Dinner Party Download performance at The Moore Theatre in Seattle on Thursday, November 16th
Kyle Craft’s Full Circle Nightmare [preorder here], his highly anticipated second album, will be released worldwide on February 2nd, 2018 from Sub Pop. The 10-track album was produced by Chris Funk (of the Decemberists), with mixing by Trevor Spencer and the Helio Sequence’s Benjamin Weikel and Brandon Summers. Full Circle Nightmare is the follow up to Dolls of Highland, his acclaimed debut.
Album highlight “Heartbreak Junky” is the first offering (and cinematic lyric video) from Full Circle Nightmare. Directed by the One Hundred/Swanson Studio team, the visual brings an already vivid album cover to life.
The Full Circle Nightmare front and inside gatefold images were shot by brothers Peter and Laki Karavias. The cover art concept was born from an idea Craft had that incorporated imagery from the lyricism found throughout the album. “Once everyone all piled into the room, it took a different turn,’ Craft says. “Some of the lyrical elements stuck around on the cover and on the inside fold, but for the most part it just turned into a small party and my pals Peter and Laki caught some perfect moments.”
The Louisiana-bred, Portland, Oregon-based Craft has earned notices for his observational storytelling talents, his incredible stage performances, and his uniquely compelling voice. Since the release of Dolls of Highland, he and his band have toured the US multiple times, both as headliners and supporting the likes of Fruit Bats and Drive-By Truckers, and Kyle has made repeat guest appearances at Newport Folk Fest.
Between the extensive touring and working on Full Circle Nightmare, he’s delivered both new material (the politically-charged “Before the Wall”) and beautifully earnest covers (the recently-released Girl Crazy covers series; Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel No. 2”).
Full Circle Nightmare is a straight-up, rollicking rock’n’roll album; it traverses all the different nuances of the genre; it’s a timeless piece that could exist in any of the past five decades. All the songs were written over a year, and eventually, Craft took them into a studio run by Chris Funk. It was the first time he worked with a proper set-up. He was used to making all his music in his room with the aid of a laptop. “I always wanted to go to a legitimate studio and do what my all my old heroes did,” Craft says. “We did it live with the band.” The joy of the experience is palpable. It evokes a never-ending night out in a sweaty saloon bar: bottomless rounds, endless packs of cigarettes and hours dancing to the jukebox (read full bio at Sub Pop).
Full Circle Nightmare is now available for preorder from Sub Pop and select independent retailers [see here], and will be available in the following formats:
LP gatefold jacket with custom dust sleeve
CD digipack with poster insert
Cassette
Digital
North American preorders of the limited Loser edition will be available on maroon vinyl with a black swirl (while supplies last), and we also have a new T-shirt design with this release.
Kyle Craft has scheduled his first appearance in support of Full Circle Nightmare at the Dinner Party Download’s live event at Seattle’s Moore Theatre on Thursday, November 16th, 2017. For more information on tickets, please visit STG Presents website [link here]. Craft has also scheduled two Pacific Northwest week of release shows for 2018: Seattle’s Tractor Tavern on February 1st and Portland’s Doug Fir on February 2nd.
Nov. 16 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre Feb. 01 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern Feb. 02 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
What “The People” have said about Kyle Craft: “Sounds like: A swamp bar jukebox loaded with British glitter and Seventies Southern rock; a crawfish boil aboard ELO’s spacecraft…it’s Craft’s vocal intensity that outlasts all else” - Rolling Stone
“His voice carries southern cadences, and his songs revolve around distinct characters and situations that could only be from that town by the Mississippi. But you also hear the influences of David Bowie, under whose spell Craft fell at a young age, and of Craft’s adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon.” - World Cafe
“…Craft’s music is so full of its own weird singularity that he’s onto something far beyond idol worship. “- Billboard
“His songs illustrate how the intense religiosity and voodoo-infused mythology of the South make it fertile turf for the sort of colorful characterization and freak-scenery on which glam rock was founded.” - Pitchfork
Craft displays the full prowess of his vocal range, hitting high notes that hark back to glam rock vocals of the ’70s” - American Songwriter
“…a head-turning mix, a sort of pop-art take on Southern gothic, and highly infectious.” - Uncut
“One of the most distinctive new voices in rock.” - SPIN
+ European Tour Begins This Friday November 10th in Groningen, NL.
2017 was an incredible year for Jesca Hoop. She released the stunning Memories Are Now, her Sub Pop debut and best reviewed album to date.Hoop released videos for the beautifully stark “The Lost Sky” and the album’s ebullient title track. She’s embarked on wildly successful US and European tours, and appeared on the Prairie Home Companion and Charlie Rose.
To close out the year, Jesca has shared her new video for “Pegasi” which was directed by Rachel Blumberg. Love is written in the stars and sky, in this delicately crafted multi-plane video which is comprised of cut paper and illustrated stop motion footage.
Jesca Hoop Tour Dates + Ticket Links
Jesca Hoop and bandmates’ European tour begins Friday, November 10th in Groningen, NL at Lutherse Kerk and currently ends December 9th in Leeds, UK at Brudenell Social Club. The European tour will include stops in Germany, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, and multiple cities throughout the Netherlands, Sweden, France and U.K. (including London’s Union Chapel on December 1st). Please visit jescahoop.com/tour for updates.
Nov. 10 - Groningen, NL - Lutherse Kerk Nov. 11 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who? Festival (Theater Kikker) Nov. 12 - Ghent, BE - Minard Nov. 13 - Haldern, DE - Haldern Pop Bar Nov. 15 - Lund, SE - Mejeriet Nov. 16 - Oslo, NO - John Dee Nov. 18 - Gothenburg, SE - Pustervik Nov. 21 - Angers, FR - Joker’s Pub Nov. 22 - Pau, FR - La Ferronnerie Nov. 23 - Paris, FR - Chorus Festival Nov. 26 - Guildford, UK - Boileroom Nov. 27 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds Nov. 28 - Manchester, UK - The Stoller Hall Nov. 30 - Bristol, UK - Thekla Dec. 01 - London, UK - Union Chapel Dec. 02 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt Dec. 03 - Milton Keynes, UK - The Stables Dec. 06 - Dublin, IE - The Workmans Club Dec. 07 - Belfast, UK - The Strand Arts Centre Dec. 08 - Glasgow, UK - King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Dec. 09 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
Memories Are Now, featuring the highlights “The Lost Sky” [link here], the aforementioned “Pegasi” and the title track [link here], was recorded at NRG Studios, produced by Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes), engineered by Eric Caudieux, mixed by Greg Koller and mastered by Ian Sefchick at Capitol Mastering. Memories Are Now is available on CD / LP / DL / CS worldwide from Sub Pop [link].
What have “The People” been saying about Memories Are Now? Well, since you asked… “Hoop has been a free spirit, but with Memories Are Now, she understands exactly when to use the bridle and bit on these wild, wise songs.” [4/5] – MOJO
“Her most complete and refined statement yet, a boisterously declarative album that’s urgent and at times seditious.” - Pitchfork
“One of her best albums to date. Stunning.” - The Sunday Times
“This project has an air of rebirth to it. Hoop and her producer, Blake Mills, have worked to minimize her trademark lush arrangements to make Memories more reminiscent of a live setting. The spare “Animal Kingdom Chaotic” is built around fingerpicked string-work and typewriter clicks. Its Americana-leaning follow-up, “Simon Says,” relies only on a lightly distorted six-string, an upright bass and Hoop’s layered harmonies.” - PASTE
“In both content and construction, Jesca Hoop’s songs practically burst with ideas: They’re as strange and smart and heartfelt as they are gorgeous, and that’s saying something.” [Memories Are Now, “First Listen”] - NPR Music
“…A raw representation of Hoop’s formidable songwriting talents.” [Memories Are Now] - MAGNET
“Memories Are Now is built on stacked voices, sparse rhythm and twisted folk shapes, but the execution varies pleasingly, from the Native American blues of “Cut Connection” to the autumnal bucolia of “Songs Of Old.” [Memories Are Now, 8/10] - Uncut
“Past, present, and future rest patiently before Hoop, and she’s weaved them all into her most endearing album yet.” [Memories Are Now, 10/10] - Drowned in Sound
“Memories Are Now is a gorgeously delivered elegy to heartbreak and loss; powerful, perfectly executed songs to bring comfort and strength to the weary, broken and scorned.” [Memories Are Now, 5/5] - The Skinny
“There is something compellingly unique and hard to pigeonhole here.” - [Memories Are Now, 4/5 ‘Album of the Week’] - The Guardian
Listen: “So We Did” [from “Buyer’s Remorse” Oct. 17] Spotify / Apple
Listen: “Brokenomics” [from “The Filibuster” Oct. 10] Spotify / Apple
Listen: “Right Here” [from “Pilot” Oct. 3rd] Spotify / Apple
New episode airs tonight at 9:30/8:30c on ABC, and new songs will be available every Friday preceding each new episode… through Apple Music and Spotify
Sub Pop is releasing music from The Mayor, the new hit TV show starring Brandon Micheal Hall, Lea Michele, and Yvette Nicole Brown, created Jeremy Bronson and executive produced by Daveed Diggs (of Sub Pop’s own, Clipping.).
The Mayor airs Tuesdays at 9:30pm | 8:30pm CT on ABC. Songs will be available every Friday, preceding each Tuesday night episode, throughout the season.
Songs from The Mayor soundtrack are performed by Brandon Micheal Hall (aka Courtney Rose) and members of the cast, and written by Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes (of the group Clipping).
About The Mayor:
Young rapper Courtney Rose needs his big break. For years, he’s toiled away in a small inner-city apartment, making music in his junk-filled bedroom closet. Tired of waiting for opportunity to knock, Courtney cooks up the publicity stunt of the century – running for mayor of his California hometown, Fort Grey, to generate buzz for his music career. But his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: an election victory.
The series stars Brandon Micheal Hall as Courtney Rose, Lea Michele as Valentina Barella, Bernard David Jones as Jermaine Leforge, Marcel Spears as T.K. Clifton and Yvette Nicole Brown as Dina Rose.
Executive producers of the series are Daveed Diggs, Jeremy Bronson, Jamie Tarses and James Griffiths. “The Mayor” is produced by ABC Studios.
Hot on the heels of their sophomore album Losing, today Bully debut their official video for ”Feel The Same.” The video was created by Lazy Mom, a food focused team of creatives. “I have been a huge fan of lazy Mom for a few years now,” said Bully’s Alicia Bognanno. “Their ability to make vibrant, colorful art out of everyday objects amazes me. If you enjoy this video I HIGHLY recommend you check out their zine.”
Tonight Bully’s US tour will kick off in St. Louis. Highlights include Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on November 13th and three nights at Mercy Lounge in their hometown of Nashville, TN on December 14, 15 and 16 to close out their 2017 tour. The tour will resume in February of 2018.
Tour Dates:
11/02/17- St Louis MO - Off Broadway
11/03/17 - Iowa City IA - The Mill
11/04/17 - Minneapolis MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
11/06/17 - Madison WI - High Noon Saloon
11/07/17 - Chicago IL - Thalia Hall
11/08/17 - Detroit MI - Marble Bar
11/09/17 - Toronto ON - Lee’s Palace
11/10/17 - Montreal QC - Bar le Ritz
11/12/17 - Boston MA - Great Scott (SOLD OUT)
11/13/17 - Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
11/14/17 - Philadelphia PA - First Unitarian Church
11/15/17 - Washington DC - U Street Music Hall
11/17/17 - Charlottesville VA - The Southern
11/18/17 - Durham NC - Motorco Music Hall
11/19/17 - Asheville NC - The Mothlight
12/06/17 - Little Rock AR - Stickyz
12/07/17 - Dallas TX - Club Dada
12/08/17 - Austin TX - Emo’s
12/09/17 - Houston TX - Walter’s
12/10/17 - New Orleans LA - Gasa Gasa
12/12/17 - Birmingham AL - Saturn
12/13/17 - Atlanta GA - Terminal West
12/14/17 - Nashville TN - Mercy Lounge
12/15/17 - Nashville TN - Mercy Lounge
12/16/17 - Nashville TN - Mercy Lounge
2/16/18 - Norman OK - The Opolis
2/17/18 - Santa Fe NM - Meow Wolf
2/18/18 - Phoenix AZ - Valley Bar
2/24/18 - Eugene OR - Hi-Fi Music Lounge
2/26/18 - Vancouver BC - Biltmore Cabaret
2/28/18 - Seattle WA - Neumos
3/1/18 - Spokane WA - The Bartlett
3/2/18 - Boise ID - Neurolux
3/3/18 - Salt Lake City UT - Kilby Court
3/5/18 - Denver CO - Larimer Lounge
3/6/18 - Kansas City MO - Record Bar
5/30/18 - London, UK - Moth Club
Losing is available now from Sub Pop Records and from Bully’s webstore. The album was engineered and mixed by lead-singer Alicia Bognanno in Chicago at Electrical Audio.
The band’s 2017 European tour dates are currently underway.
Now see this: Shabazz Palaces powerful new video for “Since C.A.Y.A.,” the elastic and transportive track from the group’s acclaimed Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star. The new visual stars Shabazz Palaces’ Palaceer Lazaro with footage shot by director Kahlil Joseph, cinematography by Marcus Reposar, and is helmed by returning collaborator Stephan Gray (“Dawn in Luxor”).
DIY calls “Since C.A.Y.A” “… a glitchy and disquieting new video. The Thundercat-featuring track gets a black and white visual to match; all crashing waves, pixelated distortion, foreboding tunnels, and writhing snakes (see video premiere October 30th).”
“Since C.A.Y.A.” features dazzlingly funky bass licks by the magnificent Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner and was produced by Knife Knights (aka Ishmael Butler and Erik Blood), recorded and mixed by Blood at Protect and Exalt Labs: A Black Space in Seattle.
Last week, Shabazz Palaces’ “Tiny Desk Concert” performance premiered on NPR and NPR Music’s Rodney Carmichael says of the performance, “Palaceer Lazaro lays the ground rules for all present to enter the group’s metaphysical headspace. And, man, talk about being transported to the other side. It’s impossible not to envision the Seattle studio, Black Space Labs, where Shabazz’s otherworldly soundscapes emerge to provide the ideal backdrop for shining a light on the fake…Leave it to hip-hop’s unorthodox lot to conceive an ambitious pairing that launches the narrative’s protagonist on an interstellar journey far from home. It’s the perfect proxy for the growing sense of alienation we’re all suffering, to some degree or another, in today’s space and time…While the premise of Tiny Desk usually involves artists stripping down their set, Shabazz Palaces’ entire steelo is about unplugging from the metaphorical matrix, and sometimes a hybrid of digital-analog plugins is exactly what it takes to navigate alternate dimensions [see more at NPR Music].”
Quazarz Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines, the group’s third and fourth albums for 2017, are available now on CD / LP / DL / CS / Illustrated album worldwide through Sub Pop right over here.
[Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines Illustrated Album]
Shabazz Palaces’ 2017 international tour schedule in support of both Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines, is underway with a show tonight, October 30th in Paris at Batofar. The European leg will end November 11th at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. Shabazz Palaces have also scheduled three North American shows: December 1st in Vancouver, BC at The Cobalt; December 2nd in Victoria, BC at The Upstairs Cabaret; and December 17th in Houston, TX at Day for Night Festival.
Oct. 30 - Paris, FR - Batofar Oct. 31 - Lisbon, PT - Lux Fragil Nov. 01 - Madrid, ES - Taboo Nov. 02 - Braga, PT - Gnration Nov. 03 - Dublin, UK - Sugar Club Nov. 04 - Rotterdam, NL - REC Festival Nov. 06 - London, UK - Oval Space Nov. 07 - Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute Nov. 08 - Glasgow, UK - Art School Nov. 09 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall Nov. 10 - Brussels, BE - AB Nov. 11 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who? Festival Dec. 01 - Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt Dec. 02 - Victoria, BC - Upstairs Cabaret Dec. 17 - Houston, TX - Day For Night Festival
The U-Men anthology will be available worldwide November 3, 2017 from Sub Pop.
Today Dangerous Minds premiered “Trouble Under Water,” a previously unreleased track (!!!) from the U-Men’s forthcoming self-titled anthology, out next Friday, November 3rd on Sub Pop.
“Bands like The U-Men don’t come along often. A Seattle band at a time when the phrase “Seattle band” carried zero cultural cachet, The U-Men kitchen-sinked Gun Club rootsiness, classic garage rock ‘verb-and-twang, punk sneer, gothic darkness, and Ubu/Beefheart artiness into a single coherent sound that galvanized a hinterlands underground scene and directly influenced the grunge explosion,” says Dangerous Minds (see interview + track premiere October 26th).
U-Men is a comprehensive and remastered collection, which compiles the entire studio-recorded output of The U-Men, plus five unreleased songs, with a 16-page book of photos, liner notes, and interviews with the band. The U-Men anthology was executive produced by Jack Endino, and is now available for preorder from Sub Pop right here and is available in the following formats:
3xLP box set housed in a cardboard slipcase with printed inner sleeves + 16-page booklet
2xCD digipack with custom dust sleeves + 16-page booklet
Digitally
[Photo Credit: Cam Garrett]
“Trouble Under Water” follows previously U-Men shared tracks “Dig It A Hole,” “Gila,” and “The Fumes.”
“Dig It A Hole” [hear here] was available as a self-released single and via the group’s sole studio album, Step on a Bug. “Gila” [hear here] was initially on the group’s first EP, released by Bruce Pavitt on Bombshelter Records. The track would reappear years later on the Sub Pop 100 compilation, and a split single with the Melvins for Amphetamine Reptile’s Sugar Daddy Live! series. Meanwhile, “The Fumes” [hear here] was found on the tracklisting for Stop Spinning, the group’s second EP originally released by Homestead Records.
Those in the Seattle area can celebrate the release of U-Men with a special event on November 1st, 2017 at Georgetown Stables. The members of the U-Men will be interviewed live on stage followed by a brief audience Q & A. U-Men will also be available (2 days ahead of official release). The event begins at 7pm event and is all ages.
More on the U-Men from Mudhoney’s Mark Arm: The U-Men are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. They were hypnotic, frenetic, powerful and compelling. It was impossible to resist getting sucked into their weird, darkly absurd world. They effortlessly blended The Sonics, Link Wray, Pere Ubu, and Captain Beefheart. Their shows were loose-limbed, drunken dance parties and no two shows were alike. The U-Men were avant garage explorers and, most importantly, they fucking rocked. I was lucky enough to live in their hometown and I saw them every chance I could.
From 1983 to 1987, the U-Men were the undisputed kings of the Seattle Underground. No one else came close. They ruled a bleak backwater landscape populated by maybe 200 people. They were the only band that could unify the disparate sub-subcultures and get all 200 of those people to fill a room. Anglophilic, dress-dark Goths; neo-psych MDA acolytes; skate punks who shit in bathtubs at parties; Mod vigilantes who tormented the homeless with pellet guns; college kids who thought college kids were lame; Industrial Artistes; some random guy with a moustache; and eccentrics who insisted that they couldn’t be pigeonholed: all coalesced around the U-Men (read more at Sub Pop).
