News

NEWS : WED, APR 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Sub Pop to release Strange Wilds’ Subjective Concepts worldwide on July 24th

Sub Pop will release Subjective Concepts, the full-length debut by Strange Wilds, on CD/LP/DL worldwide on Friday July 24th. The album, featuring the highlights “Pronoia,” “Disdain,” and “Egophillia,” was recorded & produced by the band and Jackson Long at Robert Lang Studios, mixed by Long at Hear Me Shimmer, and mastered at RFI, all located in Seattle, Washington. Subjective Concepts follows the band’s Wet EP on Inimical Records (2014), and “Standing”  7” single (2015), also available now from Sub Pop.
 
Stereogum premiered Subjective Concepts lead single “Pronoia,” and had this to say: “First single “Pronoia” 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
 (see April 28th premiere).”
 
Preorders for Strange Wilds’ Subjective Concepts are now available from Sub Pop Mega MartiTunes, Amazon 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).
 

Strange Wilds
Subjective Concepts
Tracklisting:
1. Pronoia
2. Starved For
3. Autothysis
4. Don’t Have To
5. Egophillia
6. Oneirophobe
7. Disdain
8. Pareidolia
9. Terrible
10. Lost and Found
11. Outercourse



Posted by Sam Sawyer

NEWS : THU, APR 23, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Sub Pop Loves Amazon’s love of Seattle Almost as Much as We Love Seattle Itself

Seattle, our home: there sure are a lot of great things about it! Arguably two of the very best are local industry thought leaders Sub Pop Records and Amazon(dotcom). The recent discovery of a not-altogether-recent video for prospective Amazon employees had the staff at Sub Pop Records newly excited about being new in Seattle, all over again. Because we felt they left a few things out, we made this companion version (at what, we imagine and we’re sure you’ll be able to tell, was a tiny fraction of the cost) to welcome all newcomers to our wonderful city . We at Sub Pop Records love Amazon’s love of Seattle almost as much as we love Seattle itself: and it shows.



Posted by Sam Sawyer

NEWS : FRI, APR 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Add These to Your 2015 Record Store Day Lists

We here at Sub Pop Records love few things more than Record Store Day. TomorrowSaturday, April 18th, 2015 aka Record Store Day, we will release two very limited (and potentially, for you) anticipated efforts: The self-titled LP from the Alan Bishop-led Koes Barat and a heart-shaped single from Father John Misty.     
 
Father John Misty’s “I Loved You, Honeybee” 7” Single:
Father John Misty presents a lovely, alternate version of the title track of his latest album, I Love You, Honeybear, along with a new, exclusive B-side, truthfully-entitled “I’ve Never Been a Woman,” on a red-colored, heart-shaped 7” in a 10” sleeve. This release is exclusive to Record Store Day, and it is limited to 5,700 copies worldwide. You can check out “I Loved You, Honeybee” here
 
Koes Barat Koes Barat LP:
In 2010, Sun City Girls legend Alan Bishop asserted his fandom of Indonesian ‘60s/’70s pop legends Koes Bersaudara (aka Koes Plus) with two archival releases on his and Hisham Mayet’s Sublime Frequencies label. But that wasn’t enough. Feeling an overwhelming urge to interpret Koes tunes, Bishop recorded Koes Barat in less than a week of sessions with some of his favorite musicians and producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Marisa Nadler). The result is the most immediate, fun collection that the prolific Bishop has ever led. This album is a Record Store Day exclusive, limited to 3,800 worldwide. 

On a related note, Dangerous Minds ran a feature on Koes Barat + Koes Plus and call the album “FUCKING WONDERFUL.” We couldn’t agree more (see April 14th premiere)!


 
Father John Misty
“I Loved You, Honeybee” 7” (includes download code)
Tracklisting:
A. “I Loved You, Honeybee”
B. “I’ve Never Been a Woman”
                                                                                                                                              
Koes Barat
Koes Barat
LP (includes download code)
Tracklisting:
1. Kelelewar
2. Kisah Sedih di Hari Minggu
3. Pent Juri Hati
4. Mister Time
5. Hidup Yang Sepi
6. And to the so-called “The Guilties”
7. Tjintamu Telah Berlalu
8. Poor Clown
9. Land of Evergreen
10. Rahasia Hatiku
11. Tiba Tiba Ku Menangis
 
More About Record Store Day:
This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.
http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home



Posted by Sam Sawyer

NEWS : WED, APR 15, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Here are the 2015 Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winners.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of this year’s applicants for the Sub Pop Loser Scholarship. The breadth of qualified applicants this year gave us quite an inspiring glimpse into the minds of many of the freakiest high school Loser brains in the Pacific Northwest. Every year we get the privilege to be inspired by our applicants and every year we still manage to get blown away by how many awesome young people are waving their freak flags high and fighting the good fight here in our little corner of the U.S.A. GOOD JOB LOSERS, you win again!

This year’s best Sub Pop Losers are…

Noah Philips-Reardon –$7,000

Noah inspired us all with her heart and dedication to promoting a more inclusive, productive, and inspred all ages music community here in Seattle. Her work interning with STG, EMP, Vera Project, Sasquatch and various other local organizations showed us how involved a young person can be in the music community. The blog she runs, showed us a self-driven spirit that looked to promote up and coming artists. The reporting she did on all ages music for KUOW showed us a high school perspective on a Seattle scene, that mainly caters to adults, leaving young people wanting more. She is off to USC to study the music industry and likely one day take all of our jobs.

For the first time in the history of the Loser Scholarship, we could not decide between the second and third spot. After much discussion, comparison, and debate, we decided to split the remaining money evenly between the two.

Michael Erickson–$4,000

Michael strikes us as a very very productive young man, a real go getter. Reminding us of a young Dntel or The Album Leaf, his band WMD has tons of material ranging from 8 bit chiptune loop mashups to deep almost orchestral soundscapes that are really great. The ability to use technology to create tons of beautiful music that has caught international acclaim while still in high school is super impressive stuff. When we found out about Michael’s film scores, volunteer efforts, strong work ethic and collegiate ambitions we became smitten. Check out http://wmdchiptune.bandcamp.com/album/sophrosyne for more. Jimmy Lavelle and Jimmy Tamborello have some competition coming their way from this kid.

Isaac Worley–$4,000

Isaac is a music nerd. He seems to be in five to ten different bands that all sound totally different. His drumming is both technically sound and innovative. Rock bands, jazz bands, marching bands, prog bands, funk bands, he drums for all of them. We really appreciate how well rounded Isaac is while still seeming to be a perfectly wonderful Loser. The focus on his craft and work ethic that Isaac displays ought to get him a leg up in his college music studies at Loyola University in New Orleans. To say we were impressed with Isaac would be an understatement.



Posted by Andrew Sullivan

NEWS : TUE, APR 14, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Listen to Rose Windows’ “Strip Mall Babylon” Now

You can now listen to Rose Windows “Strip Mall Babylon, a new offering from the group’s forthcoming, self-titled and final album, due out May 4th on Sub Pop.
 
Stereogum premiered the track and had this to say, ““Strip Mall Babylon” suggests the album is well worth hearing (we can attest to this suggestion). 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. Hear the track below.(see track premiere April 14th).”
 
Preorders for Rose Windows are 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” (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) and have canceled all scheduled live dates. With that said, we are very proud to have released two albums with Rose Windows, and wish them well in their future pursuits, both musically and otherwise.



Posted by Sam Sawyer