Like so many of you, we are spending A LOT of time at home these days. And, because (despite all the sarcasm…) we really do care about you guys a whole lot, we are here to help!
Coloring Sheet #3 has arrived, and it’s as true today as it was in 1991… Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge! That’s right, Mudhoney’s timeless classic is now available in the rare and sought after coloring sheet format. Download the full-size .jpeg here.
And here we have Sub Pop Coloring Sheet #2, the second in a series of [who knows?]. Hat tip to our friends Flight of the Conchords, their legendary self-titled album, and Illustrator Tyler Stout. (Here for free download as a JPEG because who uses TIFF anyway?!)
BEHOLD below: Sub Pop Coloring Sheet #1, the first in a series of at least one! (Avail to you, FOR FREE, as either a JPEG or TIFF.)
Simply by downloading, printing and then applying your own, unique art-like skills to this handy, Sub Pop-based, at-home coloring-fun activity, you will avail yourself of an opportunity to…
While away the hours between waking to what really seems kind of like the same day over and over again, and the sweet release of sleep!
Distract yourself from the great, yawning chasm of doubt and dread opening ever wider at our very feet!
Sharpen up your skills, in preparation for an assuredly satisfying career in the world of fine art!
Show off your individual flair and good taste!
Create something delightful to post on social media and then (OF COURSE) tag us! (@subpop #subpopcoloring) There is the distinct possibility we will be moved to feature the best/weirdest/funniest of these in our Instagram feed!
Fun, right? WE KNOW!
We have also very recently created new Sub Pop-branded “Work From Home” playlists sure to provide you with minutes upon minutes of pure listening ECSTASY through many of today’s popular music streaming services. Please access these playlists here!
(You can also listen to the playlist that the art for Sub Pop Coloring Sheet #1 normally accompanies, not at all coincidentally titled “Home Is Where All of These Bands Are,” at any of the several streaming options available to you here!)
Please note: we owe a debt of great gratitude to our Late 30’s Art Director Sasha Barr for creating the art for these playlists, the associated Coloring Sheet #1, and so much more.
Father John Misty’s Anthem +3 is a digital EP featuring covers of Leonard Cohen, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and Link Wray, that is now available in all DSPs through Sub Pop, with the exception of Europe through Bella Union. Hear here.
Anthem was recorded a few weeks ago with longtime collaborator and producer Jonathan Wilson at Wilson’s Fivestar Studios in Topanga, California.
Father John Misty Anthem+3 Tracklisting: 1. Anthem (Leonard Cohen) 2. Fallin’ Rain (Link Wray) 3.Trouble (Yusuf / Cat Stevens) 4. One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong (Leonard Cohen)
The additional three covers were recorded over the past few years by Wilson (“One of Us Cannot Be Wrong,” “Trouble”), and Haxan Cloak (“Fallin’ Rain”) and have all been previously released.
CARE is a leading international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty that places special focus on working alongside poor women who, equipped with the proper resources, can assist whole families and entire communities escape poverty through improved basic education, prevention of the spread of HIV, increased access to clean water and sanitation, expanded economic opportunities and the protection of natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters and helps people rebuild their lives.
Ground Game LA is a community-driven organization dedicated to building power for the residents of LA. Since 2017 Ground Game LA has been connecting with Angelenos about housing, immigration, civic participation, homelessness, criminal justice reform, militarization, and more. Whether through coalition building, issue campaign organizing or knocking on doors, Ground Game LA empowers residents to actively shape the Los Angeles they want to see.
Father John Misty released the live album Off-Key in Hamburg in March on Bandcamp to benefit the MusiCares Covid-19 Fund which has generated over $80,000 in support. Off-Key in Hamburg is now available on all DSP platforms.
As previously announced, Bully will release their new album SUGAREGG worldwide on August 21st through Sub Pop. Bully’s Alicia Bognanno has shared a new video for the single “Every Tradition”, which she co-directed remotely with Alan Del Rio Ortiz. Pivoting traditional video making techniques due to the pandemic, Del Rio Ortiz and Bognanno aimed to make something simple yet interesting with the budget and time they had. Del Rio Ortiz walking Bognanno through the gear via Facetime and Bognanno sending over shots as she filmed to make sure they were on track. “After we tested out this method (me shooting alone at my house and sending the footage to Alan to edit and put everything together) with Where to Start I liked it so much I wanted to do it again and trusted Alan to turn my mess into a well put together music video. Surprisingly I was a lot more comfortable on my own as opposed to having a crew of people there like there has been for past music videos. I also have a newfound appreciation for any cinematographer because god damn it’s a lot of work.”
This filmic exploration perfectly encapsulates the vibrant themes of the song, Bognanno adds, “‘Every Tradition’ is one of the most literal songs on the record, forcing myself throughout the writing process to cut out the bullshit and put down on paper exactly what was going through my mind, silencing the paranoia of the different ways it could be received. Some songs just call for that sort of process and ‘Every Tradition’ was one of them.”
SUGAREGG was produced and mixed by John Congleton and Bully’s Alicia Bognanno, with additional production and mixing by Graham Walsh, recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and Palace Sound in Toronto, Ontario, and mastered by Heba Kadry.
Preorders of SUGAREGG are now available from Sub Pop. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on a translucent blue w/white “smoke” colored vinyl. Meanwhile, preorders in the U.K. and Europe through select independent retailers will receive the Loser edition on transparent red vinyl. There will also be a new t-shirt design available.
Artists from the labels’ rosters are covering their favorite Sub Pop/Hardly Art songs.
Sub Pop and Hardly Art are, together, very excited to announce Got You Covered (a cover song series)! Got You Covered will feature Hardly Art and Sub Pop artists covering their favorite songs from the labels’ catalogs. Beginning today, Monday, July 6th at 6 pm PT (and every weekday evening this week), artists like Yuno, Chad VanGaalen, Lala Lala, Whitmer Thomas, and Jenn Champion will offer their takes on songs by Beach House, The Vaselines, Chastity Belt, and Nirvana.
The first installment of Got You Covered, Yuno’s excellent and sweetly affecting rendition of the Beach House song “Zebra,” is available to see/hear right now here.
Second in the series, here now is Jenn Champion’s take on Nirvana’s “Dive.”
Number three from the Big Baby himself: comedian / musician / world-famous actor Whitmer Thomas covers his friends Chastity Belt’s anthemic hit “Different Now” over here.
Please join us here in our appreciation of multi-talented weirdo Chad VanGaalen covering The Vaselines “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.”
Polish singer and producer Perfect Son covers Chad VanGaalen’s “Molten Light” from beloved (and recently repressed to vinyl!) album ’Soft Airplane’ here.
Here’s Lala Lala’s lovely rendition of Beach House’s “Space Song.”
Prepare to be mesmerized here by Morgan Delt covering another mellifluous Beach House classic, “PPP.”
Rounding out this week’s collection of ‘Got You Covered’ tunes, here’s Alicia aka Bully absolutely shredding a cover of Sub Pop alum Orville Peck’s hit song ‘Turn to Hate.”
Including Father John Misty, Man Man, Jon Benjamin: Jazz Daredevil, METZ, Gazebos, The Gotobeds, Omni, Versing, and Frankie Cosmos.
On Friday, June 3rd, (aka Bandcamp Friday) Sub Pop & Hardly Art artists past and present – Jon Benjamin, Father John Misty, Frankie Cosmos (as Franz Charcoal), Gazebos, The Gotobeds, Man Man, Omni, METZ, and Versing – will be offering a variety of special releases, sales, and deals through Bandcamp’s “No Revenue Share Day.” Sub Pop and Hardly Art will be passing through 100% of digital sales revenue on Bandcamp to all of our active artists.
Jon Benjamin: Jazz DaredevilWell I Should Have… – long out-of-print LP now available on a special limited edition Red/White/Blue colored vinyl.
Father John MistyAnthem +3 – a 4-song EP featuring covers of Leonard Cohen, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and Link Wray. Proceeds to benefit both CARE Action Network and Ground Game LA. Pay-what-you-want $5 minimum for the whole EP, no individual track sales.
Gazebos “Therapy” – Previously unreleased track with all proceeds raised Friday, July 3rd to benefit King County Equity Now. Pay-what-you-want on July 3rd, $1/per track after
The Gotobeds “Have You Checked the Tapes?” b/w “Blazing Sun of Youth” – Two previously unreleased tracks from their Debt Begins at 30 album sessions. Proceeds from July 3rd will benefit Sisters PGH COVID-19 support. Pay-what-you-want on July 3rd, $1/per track after Man Man “Dig Deep” – Releases a brand new single with proceeds to benefit both the NAACP and Know Your Rights Campaign. Pay-what-you-want w/ $1 minimum.
METZLive at Ramsgate Music Hall – a 4-song digital EP featuring live versions of METZ’s “Cellophane,” “Acetate,” “Nervous System,” and “Raw Materials” recorded during the band’s date at the UK venue on May 3rd, 2018. Proceeds to help raise funds through Ramsgate Music Hall’s Bandcamp page, while they’re closed due to COVID-19. Pay-what-you-want through July 5, £1.50 per track / £5 for the full EP thereafter.
Omni “The Stranger” b/w “Art for Art’s Sake” – Covers of Billy Joel’s The Stranger,” and 10cc’s “Art for Arts Sake,” originally recorded for Aquarium Drunkard Lagniappe sessions. Proceeds raised July 3rd to benefit Georgia NAACP. Pay-what-you-want on July 3rd, $1/per track after
Versing “Red Wave” b/w “Once Bitten” – Previously unreleased single with all proceeds raised Friday, July 3rd to benefit Northwest Community Bail Fund. Pay-what-you-want on July 3rd, $1/per track after
Sub Pop has signed Flock of Dimes, the solo outlet for songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jenn Wasner, to release her music throughout the world. We are also announcing today the release of Like So Much Desire, her excellent five-song effort and label debut (and first new Flock of Dimes material since 2016’s If You See Me, Say Yes), which is available now through all DSPs.
Like So Much Desire, the new EP from Jenn Wasner’s Flock of Dimes, is about the inseparable nature of desire and grief. It’s a collection of songs about finding peace amidst personal hardships, an offering of both comfort and personal reflection, reaching out across the unknown in search of connection. Moving and strikingly intimate, Like So Much Desire is Wasner’s most personal work yet.
Also of note: Flock of Dimes has scheduled a live concert stream via NoonChorus on Tuesday, June 30th at 7 pm ET.
Flock of Dimes Like So Much Desire Tracklisting: 1. Spring in Water 2. Like So Much Desire 3. Again (For the First Time) 4. When the Body Does Not 5. Thank You Friends and Strangers
Like So Much Desire, which includes standouts like the slow-burn title track, “Spring In Winter” and “Again (For the First Time),” was written and produced by Wasner, mixed by Ari Picker and mastered by Ryan Pickett.
The EP’s title track is a masterclass in slow burn, a song that deals directly with how you have to lose to gain, an acoustic beginning growing into a tangle of whirring gadgetry. The subdued, mellow prettiness of “Again (For the First Time)” offers reassurance, the sonic equivalent of leaning on someone’s shoulder. The piano-based “Spring in Winter” sounds near-hymnal, warmed by strings, dealing with the fleeting beauty of North Carolina’s unexpected springtime popping up in the cold, while “Thank You Friends and Strangers” opens on chirping birds and outside sounds – the sounds of nature and normalcy. Like So Much Desire blends all of these worlds seamlessly.
In many ways, Like So Much Desire feels like postcards sent from a strange new world. And fittingly, the work came together at a distance. The bulk of the songs were recorded by Wasner in her home in isolation, with other pieces coming from across the country; drummer JT Bates recorded his parts from Minneapolis, while the subtly-cinematic, swelling strings came via New York’s Paul Wiancko, Michi Wiancko, and Ayane Kozasa. The final product balances sparseness and fullness. Strange, glitchy synths flit in and out, an echo of distant playfulness, but the main instrument is the depth of Wasner’s voice and how she uses space around it.
As a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Wasner has been a longtime omnipresent force in modern music. As half of beloved duo Wye Oak she’s worked with everyone from Metropolis Ensemble to the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and more recently she’s been a member of both Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso. But for all her collaborative expertise, it’s Wasner’s solo work as Flock of Dimes that is most salient, her songwriting at the forefront, strange, beautiful, and dazzling at the same time.
For Wasner, the making of this EP had to do with rediscovering the powerful, healing connection of making music, the peace it offers, the way it makes it possible to bridge a gap – and as such, Like So Much Desire strives to offer comfort during upheaval and uncertainty. Both sorrow and joy all at once, it looks at halves of a whole, the broken-up spectrum of human experience distilled into just five tracks.
Now is the perfect time to follow Flock of Dimes in all the places:
