This past July, Sleater-Kinney delivered a blistering headlining set to a sold-out crowd at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival in support of No Cities To Love, their critically acclaimed 2015 album. One of the performances captured that night was the live highlight “Modern Girl” - from The Woods, the group’s 2005 album - and you can watch it now: youtube.com/watch?v=7Lepy_rq4T8
Earlier today, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein released her deeply affecting memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl via Riverhead Books. Read more about the book via her interview via Pitchfork today (see October 27th post).
Sleater-Kinney’s previously announced 2015 tour schedule resumes November 21st-22nd in Mexico City’s Corona Capital Festival. Then from December 4th-16th, Sleater-Kinney will embark on a Midwestern-East Coast U.S. (details below).
Sleater-Kinney’s No Cities To Love is one of the best reviewed albums of the year with “Best of 2015 (so far)” notices from the likes of Time, USA Today, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The AV Club, The Guardian, Complex, NME, Stereogum, PASTE, and SPIN. No Cities To Love is available worldwide from Sub Pop, and you can stream it here.
What are “They” saying about No Cities To Love? Read the good words:
“America’s fiercest punk band....10 songs in 33 minutes, not a dud in the bunch, all surging in uptempo stomp-down-the-door mode. There’s more low-end thud to their sound than before. The whole album crackles with the palpable excitement of three rock lifers in a room, eager to see what happens when they plug in and let it rip.” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Rolling Stone
“The trio still snap and crackle on their first set since 2005. No Cities… might sound chaotic at first, but each element—Corin Tucker’s sweet snarl, Janet Weiss’ rugged beats, Carrie Brownstein’s noisy solos—is exactly in its right place.” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Entertainment Weekly
“…33 minutes of unbridled ferocity” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Time
“Hurtling, bristling, densely packed, white-knuckled songs that are all taut construction and raw nerve… The first great album of 2015” [Review] - New York Times
“…beautiful algebraic equations that solve problems that researchers never even knew existed, moving logically yet filled with left-turn riff maneuvers.” [Review] - LA Times
“The skeptic may be suspicious when I say that, after “All Hands on the Bad One” (2000), the new album, No Cities to Love, is my favorite Sleater-Kinney record, but it is: the musicians pull it off. The songwriters’ ability to create general but urgent scenarios is both more substantial and more insistent than before.” [Review] - The New Yorker
“The hardest-hitting thing they’ve ever done.” [Review] - Vulture
“As fresh and vitals as a debut, but also as nuanced and skillful as the work of three players with a decade-long inimitable report betwixt them” [First Listen] - NPR
“Their return is not a victory lap. It is a re-declaration of all they were, all they built… We still need Sleater-Kinney” [Review] - Pitchfork
“They were always tumultuous – a storm of longing, fury, aspiration, solidarity, and indomitable emotion” [Feature] - Billboard
The finest living rock band… Extraordinary” [9/10, Review] - SPIN
“Vociferous as ever” [Feature] - Nylon
“Hitting new chords and exploring structures with glee, with that same crucial energy” [Review] - LA Times
“The best rock band on the planet… [they] genuinely dominate, breaking down walls, rules and egos with nimble poise and savage fury” [Feature] - Noisey
“A perfect fusion of musical personalities, a spiky and sparkling rock ‘n’ roll machine” [Feature] - Slate
“As fresh and surprising, as unlikely and as unsatisfied… Promising that this part of the Sleater-Kinney story is only at its start” [Real Life Rock Top 10] - Greil Marcus
“Even their punchy, brief songs carry the weight of epics… genius lyrics and hook after inescapable hook” [A-, Review] - Consequence of Sound
“Roiling and erupting, building up tension and then releasing it gloriously” [Review] - Stereogum
Tour Dates
Nov. 21 - 22 - Mexico City, MX - Corona Capital Festival Dec. 04 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Dec. 05 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall Dec. 06 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s Dec. 08 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre Dec. 09 - Cleveland, OH - Masonic Auditorium Dec. 10 - Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall at Babeville Dec. 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre Dec. 13 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 Dec. 14 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza [SOLD OUT] Dec. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg [SOLD OUT] Dec. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - Market Hotel [SOLD OUT]
Watch Strange Wilds’ new video for “Disdain”, one of the standouts from Subjective Concepts. The new video, directed by the unknown entity known only as Yomamma, marries performance footage with a story that revolves around the strange habits of a rogue police officer.
Brooklyn Vegan had this to say about the visual: “It follows a young cop who is clearly on a power-trip of self destruction of the Harvey Keitel variety, albeit in a comic way(see video premiere October 22nd).”
Strange Wilds continues their North American tour in support of their debut album, Subjective Concepts, with a show tonight, October 22 in Providence, RI at Aurora. The tour goes until November 21st, and takes the band throughout the continental U.S. (tour details below).
Strange Wilds’ Subjective Concepts is available now in all your favorite formats via the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. All customers who order the LP version of Subjective Concepts from megamart.subpop.com and Bandcamp will receive the limited “Loser Edition” on white vinyl (while supplies last).
[Photo credit: Che Hise Gattone]
Tour Dates
Oct. 22 - Providence, RI - Aurora Oct. 23 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie Oct. 24 - Washington, DC - The (sea) Lab Oct. 26 - RIchmond, VA - Strange Matter Oct. 27 - Asheville, NC - Tiger Mountain Oct. 28 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn Oct. 30 - Miami, FL - Kill Your Idol Oct. 31 - Gainesville, FL - Fest 14 / The Atlantic Nov. 01 - Jacksonville, FL - Rain Dogs Nov. 02 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia Nov. 03 - Houston, TX - Walter’s Downtown Nov. 04 - Austin, TX - Beerland Nov. 06 - Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress Nov. 08 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar Nov. 09 - Fullerton, CA - Continental Room Nov. 10 - El Centro, CA - Strangers Nov. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - All Star Lanes Nov. 12 - Bakersfield, CA - Temblor Brewing Company Nov. 13 - Oakland, CA - 1-2-3-4 Go Records Nov. 14 - Santa Rosa, CA - Atlas Coffee Company Nov. 16 - Reno, NV - The Holland Project Nov. 17 - Salt Lake City, UT - Diabolical Records Nov. 18 - Boise, ID - Neurolux Nov. 19 - Portland, OR - Bunk Bar Nov. 20 - Tacoma, WA - Real Art Nov. 21 - Seattle, WA - The Highline
Please join us in welcoming Chicago’s Cullen Omori to the Sub Pop Family! Cullen and Sub Pop have signed a worldwide deal to release his debut LP in 2016.
Cullen, at the tender age of 25 is back from the post-buzz-band abyss of the now defunct Smith Westerns. The singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist began writing solo material in early 2014. While his former project synthesized familiar rock of years past (T Rex, Bowie), Cullen builds upon his own musical past and reaches towards the future of what guitar rock could be. His songs marry dark yet blissful pop with vocal melodies and hooks that are at once both immediate and begging to be reinterpreted again and again.
Cullen will make his live debut headlining a hometown show next Friday, October 30th at Schuba’s. The Chicago Reader recently interviewed him about the forthcoming performance, his recent signing to the label, and more (view here).
On January 22nd, Shearwater will release Jet Plane and Oxbow, their new full-length studio album. Featuring highlights “Quiet Americans” and “Only Child”, the album was produced by Danny Reisch at studios in Austin and Los Angeles, and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound (see Pitchfork news story October 20th).
This is definitely Shearwater’s biggest and loudest record—it’s easy to imagine these songs roaring from the stage—but it’s also their most detailed and intricate one. Front man Jonathan Meiburg and producer/engineer Reisch (who also recorded 2012’s Animal Joyand the off-the-cuff collaborations of 2014’s Fellow Travelers) spent two years crafting Jet Plane and Oxbow with help from drummer Cully Symington, longtime Shearwater associates Howard Draper and Lucas Oswald, and tourmates Jesca Hoop, Abram Shook, and Jenn Wasner.
But their secret weapon this time is film composer and percussionist Brian Reitzell, whose soundtracks include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, and 30 Days of Night. Reitzell’s arsenal of strange instruments emphasizes Jet Plane and Oxbow’s cinematic depth and scope, and reflects the band’s choice to anchor the record in the era when digital technology was just beginning to transform the world of recorded music. In Shearwater’s hands this doesn’t feel like nostalgia; the racing synths and hammered dulcimers of heart-pounding opener “Prime” or the addled motorik of “Radio Silence” sound more like a metaphor for our own bewildering moment. (For a full bio, along with a conversation between famed music journalist Michael Azerrad & Shearwater frontman Meiburg, read here).
Shearwater will begin their 2016 tour in February with three warm-up dates in Texas and New York before heading to Europe for the rest of the month. (Full schedule below). A further North American tour will also be announced soon.
Jet Plane and Oxbow is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, and Amazon. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited “Loser” edition on blue colored vinyl while supplies last.
Additionally, when you preorder Jet Plane and Oxbow you’ll get access to stream the album before its street date, and provide access to an exclusive Shearwater podcast, “Headwaters,” which features demos and outtakes from the new record and a conversation between Meiburg and WNYC’s John Schaefer (host of “New Sounds”).
“It’s like joining us on an expedition,” Meiburg says of the podcast, only half in jest. Along the way, he and Schaefer listen to field recordings of howler monkeys, musician wrens, and other strange creatures from remote parts of Guyana and Brazil, and they talk about everything from the ideas and influences that fed the new album to David Bowie’s idea of “social protest music”, the fearsome teeth of the vampire fish, and the last days of Lawrence of Arabia. Shearwater’s longtime fans won’t be surprised by Meiburg’s wide-ranging interests, but new listeners will enjoy meeting an unlikely front man who seems to be part rock star, part David Attenborough.
Tour Dates
U.S. Feb. 03 - Austin, TX - North Door Feb. 04 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada Feb. 06 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Europe Feb. 10 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club Feb. 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen Feb. 12 - Hamburg, DE - Molotow Feb. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Noord Feb. 14 - Brussels. BE - Botanique Feb. 16 - Lille, FR - Aeronef Feb. 17 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall Feb. 18 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece Feb. 19 - Leeds, UK - The Brudenell Social Club Feb. 20 - Glasgow, UK - King Tuts Feb. 21 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny Feb. 23 - Dublin, IE - Button Factory Feb. 24 - Manchester , UK - Night & Day Feb. 25 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt Feb. 26 - Paris FR, - Point Ephémère Feb. 27 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F Feb. 28 - Fribourg, CH - Nouveau Monde
Now that I live and breathe Sub Pop at the airport, it’s easy for me to lose sight of the fact that, for many travelers, their first introduction to the record label is wandering accidentally into our store.
While we are quite accustomed to hearing statements like, “This is the best store ever!” sometimes we overhear observations, or are asked questions, that very much help keep us grounded. I recently asked my fellow employees for any funny quotes that they have overheard lately. Here’s a small sampling of some of the stranger things that are spoken at the store:
“These SUB POP shirts all look like the Sublime logo.”
“So, is this like, Seattle’s Abercrombie?”
“Sub Pop must be some kind of local soda company.”
“This is a store for teenyboppers.”
“I don’t know what Sub Pop is, but I like it.”
“Why does this say LOSER?”
“A record store in the airport. Oh my god, this is so Seattle.”
“Man, Sub Pop used to be anti-culture.”
“Oh yeah, Sub Pop is Dave Grohl’s recording studio.”
“This is weirdly awesome.”
“I’m about to spend all my money and I haven’t even left the airport yet.”
“This is a little ridiculous. They should have a store in the worst alley of Seattle, not the airport.”
“Who are all these people?”
“Can you take my photo for your wall?
“Why don’t you have the Chili Peppers on here?”
“Whoa! Check out these tiny records.”
“Are these really vinyls back here? New ones?”
“What do you play records on nowadays?”
“Why are you buying records here? You don’t even have a record player…”
“I respect what’s going on in here, but they need some better stuff, like O.A.R. or Janis Joplin.”
“Wait. Is Nirvana from Seattle?”
“Is this a mouse pad?”
“Let’s go. This store is just filled with crap that says ‘Sub Pop.’”
