Sub Pop is elated to announce the signing of French psychedelic rock outfit SLIFT. The label will release the power-trio’s third full-length, ILION, on CD, 2xLP, and digital/streaming formats on January 19, 2024. The title track from the album is out now on all DSPs.
SLIFT is brothers Jean and Remí Fossat, and Canek Flores. Formed in 2016, SLIFT quickly made an impression on rockers worldwide with their 2017 debut EP, Space Is the Key, and the following year’s full-length La Planeté Inexploreé. In 2019, their KEXP session recorded at the Trans Musicales festival became a viral sensation, racking up more than 1.5 million YouTube views and setting the stage for their acclaimed 2020 space-rock opus, UMMON, and a subsequent limited-edition 7” for the Sub Pop Singles Club.
ILION launches SLIFT even deeper into the cosmos, merging the furious intensity of metal and the wigged-out guitar heroics of psych-rock with post-rock’s epic sense of scale. The band offers a window into the album’s concept in this description of the lead single “Ilion”:
“It’s the opening track and the first song we composed for this record. Due to its structure in ‘drawers,’ with different movements, it represents the album as a whole. It depicts monuments to ancient gods rising skyward from the dusty desert floor of a dying planet, battered by fierce winds. It’s about the people condemned to live on this desolate land. And about the murderers of this world, who leave it for space and the hope of a new world, in a frantic crusade which will lead them to madness.”
ILION can now be pre-ordered worldwide from Sub Pop. LP orders in North America from the Sub Pop Mega Mart and the UK and Europe fromMega Mart 2 (the new European sibling to the Sub Pop Mega Mart) will receive the limited Loser Edition on Blackened Red Vinyl (while supplies last). Also exclusively available via SLIFT’s website is the limited Space Dust Marble vinyl edition.
ILION Bio:
SLIFT’s ILION is a towering work of rock music, a steamrolling record that starts at the highest peak and never lets up. If that sounds overwhelming, trust that this Toulouse trio have you in good hands. Their third full-length feels massive and oceanic, merging the furious intensity of metal and the wigged-out guitar heroics of psych rock with post-rock’s epic sense of scale. ILION is the kind of music where you listen to it and think to yourself, “This came from only three people?” It sure did, and SLIFT’s utter ferocity is way more than a tempest in a teacup. It reaches outwards for miles and creates new zeniths within unforeseen horizons of rock.
SLIFT is made up of brothers Jean and Remí Fossat and Canek Flores, who first met the brothers Fossat at (of all things) school. After the band formally came together in 2016, they quickly made their 2017 debut EP, Space Is the Key, which merged stoner rock’s heaviness with the sugar-rush qualities of garage rock. From there, things only got weirder: The trio experimented with faster tempos and bongos(!) on the following year’s full-length La Planeté Inexploreé, and in 2019, their KEXP session recorded at the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes became a viral sensation, racking up more than 1.4 million YouTube views.
UMMON from 2020 represented SLIFT’s pivot towards the celestially crushing confines of psych-metal, marked by Remí’s rolling basslines and Flores’s relentless skin-pounding. But nothing in their already-estimable catalog could prepare you for ILION, a huge-sounding and melodically dense record that at once recalls Godspeed! You Black Emperor’s perpetually uplifting surge, the passionate burn of post-hardcore legends …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Led Zep’s psychotic blues-rock mysticism, and the psychedelic swirl of Swedish experimental greats Goat.
But reducing ILION to a list of reference points would be missing the point—specifically, that you really have to sit down and experience this thing and let it take over your ear space. The record marks the band’s second Sub Pop release, following last year’s Singles Club 7” release of “Unseen” b/w “The Real Unseen,” which were outtakes from the UMMON sessions and offered a mere taste of the pure expansiveness on display here. Over eight tracks and 75+ minutes, SLIFT unleash the fury with walls of guitar and multi-part song structures that make you feel as if you’re being taken on a true journey—from the pure oblivion of ILION’s title track and the stretched-out abandon of centerpiece “Weavers’ Weft” to the intense climax of the 12-and-a-half-minute epic “The Story That Has Never Been Told.”
But what is this journey? To hear SLIFT tell it, Joseph Campbell would be proud of the thematic path laid out before the listeners on ILION, which is named after the Ancient Greek word for the city of Troy and, conceptually speaking, picks up where UMMON left off: “This is an album constructed in the manner of a Homeric story,” the band explains. “Where the two records differ is that ILION is about human emotions and feelings, whereas UMMON was telling an epic story with a distant view. ILION represents the fall of humanity and the rebirth of all things in time and space.”
Heavy shit, to be sure—but fear not, because you don’t need a 12-sided die and a copy of The Odyssey to get what SLIFT are dishing out on ILION. All you need are two ears, an open mind, and the willingness to be truly blown away.
SLIFT ILION
1. Ilion 2. Nimh 3. The Words That Have Never Been Heard 4. Confluence 5. Weavers’ Weft 6. Uruk 7. The Story That Has Never Been Told 8. Enter The Loop
Today, October 3rd, Shabazz Palaces shares “Scarface Mace (feat. O Finess),” a new highlight from his forthcoming album Robed in Rareness.
Shabazz Palaces is masterminded by vocalist and producer Ishmael Butler, and this steady, cerebral, and swaggy new tale features Colorado Springs-based rapper O Finess. Watch the new animated visualizer illustrated by Kobi Annobil/Player 99 Design Institute and animated by Ben Goldsmith.
The “Scarface Mace” single, which follows the release of “Binoculars (feat. Royce The Choice) and “Woke Up In a Dream” featuring Ish’s son Lil Tracy, is from Robed in Rareness, a new seven-song mini album, released worldwide on October 27th, 2023.
Robed in Rareness is the first full collection of new material since The Don of Diamond Dreams, their critically acclaimed LP released in 2020. The album features collaborations from the aforementioned Royce The Choice, O Finess, and Lil Tracy, along with Butler’s twin Lavarr the Starr, Seattle’s Porter Ray, and Bronx’s Geechi Suede (of Camp Lo).
Robed in Rareness was produced by Shabazz Palaces, mixed by Erik Blood, and engineered by Ishmael Butler and Blood at Studio4 West in Venice, California, with mastering by Warren Defever at Third Man Mastering.
Shabazz Palaces’ live shows in support of Robed in Rareness continue with a performance tonight, Tuesday, October 3rd, at New York City’s Mercury Lounge, and Sunday, November 12th in Los Angeles at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel for the LA3C Music & Food Festival. Shabazz Palaces will also appear at My Morning Jacket’s One Big Holiday event in Quintana Roo, MX, on April 4th, 2023—additional live dates to be announced soon.
2023 Tue. Oct. 03 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (Late) Sun. Nov. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - LA3C @ Theater at Ace Hotel
2024 Thu. Apr. 04 - Quintana Roo, MX - Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Fri. Aug. 05 - Quintana Roo, MX - Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Sat. Aug. 06 - Quintana Roo, MX - Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Sun. Aug. 07 - Quintana Roo, MX - Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya
On November 2, 2023, Girl and Girl will release Fight Night. This 5-song collection features new interpretations of songs from the group’s 2023 EP, Divorce +, and recorded at Fight Night Studios in Melbourne, Australia.
Girl and Girl is sharing a new performance video of “Strangers” from the Fight Night sessions, which you can watch HERE.
Girl and Girl’s frontperson, Kai James, says about the single and video: “For ‘Strangers,’ we tried to bottle the feeling of a night out alone, the thrill that comes from meeting new people. It’s my favorite track to play live; people connect with it. I try my best cowboy dancing, and everyone’s stomping and shouting together. It’s a hoot.”
Fight Night Records is a recording studio perched above Dutch Vinyl record store in Melbourne, established in 2015 by identical twins Harley & Delaney Stewart. Their live studio sessions have captured performances by some of Australia’s most incredible underground talent including Grace Cummings, Folk Bitch Trio, Felix Riebl, Gabriella Cohen, Jazz Party, Bones & Jones and Sweet Talk.
Girl and Girl are working on new music for their full-length Sub Pop debut, and have announced AU and EU shows this fall, including a festival play on November 11th at Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris. See below for a full list of shows.
TOUR DATES Fri. Oct. 13 - Melbourne, AU - The Evelyn Sat. Oct. 14 - Paramatta, AU - Paramatta Lanes Sun. Oct. 15- Wollongong, AU - Yours & Owls Festival Wed. Oct. 18 - Sydney, AU - SXSW Sydney (The Chippo Hotel) Thu. Oct. 19 - Sydney, AU - SXSW Sydney (The Lord Gladstone) Fri. Oct. 27 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling 2023 Mon. Oct. 30 - Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute w/ Water From Your Eyes Tue. Oct. 31 - Glasgow, UK - The Hug and Pint w/ Water From Your Eyes Wed. Nov. 01 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club w/ Water From Your Eyes Fri. Nov. 03- London, UK - Sebright Arms (2 shows) Sat. Nov. 04 - Margate, UK- Whereelse? w/ Flamingods Sun. Nov. 05 - Brighton, UK - Mutations Festival 2023 Mon. Nov. 06 - Southampton, UK - Heartbreakers Wed. Nov. 08- Orleans, FR - L’Astrolabe Thu. Nov. 09 - Nantes, FR - Stereolux Fri. Nov. 10 - Weissenhäuser Strand, GER - Rolling Stone Beach Sat. Nov. 11 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Avant Garde
Today, Wednesday, September 27th, DEBBY FRIDAY is sharing “let u in,” a new, drum ‘n’ bass-tinged pop single, available worldwide on all DSPs through Sub Pop. The track, recorded in Melbourne during her Australian Winter tour supporting her 2023 album GOOD LUCK, is co-produced by FRIDAY and frequent Wicca Phase Springs Eternal collaborator, Australian electronic music producer and vocalist Darcy Baylis.
The “let u in” single follows the release of GOOD LUCK, FRIDAY’s acclaimed Polaris Music Prize-winning, full-length debut. The album features the singles “SO HARD TO TELL,” “I GOT IT,” “WHAT A MAN,” and “HOT LOVE,” which was co-produced by FRIDAY and Graham Walsh (METZ, Holy Fuck) at Candle Recording Studio in Toronto, and mastered by Heba Kadry in New York.
Her international tour schedule in support of GOOD LUCK and “let u in,” resumes October 27th in Chicago at Sanctum at Thalia Hall and currently runs through December 14th in Montreal at Le Ritz. Please find a current list of confirmed dates below.
Fri. Oct. 27 - Chicago, IL - Sanctum @ Thalia Hall Fri. Nov. 03 - Manchester, UK - Homobloc @ Yes Pink Room Sat. Nov. 04 - Brighton, UK - Mutations Festival Tue. Nov. 07 - Oslo, NO - BLA Wed. Nov. 08 - Copenhagen, DK - Rust Thu. Nov. 09 - Stockholm, SE - Brooklyn Bar Fri. Nov. 10 - London, UK - Thirdman London Sat. Nov. 11 - London, UK - Pitchfork London (@ Roundhouse) % Wed. Nov. 15 - Brussels, BE - Fifty Lab Wed. Dec. 13 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground Thu. Dec. 14 - Montréal, QC - Le Ritz % w/ Yaeji, Jessy Lanza
Of her SXSW appearances, Rolling Stone raved: “Welcome to Planet Debby: If you wandered into the back room at Empire Garage and Control Room at the right moment on Thursday afternoon, you found yourself in the middle of an interstellar rave in full swing. Toronto experimental artist Debby Friday was onstage, performing a thudding electro-rap song with hints of Azealia Banks and Donna Summer… Leaping off the stage into the small crowd, she demanded that they come closer — “I need your energy!” — and kept on chanting, in a long vamp that bent space and time. It was the kind of serendipitous moment that makes SXSW one of the best places in the world to discover a new favorite.”
GOOD LUCK is available now worldwide from Sub Pop. LP purchases from megamart.subpop.com, Mega Mart 2, select independent stores in North America, the U.K., and E.U., and FRIDAY’s live shows will receive the limited Loser edition on metallic silver vinyl (while supplies last).
What people are saying about DEBBY FRIDAY: “The Nigerian-born, Toronto-based singer and rapper Debby Friday’s ambitious, charismatic album “Good Luck” is one of my favorite debuts of the year so far…She’s a shape-shifting, swashbuckling dynamo journeying through different tempos and genres, always on a heroine’s quest for self-discovery.” “The Amplifier” - THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Her first full-length is sweaty and determined, eager to deliver on its teeth-chattering beats with a feverish intensity. The influences are obvious, but the ways that Debby Friday crashes those sounds together are not.” “Album of the Week” - STEREOGUM
“GOOD LUCK is an assured and frequently surprising debut that feels like a trip into the lascivious, eclectic wormhole of Friday’s world – and with so much to take in, and so much fun to be had, you won’t want to leave.” 8/10, CRACK
“There’s an extraordinary elasticity across GOOD LUCK’s masterful production that makes repeated listens not just enjoyable but irresistible.” “8/10, Album of the Week” -LOUD & QUIET
“[Her] most fully realized set of songs to date. The abrasion and urgency of her early EPs remains, but the 10 songs here lean more heavily toward the pulse of the club—and often a vampiric underground den at that…Friday more openly embraces pop on her debut album, but rarely does so outside the presence of the shadow and mystique her music so often casts.” “Album of the Week” - TREBLE
“DEBBY defies easy categorization, mixing rap, electro, post-punk, industrial, techno and more into a glitchy, bruising and bitcrushed blend that is fiery, magnetic and all her own.” [GOOD LUCK] - BROOKLYN VEGAN
“Imagine you walk into a club and there’s industrial playing, then the next track is house, the next cybergoth, and the next alt-pop. Maybe that would sound like sonic whiplash — but in the world of DEBBY FRIDAY, that’s all possible, and the club is bumping… The Nigeria-born-Toronto-based DJ-turned-recording-artist just released her first album with Sub Pop, GOOD LUCK, and it’s an expansive display of her influences, from heavy rock to alt-R&B. Fans of Azealia Banks, JPEGMAFIA, SZA, Yves Tumor, and even Nine Inch Nails could all find themselves at home in her world. And soon enough, with her innovation and confidence, it seems like the rest of the world will, too.” “The Rising Artists You Need To Know” - ALTERNATIVE PRESS
“On Friday’s previous EPs, 2018’s Bitchpunk and 2019’s Death Drive, she reveled in messy synth-punk exuberance. That energy is amped-up on GOOD LUCK…Packed into a succinct, live-wire 33-minutes, GOOD LUCK is testament to how effectively Friday can capture life in all its dense, unpredictable emotions.” - CHICAGO READER
“An explosive, pounding, relentlessly calisthenic dance-floor banger with attitude to spare. A pulsating beat flickers like a strobe light as Friday and Chris Vargas of the duo Pelada, appearing here as Uñas, trade braggadocious bilingual verses. ‘Let mama give you what you need,’ Friday shrieks before calmly assuring, ‘I got it.’” [“I GOT IT”] “The Playlist” - THE NEW YORK TIMES
“In contrast to the pulse-quickening tempos and noisy synths of her past music, her production is deft and graceful, with a skipping beat and cascading backing vocals. ‘Lady Friday/All you do is rеbel,’ Friday chastises herself—tough talk against a fragile, gorgeous sound.” [“SO HARD TO TELL”] “Best New Track” - PITCHFORK
“One of the young year’s most audacious bangers” [“SO HARD TO TELL”] - BILLBOARD
“Hyperpop can sometimes come off as abrasive but in the hands of Canadian singer DEBBY FRIDAY it’s soulful, even elegant.” [“SO HARD TO TELL”] - NYLON
“A graceful entrance into yet another territory: lush R&B”[“SO HARD TO TELL”] “Now Playing” - NPR MUSIC
DEBBY FRIDAY GOOD LUCK
Tracklisting: 1. GOOD LUCK 2. SO HARD TO TELL 3. I GOT IT (feat. Uñas) 4. HOT LOVE 5. HEARTBREAKERRR 6. WHAT A MAN 7. SAFE 8. LET U DOWN 9. PLUTO BABY 10. WAKE UP
As their wildly successful co-headline tour continues to sell out multiple nights at venues from Madison Square Garden to the Hollywood Bowl, The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie have today announced Everything Looks Closer From Far Away: The Exhibit Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Two Landmark Albums: The Postal Service’s Give Up & Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism, an exclusive exhibit opening September 29th and running through October 29th at KEXP’s Gathering Space in Seattle which is open Monday through Friday from 7am-6pm and Saturday through Sunday from 8am-6pm.
Everything Looks Closer From Far Away is a unique and unprecedented deep dive into the worlds of The Postal Service’s Give Up and Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism, two records that began life as the indie rock soundtrack of 2003 and have since become RIAA Platinum-certified classics celebrated on a current 20th anniversary tour of North American arenas and amphitheaters. Bringing it back to where it all began, the pop cultural time capsule will feature murals, artifacts, large-scale installations, an in-depth timeline of both records and more.
The historic Give Up/Transatlanticism 20th Anniversary Tour will land at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena (right next door to the exhibit) for two sold out shows on October 6 and 7.
Praise for The Postal Service & Death Cab for Cutie Give Up/Transatlanticism 20th Anniversary Tour
“Dream double bill” – VARIETY
“Peak millennial nostalgia, in the best way” – PITCHFORK
“…bright and cathartic…” – BOSTON GLOBE
THE POSTAL SERVICE // DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
Give Up/Transatlanticism
20th Anniversary Tour
SEPTEMBER 2023
26 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom # – SOLD OUT 27 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom # – SOLD OUT 28 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom # – SOLD OUT 30 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater & – SOLD OUT
OCTOBER 2023
1 – Grand Prairie, TX – Texas Trust CU Theatre Grand Prairie & – SOLD OUT 3 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre & – SOLD OUT 4 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels & – SOLD OUT 6 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena & – SOLD OUT 7 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena & – SOLD OUT 9 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre – UC Berkeley & – SOLD OUT 10 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre – UC Berkeley & – SOLD OUT 11 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre – UC Berkeley & – SOLD OUT 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl & – SOLD OUT 14 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl ^ – SOLD OUT 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl % – SOLD OUT 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl @
# w/ Special Guest Warpaint & w/ Special Guest The Beths % w/ Special Guest Built to Spill @ w/ Special Guest Iron & Wine ^ w/ Special Guest Pedro the Lion
On Friday, November 17th, 2023, Sub Pop will release Iron & Wine’s Who Can See Forever, an accompanying live record to a film of the same name. Captured by director Josh Sliffe at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, the soundtrack features nineteen songs from the twenty-plus-year career of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Having found inventive ways to re-invent his catalog live over the years, Who Can See Forever offers new and fresh versions of Iron & Wine songs, including “The Trapeze Swinger,” “Boy With a Coin,” and “Naked As We Came.” Initially intended as a live concert film, the film evolved into a visual portrait capturing Beam during a creative outburst that earned him four Grammy nominations in four years. Like his music, the film touches on universally personal themes as Beam tackles managing his personal and professional life as an artist. Taken as one, the soundtrack and film are a fascinating first-time glimpse behind the scenes of Iron & Wine.
Who Can See Forever is produced by Sam Beam and was recorded by his long time live sound engineer Jelle Kuiper, mixed by Matt Ross-Spang at Southern Grooves in Memphis, TN, and mastered by Richard Dodd in Nashville, TN.
The Who Can See Forever documentary concert film will be screening in theaters in select cities this Fall/Winter before platforming to streaming services in ‘24. Dates are forthcoming.
Preceding the soundtrack’s release, Iron & Wine will perform at the Hollywood Bowl with The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie on Tuesday, October 17th, 2023. Additional live dates will be announced soon.
Iron & Wine Who Can See Forever Soundtrack
Tracklisting: 1. The Trapeze Swinger 2. Boy with a Coin 3. Woman King 4. Thomas County Law 5. House by the Sea 6. About a Bruise 7. Sodom, South Georgia 8. Last Night 9. Monkeys Uptown 10. Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog) 11. Grace for Saints and Ramblers 12. Dearest Forsaken 13. Glad Man Singing 14. On Your Wings 15. Passing Afternoon 16. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car 17. Naked as We Came 18. Call Your Boys 19. Muddy Hymnal
