challenging, relevant work 25 years into their career.” [Best New Music, 8.7/10] - Pitchfork

Low’s international tour schedule for 2018/2019 resumes tomorrow October 5th in Milan, Italy. See dates below.

Following the release of their critically acclaimed new album, Double Negative, Low’s Alan Sparhawk gets a makeover in the official video for “Poor Sucker,” directed by Karlos Rene Ayala.

Double Negative is available worldwide now on CD/LP/DL/CS from Sub Pop [link here]. The album cover for Double Negative was created by longtime collaborator, English artist, Peter Liversidge.


Low Tour Dates + Ticket Links

Low’s international tour dates resume tomorrow, October 5th, 2018 with a show at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Italy and currently end March 23rd, 2019 at Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, UT.

2018 Tour Dates
Oct. 05 - Milan, IT - Teatro Dal Verme
Oct. 06 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F
Oct. 08 - Leipzig, DE - UT Connewitz
Oct. 09 - Berlin, DE - Festsaal Kreuzberg
Oct. 10- Bochum, DE - Christuskirche Bochum
Oct. 11 -  Brussels, BE -  Orangerie (at Botanique)
Oct. 12 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Oct. 13 - Paris, FR - La Gaîté Lyrique
Oct. 15 - Bristol, UK - Trinity
Oct. 16 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Cathedral
Oct. 17 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street
Nov. 02 - St. Paul, MN - The Fitz
Nov. 05 - Detroit, MI - El Club
Nov. 06 - Toronto, ON - Great Hall
Nov. 08 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa
Nov. 09 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
Nov. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
Nov. 12 - Washington, DCU Street Music Hall
Nov. 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Funhouse
Nov. 14 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Nov. 15 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme
Nov. 16 - Chicago, IL - Rockefeller Chapel
Nov. 17 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
 
2019 Tour Dates
Jan. 29 - Glasgow, UK - Tramway
Jan. 30 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham Town Hall
Jan. 31 - Brighton, UK - St. George’s Church Brighton 
Feb. 01 - London, UK - Barbican
Feb. 02 - Kortrijk, BE - De Kreun
Feb. 04 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Feb. 05 - Erlangen, DE - E-Werk (Erlangen)
Feb. 06 - Cologne, DE - Kulturkirche Köln
Feb. 07 - Frankfurt, DE - Sankt Peter
Feb. 08 - Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefährlich
Feb. 09 - Aarhus, DK - Voxhall
Feb. 11 - København, DK - The Koncerthuset - Studie 2
Feb. 12 - Gothenburg, SE - Pustervik
Feb. 13 - Oslo - Norway - Parkteatret
Feb. 14 - Stockholm, SE - Kagelbanan (Small Room)
Mar. 08 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
Mar. 09 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
Mar. 11 -  Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
Mar. 12 - Tustin, CA - Marty’s On Newport
Mar. 13 - Tijuana, MX - Moustache
Mar. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
Mar. 16 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
Mar. 18 - Portland, OR - Star Theater
Mar. 19 - Vancouver, BC - Imperial
Mar. 20 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
Mar. 23 - Provo, UT -  Velour Live Music Gallery     


Posted by Rachel White

NEWS : THU, NOV 1, 2018 at 10:30 AM

The Legendary Sub Pop Singles Club Returns

ATTENTION RECORD NERDS AND MUSIC FANS! We are now taking subscriptions for the fourth – and, who knows, perhaps the best! – incarnation of the legendary Sub Pop Singles Club. 

Are you desperate to hear new and exciting music? Do you pine for exquisitely packaged, colored-vinyl artifacts? Do you break into a sweat at the thought of missing out on limited-edition tchotchkes to hold over your friends’ heads? Well, subscribe now and feed your need! 

Subscribe now here: bit.ly/2PBf8Wo.
 
Attentive oldsters may recall the first edition of the Singles Club, which coincided with the launch of Sub Pop as a semi-functioning (and we do mean semi) record label, and featured Nirvana, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, L7, and countless (ok, around 75, to be more precise) other era-defining artists from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Fans of a more youthful age may remember the second and third editions, which ran from 1998-2002 and 2008-2009, respectively, and together included hitmakers like Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Get Up Kids, The Dutchess and the Duke, Om, Thee Oh Sees, and many more. 
 
All of this ancient history is to say: 
1. WE INVENTED THIS SHIT! 
2. We’ll get you lots of great music, and there’s a good chance you’ll wind up with some highly sought-after rarities. 
And, 3. We’re seasoned pros at this and we’ll definitely probably get all your records delivered to the correct address right on time. 
 
For the eminently reasonable postpaid (meaning shipping is included in the price; tax is not) price of $130 for the U.S., $170 for Canada, $185 for Mexico, and $195 for the rest of the world, you will receive twelve (12) 7” singles, shipped directly from Sub Pop HQ in Seattle to you, starting in April of 2019. These singles will feature exclusive tracks by artists from all over the map, both literally and figuratively, but tied together by the common thread of being great at what they do and inspiring to us. We hope you’ll feel the same. This offer is valid for a limited time only, so don’t sleep on it [subscribe here].


Things to know:

  • Subscribing is the only way to get the physical 7”s. They will not be available in stores. 
  • You can subscribe from anywhere in the world. 
  • You can purchase a subscription as a gift – simply enter the recipient’s name and address in the delivery address fields for your order. 
  • Each single will be available for streaming and digital purchase two weeks after that single ships. But by then you will not be able to go back in time, subscribe, and get that single. So sign up now if you want vinyl!
  • Subscriptions are exempt from any Mega Mart sale discounts. 
  • You can buy a subscription in the same order as other items you wish to purchase from us. We will ship the rest of your order as soon as possible, but no Singles Club 7”s will ship until April 2019, when you’ll get the first two, with successive singles to follow in pairs every other month thereafter. (We are shipping two singles at a time, every other month, because shipping is expensive and we want this subscription to be relatively affordable.)
  • Singles Club subscriptions cannot be sent to your local store and are not part of the Sub Pop Local program. As such, there is no free-shipping option for the Singles Club.
  • If you need to change your address at any point during your subscription, please email websales@subpop.com.



Posted by Rachel White

NEWS : WED, OCT 10, 2018 at 7:00 AM

Sub Pop Gets Into The Christmas Spirit (finally) With A Split Single Featuring Green River’s “Away in a Manger” & U-Men’s “Blue Christmas,” Exclusively For Record Store Day’s Black Friday

On November 23rd, Sub Pop gets into the Christmas spirit / fires the latest salvo in the war on Christmas by releasing Green River’s “Away in a Manger” and the U-Men’s “Blue Christmas” as a split 7” single for Record Store Day’s Black Friday. The exclusive single is limited to 2,000 copies, will be pressed on red/green vinyl, and features front and back cover art from cartoonist Peter Bagge.
 
Green River’s sick & unholy rendition of the classic Christmas tune “Away in a Manger,” was originally released on the C/Z Records compilation entitled Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation of Dead Seattle God Bands.
 
U-Men’s slurring, lurching, belly crawling, pisstake on “Blue Christmas” was originally available on the Christmas ‘84 cassette compilation.
 
Two ugly orphans, brought together to live as one grinning, writhing glump of career-capping, Christmas gak! Happy birthday baby Jesus!

Green River / U-Men
Tracklisting:

A. Green River “Away in a Manger”
B. U-Men “Blue Christmas”


Posted by Rachel White

NEWS : TUE, OCT 9, 2018 at 12:00 AM

SUB POP JOB ALERT: THE SUB POP STORE AT SEA-TAC AIRPORT IS CURRENTLY SEEKING A FULL-TIME SALES CLERK


Sub Pop is currently accepting resumes from energetic, responsible, detail-oriented, and dependable candidates for a full-time Sales Clerk position at our really-pretty-highly-regarded-if-we-do-say-so-ourselves store at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This guy.

Responsibilities include:

 • Greeting and assisting customers in a friendly manner. 
 • Full compliance with Sea-Tac operation rules and strict TSA regulations and restrictions. 
 • Efficient handling of cash and credit card transactions. 
 • Ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively. 
 • Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays. 
 • Assisting in organizing and restocking the store. 
 • Maintaining the general appearance of the store. 
 • Contributing to the team retail effort by accomplishing related tasks as needed. 

Qualified candidates will have: 

 • Previous experience in a retail environment. 
 • Knowledge of the Sub Pop catalog, Pacific Northwest music, the Seattle music community, and the City of Seattle.
 • A friendly and enthusiastic disposition with customers and staff. 
 • Strong and clear communication skills. 
 • A general understanding of retail Point of Sale systems. 
 • Flexibility in schedule and willingness to work early or late hours. 

Key Note: In-State applicants only please.

The Sub Pop Airport Store at Sea-Tac is open unusually long hours, generally 6am - 10pm, and 365 days a year. 

Please send your resume to airportstore@subpop.com.


Posted by Chris Jacobs

NEWS : THU, NOV 8, 2018 at 6:59 AM

Sub Pop To Reissue Green River’s Classic Releases ‘Dry As a Bone’ and ‘Rehab Doll’, Both as Expanded, Deluxe Editions, Worldwide on January 25th, 2019

Listen to tracks “This Town” (from Dry As a Bone) and “Forever Means” (from Rehab Doll).

Sub Pop will release Green River’s Dry As a Bone EP, and their final offering the Rehab Doll LP, as expanded and remastered deluxe editions on CD/2xLP/DL worldwide January 25th, 2019. Jack Endino served as the executive producer for the project excavating & restoring tapes, mixing, remixing & mastering both packages.

Rolling Stone had this to say of Rehab Doll: “Proto-grunge at its best, its mud-dipped tracks breaking down and building themselves back up in real time. Frontman Mark Arm (later of Mudhoney) sounds like he gargled with lye before cutting tracks like the boogie-gone-bad “Together We’ll Never,” while the band’s rip-roaring cover of David Bowie’s “Queen Bitch” (originally only available on the album’s cassette release) hints at the wry humor that would animate much of the Seattle scene’s best moments.” And Magnet Magazine offers this, “Not only did Green River exemplify the collision of punk, metal and classic rock that became the early Seattle sound’s calling card, it eventually spawned some of the most recognizable faces of the grunge era....Green River sound is exactly what you would expect, with the tension of competing styles (Arm’s unhinged, punk-rock shriek vs. Gossard and Ament’s bluesy metal wanking) forming a singular, if combustible, mix....The impact is something akin to a beer bottle to the head, and it still reverberates 20 years later.”
 
LP preorders of each album through Sub Pop Mega Mart and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser editions of Dry As a Bone on forest green vinyl and Rehab Doll on opaque lime green vinyl (while supplies last).

About Green River’s Dry As a Bone and Rehab Doll

The story of Seattle’s rise to global rock supremacy in the late ’80s and early ’90s begins with Green River. Made up of Jeff Ament (bass), Mark Arm (guitar/vocals), Bruce Fairweather (guitar), Stone Gossard (guitar), and Alex Shumway (drums), the quintet put out three 12”s and a 7” single during its brief existence. But Green River’s influence on Seattle’s music scene spread far and wide—thanks to the members’ dispersion into bands including Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, and Love Battery, as well as the punk-glam-sludge-rock songs they left behind. 

“By ‘83, ‘84, there was definitely a movement that was happening within hardcore, like Black Flag slowing down for My War,” says Arm. “The Replacements and Butthole Surfers were rearing their heads, and they’re very different bands, but they’re not hardcore—the Replacements are pretty much straight-up rock, and Butthole Surfers were God knows what. Sonic Youth’s Bad Moon Risingwas around, and a lot of really interesting post-hardcore things were happening, Big Black, Scratch Acid.” 

Green River, which formed in 1984, was part of that evolution, with a sound that straddled a lot of different genres—blues, punk, boozy straight-ahead rock. The mini-LP Dry As A Bone, which came out in 1987, and the LP Rehab Doll, which came out in 1988, were released as a single CD with a few bonus cuts, including their sneering cover of David Bowie’s “Queen Bitch” and their marauding version of Dead Boys’ “Ain’t Nothin’ to Do,” in 1990—but they’ve been unavailable on vinyl for years. Now, these slices of Seattle music history are not only back in print, they’re accompanied by items from the from the vaults that had been forgotten about for decades.   

Dry As A Bone, originally released as a mini-LP, was recorded at Jack Endino’s Reciprocal Recording in 1986, and it shows the band in furious form, with Arm’s yowl battling Fairweather and Gossard’s ferocious guitar playing on “This Town” and “Unwind” opening as a slow bluesy grind then jump-starting itself into a hyperactive chase. The deluxe edition includes Green River’s cuts from the crucial Seattle-scene compilation Deep Six, as well as long-lost songs that were recorded to the now-archaic format Betamax. “Jack actually got his hands on one of those old players and was able to revive and mix them,” says Arm.

Dry As a Bone
Tracklisting
1. This Town 
2. PCC 
3. Ozzie 
4. One More Stitch *
5. Unwind 
6. Baby Takes 
7. Searchin’ # 
8. Hangin’ Tree *
9. Together We’ll Never @
10. Ain’t Nothin’ To Do @
11. Bleeding Sheep *
12. Bazaar $
13. Thrown Up *
14. This Little Boy *
15. 10000 Things ^ 
16. Your Own Best Friend ^

* = Previously unreleased
# = Previously released onDry As a Bone / Rehab DollCD (Sub Pop)
@ = Previously released as a 7” (Tasque Force Records)
$ = Previously released onAnother Pyrrhic Victory compilation (C/Z Records)
^ = Previously released onDeep Six compilation (C/Z Records)

Rehab Doll was released around the time the band split up in 1988. The album, recorded largely at Seattle’s Steve Lawson Studios, bridges the gap between the taut, punky energy of Dry As a Bone and the bigger drums and thicker riffs that were coming to dominate rock in the late ’80s. “None of us had been in a 24-track studio at that point,” says Arm. “There were a lot of weird things that we did in the recording of Rehab Doll that we had never done in any other studio. I remember doing the vocals for ‘One More Stitch’ underneath a piano that had its strings mic’d—so I was singing and that was being recorded, but the reverberation from the strings was being recorded at the same time.”

Rehab Doll includes the menacing “Forever Means,” which front-loads Arm’s yelp amidst waterspouts of guitar and a swaggering rhythm section, the cavernous “One More Stitch,” and “Swallow My Pride,” which would go on to be covered by fellow Sub Pop outfits Soundgarden and The Fastbacks. This new edition of Rehab Doll includes a remixed version of the album + 8 songs recorded to 8-track at Endino’s Reciprocal Recording, which features a more accurate depiction of how the band sounded when they played live. (“We generally didn’t have a gated snare sound,” notes Arm.) “When I listen to these mixes, I think, ‘This is how we actually sounded—this is the kind of energy we had,’” says Shumway. “It’s much more raw, and it’s much more real.”

Rehab Doll
Tracklisting
1. Forever Means
2. Rehab Doll
3. Swallow My Pride
4. Together We’ll Never
5. Smilin’ and Dyin’
6. Porkfist
7. Take a Dive
8. One More Stitch
9. 10000 Things *
10. Hangin’ Tree *
11. Rehab Doll * ^
12. Swallow My Pride # ^
13. Together We’ll Never * ^
14. Smilin’ and Dyin’ * ^
15. Porkfist * ^
16. Take a Dive * ^
17. Somebody * ^
18. Queen Bitch * ^

* = Previously unreleased
^ = Reciprocal 8-track versions
$ = Previously released on the Hype! Soundtrack (Sub Pop)
# = Previously released on the Dry As A Bone / Rehab Doll CD (Sub Pop)


[Photo Credit: Charles Peterson]

Green River’s place in American music history is without question, but these recordings paint a more complete picture of the band—and of rock in the mid- to late-’80s when punk’s faster-and-louder ideals had begun shape-shifting into other ideas.


Posted by Rachel White