You can now hear new Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6 contributions from Jeff Tweedy and TV Priest, out today worldwide on all DSPs from Sub Pop.
“C’mon America” is the A-side to Jeff Tweedy’s single, and is from an unreleased group of songs with mostly sci-fi lyrics. Meanwhile “UR-60 Unsent,” the B-side, is a pitiful tale of an unsent lovesick mixtape, taken from a separate batch of unreleased songs with mostly pitiful lyrics.
As the founding member and leader of the Grammy Award-winning American rock band Wilco, and before that the co-founder of the alt‐country band Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy is one of contemporary music’s most accomplished songwriters, musicians, and performers. He has released three solo albums, written original songs for eleven Wilco albums, and is the author of two New York Times’ Best Sellers, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, etc. and How To Write One Song. Jeff’s most recent solo album, Love Is The King, was released in 2020, and this past year has seen the launch of his Substack Newsletter, Starship Casual. Jeff lives in Chicago with his family. TV Priest’s “All Thing” is the B-side from their contribution to the series, and follows the release of “Lifesize,” the single’s A-side, released last month.
TV Priest’s Charlie Drinkwater says “‘All Thing’ is a subversion of the Anglo Saxon word for parliament or meeting (Althing or Thing). It asks questions about the power of groupthink and ideas of nationhood that have become static, non-inclusive and singular.”
Having played festivals curated by the likes of IDLES and Sports Team, as well as Manchester Psych Fest this summer, TV Priest returns to the stages of the UK and France this October and November, with appearances at Sirens Festival in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as the Pitchfork Festival in Paris. The band will then share the stage with A Place to Bury Strangers in North America in early 2022. See here for a full listing of dates, with more headline shows and news of their forthcoming record to be announced soon.
The Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6 series includes twelve subscription-only 7” singles by an exciting array of artists, including John Waters, Duma, LIDS, Washed Out, Hand Habits, BNH Deluxe, Porridge Radio, Sheltered Workshop Singers, and more. Only 1,000 subscriptions are available, and the series is nearly sold out. Hear music from the series via the Singles Club playlist, and subscribe here!
On the heels of TV Priest’s acclaimed debut album, Uppers, comes “Lifesize,” a new single from the group and their contribution to the Sub Pop Singles Club, Vol. 6.
The group’s frontman, Charlie Drinkwater says of the song,“‘Lifesize’ is about the worship of the ‘strong man’ image often present in our political and cultural discourse. One where the patriarchal underpinnings of our society and political structure goes unchallenged. After a particularly gruelling year, when people have looked to leaders for strength, we’ve found instead empty gestures and contempt. (‘Talk like a salesman, walks like the Pope.’) We don’t need more macho bravado; society needs empathy and compassion.”
“Lifesize” will also be released with one additional track on a 7” single as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6. The subscription-only series includes twelve 7” singles by an exciting array of artists, including John Waters, Jeff Tweedy, Duma, LIDS, Washed Out, Hand Habits, BNH Deluxe, Porridge Radio, Sheltered Workshop Singers, and more. Only 1,000 subscriptions are available, and the series is nearly sold out. Hear music from the series via the Singles Club playlist, and subscribe here!
Having played festivals curated by the likes of IDLES and Sports Team, as well as Manchester Psych Fest this summer, TV Priest will return to the stages of the UK and France this October and November, with appearances at Sirens Festival in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as the Pitchfork Festival in Paris. The band will then share the stage with A Place to Bury Strangers in North America in early 2022. See below for a full listing of dates, with more headline shows and news of their forthcoming record to be announced soon.
Fall 2021 Fri. Oct. 01 - Ipswich, UK - Ipswich Sound City Sat. Oct. 09 - Reading, UK - Are You Listening Tue. Oct. 19 - London, UK - Shacklewell Arms [Sold Out] Thu. Oct. 21- Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hound Fri. Oct. 22 - Blackpool, UK - Bootleg Social Sat. Oct. 23 - Hull, UK - New Adelphi Club Sun. Oct. 24 - Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - Head of Steam Tue. Oct. 26 - Nottingham, UK - Bodega Wed. Oct. 27 - Cardiff, Wales, UK - Clwb Ifor Bach (Upstairs room) Thu. Oct. 28 - Bedford, UK - Bedford Esquires Fri. Oct. 29 - Manchester, UK - YES (Basement Room) [Sold Out] Sat. Oct. 30 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall [Sold Out] Sun. Oct. 31 - Sheffield, UK - Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield City Centre Tue. Nov. 02 - Bristol, UK - Rough Trade (Bristol) [Sold Out] Wed. Nov. 03 - London, UK - Moth Club [Sold Out] Thu. Nov. 04 - Southampton, UK - Heartbreakers Sat. Nov. 06 - Brighton, UK - Mutations Festival Sat. Nov. 13 - Glasgow, UK - Sirens Festival (Glasgow) Sun. Nov. 14 - Edinburgh, UK - Sirens Festival (Edinburgh) Wed. Nov. 17 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef Thu. Nov. 18 - Le Havre, FR - Le Tetris Fri. Nov. 19 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival Sat. Nov. 20 - Nantes, FR - Stereolux
Winter 2022 Fri. Feb. 11 - Seattle, WA - Neumos * Sat. Feb. 12 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios * Sun. Feb. 13 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater (BC) * Tue. Feb. 15 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel (Preservation Hall West) * Wed. Feb. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom * Fri. Feb. 18 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar * Tue. Feb. 22 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge * Fri. Feb. 25 - Nashville, TN - High Watt * Sat. Feb. 26 - Atlanta, GA - 529 * Tue. Mar. 01 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool * w/ A Place To Bury Strangers
What people have been saying about TV Priest: “Fuzzed-out post punk from London four-piece on debut LP… harsh, brittle eruptions offering up a variety of teeth-rattling noises.” [Uppers] Uncut
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. [Uppers] ★★★★ - DORK
“Uppers…should rubber stamp TV Priest as one of, if not your favourite new act” - The Line Of Best Fit
“The post-punk band have caught attention with a string of superb singles, exemplifying their scorching post-punk sound.” - CLASH
“Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater scrolls endlessly as his country fades into irrelevance on British band TV Priest’s latest fiery missive.” [“This Island”] - The FADER
“They fit in with the post-punk revival - sultry, prophetic lyricism with brash instrumentation…” [“This Island”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“Scorching” [“This Island”] - DIY
“The track’s distorted organs serve as riled-up opening remarks before gruelling dark vocals spit out patriotic cliches and commemorative Latin phrases. “This is not my national anthem” sneers Charlie Drinkwater over a fuzzy echo of the Star-Spangled Banner. Thrashing industrial guitars smash any sense of security.” [“House of York”] - The Line Of Best Fit
“’This Island’ is a densely packed ball of energy, and their occasional spillovers of momentum are exhilarating.” - PASTE
Sub Pop is thrilled to announce that Washed Out, Hand Habits, Porridge Radio, and TV Priest will soon release singles as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6. These talented artists join John Waters, Jeff Tweedy, LIDS, Duma, BNH Deluxe, Sheltered Workshop Singers, and more TBA in the 2021-2022 incarnation of Sub Pop’s legendary subscription-only series of limited-edition 7” singles (now with accompanying digital releases, because it’s the 21st century). Fans can – and should! – secure their copies of all twelve Singles Club Vol. 6 singles by subscribing now at the Sub Pop Mega Mart. Act fast – subscriptions are limited to 1,000 and going fast!
Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 6: Washed Out Hand Habits Porridge Radio TV Priest Jeff Tweedy Duma BNH Deluxe John Waters Sheltered Workshop Singers LIDS and more TBA!
Today, TV Priest release Uppers, their full-length debut on CD/LP/CS/DSPs worldwide through Sub Pop.
Sub Pop became fans of TV Priest’s politically urgent, mechanical, subtly humorous (and self-deprecating) post-punk following the release of their standalone singles “House of York” and “Runner Up” as well as the Uppers early preview tracks “This Island” and “Slideshow.”
“Decoration,” Uppers’ centerpiece, has a streamlined groove soundtracking Charlie’s lyrical vignettes that captures the absurdity and mundanity of life. Its opening and closing line (“I’ve never seen a dog do what that dog does”) is a misremembered quote by Simon Cowell about a performing dog on Britain’s Got Talent. Charlie says, “We often said it in the studio as a kind of in-joke when someone did something good or unexpected. Having already toyed around with the ‘Through to the next round’ line,’ this seemed too good to leave out.” And the chorus “It’s all just decoration” is credited to the 2-year old niece of Alex’s fiancé, who reassured him after he pretended to be scared by Halloween decorations.
“Press Gang” is inspired by Charlie’s grandfather’s life’s work as a photojournalist and war correspondent on the UK’s Fleet Street from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The song is about the shifting role in the dissemination of information and ideas, and how the prevailing narrative that the “Death of Print Media” has contributed to a “post truth” world.
Album closer “Saintless” is the most personal and raw moment on Uppers. Charlie wrote a note to his son after his birth, following a difficult period his wife had faced during and after the pregnancy. The song is about how as parents we’re fallible and human, and while the world can be a difficult place at times the one thing that gets you through is giving your love to those that need and appreciate it. “Saintless” rides a motorik beat, with guitars, bass and synths building layers of intensity and emotion that replicate and swell with the message of the track.
Uppers sees TV Priest explicitly and outwardly trying to avoid narrowmindedness. Uppers sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It’s a band and a record that couldn’t arrive at a more perfect time.
About TV Priest’s Uppers:
It’s tempting to think that you have all the answers, screaming your gospel every day with certainty and anger. Life isn’t quite like that though, and the debut album from London four-piece TV Priest instead embraces the beautiful and terrifying unknowns that exist personally, politically and culturally.
Posing as many questions as it answers, Uppers is a thunderous opening statement that continues the UK’s recent resurgence of grubby, furious post-punk music. It says something very different though – something completely its own.
Four childhood friends who made music together as teenagers before drifting apart and then, somewhat inevitably, back together late in 2019, TV Priest was born out of a need to create together once again, and brings with it a wealth of experience and exhaustion picked up in the band’s years of pursuing “real life” and “real jobs,” something those teenagers never had.
In November 2019, the band – vocalist Charlie Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, bass and keys player Nic Bueth, and drummer Ed Kelland – played their first show, to a smattering of friends in what they describe as an “industrial freezer” in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. “It was like the pub in Peep Show with a washing machine just in the middle…” Charlie laughs, remembering how they dodged Star Wars memorabilia and deep fat fryers while making their first statement as a band.
Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a precedent for introducing an album during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest’s entrance in April with the release of debut single “House of York” - a searing examination of the Monarchy - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation’s fried brains.
It’s the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of Uppers, and it’s an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of Kosmische Musik, it’s a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman.
What people have been saying about TV Priest:
“Fuzzed-out post punk from London four-piece on debut LP… harsh, brittle eruptions offering up a variety of teeth-rattling noises.” [Uppers] Uncut
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-united Kingdom, 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. [Uppers, ★★★★] - DORK
“The post-punk band have caught attention with a string of superb singles, exemplifying their scorching post-punk sound.” - CLASH
“Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater scrolls endlessly as his country fades into irrelevance on British band TV Priest’s latest fiery missive.” [“This Island”/ “20 Best Rock Songs Right Now, Aug.”] - The FADER
”They fit in with the post-punk revival - sultry, prophetic lyricism with brash instrumentation…” [“This Island”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“Scorching” [“This Island”] - DIY
“The track’s distorted organs serve as riled-up opening remarks before gruelling dark vocals spit out patriotic cliches and commemorative Latin phrases. “This is not my national anthem” sneers Charlie Drinkwater over a fuzzy echo of the Star-Spangled Banner. Thrashing industrial guitars smash any sense of security.” [“House of York”] - The Line Of Best Fit
“’This Island’ is a densely packed ball of energy, and their occasional spillovers of momentum are exhilarating.” - PASTE
“A frenzied anthem.”[“House of York”] - Earmilk
“A riotous debut single… finding a balance of subtlety and decisive awakening that’s fed through the laconic, abstract drawl of Charlie Drinkwater, seamlessly subverting into a deafening anthem in itself.” [“House of York”] - So Young
“Their sound is ultimately chaotic, with cuts of fuzzy distortion creating a disorienting and thrilling listening experience.” [“House of York”] - Gigwise
TV Priest Uppers
Tracklisting: 1. The Big Curve 2. Press Gang 3. Leg Room 4. Journal of a Plague Year 5. History Week 6. Decoration 7. Slideshow 8. Fathers and Sons 9. the ref 10. Powers of Ten 11. This Island 12. Saintless
TV Priest will release Uppers, their full-length debut on CD/LP/CS/DSPs worldwide on February 5th, 2021 through Sub Pop. Today, we’re sharing the new single and official video for “Press Gang,” helmed by returning director Joe Wheatley.
“Press Gang” is inspired by Charlie’s grandfather’s life’s work as a photojournalist and war correspondent on the UK’s Fleet Street from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The song is about the shifting role in the dissemination of information and ideas, and how the prevailing narrative that the “Death of Print Media” has contributed to a “post-truth” world.
Late last year, TV Priest announced their signing to Sub Pop with the release of “Decoration,” the beating heart of Uppers.
The FADER says of the “Decoration” video, “Gnarly British post-punk band TV Priest blows a breeze through life’s trinkets and accoutrements on “Decoration,” the beating heart of their forthcoming Sub Pop debut Uppers. Among the items frontman Charlie Drinkwater rails against over a jagged groove are feature walls, smashed avocado, junk food, and “the TV adaptation of the latest book craze (see premiere October 28th).”
“Decoration” and Uppers’ pre-release singles “This Island” and “Slideshow” along with standalone tracks “House of York” and “Runner Up,” won the band raves from the likes of NME, The FADER, Brooklyn Vegan, PASTE, DORK, The Line of Best Fit, Beats Per Minute, So Young, and more.
What people have been saying about TV Priest: “Fuzzed-out post punk from London four-piece on debut LP… harsh, brittle eruptions offering up a variety of teeth-rattling noises.” [Uppers] Uncut
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-united Kingdom, 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. [Uppers, ★★★★] - DORK
“The post-punk band have caught attention with a string of superb singles, exemplifying their scorching post-punk sound.” - CLASH
“Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater scrolls endlessly as his country fades into irrelevance on British band TV Priest’s latest fiery missive.” [“This Island”/ “20 Best Rock Songs Right Now, Aug.”] - The FADER
“They fit in with the post-punk revival - sultry, prophetic lyricism with brash instrumentation…” [“This Island”] - Brooklyn Vegan
“Scorching” [“This Island”] - DIY
“The track’s distorted organs serve as riled-up opening remarks before gruelling dark vocals spit out patriotic cliches and commemorative Latin phrases. “This is not my national anthem” sneers Charlie Drinkwater over a fuzzy echo of the Star-Spangled Banner. Thrashing industrial guitars smash any sense of security.” [“House of York”] - The Line Of Best Fit
“’This Island’ is a densely packed ball of energy, and their occasional spillovers of momentum are exhilarating.” - PASTE
“A frenzied anthem.”[“House of York”] - Earmilk
“A riotous debut single… finding a balance of subtlety and decisive awakening that’s fed through the laconic, abstract drawl of Charlie Drinkwater, seamlessly subverting into a deafening anthem in itself.” [“House of York”] - So Young
“Their sound is ultimately chaotic, with cuts of fuzzy distortion creating a disorienting and thrilling listening experience.” [“House of York”] - Gigwise
TV Priest Uppers
Tracklisting: 1. The Big Curve 2. Press Gang 3. Leg Room 4. Journal of a Plague Year 5. History Week 6. Decoration 7. Slideshow 8. Fathers and Sons 9. the ref 10. Powers of Ten 11. This Island 12. Saintless
Uppers is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LPs purchased through megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on gold splattered vinyl (while supplies last). Meanwhile, LP preorders in the U.K. and Europe through select independent retailers will receive the Loser edition on gray marbled vinyl (while supplies last).
Sub Pop has signed the UK band TV Priest and will release Uppers, their full-length debut on CD/LP/CS/DSPs worldwide February 5th, 2021. In celebration of this news, we’re sharing the official video for “Decoration,” the album’s lead single, directed by Joe Wheatley.
The FADER says of the “Decoration” video ““Gnarly British post-punk band TV Priest blow a breeze through life’s trinkets and accoutrements on “Decoration,” the beating heart of their forthcoming Sub Pop debut Uppers. Among the items frontman Charlie Drinkwater rails against over a jagged groove are feature walls, smashed avocado, junk food, and “the TV adaptation of the latest book craze (see premiere October 28th).”
Sub Pop became fans of TV Priest’s politically urgent, mechanical, subtly humorous (and self-deprecating) post-punk following the release of their standalone singles “House of York” and “Runner Up” as well as the Uppers early preview tracks “This Island” and “Slideshow” (Uppers was originally set to be released through UK label Hand in Hive this fall, but will now be available worldwide in February through Sub Pop).
(Photo Credit: Dan Kendall)
About TV Priest’s Uppers:
It’s tempting to think that you have all the answers, screaming your gospel every day with certainty and anger. Life isn’t quite like that though, and the debut album from London four-piece TV Priest instead embraces the beautiful and terrifying unknowns that exist personally, politically and culturally.
Posing as many questions as it answers, Uppers is a thunderous opening statement that continues the UK’s recent resurgence of grubby, furious post-punk music. It says something very different though – something completely its own.
Four childhood friends who made music together as teenagers before drifting apart and then, somewhat inevitably, back together late in 2019, TV Priest was born out of a need to create together once again, and brings with it a wealth of experience and exhaustion picked up in the band’s years of pursuing “real life” and “real jobs,” something those teenagers never had.
In November 2019, the band – vocalist Charlie Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, bass and keys player Nic Bueth, and drummer Ed Kelland – played their first show, to a smattering of friends in what they describe as an “industrial freezer” in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. “It was like the pub in Peep Show with a washing machine just in the middle…” Charlie laughs, remembering how they dodged Star Wars memorabilia and deep fat fryers while making their first statement as a band.
Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a precedent for introducing an album during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest’s entrance in April with the release of debut single “House of York” - a searing examination of the Monarchy - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation’s fried brains.
It’s the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of Uppers, and it’s an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of Kosmische Musik, it’s a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman.
“Decoration,” Uppers’ centerpiece, has a streamlined groove soundtracking Charlie’s lyrical vignettes that captures the absurdity and mundanity of life. Its opening and closing line (“I’ve never seen a dog do what that dog does”) is a misremembered quote by Simon Cowell about a performing dog on Britain’s Got Talent. Charlie says, “We often said it in the studio as a kind of in-joke when someone did something good or unexpected. Having already toyed around with the ‘Through to the next round’ line,’ this seemed too good to leave out.” And the chorus “It’s all just decoration” is credited to the 2-year old niece of Alex’s fiancé, who reassured him after he pretended to be scared by Halloween decorations.
“Press Gang” is inspired by Charlie’s grandfather’s life’s work as a photojournalist and war correspondent on the UK’s Fleet Street from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The song is about the shifting role in the dissemination of information and ideas, and how the prevailing narrative that the “Death of Print Media” has contributed to a “post truth” world.
Album closer “Saintless” is the most personal and raw moment on Uppers. Charlie wrote a note to his son after his birth, following a difficult period his wife had faced during and after the pregnancy. The song is about how as parents we’re fallible and human, and while the world can be a difficult place at times the one thing that gets you through is giving your love to those that need and appreciate it. “Saintless” rides a motorik beat, with guitars, bass and synths building layers of intensity and emotion that replicate and swell with the message of the track.
Uppers sees TV Priest explicitly and outwardly trying to avoid narrowmindedness. Uppers sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It’s a band and a record that couldn’t arrive at a more perfect time.
Uppers is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LPs purchased through megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on gold splattered vinyl (while supplies last). Meanwhile, LP preorders in the U.K. and Europe through select independent retailers will receive the Loser edition on gray marbled vinyl (while supplies last).
