On June 28th, Sub Pop will release Washed Out’s fifth and most audacious album, Notes From a Quiet Life. The music of Washed Out has always levitated over a timeless frontier. You can sense it in his immersive, amorphous vocals, expansive soundscapes, and wistful storytelling. Following the previously released Notes From A Quiet Life, Documentary that was shot earlier this year and Directed by Kristian Melom (“Dear, Dreamer” and “The River”), comes the new single “Running Away.”
Washed Out’s Ernest Greene shares about the song: “Starting work on a new album often means a lot of failed experiments. Basically, I’m just waiting around until I stumble into something new that I can build an album concept around. For NFAQL, that song was “Running Away”. It had all of the ingredients that ended up shaping the aesthetic for the album: a more minimal arrangement, sonic clarity, and more of an emphasis on classic songwriting technique.”
Additionally, Washed Out has announced live shows to support his forthcoming record, with festival appearances at Sundown Festival and Twilight Concert Series in June and Day In Day Out in July. North American Headline shows to follow in August. See below for a full list of shows.
Sat. Jun. 08 - Anchorage AK Sundown Festival Sat. Jun. 22 - Ogden, UT - Twilight Concert Series Sun. Jul. 14 - Seattle, WA - Day In Day Out Festival Thu. Aug. 01 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern Fri. Aug. 02 - Columbia, SC - The Senate Sat. Aug. 03 - Asheville, NC - AVLFest Mon. Aug. 05 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl Tue. Aug. 06 - St. Louis, MO, Delmar Hall Thu. Aug. 08 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue Fri. Aug. 09 - Chicago, IL - Metro Sat. Aug. 10 - Madison, WI - Majestic Sun. Aug. 11 - Columbus, OH - Kemba Tue. Aug. 13 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Wed. Aug.14 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Fri. Aug. 16 - Norwalk, CT - District Music Hall Sat. Aug. 17 - Boston, MA - Paradise Sun. Aug. 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Paramount Tue. Aug. 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer Wed. Aug. 21 - Washington, DC - 930 Club Fri. Aug. 23 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Sat. Aug. 24 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City
Notes From a Quiet Life 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 Honeydew Melon 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 Yellow-Green vinyl. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
Washed Out Notes From a Quiet Life
Track Listing: 1. Waking Up 2. Say Goodbye 3. Got Your Back 4. The Hardest Part 5. A Sign 6. Second Sight 7. Running Away 8. Wait on You 9. Wondrous Life 10. Letting Go
La Luz - the band led by Shana Cleveland – has today released their incredible new album News of The Universe, via Sub Pop. Unashamedly vulnerable, unabashedly feminine, and undeniably triumphant, News of the Universe is another knockout record from a band so reliably great that it has perhaps led people to overlook how pioneering La Luz really are: women of color in indie music forging their own path by following their own artistic star into galaxies beyond current musical trends, always led by an earnest belief in the cosmic power of love and a great riff. The album was a mentioned as an essential release by Bandcamp, an album of note out this week by Stereogum, a new and notable release from Brooklyn Vegan, was named as the “Album of the Week” by Post-Trash, amongst more.
Today, La Luz also share the music video for the song that is truly the heart of the album, “Always In Love.” On the track and it’s music video, Shana Cleveland shares “To me this song is the heart of the album. I get emotional every time I hear it. Lyrically it’s about realizing that love is the only thing that matters and that it’s always a choice that I’m able to make. It’s hard to explain how huge that is, but if you get it you get it. In the guitar solo that closes the song I can hear myself blasting through all the fear and stress of the year before, the most difficult time of my life, and moving past all of that propelled by the dedication to live in love. The video for this song is inspired by the Japanese camp horror film House.” Watch the music video for “Always in Love” here.
With a credo adapted from science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, an album title from a collection of metaphysical poetry, and an expansion in consciousness brought on by personal crisis, News of the Universe finds guitarist and songwriter Cleveland embracing a changing world with unconditional love. News of the Universe is also a record born of calamity, a work of dark, beautiful psychedelia reflecting Cleveland’s experience of having her world blown apart by a breast cancer diagnosis just two years after the birth of her son.
La Luz will be touring North America, Europe, and the UK in support of News of the Universe, and the first run of dates will kick off May 23 in Barcelona. The band’s first show stateside is Record Release Party on May 30 at The Crocodile in Seattle, WA. Their touring goes into full swing starting on September 26 with a show in Chicago, IL, stopping at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere on October 9, before concluding with a 2-night run at Lodge Room in Los Angeles, CA, on November 8 and 9. All shows are listed below. Formed by Cleveland in 2012, La Luz is beloved for their ability to balance bedlam and bliss, each new record another fine-tuning of the band’s mix of swaggering riffs with angelic vocals borrowed from doo-wop and folk; a band so reliably great that it makes the huge step forward in confidence and sheer musicality that is News of the Universe all the more formidable. Cleveland, also a writer and painter, has developed into a truly original songwriter with her own canon of haunted psychedelia that, in recent years, has drawn upon the changing landscape around her rural California home for inspiration, notably on last year’s critically acclaimed solo release, Manzanita, a magical realist documentation of her pregnancy and early motherhood that appeared on many year-end lists.
Sonically, the record is all urgency. Songs trip over themselves as if trying to outrun the apocalypse. The powerful sense of openness that permeates News of the Universe is at least partially due to the fact that it is a record made entirely by women—from the performing, writing, and producing all the way through to the recording, engineering, and mastering. “There is something inherently and simultaneously sweet and brutal about womanhood,” says Cleveland. “That is something I hear on this record.”
Working with producer Maryam Qudus (Spacemoth), the all-female environment allowed Cleveland to feel safe tapping into difficult places and expressing hard emotions women are socialized to suppress. Unashamedly vulnerable, unabashedly feminine, and undeniably triumphant, News of the Universe is another knockout record from a band so reliably great that it has perhaps led people to overlook how pioneering La Luz really are: women of color in indie music forging their own path by following their own artistic star into galaxies beyond current musical trends, always led by an earnest belief in the cosmic power of love and a great riff. Never is that more true than on News of the Universe, which might be La Luz’s most brutal record to date but also their most blissful. After everything, how could it not?
La Luz Tour Dates
05/24 Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas Festival
05/25 London, UK @ Wide Awake Festival
05/30 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile (Record Release Show)
07/27 Portland, OR @ Project Pabst
08/30 Brighton, UK @ Brighton Psych Fest
08/31 Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest
09/01 Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Psych Fest
09/03 Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
09/05 Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
09/06 Sart-Messire-Guillaume, BE @ SMG Music Fest
09/07 Asten-Heusden, NL @ Misty Fields Festival
09/08 Amsterdam, NL @ Indiestadt x Sugar Mountain @ Paradiso
09/10 Cologne, DE @ Bumann & SOHN
09/11 Hamburg, DE @ Prinzenbar
09/12 Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
09/13 Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
09/14 Zürich, DE @ Bogen
09/26 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
09/27 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
09/28 St. Paul, MM @ Turf Club
09/30 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
10/01 Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
10/02 Nashville, TN @ The End
10/03 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Purgatory
10/04 Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
10/05 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
10/06 Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
10/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10/09 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere - Hall
10/10 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
10/11 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
10/12 Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall
10/13 Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
10/28 Denver, CO @ Marquis
10/30 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/31 Boise, ID @ The Olympic
11/03 Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
11/06 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
11/07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
11/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
News of the Universe is available to preorder now on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. The album can be pre-ordered in North America from megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers, and the band’s website, and in Europe and the UK from independent retail stores, and Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart), with vinyl available on limited variants. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
Today, May 24th, Australian group Girl and Girl are releasing their vibrant debut full-length, Call A Doctor, on CD/LP/DSP via Virgin Australia (AU/NZ) and Sub Pop (ROW.) Call A Doctor is an unforgettable first bow from Girl and Girl, an audacious and aggressively tuneful blast of a record from this Australian four-piece garage rock outfit. The band is comprised of frontperson Kai James (singer, guitarist) and his Aunty Liss (drums), along with longtime friends Jayden Williams (guitar) and Fraser Bell (bass). Call A Doctor was recorded at Sundowner Sound in Melbourne, a two-story industrial complex where the band ate, slept, and made music in marathon sessions for two weeks straight with producer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin).
Following the release of “Hello,” “Mother,” and “Oh Boy!” comes a new video Directed by Tayla Lauren for the self-titled track “Call A Doctor.”
Frontman Kai James shares on the track/video: “For me, ‘Call a Doctor’ needed to be as dramatic and silly and over the top as possible. I needed to trick myself into a deep dive of a lot of very confronting thoughts and feelings, it was the only way I could honestly express and move through them. I like the idea of it playing out like that from an audience’s perspective, too, you don’t realize what’s happening till 2 or 3 listens in, and by then, it’s already too late; you’re self-reflecting and growing as a person, haha sucker.”
The band just concluded a 20-date North American run opening for Royel Otis, which ended yesterday in Seattle, WA. They will perform tonight at 7:00 PM at Easy Street Records in West Seattle, with additional AU, UK & EU performances this Summer and Fall. See below for a complete list of shows.
Fri. May 26 - Seattle, WA - Easy Street Records (FREE) Fri. Jul. 05- Belfort, FR - Les Eurokennees Festival Sat. Jul. 06 - Hyeres , FR - Midi Fest Tue. Jul. 09th - Dorset - UK - Academy Bournemouth $ Wed. Jul. 10th - Oxford. UK - Academy 2 $ Thu. Jul. 11th - Sheffield, UK - Foundry $ Fri. Jul. 12th - Liverpool, UK - Arts Club $ Fri. Aug. 02 - Gold Coast, AU - Mos Desert Clubhouse Sat. Aug. 03 - Brisbane, AU - Outpost Fri. Aug. 09 - Sydney, AU - Waywards Sat. Aug. 10 - Melbourne, AU - Howler Fri. Aug. 30th - Brighton, UK - Brighton Psych Fest Sat. Aug. 31- Manchester, UK - Manchester Psych Fest Sun. Sep. 01 - Dorset, UK - End of the Road Tue. Sep. 03 - London, UK - George Tavern Wed. Sep. 04 - Bristol, UK - Louisiana Fri. Sep. 06 - Asten, NL - Misty Fields Festival Mon. Sep. 09 - Paris, FR - Point Ephemere Fri. Sep. 13th - Haldern, DE - Haldern Pop Bar Sat. Sep. 14th - Munich, DE - Strom Sun. Sep. 15th - Berlin, DE - Lark Mon. Sep. 16th - Cologne, DE - MTC Wed. Sep. 18 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen Wed. Sep. 18-Sun Sep. 21 - Hamburg, DE - Reeperbahn Festival
$ w/ ROYEL OTIS
“Girl and Girl recall the stalwarts of 2010s garage rock, their affinity with jangly guitars and buoyant rhythms undercut by feverishly intense playing and a cloying sense of claustrophobia.” - DIY
“A fantastic debut from a sparkly and singular new band.” - NME
“…every member of Girl and Girl is too young to have experienced the garage rock revivalism of Y2K firsthand, save Aunty Liss, the drummer who supports her nervy nephews in this band of Australian post-punk traditionalists. Fronted by the wiry Kai James — handsome and jittery, never reclusive — the group treated sacred post-punk texts as if they were a common language when they played the 13th Floor, giving their barbed hooks and sideways riffs real kick. They’re carrying a torch without succumbing to nostalgia or formalism, all because they’re intoxicated by the noise they make.” - [Best of SXSW 2024] RollingStone
“Emotional mayhem that’s relatable, and very catchy.” - Rolling Stone (AU)
“Brisbane four-piece Girl and Girl are ones to watch in the world of sharp-tongued raucous-riffed garage rock…Girl and Girl’s all too rare multigenerational collaboration brings a fresh angle on the post-Strokes garage rock sound.” - KUTX Radio
“There’s something special about this group…Their music has a raw and unfiltered feeling which elevates it far above your run-of-the-mill “indie” and gives it a near-euphoric flavour.” - [“Hello”] Life Without Andy
“A perfect dose of indie – punk rock at its best.” - [“Hello”] Happy Mag
“A warped mix of Talking Heads, Rolling Blackouts and bits of post-punk but led by a man with a mullet and one of their aunts plays drums in the band!” - [SXSW Review] BBC 6 Music with Steve Lamacq
Girl and Girl Call A Doctor
Track Listing: 1. INTRO 2. Call A Doctor 3. Hello 4. Maple Jean and the Anthropocene 5. Oh Boy! 6. Suffocate 7. Mother 8. You’ll Be Alright 9. Comfortable Friends 10. Our Love (Ours Only) 11. OUTRO
On August 30th, Mudhoney will embark on a 33-date EU & UK run supporting their acclaimed 2023 long-player Plastic Eternity. The band will play shows in Paris, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Berlin, and London on this extensive run of dates. Ending on Oct. 6th in Groningen, NL. See below for a full list of shows.
Fri. Aug. 30 - Schorndorf, DE - Club Manufaktur Sat. Aug. 31 - Den Haag, NL - Den Paard van Troje Sun. Sep. 01 - Maastricht, NL - Bruis Festival at Muziekgieterij Tue. Sep. 03 - Paris, FR - Le Trabendo Wed. Sep. 04 - Toulouse, FR - Le Bikini Thu. Sep. 05 - Valencia, ES - 16 Toneladas Fri. Sep. 06 - Donostia-San Sebastian, ES - Boga Boga Festival at AIETEKO PARKEA Sat. Sep. 07 - A’Coruña, ES - Playa Club Sun. Sep. 08 - Madrid, ES - Lula Club Mon. Sep. 09 - Barcelona, ES - Razzmatazz 2 Wed. Sep.11 - Rome, It - Largo Thu. Sep.12 - Firenze, IT - Viper Theatre Fri. Sep.13 - Milan, IT - Santeria Social Club Sat. Sep.14 - Pordenone , IT - Capitol Club Sun. Sep.15 - Zagreb, HR - Tvornica Kulture Mon. Sep.16 - Rijeka, HR - Pogon Kulture Tue. Sep.17 - Belgrade, Rs - Dorcol Platz Thur. Sep.19 - Brno, CZ - Fleda Club Fri. Sep. 20 - Warsaw, PL - Proxima Sat. Sep. 21 - Vienna, AT - Arena Sun. Sep. 22 - Munich, DE - Strom Mon. Sep. 23 - Berlin, DE- SO36 Klub Wed. Sep. 25 - Hamburg, DE - KNUST Thu. Sep. 26 - Cologne, DE - Gebaeude 9 Fri. Sep. 27 - Brighton - UK - Concorde 2 Sat. Sep. 28 - Manchester, UK - New Century Hall Sun. Sep. 29 - Glasgow, UK - St. Luke’s Tue. Oct. 01 - Bristol, UK - O2 Academy Bristol Wed. Oct. 02 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom Thu. Oct. 03 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye, FR - Association La Clef Fri. Oct. 04 - Brussels, BE - Orangerie at Botanique Sat. Oct. 05 - Eindhoven, NL - Come As You Are Festival at Effenaar Sun. Oct. 06 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Plastic Eternity received accolades from the likes of MOJO, Louder Than War, The Big Takeover, FLOOD, CREEM, New Noise, and Bandcamp, who described the record as “…a ripper that reaffirms their place in the annals of American hardcore and punk rock.”
Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm was recently interviewed on the popular podcast 24 Question Party People, where he discussed the Seattle sewage tunnel-boring machine named after his band, surfing at Kelly Slater’s ranch, being radicalized by KISS and Aerosmith, seeing Robert Goulet at the airport and hanging out backstage with Dave Matthews. What the? You can listen here.
2024 is also the 35th anniversary of the band’s essential self-titled classic, Mudhoney. Sub Pop is repressing the record on clear vinyl with an added mix of blue, white, and purple this fall to celebrate.
What people are saying about Mudhoney:
“Plastic Eternity has Mudhoney sounding as intense as ever “ - The Big Takeover
“Thirteen sustainable hits from Seattle’s super-fuzz perennials” - [4 out of 5] MOJO
“…enthralling garage-psych delight” - [5 out of 5] Louder Than War
Tracklisting: 1. Souvenir of My Trip 2. Almost Everything 3. Cascades of Crap 4. Flush the Fascists 5. Move Under 6. Severed Dreams in the Sleeper Cell 7. Here Comes the Flood 8. Human Stock Capital 9. Tom Herman’s Hermits 10. One or Two 11. Cry Me an Atmospheric River 12. Plasticity 13. Little Dogs
On Friday, June 7th, Man Man will release their new album, Carrot On Strings, on CD/LP/DSPs worldwide through Sub Pop Records. Following the single releases of “Iguana” and “Tastes Like Metal” comes the melodious bop “Alibi.”
Man Man has announced UK/EU dates for late October and November. See below for a full list of shows.
Wed. Oct. 30 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie Thu. Oct. 31 - La Rochelle, FR - La Sirène Fri. Nov. 01 - Rouen, FR - Le 106 Sat. Nov. 02 - Lille, FR - Le Grand Mix Mon. Nov. 04 - Bristol, UK - The Lanes Tue. Nov. 05 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House Wed. Nov. 06 - Birkenhead, UK - Future Yard Thu. Nov. 07 - Glasgow, UK - Hug & Pint Fri. Nov. 08 - Edinburgh, UK - Sneaky Pete’s Sat. Nov. 09 - Middlesbrough, UK - Teesside Univ. Students’ Union Sun. Nov. 10 - London, UK - MOTH Club Tue. Nov. 12 - Rotterdam, NL- Rotown Wed. Nov. 13 - Lasne, BE - Rideau Rouge Thu. Nov. 14 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Fri. Nov. 15 - Wiltz, LU - Prabbeli Sat. Nov. 16 - Dijon, FR - La Vapeur
Carrot On Strings is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders in North America from megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers, and in the UK/Europe from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and select UK/EU independent retailers will receive the Loser Edition on Transparent Orange. All color vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
Carrot On Strings was recorded at Mant Sounds studio in Glassell Park, Los Angeles, and produced by Matt Schuessler, with whom Kattner had worked on a cover of Neu!’s “Super” for the seminal Krautrock band’s box set. He and the band knocked out the songs live (workshopped in front of live audiences while Man Man toured) over 5 days in August 2022 and then hashing other sonic ideas over the following months. “I wanted things to be loose,” Kattner shares. “My intention was just to knock it all out,” he says. He even recorded more than a few of the single-track vocals while reclining on a couch. “It’s pretty wild,” he says — “because, you know, it wasn’t actually wild at all. It was the first time I wasn’t sequestered in an isolation booth, extensive baffling keeping me apart from the rest of the music. Something about being in the mixing room, tracking vocals, songs blasting out of the monitors that just felt perfect for this particular album.”
Man Man Carrot On Strings
Tracklisting: 1. Iguana 2. Cryptoad 3. Tastes Like Metal 4. Mongolian Spot 5. Blooddungeon 6. Carrots On Strings 7. Mulholland Drive 8. Pack Your Bags 9. Alibi 10. Cherry Cowboy 11. Odyssey
On June 28th, Sub Pop will release Washed Out’s fifth and most audacious album, Notes From a Quiet Life. The music of Washed Out has always levitated over a timeless frontier. You can sense it in his immersive, amorphous vocals, expansive soundscapes, and wistful storytelling. Before starting work on his new album, Washed Out’s creative force, Ernest Greene, and his family moved to a former horse farm in rural Georgia. He named the property “Endymion” (after the pastoral John Keats poem about a lovesick shepherd), and it became a catalyst for his creative process. Directed by Kristian Melom, Greene has shared an intimate behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of Notes From A Quiet Life. Inspired by the lifestyle change and simplicity of country living, this documentary paints an intimate picture of the story behind the record.
Additionally, Washed Out has announced live shows to support his forthcoming record, with festival appearances at Just Like Heaven Festival in May, Sundown Festival and Twilight Concert Series in June, and Day In Day Out in July. North American Headline shows to follow in August. See below for a full list of shows.
Sat. May 18 - Los Angeles, CA - Just Like Heaven Sat. Jun. 08 - Anchorage AK Sundown Festival Sat. Jun. 22 - Ogden, UT - Twilight Concert Series Sun. Jul. 14 - Seattle, WA - Day In Day Out Festival Thu. Aug. 01 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern Fri. Aug. 02 - Columbia, SC - The Senate Sat. Aug. 03 - Asheville, NC - AVLFest Mon. Aug. 05 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl Tue. Aug. 06 - St. Louis, MO, Delmar Hall Thu. Aug. 08 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue Fri. Aug. 09 - Chicago, IL - Metro Sat. Aug. 10 - Madison, WI - Majestic Sun. Aug. 11 - Columbus, OH - Kemba Tue. Aug. 13 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Wed. Aug.14 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Fri. Aug. 16 - Norwalk, CT - District Music Hall Sat. Aug. 17 - Boston, MA - Paradise Sun. Aug. 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Paramount Tue. Aug. 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer Wed. Aug. 21 - Washington, DC - 930 Club Fri. Aug. 23 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Sat. Aug. 24 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City
Notes From a Quiet Life 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 Honeydew Melon 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 Yellow-Green vinyl. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
Track Listing: 1. Waking Up 2. Say Goodbye 3. Got Your Back 4. The Hardest Part 5. A Sign 6. Second Sight 7. Running Away 8. Wait on You 9. Wondrous Life 10. Letting Go
