On Friday, June 30th, Sub Pop will release the 30th-anniversary edition of Six Finger Satellite’s The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird, the group’s underground classic and debut full-length from 1993, with a brand new, fully remastered CD and double-LP reissue.
Formed in 1990 in Providence, Rhode Island by J. Ryan (singer/keyboards), John MacLean (guitar), Peter Phillips (guitar), Chris Dixon (bass), and Rick Pelletier (drums), Six Finger Satellite quickly signed to Sub Pop and released the band’s first demo tape as the Weapon EP.
Following Weapon, Dixon left the group and was replaced by Kurt Niemand, and the band quickly jumped into making their debut full-length with Bob Weston (of Shellac, who later named a single The Bird Is the Most Popular Finger in honor of Six Finger Satellite). Released in 1993, The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird was the first release to truly capture the adventurous, biting spirit and sound of Six Finger Satellite.
The album is a landmark of noisy, distressing post-punk, drawing influence from Gang of Four, The Birthday Party, and Wire while adding a healthy dose of the band’s own, unique sonic antagonism. Amongst the brittle rock tracks, The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird has dashes of ahead-of-their-time keyboard and studio experiments that became more prominent on the band’s later albums, presaging LCD Soundsystem, DFA Records, and much of the early-2000s post-punk revival.
All Music offers this, “This is the band’s rawest record, featuring the least amount of studio gadgetry and manipulation. J. Ryan’s voice bears no effects or bizarrely buried/contorted trickery, sounding hoarse and anxious throughout. Nonetheless, it certainly sets the table for the band’s love of noise and lunacy, combined with a healthy splash of bizarre humor. Hardly any other indie band at the time was doing this.”
In 2008, Pitchfork rightly called The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird “one of the best noise-rock records of the ‘90s,” writing that “the transitions from silly to searing highlight Six Finger Satellite’s unpredictable and caustic approach… this was the first of several examples of them spurning underground trends, and their most exhilaratingly bitter pill to swallow.”
The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in North America, and the UK and EU, will receive the limited Loser edition on Red and Blue vinyl. The album will also feature a new cover design.
Six Finger Satellite
The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird
Tracklisting:
1. [Untitled]
2. Home for the Holy Day
3. [Untitled]
4. Laughing Larry
5. [Untitled]
6. Funny Like a Clown
7. [Untitled]
8. Deadpan
9. [Untitled]
10. Hi-Lo Jerk
11. [Untitled]
12. Love (via Satellite)
13.[Untitled]
14. Save the Last Dance for Larry
15. [Untitled]
16. Solitary Hiro
17. [Untitled]
18. Neuro-Harmonic Conspiracy
19. [Untitled]
20. Takes One to Know One
21. [Untitled]
22. [Untitled]
23. Takes One To Know One
24. [Untitled]
On Friday, June 2nd, Bully (aka Alicia Bognanno) will release Lucky For You, her kaleidoscopic new full-length worldwide from Sub Pop. On the heels of the previously released singles “Lose You (Feat. Soccer Mommy),” “Days Move Slow,” and “Hard to Love,” comes the tenacious new single “Change Your Mind.”
Bully’s international tour schedule for 2023 in support of Lucky For You resumes May 20th in Amsterdam at London Calling and runs through September 24th in Washington, DC, at Black Cat. Highlights include a headlining and festival date run in the UK/EU (May 20th-28th), the US (August 10th-Septembr 24th), and will be preceded by a 13-date main support slot opening for the Pixies and Franz Ferdinand (June 8th-25th). See below for a current list of Bully live shows.
Sat. May 20 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling (@ Paradiso)
Mon. May 22 - Manchester, UK - Yes (Pink Room)
Tue. May 23 - Bristol, UK - THEKLA
Thu. May 25 - Birmingham, UK - Dead Wax
Fri. May 26 - London, UK - Moth Club
Sat. May 27- Leeds, UK - Live At Leeds In The Park
Sat. Jun. 03 - Lexington, KY - Railbird Festival
Sun. Jun. 04 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
Tue. Jun. 06 - New York, NY - Racket
Thu. Jun. 08 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway *
Fri. Jun. 09 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia *
Sat. Jun. 10 - Washington, DC - The Anthem *
Mon. Jun. 12 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live! *
Tue. Jun. 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE *
Wed. Jun. 14 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center *
Fri. Jun. 16 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater *
Sat. Jun. 17 - Asheville, NC - Rabbit Rabbit *
Tue. Jun. 20 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy *
Wed. Jun. 21 - New Orleans, LA - The Fillmore *
Fri. Jun. 23 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center *
Sat. Jun. 24 - Dallas, TX - Southside Ballroom *
Sun. Jun. 25 - Austin, TX - Moody Amphitheater *
Thu. Aug. 10 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
Fri. Aug. 11 - St. Louis, MO - Off-Broadway
Sat. Aug. 12 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
Mon. Aug. 14 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre
Tue. Aug. 15 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Wed. Aug. 16 - Boise, ID - TBD
Fri. Aug. 18th - Seattle, WA - Neptune
Sat. Aug. 19 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
Sun. Aug. 20 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
Tue. Aug. 22 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Wed. Aug. 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
Thu. Aug. 24 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
Fri. Aug. 25 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
Sat. Aug. 26 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
Mon. Aug. 28 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
Tue. Aug. 29 - Oklahoma City, OK - Beer City Music Hall
Thu. Aug. 31 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl
Thu. Sep. 14 - Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel
Fri. Sep. 15 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
Sat. Sep. 16 - Milwaukee, WI - X-Ray Arcade
Sun. Sep. 17 - Detroit, MI - Loving Touch
Tue. Sep. 19 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
Wed. Sep. 20 - Albany, NY - Lark Hall
Thu. Sep. 21 - Boston, MA - Crystal Ballroom
Fri. Sep. 22 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
Sat. Sep. 23 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian
Sun. Sep. 24 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
* w/ Pixies and Franz Ferdinand
What people are saying about Bully:
“‘Days Move Slow’ is a punchy but poignant tune, an energetic and honest exploration of grief that Bully’s Alicia Bognanno wrote after the death of her dog, Mezzi.” - [“Days Move Slow”] RollingStone
“‘Days Move Slow,’ from Alicia Bognanno’s grungy indie-rock project Bully, is a song about being caught in the muck of grief — she wrote it after the death of her beloved dog, Mezzi — but it also has a propulsive, bouncy energy that promises eventual forward motion. “There’s flowers on your grave that grow,” Bognanno sings in her signature holler, battling her buzzing guitar. “Something’s gotta change, I know.” [“Days Move Slow”] - New York Times
“It meets in the midpoint between the two bands’ aesthetics, trading out Bully’s usual rapid-speed intensity for an ambling ’90s alt-rock vibes while holding onto the raw power. It might be the most purely catchy Bully song to date.” [“Lose You”] - Stereogum
“‘Days Move Slow’ is pristine Bully – sparking pop, but also working with a seismic edge… Retaining the anthemic bite she’s become known for, the sessions adding aspects of shoegaze, punk, and late 90s British guitar pop.” - [“Days Move Slow”] Clash
“‘Lose You’ attempts to reckon with the idea that even a love that seems like it’ll last forever isn’t necessarily immortal. Taking cues from late ’80s and ’90s shoegaze pioneers, the track is driven by a steadily, thumping beat that backdrops Bognanno’s fuzzed-out guitars: “Either way I’m gonna lose you,” she and Allison lament in harmony, before a ripper of a guitar solo near the song’s end.” [“Lose You”] - Consequence
“The rasp in Alicia Bognanno’s voice makes everything she sings engaging and she uses the pain inherent in that croak to great effect on ‘Lose You’” - [“Lose You”] The Fader
“With lashings of scuzz and slacker fire, it’s a guaranteed hit with Gen X and Z alike.” - Guitar World
“Her most close-to-the-bone record yet.” [“Lose You”] - Rough Trade
“‘Lose You’ is a succinct grunge-pop tune woven with stark realizations.” [“Lose You”] - FLOOD
“Featuring fellow fuzz-rocker Sophie Allison, AKA Soccer Mommy, ‘Lose You’ is one of those tracks that is filled to the brim with pop hooks and crunchy guitar riffs. As Bully and Soccer Mommy trade harmonies, the banging backing track that supports them continuously ebbs and flows through different dynamics. The sound is always ecstatic, especially when a trippy guitar solo bubbles up from the ether.” [“Lose You”] - Far Out
Bully
Lucky For You
Tracklisting:
1. All I Do
2. Days Move Slow
3. A Wonderful Life
4. Hard to Love
5. Change Your Mind
6. How Will I Know
7. A Love Profound
8. Lose You
9. Ms. America
10. All This Noise
