[Photo credit: Guy Lowndes]

Cry those tears of joy, because Father John Misty’s first round of 2017 North American tour dates in support of Pure Comedy (out April 7th) are on the books. Headlining dates include Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre (May 5th and 6th), Brooklyn’s King Theatre (May 10th), Chicago Theatre (May 15th), The Paramount in Seattle (May 24th), Vancouver’s Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park (May 26th), and Mexico City’s Metropolitan Theatre (June 7th).

… and LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S FATHER JOHN MISTY!!!! About to be the musical guest (with host Octavia Spencer) on Saturday Night Live this coming March 4th at 11:30pm /10:30pmCT on NBC.

Father John Misty’s “Ballad of the Dying Man” is a standout track from Pure Comedy. The track has earned raves from Pitchfork (“Best New Track”), Rolling Stone, Stereogum, The Ringer, SPIN, and more. The Ringer says of the track, “It is simultaneously plaintive and winking and obnoxious and beautiful, as all the good Father John Misty songs are.”  SPIN offers this, “ It opens with a descending chord progression on acoustic guitar and piano that recalls Neil Young’s “Motion Pictures,” then slides into a patient pop arrangement worthy of Elton John.”

Pissed Jeans “The Bar is Low ” is the lead single from Why Love Now, the band’s fifth album, out today worldwide on Sub Pop.  The song is now the subject of a humorous new video, helmed by returning director Joe Stakun (“Bathroom Laughter,” “Romanticize Me,” “Boring Girls”). 

Pissed Jeans previously announced 2017 tour dates in support of Why Love Now, are currently underway, with a show tonight, Friday, February 24th in Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Bazaar and tomorrow, Saturday, February 25th in Somerville, MA at ONCE Ballroom. There will be additional live dates to come.
 
Feb. 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bazaar
Feb. 25 - Somerville, MA - ONCE Ballroom
Mar. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
Mar. 11 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA
 
Why Love Now was co-produced by Lydia Lunch, Arthur Rizk and Pissed Jeans, and is available on CD / LP / CASS / DL on Sub Pop. The album features the aforementioned “The Bar is Low,” with additional standouts,“Ignorecam,” “Love Without Emotion,” and “I’m A Man” (featuring lyrics and vocal from Ugly Girls author Lindsay Hunter).
 
More on Pissed Jeans from Maura Johnston here.

What people are saying about Pissed Jeans & Why Love Now:
“…A lot of fun and delivers some uncomfortable home truths” [Why Love Now, 4/5]- The Guardian

“With riffs weighted so they’re heavy enough to bludgeon, and vocals that feel like they’re being torn straight from the larynx, the album is a tour de force of high octane refrains and filth-driven focus.” [Why Love Now, Album of the Week, 8.5/10] - The Line Of Best Fit
 
“This follow-up finds them operating at a similarly scintillating capacity, grinding down on the ugliness buried in the mundanity of modern life and crushing it into the wreckage of metal and post-punk.” [Why Love Now, 4/5] - The Skinny
 
“There’s nothing orthodox about Why Love Now’s sound. But there’s something snidely familiar about its portrayal of modern life. It’s angry, it’s sad and it’s laughably relatable.” [Why Love Now, 8/10] -Crack
 
“Produced by Lydia Lunch, Why Love Now sees Pissed Jeans on superb form.” [Why Love Now, 8/10] -  Uncut
 
“Beneath the nihilism and cynicism and bile, one suspects Pissed Jeans are the last decent men in America” [Why Love Now] -Evening Standard

“There’s a united sense of purpose on Why Love Now, an LP committed to the common cause of rallying against the kind of masculinity that it seems absurd we still need to oppose in 2017” [Why Love Now, 4/5] - DIY
 
“Pissed Jeans have always found the evil, the sad, the depressing, and the funny in the utter banality of life. Matt Korvette doesn’t sing about smashing the system, he sings about the system smashing him and trying to grow old in it, set to droning punk that’s an update on the sludgy sounds of Flipper, Kilslug, and The Jesus Lizard.” -Noisey

“There’s a lot to love about this fifth album.” [Why Love Now] -London In Stereo
 
“Pissed Jeans are as soiled, sordid and scintillating as ever.” [Why Love Now] - The Quietus
 
“Their fourth album, Why Love Now, is a caustic, squirm-inducing assault on machismo that keeps focused throughout.” [Why Love Now] - Northern Transmissions
 
“It’s a characteristically intense and loud record from Pissed Jeans, loaded with both slow-moving sludge-punk exercises and accessible, ass-kicking hardcore raveups.” [Why Love Now]-Treblezine
 
“… a guttural riff-monster about how just about every man walking the face of the earth today is an asshole.” [“The Bar Is Low”] -Stereogum

“Matt Korvette, the skeptical frontman of a terrific, coarsely named post-hardcore band from Allentown, Pa., doesn’t want to hear your compliments. As a dude, he knows he’s being graded on a curve. This, at least, is the premise behind “The Bar Is Low,” the lead single from the band’s fifth album, “Why Love Now.” The track feels partly inspired by a recent series of unmaskings in the public sphere. “It just seems to be quite an easy bet,” Mr. Korvette sputters. “Those we adore just haven’t spilled their secrets yet.” But the excoriation is all-inclusive: By the end, he floats a claim about our rate of evolution as a species. (Spoiler alert: It’s not hopeful.)” [“The Bar Is Low”] - New York Times
 
“The visceral aggression of Pissed Jeans is something we’re always in the mood for. Raw, caustic, and oddly catchy, these guys sound like Jesus Lizard meets Motorhead. We’ve loved this band for a long time–check out their masterpiece Honeys–and the anticipation for their new album is killing us. We have to wait until February 2017 to get our hands on the full album, but song “The Bar is Low” is holding us over in the meantime. Riffy, mean, and pounding, this song is everything we love about Pissed Jeans.” [“The Bar Is Low”] - The Nerdist
 
“A guttural riff-monster about how just about every man walking the face of the earth today is an asshole.”[“The Bar Is Low”] -Stereogum
 
“Overachieving is overrated. Who the fuck wants to go to college, get straight A’s, and come out on the same level as some punk who just smoked weed and skated by? It might be worth it to become the latter, and you can use Pissed Jeans’ new tune, “The Bar Is Low,” as your anthem. On “The Bar Is Low,” the band showcases the killer songwriting abilities they’ve cultivated for over 10 years. Vocalist Matt Korvette is at his peak, his voice gravelly as the late, great Lemmy Kilmister’s when he sings over the popping riffs. It’s a sick song, so don’t feel bad about being a burnout.” [“The Bar Is Low”] -CLRVYNT
 
“The Philly punks are back and onbone-grinding form.” [“The Bar Is Low”]  - DIY
 
“The track makes for a vigorously addictive introduction to the fifth long-player from the Philadelphia collective.” [“The Bar Is Low”] -Gold Flake Paint
 
“… it’s a no-bullshit salvo of the highest order.” [“The Bar Is Low”] -The Observer

[Unboxing animation by Bento Box Entertainment (BBE)]

That’s right, folks. On May 12th, Sub Pop will release The Bob’s Burgers Music Album: a massive collection of 107 songs from the first 107 episodes of 20th Century Fox Television’s Emmy-award winning hit comedy.  The album features music performed by the main cast members – Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) and their children Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen Schaal) – singing original songs that build on the show’s unique sense of humor.
 
The Bob’s Burgers Music Album is produced by the series creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard’s Wilo Productions in partnership with Bento Box Entertainment, with Sub Pop licensing the rights from Twentieth Century Fox Television.  
 
The album includes many of the show’s recurring and special guests, from comedians like Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Kline, Bill Hader, Zack Galifianakis and Fred Armisen, to musical guests Cyndi Lauper and Carly Simon. The album also includes an additional five “Bob’s Buskers” cover versions of songs from the show performed by St. Vincent, The National, Låpsley, and Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields.
 
The standard version of The Bob’s Burgers Music Album will be available in three formats: 2xCD, 3xLP+7,” and digital. Meanwhile, the deluxe, limited-edition box set version of the album includes the 3xLP+7” on “condiment-colored” vinyl (ketchup red, mustard yellow & relish green), plus a hardbound lyrics book with exclusive Bob’s Burgers artwork, a soft cover sheet-music songbook, three original posters, a six-piece sticker pack, and a patch. Both the standard and deluxe LP editions include the five “Bob’s Buskers” tracks on a white 7” single.
 
The Bob’s Burgers Music Album is now available for preorder worldwide from Sub Pop. 
 
A 20th Century Fox Television production, Bob’s Burgers was created by Bouchard (Home Movies).  Bouchard and Jim Dauterive (King of the Hill) serve as executive producers and writers, with animation produced by Bento Box Entertainment. Fans can “like”Bob’s Burgers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BobsBurgers, follow the series on Twitter and Instagram @BobsBurgersFOX and join the discussion using #bobsburgers.
 
The seventh season of Bob’s Burgers airs Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT on FOX.  
 
For more information, visit behindbobsburgers.com.  

Tracklisting
1. The Bob’s Burgers Theme Song
2. Lifting Up the Skirt of the Night
3. Butts, Butts, Butts
4. Theme from Banjo
5. Da Ding Ding
6. Pirates of Panache
7. Weekend at Mort’s
8. Sex Music
9. Wing Man
10. Taffy Butt
11. Getting Out of P.E.
12. Groping for Glory
13. Oil Spill
14. One Way or Another
15. The Prince of Persuasia
16. Bad Girls
17. You Got Beefsquatched
18. Milkin’ the Cow
19. Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!
20. Parakeet in Your Hat
21. Kill the Turkey
22. The Diarrhea Song
23. Silent Love
24. Silent Muffler
25. The Harry Truman Song
26. Daddy / The Itsy Bitsy Stripper
27. Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex
28. You’re the Best
29. Mad Pooper
30. Buckle It Up
31. Love Mission
32. Two People
33. Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Woman Stuff)
34. Funky Finger
35. This Is Working
36. Baby Hold On
37. Electric Love
38. T-I-N-A
39. The Snake Song
40. Fracas Foam
41. The Kids Run the Restaurant
42. Coal Mine
43. Whisper in Your Eyes
44. I Wanna Hear Your Secrets
45. I’ve Got a Yum Yum
46. Rain, Rain, Flash, Flash
47. We’re Coming for Ya
48.Quicky Kiss It
49. Prankin’
50. Sneaky Pete
51. Gravy Boat
52. We Won the Talent Show
53. DerekDematopolis
54. Not Bad for Havin’ Three Kids
55. Jingle in the Jungle
56. Slumber Party Fashion Show
57. It’s Not Magic It’s Tragic
58. The Fart Song
59. Hava Nagila
60. Equestranauts Theme
61. Nice Things Are Nice
62. Wharf of Wonder
63. Bad Things Are Bad
64. Die Hard / Working Girl Musical Medley
65. Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl
66. Jeff (Il Est Mort)
67. Your Best Friend
68. Finger on the Trigger (cover song)
69. Christmas Magic
70. Happy Crappy Place
71. Darryl’s Slow Jam
72. I’m Jimmy Jr. Pesto
73. The Sheriff Had a Piggy
74. Lipstick on His Pickup
75. I’ll Trade You These Tears / I Won’t Go Solo on You
76. Shimmy Tap
77. Date Night
78. Don’t You Love Cotton Candy
79. Jam with Darryl
80. His Name Is Lenny
81. I Don’t Need Music
82. I Want Some Burgers and Fries
83. BM in the PM
84. I’m Falling for Helen
85. 99 Red Balloons
86. It’s Called Fate (And It’s Great)
87. I Love You So Much (It’s Scary)
88. It’s Thanksgiving for Everybody
89. The Spirits of Christmas
90. The Nice-Capades
91. Amorpor Favor (Me Llamo Tina)
92. It’s Valentine’s Day
93. Hot Ham and Cheese Day
94. Cease and Desist
95. Muse Dance
96. If You Love Something
97. Fart Stools (for the Gifted)
98. Do the Dirty Pigeon
99.Two Butted Goat
100. Butt Phone
101. Breaking Out
102. Mononucleosis
103. Just What I Needed
104. I Love Charades
105. I’m Tall Enough
106. Yat Dat Dat Da
107. Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom
108. Bad Girls (Bob’s Buskers)
109. Electric Love (Bob’s Buskers)
110. Sailors in Your Mouth (Bob’s Buskers)
111. Christmas Magic (Bob’s Buskers)
112. Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom (Bob’s Buskers)

About The Bob’s Burgers Music Album:
Every fan of Bob’s Burgers has a favorite song from the show. Or perhaps a new episode has arrived, with a relentlessly singable new number, and they’re reconsidering their options. This album will make choosing a favorite even more difficult.
 
The Belcher family - Bob (H. Jon Benjamin), Linda (John Roberts), Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen Schaal) – are all capable of bursting into song, whether it’s during a school science fair, expressing a deep fear of snakes or animal anuses, celebrating a community garden, or even after arriving late to a party because your husband has diarrhea. Loyal customer Teddy (Larry Murphy), colorful landlord Mr. Fischoeder (Kevin Kline), famous fictitious boy band Boyz4Now – they all have their anthems.
 
Sub Pop Records has gathered nearly every single salty, greasy, musical moment from seasons one through six for the aptly named Bob’s Burgers Music Album produced by the series creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard’s Wilo Productions in partnership with Bento Box Entertainment, with Sub Pop licensing the rights from Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products.  This massive collection of 107 songs features the main characters as well as the show’s numerous recurring and special guests, from comedians like Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman and Fred Armisen to musical guests Cyndi Lauper and Carly Simon. As an exciting bonus, the album also includes five covers from the “Bob’s Buskers” series by St. Vincent, the National, Lapsley and Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields.
 
The Bob’s Burgers Music Album will be released as a two CD set, a three LP regular version, and the deluxe limited-edition three LP gift box that will include “condiment-colored” vinyl, the Bob’s Buskers seven inch, a hardbound lyric book with original Bob’s Burgersartwork, a sheet music collection, three original posters, and more. 
 
Fans know that music is more than just a condiment to Bob’s. Sometimes silly, sometimes sprawling, always heartfelt and firmly in the voice of the show, the music of Bob’s Burgers is part of the meat of the thing itself. Whether you think your favorite is “Electric Love” or “Butts, Butts, Butts”, this collection will send you back to the record player again and again to happily change your mind.
 
About Bento Box Entertainment
Bento Box Entertainment (BBE) is an Emmy® award-winning entertainment content and technology company.  With studios in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Toronto, BBE produces animated comedy series for broadcast, cable and digital networks.  This includes Bob’s Burgers, the Primetime Emmy®-winning FOX series with 20th Century Fox Television and creator Loren Bouchard; Comedy Central series Legends of Chamberlain Heights; among many others. With creative thinking, disruptive content and innovative technology at its core, BBE is dedicated to extending its reach to new audiences through its digital; Sutikki (kids); content rights; and live events, merchandise and brand management business units. BBE can be followed across social media channels @bentoboxent.

[Photo Credit: Steve Gullick]

Sub Pop has signed London-based songwriter Marika Hackman to the label, and will release I’m Not Your Man, her North American label debut, on June 2nd.  The album - including recently released track “Boyfriend” - was produced and mixed by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J) at various locales throughout London. I’m Not Your Man will also be available in Europe from AMF Records.
 
Hackman also has (for your audio-visual enjoyment) an official video for “Boyfriend,” directed by Libby Burke Wilde [watch here], which co-stars the singer and her friends from UK band, The Big Moon.
 
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 Hackman, “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 Hackman. It’s a fiery statement from a songwriter who no longer wants to be shackled to limiting descriptions.
 
To help channel this fervid energy, Hackman recruited her best mates – London quartet The Big Moon to play as her backing band on I’m Not Your Man. “They really captured the soul of what it all meant to me and brought a lot of fun and creativity,” says Hackman. The unspoiled nature of the recording environment has thrown up a truly dynamic, multi-genre sound. It’s all tied together via razor sharp wit and authenticity.

 
[Cover Art: Painting by Tristan Piggot. Read more about it 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 [link here]. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in the Americas will receive the Loser edition on orange colored-vinyl with a bonus 7” (while supplies last). There will also a be new t-shirt design available with this release.
 
Marika Hackman has scheduled a handful of SXSW appearances to preview I’m Not Your Man (March 15th-18th). Additional live dates will be announced soon.
 
Mar. 15 - Austin, TX - SXSW / Latitude 30 / BBC2 Official Showcase
Mar. 16 - Austin, TX - SXSW / The Blackheart / Transgressive Records Showcase
Mar. 18 - Austin, TX - SXSW / Urban Outfitters Back Lot

[Photo Credit: Jay Scroggins]

Seattle rapper (and the first Sub Pop signee of Shabazz Palaces Ishmael Butler), Porter Ray has shared another stellar new track “Lightro [Looking For The Light]” (feat. Stas Thee Boss)” taken from his forthcoming debut album, Watercolor, out March 10th. “Lightro…” also features fellow Seattleite, Stas Thee Boss of THEESatisfaction, and premiered today via Uproxx.

Uproxx says of “Lightro…” and Watercolor, “Over a wafting cloud of synthy production Ray tackles the grimness of death and the fleeting nature of life, before the track bleeds into Stas’ starlit harmonies....When he starts spitting, you know it’s him immediately. He runs through various cadences and countless rhythms like it’s nothing to change up, but never loses a sense of cohesion in his rapping…In many ways, Watercolor is a distillation of Northwest rap told through the region’s most promising newcomer (see premiere February 21st).”

Porter Ray’s current live dates include a hometown release show on March 8th at Barboza (with guests Jarv Dee, Cam the Mac, and Bruce Leroy), multiple appearances at SXSW March 15th-19th, and Sasquatch Music Festival on May 26th. More live dates coming soon.

Tour Dates + Ticket Links
Feb. 26 - Seattle, WA – Crocodile (w/ Pickwick for ACLU Benefit)
Mar. 08 - Seattle, WA – Barboza (Watercolor Release Party)
Mar. 15-19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
May 26 - Quincy, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival

“Lightro…,” and the forthcoming Watercolor, find Ray blending thoughtful portraits of Seattle streets with cathartic biographical accounts of an eventful adolescence and early adulthood, during which his father passed away, his brother was shot and killed, he became a father, and saw his son’s mother go to jail.  Possessing insight beyond his years, Ray’s laid back yet captivating style, vivid lyrical vignettes and powerful storytelling are built around a vulnerability and unflinching honesty.

Watercolor is available for preorder in all your favorite formats.  LP pre-orders through the Sub Pop Mega Mart and independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Edition on translucent vinyl with magenta swirl in North America & Translucent vinyl in Europe, while supplies last.  

Watercolor features original production from B-Roc, Dez Anthony, and Kmtk, and was mixed by Erik Blood.  Guest appearances include Cashtro, Stas Thee Boss, Nate Jack, Jus Moni and Black Constellation elders Palaceer Lazaro and Fly Guy Dai of Shabazz Palaces.

Follow all things Porter Ray everywhere in the galaxy via Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

What are “The People” saying about Porter Ray? Well, since you asked:

“A star in the making.” [Watercolor] - Uncut
 
“A natural storyteller, Ray unleashed a series of vivid mixtape portraits of his locale’s druggy highs and lows that painted him as a new school Nas with the lyrical slickness of Roc Marciano. The street-wise intellect certainly lets his slightly off-pitched voice do most of the heavy lifting over the stuttering spacey synthetics, phased keys and warped Rhodes of B-Roc’s atmospheric production.” [Watercolor, 4/5] - MOJO
 
“As a rapper, Porter’s storytelling skills drive his lyrical content. He tries to paint pictures, never sounding over excited or too energetic, opting for beats which create unique moods….with his effortlessly smooth tone and considered lyricism, Porter carries himself with striking presence and wisdom.” [Watercolor]  - Crack Magazine
 
“Ray is Seattle to the bone, continuing the tradition of Sea-Town rappers with malleable flows and unorthodox sounds that bend along with them....The first taste of his album is a posse cut of sorts featuring Shabazz Palaces,Palaceer, and Castro. They all spit complicated rhyme schemes over a hollowed-out soundscape with dry 808 drums and shimmering, space-age synths reminiscent of THEESatisfaction.” [“Sacred Geometry”] - Stereogum
 
“Seattle rapper Porter Ray shares another hazy and seductive gem from his debut…“Arithmetic” showcases Porter’s golden voice and effortlessly vivid flow over a dreamy, immersively narcotic beat, elevated by spectral siren calls from the great Stas Thee Boss (formerly of THEESatisfaction) and anchored by a crucial assist from revered Seattle MC Infinite.” [“Arithmetic”] - Gorilla vs Bear
 
“On the first track from the Seattle native’s forthcoming Watercolor, Porter leads the song with melodic cadences and descriptive verses. Here, he and his collaborators all highlight the narratives that make up this holy equation.” [“Sacred Geometry”] - The FADER