News

NEWS : MON, APR 11, 2022 at 12:00 AM

The 2022 Loser Scholarship Winners

The Losers who won, what fun! This year are we had an exceptional bunch of applicants to our Loser Scholarship, which made finding our Loser Winners no easy task. Luckily, our Loser Chooser (TM) scholarship committee  was game to spend hours reading through hundreds of applications, and at the end of a very difficult decision-making process, the committee has come up with three ultramega-OK, life-affirming scholarship winners. Congratulations to the winners and heartfelt thanks to all who took the time to apply, you have brightened up our days during an odd time.

First up, Nupur from Issaquah blew us away with incredible visual art. The paintings Nupur made were so good and those alone may have been enough to win us over. However, when we heard about the zine Nupur is helping to put together boosting the signal of BIPOC high school artists in the state, in spite of stiff headwinds from authority figures, we became smitten. Nupur is doing incredible work and we are happy to call Nupur a Loser winner.

Next up the Loser Choosers were enamored with Nya from Burien. Nya has been working as a teenage artist and activist to bring more equity to the art world in her community. Through multiple groups doing compelling work Nya strives to share, amplify, and celebrate voices that are being silenced. Nya’s art spoke volumes to our committee and we think there is a very bright future ahead for this Loser.

Finally, we couldn’t help but be won over by Hana from Tacoma. Hana uses dance to express feelings, emotions, connect with others and tell the story of her life. Hana’s dedication to dance helps her explore the feelings of being a young black woman in America. Through volunteer efforts in her community Hana has helped many gain confidence and find their power through dance. With such an incredible talent, we are happy to call Hana a Loser.

Thanks for playing to all who applied, every Loser applicant is an inspiration! And we can’t wait to see what’s ahead for all of the Losers out there.





Posted by andrew sullivan

NEWS : WED, APR 6, 2022 at 7:00 AM

SUKI WATERHOUSE RELEASES NEW SINGLE “WILD SIDE”

Suki Waterhouse today released her newest track, “Wild Side,” off upcoming debut album, I Can’t Let Go, which will now be released Friday, May 6th via Sub Pop Records. “Wild Side” and I Can’t Let Go are both produced by Grammy-Nominated Producer & Songwriter Brad Cook (Bon Iver, War On Drugs, Snail Mail, Waxahatchee). “Wild Side” is the fifth release off I Can’t Let Go; “Moves, “My Mind,” “Melrose Meltdown,” and “Devil I Know” were the album’s first four tracks.

On “Wild Side,” Suki wonders aloud if her love would return to an ex if they came calling, particularly because the excitement and lust of a prior relationship can be so enticing. Suki proclaims, “when you got that ex who’s crazy, they’re always running through your mind / remember when we had a wild side?”

“Wild Side is about recognizing each other’s past, the beauty and the fear that comes in reminiscing about who you used to love,” says Suki about the record.

Yesterday, April 5th, it was announced that Suki will be opening on Father John Misty’s tour from July 31st – October 8th, 2022. Local ticket presales will begin tomorrow, Thursday, April 7th at 10 am local time and general on sale tickets will be available starting Friday, April 8th at 10 am local time.

TOUR DATES:

July 31st – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ The Colorado Symphony

August 3rd – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s 

August 5th – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels

August 6th – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren

August 8th – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion

August 9th – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland

August 11th – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall

August 12th – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater

August 13th – New Orleans, LA – Orpheum Theater

August 14th – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum

August 18th – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery

August 20th – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater

August 23rd – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre

August 25th – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum

August 26th – Port Townsend, WA – THING Festival

August 27th – Portland, OR – Pioneer Square

September 12th – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live!

September 13th – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia

September 16th – Richmond, VA – Brown’s Island

September 17th – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit

September 19th – Charleston, SC – The Riviera Theater

September 20th – Washington, DC – The Anthem

September 22nd – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall w/ NY POPS

September 23rd – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion

September 24th – Bridgeport, CT – Sound on Sound

September 26th – Montreal, QC – MTELUS

September 27th – Toronto, ON – Roy Thomson Hall

September 29th – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre

September 30th & October 1st – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre

October 3rd – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater

October 4th – Indianapolis, IN – Clowes Memorial Hall

October 6th – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

October 7th – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern

October 8th – Durham, NC – DPAC


Suki will be embarking on her own headline tour on behalf of I Can’t Let Go, beginning Friday, May 6th in Los Angeles, the same day as the album’s release.

TOUR DATES:

The Echo | Los Angeles, CA | Fri, May 6, 2022
Cafe Du Nord | San Francisco, CA | Sat, May 7, 2022
Elsewhere (Zone One) | Brooklyn, NY | Thu, May 12, 2022
Elsewhere (Zone One) | Brooklyn, NY | Fri, May 13, 2022

Omeara | London, UK | Thu, June 9, 2022



Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : TUE, APR 5, 2022 at 6:00 AM

Father John Misty Announces 2022 Headlining Tour Dates In Support of Chloë and the Next 20th Century

Father John Misty and his band have announced international headlining tour dates for 2022 and 2023 in support of Chloë and The Next 20th Century, out this Friday from Sub Pop and in Europe from Bella Union. The Guardian, in its 4-star review, says of the album, “Pop’s funniest storyteller is back at his best.” Also today, he is sharing “The Next 20th Century,” the co-title track and album closer from Chloë and the Next 20th Century.

The North American shows begin Sunday, July 31 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and currently end Saturday, October 8th in Durham, NC at DPAC. Highlights for the tour include performances with Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks and The New York Pops at Radio City Music Hall (Sep. 22nd), and appearances at THING (Aug. 26th) and Sound on Sound (Sep. 24th) Festivals. Sub Pop labelmate Suki Waterhouse will be the main support for the North American shows (select dates).

The European shows begin Saturday, February 25th in Oslo, Norway at Sentrum Scene and end Friday, March 17th Manchester, UK at O2 Apollo Manchester. Highlights for this leg include headlining dates at AFAS Live in Amsterdam and the O2 Academy Brixton.

A series of presales (password: CanFlub) for all shows begin Wednesday, April 6 at 10 am (local), with tickets on sale to the general public Friday, April 8th at 10 am (local).

Preceding the tour, Father John Misty has a series of special performances, intimate shows, and in-stores. In the UK later this week, Father John Misty will perform a sold out London show at The Barbican with The Britten Sinfonia conducted by Jules Buckley (April 7th). 

He has also scheduled a series of special in-store performances including: April 8th in Kingston Upon Thames, UK for Banquet Records at PRYZM (5 pm + 8 pm), Saturday, April 9th in London, UK at Rough Trade East (4 pm + 8 pm), Sunday, April 10th in Brighton, UK for Resident Records at CHALK, and Monday, April 11th in Bristol, UK for Rough Trade Bristol at St. George’s Church (6:30 pm + 9:30 pm).  All of these performances are sold out, however a few tickets are still available for the early show at PRYZM on April 8.

The following week, Father John Misty will perform two shows at Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center on Thursday, April 14th (7pm + 9:30 pm). 

Please find a full list of dates below.


2022: Spring (International)

Thu. Apr. 07 - London, UK - The Barbican w/ The Britten Sinfonia conducted by Jules Buckley [SOLD OUT]

Fri. Apr. 08 - Kington Upon Thames, UK - Banquet Records at PRYZM (5 pm) 

Fri. Apr. 08 - Kington Upon Thames, UK - Banquet Records at PRYZM (8 pm) [SOLD OUT]

Sat. Apr. 09 - London, UK - Rough Trade East (4 pm) [SOLD OUT]

Sat, Apr. 09 - London, UK - Rough Trade East (8 pm) [SOLD OUT]

Sun. Apr. 10 - Brighton, UK - Resident at CHALK [SOLD OUT]

Mon. Apr. 11 - Bristol, UK - Rough Trade Bristol at St. George’s Church (6:30 pm)  [SOLD OUT]

Mon. Apr. 11 - Bristol, UK - Rough Trade Bristol at St. George’s Church (9:30 pm) [SOLD OUT]

Thu. Apr. 14 - New York, NY - The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center (7 pm) [SOLD OUT]

Thu. Apr. 14 - New York, NY - The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center (9:30 pm) [SOLD OUT]


2022: Summer/Fall (North America)

Sat. Jun. 26 - Greenfield, MA - Green River Festival

Fri. Jul 08 - Des Moines, IA - 80/35 Music Festival

Sun. Jul. 31 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ The Colorado Symphony *

Wed. Aug. 03 - 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 *

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 *

Fri. Sep. 16 - Richmond, VA - Brown’s Island *

Sat. Sep. 17 - Asheville, NC - Rabbit Rabbit *

Mon. Sep. 19 - Charleston, SC - The Riviera Theater *

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 *

* w/ Suki Waterhouse


2023: Late Winter/Spring (Europe)

Sat. Feb. 25 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene

Tue. Feb. 28 - Stockholm, SE - Cirkus

Thu. Mar. 02 - Denmark, DK - KB Hallen

Fri. Mar. 03 - Berlin, DE - Columbiahalle

Sat. Mar. 04 - Amsterdam, NL - AFAS Live

Mon. Mar. 06  - Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique

Tue. Mar. 07 - Paris, France - Salle Pleyel

Thu. Mar. 09 - London, UK- O2 Academy Brixton

Mon. Mar. 13 - Gateshead, UK - Sage Gateshead

Wed. Mar. 15 - Glasgow, UK - Barrowlands

Fri. Mar. 17 - Manchester, UK - O2 Apollo Manchester


For those living in or traveling to Seattle, Father John Misty’s Chloë and the Next 20th Century pop-up/installation at Sub Pop on 7th in the city’s Belltown neighborhood opens this Friday, April 8th.

Fans can find Chloë and the Next 20th Century-related merchandise, including a new T-shirt design, poster and 2-sided puzzles that are exclusively available at the store. A limited selection of Father John Misty’s official tour merchandise will also be available, including diner sets, limited edition “Funny Girl” posters, enamel pins, slip mats, and embroidered trucker hats (while supplies last). There will be a giveaway its first week open where fans can enter to win a Superfan Starter Kit featuring incredibly rare, out of print colored LP variants and merchandise from Father John Misty’s catalog.

Chloë and The Next 20th Century is available to preorder now from Sub Pop, Bella Union (UK/Europe), and select independent retailers in North America

What People Are Saying About Father John Misty’s Chloë and the Next 20th Century:

“Stunningly melodic… Tillman’s voice sounds fantastic throughout… It feels like an artist who’s spent time wondering what the point was, making peace with what he does, even – or especially – if it involves escapism. Sinking into Chloë and the Next 20th Century’s lush, sepia-toned arrangements, escaping with him is a pleasure (“Album of the Week”).” ★★★★ The Guardian

“Tillman’s writerly skills would have shone in any era… He offers a moving reminder of the beauty of life’s impermanence…As Chloë and the Next 20th Century sees Father John Misty escaping into his own parallel Hollywood reality, it’s highly entertaining to slip in alongside him.” ★★★★ MOJO

“Chloë.. is maximum Misty from tip to twinkly toe… As woodwinds flutter and strings swoon, Tillman’s voice rises to the occasion: his rich, warm delivery pulls you into the songs, barbed asides and beautiful melancholy impeccably balanced… Tillman’s writing brims with story-song riches, countering 21st-century cynicism with old-school romanticism.”★★★★ - Record Collector 

“Singles “Funny Girl,” “Q4” and “Goodbye, Mr. Blue” are sprawling and ornate, like novellas set to instrumentation that spans FJM’s many styles, widescreen baroque pop that folds in both Old Hollywood and Americana. After the painfully personal “God’s Favorite Customer, there’s a distinct comfort in Tillman’s return to spinning detailed fictions at scale—and, as ever, spotting the truths wrapped up in it all is just part of the fun (“10 Albums We’re Most Excited About For April).” - PASTE

“Josh Tillman’s sharp lyricism often aims for the head…but here he goes straight for the heart. ‘Goodbye Mr. Blue’…is a simulacrum of the ’70s singer-songwriter sound; Harry Nilsson is an obvious touch point, but there are also shades of Jim Croce and even John Denver in the song’s fingerpicked guitars and chatty warmth. ‘That Turkish Angora is ’bout the only thing left of me and you,’ Tillman croons, filtering a story of a relationship’s slow, inevitable end through the death of the titular pet cat. It’s sweet, a little funny, and then ultimately devastating, as Tillman repeats an increasingly elegiac refrain, ‘Don’t the last time come too soon?” [“Goodbye Mr. Blue”] - New York Times

“Gorgeous and absurd; in other words, it’s quintessential Father John Misty.” [“Q4”] - PASTE

“A lovely, languid gem that shows Tillman quietly reintroducing himself  — with a little help from an orchestral arrangement that echoes old Hollywood…in classic Misty fashion, leaves us quizzically charmed (“Song You Need To Know”).” [“Funny Girl”] - Rolling Stone

“[A] lush and romantic ballad…and shows that there’s much more to Josh Tillman… (‘20 Best Rock Songs Right Now’).” [“Funny Girl”] - The FADER

“Brilliant and moving… His vivid, imaginative fifth album swerves between lounge jazz and romantic reveries.” - PROG

“Unmistakably a Father John Misty record, he ranges across a number of styles with panache… It’s great to have Tillman back in all his grandiose brilliance.” ★★★★ - Morning Star



Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : WED, MAR 30, 2022 at 7:00 AM

Weird Nightmare, the New Project from Alex Edkins of METZ, Shares Anthemic New Single & Official Video for “Lusitania”

On May 20th, Sub Pop will release the debut album from Weird Nightmare, the electrifying new project from METZ guitarist and singer Alex Edkins. Hot on the heels of the album’s debut track, “Searching For You,” comes this anthemic new single “Lusitania.” Edkins says of the song, “‘Lusitania’ was a big breakthrough for the entire Weird Nightmare album. I realized that, musically, my goal was to make songs that would make people feel good! This idea of waking up from a terrible dream or winter changing into spring. Momentary relief. We all need that feeling right now and music has always been what I turn to most.” The video for the song was directed by Colin Medley, and you can/really should click here to watch.
 
As previously announced, Weird Nightmare has a clutch of North American shows, including a hometown album release show on May 21st in Toronto, ON at The Baby G. The band will also hit the road on a 7-date co-headlining tour with labelmates Kiwi Jr. See below for a full list of shows. 
 
NORTH AMERICAN DATES
Sat. May 21st - Toronto, ON - Baby G (Toronto Record Release Show)
Fri. June. 17th - Detroit, MI - Third Man Records *
Sat. June 18th - Chicago, IL - Schubas *
Thu. July 28th - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s Alright *
Fri. July 29th - Rehoboth Beach, DE - Dogfish Head Brewery  *
Sat. July 30th - Washington, DC - Songbyrd  *
Sun. July 31st - Philadelphia, PA -  Johnny Brenda’s *

*w/ Kiwi Jr


Weird Nightmare is now available for preorder/presave on CD/LP/Cassette/DSPs from Sub Pop. The LP is packaged in a special embossed jacket with semi-transparent obi-strip along the spine, and pre-orders from megamart.sub pop.com, select independent retailers in North America, and in the UK, and in Europe will receive the Loser Edition of the album on Transparent Cotton Candy Swirl vinyl and Clear Coke Bottle vinyl, respectively. 


Weird Nightmare
S/T
 
1. Searching for You
2. Nibs
3. Lusitania
4. Wrecked
5. Sunday Driver
6. Darkroom
7. Dream
8. Zebra Dance
9. Oh No
10. Holding Out


Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : TUE, MAR 29, 2022 at 6:00 AM

TV Priest’s My Other People: The Group’s New Album Will Be Available Worldwide From Sub Pop On June 17th, 2022

TV Priest will release My Other People, the group’s follow-up to Uppers, their acclaimed debut, worldwide on June 17th, 2022 from Sub Pop. The album features the highlights “One Easy Thing” and new single, “Bury Me In My Shoes,” which you can hear now. My Other People was produced by band member/multi-instrumentalist Nic Bueth at Studio East in London.
 
Frontman Charlie Drinkwater says of the album, “My Other People is a more “open” set of songs, both musically and in our themes; in the process of writing we found ourselves talking about things other than anger or aggression. We wanted to discuss love, loss, and joy too. It’s a record about personal disintegration and destruction but also rebuilding again after this. It’s also heavily rooted in place, the music being a very direct response to Britain and England in 2021, but in a more abstract and textural sense. A muddy field viewed from a train window between cities, a patch of wildflowers growing next to a motorway, sticky carpets in a suburban flat roof pub, pissing rain on an August bank holiday, and the smell of diesel in an out of town supermarket car park. An angry, hopeful, shitty, beautiful island.”
 
As for My Other People’s new single, he adds, “‘Bury Me In My Shoes’ is a hangover of a song. Last year was about reminding ourselves to hang on to good things; to remember you can love and hate in equal measure. That the answers are rarely found by looking backwards. “Bury Me” was written as a response to that general feeling of unease and creeping dread. A feeling you get from bad news on no breakfast.”
 
My Other People is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LPs purchased through megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North America will receive the Opaque Pink w/white smoke vinyl version (while supplies last). Meanwhile, LP preorders in the U.K. and Europe through select independent retailers will receive the album on clear vinyl.
 
TV Priest has announced a UK tour to support My Other People which begins Sunday, October 30th in Bristol at The Louisiana, and ends Sunday, November 13th in Brighton at Green Door Store. Preceding these shows, TV Priest has scheduled a series of UK in-store performances to celebrate My Other People’s release week (June 17th - 23rd), which fans can gain entry to with proof of preorder through the participating retailers. There will also be US and EU tour dates announced soon. Please find a current list of tour dates below.
 
Fri. Jun. 17 - London, UK - Rough Trade East
Mon. Jun. 20 - Brighton, UK - Resident*
Tue. Jun. 21 - Southsea Portsmouth, UK - Pie & Vinyl*
Wed. Jun. 22 - Totnes, UK - Drift*
Thu. Jun. 23 - Leeds, UK - The Vinyl Whistle*
Sun. Oct. 30 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana
Mon. Oct. 31 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
Tue. Nov. 01 - Dublin, IE - The Workman’s Cellar                
Thu. Nov. 03 - Manchester, UK - Yes (Pink Room)
Fri. Nov. 04 - Glasgow, UK - Broadcast
Sat. Nov. 05 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall       
Mon. Nov. 07 - Cambridge, UK  - Portland Arms
Tue. Nov. 08 - Leicester, UK - Firebug Bar  
Thu. Nov. 10 - London, UK - Scala
Fri. Nov. 11 - Reading, UK -The Face Bar
Sat. Nov. 12 -  Southampton, UK - The Joiners
Sun. Nov. 13 - Brighton, UK - Green Door Store
* Stripped down performances
 
What people have said about TV Priest:
“Fuzzed-out post punk from London four-piece…harsh, brittle eruptions offering up a variety of teeth-rattling noises.” [Uppers]- Uncut
 
“The post-punk band have caught attention with a string of superb singles, exemplifying their scorching post-punk sound.” [Uppers] - CLASH
 
“Uppers…should rubber stamp TV Priest as one of, if not your favourite new act” [Uppers] - The Line of Best Fit
 
“Ragged yet tight, sprawling yet focussed, it’s a singular vision of a disparate time.” [Uppers] - ★★★★ DORK
 
“Scratch the surface, peel away the layers and you’ll find something here to make you think there might be something more to come.” [Uppers, Best Albums of 2021] - Louder Than War
 
“Sultry, prophetic lyricism with brash instrumentation…” [“This Island”] - Brooklyn Vegan
 
More on TV Priest’s My Other People:
Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece TV Priest piqued press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single “House of York” followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to Sub Pop for their debut album. When Uppers arrived in the height of a global pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its ‘dystopian doublespeak’, but the band — vocalist Charlie Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland – were sat at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the personal and professional landmark of its release felt “both colossal and minuscule” dampened by the inability to share it live. “It was a real gratification and really cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental health” admits Drinkwater. “I wasn’t prepared, and I hadn’t necessarily expected it to reach as many people as it did. It sounds a bit naïve, but it was all very quick. It felt kind of divorced from reality.”
 
As such, My Other People intentionally maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking full advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using “Saintless” (the closing song from Uppers) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health. “Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would say, particularly well,” he says. “There was a lot of things that had happened to myself and my family that were quite troubling moments. I apologized to the band the other day for not being a great friend or person in this process, because I simply was not happy. Despite that I do think the record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in. Whether or not the sincerity is understood, I think I’ll always be proud of that.”
 
“It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realized that we can make something that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful,” agrees Bueth. “Brutality and frustration are only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening.”
 
To strike this balance, My Other People relies on the band’s tight-knit working method, with Bueth once again at the self-producing helm. Following their own intuition as part of a “feverish” writing process, they looked inwards for inspiration rather than attempting to ape any sonic heroes, ending up with something that feels much more like affirmingly widescreen alt-rock than it does post-punk. Arrangements give room to let the voice roam; the optimistic melodies of “The Breakers” light flares to accompany Drinkwater’s recognition of the path that leads him back to friendship, while the rumbling pace of “Unraveling” reflects his more fractious state, looking for a safe place to land amidst the detritus of biting guitars. Where possible, recordings weren’t agonized over, but rather trusted on their initial takes when the mood had hit right. Though they recognise that ‘ band still searching for sound on second album’ is a sentiment that is often weaponised as criticism, it’s a process of self-improvement that Drinkwater is keen to protect: “Why would I keep making art if I didn’t believe that the best thing was not around the corner?”
 
Visually speaking, the same intention of momentum carries forth. The album’s artwork, photographed by Edward Thompson, depicts two children looking out to sea, a scene suspended somewhere between melancholy and hope. The video for “One Easy Thing”, the album’s lead single, directed by long term collaborator Joe Wheatley (“Decoration”, “Press Gang”) is a homage to new wave and French cinema, the singer donning full medieval armour as he bleeds and dances, persevering despite the seemingly impossible circumstance. Though Drinkwater wants its message of discomfort to show, he’s also keen not to overexplain it: “Last time, I literally was like, ‘please like me’, to everyone,” he laughs. “I stood next to the record and talked it to death, what things meant or where I did and didn’t stand. This time, I think it’s better if I leave some space.” 
 
An allowance for the interpretation of others is perhaps most clear on “Bury Me In My Shoes”, built around a stark chorus line; “Life Only Comes In Flashes Of Greatness.” It is a lyric borne out of deep depression, the existential fear of our ever-changing mortal coil.  But if you look at it differently, it could just as easily be read as affirmation, a reminder to seize the moment and make it count. This tension between the fullness of the glass, the cathartic value that such a lyric may hold in different lights, is central to My Other People — a record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero from which you’re welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately — realistically — only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound (read more at Sub Pop.com).


TV Priest
My Other People
 
Tracklisting
1. One Easy Thing
2. Bury Me In My Shoes
3. Limehouse Cut
4. I Have Learnt Nothing
5. It Was Beautiful
6. The Happiest Place On Earth
7. My Other People
8. The Breakers
9. Unraveling
10. It Was A Gift
11. I Am Safe Here
12. Sunland


Posted by Abbie Gobeli