No Fly List: Notes from Sub Pop’s Airport Store, June 2015
The Sub Pop Airport Store: A World of Musical Discoveries
If you read the airport store sales clerk hiring post from last year, you’ll see that one of the primary qualifications for the job is “Knowledge of the Sub Pop catalog.” While the staff is comprised of diverse music fans with a deep appreciation for the label, let’s be real, not all of us can say we have listened to every single Sub Pop release from 1988 to today. But by working in the store, and playing lots of Sub Pop music, we are beginning to chip away at our blind-spots in the catalog and discover killer albums that are effectively ‘new-to-us.’ So, next time you’re in the store, we all might be listening to a record we’ve never heard before. Neat-o!
When I think about bands that I first heard at the Sub Pop store, I’m immediately drawn to Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires. Their Sub Pop debut, Dereconstructed, came out within the first month of the store opening, and one year later I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. It’s an insane, distorted, Southern punk rock record that only improves when I follow along with the lyric sheet. But in terms of an older band that I had heard of, but never listened to, it’s only since I’ve started working at the store that I’ve become familiar with the Murder City Devils. Preface: I moved to Seattle in 2007. Listening to a local institution like Murder City Devils (original run: 1996 to 2001) for the first time, in 2015, is like communing with ghosts from Seattle’s past that I never got a chance to experience first-hand. Raucous, alcohol-soaked, and bleary-eyed ghosts that get eroded by new condos every year.
I could go on-and-on with these, but let’s see what my esteemed retail colleagues have to say about music that they’ve discovered after working at the airport store. (You’ll find all these selections, and more, in a Spotify playlist down below.)
Kane:
“Chad VanGaalen: My introduction to the institution that is Mr. VanGaalen was his most recent record, Shrink Dust, which I loved and listened to quite a bit since its release. Exploring the rest of his discography alerted me to the fact that he’s one of the best musicians around today; each of his 5 albums are varied in sound, excellent, and unmistakably his.”
(I can attest that Kane puts on at least one Chad VanGaalen album per shift. I have no problem with this whatsoever. –ed.)
Carly:
“The Ruby Suns are a band I’m thankful to have discovered through this job. Their album Sea Lion first caught my attention with its multicultural influence (see “Tane Mahuta” and “Kenya Dig It?”) and bright joyous gang vocals (“Oh Mojave”), but it’s the album Christopher that is the closest to my heart. Singer Ryan McPhun sounds more independent (and maybe a little lonely) on this record, and his melodic sensibility and tendency towards synthesizers create a stark contrast to Sea Lion, in a good way.”
(Christopher is the leading cause of impromptu dance party outbreaks in the store. –ed.)
Olivia:
“While cramming for my Sub Pop interview and combing through the roster, one name eluded me. Beach House. This was a band I was well aware of, yet I had never actually listened to them! WTF!? Maybe I had read a description somewhere and thought I was too much of a ‘rocker’ for this dreamy shit! In any case, I loaded up their video for ‘Wishes’ and was absolutely mesmerized! I instantly felt as though all of my hopes and dreams were within reach! (I was gonna get this job!) And I did!”
(The lesson here: Keep those horizons open or you might miss out on your next favorite band. Also, ignore music critics who overuse meaningless words like ‘dreamy.’ –ed.)
Josh:
(Only the the most hardened soulless person can deny the emotional resonance of Sade + Beachwood Sparks. –ed.)
Javier:
(Javier is new here. I think this means he’s gotten really into GOAT, so much so that part of his brain is permanently warped and he can now only communicate via Emoji. –ed.)
I didn’t get a hold of Audrey or Rachel for their submissions, (presumably they spend their days ‘working’ and don’t have time for my pestering emails) but from listening to their musical choices in the store, I’m pretty sure they’ve recently gotten into Shimmering Stars (reverb-heavy pop from Hardly Art in 2011) and Male Bonding (infectious and rollicking punk-rock, with 2 albums on Sub Pop), respectively.
Jacob:
I would have written about the Obits (from which this blog gets its title), who captured my interest immediately with their updated punk-classic competing electric-guitar-enthusiast, layered rhythm twang-a-surf-a-billy-garage tone attack, thumpin’ bass, graphic design sensibility, and howlin’ vocals, but then they broke up (RIP Obits, may they rest in scattered pieces of newer, older bands).
So, the time is now! Something new: Daughn Gibson, who I wasn’t very familiar with. The album: Carnation. It’s striking some chords I couldn’t place right away on the first few listens. A friend immediately told me he loved the album because it reminded him of Depeche Mode, and David Sylvian’s post-Japan music direction, to which I then remembered when I first heard the lead off track (Shatter You Through) I was reminded of The Cure somehow, production wise, I suppose? So, there is a definite 1980’s noir at the core of the album.
Next, the guitar’s clanging desert-fried reverb’d bursts, and leave-you-hanging-lead, paired with the deep vocal croon, finally hit me. I was subconsciously enjoying being reminded of Simon Bonney and Rowland S. Howard’s group, Crime and the City Solution, which I think thus far the online critical response has completely missed as a great recommendation point of reference. So, Carnation is evoking and reminding me of some great music from the past, while remaining interesting listen after listen.
Also, I must mention that the backing band is great collision of minds, consisting of some major names in jazz, such as Matt Chamberlain from Bill Frisell’s Floratone (and much more) on drums, Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet’s very own Skerik on saxophone, the prolific Eyvind Kang’s haunting string arrangements and performance, not to mention Milky Burgess from Master Musicians of Bukkake (and Record Store Day extravaganza super-tribute-group: Koes Barat), as well as a dash of pedal steel by Jay Kardong (known for his work with Grand Archives, Sera Cahoone). This gives me the impression that the album was assembled from sessions similar to what produced Talk Talk’s final album; improvisation, to form structure through sculptured loops and overlays. I think this is the best yet I’ve heard from Daughn Gibson, and I hope he will continue to head in this direction with open-minded jazz and rock musicians to get at sounds decades lost, refreshed.”
We are happy to release Strange Wilds’ “Starved For,” the ferocious new single from Subjective Concepts, their full-length debut.
Noisey offers this on the band: “Strange Wilds is a punk trio
out of Olympia, WA that throw down powerchords suited for any damn
occasion you could need. On their upcoming record Subjective Concepts...the
band delivers songs displaying flourishes of the best parts of the
Northwest’s storied punk history without using nostalgia as a crutch.
Their new track “Starved For” sounds exactly like what you’d want to be
listening to if you lived inside of a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game. It’s
exactly what you’d expect from a band on Sub Pop, heavy riffs that can
still guile any “normal” person into falling in love with the band’s
music. In a hair under three minutes the trio manages to create a broad
soundscape that covers way more ground than you’d expect on paper (see track premiere June 16th)”.
Strange Wilds have a few scheduled live dates to share at this time:
June 26th in Seattle, WA at Black Lodge; July 18th in Olympia, WA at Old
School Pizza; and July 24th in Seattle at Capitol Hill Block Party.
Additional tour dates will be announced soon.
Subjective Concepts will be available on CD/LP/DL worldwide on
Friday July 24th from Sub Pop. The album, featuring the highlights
“Pronoia,” “Starved For,” “Disdain,” and “Egophillia,” was produced by
the band at Robert Lang Studios, mixed by Jackson Long at Hear Me
Shimmer, and mastered at RFI, all located in Seattle, Washington. Subjective Concepts follows Strange Wilds’ Wet EP on Inimical Records (2014), and the “Standing” 7” single (2015), also available now from Sub Pop.
Preorders for Strange Wilds’ Subjective Concepts are now available from Sub Pop’s Mega Mart, Amazon, and iTunes and Bandcamp. All customers who pre-order the LP version of Subjective Concepts
from megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited Loser Edition on
white vinyl, with a limited-edition poster. There will also be a new
T-shirt design available individually and as part of a bundle with the
new record.
About Strange Wilds:
Strange Wilds is a musical power-trio from Olympia, Washington.
There are three members: Allen, who plays drums; Sean, who plays bass;
and Steven, who sings and plays the guitar. There is also a freight
train, several buzzsaws, a banshee, and some heavy, heavy Pacific
doom-and-gloom up in the mix.
The group formed in 2012, when Steven met Sean while Sean’s band from
Boise was playing a gig in a house where Steven lived. They became
friends, and several months later Steven called Sean, who had just
relocated to Olympia for college, to form the band. They were called
Wet, and gigged around the West Coast as a four-piece. Allen was added
as a full-time member in 2014 after a line-up change, and the band
changed its name to Strange Wilds to release a 4-song EP and tour
immediately. Sub Pop came calling, and signed the band last fall. The
band is now set to release its full-length debut, Subjective Concepts, this summer.
Strange Wilds slays with the hellish fury of the Northwest hardcore scene’s best, the heavenly scuzz of a Bleach-era
Nirvana, and the purgatorial punishment of Touch & Go post-rock
meets Devo’s de-evolution machine. The 11 songs here bleed with the
hybrid DNA of Seattle’s past and future, disparate scenes fused together
with sneering menace and intelligent fury in equal shares (read more at
Sub Pop).
What People Are Saying About Strange Wilds:
“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
Tour Dates
Jun. 26 - Seattle, WA - The Black Lodge
Jul. 18 - Olympia, WA - Old School Pizza
Jul. 24 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
Daughn Gibson’s Carnation
is available now on CD / LP / DL in North America from your friends in the music business, Sub Pop Records. Conveniently enough for fans and newcomers alike, a brand-new Daughn Gibson official video for “Daddy I Cut My Hair” is also available as of today and was directed by the talented Matt
Amato.
Carnation, featuring the highlights “Shatter You Through,”
“Bled to Death,” “It Wants Everything,” and “Daddy I Cut My Hair,” was
co-produced by Gibson and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Tim Hecker),
recorded at Avast Studios in Seattle, Washington and mastered by Jason
Ward at Chicago Mastering.
The new album also features guest appearances from
composer/violinist to Eyvind Kang (string arrangements), renowned studio
drummer Matt Chamberlain, as well as Gibson’s long-standing musical
conspirator, Jim Elkington. Additional contributions include: Steve
Moore (Piano, Trombone, Keyboards and Synths); Milky Burgess, Paul
Wegman, and Jer Rouse (Guitars); Skerik (Saxophone); and Jay Kardong
(Pedal Steel). Carnation is the follow up to Me Moan, Daughn Gibson’s Sub Pop debut.
North American purchases of Carnation are available through Sub
Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. Fans who purchase the album
from us at our MegaMart store will receive the Loser Edition on white, black
and blue swirl colored vinyl (while supplies last only).
What people are saying about Daughn Gibson:
“Singular and unsettlingly sophisticated.” [8/10] - Uncut
“Carnation,
with hindsight in its favor, gives Gibson the ability to keep on
stretching his narratives, but it also wisely pomades some of his
wildest hairs. The country urges are tamped down to the occasional
guitar line and qualities of Gibson’s singing voice, giving the music a
chance to open up to breezier vistas. These are mostly pitched between
Tangerine Dream’s ’80s material and soundtracks, Sylvian/Japan, Danny
Elfman and ’80s radio pop groups like a-ha, a mixture of influences and
ideas that’s remarkably compelling when set against such visceral
tales…Across all three records, and on this one in particular, there’s
a reach of ambition that never gets mired in artifice or
inconsistencies; this is surprising, complex music that deals with
stories difficult to tell outside the printed page. Gibson leads
listeners through them on the rumble seat, without so much as a lap belt
or handhold to keep us steady.” [“First Listen”] - NPR Music
“Another weirdly fitting edition to Gibson’s sonic smorgasboard.” - Time Out London
“Carnation hears Gibson veering away from his earlier country
influences and embracing “ambient textures,” creating an elegant, dark,
and cinematic collection of songs…In addition to delivering brooding
beats and eerie soundscapes, Gibson uses his deep, theatrical style of
singing to explore serious themes like mental health (“Daddy I Cut My
Hair”) and masculinity (“A Rope Ain’t Enough”), as well as the simpler
things in life, like the moment an alarm clock wakes you from the peace
of sleep on lead single “Shatter You Through” - Exclaim!
“Gibson finally sounds the part.” [4/5] - MOJO
“Its brisk metropolitan midnight pop accented by eerie violin and
honky-tonk guitar and topped off with Gibson’s death bellow. He spins a
story about being jarred from peaceful sleep into dreadful waking life;
it’s as odd as anything he’s committed to tape, but it’s also his most
instantly appealing single yet.” [“Shatter You Through”, Carnation] - Stereogum
“Quite possibly his catchiest work to date, the titillating track is
marked by groovy bass, twangy guitar, and Gibson’s rich baritone.”
[“Shatter You Through”, Carnation] - Consequence of Sound
“A brisk, impressive new track with swift strings, tinkling piano keys,
and a quick-paced Gibson demonstrating a keen grasp on pop’s best
offerings…The future is here and now, and it’s on repeat.”
[“Shatter You Through”, Carnation] - FLOOD
The Helio Sequence is out now on CD/LP/DL worldwide and can be purcahsed in fine record stores near you as well as online retailers such as Sub Pop Mega Mart,
iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. Worth noting, however, is that while supplies last, customers who purchase the LP version
of the album from megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited “Loser Edition” on yellow-colored vinyl.
Additionally, The Helio Sequence’s US tour will resume on June 3rd in Boise, ID at Neurolux and will run through October 1st in Spokane, WA at INB Performing Arts Center. The Helio Sequence will be direct support for Death Cab For Cutie on Sep. 30th & Oct. 1st . Get the complete list of tour dates below.
What people are saying about The Helio Sequence:
“The Helio Sequence has created a euphoric, career-defining album.” [9.2 / 10] - PASTE
“…The duo’s latest is an ambitious, smart, and memorable collection of crisply produced clean-channel rock that shows all the newcomers how it’s done.” [8/10] - FLOOD
“”Stoic Resemblance” matches harmonious psychedelic chorus with a brisk krautrock pulse.” - Stereogum
“”Stoic Resemblance” is among the most pop-friendly things the duo have put to tape. Of course, “pop-friendly” to The Helio Sequence takes the shape of more direct song structures and vocal hooks. Naturally, it’s all filtered through their signature kaleidoscopic filter, hitting a chord somewhere between gauzy and taut. At a tight three minutes, “Stoic Resemblance” shows The Helio Sequence at their most spontaneous and their most playful, which is not only a surprise turn from the studio-intense direction that’s long defined them with surprisingly fun results.” [Song of the Day] - KEXP
“It’s a hit of catchy goodness with a funky bassline with a chorus of “oh na na nas.” It’s a bonafide jam.” [“Stoic Resemblance”] - KCRW
“A rager by comparison, rhythmically reminiscent of Beck…It’s great to find the Helio Sequence upping their game, and being a little less stoic.” [“Stoic Resemblance”] - Buzzbands
Tour Dates
Jun. 03 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
Jun. 04 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Jun. 05 - Denver, CO- Larimer Lounge
Jun. 06 - Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar
Jun. 08 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
Jun 09 - Austin, TX - RED 7
Jun. 10 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald’s
Jun. 11 - New Orleans, LA - Gassa Gassa
Jun. 12 - Birmingham, AL - The Saturn
Jun. 13 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
Jun. 14 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
Jun. 16 - Washington DC - Black Cat
Jun. 17 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade
Jun. 18 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Jun. 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
Jun. 20 - Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
Jun. 21 - Hamden, CT - Outerspace Ballroom
Jun. 23 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
Jun. 24 - Columbus, OH - The Basement
Jun. 25 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle
Jun. 26 - Madison, WI - The Frequency
Jun. 27- St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
Jun. 28th - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
Jul. 09 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
July 11 - Seattle, WA - The Neptune
Jul. 14 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Jul. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
Jul. 16 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent
Jul. 17 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
Jul. 18 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door
Aug. 23 - Portland, OR- MusicFestNW
Sep. 30 - Missoula, MT - Adams Event Center*
Oct. 01 - Spokane, WA - INB Performing Arts Center*
* w/ Death Cab For Cutie
For presale & general ticket information, please visit http://www.bandsintown.com/TheHelioSequence
