Just days away from the release of their highly-anticipated debut album Hope Downs - out Friday June 15 via Sub Pop Records, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever today announce their biggest headline tour to date. The monolithic Hope Downs World Tour will see the Melbourne outfit traverse the globe across four months playing to fans in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Europe and will include sets at Lowlands (Netherlands), Pukklepop (Belgium) with more to be announced. In celebration of the news, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have dropped a surprise slice from their album in the form of closing track, “The Hammer” to follow the already stellar tracks “Mainland,” “Talking Straight,” and “An Air Conditioned Man” we’ve been treated to so far.
It’s been an incredibly busy few months for Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Between taking out the coveted Australian Levi’s Music Prize and being announced on this year’s Splendour in the Grass, the five-piece have filled their time touring across North America, the UK and Europe playing sold out headline shows (many of which on their first time through the city) and performances at some of the world’s biggest music festivals including Coachella, The Great Escape, Primavera, Shaky Knees and more.
Current radio single “Talking Straight” is also shining at radio, with support from the likes of SiriusXM, KEXP, and KCRW in the States, triple j in Australia, and BBC 6 Music & BBC Radio 1 in the UK.
[Photo Credit: Maclay Heriot]
ROLLING BLACKOUTS C.F. TOUR DATES (New North American Dates in Bold)
Wed. June 6 - Birmingham, UK @ The Hare & Hounds
Thu. June 7 - Guildford, UK @ Boileroom
Fri. June 8 - Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound
Mon. June 11 - Harlden, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Sun. July 22 - North Byron Parklands, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
Sat. Aug. 4 - Katowice, PL @ Off Festival
Tue. Aug. 7 - Aarhus, DK @ Tape
Wed. Aug. 8 - Copenhagen, DK @ Pumperhuset
Fri. Aug. 10 - St. Gallen, CH @ Sur Le Lac Festival
Sat. Aug. 11 - Rees-Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Mon. Aug. 13 - Munich, DE @ Milla
Tue. Aug. 14 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes
Thu. Aug. 16 - Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo Festival
Fri. Aug. 17 - Bigginghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
Sat. Aug. 18 - Kiewit, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
Sun. Aug. 19 - Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
Tue. Aug. 21 - Dublin, IE @ Whelans
Sat. Aug. 25 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Mon. Aug. 27 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Tue. Aug. 28 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Thu. Aug. 30 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
Fri. Aug. 31 - Vancouver, BC@ Fox Cabaret
Sat. Sep. 1 - Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
Mon. Sep. 3 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Wed. Sep. 5 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Fri. Sep. 7 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Sat. Sep. 8 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Mon. Sep. 10 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
Tue. Sep. 11 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Wed. Sep. 12 - Montreal, QC @ Le Ministère
Thu. Sep. 13 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. Sep. 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Sat. Sep. 15 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon. Sep. 17 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Thu. Sep. 27 - Brisbane, AU @ Brisbane Festival
Fri. Sep. 28 - Sydney, AU @ Factory Theatre
Sat. Sep. 29 - Wollongong, AU @ Yours & Owls
Fri. Oct. 5 - Perth, AU @ Rosemount
Sat. Oct. 6 - Adelaide, AU @ Jive Bar
Fri. Oct.12 - Geelong, AU @ Workers Club
Sat. Oct.13 - Melbourne, AU @ Corner Hotel
Fri. Oct. 19 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy 2
‘Lithium Zion’ will be available worldwide from Sub Pop on Friday, July 27th, with the exception of the UK on Friday, August 3rd
Melbourne’s Deaf Wish have returned with an official video for “FFS”, the propulsive and excellent lead single from Lithium Zion, their forthcoming album. “FFS” was directed by band members Jensen Tjhung and Daniel Twomey, is shot in glorious black and white, and stars guitarist/vocalist Sarah Hardiman delivering an intense and engaging performance of the song.
The music on Lithium Zion was collaboratively written by Deaf Wish, with each member taking turns on lyrical and vocal duties throughout the album. The album was recorded and mixed in Melbourne in April of 2017 with Nao Anzai, with additional mixing from Mikey Young of Total Control (who also mixed the group’s “St. Vincent’s” 7” single and Pain album, both released on Sub Pop).
Lithium Zion will be available on CD/LP/DL/CS worldwide on Friday, July 27th, except for the UK on Friday, August 3rd, through Sub Pop [pre-order here]. LP preorders of the album through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on hot pink vinyl (while supplies last).
Lithium Zion Tracklisting
1. Easy 2. FFS 3. Metal Carnage 4. The Rat is Back 5. Ox 6. Hitachi Jackhammer 7. Lithium Zion 8. Deep Blue Cheated 9. Birthday 10. Afraid For You 11. Smoke
[Photo Credit: Ela Stiles]
More on Deaf Wish’s Lithium Zion by Matt Korvette: There’s an inherent flaw in the perennially alternating “rock is back” and “rock is dead” arguments: they are based on the idea that rock music is a logic-based choice a person consciously chooses to make. Contrary to the critics who are looking to suss out cultural trends and movements (but have never actually lifted a greasy bass cab onto a stage in order to entertain a couple dozen people), the decision to play loud, distorted, unabashed guitar-rock isn’t a strategic move but a higher calling (or curse, depending on one’s point of view). Some might say the pursuit of rocking out via deafening amplifiers, crusty drums and a beer-battered PA is a spiritual one, an affliction that either strikes or doesn’t. Few groups today embody this sentiment like Melbourne’s aptly-named Deaf Wish.
They’re more likely to ask a fellow musician what they do for their “real” job (for one, guitarist Jensen Tjhung works as a builder) than talk shop about publicists, ticket counts and online promotions. They’re a grisly rock group and they’ve already signed to Sub Pop, which is to say they’ve already succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, so anything that comes after (performing in strange new cities, meeting like-minded souls, maybe even selling a t-shirt or two) is a bonus. And if they come to your town, you would be wise to clear your calendar: “I’ve started pouring a can of beer on my head every show. If that ain’t worth five bucks then I’m quitting show biz for good,” promises Tjhung.
Lithium Zion is their fifth full-length album (and second for Sub Pop following 2015’s Pain), and while it’s a rare case that a group’s fifth album is their best, particularly any band operating under a “loud fast rules” ethos, Deaf Wish make a strong case as the exception. Their previous albums were all recorded in makeshift studios (Is that a basement with some quilts stapled to the ceiling? Now it’s a “studio”!), which of course is a wise aesthetic choice for capturing the hazardous riffing, chemically-stained vocals and fiery rhythms conjured by a group such as this, but this step toward a slightly more professional sound only enhances their power - think of the difference between a tangled pile of firecrackers and a red stick of TNT lodged in a hornets nest. The record opens with “Easy”, a languid rocker in the rich Australian tradition of groups like X and The Scientists. From there it’s onto “FFS”, a moody downhill rocker sung by guitarist Sarah Hardiman (“I feel like a fool / out playing pool / hitting on you”) that confirms Deaf Wish’s relation to fellow Sub Pop employees like feedtime and Hot Snakes. “The Rat Is Back” is tense and epic; “Hitachi Jackhammer” pays a brief and noisy tribute to Hitachi’s second most notable device (you’d be forgiven for assuming this song is about vibrators). Lithium Zion is a veritable buffet of garage-punk energy, post-punk pathos, sardonic wit and the fearlessness that comes with Aussie rock, a natural consequence for anyone living on a continent teeming with grapefruit-sized spiders and man-eating mosquito swarms.
As has always been the case, the whole group shares vocal duties, even drummer Daniel Twomey (you know the band is slightly unhinged if they’re letting the drummer sing). Hardiman and Tjhung are as ragged and hairy as ever, chugging along as though krautrock was trying to speed past the late ‘70s but got caught in the sticky grasp of punk. Such is the way of Deaf Wish, a group destined to write songs that are simultaneously stupid and sublime, vulnerable and ferocious, and play them with the unbridled intensity they demand. Anyone serving a life sentence to rock will surely concur.
God’s Favorite Customer is out THIS FRIDAY, June 1st worldwide from Sub Pop/in Europe through Bella Union.
Father John Misty has delivered an official video for “Please Don’t Die”, a new offering and standout from God’s Favorite Customer, out this Friday on Sub Pop and Bella Union. The new visual was helmed by returning director Chris Hopewell (“Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution”).
Father John Misty’s tour dates in support of God’s Favorite Customer are currently underway with a show tonight, Wednesday, May 30th in Dublin at Vicar Street and running through November 18th in Lausanne, Switzerland at Les Docks. Father John Misty will also headline the Hollywood Bowl June 24th (with Gillian Welch and Big Thief), and Red Rocks August 15th (with TV on the Radio).
May 30 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street Jun. 01 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera Sound Festival Jun. 02 - Nimes, FR - This is Not A Love Song Festival Jun. 03 - Paris, FR - We Love Green Festival Jun. 05 - Warsaw, PL - Palladium Jun. 07 - Porto, PT - Primavera Sound Festival Jun. 08 - Aarhus, DK - NorthSide Festival Jun. 10 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret Festival Jun. 12 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene Jun. 14 - Bergen, NO - Bergenfest Jun. 15-17 - Hunter, NY - Mountain Jam Jun. 16 - Minneapolis, MN - Rock The Garden Festival! at Walker Art Center Jun. 24 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl * Jul. 13 - Louisville, KY - Forecastle Festival Jul. 20 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Pavilion ! Jul. 21 - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Amphitheatre ! Jul. 22 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party Jul. 27 - New York, NY - Panorama Music & Arts Festival Jul. 28 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk Festival @ Jane Pickens Theater [Official Aftershow] Jul. 29 - Portland, ME - Thompson’s Point ^ Aug. 01 - Raleigh, NC - North Carolina Museum of Art Park Theater ^ Aug. 02 - Washington, DC - The Anthem *** Aug. 03 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE *** Aug. 04 - Toronto, ON - Historic Fort York & Garrison Commons Aug. 10-12 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival Aug. 12 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House % Aug. 13 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union % Aug. 15 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre ** Aug. 17 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater @ Aug. 17-19 - Omaha, NE - Maha Music Festival Sep. 09 - Vancouver, BC - SKOOKUM Festival Sep. 20 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater $ Sep. 21 - Indianapolis, IN - MacAllister Amphitheater at Garfield Park $ Sep. 22 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre $ Sep. 25 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater $ Sep. 26 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore $ Sep. 28 - Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theater $ Sep. 29 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live $ Oct. 01 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre $ Oct. 03 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City $ Oct. 06 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre Oct. 05-07 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival Oct. 09 - Knoxville, TN - The Mill & Mine Oct. 10 - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Oxford Oct. 11 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Jones Assembly Oct. 12-14 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival Oct. 26 - Gateshead, UK - Sage Gateshead ^^ Oct. 27 - Liverpool, UK - Olympia ^^ Oct. 28 - Portsmouth, UK - Portsmouth Guildhall ^^ Oct. 29 - Leicester, UK - De Montfort Hall ^^ Oct. 30 - Bath, UK - The Forum Bath ^^ Nov. 01 - Antwerp, Belgium - De Roma ^^ Nov. 02 - Eindhoven, NL - Effenaar ^^ Nov. 03 - Groningen, NL - TakeRoot Festival Nov. 05 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso ^^ Nov. 06 - Darmstadt, DE - Centralstation ^^ Nov. 07 - Berlin, DE - Huxleys Neue Welt ^^ Nov. 09-10 - Weissenhäuser Strand, DE - Rolling Stone Weekender Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Konserthuset ^^ Nov. 14 - Budapest, HU - Müpa Budapest, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall ^^ Nov. 15 - Vienna, Austria - Arena Wien ^^ Nov. 16 - Rust, DE - Rolling Stone Park Nov. 17 - Zurich, CH - Rote Fabrik ^^ Nov. 18 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks ^^
! w/ Blitzen Trapper * w/ Gillian Welch ** w/ TV on the Radio *** w/ Bully ^ w/ Jenny Lewis % w/ Lucy Dacus @ w/ David Beeman $ w/ King Tuff ^^ w/ Bedouine
God’s Favorite Customer, his fourth album, will be available worldwide this Friday, June 1st through Sub Pop, with the exception of Europe through Bella Union. God’s Favorite Customer was produced by Tillman and recorded with Jonathan Rado, Dave Cerminara, and Trevor Spencer and was written largely in New York between Summer 2016 and Winter 2017.
SPF30: Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Festival with Beach House, Clipping, Kyle Craft, Fastbacks, Jo Passed, Loma, LVL UP, METZ, Moaning, Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Wolf Parade, plus Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its and The School of Rock West Seattle House Band along Alki Beach in West Seattle.
We are delighted to announce lineup details for SPF30 and Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary weekend, happening Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th, 2018 in beautiful Seattle, Washington.
The festivities kick-off the evening of Friday, August 10th at 5pm, with The Afghan Whigs, Mass Gothic and Yuno playing a free, all-ages outdoor concert at the Mural Amphitheatre, presented by KEXP and Seattle Center.
Later that same evening, we are presenting A Night of Comedy From the Cast of Bob’s Burgers at The Moore Theatre, featuring H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Larry Murphy and John Roberts. This is a ticketed event with proceeds to benefit Seattle’s YouthCare.
YouthCare works to end youth homelessness and to ensure that young people are valued for who they are and empowered to achieve their potential. Founded in 1974, YouthCare was one of the first programs to serve runaway and homeless youth on the West Coast. The goal was to help young people find safety today and build a future for tomorrow. Over the past four decades, YouthCare has defined best practices and developed programs that are a national standard for excellence. Using a youth-centered approach, they ensure that young people experiencing homelessness ages 12-24 have the hope, skills, and confidence to gain long-term stability.
Tickets for A Night of Comedy From the Cast of Bob’s Burgers will be $30 (plus fees). A special presale begins Wednesday, May 30th at 10am PT (presale code LOSER30), with tickets on sale to the general public Friday, June 1st at 10am PT. Tickets are available here. Doors are at 7pm, and the show is all-ages.
Then on Saturday, August 11th from noon-10pm, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society welcomes Sub Pop for SPF30, our 30th anniversary festival at West Seattle’s Alki Beach. SPF30 is an entirely free event featuring Beach House, Clipping, Kyle Craft, Fastbacks, Jo Passed, Loma, LVL UP, METZ, Moaning, Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Wolf Parade, and a family stage featuring Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its and The School of Rock West Seattle House Band. The festival will feature four stages along incredibly scenic Alki Ave. in the Alki Beach neighborhood of West Seattle.
Seattle’s Alki Beach boasts some of the most awesome territorial (city/water/mountain) views the city has to offer, along with the occasional whale sighting, a somewhat diminutive replica of the Statue of Liberty, and some of the best local businesses to boot. We are stoked (and not a little surprised) that the city cleared the permits.
SPF30 will also have…A record fair-type event! A host of local nonprofit organizations! Food trucks! Beer gardens! (The food and beer and wine and soda or whatever, you will have to pay for! These parts are not free!) Good times and opportunities to embarrass yourself and those who’d always hoped for better for you! Plus, bands!
And closing out the weekend is a late show celebrating the unbelievably “coincidental” 15th anniversary of Pissed Jeans held at the Crocodile in Seattle. This show is 21 +, and doors are at 8pm. Tickets are $16 and available here.
It is our hope that SPF30 and Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Weekend will serve as a super fun and sincere “thank you” to our local and global music community for supporting Sub Pop and our artists for the past 30 years (and the next 30!).
In addition to celebrating a dynamic, inspirational roster spanning three decades, we also wish to create a sense of uplifting togetherness where we not only listen to great music but we become better at listening to each other as well.
JULY 26 / AUGUST 2ND / AUGUST 9TH SUB POP TURNTABLE SESSIONS KEXP Gathering Space • FREE • 6-8pm • ALL-AGES The Sub Pop Turntable Sessions are three distinct panel discussions highlighting multiple facets of Sub Pop’s history in celebration of the label’s 30th anniversary. Each session will review snippets of past label happenings and works while discussing how they relate to the label and our society’s future. The first session will be on July 26th, featuring Sub Pop LOSER Scholarship winners. The next will be on August 2nd and will feature Seattle-based collective Black Constellation. And for the third session we’ll be bringing in the Sub Pop’s own Mudhoney, as they also celebrate their 30th anniversary this year as well. Session 1: Sub Pop Loser Scholarship Winners. Session 2: Black Constellation. Session 3: Mudhoney’s 30th.
AUGUST 10TH SUB POP’S BIG 30TH ANNIVERSARY KICK-OFF SHOWCASE THE MURAL AMPHITHEATRE • FREE!!! • 5PM • ALL-AGES A special concert at the Mural presented by KEXP and Seattle Center with The Afghan Whigs, Mass Gothic, Yuno
A NIGHT OF COMEDY FROM THE CAST OF BOB’S BURGERS THE MOORE THEATRE • $30 • 7PM DOOR • ALL-AGES Featuring H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Larry Murphy, John Roberts
AUGUST 11TH SPF30: SUB POP’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL• ALKI BEACH, WEST SEATTLE • FREE!!! • NOON - 10PM • ALL-AGES On four stages… with Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Wolf Parade, Kyle Craft, Moaning, Beach House, Clipping, Fastbacks, METZ, LVL UP, Loma, Jo Passed, Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its, The School of Rock West Seattle House Band, and Special Guests.
THE CROCODILE • $16 • 8PM DOOR • 21 AND OVER The Unbelievably “Coincidental” 15th anniversary of Pissed Jeans
May 24 - Austin, TX - Hot Luck at The Mohawk June 2 - Seattle, WA - Upstream Music Festival June 4 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT) June 5 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere June 7 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON June 8 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA June 9 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA June 10 - Union Stage - Washington, DC
Hot Snakes’ Jericho Sirens is available now worldwide on Sub Pop.
“It’s got all the traits that make Hot Snakes the unique band they always were: the fury of hardcore, the dissonant riffs of noise rock, the fuzz-drenched party of garage rock. They’ve got no fat on this thing — it’s over and done with in 30 minutes and replay value is very high — and the songs aren’t just rippers but catchy too.” [Jericho Sirens, “5 Notable Releases This Week”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“Hot Snakes’ caustic, erudite commentary is more welcome than ever” [Jericho Sirens, 4/5] - MOJO
“Teeming with revved-up riffs and apocalyptic imagery, the post-hardcore group’s first album since 2005 reasserts their status as the most merciless band in their scene” - Pitchfork
“Comebacks are complicated, for bands and fans too, but this is one for the ages. Hot Snakes have returned, reminding those of us who’ve paid attention that they are definitively one of the greatest rock bands we’ve ever known.” [9/10] - Exclaim!
“It’s exactly what you want out of a Hot Snakes jam, with a riff that snarls and swaggers like a hot rod, its wild hair of a melody built into the stylish chrome.” [“Six Wave Hold-Down”] - NPR Music
“Jericho Sirens is an incredible turn, and proof to the other half-hearted post-hardcore comebacks of the last years (looking at you At the Drive-In, Refused and more) that it is possible to still be high-quality and relevant. In fact, in places Hot Snakes’ fourth album is so good, it even puts newer bands who have come up in the meantime to shame.” [Jericho Sirens, 5/5] - The Skinny
“The very definition of kickass” [Jericho Sirens, 4/5] - The Guardian
