What’s this news from Low, you ask? Well, the band have resumed their headlining US tour in support of Ones and Sixes, the group’s acclaimed new album. The trek continues tonight, Wednesday, November 11th at Minneapolis’ First Avenue, and goes through to Saturday, November 21st at Seattle’s Crocodile. Then in 2016, the group have scheduled a series of dates that begin January 15th in Anchorage, AK at Taproot and end February 13th in St. Louis at the Pageant. There are also two international festival dates to mention at this time: March 12th in Mexico City, MX at Festival NRML and June 11th in Kværndrup, DK at Heartland Festival. (see details below)
ICYMI: Low recently premiered an official video for “Lies,” from Ones and Sixes, which was directed by Manuel Aragon (watch it here). The band also made its second appearance on Later with Jools Holland, performing Ones and Sixes highlights “What Part of Me” and “The Innocents.”
And there’s more (particularly good) news of the charting kind: Ones and Sixes earned Low the group’s first-ever U.K. Top 40 album, coming in at #35 on the official albums chart. The album also entered at #68 here in the U.S. on SoundScan’s Top Current Albums charts.
At Radio, Ones and Sixes peaked at #7 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. In news of the on-air variety, the band have confirmed studio sessions at KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” (November 16th), and have visited to WXPN’s “World Cafe” (“What Part of Me” & “No Comprende”), KCMP (view here), and more.
Ones and Sixes is also one of the best-reviewed albums of Low’s career with international acclaim from the likes of NPR Music, Paste, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Boston Globe, Pitchfork, Under the Radar, The Guardian, The Observer, DIY, Q, MOJO, Uncut, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, CLASH, The Sunday Times, Dusted, NOW, and more. And the band are the current cover stars of MAGNET’s September issue, interviewed by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (view cover / read an excerpt of the story here).
Low’s Ones and Sixes is available for purchase from the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp. Now completely sold-out through megamart.subpop.com, the limited “Loser Edition” of the double-LP on yellow vinyl and packaged in a variant slipcase cover is only available from select independent stores and from the band themselves at upcoming tour dates (while supplies last). Has it been a while since you visited the Mega Mart? Well, there are also two new T-shirt designs available both as individual items and as part of CD/LP bundles.
Tour Dates
Nov. 11 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue*
Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge*
Nov. 13 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge*
Nov. 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex*
Nov. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour*
Nov. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall*
This coming December 5th at Seattle’s Showbox Theatre at The Market, Sub Pop joins forces with KEXP in support of the 4th Annual SMooCH (Seattle Musicians for Children’s Hospital) Benefit.
SMooCH was founded by Pete and Brandy Nordstrom, and contributes to an essential program that fulfills Children’s founding promise to provide care to every infant, child and teen in Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho who needs their help — regardless of insurance coverage or financial circumstances.
If you can’t attend, please consider donating to the cause so families are able to care for their sick child and not worry about whether they’ll have to choose between their child’s health and their financial health.
Little-known fact: In this very building, I am only one of TWO high-powered record label bigwigs with the title General Manager. And my vain interest in keeping this little-known fact little-known is, it turns out, only outweighed by my interest in convincing someone else to take Selective Listening out for a spin this month. And so, the following notes from the desk of the very competent and congenial Sarah Moody, the OTHER General Manager, up/down/over at Hardly Art Records!
Generally Managing Managers Generally
The
view outside is clouded and grey as I type this missive from the penthouse of
4th and Lenora, high atop the salty streets of downtown Seattle. From the
stunning windowed heights of our office (a collaboration with Renzo Piano, if
you must know), we can truly see it all. To the North: the lauded Space Needle; to
the South: Mount Rainier, off in the distance; to the East, the mighty Cascade
mountain range; and to the West, the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Closer to
home, however, I can peer over the lip of our rooftop garden into the other
proverbial garden of downtown: the parking lot behind our office, filled with a
variety of activity that seems to mine only the darkest depths of the human
condition. On any given day, you might be fortunate enough to spot its activity
in full bloom (if you
will), which could include but not be limited to: people shooting up,
smoking crack, peddling wares, screaming about this or that, and, most
recently, actively shitting next to cars. Also below our modern belfry are the
offices of Sub Pop Records. (They might have you believe we have been relegated
to the second floor of this same building—don’t be fooled by their
trickery.)
Now
then, I suppose I should set aside my robe and smoking
pipe and tell you who is typing here. Much like my esteemed colleague
and your usual Selective Listening author, Chris Jacobs, I too manage a vast
swath of employees who work and toil in the name of music. All two of them. But
I am pleased to report that they are two of the most highly coveted
demographic: the elusive Millenial
Male. What do they have to say about this fact? Let’s take a visit to their
corner offices and find out.
Jason,
Publicist: We live and breathe content. It is all about CONTENT. <types furiously>
Matt,
Sales and Digital Media: I’m just glad I’m not working at Sub Pop. <dons
sunglasses>
Me,
General Manager: You are both beautiful snowflakes and I am so proud of you.
<returns feet to ottoman>
What
month is it, anyway? November? Great. Here’s what we have coming up in
November:
Suffice
to say it has been a good year for the Hardly Art empire, which just wrapped
last month with the most recent release from Protomartyr, The Agent
Intellect. Perhapsyouhaveheardofit?
They will take leave from Detroit and escape the US paparazzi by spending their
November on tour overseas.
The
wondrous troupe of Shannon
and the Clams, meanwhile, just wrapped a US tour with Shopping and
will be headed overseas later this month in support of their latest, Gone
by the Dawn. (You sense a theme here?)
Magical
feminists (“Who isn’t a feminist these days?!” “I know!”) Chastity
Belt are on the road again in support of their acclaimed sophomore
effort, Time to Go Home, including a number of shows opening for
Death Cab for Cutie. Seattle party?
I’d say so.
La
Luz are doing nothing in November but resting on their laurels (I hope) as they
just wrapped a 12-week tour between the US and Europe in support of Weirdo
Shrine. That is, in two words, pretty baller.
If
you are looking to extend your celebration of Halloween, might we suggest Holographic
Violence by local brooders Grave Babies? Or if you need a soundtrack
to your worldly toke, perhaps try I Want to Grow Up by Colleen
Green? “Another hit record?!” you ask. We know, we know. We have it all for
you, here at our lavish HQ.
As
if that wasn’t enough, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a chart-topping single
from each of the above releases (and a few more) into an inaugural sampler. Not
only a sampler, a real life CD
SAMPLER. They’ll be available at finer record stores across the pond, as
well as with all orders placed with the fine web store of hardlyart.com, from now until they run
out. We encourage you to hunker down with it as you prepare to bundle up
for winter.
While
other labels may claim to strive for World Domination, we here at Hardly Art
merely aim for Sub Pop Domination. After the year that was 2015, I daresay we
are close. While we wait out the final verdict, below you will find a brief
soundtrack to our days of endless champagne and caviar. I think I can… manage
that. (*rimshot*)
Built to Spill’s There’s Nothing Wrong With Love is the second full-length album released by legendary indie rock band Built to Spill. (stream the album here) It was originally released September 13, 1994 on the Up Records label. The line-up for the album was Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson, and drummer Andy Capps, with Phil Ek producing. The album features the enduring singles “In the Morning,” “Car,” and “Distopian Dream Girl.”
Pitchfork recently reviewed There’s Nothing Wrong With Love, giving the album “Best New Reissue,” and had this to say: “With its focus on childhood, the nature of existence, and the search for meaning, it’s possible to hear There’s Nothing Wrong With Love in the terms of “What if there was another universe in my fingernail?” - style stoner dorm-room philosophy. But Martsch’s open heart keeps you on his side…To borrow one last line from “Car”, on this album Martsch remembered when he wanted to see “movies of his dreams.” For the vast majority of us that wish is never fulfilled, but There’s Nothing Wrong With Love is a celebration of the desire itself, the vulnerability that comes with allowing yourself to imagine possibility (see October 23rd review).
Sharpen Your Teeth is the underground classic and lone offering from Ugly Casanova. (stream the album here) The long, out-of-print vinyl edition will come with the original 13 track album and 4 bonus songs: “Babies Clean Conscience,” “Diggin Holes,” “Roads to Go to Roads to Go to…“ (which were available as limited edition singles around the album’s release); And the unreleased “They Devised A Plan to Fuck Forever,” recorded during the Sharpen Your Teeth sessions. The album, which was co-produced by Brian Deck and Isaac Brock at Glacial Pace Studios (Oregon), features guest appearances from John Orth (Holopaw), Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat), Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession), and a handful of like-minded collaborators.
Ugly Casanova is Isaac Brock, of Modest Mouse. Or, possibly, it is a mysterious savant named Edgar Graham, who imposed himself on Modest Mouse at the Denver show of the band’s 1998 tour, introduced himself as Ugly Casanova, and, through a haze of unnerving instability, shared some rough songs with the band. His songs, though delivered hesitantly… shamefully, even… displayed unmistakable talent. By the end of Modest Mouse’s tour, Casanova, with much reluctance, was persuaded to record some of these songs and hand them over to record labels for issue as singles or parts of compilations. Predictably, immediately after he had done so, he disappeared (read more about Ugly Casanova here).
Built to Spill’s There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and Ugly Casanova’s Sharpen Your Teeth are now available for purchase through Sub Pop Mega Mart and fine independent retailers everywhere.
“Whether he’s signing up for Christian Mingle or forced into using an unfortunate password at a bar, it’s the latest entry in Mirman’s absurd discography.” - AV Club
“His third comedy album, I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome), is an absurd nine-volume, seven-LP opus ranging from “A Guided Meditation to a Thoughtful Body” to an “Introduction to Spoken Russian” to “Over 45 Minutes of Crying,” which features him—you guessed it—crying for over 45 minutes.” - Newsweek
“…Mirman’s subversive, brilliant comedy justifies the sumptuous settings.” [B+] - Consequence of Sound
Eugene Mirman’s I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) is a hilarious 9-volume, 7-LP comedy album that’s now available worldwide as a lavish, 7-LP box set or digitally via Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, and Amazon. Additionally, limited-edition embroidered robes are also available to purchase from megamart.subpop.com (while supplies last). As for the chair with built in audio player, the option is currently sold out.
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) is the culmination of a long-time dream of Eugene’s. It includes a vast array of sounds that can be described as varyingly poignant, erotic, practical, romantic, mind-altering, educational, and humorous. Need to learn Russian? Eugene provides. Meditation sounds? Eugene provides. The sound of a grown man crying? Eugene provides. Oh, also, this release contains a full set of live standup recorded at Columbia City Theater in Seattle, WA June 6, 7, & 8, 2014.
Eugene Mirman begins the I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) tour tonight, October 30th at Brooklyn’s Bell House and ends November 19th in Boston at the Paradise. Support will come from Derrick Brown and Josie Long (details + dates below).
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) has earned praise from the likes of The AV Club, Noisey, Mashable, Newsweek, GQ, Consequence of Sound, The Observer, PASTE, Exclaim, Village Voice, New York Magazine, and more.
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) contains the following collection of tracks on 7 LPs:
LP1 - Live In Seattle At The Columbia City Theater
Good-humored noticings from America’s “Master of the Noticing!”
LP 2A - A Guided Meditation For The Thoughtful Body
A calming meditation to cheer and sooth the cluttered mind, the injured heart and the anxious body
LP 2B - Fuckscape
An erotic soundscape for lovebirds and adventurous friends
