Melbourne’s Deaf Wish will release Pain, their first full-length album for Sub Pop, on CD/LP/DL worldwide August 7th. The album, featuring the highlights “Eyes Closed,” “On,” “Calypso,” and the title track, was recorded & produced by the band at Reservoir, Victoria, mixed by Mikey Young and mastered by April Golden at Golden Mastering. Pain is the follow up to their label debut, the 4-song St. Vincent’s 7” single, released last October.
 
You can now listen to “Eyes Closed” via Stereogum, who say the track: ““Eyes Closed” initiates with the sound of off-white noise, a fragile rumble that opens the track’s seams and makes room for it to grow into something much more sinister. The song is an exploration of various tiers of dreaming consciousness: “I’m not awake, I’ve got my eyes closed/ I’m sleepwalking, with my eyes closed.”…There’s a certain sense of spontaneity to this debut single, suggesting that Deaf Wish formulate their songs in short, sharp moments of inspiration (see song premiere May 12th).”
 
Pain is now available for preorder from Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.  LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited Loser edition on clear, black marbled vinyl (while supplies last). There will also be a new T-shirt design, available individually and as part of a bundle with purchase of the new record.
 
About Deaf Wish:
When Deaf Wish found themselves in a room together for the very first time, they agreed on a guiding philosophy: “Let’s not make anything that’s going to last. If we’re together for just two shows, then that’s what it is.”
 
They’ve deviated some.
 
Over the course of eight years, the Melbourne foursome—bassist Nick Pratt, drummer Daniel Twomey and guitarists Sarah Hardiman and Jensen Tjhung, with each member contributing vocals—have instead amassed one of rock’s most exhilarating bodies of work, a concise run of wooly seven-inches and white-knuckle LPs whose legendary live translation has been most accurately described as “unhinged.” All this despite their being scattered across multiple continents, with no way of getting to know one another outside of intermittent touring. “We didn’t really know what this band was,” Tjhung says. “We had something, but it wasn’t clear—we had to figure out what that was.”
 
This year marks the arrival of Pain, the first they’ve written since coming together again semi-permanently in Melbourne, and their appropriately titled first full-length for Sub Pop. (Last October’s St. Vincent EP was their proper Sub Pop debut.) It is a miraculously dissonant, wonderfully immediate display of Deaf Wish at their mightiest, alive with the same wild chemistry and sense of possibility that made their first recordings so vital. With more time together than they’ve ever had before, they’re found themselves confronted with ideal (yet foreign) conditions. Two-minute freakouts like “Eyes Closed” share airspace with the meditate squall of “On” and the guitar-born majesty of “Calypso.” Everything was captured in three takes or less, in a bleak, nondescript studio on the lifeless outskirts of Melbourne.
 
“It’s a simple thing,” Tjhung says of their approach. “Simple takes the worry out of it. If we try to step it up and go sideways, it just doesn’t seem to work. But we’ve grown up and been through some shit. To get to this point you have to bust through a few walls. It’s easy to be new, and I think, in the end, this is what it is. When you put these people in the room, it’s Deaf Wish (read bio at Sub Pop).”

Donation Page

Now there’s one more good reason to ride your bike all the way from rainy Seattle to Portland, OR, and that is to raise money. Sub Pop Records employees will join in the 202-mile Seattle to Portland (STP) Bicycle Classic held on July 11 -12, 2015. Now in its 36th year, the STP is the largest multi-day ride in the Northwest with up to 10,000 riders making the journey through Western Washington and Oregon.

In January of 2013, Sub Pop Records Co-Founder Jonathan Poneman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In a 2013 Seattle Times article, Poneman states, “I accept that I have this disease, but that doesn’t give me the right to be passive.” In response, Sub Pop Records employees will be raising money for the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation (NWPF) by doing the infamous STP bike ride.

What We Need & What You Get

Since being diagnosed, our President has done everything he can to show others that there is life beyond Parkinson’s. He actually explains it as sort of a blessing. Parkinson’s has allowed him to “recalibrate” important values.

“As ironic as it sounds, I am truly grateful to the disease.” Poneman explains further that, “My love of life and its precious elements became more vivid at the thought of seeing them fade away.”

The Impact

Your donation will go directly to the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation. NWPF is the only independent regional Parkinson’s organization serving Washington State. NWPF aims to establish optimal quality of life for the Northwest Parkinson’s community through awareness, education, advocacy and care.

Located in Seattle, NWPF proudly invests every dollar in local programs to support the Northwest Parkinson’s community. NWPF plays a vital role in helping people with Parkinson’s live meaningfully with the disease. In addition, NWPF provides information that gives patients and their families the tools they need to find quality medical care, better manage their disease and take charge of their daily lives.

Sub Pop has a long history of supporting non-profit organizations around the globe but prefers to focus on local organizations in the Pacific Northwest. We have been involved in fundraisers for the uncompensated care for Seattle Children’s Hospital, donated food and funds to Northwest Harvest, given time, support, and funds to the all-ages music venue ‘The Vera Project’, supported the campaign for marriage equality in Washington state, among many more. We believe in supporting the community that has always supported us. The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation is an organization we feel proud to be riding for. 

Other Ways You Can Help

Sub Pop Records: Sales Director

Sub Pop Records is currently looking to fill a newly opened position as the label’s Sales Director, working here in our Seattle headquarters. This is a leadership role within the company with responsibility for our physical, digital and streaming business. This person will work closely with our main distribution partner, the Alternative Distribution Alliance (or ADA), and all aspects of our internal sales department. Our ideal candidate will have significant music sales as well as managerial experience. The closing date to apply for this position is May 17, 2015.

Summary
Sales department management.
Management of relationships with distribution partners and key retailers.
Communication and reporting.

Responsibilities
Sales department management
- Manage a sales team within Sub Pop Records, members of which handle direct retails sales, direct-to-consumer sales (via megamart.subpop.com), and international sales and distribution.
- Work with the sales team to create and implement cohesive retail strategies for all Sub Pop and Hardly Art releases and related merchandise across all sales channels, globally (through ADA, direct digital accounts, direct physical retail accounts, direct-to-consumer sales, and international distribution partners)
- Lead weekly sales meeting to ensure the sales team is on track with all projects, covering current priorities and tours.
- Conduct annual performance evaluations for each member of sales team.
- Participate in the hiring and training of new employees in the sales department.
- Work with the sales team to explore new sales opportunities.

Management of relationships with distribution partners and key retailers.
- Manage relationships with ADA as well as relationships with key physical and digital retailers, both those who are direct accounts and those who come through ADA.
- Personally responsible for the management of direct digital account relationships.
- Establish Initial Order Goals and advertising budgets with the General Manager and ADA.
- Provide all necessary marketing and sales information and direction to ADA for new releases and ongoing priorities.
- Attend necessary sales conferences and meet regularly in person with distribution partners.

Communication and reporting
- Work in partnership with the Marketing Director and the International Sales and Distribution Manager.
- Attend weekly managers’ meetings and provide detailed information on upcoming sales programs, promotions and operations.
- Disseminate internally all pertinent information from stores, distributors and customers.
- Provide sales, streaming and other sales data to the company weekly, and at biannual meetings.
- Provide production input and guidance using sales-based estimates for manufacturing needs, and attend weekly production meetings.

Skills Necessary
- Must be motivated, organized, have the ability to multitask and communicate clearly and effectively to large and small groups, problem solve and provide conflict resolution when needed. Proficiency with data analysis and manipulation, plus experience with the usual suite of current office software and tools are all expected as well.

Supervisor: General Manager

Please send all resumes and cover letters to Mary Wood at maryw@subpop.com.

Rose Windows, the self-titled, final album from the beloved Seattle sextet, is available now on CD/LP/DL worldwide via Sub Pop. The album, featuring the highlights “Glory, Glory,” and “Strip Mall Babylon,” was recorded in the fall of 2014 at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, LA, and produced & mixed by Randall Dunn (Earth, Akron Family, Cave Singers).

You can now watch Rose Windows “In The Studio,” a documentary on the making of the album, filmed by Deep Dasgupta and on location in Bogulusa [http://u.subpop.com/1FLF4CQ].

Rose Windows is available now from Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. All customers who pre-order the LP version of the album from megamart.subpop.com will receive the “Loser Edition” on red & black marbled vinyl, and a limited edition 7” which features the songs “Never Did Me Wrong” and a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Wanton Song” [listen here] while supplies last. Additionally, there will be a new T-shirt design available in two colors, both individually and as part of a bundle with purchases of the new record.
 
Rose Windows recently shared the news of their dissolution through their Facebook page (read more here / March 30th) and have canceled all scheduled live dates. With that said, we feel lucky and very proud to have released two albums with Rose Windows and wish them well in all of their future pursuits.
 
What people are saying about Rose Windows:
“With production supremo and Master Musicians Of Bukkake man Randall Dunn taking up desk duties, the band recorded the follow-up to their 2013 debut The Sun Dogs in Bogalusa, Louisiana, with the Deep South’s delta blues tradition feeding into the album. It moves from opener ‘Bodhi Song’, which finds the band concerning themselves with Buddhist enlightenment, shifting through ‘Glory Glory’, where evocative flute lines collide with fuzzy, gnarled bass, and the captivating groove of ‘Strip Mall Babylon’, before closing with a two-part coda, the cathartic, exquisite ‘A Pleasure To Burn’ and ‘Hirami’.” - The Quietus
 
“Rose Windows have the power to lift listeners far out of the everyday…” – Mojo
 
“Together, they’ve produced a nine-song set mining various vintage rock textures. “Blind” features a laid-back, funk-and-country appeal similar to Seed of Memory-period Terry Reid. “A Pleasure to Burn” is particularly desert-fried and is full of spacious wails, campfire guitar and rattlesnake percussion. “The Old Crow,” meanwhile, is a guns-raised anthem with bluesy, Wild Turkey-drenched vocals and a few Dr. Who-styled synth lines.” - Exclaim!
 
“Sumptuous” - Uncut

“Strip Mall Babylon” suggests the album is well worth hearing. The song starts deceptively with a slinky groove, before Qazi’s Joplin-esque roar explodes over thick, fuzzy guitars and searing organs. It’s a victorious sign-off for a band with a brief but impressive run.” - Stereogum

“Marked by a smashing rhythm section and gnarly, over-sized guitar riffs, the track finds the band operating in the the proto-metal tradition of a slightly grimier Black Sabbath.” [Glory, Glory] - Consequence of Sound

“‘Glory, Glory’ is at once the psych-rockers’ heaviest, most extroverted, and catchiest song to date.” - The Stranger

Selective Listening: Notes from the desk of the General Manager, May 2015

Sub Pop Sea-Tac Gives You So Much More

In a move that inadvertently gave clearance to shameless overuse of flight-related metaphors and jargon both here and elsewhere (but mostly here), on May 1st of last year we at Seattle’s biggest group of fans of Sub Pop Records (aka Sub Pop Records) gave wing to our latest and greatest brazen scheme with the opening of the Sub Pop store at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. And, though we didn’t name it either Sub Pop Rock City or Terminal G (both excellent options), and landed instead on the simpler, more direct “Sub Pop,” this thing has really taken off!

In celebration of this feat, today, May 1st, at noon, the very excellent Hardly Art recording artist S will be performing as a duo for free at the Sub Pop store at Sea-Tac! As you are assuredly already aware, but really only rhetorically so, the following: S is the operational alias of Seattle-based superstar Jenn Ghetto. Cool Choices is the name of the most recent and very good S album, released on Hardly Art in September of 2014. Hardly Art is the younger, thinner, better-looking, and frankly-starting-to-get-a-little-smug-about-all-that sibling label to Sub Pop Records. The Sub Pop store at Sea-Tac is located on the secure side of security near the C Gate at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and is open for Business Time from 6 am to 10 pm every g-d day.

But! Before all that (and for a few weeks after - this is a monthly column…), here a few, quick highlights from our first year of retail residence at Sea-Tac…

- Somewhat and even outright famous people, who have recorded for Sub Pop or not have come in to the store and have often allowed us to take their pictures there! People like: Jack White, Elvis Costello, Jemaine Clement, Duff McKagan, Dave Grohl, Courtney Barnett, Tom Douglas, Corin Tucker, Tunde and Kyp from TV on the Radio, Elijah Wood, J Mascis, Nardwuar, and the list goes on, though not much further! Sometimes these people have even bought things from the store!

- In addition to the records, t-shirts, posters, hats and mittens that one might expect from a bona fide, professional record label, we have learned how to make, or affix our logo to, a whole bunch of unlikely stuff! Stuff like: pencils, combs, bags for vomit, pillows for necks, koozies for cans, glasses (both shot and pint), cards (both greeting and post), blankets, beach towels, and that is already way more than enough for illustrative purposes. We’re talking about real airport shit here! But Sub Pop airport shit!

- We now find ourselves fortunate enough to have an extended family of co-workers at Sub Pop at SeaTac who are tirelessly congenial and enthused, and who interact with visitors to the store in a way that speaks way better of us than we likely deserve (even if some large percentage of those visitors have little to no idea what Sub Pop might be). These co-workers are a genuine source of inspiration and pride and we hope that our vampiric attachment does not drain them of these qualities.

-  Shocking to no one more than ourselves, we have managed to get and retain alarming security clearances!

I’m headed through Sea-Tac this week on my way to Toronto to see METZ play their two sold-out hometown record release shows, and even though I am only allowed to fly late at night and the store will be closed when I’m there, I will still stop by, loiter around the front of the place, recall fondly the time in April of last year when I passed by the as-yet-to-open shop with my two kids (the younger of whom: “Do you work here now? It’s AWESOME!”) and marvel at the wild improbability of it all.

Minus the part where you recall anything whatsoever about my kids, fondly or otherwise, you should do the same. Maybe buy yourself a comb?