This Friday, November 27th marks the release of the “Red Sun” b/w “Echo” single, a new collaboration between 4AD group Merchandise and Sub Pop recording artist Dum Dum Girls. If you’ve yet to hear “Red Sun”, have a listen on YouTube or Soundcloud now.
The exquisite, two-track offering, is currently available for preorder on on 7” / DL through Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, and Amazon. Vinyl preorders through megamart.subpop.com will receive a limited edition version of the 7” pressed on clear purple vinyl (while supplies last).
“Red Sun” and “Echo” were both written after midnight. “Red Sun” is the story of love, power, and weakness. A 3 minute narrative about the mystery of human attraction and its hold on the psyche. “Red Sun,” played by Dee Dee, is half siren and half desert wanderer. She’s the temptress and the God of War the body of a girl who can make all men her victim. “Echo” takes place in the streets of Berlin. In “Echo” our narrator is lost in the madness of regret and lost love. In the warm streets of summer he’s frozen by his thoughts as if it were winter already.
What people are saying about “Red Sun”: “A moody track that rests on a pulsing, sinister synth line and arid guitar.” - Stereogum
“Evoking Ennio Morricone by way of Bauhaus, “Red Sun” is a doom-laden, synthed-out siren song in which DDG’s Dee Dee plays the titular role….The track is a pulsing three minutes of goth grandiosity in which Merchandise’s Carson Cox is ultimately the one consumed. “I walked into the Red Sun” he croons, sounding both beaten and happily done in.” - Pitchfork
“…Merchandise and Dum Dum Girls have done you the favor of teaming up to give you a killer track in “Red Sun.” Both bands work off each other to churn out a track that’s super gothy and infectious.” - Noisey
“The song is a gothic, synth-driven number that’s filled with syncopated beats and spacious guitar textures. Dum Dum Girls leader Dee Penny lends her noir-ish vocals to the verses, while Merchandise’s Carson Cox swoops and brightens things up somewhat for the catchy chorus.” - Exclaim
“The result of this team up is a happy marriage between both bands’ sounds, finding an edge in dark, atmospheric pop.” - DIY
We greatly encourage you to watch Jon Benjamin: Jazz Daredevil, a short documentary that highlights the creative process behind his forthcoming release Well, I Should Have…* (learned how to play piano).
Well, I Should Have…* was recorded and mixed by Mark Desimone at Soundtrack NY, except for “Amy’s Song” (The Bum Steer),” which was mixed by Loren Bouchard (Bob’s Burgers, Home Movies). Jon Benjamin (you may know him from his roles in Bob’s Burgers, Master of None, Wet Hot American Summer and Archer) is accompanied by Scott Kreitzer (saxophone), David Finck (bass), and Jonathan Peretz (drums). Additionally, the track, “Deal With the Devil”, features Aziz Ansari (Master of None) and Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers) (seeAV Club premiere).
Well, I Should Have…* was recorded on the same day the documentary was filmed. Benjamin says of the album: “We all start from the same place and build from there, gathering references, structures, techniques, modes, nuances, etc. and, as artists, we strive to build something purposeful. Well, I Should Have…* is the culmination of hours (almost 3) of conception with the goal to bring something, in the tradition of the great vanguard jazz artists like Miles Davis, Roach, Mingus, Monk, et al, close to pure spontaneity. Jazz is the ocean…I am just one wave forming one curl, crashing once onto some remote beach somewhere in time. And that wave makes a small imperceptible change in the slope of the sand, upon which at some point in time a baby turtle will walk across, leaving his trail for just an instant, before the tide washes it clean. That’s a pretty cool analogy. More to the point, I do not play piano and I made this jazz album.
Some tell me, “Hey, Jon, tone it down.” Some even say, “Really, Jon?” A few have said, “Get the fuck away from me or I’ll fucking punch you in the face.” I know the risks in making this album. I know what it is like to do something that no one else would think to do. Most would call this reckless. I call it jazz. What you are about to experience is an aural auto-de-fe. I am the ‘jazz daredevil.’”
Well, I Should Have…* (is an actual record) and can now be purchased digitally and on LP through the Sub Pop Mega Mart and Bandcamp. The album will also be available Friday, November 27th through iTunes (preorder), Amazon, and Google Play.
Mass Gothic is set to release its self-titled debut on CD / LP / CT / DL worldwide February 5th via Sub Pop. The album, featuring highlights “Nice Night”, ‘Every Night You’ve Got To Save Me”, “Mind Is Probably and “Want To, Bad”, was produced by Mass Gothic and mixed Chris Coady (Beach House, TV on the Radio) and mastered by Greg Calbi (Father John Misty, Tame Impala) at Sterling Sound.
Mass Gothic has scheduled a 2016 headlining tour in support of the album, which begins February 4th in Philadelphia at Johnny Brenda’s and currently ends March 19th in Austin at SXSW. (details below)
Vuture says of “Nice Night”, the first offering from Mass Gothic:
”In attempt to get back to his four-track days, Heroux made an album of weird synth-rock largely on his own, under the moniker Mass Gothic. It’s a surprising album, mostly in its ability to sound buoyant and tense simultaneously… “Nice Night,” is the apex of the latter. This “meditation on severe depression and the cycle of giving in” is at first a heavy sludge before becoming a determined power-pop catharsis that sounds a little like Pinkerton-era Weezer (see track premiere November 17th).
1. Mind is Probably 2. Own the Road 3. Want to, Bad 4. Pier Pressure 5. Nice Night 6. Every Night You’ve Got to Save Me 7. Money Counter 8. Territory 9. Soul 10. Subway Phone
Mass Gothic’s Noel Heroux was also recently interviewed by the Village Voice in advance of his recent CMJ performance (see feature October 15th).
[Photo Credit: Shawn Brackbill]
More about Mass Gothic:
This year marks the release of Mass Gothic, the Massachusetts-bred, New York-based singer/songwriter’s self-titled Sub Pop debut. Written and recorded at home over four months during the winter of 2014-2015, it’s a stunning reminder of not just Heroux’s own remarkable talents as singer and songwriter, but how unbridled creativity can both sound and feel as well: Before Hooray For Earth had quickly become a fully-functioning band, it began as a solo project. No pressure or compromises—just Heroux, a four-track, and an irrepressible urge to “jot down all of the noise and music floating around in my head” and make it available to other people. “All I wanted to do was whatever I do when I’m alone and I’m unconcerned with what anyone else wants or expects,” he says. “I did my best to let go, and what came out was pure, uncut. It reminded me of the first few times I made music, when I was a young kid. I didn’t set any rules and I had zero expectations.”
The result is an expansive, often exhilarating set of guitar-driven pop that required very little editing when it was done (read more via Sub Pop).
Tour Dates
Feb. 04 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s* Feb. 05 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop* Feb. 06 - Chicago, IL - Schuba’s Tavern* Feb. 08 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry* Feb. 11 - Boise, ID – Neurolux* Feb. 12 - Seattle, WA - Columbia City Theatre* Feb. 13 - Portland, OR - Bunk Bar* Feb. 14- San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop* Feb. 16 - Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg* Feb. 18 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake* Feb. 19 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room* Feb. 21 - Louisville, KY – Zanzabar* Feb. 22 - Cincinnati, OH - MOTR Pub* Feb. 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Café* Feb. 25 - Allston, MA - Great Scott* Feb. 26 - Providence, RI - Columbus Theatre* Feb. 27 - Brooklyn, NY – Palisades* Mar. 10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Mar. 12 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Mar. 16 - Austin, TX - SXSW Mar. 17 - Austin, TX - SXSW Mar. 18 - Austin, TX - SXSW Mar. 19 - Austin, TX – SXSW *w/ Mazed
No Fly List: Notes From Sub Pop’s Airport Store (November 2015)
Unthanksgiving at the Airport
Welcome to another dispatch from the Sub Pop store. The months of October and early November bring a relative downtime at the airport, in-between the busier summer vacation and holiday travel seasons. One might assume that we would use this opportunity to re-group, develop plans for improving the store, and/or stockpile winter-wear goods. Instead, I’ve used the lull to stew about all the regrets and perceived slights I’ve experienced this year. In honor of Thanksgiving, I decided to type out some things that I am particularly ‘unthankful’ for, because sometimes it’s necessary and cathartic to express your gripes, in order to see how petty/inconsequential/ridiculous they might be. I also strong-armed a few of my co-workers to join me in giving ‘unthanks’ this year. Enjoy!
Here at the store, I am unthankful for the following things:
-Dust bunnies that look like dreadlocks.
-Canadian coins in the cash register.
-Only being able to play a few seconds of Eugene Mirman’s ”full-hearted 45-minute cry-a-thon” in the store before I am overcome by emotion and have to change it.
-Not recognizing the following people until immediately after they left the store:
Wayne Coyne
Sherman Alexie
Jaron Lanier
The members of Poison Idea
-Customers who ask, “Will this t-shirt fit my son/daughter/wife/husband/niece/nephew/dog?”
-The sounds that emanate from occupied stalls in the men’s bathroom(s).
-The man wearing shorts who insisted on showing me his recent jellyfish stings on his legs.
-The question, “Now that Sub Pop has a store in the airport, does that mean they have officially sold out?”
-Waking up early to make a lunch and then forgetting it at home.
-The father who talked on his cellphone for 10 minutes about the consistency/texture/color of his new baby’s bowel movements.
In my personal life, I’m unthankful that my favorite baseball player, Juan Uribe, is no longer employed by my favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. And also that this much-needed scientific device has not been released yet.
- No parks to speak of in Parkland (I know right?)
- Traffic (how original)”
Josh:
“Here we are again, at the eleventh hour, and of course, I show up at your “E” door-step in my sweatpants and curlers, yielding yet another untimely and, probably unusable, contribution to this months monthly news such and such. I am very sorry of course, but I can grant you no guarantee that this will not be the last incident of this sort, most likely all submissions will arrive in your “in” basket around 6pm of the afternoon following day any deadline given.
So you have asked for us to submit a list of some of the things things for which we were not so thankful for this year, leaning in the direction of funny. I am afraid my friend that I cannot grant you the wish that you desire. For, after an exceedingly large quantity of pondering, and a few glasses of Tang drink, I can’t, for the life of me, conjure up even one thing that I am unthankful for. I seem to busting at my pant legs with a sort of humble Gratitude for all, and all of my existence and the universe, and all of the whatnot of this sometimes crazy world we all have to live in. So apologize, I can’t fulfill this months request, at least not with this stupid brain.
I can however list a few of the wonderful things from this year that I, so very graciously, give thanks for. For example, I am overwhelmingly grateful for my family. This time of year you can’t avoid thinking about family. I always remember all of those good times we had while we were growing up, all of the holidays we spent together, and the summers too. How lucky am I to have been born into such a loving and caring group of individuals? I do kind of wish Randy was dead though.
I can no longer submit to useless negative emotions that can overwhelm you and withhold the marvelous wonders and joys that life has to give, such as, cats! What furry, kind and, beautiful beasts, so cute and small but bigger than rats and not as loyal as a dogs. Our cat, Tab, turned 5 this year and although I am deathly allergic to her fur and dander, and I really wish she would use the scratching post instead of the couch. I am really grateful the vet has the means to fight off her cancerous lesions thereby sustaining her life for a mere $500 dollars a session, ensuring that my wife and I will have a furry friend who tracks it’s cat bathroom sand throughout our once odor free home, for many years to come.
The point Is, who am I to complain when there is so much suffering out there and I have so much in my life like, tinnitus, my illiterate mail man who doesn’t really “get” what numbers mean, and what about traffic?
Life is a gift and I have no complaints, only gratitude.
If this is too long just put “White Sauce,” why does everybody put it on everything? What’s the deal with that?
Sub Pop is pleased to announce the signing of Arbor Labor Union, the Athens/Atlanta, Georgia band, who will release its label debut worldwide in the spring of 2016.
The group (who formerly performed under the moniker Pinecones) released their debut record, Sings For You Now (listen here), in May, 2015 on LP format via Athens, GA label Arrowhawk Records. The band, comprised of Brain Atoms (Guitars), Ryan Evers (Bass), Ben Salie (Drums) and Bo Orr (Vox/Guitar) create angular and unapologetic rock and roll.
You can hear various singles from their LP Sings For You Now right over here.
Arbor Labor Union have scheduled a show supporting In The Red recording artists Wand tomorrow night, November 17th in Athens, GA at the 40 Watt. Additional live dates will be announced very soon.
More on Arbor Labor Union: Once upon a time rock n roll music was insane. Several times before you have heard and perhaps proclaimed that “music is the truth.” This band called Arbor Labor Union honors this notion. I’ve been in an audience and seen them sneak their music close to the truth. The atom has reviewed their songs and said “this band speaks to the core” and “on this we are not divided”.
Guitar player Brain Atoms always wears green and taps his foot to the stage in hopes it turns into a porch. Bass player Ryan Evers pumps the tonal artery and stirs the cosmic dirt with his welcome grin. Singer and Guitar player Bo Orr sings the wisdom of unknowing and kicks through blind dimensions. Drummer Ben Salie invokes the shaman beat and whips layers of lava lamp cymbal vibrations. All of these men have agreed and that is beautiful. If you pay attention, you might notice all of their songs are about their songs, and that is beautiful. They believe in handshakes, repetition, and friendship. They are lifelong friends, and they play that sound.
What people are saying about Arbor Labor Union (fka Pinecones):
“Listening to the interplay between physical, spiritual, and musical existence hammered out across these 11 tracks is one of the most challenging, intriguing tasks I’ve undertaken this year. Few albums demand your attention and interaction the way Sings For You Now does.” - Stereogum
“It’s not so much a sounds, there’s no twang or drawl, but an attitude. Their dooming riffs and impassioned rambles carry smolder like the heat of the southern sun.” - Consequence of Sound
“I’m not sure how to describe the group’s raspy, repetitious rock and roll other than to say it is no goddamn joke. It’s also tremendously exciting. The songs on Play Cosmic Hits cull from bands like Lungfish, Wire and The Ex but feel exhilaratingly fresh” [Pinecones Play Cosmic Hits] – Flagpole Magazine
