In December of 2019 Hot Snakes self-released a very limited-edition 7”, which they sold only at shows on their UK tour that month. The a-side to this single is the excellent track “Checkmate” (which was digitally released on all DSPs by Sub Pop last year). “Not in Time,” the exclusive b-side to that single has been unavailable anywhere but that very rare 7” UNTIL NOW!
On Friday, September 4th, “Not in Time” will be available to purchase from the Hot Snakes Bandcamp page at Pay-Whatever-the-Hell-You-Want pricing for that one day only (as part of Bandcamp’s ongoing monthly fundraisers to generate needed funds for artists currently unable to tour). And, to really make a whole, big THING out of the special, limited-time-only release of this digital single, we’re proud to present a new video for the track, which was directed by Jessica Kourkounis (who, pssssst, is Hot Snakes’ own Jason Kourkounis’ sister!).
“This video started with a basic idea I had, which was, wouldn’t it be funny to see a bunch of skater dudes try and shred with extra-long arms” says Kourkounis. “I have a bit of an obsession with homemade-looking costumes. So I hit up my friend Brian Emig to see if he would help me find the guys and film them. The rest happened pretty organically. We just went out and did it mostly. I also wanted to somehow include a visual of the band so I asked Rick to draw their heads so I could print them on blotter paper to help move the story forward. To great relief, it all worked out.” To further great relief, you can watch this video now by clicking here.
[Not in Time track art by Hot Snakes’ own Rick Froberg]
What “The People” are saying about Hot Snakes and Jericho Sirens: “It’s got all the traits that make Hot Snakes the unique band they always were: the fury of hardcore, the dissonant riffs of noise rock, the fuzz-drenched party of garage rock. They’ve got no fat on this thing — it’s over and done with in 30 minutes and replay value is very high — and the songs aren’t just rippers but catchy too.” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Hot Snakes’ caustic, erudite commentary is more welcome than ever (★★★★).”- MOJO
“Teeming with revved-up riffs and apocalyptic imagery, the post-hardcore group’s first album since 2005 reasserts their status as the most merciless band in their scene” - Pitchfork
“Comebacks are complicated, for bands and fans too, but this is one for the ages. Hot Snakes have returned, reminding those of us who’ve paid attention that they are definitively one of the greatest rock bands we’ve ever known (9/10).” - Exclaim!
“It’s exactly what you want out of a Hot Snakes jam, with a riff that snarls and swaggers like a hot rod, its wild hair of a melody built into the stylish chrome. [“Six Wave Hold-Down”]”- NPR Music
“Jericho Sirens is an incredible turn, and proof to the other half-hearted post-hardcore comebacks of the last years (looking at you At the Drive-In, Refused and more) that it is possible to still be high-quality and relevant. In fact, in places Hot Snakes’ fourth album is so good, it even puts newer bands who have come up in the meantime to shame. ★★★★★” - The Skinny
“The very definition of kickass. ★★★★”- The Guardian
U.S. tour dates February 22nd through March 12th, 2020.
The official video for Hot Snakes’ “I Shall Be Free,” directed and animated by Tiger Reis (the clip’s 13-year-old auteur and offspring of the band’s Swami John Reis), is out today! “I Shall Be Free” is a brand new single you can also listen to now through all the various DSPs. This new song follows the December 2019 release of the single “Checkmate,” which is also available now through all DSPs. And, “I Shall Be Free” will also be available directly from the band, in very limited numbers, as a physical 7” at their upcoming shows, starting Feb. 27. The 7” will also include the exclusive b-side “A Place in the Sun.”
“I Shall Be Free” is the second single in the series of four 7”s leading up to the next full-length LP. Each single being a seasonal release. “I Shall Be Free” is the Spring installment. The song is defiant anti-work protest punque. The slash your face chords and bassless undertow channels an AC/DC-Cramps hybrid that completely misses the mark. Primo Hot Snakes.
Hot Shakes Tour Dates + Ticket Links
Hot Snakes have confirmed US tour dates beginning February 22nd in Chicago for Music Frozen Dancing 2020 at the Empty Bottle. This is a FREE OUTDOOR BLOCK PARTY show which features performances from labelmates Pissed Jeans as well as HIDE, and others. Gates will open at 1PM and it costs $ZERO DOLLAR$ to get in. Donations to benefit the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless will be graciously accepted. The event is all ages, so bring the kids and scar them for life!
Hot Snakes will then embark on a 12-date run starting February 27th at The Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ, with additional shows in Tucson, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, and Santa Cruz, ending on March 12th in Solana Beach, CA at the Belly Up Tavern.
Feb. 22 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle outside (Music Frozen Dancing 2020) * Feb. 23 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (Music Frozen Dancing After Party) ^ Feb. 27 - Phoenix AZ - Rebel Lounge Feb. 28 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress Feb. 29 - Las Vegas, NV - Backstage Bar & Billiards Mar. 01 - Long Beach, CA - Alex’s Bar Mar. 03 - Oakland, CA - New Parish Mar. 05 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey Mar. 06 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge Mar. 07 - Bend, OR - Volcanic Theater Mar. 08 - Sacramento, CA - Goldfield Trading Post Mar. 10 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst Club Atrium Mar. 11 - Fresno, CA - Strummer’s Mar. 12 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up *w/ Pissed Jeans & HIDE ^ w/ Pink Avalanche
The most recent Hot Snakes album, 2018’s Jericho Sirens is available everywhere from Sub Pop and through all DSPs. And the band’s reissued catalog - Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice and Audit in Progress - is also available from Sub Pop.
On November 19th Hot Snakes released a new single entitled “Checkmate,” which you can listen to now through all digital service providers. The band will have a very limited number of “Checkmate” 7” singles available at their upcoming UK & Ireland shows that kick off tonight, December 3rd in Nottingham. This 7” will also include the exclusive b-side “Not in Time.”
To celebrate their new single and impending tour, the band has shared a new video for “Checkmate,” which was directed by Hot Snakes’ own John Reis, and longtime friend of the band Craig Oliver. Watch as digital representations of the band invade and infest a house by clicking play on the video above, and/or also by clicking here.
“…Hot Snakes has historically been one of the world’s most reliable purveyors of angry, pulverizing rock ‘n’ roll. That pattern recurs today.” - Stereogum (Nov. 19, 2019).
Full list of dates is here:
Dec. 03 - Nottingham, UK - Bodega Dec. 04- Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute Dec. 05 - Newcastle, UK - Cluny Dec. 06 - Glasgow, UK - Broadcast Dec. 07 - Belfast, UK - Black Box Dec. 08 - Dublin, IE - Grand Social Dec. 10 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hound Dec. 11 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Dec. 12 - London, UK - Garage Dec. 13 - Bristol, UK - Thekla Social Dec.14 - Brighton, UK - Patterns Dec. 15 - Cambridge, UK - Portland Arms
The most recent Hot Snakes album, 2018’s Jericho Sirens is available everywhere from Sub Pop here and through all DSPs. And the band’s reissued catalog - Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice and Audit in Progress - is also available from Sub Pop.
Hot Snakes have released a new single entitled “Checkmate,” which is available now through all digital service providers and will be available directly from the band, in very limited numbers, as a physical 7” at their upcoming shows. The 7” will also include the exclusive b-side “Not in Time.” In the words of Hot Snakes’ Rick Froberg, “Checkmate” is “big, fatty content freshly extruded from the Hot Snakes sausage machine. Same ingredients, new flav.”
Hot Snakes will kick off a 12-date tour in the UK & Ireland on December 3rd. And, while it might be presumptuous to suggest that Hot Snakes are the single best live band in the world right now, they’re definitely in the top 1. See below for a full list of dates.
Dec. 03 - Nottingham, UK - Bodega Dec. 04- Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute Dec. 05 - Newcastle, UK - Cluny Dec. 06 - Glasgow, UK - Broadcast Dec. 07 - Belfast, UK - Black Box Dec. 08 - Dublin, IE - Grand Social Dec. 10 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hound Dec. 11 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Dec. 12 - London, UK - Garage Dec. 13 - Bristol, UK - Thekla Social Dec.14 - Brighton, UK - Patterns Dec. 15 - Cambridge, UK - Portland Arms
The most recent Hot Snakes album, 2018’s Jericho Sirens is available everywhere from Sub Pop and through all DSPs. And the band’s reissued catalog - Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice and Audit in Progress - is also available from Sub Pop.
What “The People” are saying about Hot Snakes and Jericho Sirens: “It’s got all the traits that make Hot Snakes the unique band they always were: the fury of hardcore, the dissonant riffs of noise rock, the fuzz-drenched party of garage rock. They’ve got no fat on this thing — it’s over and done with in 30 minutes and replay value is very high — and the songs aren’t just rippers but catchy too.” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Hot Snakes’ caustic, erudite commentary is more welcome than ever (★★★★).”- MOJO
“Teeming with revved-up riffs and apocalyptic imagery, the post-hardcore group’s first album since 2005 reasserts their status as the most merciless band in their scene” - Pitchfork
“Comebacks are complicated, for bands and fans too, but this is one for the ages. Hot Snakes have returned, reminding those of us who’ve paid attention that they are definitively one of the greatest rock bands we’ve ever known (9/10).” - Exclaim!
“It’s exactly what you want out of a Hot Snakes jam, with a riff that snarls and swaggers like a hot rod, its wild hair of a melody built into the stylish chrome. [“Six Wave Hold-Down”]”- NPR Music
“Jericho Sirens is an incredible turn, and proof to the other half-hearted post-hardcore comebacks of the last years (looking at you At the Drive-In, Refused and more) that it is possible to still be high-quality and relevant. In fact, in places Hot Snakes’ fourth album is so good, it even puts newer bands who have come up in the meantime to shame. ★★★★★” - The Skinny
“The very definition of kickass. ★★★★”- The Guardian
Plus, Sub Pop’s “SPF30 Singles Spectacular”: 4 limited-edition commemorative split 7” singles featuring new songs from Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Hot Snakes, Frankie Cosmos, METZ, LVL UP
We are delighted to share more details for SPF30 and Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary weekend (<- click to see the very, very official website of SPF30), happening Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th, 2018 in beautiful Seattle, Washington.
Father John Misty, Hot Snakes, and Bully have just been added to the lineup for SPF30 on Saturday, August 11th. The newly announced groups will join Beach House, Clipping, Kyle Craft, Fastbacks, Jo Passed, Loma, LVL UP, METZ, Moaning, Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Wolf Parade, Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its!, and The School of Rock West Seattle House Band over four stages along incredibly scenic Alki Ave. in the Alki Beach neighborhood of West Seattle.
Stage names and set times are as follows:
LOSER STAGE (@ Bathhouse West) 1:30 - Moaning 3:15 - Bully 5:15 - Fastbacks 7:00 - Wolf Parade 9:00 - Father John Misty
THE FLIPPITY-FLOP STAGE (@ Bathhouse East) 12:45 - LVL UP 2:30 - Loma 4:15 - Clipping 6:00 - Shabazz Palaces 8:00 - Beach House
PUNKY STAGE (@ Whale Tail Park) 1:00 - Caspar Babypants 2:00 - The Not-Its! 4:00 - The School of Rock West Seattle House Band
SPF30 Singles Spectacular
Also on August 11th at SPF30, Sub Pop will offer the “SPF30 Singles Spectacular”: 4 limited-edition commemorative split 7” singles featuring as-yet-unreleased tracks from 8 artists on the label. Each of these singles will be on colored vinyl, in an edition of 1,000, with covers featuring SPF30 artwork by Rick Froberg (of Hot Snakes). This collection of 7”s will be available individually and as a set. (limit: 2 per-person) And those savvy enough to buy all four will be delighted to find that the interiors of the covers combine to make one complete SPF30 poster-like image.
SPF30 Singles Spectacular tracklist: 1. Mudhoney “One Bad Actor” b/w Hot Snakes “They Put You Up to This” 2. Shabazz Palaces “The Blue Tiger” b/w Chad VanGaalen “Friendly Aliens” 3. Frankie Cosmos “Home Is Where” b/w LVL UP “Orchard” 4. METZ “Escalator Teeth/On and On” b/w Clipping “Club Down”
More about SPF30:
SPF30 is a free, all-ages event and will also have…A record fair-type thing! A PaperStock poster exhibit and sale! Food trucks! Beer gardens! A true bonanza of new Sub Pop and SPF30 merch! (The t-shirts, records, posters, food and beer and wine and soda or whatever, you will have to pay for! These parts are not free!) Good times and opportunities to embarrass yourself and those who’d always hoped for better for you!
Also joining us at SPF30 will be a stellar group of nonprofit organizations doing incredible work, and offering tools that we believe can help us as individuals lead healthier, safer and more informed lives. Organizations at SPF30 include Motley Zoo, Puget Soundkeeper, Seattle Derby Brats, Skate Like A Girl, Totem Star, Vera Project, Village of Hope / Black Prisoners Caucus, Washington Bus, Washington Ceasefire, West Seattle Helpline, and YouthCare. There will also be anti-sexual assault and safe consumption organizations on site, and free advice with therapists Galeet & Geri. These community organizations enact positive, systemic change in the world, and we at Sub Pop couldn’t be more proud to have them all present at SPF30.
Seattle’s Alki Beach boasts some of the most awesome territorial (city/water/mountain) views the city has to offer, along with the occasional whale sighting, a somewhat diminutive replica of the Statue of Liberty, and some of the best local businesses to boot. We are honored to be welcomed by the Alki Beach neighborhood. And while we want everyone to have fun, we also want everyone to be respectful of those who live there. We’d also like to thank our SPF30 beneficiary Southwest Seattle Historical Society for their support in planning this event.
And closing out our festivities is a late show celebrating the unbelievably “coincidental” 15th anniversary of Pissed Jeans at the Crocodile in Seattle. This show is 21 +, and doors are at 8pm. Tickets are still available for $16 here.
SPF30 and the Pissed Jeans 15th Anniversary Show on Sat., Aug. 11th, are preceded by two events on the evening of Friday, August 10th. The Afghan Whigs, Mass Gothic and Yuno are playing a free, all-ages outdoor concert at the Mural Amphitheatre, presented by KEXP and Seattle Center (starting at 5 pm). Later that same evening, we are presenting A Night of Comedy From the Cast of Bob’s Burgers at The Moore Theatre: A Benefit For Youth Care, featuring H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Larry Murphy and John Roberts. This event is happening at The Moore Theatre and is sold out (7 pm).
It is our hope that SPF30 and Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Weekend will serve as a super fun and sincere “thank you” to our local and global music community for supporting Sub Pop and our artists for the past 30 years (and the next 30!).
In addition to celebrating a dynamic, inspirational roster spanning three decades, we also wish to create a sense of uplifting togetherness where we not only listen to great music but we become better at listening to each other as well.
Schedule of Things Happening
JULY 26 / AUGUST 2ND / AUGUST 9TH SUB POP TURNTABLE SESSIONS KEXP Gathering Space • FREE • 6-8pm • ALL-AGES The Sub Pop Turntable Sessions are three distinct panel discussions highlighting multiple facets of Sub Pop’s history in celebration of the label’s 30th anniversary. Each session will review snippets of past label happenings and works while discussing how they relate to the label and our society’s future. The first session will be on July 26th, featuring Sub Pop LOSER Scholarship winners. The next will be on August 2nd and will feature Seattle-based collective Black Constellation. And for the third session we’ll be bringing in the Sub Pop’s own Mudhoney, as they also celebrate their 30th anniversary this year as well. Session 1: Sub Pop Loser Scholarship Winners. Session 2: Black Constellation. Session 3: Mudhoney’s 30th.
AUGUST 10TH SUB POP’S BIG 30TH ANNIVERSARY KICK-OFF SHOWCASE • THE MURAL AMPHITHEATRE • 5PM • ALL-AGES • FREE!!! A special Concert at the Mural presented by KEXP and Seattle Center with The Afghan Whigs, Mass Gothic, Yuno
A NIGHT OF COMEDY FROM THE CAST OF BOB’S BURGERS • THE MOORE THEATRE • 7PM DOOR • ALL-AGES [***SOLD OUT***] Featuring H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Larry Murphy, John Roberts
AUGUST 11TH SPF30: SUB POP’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL• ALKI BEACH, WEST SEATTLE • NOON - 10PM • ALL- AGES • FREE!!! Beach House, Bully, Clipping, Kyle Craft, Father John Misty, Fastbacks, Hot Snakes, Jo Passed, Loma, LVL UP, METZ, Moaning, Mudhoney, Shabazz Palaces, Wolf Parade, Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its!, and The School of Rock West Seattle House Band
THE CROCODILE • 8PM DOOR • 21 AND OVER • $16 The Unbelievably “Coincidental” 15th Anniversary of Pissed Jeans
May 24 - Austin, TX - Hot Luck at The Mohawk June 2 - Seattle, WA - Upstream Music Festival June 4 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT) June 5 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere June 7 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON June 8 - Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA June 9 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA June 10 - Union Stage - Washington, DC
Hot Snakes’ Jericho Sirens is available now worldwide on Sub Pop.
“It’s got all the traits that make Hot Snakes the unique band they always were: the fury of hardcore, the dissonant riffs of noise rock, the fuzz-drenched party of garage rock. They’ve got no fat on this thing — it’s over and done with in 30 minutes and replay value is very high — and the songs aren’t just rippers but catchy too.” [Jericho Sirens, “5 Notable Releases This Week”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“Hot Snakes’ caustic, erudite commentary is more welcome than ever” [Jericho Sirens, 4/5] - MOJO
“Teeming with revved-up riffs and apocalyptic imagery, the post-hardcore group’s first album since 2005 reasserts their status as the most merciless band in their scene” - Pitchfork
“Comebacks are complicated, for bands and fans too, but this is one for the ages. Hot Snakes have returned, reminding those of us who’ve paid attention that they are definitively one of the greatest rock bands we’ve ever known.” [9/10] - Exclaim!
“It’s exactly what you want out of a Hot Snakes jam, with a riff that snarls and swaggers like a hot rod, its wild hair of a melody built into the stylish chrome.” [“Six Wave Hold-Down”] - NPR Music
“Jericho Sirens is an incredible turn, and proof to the other half-hearted post-hardcore comebacks of the last years (looking at you At the Drive-In, Refused and more) that it is possible to still be high-quality and relevant. In fact, in places Hot Snakes’ fourth album is so good, it even puts newer bands who have come up in the meantime to shame.” [Jericho Sirens, 5/5] - The Skinny
“The very definition of kickass” [Jericho Sirens, 4/5] - The Guardian
