In the official video for TV Priest’s “One Easy Thing”, the group’s excellent new single, singer Charlie Drinkwater is a beleaguered 15th-century knight on his return home from battle, and soon after, a solo danse macabre ensues. The darkly comic “One Easy Thing” video was helmed by Joe Wheatley (“Decoration”, “Press Gang”), shot on 16mm black and white stock by director of photography Kristof Brandl. The song is available today worldwide on DSPs from Sub Pop.
 
Charlie says “Writing ‘One Easy Thing’ was key to unlocking a more direct and personal approach to our songwriting. It’s about dealing with the small things of everyday life; the anxiety, pressures, and battles inside your own headspace - and not being afraid to show this in our songs.”
 
“One Easy Thing” further ushers in a new direction for the band and will appear on TV Priest’s forthcoming new album, due out on Sub Pop later this year. It follows the recent “Lifesize”  b/w ”All Thing” single (their contribution to volume 6 of the Sub Pop Singles Club), and Uppers, the band’s acclaimed, full-length debut, both released in 2021.
 
What people have said about TV Priest Uppers:
“With their wry wit and infectious hooks, this band might just be the future of music (9/10).” God Is In The TV
 
“Uppers…should rubber stamp TV Priest as one of, if not your favorite new act” - The Line Of Best Fit
 
“The blistering debut is a collection of delightfully pungent tracks, delivered in all their unashamed, reckless glory.” - CLASH
 
Ragged yet tight, sprawling yet focussed, it’s a singular vision of a disparate time. It rounds up most of the usual suspects of our Un-UK, the pop culture, the insularity, the lies on the side of a bus, but manages to breathe new life into those old tropes by sheer force of personality (★★★★) - DORK
 
“[Drinkwater’s] snarling style jostles perfectly with TV Priest’s fuzzed-and-flinty bass-forward style which, at its most brash, recalls McLusky, and at its most swaggering is in line with Iceage and Merchandise…what Uppers really shows is he’s best when he sings. That booming voice of his can carry a tune and is capable of holding a little bravado, too, without sliding too far into melodrama, which comes in handy on dark, brooding tracks like ‘Saintless,’ ‘This Island,’ and ‘Slidewater.’” - Brooklyn Vegan
 
“The album … is quite possibly the ideal soundtrack to our current climate. It’s harsh, overwhelming and, honestly, pretty fucking funny (8/10).” - Northern Transmissions
 
“Uppers provides thrills aplenty from a band making their mark during strange times as our new normal sets in, intent on seizing their second chance.” - Beats Per Minute

You can now hear the final installment of the Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6, a new single by The Black Tones, out today worldwide on all DSPs from Sub Pop.
 
Simply put, The Black Tones are like a mixture of Kurt Cobain and cornbread. Consisting of founders/twin siblings Eva Walker on guitar/vocals and Cedric Walker on drums, the blues- and punk-based dynamo continuously project subversion, power and the potential for something new. 
 
The Black Tones’ “The End of Everything” is about just that: the end of the world and, well, eventually the universe. Named after the book The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack, the song confronts the fact that, whether it’s the second coming of who or whatever you believe in, this will all end. “Mr. Mines,” named after a black tour-bus guide/driver from Eva and Cedric’s youth, is guided by the light yet hearty vocals of Ednah Holt (Talking Heads/Ritchie Family). The song is heavily influenced by Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig in the Sky” and Jackie Mittoo’s “Ghetto Organ”.
 
The Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6 series includes subscription-only 7” singles by John Waters, Kim Gordon/J Mascis, Jeff Tweedy, Duma, LIDS, Washed Out, Hand Habits, Porridge Radio, Sheltered Workshop Singers, TV Priest, BNH Deluxe, and The Black Tones. Hear music from the series via the Singles Club playlist, and grab one of the last remaining subscriptions here (we only made 1,000 and they’re almost gone!).
 
We’d also like to remind you that the Sub Pop Singles Club will continue for yet another year! Subscribe to the Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 7 to get twelve exclusive, limited-to-1,000-copies, colored-vinyl 7” records that you will, undoubtedly, love and adore. Subscribers will get 7”s by Bartees Strange, Party Dozen, Matthew “Doc” Dunn, The William Loveday Intention (feat. Billy Childish!), The Shadracks (feat. the son of Billy Childish!), Sidney Gish, and more TBA. Vol. 7 runs from April, 2022 and ending February, 2023.

The Black Tones
“The End of Everything” b/w “Mr. Mines”

Watch the official video for Father John Misty’s “Q4,” the new single from Chloë and the Next 20th Century, his forthcoming new album, directed by Grant James (“I Love You, Honeybear,” “Funtimes in Babylon”) with title design by Rafa Orrico, and typestract animation by Cossa.

On April 14th, 2022, Father John Misty will celebrate the release of Chloë and The Next 20th Century, with a pair of intimate performances presented by Rough Trade and Rockefeller Center at the iconic Rainbow Room.
 
Entry to the show is free with the pre-purchase of a signed LP edition of Chloë and The Next 20th Century, available for $32.98, on a first-come-first served basis from the online store here. Pre-purchase of the record confirms your RSVP to the show. Availability is limited.
 
Up to two records may be pre-purchased per person for redemption of two passes to the show.
 
Rough Trade and Rockefeller Center present Father John Misty at The Rainbow Room
April 14, 2022
Early show / 7pm
Late show / 9:30pm
Rainbow Room (65th Floor)
30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC
 
Father John Misty’s first two symphony performances for 2022 — February 25th in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the LA Phil, and April 7th in London at the Barbican with Britten Sinfonia conducted by Jules Buckley — are now both sold out.
 
Chloë and The Next 20th Century, which also includes the singles “Funny Girl,” “Goodbye Mr. Blue,” and “Kiss Me (I Loved You),” and will be available April 8th, 2022 worldwide from Sub Pop and in Europe from Bella Union. All formats of Chloë and the Next 20th Century are available for preorder now from Sub Pop, Bella Union (UK/Europe), and select independent retailers in North America.
 
“Funny Girl,” Chloë and the Next 20th Century’s first single, saw praise upon its release in early January. Rolling Stone offers this, “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”).” The FADER says ‘Funny Girl’ is a “lush and romantic ballad…and shows that there’s much more to Josh Tillman… (‘20 Best Rock Songs Right Now’),” while CLASH calls it a “Gorgeous new song” and notes that it’s “sheer Father John Misty - tender, open, and just a touch ironic, the word play is matched to a clipped, neo-classic vocal.”

Sub Pop is delighted to welcome Weird Nightmare, the electrifying new project from METZ guitarist and singer Alex Edkins, to the label’s storied roster of artists. Label co-founder, Jonathan Poneman on the irresistible allure of Weird Nightmare: “One can hear, respect, and fully appreciate Alex’s reverence for the ingratiating hook, which he wields both generously and masterfully. Yeah. Killer!”

 The debut full-length Weird Nightmare album will be released by Sub Pop later this year and we’ll have a lot more to say about that very soon. In the meantime, please enjoy a brief glimpse of Weird Nightmare in this gloriously fuzzy teaser.

Australia’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are thrilled to announce their new album, Endless Rooms, out May 6th on Sub Pop, as well as their first North American tour since 2019. Additionally, they are sharing the album’s first taste, “The Way It Shatters,” alongside an accompanying video. The band – comprised of Fran Keaney, Joe White, Marcel Tussie, and brothers Tom and Joe Russo - return following 2020’s Sideways To New Italy with their most naturalistic and expansive album yet, a testament to the collaborative spirit and live power of Rolling Blackouts C.F. In their own words, Endless Rooms is the band “doing what we do best: chasing down songs in a room together.” 

The lead single “The Way It Shatters” started simply as a home-recorded MIDI-jam before expanding into the blistering earworm it is now. It heavily features synth, an instrument rarely seen on previous releases from Rolling Blackouts C.F. The band further elaborates: “It’s about how ending up in your particular situation in life is the result of absolute randomness. If you happen to be born into wealthy Australia or happen to be born into a war zone in Syria. That’s just the way it shatters. So it’s when this good luck is mistaken for a sense of pride in one’s self or their country they become confused and deluded about what’s important. It’s when those on the other side of the luck scale are completely othered and considered not worthy.” In the accompanying video, directed by frequent collaborator Nick Mckk, Joe White plays a man who wakes up on the shore and stumbles into a birthday party, attended by the rest of the band members. 

While initial ideas for Endless Rooms were traded online during long spells spent separated by Australia’s strict lockdowns, the album was truly born during small windows of freedom in which the band would decamp to a mud-brick house in the bush around two hours north of Melbourne built by the extended Russo family in the 1970s. There, its 12 tracks took shape, informed to such an extent by the acoustics and ambience of the rambling lakeside house that they decided to record the album there (and put the house on the album cover). For the first time, the band self-produced the record (alongside engineer, collaborator and old friend, Matt Duffy). The result is a collection of songs permeated by the spirit of the place; punctuated by field recordings of rain, fire, birds, and wind. “It’s almost an anti-concept album,” says the band. “The Endless Rooms of the title reflects our love of creating worlds in our songs. We treat each of them as a bare room to be built up with infinite possibilities.”

ENDLESS ROOMS TRACKLIST
1. Pearl Like You
2. Tidal River
3. The Way It Shatters
4. Caught Low
5. My Echo
6. Dive Deep
7. Open Up Your Window
8. Blue Eye Lake
9. Saw You At The Eastern Beach
10. Vanishing Dots
11. Endless Rooms
12. Bounce Off The Bottom

Late last year, CHAI announced the WINK TOGETHER EP, a reimagination of songs from their beloved 2021 Sub Pop debut, WINK. To celebrate the release of the remix collection and CHAI’s forthcoming tour, you can now watch a new video for “PING PONG! feat. YMCK (Busy P Remix).”  

For WINK TOGETHER, CHAI tapped their favorite artists from around the world for what they call their “most powerful album yet.” Collaborators include France’s BUSY P, Korea’s Beenzino, Japan’s ZAZEN BOYS and STUTS, as well as Australia’s Confidence Man. 

CHAI will also release an official video for “Nobody Knows We Are Fun (STUTS Remix)” on February 9th, 2022.

Later today, CHAI will appear live on Van’s Channel 66 from 10 am to noon PST.  The band will perform live, sit for an interview, and will do a short DJ set. 

Today’s video release and live stream performance are another small taste of what CHAI have in store with WINK TOGETHER, as well as what they will bring to their 2022 North American tour of the same name. The WINK TOGETHER tour will see CHAI bookending their run of dates supporting Mitski, including stops in Chicago, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles.

WINK TOGETHER Tracklist

1. END (Confidence Man Remix)

2. ACTION (with ZAZEN BOYS)

3. Miracle (Scoobert Doobert Remix)

4. PING PONG! Feat. YMCK(Busy P Remix)

5. Nobody Knows We Are Fun (STUTS Remix)

6. Donuts Mind If I Do (with Beenzino)