{"title":"Music","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"versing_10000","title":"10000","description":"\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003eLike many important bands, Seattle quartet Versing got their start in college radio—Tacoma's KUPS. The group's main songwriter\/guitarist\/vocalist Daniel Salas served as alternative music director there, where he met guitarist Graham Baker, drummer Max Keyes, and bassist Kirby Lochner. Now Versing are poised to spread their coolly combustible brand of rock on those said airwaves...and beyond if the world knows what's good for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBaker, Keyes, Lochner, and Salas have risen through Seattle's competitive rock ecosphere with nonchalant élan. They cheekily titled a previous album \u003ci\u003eNirvana\u003c\/i\u003e, but never mind the bleach: Versing isn't emulating Sub Pop's most famous artist. Rather, these four twentysomething aesthetes are forging an exciting sound that finds a golden mean between lustrous noise and ebullient melody.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003eEmerging from a stint as a drummer in a stoner-metal band, Salas formed Versing as a vehicle to vent obliquely about his political and social views with irony and humor. Populated with strange characters, his songs often double as “critiques of centrism and conservatism, from a leftist perspective. That's a theme: committing to something or doing something that may be hard but is the better option. However, when I write politically, it's more allegorical and can be interpreted beyond the political realm. I find that more interesting to write about than my personal life.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat being said, the pell-mell, ostinato-laced “Renew,” which Salas says is his most hopeful song, has a personal message. “It's about taking time to care for yourself—even when things are all weird and fucked up.” Meanwhile, the immersive, pummeling “Offering” evokes those twin pillars of 1988 rock: My Bloody Valentine's \u003ci\u003eIsn't Anything\u003c\/i\u003e and Pixies' \u003ci\u003eSurfer Rosa\u003c\/i\u003e. “I just really enjoy that droning line of guitar feedback,” Salas says. “We use a lot of feedback on our songs, but I think that's one of the more deliberately musical uses we've found for it. It's sort of a fantastical song about traveling through a mystical portal to stop an encroaching force of evil, and the feedback is like the whirring sound the portal makes.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnother fantastical song, “Tethered,” is a low-key, \u003ci\u003eDaydream Nation\u003c\/i\u003e-esque anthem with plenty of dissonance and surging, distorted guitars, plus rhythms that drive piles. Salas explains that it's “about how people are tied together,” figuratively. “It's a reminder of the interconnectedness of humans, to people who make excuses for not doing the right thing” for the greater good of humanity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith Versing, songwriting is obviously crucial, but much of the pleasure in \u003ci\u003e10000\u003c\/i\u003e comes from its guitar textures. They're swarming, yet also spiky and agile. The funny thing is, Salas writes most of Versing's songs on his unplugged Gibson guitar. “I like a more shambolic tone than something that sounds really clean and put together. I like there to be some screechiness to it—something that's not right.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003eSalas cites earlier purveyors of abstract rock music Cocteau Twins and Wire as major inspirations. Much of the rock that followed in the wake of 9\/11, though, leaves him cold. “9\/11 messed up a lot of things culturally, including music,” he says. “It engendered a deep social conservatism and nationalism that meant the chaotic and unpracticed sounds previously common in rock music had to go, in favor of tighter playing, more simplistic subject matter, and super clean production.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"normal\"\u003eGently chiding the Seattle music scene's self-seriousness while acknowledging Versing's playfulness and irony, Salas says, “There's a 'let's just fuck around and see what comes out,' aspect of what we do, which I think is uncommon for Seattle bands.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVersing's freewheeling attitude has paradoxically resulted in \u003ci\u003e10000\u003c\/i\u003e, an engrossing album that's impossible to feel ambivalent about.\u003c\/span\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Versing","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":41479335805113,"sku":"731121","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":41479335837881,"sku":"731122","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":41479335870649,"sku":"731124","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479335903417,"sku":"731126","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/versing-10000-cover-3000.jpg?v=1636151315"},{"product_id":"black-marble_a-different-arrangement","title":"A Different Arrangement","description":"\u003cp\u003eA departure from Weight’s calculated coldwave formalism, \u003ccite\u003eA Different Arrangement\u003c\/cite\u003e surveys a wide variety of sounds, from radiant, bouncing ebullience to layers of sentimental synth melodies and Stewart’s resonant, reverb-smeared baritone; at times so distinctly manipulated and sculpted as to be otherworldly. All LPs include a download code.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Black Marble","offers":[{"title":"Color LP","offer_id":54139664924947,"sku":"730635","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":41479336263865,"sku":"730631","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":41479336296633,"sku":"730632","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479336329401,"sku":"730636","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/files\/BlackMarble_ADifferentArrangement_Mockup_US_LP_2000x1417_72dd03a5-9856-4953-822a-9920a1419ad4.jpg?v=1778523957"},{"product_id":"protomartyr_a-half-of-seven","title":"A Half of Seven","description":"Protomartyr return with a brand new track recorded at Candyland in Cincinnati with Mike Montgomery (R. Ring) in late 2014. “Blues Fesival” also features guest vocals by Kelley Deal (The Breeders, R. Ring). The duo of R. Ring contributes a b-side track – also recorded at Candyland – titled “Loud Underneath”. Both tracks were available as a limited 7” pressing. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe physical release is now sold out, but Protomartyr's track is still available digitally. The R. Ring track must be purchased separately from the band or another digital service, because we like to keep things simple around here. Not complicated at all.","brand":"Protomartyr","offers":[{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479336460473,"sku":"730886","price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/protoring.jpg?v=1636151320"},{"product_id":"the-moondoggies_a-love-sleeps-deep","title":"A Love Sleeps Deep","description":"\u003cp\u003e**Cassette purchase DOES NOT include a download of the album. Make sure you've got a cassette player that works!**\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Love Sleeps Deep\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s bones rattle with all the seismic changes of the last five years since the release of The Moondoggies’ \u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_moondoggies\/adios_im_a_ghost\"\u003eAdios I’m a Ghost\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e. 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Recorded at Bear Creek Studios, Adios I’m a Ghost is The Moondoggies’ third full-length for Hardly Art.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Moondoggies","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":41479337279673,"sku":"730711","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":41479337312441,"sku":"730712","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479337345209,"sku":"730716","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/13684.jpg?v=1636151330"},{"product_id":"girl-friday_androgynous-mary","title":"Androgynous Mary","description":"\u003cp\u003eBurning deep in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/artists\/girl_friday\"\u003eGirl Friday's\u003c\/a\u003e music is an unquenchable will to survive. The LA-based band don't blunt the impact of the themes they work through in their ferocious, knotty rock songs, but they don't let the more harrowing aspects of being alive and young in the 21st century daunt them, either. Taking full advantage of the dystopian shades of post-punk and noise rock palettes on their arresting debut LP, Androgynous Mary, Girl Friday nevertheless suffuse their music with abundant optimism. The world is a hellscape, but the four of them are in it together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe seeds of the band were first planted when guitarist Vera Ellen walked into a friend's house at UCLA and saw Libby Hsieh playing bass on the couch. Drawn by her unique playing style, Ellen introduced herself, and the two musicians immediately bonded. After a year of playing together, they decided to grow their collaboration into a full band. Drummer Virginia Pettis and guitarist Sierra Scott caught wind of the project from friends of friends, and quickly jumped on board. The fledgling group's chemistry was undeniable; writing and playing together felt generative and thrilling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith bold, dramatic guitar lines and tightly wound vocal harmonies, Girl Friday negotiate the stress and alienation that comes with being sidelined from normative society on Androgynous Mary.  \"Does the average man feel like he's on the outside?\" goes the beginning of \"Public Bodies,\" a wistful jangle-pop gem that shudders open into a snarling punk coda. Taking cues from longtime boundary-pushers Sonic Youth, Girl Friday depart from traditional song structures, favoring the rush of jarring turns over the safety of well-defined pop taxonomy. Looking to queer provocateurs like Placebo, they cherish the frisson of incongruous musical elements soldered together: \"really dark, heavy things mashed up with quite beautiful things, whether that be a distorted guitar line and a sentimental vocal or vice versa,\" as Ellen puts it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat duality dovetails with the thematic friction running through the album, the alternating despair and hope that intertwine in the fight to stay alive as any kind of unfairly disenfranchised person in the US. Written during a year of personal struggle for all four band members, Androgynous Mary reflects the solace they took in each other -- as a band, but also as a microcommunity and a chosen family. \"It feels so rejuvenating to be there for each other and protect each other,\" says Hsieh. Ellen adds, \"We've definitely been through a lot together, but we've come through it by sticking together and loving each other regardless.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the record's final song, \"I Hope Jason Is Happy,\" Girl Friday sing in unison against a resolute drumbeat: \"My head is on your chest \/ In the end I'll be happy if you do your best \/ You've got to fight to keep your breath in this world.\" It's a testament to the power of their bond, and a gesture of solidarity with all those listening. Alone, we suffer under the weight of everything designed to keep us down. Together, we stand a fighting chance. 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It is a tightrope tread by many, and often with perilous consequence. And yet, in the most literal sense of the word, timelessness is the very currency Seattle’s The Pica Beats make their stock in trade: that is, a sound both of and apart from our time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Pica Beats","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":41479337607353,"sku":"730052","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479337640121,"sku":"730056","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/4716.jpg?v=1636151336"},{"product_id":"whitmer-thomas_big-baby","title":"Big Baby","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe did the damn thing: Whitmer Thomas’ viral sensation “Big Baby”—a “certified new banger” per Time Magazine—is now available to stream or download worldwide and can be replayed over and over until the world ends. You’re welcome.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Whitmer Thomas","offers":[{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41479337771193,"sku":"731276","price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/whitmerthomas-bigbaby-3000.jpg?v=1636151338"},{"product_id":"unnatural-helpers_black-marks-lemon-session","title":"Black Marks - Lemon Session","description":"Limited edition of 300 copies. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLemon Session Singles Club #8","brand":"Unnatural Helpers","offers":[{"title":"7 inch","offer_id":41479337836729,"sku":"40002927","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0559\/7180\/7417\/products\/a0545858626-16.jpg?v=1636151340"},{"product_id":"pretty-and-nice_blue-and-blue","title":"Blue \u0026 Blue","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs the title above suggests, this is an EP released by Pretty \u0026amp; Nice in 2007. 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Tongue-in-cheek shit-shooting and existential rumination feed into each other infinitely.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"E150\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E151\"\u003eTheirs is a long-term relationship, and that loop sustains them. That’s a creative thesis in and of itself, but isn’t that also just the mark of a true-blue friendship?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"E160\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E161\"\u003eThe band talks a lot about intention these days—how to be more present with each other. The four piece—Julia Shapiro (vocals, guitar, drums), Lydia Lund (vocals, guitar), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals, guitar) and Annie Truscott (bass)—is nine years deep in this, after all. It seems now, more than ever, that circuit is a movement of intentionality, one that creates a space inside which they can be themselves, among themselves. It’s a space where the euphoria of making music with your best friends is protected from the outside world’s churning expectations. It’s a kind of safe zone for the band to occupy as their best selves: a group of friends who love each other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"E170\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E171\"\u003eTheir fourth record, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E172\"\u003eChastity Belt\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E173\"\u003e, comes out of that safe space. After a restorative few months on hiatus in 2018, each member worked on solo material or toured with other bands. “So much of the break was reminding ourselves to stay present, and giving ourselves permission to stop without saying when were gonna meet up again,” says guitarist Lydia Lund. “It was so important to have that—not saying, ‘we’re gonna get back together at this point,’ but really just open it up so we could get back to our present connection.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"E182\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E183\"\u003eTheir experience navigating adult life within the strange seasons of the music industry has Chastity Belt orienting themselves towards whatever gets them to feel the most present with each other, in any part of the band grind. With the luxury of spending several weeks in the studio with Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, Chastity Belt was able to experiment. The new self-titled album is the work of the band playing “old songs, and trying new things on top of it,” like adding more dynamic harmonies and violin, says bassist Annie Truscott. Lydia, Gretchen, and Julia all share lead vocals on different tracks on the album. The result is their most sonically developed and nuanced record yet; one that’s not only a product of, but a series of reflections on what it means to take what you need and to understand yourself better.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp id=\"E192\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Calibri\" id=\"E193\"\u003eMany of Chastity Belt’s signature dynamics, from the silly to the sincere, have read as feminist gestures: the Cool Slut DGAF-iness, the shrugging off of the “women in rock” press gargle, the fundamentally punk act of creating music on your own as a woman, and being lyrically forthright. 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Peter Richards (guitar) and England (bass) share equal songwriting and lead vocal duties on this record, a significant change from their previous album, 2017’s \u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/dude_york\/sincerely\"\u003eSincerely\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, on which England fronted only two songs. The duality of their songwriting and vocals compliment each other emotionally and sonically, with Andrew Hall’s harmonies and driving drums providing their own unique character in each song. The collaboration is clear—each part is carefully crafted, with Richards’ guitar adding texture to the verses and then soaring into the particularly special kind of guitar solos that make you want to sing along.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eA line of nostalgia runs through the record as the songs investigate the deep ties we have to the pop culture that defined our youth. “I grew up listening to all this pop-punk and alt-rock that was mostly male-fronted, but I want to fill that hole I saw by recreating it now for myself,” says England. “I’m trying to capture the feeling of the music I listened to when I fell in love with music.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe title track is a gleeful ode to new, unexpected love where all the details matter. “We used to like all the same shit\/do you think we’d be friends in 2006?” England sings. The track is pure pop gold, with equal parts sweet sentiment and \u003ci\u003eJosie and the Pussycats\u003c\/i\u003e-soundtrack playfulness. “I was starting to think\/That it would be\/When passion lined up with practicality,” England muses on those pesky expectations of love, gleaned from radio songs and rom-coms. “But I secretly hoped when it happened to me there would be no doubt\/It would feel like falling.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eFalling\u003c\/i\u003e is tinged with a sense of longing—whether it’s for the beginnings of a relationship, for the way you thought it was going to be, or simply for the version of a former self you think you remember being. “I feel like a lot of the songs that were reference points consciously or unconsciously for this record dealt with everything very much in black and white, and that really resonates with you when you’re 14,15,16, 17...” explains Hall. “I think people who have nostalgia for those songs are exploring that grey area a little bit more.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe delightfully melodramatic “Box” sounds like a lost gem from the NYC early aughts post-punk revival, with Richards’ deep, emotive voice singing playful nods to The Killers and Dashboard Confessional while sneaking in lines of a fallout that cut deep—“Now on your own\/There’s no one left for you to hide from behind your phone”—before soaring into the Cure-like chorus “I’ll never love again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe production on \u003ci\u003eFalling\u003c\/i\u003e is full of meticulous details and sonic tricks designed to hit that deep teenage place in your heart, whether it’s the dense, chugging guitars or impeccably-placed harmonies. “We all have very different reference points for music and then when we swap them in becomes something totally different,” says Richards. He didn’t grow up as attached to the radio-friendly emo music that defined the adolescence of the rest of the band, but when he got into the genre in the past few years decided he wanted to embrace it in his songwriting, which comes across in the heavy guitars and dramatic arrangements that shine on songs like “How it Goes.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eUltimately, the relationship Dude York is really investigating and playing around with is their relationship to music. 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It’s Jess Sylvester’s grand farewell, and love letter to his hometown and the place he grew up, The San Francisco Bay Area, before relocating to Los Angeles after finishing his debut release. Using the moniker Marinero (which means “sailor” in Spanish), Jess Sylvester was drawn to this name as a means to honor his parent’s stories -- his father, a sailor, and mother, a Mexican-American who grew up in San Francisco. This record blends many worlds from beginning to end, and as you go deeper it hits harder. It’s his goodbye to The Bay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePulling sonic influences from classic Latin American groups and international composers from the 60’s \u0026amp; 70’s: Los Terricolas, Ennio Morricone, Esquivel, Carole King and, Serge Gainsbourg Hella Love finds Sylvester fusing classical arrangements with a variety of different genres, evoking a sonic nostalgia blended with other contemporary artists like Chicano Batman, Connan Mockasin, and Chris Cohen. The album was written, played, and produced by Jess Sylvester with help from Bay Area engineer Jason Kick (Mild High Club’s Skiptracing) at Tunnel Vision and Santo Recording in Oakland, California. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the standout single “Nuestra Victoria,” Sylvester shares “It’s my way of talking about gentrification in SF, or specifically the Mission where my mom and family grew up. The song is about a bakery, or panaderia called La Victoria, and was a place where my mother and tias went growing up, a place I also went to that is no longer there.” It was one of the oldest Mexican-American businesses in SF and I wanted to honor it”. “Through the Fog” highlights Sylvester’s exploration of his influences from the Tropicalia movement, weaving bossa rhythms with lush percussion and orchestration. Using SF’s infamous fog as a metaphor for “tough times”, Sylvester expands that it is a dedication to his friends and family who have helped him get through substance abuse issues, heartbreak, and other painful experiences. “There are a few easter eggs in the lyrics for Bay Area folks or people who have followed my music in the past but it’s mostly about getting through something difficult with the love and support from the homies and fam.” The album’s title track, “Hella Love,” summarizes both of his parent’s stories of how they ended up in the bay. The first verse is about his father’s voyage out west as a sailor during the late ’60s while the second verse follows his mother’s experience moving to The Mission District when she was a young girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s difficult to classify or generalize about Marinero’s music or identity. 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