Today, February 15th, Boeckner is announcing North American headlining touring plans for Spring and Summer 2024 to support his forthcoming self-titled Sub Pop debut. He is also sharing new album highlight “Euphoria,” a song that dips into that off-kilter darkness, dashes of vibraphone tossed against woozy waves of synth. “It’s too late/ Time accelerates/ From the cradle to the grave,” Boeckner calls like some nuclear fallout Ziggy Stardust, glitching electronics dripping off the mix. The track’s percussive thrum comes courtesy of Matt Chamberlain and serves to bolster Boeckner’s potent guitar throughout the record.
 
Boeckner will perform material from the new album along with deep cuts and highlights from Operators, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits, and Wolf Parade catalog. The tours will also feature different lineups for the April and June dates. For the west coast shows, the live band will include Sam Brown (Operators, Divine Fits, New Bomb Turks) on drums, Alex Fischel (Spoon, Divine Fits) on keys, and Brad Laner (Medicine, Savage Republic) on guitar.  The east coast band line up will be announced soon. Tickets for these shows go on sale tomorrow at 10 am (local).

Wed.  Apr. 24 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
Thu. Apr. 25 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Sun. Apr. 28 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall
Mon. Apr. 29 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
Tue. Apr. 30 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl on Granville
Wed. Jun. 05 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
Thu. Jun. 06 - Detroit, MI - El Club
Fri. Jun. 07 - Toronto, ON - The Horseshoe Tavern
Sat. Jun. 08 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz
Mon. Jun. 10 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
Wed. Jun. 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. Jun. 13 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
Fri. Jun. 14 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis
 
Boeckner! is an eight-song, thirty-two-minute collection that includes the aforementioned “Euphoria,” “Dead Tourists,” and “Lose.”
 
Boeckner was produced, engineered, and mixed by Randall Dunn at Circular Ruin in New York City and mastered by Heba Kadry in Brooklyn.
 
Boeckner! is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders of the album from megamart.subpop.com, Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart), and select independent retailers in North America and the UK and Europe will receive the limited Loser Edition on Orange vinyl. A special Jalapeno Green vinyl edition will also be available from select retailers in Canada.

On April 12th, METZ will release Up On Gravity Hill, their first album in 4 years, on Sub Pop for the world ex-Canada and in Canada on Dine Alone. The album was engineered by Seth Manchester (Mdou Moctar, Lingua Ignota, Battles, The Body) and features guest performances from Amber Webber of Black Mountain and composer/string arranger Owen Pallett.
 
METZ, a band once known for blowing out eardrums with songs of joyous rage, have, over their past few records, begun exploring ways to turn abrasiveness into atmospherics, the evolution of their sound not only a reflection of the maturing of the band themselves but also of a changed world that demands nuance and compassion to comprehend and to survive. This is so on their latest effort, Up On Gravity Hill, which finds the band continuing to bend the raw power of rock music to its most delicate, intricate ends. Delivering a deep, detailed, and unyieldingly personal collection of songs that are fused together to form not only METZ’s most powerful record to date but also their most beautiful.
 
To spotlight this evolution, the band has shared two new contrasting singles: the stomping motorik “99,” and the charging and deeply melodic, “Entwined (Street Light Buzz)”, that offers a dreamier Swervedriver-esque guitar sheen never before utilized by the Canadian trio. 
 
METZ frontman Alex Edkins says, “These two songs couldn’t be more stylistically and thematically dissimilar. ‘Entwined (Street Light Buzz)’ is a song about the deep connection humans can foster with one another and how we carry people with us forever, even after death. ‘99’ is about the scourge of corporate greed and bottom-line thinking that runs rampant in modern society. Anything for a buck is the message being sent to younger generations.”
 
METZ is also announcing headlining international tour dates supporting Up On Gravity Hill, with dates in North America from April 17th to May 17th and a run of UK and EU dates in the fall from November 3rd through November 29th. The band also has a series of UK and EU festival performances in August, including stops at The Green Man Festival in the UK, La Route Du Rock and Cabaret Vert Festival in France, and the Canela Party in Spain. See below for a full list of shows.
 

North America
Wed. Apr. 17 - Boston, MA - Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre $
Fri. Apr. 19 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom $
Sat. Apr. 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts $ *
Sun. Apr. 21 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar $
Tue. Apr. 23 -  Atlanta, GA - The Earl $
Thu. Apr. 24 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn $
Fri. Apr. 25 - Fayetteville, AR - George’s Majestic Lounge  $
Sat. Apr. 26 - Austin, TX - The Parish (Austin Psych Fest) $
Sun. Apr. 27 - Dallas, TX - Sons of Hermann Hall $
Mon. Apr. 29 - Sante Fe, NM - Meow Wolf $
Tues. Apr. 30 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar $
Wed. - May 01 -  San Diego, CA - The Casbah $
Tue. May 02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Theatre $
Wed. May 03 - San Jose, CA - The Ritz $
Thu. May 04 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel $
Mon. May 06 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom $
Tue. May 07 - Seattle, WA - Neumos $
Fri. May 10 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club $
Sat. May 11 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge $
Thu. May 16 -Montreal, QE - Theatre Fairmount $
Sat. May 17 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall $
 
$ w/ Gouge Away
* w/ Rid of Me

UK/EU
Thu. Aug. 15 - Crickhowell, UK - Green Man Festival
Fri. Aug. 16 - St Malo, FR La Route Du Rock
Sat. Aug. 17 -  Charleville-Mezières, FR - Cabaret Vert Festival
Fri. Aug. 23 - Malaga, ES - Canela Party
Sat. Nov. 02 - Rennes, FR – L’Antipode
Sun. Nov. 03 - La Rochelle, FR - La Sirène
Mon. Nov. 04 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie
Tue. Nov. 05 - Clermont-Ferrand, FR - La Coopérative de Mai
Wed. Nov. 06 - Lyon, FR - Le Transbordeur
Thu. Nov. 07 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F
Sat. Nov. 09 - Prague, CZ - Futurum
Sun. Nov. 10 - Budapest, HU - Turbina
Tue. Nov. 12 - Krakow, PL - Klub Zascianek
Wed. Nov. 13 - Warsaw, PL - Klub Hydrozagadka
Sat. Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Hole44
Mon. Nov. 18 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen
Tue. Nov. 19 - Hamburg, DE - Hafenklang
Wed. Nov. 20 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Thu. Nov. 21 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Fri. Nov. 22- Antwerp, BE - Trix
Sat. Nov. 23 - Lille, FR - L’Aéronef
Mon. Nov. 25 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
Tue. Nov. 26 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
Wed. Nov. 27 - Birkenhead, UK - Future Yard
Thu. Nov. 28 - Bristol, UK - Strange Brew
Fri. Nov. 29 - London, UK - Village Underground

Up On Gravity Hill is available to preorder now on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders in North America from megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers will receive the Loser Edition on clear w/ red splatter vinyl. LP orders from independent retail stores & Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) in the UK and Europe will receive the Loser Edition on Opaque Yellow vinyl. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.

METZ
Up On Gravity Hill
 
Tracklisting:
1. No Reservation / Love Comes Crashing
2. Glass Eye
3. Entwined (Street Light Buzz)
4. 99
5. Superior Mirage
6. Wound Tight
7. Never Still Again
8. Light Your Way Home

Watch Father John Misty’s “Real Love Baby” Official Video Directed by Eggs Tyrone here.

Father John Misty is singer-songwriter Josh Tillman, who has released five widely acclaimed albums, including Fear Fun (2012), I Love You, Honeybear (2015), the Grammy-nominated Pure Comedy (2017), God’s Favorite Customer (2018), and his latest, Chloë and The Next 20th Century (2022).
 
TIME said of Chloë and The Next 20th Century, “He takes a surprising and delightful departure from his usual form for a project that’s grandiose in its ambition, theatrical in its presentation, and thrilling in its execution.” Variety offered this, “What it all adds up to is as gorgeously arranged an orchestral-pop record as we’ve gotten in years. And its brilliance isn’t purely stylistic.”
 
Father John Misty has sold over 1.6 million albums and seen over one billion streams worldwide.  He has earned accolades from the likes of The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and Pitchfork, and performed on Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Father John Misty and his incredible live band have headlined The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, and Radio City Music Hall and have appeared at Coachella, Roskilde, Primavera, and Lollapalooza festivals. He’s also contributed to hit songs for artists like Beyonce, Post Malone, Lady Gaga, and Khalid.
 
“…There’s a humbleness and honesty to the song. Like any real love, it’s about learning to surrender such power to the other person.” “Best New Track” - PITCHFORK
 
“The achingly lovely “Real Love Baby” might be his prettiest song, and it’s definitely his sweetest.” “Our Favorite Songs Right Now” - ROLLING STONE
 
“Equal parts schmaltzy and sincere, it’s a folk-rock rumination on love that’s bound to be a hipster wedding staple for years to come.” “10 Best Songs of 2016” - USA TODAY

Sub Pop Records is extremely proud to announce the return (for our 18th year!) of the Sub Pop Loser Scholarship. Further details on the scholarship are below, and even further below is some clarification on what we mean with all this “Loser” business.

Sub Pop Records is offering a grand total of $18,000 in college scholarship money to three eligible high school seniors. There are three scholarships—each for $6,000! As longtime, proud losers ourselves, we’re exceedingly happy to be able, in some small way, to help further the education of art-enthused misfits from the NW. Individuals from all cultures and communities are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be residents of Washington or Oregon, and graduating seniors on the way to full-time enrollment at an accredited university or college. We are looking for applicants who are involved and/or interested in music and/or creative media and arts in some way. However, you do not need to be pursuing an education in the arts.

To apply: you must submit an essay, one page or less, using any combination of the following questions as a guide (or write something completely your own, be inspired and creative!). Please list the school you are graduating from and the school you plan to attend in the fall at the top of your essay along with your contact information.

- What are you doing in the arts/music field in your community?

- What does being a Sub Pop ‘Loser’ mean to you?

- What are your influences and/or who inspired you to become involved in the arts?

- Describe your biggest failure and explain how it has brought you closer to your goal(s).

- Discuss a special attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart.

- How has your family or community background affected the way you see the world?

- Why should you be the Loser winner?

Applicants are strongly (!) encouraged to send digital links and/or provide hard copies of their artwork, photos of community involvement, radio show links, videos, etc. along with their essay (we have never had a winner who submitted only an essay w/no extras). However, please be aware that Sub Pop will not return any of this material, so please don’t send originals. Sub Pop will give equal opportunity to all applicants who fit the criteria outlined above.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, March 19th, 2024.

Please send all submissions and attachments to scholarship@subpop.com by Tuesday, March 19th. We will announce the scholarship winners during the first week of April.

What we talk about when we talk about “Loser.”

Here at Sub Pop Records, we use the word “loser” a lot. You may have noticed. We’ve printed it on things we sell (hats, shirts, stickers, mugs, and more!), we call the first, colored-vinyl, limited-edition pressings of the records we release the “Loser Edition,” and every year since 2007 ish we’ve awarded tuition money to college-bound NW high school students through the “Sub Pop Loser Scholarship.” And, it’s possible we take for granted that you guys catch our drift and understand what we mean when we’re all “loser this,” and “loser that.” So! The following…

 Sub Pop’s use of the word “loser” goes back to the foundation of the label and is meant as a celebration of unabashedly being ourselves without conforming to any preconceived ideas of “normal.” To be a loser is central to the very idea of underground art and culture - all of it happening and thriving outside of the mainstream, and not necessarily looking for a way in. Bruce Pavitt’s “New Pop Manifesto” in the 1st issue of Subterranean Pop included, “The important thing to remember is this: the most intense music, the most original ideas… are coming out of scenes you don’t even know exist… Only by supporting new ideas by local artists, bands, and record labels can the U.S. expect any kind of dynamic social/cultural change…” And, since 2007 or so, with the Loser Scholarship, we’ve been adding students to that list, and putting our (or, our co-founder, big boss and biggest loser ever, Jonathan Poneman’s…) money where our mouth is. Sub Pop Records strives to bring attention to music and art from the fringes that might otherwise remain marginalized. And, in that same spirit, through our annual Loser Scholarship, we’re looking for art-enthused misfits in NW high schools, losers like us, to help them pay for college. We stand proudly with and support the misfits, weirdos and losers, because we believe that when we’re able to proudly be nothing other than our true selves, we have the ability to make the world stronger, smarter and better.

So, good luck, Losers! And, again, please send all submissions and attachments to scholarship@subpop.com by Tuesday, March 19th.

Amen Dunes – the project of New York City-based Damon McMahon – will release his new album, Death Jokes, on May 10th via Sub Pop Records. In conjunction, he presents the first single, “Purple Land,” and announces concerts in select cities in the US, UK and Europe (full list is below). With Death Jokes, for the first time since the project’s incarnation in 2006, the spiritual reflections and meditations of Amen Dunes are turned away from himself and out sharply towards the world. Through samples and lyrics, the album plays like a scathing electronic essay on America’s culture of violence, dominance, and destructive individualism. 

Death Jokes marks Amen Dunes’ first record since 2018’s Freedom, named a “best album of the decade” by Pitchfork who called it “his euphoric breakthrough… silvery and romantic, like a hallucination of the classic-rock songbook.” While McMahon has always worked with an outsider’s verve, he approached his seventh album in fall 2019 as an outsider to his own history. Instead of embarking on the eerie, modern blend of folk and blues for which he’s known for, McMahon decided to become a beginner again, immersing himself in the fundamentals of both piano and the electronic music he’d grown up with at raves and clubs but never imagined himself able to make. 

As he worked, McMahon fought intense illness for most of 2020, first with Covid, then with lingering respiratory issues, and thirty lost pounds. Throughout this depleted state, two years and twenty-one failed collaborations passed. He was unable to find those who understood his unorthodox methods, this “loose, wild, self-propelled approach” that signaled a new direction for Amen Dunes. As he kept working, McMahon saw the birth of his first child, moved cross country from Los Angeles to Woodstock, NY, and dove repeatedly into the uncertain states of learning and losing. He knew he had to go it mostly alone this time, but not everything from that year was a wash. However small, the collaborations that worked proved to be profound. The jazz bassist Sam Wilkes appears on a trio of songs, producers Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray) and Kwake Bass (Tirzah, Dean Blunt) provided tracks on several others; sessions with Panoram and Money Mark also ended up in the final version of Death Jokes. On most songs, McMahon incorporated sounds, talking, and music pilfered from YouTube. The vast collage of samples include an interview with J Dilla, recordings from Type O Negative and Coil, a lyre performance of the oldest written song in human history, protest chants, a grunting powerlifter, and bits of stand-up from Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and others, as “thought provocation and irritant.” 

The songs on Death Jokes almost seem to foresee the pandemic, but they’re more about the lingering effects those years have had on all of us, spiritually and emotionally. Their meaning morphed as the pandemic went on: at first they were reflections on our attachment to form, and to ourselves, and then they shifted into solemn indictments of our culture’s blind spots as we misjudge and attack, our veiled self-centeredness and self-importance masquerading as morality. 

“Purple Land” started as a campfire country song before shifting throughout its production to incorporate polyrhythms, 909s, reggae guitar, backwards bass, and a drum break. The song speaks to the fragility of life, first in childhood and then as we age. Throughout, an omniscient angel figure presides over the ballad — “You’ll be all grown / I’ll be long gone / You’ll be living on the sun / If you ain’t careful, you’re gonna forget it.” McMahon explains, “Purple Land is one of the album’s interstitial character portraits: first of a child, then the narrator, and then of an empowered figure as they all navigate and find liberation from the disconnection and disenchantment of an uncertain world. It begins first as a song to my daughter about life on earth, offering platitudes, warnings, and guidance through its various stages, until it becomes a reflection on the narrator’s own uncertainties as he moves through the world, ending finally with a character Rhea Anne who exemplifies liberation from it all in a moment of simple reckless freedom, as the beat drops in the final minute of the song.” 

Listen to “Purple Land”

Seen as an essay, Death Jokes reaches a thesis in the last two tracks. These songs mourn “the soul atrophy and separation between us” but they mourn with hope that we might be able to move past the coldness of holding passing convictions above the more complicated truths inherent in this life. These are gospel songs. They’re spirituals that have clawed their way out of a culture dead-set on smothering the boldness that a spiritual life fosters.

Many portions of the above press release are pulled from the Death Jokes bio by Catherine Lacey. 

Pre-order Death Jokes

Death Jokes Tracklist:

1. Death Jokes

2. Ian

3. Joyrider

4. What I Want

5. Rugby Child

6. Boys

7. Exodus

8. Predator

9. Solo Tape

10. Purple Land

11. I Don’t Mind

12. Mary Anne

13. Round the World

14. Poor Cops

Amen Dunes Tour Dates

(US shows on sale February 16th @ 10am local time)

Wed. May 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

Fri. May 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether

Wed. May 15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

Mon. Jul. 1 - Paris, FR @ Trabendo

Wed. Jul. 3 - Berlin, DE @ Gretchen

Fri. Jul. 5 - Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival

Sun. Jul. 7 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso

Tue. Jul. 9 - London, UK @ KOKO