It’s been a whirlwind release week since Beach House’s Depression Cherry went out into the world, and since then the album has already earned the group its second consecutive top 10 album, coming in at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Additional chart placements include: #1 / Vinyl; #1 / Current Alternative Album Core Stores; #1 / Record Label Independent Current Albums; #2 / Current Alternative Albums; and #5 / Top Current Albums. Meanwhile, in the UK, the album also entered at #17 on the Top 200 Albums chart.
At radio this week, Depression Cherry is currently #2 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. The album is also currently #1 on the FMQB Alternative Specialty (2 weeks) and #12 on NonComm charts.
Depression Cherry is also receiving international acclaim from the likes of Entertainment Weekly, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Time, Nylon, Pitchfork, GQ, The AV Club, Grantland, Exclaim!, The New Yorker, Stereogum, LA Times, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, SPIN, Clash, Uncut and more.
Beach House’s worldwide tour in support of Depression Cherry resumes September 17th in Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall and their 2015 dates end with a sold-out 3-night stand December 17-19 in San Francisco at The Fillmore. (see dates below)
LP* and CD versions of Depression Cherry are packaged in a sumptuous red velvet sleeve, and are available from megamart.subpop.com, iTunes and Amazon (North America), Bella Union (Europe) and Mistletone (Australia / New Zealand).
* The special, limited, clear vinyl Loser Edition LP version of Depression Cherry is now sold-out on megamart.subpop.com. Copies of this collectible version of the album may still be available at independent record stores or from the band directly at shows. Additionally, there is a new T-shirt design, available individually or as part of a bundle with purchase of the new record. Depression Cherry is also
What are ‘The People’ saying about Beach House’s Depression Cherry? Actually, a veritable plethora of good things:
“Reliable, virtually misstep-proof conjurers of a distinct and desirable mood….Beach House works with a simple set of ingredients — a few vintage keyboards, programmed drums, an electric guitar and the drowsily alluring voice of Victoria Legrand — to evoke a specific tone that rarely varies. And yet Depression Cherry, the Baltimore duo’s fifth album in the last decade, still feels vibrant and versatile. There’s sticking to a formula that works, and then there’s teasing out its subtleties in surprising, consistently rewarding ways.” [First Listen] - NPR Music
“It’s another impeccably measured step forward. Their albums might be an ideal soundtrack for daydreaming, but Scally and Legrand seem remarkably clear-headed about their work.” [Best New Music] - Pitchfork
“Weeping spirals of guitar, the futility of life looped in eerie, wordless harmonies, organs, and ‘shooting star slide guitars’ blasting like lightning bolts, beckoned and sent away by Legrand’s androgynous, languid voice. Maybe Legrand writes the lyrics, but Scally senses them, he translates them into softly cooing organ lines, demanding siren bursts of guitar, the loss lingering everywhere in soft white noise. All that sorcery is here, again, in full force.” - Stereogum
“For its fifth album, Depression Cherry, the pair decided to de-emphasize percussion, and the pillowy, haunting result is ideal for the encroaching autumn days.” - TIME
“The band’s understanding of their own head-in-the-clouds aesthetic and knowing where to sew in (or cut out) the stitches to keep their sound in a constant, albeit low-key, flux results in much more of a mesmerizing experience than would changing directions entirely.” [A -] AV Club
“Anyone who doesn’t fall for Depression Cherry’s hypnotic splendour probably just isn’t a Beach House fan, or didn’t live with the album long enough. But those who do will recognize this album as the sweeping, grand gesture they’ve been working up to giving us for the last nine years.” [9/10] - EXCLAIM!
“Beach House’s music isn’t as severe as Beckett, but it does share a similar purity, an ambition to strip art down to the privacy and insularity of a snow globe. Their most obvious ancestors are shy-minded indie bands from the 1980s and ’90s who buried themselves in sound: Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine. But there’s also something Andrew Lloyd Webber about their twinkle and swirl, the naive theatricality of dress-up and pretend. Their deepest root is in old doo-wop ballads, sweet and angelic but steaming underneath, the heat of two teenagers separated by a ruler at a bygone prom. If some bands capture the freedom and joy of youth, Beach House captures its erotic incoherence — the sense of having no clear idea how you feel but feeling it so deeply you might pass out.” - Grantland
“Instead of relying mainly on guitars, their songs are built on a foundation of shimmering, droning electric organ. And, where many dream-pop vocalists are angelic, Legrand’s voice is deep, forceful, and oracular.” - The New Yorker
“Guitarist Alex Scally’s extravagant melodies bloom slowly over grooves that pulse like waves; singer Victoria Legrand’s vocals echo Fleetwood Mac’s lush folk rock, Cocteau Twins’ surreal dreams and Nico’s spooky drama. The Baltimore duo’s fifth album sticks to that signature sound, and go figure: A formula that might seem limiting feels instead like it can contain entire worlds.” - Rolling Stone
“On their latest, they go grandiose with weighty tunes that explore love and melancholy. Singer Victoria Legrand has a refreshingly unshowy croon that’s one of the most seductive in pop, and her gorgeous synth drones and guitarist Alex Scally’s effects-laden riffs are exquisite.” [ A-] - Entertainment Weekly
Tour Dates
Sep. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall ** Sep. 18 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s ** Sep. 19 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ** Sep. 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre ** Sep. 22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue [Sold Out] ** Sep. 23 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ** Sep. 25 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown ** Sep. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall ** Sep. 27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant ** Sep. 28 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall ** Sep. 29 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom ** Oct. 01 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Oct. 02 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre Oct. 03 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn ** Oct. 04 - Nashville, TN - The Ryman Auditorium ** Oct. 06 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ** Oct. 07 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel ** Oct. 08 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom [Sold Out] ** Oct. 24 - Belfast, UK - Mandela Hall Oct. 25 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street Oct. 26 - Glasgow, UK - ABC Oct. 27 - Manchester, UK - The Ritz Oct. 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival Oct. 30 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire Nov. 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Nov. 03 - Brussels, BE - Autumn Falls @ AB Nov. 04 - Koln, DE - Gloria Nov. 05 - Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier Nov. 07 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves Nov. 10 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Tradgarn Nov. 12 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Medis Nov. 13 - Copenhagen DK - Vega Nov. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel K1 Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s Nov. 17 - Munich, DE - Freiheiz Nov. 18 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks Nov. 20 - Barcelona, ES - Apolo Nov. 22 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera Nov. 23 - Lisbon, PT - Armazén Nov. 24 - Porto, PT - Teatro sa da Bandeira Dec. 07 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory [Sold Out] Dec. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out]
Attention, vinyl nerds! Sub Pop will reissue Sharpen Your Teeth,
the underground classic and lone offering from Ugly Casanova, on 2xLP worldwide
October 30th. 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 (because you also need this gem in yer life) the unreleased “They Devised A Plan to
Fuck Forever,” recorded during the Sharpen Your Teeth sessions.
Sharpen Your Teeth is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart. The 2xLP will be available both on black and as a limited
“Loser” edition yellow / white with yellow vinyl (while supplies last). In light of this, may we suggest preorder as the prudent path?
About Ugly Casanova:
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.
Other than a sheaf of ramblings delivered to
Modest Mouse’s singer Isaac Brock in the summer of 1999 that then inspired that
band’s The Moon and Antarctica nothing had been heard from Casanova in
years and those that still thought of him grew fewer. Then in November of 2001,
a faded and water-damaged bundle was discovered among a stack of
old packages during one of those general decontamination purges that so often
follows a mail scare. Addressed simply to “Sub Pop, Seattle, WA,” there was
little evidence of its origin. Inside, swathed in tape, Silly Putty and pelts
of three identifiable rodents was a greeting from the long-lost Graham.
Numerous tapes and a list of requests that alternated between raving demands
for destruction of said tapes and meek pleas for recognition of their contents
were extracted from the mess of the package. Fortunately Sub Pop recognized
that the tapes held promise, and released them in 2002 as Sharpen Your Teeth.
Until such time as Graham/Casanova resurfaces to
take credit for his work and add a bit more to whatever understanding of him
still exists, Sharpen Your Teeth will have to suffice. Produced by Brian
Deck and Isaac Brock at Glacial Pace Studios (Oregon), Ugly Casanova’s songs
are here performed by Misters Brock and Deck, as well as John Orth (Holopaw),
Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat), Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession),
and a handful of like-minded collaborators.
Ugly Casanova - Sharpen Your Teeth
Vinyl track listing:
1. Barnacles 2. Spilled Milk Factory 3. Parasites 4. Hotcha Girls 5. (no song) 6. Diamonds On the Face of Evil 7. Cat Faces 8. Ice On the Sheets 9. Bee Sting 10. Pacifico 11. Smoke Like Ribbons 12. Things I Don’t Remember 13. So Long to the Holidays 14. Babies Clean Conscience* 15. Diggin Holes* 16. They Devised a Plan to Fuck Forever* 17. Roads to Go to Roads to Go to…*
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Sub Pop roster: Mass Gothic, the
Massachusetts-bred, NYC-based outfit, has signed with Sub Pop Records for a
worldwide deal and we’re pretty damn stoked about it.
The group, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Noel Heroux
will release its label debut (and tour extensively to support it) sometime in
2016. More specific details will be forthcoming soon. Mass Gothic will make its
official live debut at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York this October.
More about Mass Gothic:
Noel Heroux grew up outside of
Boston, Mass. He began playing piano at a very early age, and started writing
and recording music in his early teens.
In 2005, he formed an early version of the rock band Hooray
for Earth, playing shows and self-releasing early demo recordings locally.
Heroux initially started the band as a solo project, but it quickly morphed
into a full-fledged band effort upon the release of its debut EP in 2008. In
Hooray for Earth’s brief career, the group recorded two full-length LPs
and two EPs, before calling it quits in 2014.
Mass Gothic finds Heroux at the helm writing and recording all of its material,
augmented by a full band in studio and on stage. Mass Gothic will release its
Sub Pop debut in 2016, with extensive touring to follow.
Strange Wilds begin ripping their way across North American in support of their debut album, Subjective Concepts, tomorrow night, Thursday, September 25th at Black Lodge in Seattle. The tour keeps on rolling until November 21st, and takes the band throughout the continental U.S.
Newly added tour dates include: October 10th in Athens, OH at Galbreath Chapel; October 14th in Annondale, NY at SMOG at Bard College; October 15th in Brooklyn, NY at the Knitting Factory for Sub Pop & Hardly Art’s CMJ showcase; November 8th in San Diego, CA at the Soda Bar; and November 12th in Bakersfield, CA at Temblor Brewing Company; November 20th in Tacoma, WA at Real Art. (details below)
New to (or already obsessed with) Strange Wilds? Find their YouTube playlist (feat. the official “Pronoia” video) right here.
Strange Wilds’ Subjective Concepts is available now on CD / LP / DL at 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. (There’s a new T-shirt design available too)
What do ‘They” say about Strange Wilds? Here are some good words:
“Pronoia is the opposite of paranoia, essentially the happy delusion that there is a conspiracy that exists to help people. It’s also the name of the hellish four-minute blast of noise that’s the best song on this debut album by Seattle trio Strange Wilds. The follow-up to 2014’s four-track ‘Wet’ EP, Subjective Concepts sounds like it was raised on ‘Bleach’-era Nirvana and aligns the band with their Washington peers Milk Music and Naomi Punk. They build a monumental wall of hardcore noise on ‘Egophillia’, before taking a wrecking ball to it and screaming wildly into the mess. Elsewhere, there are tight grooves on ‘Disdain’ and ‘Terrible’, and the guttural riffs on ‘Starved For’ offer plenty for bleeding gums to gnaw on.” -NME
“Touch And Go-style post rock with early grunge.” - The AV Club
“Northwestern American trio tap into grunge’s collective unconscious, channelling crushing riffs and ancestral memories of hardcore.” MOJO
“Loud, sneering, and heavy-set, Subjective Concepts could come wrapped in a rain-soaked plaid shirt.” - LOUD & QUIET
“Taut, virile hardcore punk with a seething intelligence… It’s an absolute gem.” - CLASH MUSIC
“An undeniably exciting listen.” - UNCUT
“With their excellent full-length debut, this savage young trio offers a stiff reminder of those bygone halcyon days when Chad Channing drummed for Nirvana instead of Dave Grohl. But while the barbed, razor-sharp riffs and tightrope bass thuds of Bleach largely inform the scrappy nature of key tracks like caustic opener “Pronoia” and the pensive “Oneirophobe,” there is an influential undercurrent of the signature sounds of their own city back in the day as well. Shades of K Records classics from Beat Happening and Some Velvet Sidewalk additionally factor into the more melodic elements of Subjective Concepts, particularly within the structures of college radio-ready songs like “Don’t Have To” and “Lose and Found.” - PASTE
“They are a powerful outfit, and Subjective Concepts is cohesive and fierce.” - Pitchfork
“Toggles between a coiled-snake groove and the kind of full scream-along ferocity that makes you want to thrash around in a small, dark room with a bunch of sweaty strangers. This is noisy, heavy, grimy music, and it’s great.” [“Pronoia”] - Stereogum
“A sludged-out mess of hardcore that slam dances with the Seattle label’s past and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them on a tour run that’s stacked with Mogwai, METZ, or Pissed Jeans” [“Pronoia”] - BLARE
“‘Starved For’ sounds exactly like what you’d want to be listening to if you lived inside of a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game.” - Noisey
Tour Dates
Sep. 25 - Seattle, WA - Black Lodge Sep. 26 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Sep. 27 - Portland, OR - They Know Sep. 30 - Olympia, WA - Old School Oct. 01 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Oct. 02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Smell Oct. 03 - Tempe, AZ - Time Out Lounge Oct. 04 - Albuquerque, NM - Sister Oct. 05 - Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis Oct. 06 - Omaha, NE - West Wing Oct. 07 - Columbia, MO - Cafe Berlin Oct. 08 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverwest Public House Oct. 09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle Oct. 10 - Athens, OH - Galbreath Chapel Oct. 11 - Detroit, MI - Marble Bar Oct. 12 - Cleveland, OH - Now That’s Class Oct. 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Oct. 14 - Annondale, NY - SMOG at Bard College Oct. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory (Sub Pop / Hardly Art CMJ Showcase) Oct. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool (Strange Victory Touring CMJ Party) Oct. 17 - New York, NY - Aviv Oct. 18 - Montreal, QC - Turbo Haus Oct. 19 - Toronto, ON - Smiling Buddha Oct. 20 - Rochester, NY - Bug Jar Oct. 21 - Albany, NY - The Low Beat 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
For more tour information + ticket links, please go here.
Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires deliver their distinct brand of Southern Rock to the people as their U.S. tour kicks off this week in support of recent single “Sweet Disorder” and Dereconstructed the group’s acclaimed 2014 album.
Got yer tickets but you just can’t wait for the show? Have a listen to the album right over here.
Their trek begins tomorrow night, September 25th in Lexington, KY at Cosmic Charlies and has been extended through Saturday, November 7th in Whitesburg, KY at Appalshop. The group will also be joined by Saddle Creek recording artists Pujol for select dates (as you’ll see below).
Single “Sweet Disorder!” was produced by Tim Kerr, cut by Jeremy Ferguson, mixed by Bains and Ferguson at Battletapes in Nashville, TN. The b-side, “Stars,” a Primitons cover, was recorded by Lee on Lee’s phone in Atlanta, GA and shined up by Ferguson, also at Battletapes.
Both “Sweet Disorder!” and Dereconstructed are available for purchase from Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and your friendly neighborhood record shop.
What do The People have to say about Dereconstructed?
“Dereconstructed, the band’s second album, ponders Southern identity in a welter of cranked-up guitars, bristling drums and rasping, hollering vocals. It’s pandemonium with a conscience.” - New York Times
“A terrific album.” [4/5 Stars] - The Guardian
“If there’s one tradition Bains and the Glory Fires unquestioningly uphold, it’s the Friday-night custom of burning down the house.” - NPR Music
“It’s a dirty-sounding album, full of scuzzy red-line guitars and overdriven vocals, but even all that speaker-busting grit doesn’t hide the alluring melodies Bains threads among the mayhem.” - Paste
“Bains likes to rock. He and the Glory Fires wrap his commentaries, ruminations, and invective in what he calls “real Alabama rock ’n’ roll,” a raging burnpile of garage and Southern rock, dirty, supercharged blues and soul, Stonesy groove, Crazy Horse howl, and punk slam. With these songs, Bains surely wants to make you think; he surely will make you shake.” - The Boston Globe
Bains hails from Birmingham, a city torn apart by some of the South’s most tragic events, and the singer isn’t shy about assailing the shortcomings and flaws, while also delivering a dose of don’t-forget-where-you’re-from pride. It’s fiercely intelligent stuff with a raucous sound.” [Best Album of 2014] - Garden & Gun
Tour Dates:
Sep. 25 - Lexington, KY - Cosmic Charlies*
Sep. 26 - Louisville, KY - Zanzabar*
Sep. 27 - Champaign, IL - Pygmalion Festival
Sep. 28 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
Sep. 29 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme *
Sep. 30 - Detroit, MI - UFO Factory *
Oct. 01 - Pittsburgh, PA - Smiling Moose *
Oct. 02 - Lancaster, PA - Lizard Lounge *
Oct. 03 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s All Right *
Oct. 04 - Providence, RI - Aurora *
Oct. 05 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *
Oct. 06 - Morgantown, WV - 123 Pleasant Street
Oct. 07 - Washington DC - Black Cat (Backstage)*
Oct. 08 - Harrisonburg, VA - Clementine Cafe *
Oct. 09 - Charlotte, NC - Milestone
Oct. 10 - Greenville, SC - Fall For Greenville
Oct. 20 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
Oct. 21 - Little Rock, AR - White Water Tavern
Oct. 22 - Dallas, TX - Three Links
Oct. 23 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger
Oct. 24 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
Oct. 25 - Houston, TX - Walter’s
Oct. 26 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea’s
Oct. 27 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
Oct. 28 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder *
Oct. 29 - Orlando, FL - Will’s Pub *
Oct. 30 - Tampa, FL - Crowbar
Oct. 31 - Jacksonville, FL - Burro Bar *
Nov. 01 - Gainesville, FL - The FEST
Nov. 05 - Raleigh, NC - Slim’s
Nov. 06- Richmond, VA - The Extravaganza @ Broadberry
Nov. 07 - Whitesburg, KY - Appalshop
* w/ Pujol
For more information + ticket links, please go here.
