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Jennifer Gentle: "I Do Dream You"
Hailing from Padova, Italy, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl. Jennifer Gentle is, in fact, a band made up of singer/guitarist Marco Fasolo and drummer Alessio Gastaldello (joined by various accomplices when they play live). Valende is their third full-length, and first for Sub Pop (their first two albums, I Am You Are and Funny Creatures Lane were released individually on Italy's Sillyboy Entertainment, and together as a double CD under the name Ectoplasmic Garden Party by Australia's Lexicon Devil label). The record was, like its predecessors, home-recorded by Marco and Alessio and it's a psych pop charmer, drawing on the band's own brand of musical dementia: an almost impossible-to-describe melting pot of whacked experimentation, deep fried eccentricity and acoustic beauty, drawing judiciously on the band's long-term fascination with Syd Barrett, 13th Floor Elevators, and Joe Meek production techniques. Jennifer Gentle is also the first Italian band Sub Pop has ever signed (such is our deep affection for the band). But, again, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shins: "Basement Recording"
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
Maximo Park: "Apply Some Pressure"
Maximo Park have taken the world by storm and proven themselves as one of the last truly original acts to make it through the closing door of the new wave of young British rock acts. Their debut full-length "A Certain Trigger" launched a wave of frenzy in the UK that began with an endless string of sold-out shows and emphatic praise from rock bible NME. It's recently ascended even further with record sales landing the band a Gold Record for the album, appearances on the legendary Top Of The Pops television program and a headlining spot on this year's NME Awards Tour alongside upstarts Artic Monkeys, joining Maximo Park in good company with past NME Tour headliners Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs. In addition to their superstar status in the UK, Maximo Park have made a great impression on US shores with praise from MTV and Rolling Stone as well as Andy Warhol's Interview, and a tour with modern-rock darlings The Bravery. More a companion piece to "A Certain Trigger" than a full-fledged Maximo Park album, "Missing Songs" is meant to act as both a treat for hardcore fans and a welcome addition to the collection of new converts. The record is comprised of nine tracks that were featured as b-sides on the band's UK and European singles but only two of which ever appeared on a US release (the limited "Apply Some Pressure" single which you'll also find in this package) and never-before-heard demo versions of three of MP's most popular tracks. On the import-single, you'll find the original version of the new single, "Apply Some Pressure" while "Missing Songs" features an acoustic version of the same songs as well as live favorites such as "A19" and "I Want You To Leave" that have become staples even though they've been essentially unavailable in the US.
Southern California quintet Saosin are one of the fastest-growing headliners in rock – earning mainstage slots on the Vans Warped Tour, selling out clubs in a flash, going out with heavyweights like AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday and garnering an ocean of fans who’ve downloaded their songs from MySpace over five million times – all before they’ve released a full-length album.
Iron and Wine: "Naked as We Came"
Miami's Sam Beam makes music under the name Iron and Wine and September, 2002 saw the release of his debut album, The Creek Drank the Cradle. That record was/is hushed, literate, intimate, melodic: a quiet treasure which, with its unaffected candor and depth, found fans all over. (Entertainment Weekly: "Based in Miami, of all places, [Beam] invests these songs with hypnotic beauty and sparkling melody, making them as accessible as they are affecting.") Our Endless Numbered Days is the second full-length album from Iron and Wine and it was recorded both at Sam's Miami home and in Chicago's Engine Studios with Brian Deck (Red Red Meat, Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova, etc.) On it, Sam is aided and abetted by regular touring and recording conspirators: his sister Sarah Beam, Patrick McKinney, Jeff McGriff, EJ Holowicki, and Jonathon Bradley. Listening to Our Endless Numbered Days makes plain Sam's deft touch with words and melody; one that allows him to turn out stories about love, loss, faith, or the lack of it that are at once personal and universal, set to music that is sweetly haunting and timeless.
Death From Above 1979: "Remix by Sammy Danger"
Death From Above 1979 release Romance Bloody Romance: In their quest to remix every single song on the label, they bring you their second full-length remix record. Two new recordings and 11 remixes from French masters Alan Braxe and Justice, UK machers Erol Alken and Phones, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Test-Icicles' Sammy Danger, the DFA1979 guys themselves and more.
With the release of the Winterkids? debut full-length, Memoirs, on the immediate horizon (out digitally March 12th), lead single "Tape It" has been whetting more than a few appetites.
