More on Still Corners can be found on their subpop.com artist page.

Indie Rock Spring Break aka SXSW Music Festival is right around the
corner, and we are thrilled to announce our 2012 showcase lineup, to be held on March 16 at Red 7.

This year’s lineup will feature performances from the likes of Shearwater, Niki & The Dove, Spoek Mathambo, Poor Moon, Father John Misty, THEESatisfaction, King Tuff, Blitzen Trapper, Poor Moon, Debo Band and Husky.

You can now stream tunes from each of the bands we have playing at this
year’s festival by clicking here. We have also included set times for the showcase below.

Stay tuned for a full list of Sub Pop related events & day parties at this year’s festival!

Outdoor Stage:
Blitzen Trapper- 1am
Father John Misty 12am
Shearwater 11pm
King Tuff 10pm
Poor Moon 9pm
Husky 8pm

Indoor Stage:
Niki & The Dove 1am
Spoek Mathambo 12am
THEESatisfaction11pm
Gashcat 10pm
Debo Band 9pm
Special Guest 8pm

Next Ambiance / Sub Pop would like to welcome Debo Band to the family as we are releasing their forthcoming S/T album on July 10. The band has won raves for their groundbreaking take on Ethiopian pop music (think Ethiopiques), which incorporates traditional scales and vocal styles, alongside American soul and funk rhythms, and instrumentation reminiscent of Eastern European brass bands — accordion, violins, horns and drums. The album was produced by Thomas “Tommy T” Gobena of Gogol Bordello, recorded at Machines with Magnets (Battles, Deer Tick) and mastered by Grammy nominated engineer Joe LaPorta at The Lodge.

The band has a handful of festival performances, which include: March 16 at SXSW for both globalFEST and Sub Pop’s label showcase; April 26-28 in Lafayette, Louisiana at Festival International de Louisiane; and April 29 in New Orleans, LA at the Jazz & Heritage Festival. Full tour dates listed below.

More About Debo Band
Debo Band is a 11-member group led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by charismatic vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Since their inception in 2006, the band have toured Ethiopia twice, having appeared at both the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa and Sauti Za Busara in Zanzibar, the largest music festival in East Africa. In North America, they’ve shared stages with Gogol Bordello, The Family Stone, Tilahun Gessesse (one of the great voices of Ethiopian pop since the 60’s), The Ex with Ethiopian sax legend Getatchew Mekuria, Group Doueh, and Khaira Arby and Her Band. They’ve also performed at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, The Kennedy Center, Montreal Jazz Fest, globalFEST 2012 at Webster Hall, Joe’s Pub, and World Music Festival: Chicago.

What people are saying about Debo Band
“What’s amazing about Debo Band is that they play that music (Ethiopian pop) without any sort of…precious reverence… They play it like it’s NOW, as music of right now, and they play it with incredible energy and passion and excellence. And it just totally rocks. It’s amazing.” – All Songs Considered, NPR

“A different archival impulse paid off for Debo Band, a Boston group devoted to the Ethiopian funk of the late 1960s and ’70s: fierce, jagged, complex and galvanizing music. With a beefy horn section, biting violins and a lead singer with a convincing Ethiopian quaver, the group brought back a live version of a style that was never recorded as vividly.” – The New York Times

“The Boston-based band Debo Band gives the psychedelic music heard on the Ethiopiques collections a high-spirited revamp.” – Village Voice

“Buda Musique opened a door to the strange, foreign-yet-familiar music of Ethiopia to world music fans across the world, delighted by the mixture of classic funk, Arabic-sounding scales, and trance-like African grooves. Boston’s excellent Debo Band has become standard bearers for the Ethiopian sound on our shores.” – WNYC

“If George Clinton had come from Ethiopia instead of outer space, the result might have been what Debo Band gives you.” – Boston Globe

Tour Dates
Mar. 16 – Austin, TX – Red 7 / Sub Pop SXSW showcase (early)
Mar. 16 – Austin, TX – Speakeasy / globalFEST SXSW showcase (late)
Apr. 26 – Lafayette, LA – Festival International de Louisiane
Apr. 28.- Lafayette, LA – Festival International de Louisiane
Apr. 29. – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Today we are happy to announce that Husky’s Debut Album, Forever So, will be released July 10th on this very record label. We’re also feeling good about the fact that we can share not only a music video from the band, but also a free download and newly confirmed tour dates. Let’s get into it!

Download mp3 “The Woods” here.
Watch “The Woods” video on our YouTube channel.

More about Husky
Husky Gawenda (vox, guitar), Gideon Preiss (keys, vox), Evan Tweedie (bass, vox) and Luke Collins (drums) make up Melbourne-based Husky, the first-ever Australian band to be signed to Sub Pop Records. Following the Australian release of their 2011 debut album, Forever So, Husky has decided to take their critically acclaimed music to the rest of the world with a July 10th release date.

“Sub Pop is enamored with the Melbourne quartet, Husky,” says President of Sub Pop Jonathan Poneman. “The band’s strength rests in its infectious, evocative songs and stirring live performances.”

Husky is hitting the international touring circuit throughout February and March. Following national appearances at Laneway Festival, the band will tour alongside German duo BOY throughout Germany and then perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Canadian Music Week and in New York City and LA. Complete list of dates below.

About “The Woods” Video
“The Woods” video created by visionary animator Brendan Cook (Gotye, Temper Trap) the video, full of striking images in other-worldly sequences, captures Husky’s lush orchestration and lyrical storytelling in this song of dreams, memories and exploration.

What People Are Saying About Husky
“Forever So is breathtaking in its ambition, a shimmering fog of kaleidoscopic storytelling, each a song a Nick Drake-esque fairytale delivered with full indie-orhestration.” **** [Band to Watch] – Rolling Stone

“With indie folks songs that are totally accessible and sweet while for the most part avoiding being predictable or twee, there is certainly enough about Forever So to suggest that everything is in place for Husky to make an impact. Don’t be surprised if 2012 is a big year for this likeable quartet.” – Drum

“A sweet, little gem” – Cream

“This outstanding debut album weaves understated sincerity into wintry introspectiveness forced upon anyone in the city of four-seasons-a-day. Husky’s mid-tempo folk reflects upon the world with genuine originality, too – the songs avoid the more obvious tricks in the composers playbook, leaving ample space for frontman Husky Gawanda’s lyrical confessions.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Click here for a full list of tour dates:

Father John Misty’s Sub Pop debut, Fear Fun will drop on May 1st, but if patience is not a personal virtue, then here is a link to download the band’s debut single Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings. Additionally, you can watch the band’s new video for the song starring Aubrey Plaza of NBC’s Parks and Recreation by clicking here

Father John Misty has also announced a North American tour starting in early May, which will be preceded by a few West Coast shows later this month. See below for a full list of dates and for more information on Father John Misty please visit www.subpop.com/artists/father_john_misty.

Tour Dates for Father John Misty
Feb 29 The New Pariah, Oakland CA
Mar 3 The Center for the Arts, Grass Valley CA
Mar 4 Crepe Place, Santa Cruz CA
May 2 The Casbah, San Diego CA
May 4 Natural History Museum – Mammal Gallery, Los Angeles CA
May 5 Bottom of The Hill, San Francisco CA
May 7 Neumos, Seattle WA
May 8 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland OR
May 11 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN
May 12, Schubas Tavern, Chicago IL
May 14 The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ONT
May 15 Petit Campus, Montreal PQ
May 16 Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA
May 18 Mercury Lounge, New York NY
May 19 Knitting Factory, Brooklyn NY
May 20 The Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington D.C.
May 26 The Mohawk, Austin TX

Click here to stream Animal Joy by Shearwater in it’s entirety.

February 14 is a day for love, and what better way to ring in the holiday then by picking up a copy of Shearwater’s new record Animal Joy, now available for your purchasing pleasure. The band also has a new video for the album’s lead single, “Breaking the Yearlings” which you can watch above. The video was directed Branan Edgens.

Jonathan Meiburg spoke with RollingStone.com, who premiered the video on their site yesterday, and had this to say:

Branan Edgens (the filmmaker) might be best known for his great ad for David Lynch Coffee, but in our college days he used to use me as a guinea pig for some of his experimental makeup effects. Did you know that movie-grade fake blood is made from strawberries? “You can eat this stuff,” he assured me, as he pumped gouts of it through artfully-concealed tubes around the edges of my mouth. " But it doesn’t taste as good as you’d like it to."

For the video for “Breaking the Yearlings”, I wanted to figure out a way to make use of some of the amazing footage Branan’s shot over the years from around the world – especially beautiful scenes of animals and landscapes from Namibia, Thailand, and Alaska – and we hit on the idea of using the American Museum of Natural History as a sort of gateway into these places, like the wood between the worlds in The Magician’s Nephew, my favorite of the Narnia books. But then Branan, with a gleam in his eye, suggested that by interacting with the (stuffed) animals, my character might enter more into their world than I’d bargained for. I think he might have just been looking for a reason to cover me in alginate and plaster again for old time’s sake. When I’ve described this video to my friends, they’ve invariably said the same thing – “So it’s like Night at the Museum”?" Yes. No.

Shearwater is currently on the road opening a slew of dates for Sharon Van Etten, with more shows to be announced soon. See below for a full list of dates, and for more information on Shearwater please visit: www.subpop.com/artists/shearwater

Tour Dates:
Feb 10 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 11 Black Cat, Washington, DC w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 12 Cats Cradle, Carrboro, NC w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 14 Wexner Center, Columbus, OH w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 15 Ladies Literary Club, Grand Rapids, MI w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 16 Lincoln Hall (IL), Chicago, IL w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 17 Lincoln Hall (IL), Chicago, IL w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 18 Cedar Cultural Centre, Minneapolis, MN w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 21 Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Canada w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 22 Il Motore, Montreal, QC w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 23 Paradise (MA), Boston, MA w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 24 Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 25 Bowery Ballroom, The, New York City, NY w/Sharon Van Etten
Feb 26 Club Helsinki, Hudson, NY
Feb 28 Evening Muse, Charlotte, NC
Feb 29 The Earl, Atlanta, GA
Mar 01 Bottle Tree, Birmingham, AL
Mar 02 Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA
Mar 03 Fitzgeralds (TX), Houston, TX
Mar 04 Antone’s, Austin, TX
Mar 28 Bitterzoet (NL), Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mar 29 Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
Mar 30 Haunt (UK), Brighton , United Kingdom
Mar 31 Deaf Institute, Manchester, United Kingdom
Apr 01 Stereo, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Apr 03 Scala, London, United Kingdom
Apr 04 Le Grand Mix (F), Tourcoing, France
Apr 05 La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
Apr 06 Bad Bonn, Duedingen, Switzerland
…

The 53rd Grammys are taking place this coming Sunday, February 12 and we are geeking with excitement as Sub Pop’s own Fleet Foxes are up for “Best Folk Album.” Tune in to witness what we hope is a win for team Fleet Foxes. Click here for a full list of nominations.

Good luck guys!

XO

Sub Pop

For more on The Head and the Heart, including free downloads and tour dates please go to their subpop.com artist page.

On March 13 South African artist Spoek Mathambo is releasing his Sub Pop Debut Father Creeper. You can check the first offering entitled “Let Them Talk” by clicking on the track name. Spoek has announced a slew of US dates, kicking of in March around the release of his Sub Pop debut & SXSW. See below for a full list of shows. Because we learned the importance of sharing at an early age, see above for a look into the life of Spoek Mathambo, and making of Father Creeper.

Spoek Mathambo Tour Dates
Mar 22 SOB’S New York, NY
Mar 23 The Great Hall Toronto, ON
Mar 24 La Tulipe Montreal QC
Mar 25 TT the Bears Cambridge, MA

Stockholm’s Niki & The Dove, a/k/a Malin Dahlstroem and Gustaf Karloef, have announced a handful of US dates in early March surrounding SXSW. To support this batch of shows, we thought we would share with you a new video for the track “The Fox” which was directed by the folks at WINTR You can watch above. Like what you see & hear? Click here to download the MP3.

Niki & The Dove Tour Dates:
Mar 8 U Street Music Hall Washington, DC
Mar 10 Knitting Factory Brooklyn, NY
Mar 20 Soda Bar San Diego, CA
Mar 21 Bootleg Theater Los Angeles, CA

What people have been saying about Niki & The Dove:

…the combinations of confident, drum machine-fused hooks and Dahlstoem’s mystical lyrics, similar to a Bjork-esque fairy tale, leave you an eerie sense of menace. (Vogue, track review “The Fox” 2011)

“The Fox” is the titular, earthquaking single from Swedish pop duo Niki & the Dove. (Pitchfork, track review “The Fox” 2011)

The band’s promising distinctive electronic pop overlays should be held accountable for the earworm syndrome with Niki & The Dove. Their songs are full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath the surface. Take a listen for yourself, below. (Filter, “The Drummer” EP review 2012)

Click on this for more information on Niki & The Dove.

awE naturalE, the debut full-length from Seattle’s THEESatisfaction comes out March 27th. You can download, listen to, own, and otherwise enjoy the track “QueenS” from that album through the clever media delivery device (“widget”) above.

THEESatisfaction will soon tour the U.S., Europe and the UK, with more stateside dates to be announced in the near-ish future. See below for a full list of confirmed shows.

Here is where you can find more information about THEESatisfaction.

THEESatisfaction Tour:
02-18 Seattle, WA – Town Hall
03-09 Brooklyn, NY – Cameo Gallery
03-27 Seattle, WA – Easy Street
03-29 Seattle, WA – Neumos
04-04 Nantes, France – Stereolux
04-05 Amiens, France – La Lune Des Pirates
04-06 Lille, France – Aeronef
04-09 Lyon, France – TBA
04-11 Angers, France – Chabada
04-12 Tours, France – Temps Machine
04-13 Poitiers, France – Confort Moderne
04-15 Madrid, Spain – Festival Electronica
04-17 Lisbon, Portugal – ZDB
04-20 Bristol, England – Start the Bus
04-21 Glasgow, Scotland – Arches
04-23 Brighton, England – Hope
04-24 London, England – White Heat

On May 1st we are releasing the debut effort from Father John Misty. You can watch the new video for the track “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” starring Aubrey Plaza of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Sundance Film Festival Hit “Safety Not Guaranteed” and the upcoming “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III” by clicking here. The video was directed by Noel Paul.

Like what you hear & see? You can chat with frontman Josh Tillman talk about his music, live today at 3 pm PST.

Click here to chat.

Tour Dates
Feb 29 – new parish – oakland
March 3 grass valley – center for the arts
March 4 santa cruz – crepe place

Read About Fear Fun
When discussing ‘Father John Misty’, Tillman paraphrases Philip Roth: ’It’s all of me and none of me, if you can’t see that, you won’t get it’. What I call it is totally arbitrary, but I like the name. You’ve got to have a name. I never got to choose mine."

He goes on, “‘People who make records are afforded this assumption by the culture that their music is coming from an exclusively personal place, but more often than not what you hear are actually the affectations of an ’alter-ego’ or a cartoon of an emotionally heightened persona,” says Josh Tillman, who has been recording/releasing solo albums since 2003 and who recently left Seattle’s Fleet Foxes after playing drums from 2008-2011. “That kind of emotional quotient isn’t sustainable if your concern is portraying a human-being made up of more than just chest-beating pathos. I see a lot of rampant, sexless, male-fantasy everywhere in the music around me. I didn’t want any alter-egos, any vagaries, fantasy, escapism, any over-wrought sentimentality. I like humor and sex and mischief. So when you think about it, it’s kind of mischievous to write about yourself in a plain-spoken, kind of explicitly obvious way and call it something like ‘Misty’. I mean, I may as well have called it ‘Steve’”.

Musically, “Fear Fun” consists of such disparate elements as Waylon Jennings, Harry Nilsson, Arthur Russell, “All Things Must Pass,” and “Physical Graffiti,” often within the same song. Tillman’s voice has never been better and often sounds like Roy Orbison, “The Caruso of Rock”, at his most joyous, while the music maintains a dark, mysterious and yet conversely playful, almost Dionysian quality. Lyrically, his absurdist fever dreams of pain and pleasure elicit, in equal measures, the blunt descriptive power of Bukowski or Brautigan, the hedonist-philosophy of Oscar Wilde and the dried-out wit of Loudon Wainwright III.

The album began gestating during what Tillman describes as an “immobilizing period of depression”, in his former Seattle home. “Songwriting for me had always only been interesting and necessary because I saw it as this vehicle for truth, but I had this realization that all I had really done with it was lick my wounds for years and years, and become more and more isolated from people and experiences. I don’t even like wound-licking music, I want to listen to someone rip their arm off and beat themselves with it. I don’t believe that until now I’ve ever put anything at risk in my music. I was hell-bent on putting my preciousness at stake in order to find something worth singing about.”

He continues, "I lost all interest in writing music, or identifying as a ‘songwriter’. I got into my van with enough mushrooms to choke a horse and started driving down the coast with nowhere to go. After a few weeks, I was writing a novel, which is where I finally found…

2011 was a stellar year for Shabazz Palaces, the sonic movement of Palaceer Lazaro (Ishmael Butler). The debut release, Black Up, was one of the most critically celebrated records of 2011, landing on the best of lists at SPIN, LA Times, The New Yorker, Pitchfork and more. Shabazz Palaces has no plans to slow down in 2012, announcing the group’s first official stateside touring, kicking off on April 3 in Minneapolis, with European dates preceding their North American tour.

To remind you how truly awesome Shabazz Palaces really is, we thought we would share with you the new video for the groups song “Are You… Can You… Were You…? (Felt)”, which was directed by Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes. You can watch the video above.

Shabazz Palaces Tour Dates:

Saturday, February 18, 2012 La Cave aux poetes, Roubaix France

Sunday, February 19, 2012 Stereolux, Nantes France

Monday February 20, 2012 Les Trinitaires, Metz France

Tuesday February 21, 2012 Strasbourg La Laiterie, France

Friday February 24, 2012 Palace, St Gallen Switzerland

Saturday, February 25, 2012 Stall 6, Zurich Switzerland

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Astoria, Turin Italy

Thursday, March 01, 2012 Circolo degli Artisti, Rome Italy

Friday, March 02, 2012 Bronson, Ravenna Italy

Saturday, March 03, 2012 Studio 2, Vigonovo (Venezia) Italy

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 The Whole, Minneapolis MN (All Ages Show)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 Mad Planet, Milwaukee WI

Thursday, April 5, 2012 Lincoln Hall, Chicago IL

Friday, April 6, 2012 Magic Stick, Detroit MI

Saturday, April 7, 2012 The Horn Gallery, Gambier OH

Sunday, April 2012 The Shadow Lounge, East Liberty PA

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Lee’s Palace, Toronto ON

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 II Motore, Montreal QC

Thursday, April 12, 2012 Iron Horse, Northampton MA

Friday, April 13 2012 SOB’s, New York NY

Saturday, April 14, 2012 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn NY

On February 28th, Memoryhouse are releasing their debut record, The Slideshow Effect, and will be kicking off a 15-date North American tour, with a handful of European shows to follow. Because sharing is our middle name, you can listen to the new track “Walk With Me” by inserting your email in the widget above. Pre-order The Slideshow Effect by February 28th via subpop.com, and you’ll receive a limited edition photo scrapbook put together by the band! Click here to find more information on this release and pre-order.

On March 13, South African artist Spoek Mathambo will release his Sophomore effort & Sub Pop debut, Father Creeper. You can check out his first offering by inserting your email address into the widget above. Stay tuned for more goodies from Spoek Mathambo in the coming weeks, including videos, tour dates and more sonic jams.

Beginning April 10th, Sub Pop recording artists Low will serve as main support for the first 12 dates of Death Cab for Cutie’s upcoming North American spring tour. These dates will bring the bands to intimate venues and historic theaters across much of the United States, as Death Cab for Cutie performs with San Francisco’s innovative Magik*Magik Orchestra. Low was specially selected by Death Cab for Cutie as main support for these dates.

Low are touring in support of their 2011 release, C’mon, which was recorded in an old church in Duluth, MN and mixed in Hollywood, CA with producer Matt Beckley working alongside the band. C’mon received warm accolades from such places as: SPIN, Blurt, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and NPR, who had this to say about their latest release:

Lush and beautiful in its simplicity… Longtime fans who’ve lived with Low will no doubt appreciate the return to form, while newcomers ought to fall in love with these songs and want to dig into the rest of the band’s 18 years of passionate restraint.

Alan Sparhawk describes C’mon simply as: “Warm, pretty, large like Nashville without the country. Mim and I are talking to each other in the lyrics, sometimes it’s not pretty, but it’s as honest as love.”

See below for a full list of tour dates. Click here for more information on Low.

Low Tour Dates
Jan 27 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Mar 09 All Tomorrow’s Parties, Minehead, United Kingdom
Mar 26 Teatro Central, Sevilla, Spain
Mar 27 Apolo, Barcelona, Spain
Mar 28 Teatro Kapital, Madrid, Spain
Mar 29 Sala Capitol , Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Mar 30 Kursaal, San Sebastian, Spain
Mar 31 Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain
Mar 31 Circulo de Arte de Toledo, Toledo, Spain
Apr 02 Glee Club (UK), Birmingham, United Kingdom
Apr 03 Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

w/ Death Cab for Cutie

04/10/12 Denver CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House
04/11/12 Omaha NE @ Omaha Music Hall
04/13/12 Louisville KY @ Louisville Palace
04/14/12 Grand Rapids MI @ Covenant Fine Arts Center / Calvin College
04/15/12 Milwaukee WI @ Riverside Theatre
04/16/12 Chicago IL @ Chicago Theatre
04/19/12 Toronto ON @ Massey Hall
04/20/12 Montreal QC @ St Jean Baptiste Church
04/21/12 Boston MA @ Citi Performing Arts Center / Wang Theatre
04/23/12 Providence RI @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium
04/24/12 Buffalo NY @ Kleinhan’s Music Hall
04/25/12 Philadelphia PA @ Tower Theatre

We, the people who make Sub Pop Records run (it’s a filthy, filthy job), are feeling very fortunate to be able to say that on February 14th, we are releasing Shearwater’s Sub Pop debut, Animal Joy, on CD and LP. As we often like to do, we shower those who pre-order records through the Sub Pop webstore with modestly lavish gifts, and in the case of Animal Joy, things will be no different. If you pre-order the record, you’ll receive instant access to download five exclusive demos from the forthcoming record, AND we’ll donate $2 from the purchase to the Audubon Society on behalf of Shearwater! That’s a lot of goodwill moving around, and we want you to get in on the action. Also, if you pre-order the LP, you’ll receive the limited “Loser Edition”, colored vinyl version of the record—in this case, a lovely blood red. Oh, and stickers!

Pre-order Animal Joy here.

On March 27, THEESatisfaction will release their Sub Pop debut, awE naturalE and we could not be more pumped. THEESatisfaction are Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White. Stas was born and raised in Tacoma, Cat in Seattle and Hawaii. The pair live/laugh/love/dance and create in Seattle, WA. They write, produce and perform their own material, funk-psychedelic feminista sci-fi epics with the warmth and depth of Black Jazz and Sunday morning soul, frosted with icy raps that evoke equal parts Elaine Brown, Ursula Rucker and Q-Tip. They met by what was clearly cosmic happenstance at the University of Washington and haven’t stopped the flow since.

You can find out more information on awE naturalE by clicking on the album title, and stay tuned to SubPop.com to hear music off the ladies upcoming album.

This past February we were shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of Rick Kulwicki. Kulwicki was best known as the guitarist for The Fluid, Sub Pop’s first non-Seattle signing, and had been a mainstay on the Colorado music scene for more than 25 years. While his passing left a big hole in the music world, it left an even bigger hole in his family.

Rick was a proud single father and his life revolved around his sons, Richard and Roman, whose well-being and happiness were important to him above all else. He was proud of their academic achievements, their band Purple Fluid, and their profound kindness. The fact that they were growing up to be individuals who were wonderful beyond his imagination filled him with happiness.

While the pain of something like this can be unbearable for the family, the financial strain of losing a sole parent and provider is also a great hardship and the boys’ basic needs should not be threatened because Rick died unexpectedly. These are teenagers with very bright futures and together we can help lessen the strain by giving generously in memory of their dad.

Which is why Mudhoney has teamed with the Denver-based organization Prints For a Cause to offer signed, limited-edition photographs taken during their mesmerizing performance at The Kulwicki Twins Benefit show in Denver on January 6th, 2012. Proceeds from the sale of the signed prints will be donated directly to The Kulwicki Twins Foundation in the name of Mudhoney.

Mudhoney jumped at the opportunity to take part in the benefit. “Rick is an old friend of ours and we want to do whatever we can to help his boys out,” Mark Arm said before the show. “We met Rick and the rest of The Fluid back in ‘88. In fact, we played with them at a small club in Denver on our first tour in October of that year. It’s a fucking tragedy that we even have to do this.”

Purchase your limited-edition, signed Mudhoney print before they’re gone.

Read the Listen Up, Denver! review of the Jan. 2012 benefit show where the Kulwicki Twins’ band Purple Fluid performed alongside The Fluid and Mudhoney.

Poor Moon is Christian Wargo (Fleet Foxes, Crystal Skulls) Casey Wescott (Fleet Foxes, Crystal Skulls) and brothers Ian and Peter Murray (The Christmas Cards). The band, named for frontman and primary songwriter Christian Wargo’s favorite Canned Heat song, began four years ago as a long-distance project with demos being created and sent back and forth while Wargo and Wescott were touring in support of the Fleet Foxes 2008 self-titled debut and Ian and Peter living in the Bay area. Their first shows were at intimate Seattle house parties where they used playful throwaway monikers like Rabbit Kingdom and Cookie Mask. It wasn’t until the band opened up for Deakin at Seattle’s Neumos (under the name Peppermint Majesty) that things began to really take form. Recording began and the four longtime friends became a band and Sub Pop didn’t hesitate to pursue them with unabashed enthusiasm. And it worked.

Illusion was recorded in a variety of bedrooms, practice spaces, the Murray residence, as well as AVAST! and Fastback studios in Seattle, Washington with the help of engineer Jared Hankins with guest performances by many a musician friend.

Poor Moon 2012 US Tour Dates
03/20 La Jolla CA @ UCSD – The Loft w/ Lost in the Trees
03/22 Los Angeles CA@ The Echo w/ Lost in the Trees
03/23 San Francisco CA @ Bottom of The Hill w/ Lost in the Trees
03/24 Arcata CA @ Arcata Playhouse w/ Lost in the Trees
03/25 Portland OR @ Doug Fir Lounge w/ Lost in the Trees
03/27 Seattle WA @ Tractor Tavern w/ Lost in the Trees
03/28 Boise ID @ Neurolux w/ Lost in the Trees
03/29 Salt Lake City UT @ The State Room w/ Lost in the Trees
03/30 Denver CO @ Hi Dive w/ Lost in the Trees
03/31 Omaha NE @ Slowdown Jr. w/ Lost in the Trees
04/02 Minneapolis MN @ Cedar Cultural Centre w/ Lost in the Trees
04/03 Chicago IL @ Schubas w/ Lost in the Trees
04/04 Evanston IL @ Space w/ Lost in the Trees
04/05 Columbus OH @ Wexner Center w/ Lost in the Trees
04/06 Toronto ON @ The Drake Hotel w/ Lost in the Trees
04/07 Montreal QC @ Il Motore w/ Lost in the Trees
04/09 Burling VT @ Burlington City Arts Center w/ Lost in the Trees
04/10 Portland ME @ Space w/ Lost in the Trees
04/11New York NY @ Le Poisson Rouge w/ Lost in the Trees
04/13 Boston MA @ Museum of Fine Arts, Boston w/ Lost in the Trees
04/14 Washington DC @ Black Cat Backstage w/ Lost in the Trees
04/16 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern
4/18 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
4/20 Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium