News

NEWS : WED, JAN 10, 2024 at 7:00 AM

Shabazz Palaces’ Exotic Birds Of Prey Will Be Available March 29th

March 29th, 2024, marks the release of Shabazz Palaces’ Exotic Birds of Prey, his new seven-song mini album, which will be available on CD/LP/All DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop.

Exotic Birds of Prey is the follow-up to Robed in Rareness, his well-received album from October 2023. Robed was released on all DSPs and will now be available on CD/LP formats on March 29th, 2024.

NPR Music called Robed “Enchanting and subversive…” while Pitchfork offered this, “The futurism of Shabazz Palaces has always been interwoven with the past and present, their songs scintillating tapestries of old-school shit talk, proggy psychedelia, and melodic flossing. Robed in Rareness is draped in this multiplicity as Butler and a team of close collaborators swagger across eras of rap.” 

Shabazz Palaces is masterminded by vocalist and producer Ismael Butler, whose unstinting drive to reimagine hip-hop – even as he enjoys his fifth decade on Earth – remains undimmed.  

Exotic Birds of Prey furthers the modus operandi of its predecessor, Robed in Rareness – a respectful eye on the past, an embrace of an ever-evolving present, and its feet are firmly planted in the future. Where Robed… warped sounds like shoegaze and ambient music into the Shabazz Palaces multiverse, Exotic… cross-pollinates these elements with twisted electro and funk vibes.

This new endeavor features collaborations with the likes of Stas THEE Boss, Irene Barber, Japreme Magnetic, OC Notes, Cobra Coil, Purple Tape Nate, and Lavarr the Starr.

Exotic Birds of Prey was produced by Shabazz Palaces, mixed by Erik Blood, and engineered by Ishmael Butler and Blood at Studio4 West in Venice, California, with mastering by Warren Defever at Third Man Mastering.

Exotic Birds of Prey and Robed in Rareness are now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders for each release in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Translucent White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Translucent Ruby vinyl.

In the UK and Europe, LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and independent retail stores will receive the Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Cream White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Red vinyl.

Stellify Subscriber Alerts:

About Shabazz Palaces Exotic Birds of Prey:

PING.

She looked up. A rectangular notification had popped into view, obscuring the view of the road. 

>You have an update pending.

“No thank you,” she said, and brusquely waved it out of her field of view.

PING.

Her head jerked up again in annoyance. 

>Stellify Subscriber alert: new album from Shabazz Palaces: Exotic Birds of Prey. 

“Oh.” Her eyebrows arched, her fingers lightly drummed her tablet. “Play,” she said, voice softening.

The integrated Bang & Olufsen speakers cut on. Lyrics and info danced on the windscreen, casting the cabin in a crimson glow.

>Shabazz Palaces’ latest is a foreboding foray into final-days funk. Cold-forged synths cut like steel underneath paranoiac playerisms and science-faction set pieces. What will you do when the robots don’t recognize your face?

“Pour more bass on my mids.” 

“Mmm.” The bio-reactive seat gently reclined as the whole vehicle body, composed of recycled marine plastics and seaweed, throbbed with deep, monstrous tones. Her eyes closed. 

“ETA,” she mumbled. 77 minutes, the car said softly.

PING. 

>BrainBroom Subscriber: your weekly ketamine session is ready to transmit. Initiate?

She opened her eyes. Hers was the only vehicle in sight. Rain sheeted across the windscreen. In the corner, the heads-up relayed a leisurely 160 km/h and fully charged hydrogen cells. The road ahead was lit in a deep violet; the ancient LED’s on this stretch of highway had delaminated over time.

“..Sure.”

She laid back. As the corners of her sensory perception started to curl up, she heard different voices, new and old to the Shabazz cinematic universe. Stas the Boss, Irene Barber, OCnotes, Jahpreme Magnetic. Purple Tape Nate, Lavarr the Starr. 

“Many among them…traded in myths.”

As she submerged into innerspace, the soundtrack repeated, undermining her sense of time. The softly rocking motion of the vehicle, bee-lining it’s way home, did the same to her sense of space. Swirling in her mind’s eye, she saw ancient bones dancing underneath the solar-powered roadway; empty eye sockets turned and locked on her own. 

“Going back to the essence is not a bad thing.”

PING.

Directly ahead, zooming towards her, was an old Tesla, stopped, blue flames feathering out from the windows. The scream caught in her throat, a choked sob her only sound.

She opened gummy eyelids and raised her face. She was at the high, fortified gate of her rural high-rise community. She cleared her throat, and eased the windshield down. She faced the sensor.

>Face Not Recognized. Try Again.

“What?” Sweat rolled down her ribs.

>Face Not Recognized. Try Again.

She looked around, poked her head out and looked back at the forest, dark and featureless. 

“Hello?”

Unseen wings flapped in the trees, dark bodies taking flight against the moon.


Shabazz Palaces

Exotic Birds Of Prey

Tracklisting

1. Exotic BOP (feat. Purple Tape Nate)

2. Angela (feat. Stas THEE Boss & Irene Barber)

3. Myths Of The Occult (feat. Japreme Magnetic)

4. Goat Me (feat. Cobra Coil)

5. Well Known Nobody (feat. OCnotes)

6. Synth Dirt

7. Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Lavarr the Starr)


Shabazz Palaces

Robed in Rareness

Tracklisting:

1. Binoculars (feat. Royce The Choice)

2. Woke Up In A Dream (feat. Lil Tracy)

3. P Kicking G (feat. Porter Ray)

4. Cinnamon Bun (feat. Lavarr the Starr)

5. Scarface Mace (feat. O Finess)

6. Gel Bait (feat. Geechi Suede)

7. Hustle Crossers


Shabazz Palaces Instagram / Twitter / Threads / TikTok / Facebook

Stas THEE Boss Instagram

Irene Barber Instagram

Japreme Magnetic Instagram

Lavarr The Starr Instagram


Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : TUE, JAN 9, 2024 at 7:00 AM

Omni Shares Official Video For “Plastic Pyramid (Feat. Izzy Glaudini of Automatic)”

On February 16th, 2024, Atlanta trio Omni will release Souvenir, their fourth album and second for Sub Pop, available worldwide on CD/LP/DSP. Souvenir finds guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker converting their creative fuel into sharp, driving songs that land immediately, sporting chopping riffs, staccato beats, and wiry melodies. Each track is a compact unit that stands on its own, reflecting the time and place it was created.
 
Following their debut single, “Exacto” comes the dynamic duet “Plastic Pyramid (Feat. Izzy Glaudini of Automatic.) This track is filled with twists and turns, a journey unto itself, charged by clanging chords and spinning rhythm. Directed by Zach Pyles, “Plastic Pyramid” features Frobos, Broyles, Yonker, and Glaudini in this warped throwback infomercial-styled video.
 
The band shares about the song: “‘Plastic Pyramid’ was one of the first songs written for Souvenir. It took a while to figure out what arrangement worked best. We tore it apart and pasted it back together again a number of times before settling on its current form. Our friend Izzy Glaudini of Automatic graciously agreed to sing on the track, making it the very first Omni duet. We hope you like it.”
 
Call In Now at 1800-888-OMNI and click HERE to watch.
 
As previously shared, Omni has also announced headline shows supporting Souvenir, with a North American East Coast run from Feb. 28 - Mar. 15 and UK dates from April 10- April 20. More dates to be announced; see below for a full list of shows.
 

North America
Sat. Feb. 24 - Atlanta, GA - The EARL
Tue. Feb. 27 - Richmond, VA - The Camel
Wed. Feb. 28 - Washington, DC - Songbryd
Thu. Feb. 29 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA
Fri. Mar. 01 - Kingston, NY - Tubby’s
Sat. Mar. 02 - Queens, NY - TV Eye*
Mon. Mar. 04 - Boston, MA - The Rockwell*
Tue. Mar. 05 - Winooski, VT - Monkey House*
Wed. Mar. 06 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa*
Thu. Mar. 07 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison*
Fri. Mar. 08 - Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog*
Sat. Mar. 09- Chicago, IL - Schuba’s*
Mon. Mar. 15 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia*
 
*This Is Lorelei
 
United Kingdom & Europe
Wed. Apr. 10 - Brighton, UK - The Green Door Store
Thu.  Apr. 11 - Bristol, UK - Strange Brew
Fri. Apr. 12 - Falmouth, UK - Cornish Bank
Sun. Apr. 14 - Dublin, IE - Workman’s Cellar
Mon. Apr. 15 - Glasgow, UK - Hug & Pint
Tue. Apr. 16 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
Wed. Apr. 17 - Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute
Thu. Apr. 18 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
Fri. Apr. 19 - Margate, UK - Where Else?
Sat. Apr. 20 - London, UK - Moth Club


 
Souvenir can now be pre-ordered worldwide from Sub Pop. LP orders in North America from the Sub Pop Mega Mart and the UK and Europe from Mega Mart 2 (the new European sibling to the Sub Pop Mega Mart) will receive the limited Loser Edition on Transparent Silver Souvenir Swirl (while supplies last).


Omni
Souvenir
 
Tracklisting:
1. Exacto
2. Plastic Pyramid
3. Common Mistakes
4. INTL Waters
5. Double Negative
6. PG
7. Granite Kiss
8. Verdict
9. F1
10. To Be Rude
11. Compliment
 
Omni Facebook / Instagram / Threads / X-Twitter



Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : MON, JAN 8, 2024 at 7:00 AM

Pissed Jeans’ Exceptional 6th Album Half Divorced Will Be Available March 1st, 2024

On March 1st, 2024, Pissed Jeans will release Half Divorced, their incredible 6th album, on CD/LP/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The band is sharing the official video for indelible lead single “Moving On” from director and frequent collaborator Joe Stakun (“The Bar Is Low,” “Bathroom Laughter,” “Romanticize Me”).
 
Pissed Jeans’ Half Divorced is the follow-up to 2017’s Why Love Now, an album that took aim at the mundane discomforts of modern life. The album and its singles received praise from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Uncut, Stereogum, and more.
 
The twelve songs of Half Divorced skewer the tension between youthful optimism and the sobering realities of adulthood. Pissed Jeans’ – Matt Korvette (vocals), Bradley Fry (guitar),  Randy Huth (bass), and Sean McGuinness (drums) – notorious acerbic sense of humor remains sharper than ever as they dismember some of the joys that contemporary adult life has to offer.
 
Half Divorced includes the previously mentioned “Moving On,” the omnidirectional piss-take “Everywhere Is Bad” (Spoiler alert: “Seattle is soaking wet”), shrinking debt-to-credit ratios in the bracing “Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt,” and the harsh truth-telling in the bruising “Cling to a Poisoned Dream.”

Half Divorced was produced and mixed by Pissed Jeans and Don Godwin and engineered by Mike Petillo at Tonal Park in Takoma Park, Maryland, and mastered by Arthur Rizk (co-producer and mixer for Why Love Now).
 
Pissed Jeans’ previously announced international tour dates in support of Half Divorced span Friday, February 29th through Thursday, April 4th. New shows include Friday, March 15th in Philadelphia, with a hometown release show at Underground Arts; Saturday, March 16th in Brooklyn at St. Vitus; And Friday, March 29th in Schijndel, NL at the Paaspop Festival. Additional live dates will be announced soon.
 
Thu. Feb. 29 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
Fri. Mar. 01 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s
Sat. Mar. 02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Fri. Mar. 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
Sat. Mar. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - St. Vitus
Fri. Mar. 29 - Schijndel, NL - Paaspop Festival
Sat. Mar. 30 - London, UK - EartH (aka Hackney Arts Centre)
Sun. Mar. 31 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Punk Fest
Tue. Apr. 02 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
Wed. Apr. 03 - Dublin, IE - Whelan’s
Thu. Apr. 04 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
 
Half Divorced is available to preorder now from Sub Pop.
Preorders in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Edition on Spotify-Colored vinyl (otherwise known as an opaque lime green…). In the UK and Europe, LP orders from independent retail stores will receive the Loser Edition on Coke Bottle Green vinyl. A UK-only Magenta vinyl edition will also be available to preorder through Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and Rough Trade Shops. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
 
More on Pissed Jeans Half Divorced by Chelsea Hodson:
Pissed Jeans has never been a band that goes halfway—they’re known for their feral vocals, biting lyrics, buzzsaw guitars, and unhinged live shows, and their sixth album, Half Divorced is no exception. These songs skewer the tension between youthful optimism and the sobering realities of adulthood, and when viewed through frontman Matt Korvette’s scowl, everything takes on a level of violent absurdity.
 
Pissed Jeans’ notorious acerbic sense of humor remains sharper than ever as they dismember some of the joys that contemporary adult life has to offer, from helicopter parents to stolen catalytic converters to being $62,000 in debt. On “Seatbelt Alarm Silencer,” Korvette growls, “Call it a death drive but that ain’t fair / Drive implies I’m headed somewhere.”
 
So where does a band like Pissed Jeans go after nearly twenty years of making music, after becoming fathers, after marriages, and after divorces? Existence has festered to a boiling point. Korvette said, “Half Divorced has an aggression within it, in terms of saying, I don’t want this reality. There’s a power in being able to say, I realize you want me to pay attention to these things, but I’m telling you that they don’t matter. I’m already looking elsewhere.”
 
Even within the brutality that Korvette conjures on songs like “Killing All the Wrong People” (“If violence is now their form of play / Let’s aim ‘em towards those who made ‘em that way”), the energy on some of these songs is inadvertently, well, fun. Listening to this album will give even the most jaded nine-to-fiver the sense that unrestrained freedom is still possible. And who else is going to rhyme “colonizer” with “moisturizer” anyway?
 
Korvette, Brad Fry (guitar), Randy Huth (bass) and Sean McGuinness (drums) weren’t in any rush to finish Half Divorced, which was recorded by Don Godwin at Tonal Park in Takoma Park, Maryland. “We’re not the kind of band that bangs out a new record every two years,” Korvette said. “Pissed Jeans is truly like an art project for us, which is what makes it so fun.” This lack of restraint rages within the songs that unexpectedly veer into classic hardcore punk territory—often coming in at under two minutes long and erupting like the “butane tank explosion” Korvette sings about in “Junktime.” 
 
This distilled energy makes Half Divorced sound menacing and dangerous. Korvette said, “We realized we’d never really fucked with pop punk, and we thought, this is something that isn’t going to be immediately recognizable as cool. So let’s challenge ourselves to make it feel cool to us.”
 
There’s also a Pink Lincolns cover, “Monsters,” on which Korvette sings, “People are more hideous than monsters.” And in the last song, “Moving On,” Korvette sneers, “Cheesing into my cameraphone / Pretending that I’m not alone / Life’s the first thing that we all postpone.” One gets the sense that Pissed Jeans refuses to “postpone” life in quite the same way—life, like art, is something that happens now, not later.
 
The word “divorce” falls in line with the moments of humiliation and shame that are held up for all to see on this album. Korvette said, “If you say something enough or if you just allow it to exist publicly, then it loses its evil monster-in-the-closet thing.” There is clarity to be found within both the light and the dark, in both the marriage and the divorce. As the chorus of the last song calls out: “I’m moving on, I’m moving on, I’m moving on.”


Pissed Jeans
Half Divorced
 
Tracklisting:
1. Killing All the Wrong People
2. Anti-Sapio
3. Helicopter Parent
4. Cling to a Poisoned Dream
5. Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt
6. Everywhere Is Bad
7. Junktime
8. Alive With Hate
9. Seatbelt Alarm Silencer
10. (Stolen) Catalytic Converter
11. Monsters
12. Moving On


Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : THU, JAN 4, 2024 at 7:00 AM

SLIFT Shares Official Video for “Weavers’ Weft” A New Track From Their Upcoming Album ILION

On January 19th, French psychedelic rock outfit SLIFT will release their Sub Pop debut, ILION, on CD/LP/DSP. Formed in 2016, SLIFT quickly made an impression on rockers worldwide with their 2017 debut EP, Space Is the Key, the following year’s full-length La Planète Inexplorée, and their acclaimed 2020 album UMMON.
 
Now, on the heels of the previously released singles “Ilion” and “Nimh,” comes an official video by Guthio and Alexis Regidor with visuals by Dimitri Thouzery for the album’s centerpiece, “Weavers’ Weft.”
 
The band shares this about the song:
“‘Weavers’ Weft’ is the song that opens the album’s second half. There was a tipping point in the narrative at the end of the first half of the album. The second half of the record is no longer situated in the linear flow of time that serves as a backdrop for many stories. From ‘Weaver’s Weft’ onwards, time goes both into the past and into the future. The piece talks about weavers of the fabric of time, entities who continually create space-times, each containing its share of universes. Everything that exists is written there, and it is possible to travel between frames. Everything is cyclical and infinite. To illustrate this (or maybe it’s the other way around?), we wanted something monolithic and timeless. It is as if this song has been sung for millennia (time goes back to the past!). The heavier parts are inspired by bands like Part Chimp and Gnod.”
 
Click HERE to watch.
 
SLIFT will embark on a mammoth UK & EU tour beginning February 23rd in Brighton, UK, and ending April 6th in Marseille, France. The band’s 2023 KEXP performance is a tantalizing taste of the band’s live powers, which merge earth-rattling volume, cosmic soundscapes, and psychedelic visuals into a mind-bending, glorious experience. See below for a complete list of dates.
 

Fri. Feb. 23 - Brighton, UK - Chalk
Sat. Feb. 24 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
Sun. Feb. 25 - Dublin, IE -  Whelan’s
Mon. Feb. 27 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell
Wed. Feb. 28 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
Thu. Feb. 29 - Lille, FR - Aéronef
Fri. Mar. 01 - Paris, FR - La Cigale
Sat. Mar. 02 - Saint Malo, FR - Route du Rock Hiver
Wed. Mar. 13 -  Toulouse, FR - Bikini
Fri. Mar. 15 - Nantes, FR- Stereolux
Sat. Mar. 16 - Rouen, FR - 106
Mon. Mar. 18 - Bruxelles, FR - Ancienne Belgique
Tue. Mar. 19 -  Utrecht, NL - Tivoli Vredenburg
Wed. Mar. 20 - Cologne, DE- Club Volta
Thu. Mar. 21 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Fri. Mar. 22 - Hamburg, DE - Gruenspan
Sun. Mar. 24 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen
Mon. Mar. 25 - Gothenburg, SE - Pustervik
Tue. Mar. 26 - Oslo, NO- John Dee
Wed. Mar. 27 - Stockholm, SE - Hus 7
Sat. Mar. 30 - Berlin, DE - Lido
Mon. Apr. 01 - Leipzig, DE- UT Connewitz
Mon. Apr. 02 -  Stuttgart, DE - Wisemann Club
Tue. Apr. 03 - Esch Sur Alzette, LU - Kulturfabrik
Wed. Apr. 04 - Zurich, CH - Mascotte
Thu. Apr. 05 -  Lyon, FR - Epicerie Moderne
Fri. Apr. 06 - Marseille, FR - Espace Julien


SLIFT
ILION
 
1. Ilion
2. Nimh
3. The Words That Have Never Been Heard
4. Confluence
5. Weavers’ Weft
6. Uruk
7. The Story That Has Never Been Told
8. Enter The Loop

Socials
SLIFT  Official Website / Facebook / Instagram


Posted by Abbie Gobeli

NEWS : TUE, DEC 12, 2023 at 7:00 AM

J Mascis Shares New Single “Set Me Down”

In February, the world-famous stoic maestro J Mascis will release his fifth solo studio album, What Do We Do Now, worldwide on Sub Pop Records. On the heels of the friend-studded video for “Can’t Believe We’re Here” come the beguiling and electrifying “Set Me Down.”
 
J has scheduled two solo headline shows for 2024 in Australia, which coincidentally happens during a run with his other band, Dinosaur Jr. The dates include Sydney’s Liberty Hall on Tuesday, February 20th, and in Brisbane at The Triffid on Saturday, February 24th. Additional solo dates will be announced soon.
 
Mascis is currently on the road with Dinosaur Jr., who are touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their sixth studio album, Where You Been.

Recently, Rolling Stone placed J at no. 74 on their “250 Guitarists Of All Time”, and Germany’s Musikexpress placed J at no. 2 on the editors’ and no. 7 the readers’ “Top Guitarists” lists. 
 
What Do We Do Now can be pre-ordered now from Sub Pop. North American orders from the Sub Pop Mega Mart will receive the limited Loser Edition on clear purple vinyl. In the UK and Europe, LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) will get neon pink Losers or a strictly limited edition run on Blue Curacao Vinyl available from this wonderful emporium – all whilst stock lasts!


J Mascis
What Do We Do Now
 
Tracklisting:
1. Can’t Believe We’re Here
2. What Do We Do Now
3. Right Behind You
4. You Don’t Understand Me
5. I Can’t Find You
6. Old Friends
7. It’s True
8. Set Me Down
9. Hangin Out
10. End Is Gettin Shaky


Posted by Abbie Gobeli