When the masked country crooner who performs as Orville Peck dropped his 2019 debut record, Pony (Sub Pop), his decadent baritone and mysterious persona immediately earned him a cult following. Created in the safety of anonymity, his descriptions of heartbreak and loneliness washed over listeners, their intimacy heightened by sparse musical accompaniment. But as quickly […]
Tag: Sub Pop
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Duma show that the future of metal is in eastern Africa
Africa’s metal scene has been quiet compared to its counterparts on other continents. Duma rectify that, and loudly. Vocalist Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and guitarist and producer Sam Karugu hail from Kenya, and they relocated to Uganda to release their self-titled 2020 debut album on Kampala’s Nyege Nyege Tapes. That label is known […]
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How Chicago helped put the Queen of Grunge back on her throne
On January 4, 2020, Jen Lemasters started She Bop, an Instagram account dedicated to recordings by women in rock. Lemasters has a huge record collection, not least because she and her husband, Nick Mayor, own Bric-a-Brac Records & Collectibles. Lemasters’s knowledge of punk and new wave, and her particular love of underdocumented bands that exist […]
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Metz deliver more reliably bombastic noise rock on Atlas Vending
The best thing about Metz might also be the worst thing about Metz. The Toronto-based trio have been cranking out high-volume noise rock for more than ten years. Their music is solid, reliable, and interesting—and like Nirvana before them, they begin with a subversive sound, then add enough melody and take away enough grime to […]
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On their Sub Pop debut, Atlanta postpunks Omni make skeletal sounds feel full of possibilities
As Atlanta trio Omni have readied their Sub Pop debut and third LP overall, Networker, I’ve had as much fun parsing the lineage of their sparse, anxiously playful postpunk as I’ve had listening to their catalog. Longtime Reader critic Peter Margasak has compared the band’s sound to the feverish early-80s output of Scottish indie label […]
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Experimental folk musicians Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore join forces on Ghost Forests
When I first heard acid-folk group Espers in the early 2000s, I was stunned by the singing of Meg Baird. Here was a young woman evoking legendary vocalists from the other side of the pond—first lady of British folk Shirley Collins, the cut-glass tones of founding Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble, the earthy Anne Briggs, […]
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Quirk-pop sextet Man Man return to form on new singles
Since they got their start in Philadelphia’s underground scene in the early 2000s, Los Angeles-based band Man Man have been an undeniably unique voice in off-the-wall rock ’n’ roll. Led by singer, songwriter, and pianist Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus), known for his idiosyncratic sing-scream vocal style, Man Man spent their first decade morphing from […]
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Brown Girls writer Fatimah Asghar on Janelle Monae’s utopia for queer women of color
Current musical obsessions of Brown Girls writer Fatimah Asghar, Macie Stewart of Ohmme, and the Reader’s Peter Margasak
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Guitarist Randy Randall on how No Age have adapted to family time—and what their odd new album title means
To support the new Snares Like a Haircut, noise-punks No Age play Schubas during the Tomorrow Never Knows festival.
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Hyde Park postpunks the Imports could’ve been America’s Joy Division
The Imports lasted only long enough to release one single of their dark, mesmerizing postpunk.
Posted inBlogs
Former Smith Westerns front man Cullen Omori makes live solo debut, announces first album
Almost a year after Smith Westerns broke up, Cullen Omori plays Schubas and announces his first solo album, due early next year on Sub Pop.
Posted inBlogs
Reader’s Agenda Wed 9/10: Clipping., Berghoff Oktoberfest, and My Name Is Asher Lev
What’s on the Reader’s Agenda for Wednesday, September 10
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Robin Thicke’s morbidly fascinating Paula and 15 more record reviews
This month’s release roundup includes White Lung’s witchy two-minute mantras, Monarch’s crawling tectonic doom, and Sir Michael Rocks’s bleakly sunny party rap.
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The Secret History of Chicago Music: Epicycle
Epicycle’s brief career ended more than 30 years ago, but this North Shore punk band is still inspiring reissues today.
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Lil B’s 101-track mixtape 05 Fuck Em and 15 more record reviews
Record roundup: Don Cherry’s joyful collectivist jazz, Against Me!’s transformative arena punk, and more