In celebration of Kiwi Jr.’sChopper,the band’s third album out later this week, you can now watch the official video for “The Sound of Music,” directed by Laura-Lynn Petrick (who has also directed videos for Weyes Blood and Jessica Pratt). The song features backing vocals from Canadian singer Dorothea Pass (U.S. Girls, Jennifer Castle).
Jeremy Gaudet says of the song, “Some names are so loaded that I can’t resist inserting them into a song, and Julie Andrews is one. Her name brings up a certain feeling. I didn’t rewatch the movie before writing the song, so it’s from memory, but I knew “So Long Farewell” and “I Have Confidence”. There’s this idea of her marriage falling apart after the success of the movie - she was married young to a production designer. I don’t really know how it all went down, but my version makes for good drama. This is Kiwi Jr at our most melodramatic. The song borders on fanfiction, which is something I usually try to avoid, however this started to get juicy and I had to follow it through.”
Chopperwill be available Friday, August 12th worldwide on CD/LP/CS/DSPs through Sub Pop, with the exception of Canada through the band’s Kiwi Club imprint. The album was recorded and produced in Toronto by Sub Pop labelmate Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Operators).
Kiwi Jr. resumes touring in support of Chopper on Friday, September 16th in Paris at La Boule Noire. The UK and European jaunt runs through Sunday, September 25th in Amsterdam at Paradiso. Additional live dates to be announced soon.
Fri. Sep. 16 - Paris, FR - La Boule Noire Sat. Sep. 17 - Orleans, FR - Hop Pop Hop Festival Sun. Sep. 18 - Lille, FR - L’ Aeronef Mon. Sep. 19 - London, UK - Victoria Dalston [SOLD OUT] Tue. Sep. 20 - London, UK - 100 Club Wed. Sep. 21 - Brussels, BE - Witloofbar Botanique Thu. Sep. 22 - Nijmegen, NL - Merelyyn Fri. Sep 23 - Hamburg, DE - Reeperbahn Festival Sat. Sep. 24 - Eindhoven, NL - Stoomhuisje Sun. Sep. 25 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Bandcamp, in its “Album of the Day” review (Aug. 2nd), had this to say about Chopper, “A central force in the jangle pop renaissance, the Toronto quartet helped curate a transcontinental safe space for Flying Nun admirers—the Slumberland crew in Oakland; Jeanines and UV-TV in New York; Young Guv et al. in Toronto…With their vibrant third LP, Kiwi Jr. swing from the jangle tree and tell the story of an underdog up against an indifferent world.”
Chopper is still available for preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on crystal clear vinyl (while supplies last). Meanwhile, preorders through select independent retailers in the UK and EU will receive the limited Loser edition on clear vinyl (while supplies last).
More on Kiwi Jr.’s Chopper: “Chopper, their third album in as many years, sees the group resetting their posture with ten tracks of surreal summer pop. The sun-drenched synthesisers of opener ‘Unspeakable Things’ showcases this change perfectly. Kiwi Jr. in 2022 are all about the melodies. An overwhelming, keyboard-driven glaze engulfs the band’s signature guitar hooks from the very first second, giving a refreshing, skew-wiff spin on a well-worn sound.” - Loud & Quiet
“Penning odes to disregarded robotic arms, inconveniently placed deer corpses, and extras embarrassed by their films, Toronto singer-songwriter and KiwiJr frontman Jeremy Gaudet walks a tightrope between melancholy and whimsy, between sincerity and irony…he strikes atonal balance that’s all the more compelling for being so precarious, as though a wrong note or misplaced lyric might send a song spiralling into facetiousness. Whenever he does lose his footing, the band’s imaginative take on mid-2000s indie rock — all churning guitars and zigzagging synths — steadies this Chopper.” - Uncut
“Gaudet’s hyper-absurdist approach to songwriting is both sharper and more abstruse than ever.” [Chopper] - MOJO
“…There is a lot to like about these 10 songs, not least the wacky warble of ‘Unspeakable Things,’ which retains a Fountains of Wayne-style pop sensibility, or the slacker-pop swing of ‘Parasite II,’ with its droll nod to Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film.” [Chopper] - The Irish Times
“With every successive album, the Toronto-via-Charlottetown quartet shows off increasingly sophisticated and expansive songwriting skills.” [Chopper] - Northern Transmissions
“‘Unspeakable Things’ is a jaunty and synth-happy song, and it takes me right back to the mid-’00s blog-rock days” - Stereogum
“A dose of all-out fun…”[“Unspeakable Things”] - CLASH
“‘Night Vision’ “a slashing slice of post-punk…it finds them taking a darker turn that may put those annoying Pavement comparisons to rest for good.” - Brooklyn Vegan
On October 21st, 2022, Frankie Cosmos will release Inner World Peace, their fifth album, on CD/LP/CS/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The album, which features “One Year Stand” and additional standouts “ F.O.O.F.”, “Aftershook,” and “Empty Head,” was co-produced by Frankie Cosmos, Nate Mendelsohn, and Katie Von Schleicher at Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn, New York, mixed by Mendelsohn and Von Schleicher, and mastered by Josh Bonati at Bonati Mastering. The Inner World Peace album art also features illustrations from band member Lauren Martin.
In the sweet and tender official video for “One Year Stand,” directed by Eliza Lu Doyle, and starring Frankie Cosmos’s Greta Kline and Alex Bailey, Greta does an interpretive dance using the song’s lyrical theme of accepting new love while acknowledging that your past is part of who you are.
Eliza offers this, “We conceived of the setting for the video as a cross between a diorama and an empty arena stage. To me, the interaction between Greta and the camera is almost like an act of faith — a reach toward an absent audience. We wanted to channel the pleasure of half-performing for that imaginary gaze.”
Greta elaborates further, “This music video was created with my best friend Eliza, who makes video and performance art. It feels like an encapsulation of the record in that it’s strange and vast while also being contained and interior. Clowning and playing are a huge part of collaborating for me and Eliza. We wanted to perform a dance without dancing — the kind of movements you fall into in private, banal moments, playing without even realizing. Choreographing together felt like we were in 6th grade again, all id and giggles. The album and the video were made in these environments of love and pleasure.”
Inner World Peace is available for preorder now from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in North America, the UK and Europe, will receive the album on crystal clear vinyl (while supplies last). There will also be a new T-shirt design available.
Frankie Cosmos has scheduled an Inner World Peace release show in Queens NY on October 7th 2022 at Knockdown Center’s The Ruins. Hannah Jadagu and Ian Sweet will be opening.
About Inner World Peace by Katie Von Schleicher: Several things happened before a warm day when I met the four members of Frankie Cosmos in a Brooklyn studio to begin making their album. Greta Kline spent a few years living with her family and writing a mere 100 songs, turning her empathy anywhere from the navel to the moon, rendering it all warm, close and reflexively humorous. In music, everyone loves a teen sensation, but Kline has never been more fascinating than now, a decade into being one of the most prolific songwriters of her generation. She’s lodged in my mind amongst authors, other observational alchemists like Rachel Cusk or Sheila Heti, but she’s funnier, which is a charm endemic to musicians.
Meanwhile Frankie Cosmos, a rare, dwindling democratic entity called a band, had been on pandemic hiatus with no idea if they’d continue. In the openness of that uncertainty they met up, planning to hang out and play music together for the first time in nearly 500 days. There, whittling down the multitude of music to work with, they created Inner World Peace, a collection of Greta’s songs changed and sculpted by their time together. While Kline’s musical taste at the time was leaning toward aughts indie rock she’d loved as a teenager, keyboardist Lauren Martin and drummer Luke Pyenson cite “droning, meditation, repetition, clarity and intentionality,” as well as “‘70s folk and pop” as a reference for how they approached their parts. Bassist/guitarist Alex Bailey says that at the time he referred to it as their “ambient” or “psych” album. Somewhere between those textural elements and Kline’s penchant for concise pop, Inner World Peace finds its balance.
Instant centerpiece “One Year Stand” is a small snowglobe of intimacy recalling the softest moments of Yo La Tengo’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. Lifted by Martin’s drones on Hammond organ and synthesizer, it could be played on repeat in a loop. I like to think it’s obvious how Greta’s vocals were recorded: late at night as we all sat by in low light, transfixed as she sings “I’m not worried about the / rest of my life / because you are here today / I go back in time / I’m a cast iron.” The voices of Kline and Martin, who have sung together since middle school, blend seamlessly.
The first order of business upon setting up camp in Brooklyn’s Figure 8 studios was to project giant colorful slides the band had made for each track. Co-producing with Nate Mendelsohn, my Shitty Hits Recording partner, we aimed for FC’s aesthetic idiosyncrasies to shine.The mood board for “Magnetic Personality” has a neon green and black checkerboard, a screen capture of the game Street Fighter with “K.O.” in fat red letters, and a cover of Mad Magazine that says “Spy Vs. Spy! The Top Secret Files.” On tracks like “F.O.O.F.” (Freak Out On Friday), “Fragments” and “Aftershook,” the group are at their most psychedelic and playful, interjecting fuzz solos, bits of percussion, and other sonically adventurous ear candy. An internal logic strengthens everything, and in their proggiest moments, Frankie Cosmos are simply a one-take band who don’t miss. When on Inner World Peace they sound wildly, freshly different, it may just be that they’re coming deeper into their own.
Throughout the album there are plays on the notion of feeling seen or invisible, as in “Magnetic Personality” when Kline sings “ask me how I am and I won’t really say,” or in “One Year Stand” when she says “maybe I’m asking myself.” Kline emphasizes that this was her first group of songs in years that weren’t written while on tour, but rather with ample time on her hands. She reflects on past selves in “Abigail” (“that version of myself I don’t want back”) and “Wayne” (“Like in first grade / How I went by Wayne / I always had / another name”). If we’re alone, what becomes of the things we see? As in “Fruit Stand,” Kline asks “If it’s raining and I can’t feel it, is it raining?”
Inner World Peace excels in passing on the emotions it holds. When in the towering “Empty Head” Kline sings of wanting to let thoughts slide away, her voice is buoyed on a bed of synths and harmonium as tranquility abounds. When her thoughts become hurried and full of desire, so does the band, and she leaps from word to word as if unable to contain them all. As a group, they carry it all deftly, and with constant regard for Kline’s point of view.
Says Greta, “To me, the album is about perception. It’s about the question of “who am I?” and whether or not the answer matters. It’s about quantum time, the possibilities of invisible worlds. The album is about finding myself floating in a new context. A teenager again, living with my parents. An adult, choosing to live with my family in an act of love. Time propelled us forward, aged us, and also froze. If you don’t leave the house, who are you to the world? Can you take the person you discover there out with you?”
Frankie Cosmos Inner World Peace
Tracklisting 1. Abigail 2. Aftershook 3. Fruit Stand 4. Magnetic Personality 5. Wayne 6. Sky Magnet 7. A Work Call 8. Empty Head 9. Fragments 10. Prolonging Babyhood 11. One Year Stand 12. F.O.O.F. 13. Street View 14. Spare the Guitar 15. Heed the Call
Today, Bret McKenzie is sharing two new tracks titled “If You Wanna Go” and “Tomorrow Today,” from Songs Without Jokes, his forthcoming new album. Uncut says of the album, “Baroque-pop delight. Evocative of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman at their most extroverted. McKenzie’s songs provide great warmth (8/10).”
Written mostly during the quieter moments of 2019, with his life split between work in Los Angeles and his family in Wellington, the songs of Songs focus on themes of escape, the perpetual search for peace, and navigating a life being pulled in multiple directions at once. There are also simple meditations on driving through a city and the weather. McKenzie was inspired by the path his aforementioned idols like Newman and Nilsson had paved, where a silly or playful number could be sandwiched directly between a song about heartbreak or an earnest redemption and a scathing satire or character commentary. He threw a bit of everything into the mix, recording ideas on his phone at home in New Zealand after the kids had gone to sleep. Upon returning to LA, he would play the sketches for his longtime producer and collaborator, Mickey Petralia, who helped McKenzie identify the best moments, then together they would add parts and shape the songs. From there, longtime film collaborator Chris Caswell created charts for that same ensemble of session players with whom they’d recorded so many pieces for film. The majority of songs were then recorded at United Studio in Los Angeles in just a few takes.
Songs Without Jokes is available to preorder now from Sub Pop. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in North America, UK and Europe will received the limited Loser Edition on blue vinyl (while supplies last).
Songs Without Jokes, which features the aforementioned “If You Wanna Go” and “Tomorrow Today” along with “Dave’s Place,” and “A Little Tune,” was produced by Mickey Petralia and McKenzie, mixed by Darrell Thorpe, with songs recorded at East West Studios and United Recordings, and mastered by Dave Ives at 101 Mastering in Los Angeles.
Bret McKenzie Songs Without Jokes
Tracklisting: 1. This World 2. If You Wanna Go 3. Dave’s Place 4. Here for You 5. That’s L.A. 6. Up in Smoke 7. Carry On 8. A Little Tune 9. America Goodbye 10. Tomorrow Today 11. Crazy Times
Father John Misty will begin his headlining North American tour in support of Chloë and The Next 20th Century, his acclaimed album of 2022, this Sunday, July 31st at Red Rocks Amphitheater. The summer and fall tour will feature support from Sub Pop label mate Suki Waterhouse (Jul. 31st-Oct. 8th, select dates), and includes a stop at Radio City Music Hall with The New York Pops on September 22nd, 2022. See a full list of dates below.
Father John Misty is announcing a live bootleg series featuring recordings of select performances from the tour that will be available every Tuesday beginning August 9th, 2022. The shows will be available for download and streaming via Father John Misty’s Bandcamp page. The first installment of the bootleg series is one from the archives and available now, a blistering set from the I Love You, Honeybear tour at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels during the fall of 2015.
Father John Misty will also be live-streaming three dates from his upcoming tour - New Orleans’s Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, August 13th; Asheville’s Rabbit Rabbit Saturday, September 17th; And Nashville’s The Ryman Auditorium on Thursday, October 6th. Each performance will be a multi-camera concert special and directed by longtime Father John Misty collaborator Grant James. Three show passes are available for $20, a single show ticket is $10 (buy here).
2022: Summer/Fall (North America + South America) Sun. Jul. 31 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ The Colorado Symphony * Wed. Aug. 03 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys Concerts By The Bay * [Sold Out] Thu. Aug. 04 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys Concerts By The Bay * Fri. Aug. 05 - Las Vegas, NV - The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas * Sat. Aug. 06 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren * Mon. Aug. 08 - Oklahoma City, OK- The Criterion * Tue. Aug. 09 - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland * Thu. Aug. 11 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall * Fri. Aug. 12 - Austin, TX - Moody Amphitheater * Sat. Aug. 13 - New Orleans, LA - Orpheum Theater * Sun. Aug. 14 - Dallas, TX - The Factory in Deep Ellum * Thu. Aug. 18 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Forever Cemetery * [Sold Out] Fri. Aug. 19 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Forever Cemetery [Sold Out] Sat. Aug. 20 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater * Tue. Aug. 23 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre * Thu. Aug. 25 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum * Fri. Aug. 26 - Port Townsend, WA - THING Festival Sat. Aug. 27 - Portland, OR - Pioneer Square * Mon. Sep. 12 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live! * Tue. Sep. 13 - Philadelphia, PA- The Met Philadelphia * Thu. Sep. 15 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond Festival Fri. Sep. 16 - Richmond, VA - Brown’s Island * Sat. Sep. 17 - Asheville, NC - Rabbit Rabbit * Mon. Sep. 19 - Charleston, SC - The Riviera Theater * [Sold Out] Tue. Sep. 20 - Washington, DC - The Anthem * Thu. Sep. 22 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall w/ The New York Pops * Fri. Sep. 23 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion * Sat. Sep. 24 - Bridgeport, CT - Sound on Sound Festival Mon. Sep. 26 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS * Tue. Sep. 27 - Toronto, ON - Roy Thomson Hall * Thu. Sep. 29 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre * Fri. Sep. 30 - Saint Paul, MN - Palace Theatre * Sat. Oct. 01 - Saint Paul, MN - Palace Theatre * Mon. Oct. 03 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater * Tue. Oct. 04 - Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Memorial Hall * Thu. Oct. 06 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium * Fri. Oct. 07 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern * Sat. Oct. 08 - Durham, NC - DPAC * Sun. Nov. 06 - Sao Paolo, BR - Primavera Sound Sat. Nov. 12 - Buenos Aires, AR - Primavera Sound Sun. Nov. 13 - Santiago, CL - Primavera Sound Thu. Nov. 17 - Bogotá, CO - Coliseo Live ^ Sun. Nov. 20 - Mexico City, MX - Corona Capital
* w/ Suki Waterhouse ^ w/ Arctic Monkeys
Father John Misty’s Chloë and The Next 20th Century and its singles are earning “Best Albums” and “Songs of 2022 (So Far)” placement from the likes of Variety,NPR Music, Stereogum, The Guardian, Consequence, PopMatters, The Current, Uproxx (Steve Hyden), and more.
Chloë and The Next 20th Century is out now worldwide from Sub Pop and in Europe from Bella Union.
Father John Misty Chloë and The Next 20th Century
Tracklisting: 1. Chloë 2. Goodbye Mr. Blue 3. Kiss Me (I Loved You) 4. (Everything But) Her Love 5. Buddy’s Rendezvous 6. Q4 7. Olvidado (Otro Momento) 8. Funny Girl 9. Only a Fool 10. We Could Be Strangers 11. The Next 20th Century
You can now hear Built to Spill’s “Spiderweb,” a classic-sounding, guitar-driven jam reminiscent of early REM and Dinosaur Jr., and a stellar new offering from Built to Spill’s When The Wind Forgets Your Name.
When the Wind Forgets Your Name featuring the aforementioned “Spiderweb,” along with “Gonna Lose,” “Fool’s Gold,” “Understood,” and “Rocksteady,” was produced by Doug Martsch, mixed by Martsch, Lê Almeida, João Casaes, and Josh Lewis, and mastered by Mell Dettmer. When the Wind Forgets Your Name is the first new Built to Spill album since the release of 2015’s Untethered Moon.
Built to Spill’s headlining and festival shows for the summer and fall of 2022 resume Saturday, July 30th in Stanley, Idaho at Sawtooth Family Gathering. The tour currently runs through Friday, October 7th with a new appearance at Reno, Nevada’s Off Beat Music Fest.5k The tour will feature songs from When the Wind Forgets Your Name along with fan favorites from the band’s catalog.
Support for these shows (select dates) will come from Oruã (the Brazilian band featuring When the Wind… collaborators Almeida and Casaes), along with Prism Bitch, Wetface, Blood Lemon, The French Tips, and Braided Waves. The live band for these Built to Spill tour dates will consist of Martsch, bassist Melanie Radford, and drummer Teresa Esguerra. For updated information on tickets, please visit builttospill.com.
Sat. Jul. 30 - Stanley, ID - Sawtooth Family Gathering Sat. Aug. 06 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon Sun. Aug. 07 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon Thu. Aug. 11 - Spokane, WA - Lucky You Lounge ^ @ Fri. Aug. 12 - Bozeman, MT - The ELM ^ @ Sat. Aug. 13 - Billings, MT - The Pub Station ^ @ Mon. Aug. 15 - Fargo, ND - The Hall @ FBC ^ @ Tue. Aug. 16 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ^ @ Wed. Aug. 17 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theater ^ @ Thu. Aug. 18 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall ^ @ Fri. Aug. 19 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall ^ @ Sat. Aug. 20 - Louisville, KY - Headliner’s Music Hall ^ @ Mon. Aug. 22 - Cincinnati, OH - Woodward Theater ^ @ Tue. Aug. 23 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop ^ @ Wed. Aug. 24 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall % Thu. Aug. 25 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre # % Fri. Aug. 26 - Portland, ME - State Theatre # % Sat. Aug. 27 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall # % Mon. Aug. 29 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground # % Tue. Aug. 30 - Holyoke, MA - Gateway City Arts # % Thu. Sep. 01 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony # % Fri. Sep. 02 - Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head Live # % Sat. Sep. 03 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza # % Sun. Sep. 04 - Bethlehem, PA - Musikfest # % Tue. Sep. 06 - Columbus, OH - The Athenaeum Theatre * = Wed. Sep. 07 - Knoxville, TN - The Mill & Mine * = Thu. Sep. 08 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater * = Fri. Sep. 09 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall * = Sat. Sep. 10 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live * = Sun. Sep. 11 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room * = Tue. Sep. 13 - Orlando, FL - The Social * = Wed. Sep. 14 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits * = Thu. Sep. 15 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall * = Fri. Sep. 16 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn Birmingham * = Sat. Sep. 17 - Memphis, TN - Growler’s * = Sun. Sep. 18 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom * = Mon. Sep. 19 - St. Louis, MO - Red Flag * = Tue. Sep. 20 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note * = Wed. Sep. 21 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater * = Fri. Sep. 23 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater * = Sat. Sep. 24 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall * = Fri. Oct. 07 - Reno, NV - Off Beat Music Fest
When the Wind Forgets Your Name is now available for preorder on CD/LP/CS/DSPs through Sub Pop. LPs purchased through megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser Edition on Rainforest Green vinyl (while supplies last). Meanwhile, LP preorders in the U.K. and Europe through select independent retailers will receive the album on Misty Kiwi Fruit Green vinyl (while supplies last).
When the Wind Forgets Your Name’s cover art was designed by comic artist Alex Graham (Dog Biscuits; Fantagraphics Books), who also illustrated the fifty-panel comic strip for the album’s gatefold (available with the CD, LP, and cassette editions of the album).
Built to Spill When the Wind Forgets Your Name
Tracklisting: 1. Gonna Lose 2. Fool’s Gold 3. Understood 4. Elements 5. Rock Steady 6. Spiderweb 7. Never Alright 8. Alright 9. Comes a Day
