Landing firmly (yet gently) at #35 in the U.K. Top 40 official albums and #68 here in the U.S. on SoundScan’s Top Current Albums charts, Low’s new Ones and Sixes has earned the group its highest-ever debut in the U.K., and its second-best showing in the U.S.
Over the airwaves this week, Ones and Sixes is currently # 13 on the CMJ Top 200 chart, and is seeing strong support from NonComm reporters, with confirmed sessions at KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” (November 16th), WXPN’s “World Cafe” (airdate TBD), KCMP’s The Current (view here), KEXP, and more.
Ones and Sixes is also one of the best-reviewed albums of Low’s career (horn toot!) with international acclaim from the likes of NPR Music, Paste, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Boston Globe, Pitchfork, Under the Radar, The Guardian, The Observer, DIY, Q, MOJO, Uncut, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, CLASH, The Sunday Times, Dusted, NOW, and more. And the band are the current cover stars of MAGNET’s September issue, interviewed by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (view cover / read an excerpt of the story here).
Low’s headlining North American and European tour in support of Ones and Sixes is currently underway, with a show tonight, Wednesday, September 23rd in Boston at Brighton Music Hall, and ends November 21st in Seattle, WA at the Crocodile. When the band returns to the EU on tour in October, they’ll also play their largest headlining date at London’s iconic Roundhouse on October 10th. (see details below)
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May we suggest that you trade your dollars for this intoxicating new record*? Ones and Sixes is available now from the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.
*Thrilled (and sorry) to report, that the limited “Loser Edition” of the double-LP (yellow vinyl + variant slipcase cover) is sold out on megamart.subpop.com. So we encourage you to (respectfully) stalk your local independent record store for this special edition. It’s also available from the the band themselves at their upcoming tour dates.
Ones and Sixes, featuring the standouts “No Comprende,” “What Part of Me,” “Lies,” “Gentle,” and “No End,” was co-produced by the band and engineer BJ Burton at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
You might like to know (as we did) what “They” are saying about Low’s Ones and Sixes:
“It’s one thing for Low to have made a rewarding career of spare, dramatic, glacially paced music…It’s another to make those ingredients sound so incredibly dynamic; to spend 20-plus years making a dozen albums that each feel distinct, and that each introduce new ideas, twists and ways to wring drama out of the space between notes…Throughout Ones and Sixes, the Minnesota trio somehow gives weight to airiness as comfort and discord orbit each other like a binary star. But every time the portent threatens to become overbearing — just as the mix of prettiness and heaviness tips a little too far out of alignment — Low punctures it with a burst of cleansing aggression or some pristine, exquisite surprise. Anything to keep us off balance.” [“First Listen”] - NPR Music
“The band’s strengths are here in abundance, but they are reimagined, twisted into new shapes and given a visceral intensity that is utterly irresistible.” [9/10] - CLASH
“…Striking a balance between their majestic, slow-moving melancholy and harsher experimental noise.” [4/5] - The Guardian
“One of the most impressive albums of their career” [4/5] - MOJO
“‘What Part of Me,’ with its upbeat percussion, fuzzy guitar textures and sweet harmonized lyrics about relationship boundaries (‘What part of me don’t you own?’), feels like a sideways response to the post-1989 maximalism of today’s Top 40; “Into You” is a gospel-inflected, subtly sexy slow jam; and “The Innocents” sets accusatory vocals over a crunching electro-industrial beat, all to excellent effect. Elsewhere, on the gentle, pained duet “Lies,” Low remind us they’re still masters of doing a lot with a little.” - Rolling Stone
“Ones and Sixes is all at once beautiful, ugly, tense, warm, inviting and repellent. It’s an emotional and sonic juggling act where even the slightest bum-note would draw attention to itself. As always with Low, the beauty is all about the details” - Pitchfork
‘Ones and Sixes is an ear-pricking listen.’ [Album of the Week] - The Observer
“Ones and Sixes finds them producing some of their best work in years” - The Quietus
“It’s another subtly heart-rending effort from a band that remains one of the very finest in the world. If you needed a reminder of why Low are an institution then this is it.” [8/10] - Drowned in Sound
“Somehow, with each new release (and they come regularly, every two or three years), Low manage to find new ways of protracting their deceptively beautiful melodies.” [4.5/5] - Music OMH
“Ones and Sixes hinges on tension that courses throughout these 12 songs. The drums land with a thud, as if transferred from modern R&B and hip-hop. They anchor songs that crackle with bits of distortion and chiming guitars that somehow feel disembodied from everything surrounding them. Then, in keeping with a signature Low move, there is the spectral spark created by Parker and Sparhawk singing together; their alchemy is otherworldly and downright intoxicating.” - Boston Globe
“With Ones and Sixes they’ve pulled together many of their disparate sides in a masterful survey of what makes them one of the great rock bands of their era.” - Dusted
“Ones and Sixes sees Low churning out some of their most accessible work, with “What Part of Me” having the potential to be an unlikely hit. As ever, strong stuff in every way.” [4/5] - Record Collector
“Low’s always been good at making records where it sounds like every note and beat contains some degree of pain and hope you’ve felt. So hopefully it’s compelling when this one stands out even more as one of their best.” [8.1 /10] - PASTE
“Low remain as vital as ever” - DIY
“After two decades, a band that could easily feel part of the wallpaper remain hungry to show that you never know what lies beneath” [8/10] - Uncut
“Comfortably ahead of the pop pack” - The Sunday Times
“Masters of transforming emptiness into swelling, sweeping orchestrations of musical and mental noise, Low are truly intense and joyful on their newest exhibition of off-kilter, subterranean pop.” [4/5] - NOW
Tour Dates
Sep. 23 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall* Sep. 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg* Sep. 25 - Hamden, Connecticut – The Ballroom at The Outer Space* Sep. 26 - Washington, DC - Black Cat* Oct. 07 - Manchester, UK - Cathedral ^ Oct. 08 - Glasgow, UK - Art School = Oct. 10 - London, UK - Roundhouse ^ Oct. 12 - Koln, DE - Gebaude 9 = Oct. 13 - Hamburg, DE – Knust = Oct. 14 - Copenhagen, DK – Vega = Oct. 15 - Stockholm, SE – Kagelbanan = Oct. 17 - Berlin, DE – Lido = Oct. 19 - Munich, DE – Ampere = Oct. 20 - Bologna, IT - Teatro Antoniano = Oct. 22 - Zaragoza, ES - Las Armas = Oct. 23 - Barcelona, ES – Bikini = Oct. 24 - Valencia, ES - Deleste Festival Oct. 26 - Madrid, ES - Teatro Lara = Oct. 27 - Santander, ES – Escenario = Oct. 29 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso ^ Oct. 30 – Tourcoing, FR – Le Grand Mix = Oct. 31 - Brussels, BE – AB + Nov. 02 – Paris, FR – Le Divan du Monde = Nov. 11 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue* Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge* Nov. 13 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge* Nov. 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex* Nov. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour* Nov. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Nov. 20 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir* Nov. 21 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile* Feb. 01 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
* w/ Andy Shauf ^ w/ Two Gallants + w/ Chelsea Wolfe = w/ Mike Noga
No Fly List: Notes From the Airport Store (September 2015)
People Are Still Asking Us Who We Are and Why Are We Here
“A Sub Pop store? At the airport?”
This is a common refrain we hear, as the store wraps up its second summer at Sea-Tac Airport. For the percentage of travelers who are familiar with Sub Pop, the idea of having a store (and placing said-store in the airport) is usually met with astonishment and/or incredulousness.
I’d say this happens for two reasons. The first being that for people of a certain age and/or mindset, Sub Pop is associated with a very specific slacker/grunge/anti-establishment sentiment, and the blatant money-grab of a store in an airport is the final cause célèbre that the label has *shudder* sold-out.
If there was a specific blueprint laid out 27 years ago, that planned the existence of a store in an airport, I haven’t found it yet. But there is retail precedence for the label, and in my mind, the audacious idea of having a store in the airport is very much in keeping with Sub Pop’s motto of ‘spanning the globe for profit,’ along with a history of garish displays of ego, such as planting our flag on the goddamn Space Needle.
(I’d also say that this mock derision is the least-likely response to seeing the store in-person, behind curiosity, excitement, and blissful ignorance.)
The second reason is that a lot of people treat the airport as a non-place. (If you need time to brush up on the anthropology of super-modernity and non-places, I’ll be here waiting.) Essentially, no one visits the airport willingly; it exists solely to funnel people to their final destination, where they really want to go; airports do not need to reflect history or culture because people only come to the airport in order to leave.
After being open for 16 months, I’m able to say that we’re slowly changing people’s expectations of what an airport store can do. While we receive our fair share of surprised travelers every day, we also meet people who actively seek out the store. Every day I hear a different story. Yesterday, there was a woman flying from Buenos Aires to Montreal, who specifically chose Seattle as her layover in order to see the store. Last week, a couple told us that they plan on getting married (!!!) in-front of the store one day, before running off (or in this case, flying away) to Mexico. I even see familiar faces and repeat visitors, which at the start of this job, I would not have expected. People from all different corners of the Earth converge on the store, and sometimes, a little piece of Sub Pop goes home with them. If that’s not ‘World Domination,’ I don’t know what is.
So, as a busy summer draws to a close, I want to say thank you to everyone who visited us, including the avid fans, the suspicious onlookers, and the curious people who had no idea what Sub Pop was until they wandered into the store. We look forward to your next visit, where we will probably try to convince you to buy more things (but in a totally non-pushy way).
On October 15th, Sub Pop and Hardly Art will hedge our collective bets and double down for “Mutual Depreciation”: A 2015 CMJ Showcase featuring Protomartyr, S, Mass Gothic, The Gotobeds, Strange Wilds and comedian Jon Benjamin at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY.
This event is open to the public and all ages - with tickets available for $12, both in advance and at the door. Details:
Sub Pop & Hardly Art Present Mutual Depreciation : A 2015 CMJ Showcase Knitting Factory Brooklyn http://bk.knittingfactory.com/ 361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn All Ages / $12 adv/door
The Beach House worldwide tour in support of Depression Cherrybegins tonight, Thursday, September 17th in Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall and their 2015 dates end with a sold-out 3-night stand December 17-19 in San Francisco at The Fillmore. (see dates below)
Experience the soothing sounds of Depression Cherry right now via the album stream, and if this is your initial foray into the magic of Beach House, might we also suggest ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Beach House’ playlist on Spotify, Rdio or YouTube?
Depression Cherry is available now on CD / LP*/ DL from Sub Pop (North America), Bella Union (Europe) and Mistletone (Australia / New Zealand), and virtually through your favorite electronic channels including (but certainly not limited to) iTunes and Amazon.
*Sorry (and thankful) to report that the special, limited, clear vinyl Loser Edition LP version of Depression Cherry is now sold-out at megamart.subpop.com. Copies of this collectible version of the album may still be available at your local independent record stores, or from the band directly at shows.
Tour Dates
Sep. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall ** Sep. 18 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s ** Sep. 19 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ** Sep. 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre ** Sep. 22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue [Sold Out] ** Sep. 23 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ** Sep. 25 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown ** Sep. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall ** Sep. 27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant ** Sep. 28 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall ** Sep. 29 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom ** Oct. 01 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Oct. 02 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre Oct. 03 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn ** Oct. 04 - Nashville, TN - The Ryman Auditorium ** Oct. 06 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ** Oct. 07 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel ** Oct. 08 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom [Sold Out] ** Oct. 24 - Belfast, UK - Mandela Hall Oct. 25 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street Oct. 26 - Glasgow, UK - ABC Oct. 27 - Manchester, UK - The Ritz Oct. 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival Oct. 30 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire Nov. 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Nov. 03 - Brussels, BE - Autumn Falls @ AB Nov. 04 - Koln, DE - Gloria Nov. 05 - Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier Nov. 07 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves Nov. 10 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Tradgarn Nov. 12 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Medis Nov. 13 - Copenhagen DK - Vega Nov. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel K1 Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s Nov. 17 - Munich, DE - Freiheiz Nov. 18 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks Nov. 20 - Barcelona, ES - Apolo Nov. 22 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera Nov. 23 - Lisbon, PT - Armazén Nov. 24 - Porto, PT - Teatro sa da Bandeira Dec. 07 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory [Sold Out] Dec. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] ** w/ Jessica Pratt
Luluc’s previously announced west coast and southeastern U.S. trek in support of album Passerby kicks-off tomorrow night, Thursday, September 17th in Seattle, WA at The Sunset and ends October 2nd in New Orleans, LA at Republic. (see dates below) Additionally, the band will act as main support for Jose Gonzalez (September 28th-October 2nd).
Passerby is currently available from Sub Pop and of course from your friendly neighborhood record store.
The album has earned Luluc international praise from the likes ofNPR Music’s “First Listen” & “All Songs Considered,” No Depression, Bust, RollingStone.com, MOJO, Magnet, Stereogum, Exclaim, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH, Tone, All Music Guide, My Old Kentucky Blog, Mess + Noise, Double J, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio (AU), and more. At radio,Passerby peaked at #8 on the CMJ Top 200 Chart.
What “They” have to say about Luluc:
“Passerby provides a tremendous introduction to a band whose deliberate impeccability never feels staid or fussy. It helps that The National’s Aaron Dessner, who knows a little something about impeccability, leaves his fingerprints all over these songs: He produced Passerby with Randell and Hassett, and he provides a good bit of the rich but spare backing instrumentation throughout. Dessner and Luluc both know how and when to let a song breathe.” [First Listen] -NPR Music
“Passerby is gorgeous and refined through and through, and likely to sound as timeless as all that great stuff Joe Boyd himself produced back in the late ‘60s.” [Review] - Rolling Stone.com
“Luluc has indie credentials to spare, but all that really matters is that this music is impossibly delicate and deeply beautiful.” [Review, 8/10] - MAGNET
“Strikes all the right chords: spectral melodies, buttery harmonies, and a blissful melancholia that hints at Nick Drake and Simon and Garfunkel without going to far into either territory. Zoe Randell and Steve Hassett might have created the year’s most addictive record to dates; from the predawn flutter of Opener “Small Window” to the shimmering heat of “Early Night” and “Star,” every track onPasserby begs to played again and again, preferably in the dusky sunlight of late summer.” [5/5 Review] - BUST
“[It] captures the band’s homespun charm in its main melody which sits over spindly strings that move like ripples in still water.” [“Without a Face”] - Stereogum
Tour Dates Sep. 17 - Seattle - Sunset Tavern Sep. 20 - Portland - Mississippi Studios Sep. 22 - San Francisco - Brick & Mortar Music Hall Sep. 23 - LA - The Echo Sep. 26 - San Diego - UCSD Loft Sep. 28 - Hollywood, FL - ArtsPark Amphitheater* Sep. 29 - Tampa, FL - State Theatre * Sep. 30 - Orlando, FL - The Social * Oct. 01 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse * Oct. 02- New Orleans LA - Republic * *w/ Jose Gonzalez
Ones and Sixes has earned Low international acclaim from the likes of NPR Music, Under the Radar, The Guardian, DIY, Q, MOJO, Uncut, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, CLASH, The Sunday Times, and more. And the band are the current cover stars of MAGNET’s September issue, interviewed by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (view cover / read an excerpt of the story here).
Low’s previously announced North American and European tour in support of Ones and Sixes, begins September 18th in Madison, WI and ends November 21st in Seattle, WA. (see below for dates + ticket links)
Ones and Sixes is available for purchase from the Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp. [ Loser edition LPs are sold out in the Mega Mart (sorry and thank you!), so head to your local purveyor of fine vinyl records today if you want to snag a Loser Edition LP on that stunning yellow vinyl. ] Whatever format you get - you’re ears will thank you.
[ photo by Zoran Orlic ]
Tour Dates
Sep. 18 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon* Sep. 19 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall* Sep. 21 - Toronto, ON - The Mod Club* Sep. 22 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB* Sep. 23 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall* Sep. 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg* Sep. 25 - Hamden, Connecticut – The Ballroom at The Outer Space* Sep. 26 - Washington, DC - Black Cat* Oct. 07 - Manchester, UK - Cathedral ^ Oct. 08 - Glasgow, UK - Art School = Oct. 10 - London, UK - Roundhouse ^ Oct. 12 - Koln, DE - Gebaude 9 = Oct. 13 - Hamburg, DE – Knust = Oct. 14 - Copenhagen, DK – Vega = Oct. 15 - Stockholm, SE – Kagelbanan = Oct. 17 - Berlin, DE – Lido = Oct. 19 - Munich, DE – Ampere = Oct. 20 - Bologna, IT - Teatro Antoniano = Oct. 22 - Zaragoza, ES - Las Armas = Oct. 23 - Barcelona, ES – Bikini = Oct. 24 - Valencia, ES - Deleste Festival Oct. 26 - Madrid, ES - Teatro Lara = Oct. 27 - Santander, ES – Escenario = Oct. 29 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso ^ Oct. 30 – Tourcoing, FR – Le Grand Mix = Oct. 31 - Brussels, BE – AB + Nov. 02 – Paris, FR – Le Divan du Monde = Nov. 11 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue* Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge* Nov. 13 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge* Nov. 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex* Nov. 16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour* Nov. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Nov. 20 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir* Nov. 21 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile* Feb. 01 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
* w/ Andy Shauf ^ w/ Two Gallants + w/ Chelsea Wolfe = w/ Mike Noga
