{"title":"Pre Orders","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-afghan-whigs_congregation","title":"Congregation","description":"\u003cp\u003e1992’s \u003ci\u003eCongregation\u003c\/i\u003e, The Afghan Whigs’ third album, finds the Whigs’ soul and psychedelic influences shining through, and helped define the band’s sound for years to come. Until now, \u003ci\u003eCongregation\u003c\/i\u003e was out of print on vinyl since its original pressing sold out many years ago.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Afghan Whigs","offers":[{"title":"Color 2xLP","offer_id":43110643990624,"sku":"701303","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":31826134466656,"sku":"701301","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":31826134368352,"sku":"701302","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":31826134433888,"sku":"701304","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32556518768736,"sku":"701306","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/AfghanWhigs_Congregation_Mockup_2xLP_US_2000x1417_44accd1c-3ed3-4c45-99db-6e36bc66b1aa.jpg?v=1788155609"},{"product_id":"sleater-kinney_call-the-doctor","title":"Call The Doctor","description":"\u003cp\u003eSleater-Kinney was an acclaimed, American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington in 1994. The band's core lineup consisted of Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), and Janet Weiss (drums). Sleater-Kinney were known for their feminist, left-leaning politics, and were an integral part of the riot grrrl and indie rock scenes in the Pacific Northwest. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCall the Doctor\u003c\/i\u003e is Sleater-Kinney’s second studio album. It was produced by John Goodmanson and released on March 25, 1996 by Chainsaw Records. The album is often considered to be Sleater-Kinney's first proper album because Tucker and co-vocalist and guitarist Carrie Brownstein left their previous bands, Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17, at the time of its recording. The line-up featured Corin Tucker (vocals, guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar, vocals) and Lora Macfarlane (drums, vocals). \u003cspan\u003e\u003ci\u003eCall the Doctor\u003c\/i\u003e appeared at #3 in The Village Voice's “Pazz \u003c\/span\u003e\u0026amp; Jop” critics' poll for 1996. In 2010, the album was ranked #49 in the list of the 100 greatest albums of the nineties by the editors of Rolling Stone. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Trades sex-worker role-playing, doll parts, gender-bending, and other common female-rock tropes for stories of everyday struggle [...] Sleater-Kinney proves that punk still offers new ways to say no\" - Johnny Ray Huston, SPIN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album has been freshly remastered by Greg Calbi for this release. This reissue coincides with Sub Pop’s October 21st, 2014 release of remastered versions of Sleater-Kinney’s six other albums, as well as a limited-edition, deluxe vinyl box set featuring all seven albums. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe digital versions of these reissues come out via Sub Pop on September 2nd, 2014.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sleater-Kinney","offers":[{"title":"Color LP","offer_id":42661919326304,"sku":"711043","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":31826147311712,"sku":"711041","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":31826147344480,"sku":"711042","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32556509790304,"sku":"711046","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/SleaterKinney_CallTheDoctor_Mockup_LP_US_2000x1417_e71f0c83-18ba-485c-a388-32dc569c06a9.jpg?v=1774411117"},{"product_id":"the-afghan-whigs_do-to-the-beast","title":"Do to the Beast","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast\u003c\/i\u003e is the first new album by The Afghan Whigs in over a decade and a half. Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1988, the band has long stood out from its peers, with their savage, rapturous blend of hard rock, classic soul, and frontman Greg Dulli’s searing obsessions. The new album serves as both a homecoming – it marks their return to Sub Pop, for whom the Whigs were the first signing from outside the label’s Northwest base – and a glimpse into the future of one of the most acclaimed bands of the past thirty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast \u003c\/i\u003eproves an appropriately feral title for one of the most intense, cathartic records of Dulli’s entire career – one that adds fresh twists to The Afghan Whigs canon. On it, one finds the \u003ci\u003efilm noir \u003c\/i\u003estorytelling of \u003ci\u003eBlack Love\u003c\/i\u003e, the exuberance of \u003ci\u003e1965\u003c\/i\u003e, the brutal introspection of \u003ci\u003eGentlemen\u003c\/i\u003e, but rendered with a galvanized musical spirit and rhythmic heft that suggests transcendence and hope amidst the bloodletting. “A lot of records I’ve done stemmed from epochal experiences in my life – and this time I’ve used them all,” Dulli says. “These new songs are very visual to me. They come from the neighborhoods of my mind. It’s like \u003ci\u003eRashomon\u003c\/i\u003e, with the story told from different points of memory.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast \u003c\/i\u003ewas created in L.A., New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Joshua Tree – a virtual map of the band’s past and present homes. “The album was named in Cincinnati, which is especially fitting,” Dulli notes. “I was recording a beatbox track for the song ‘Matamoros,’ and my friend Manuel Agnelli (of Italian rock band Afterhours) was in the control room. After I finished, he said it sounded like I was singing ‘Do to the beast what you do to the bush.’ And I thought, ‘Brother, you just named the record.’”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast\u003c\/i\u003e features Dulli and Curley joined by the Whigs’ current core players – guitarists Dave Rosser and Jon Skibic, multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson, and drummer Cully Symington. While original Whigs guitarist Rick McCollum does not appear on the record, a panoply of notable personages from the group’s past and present make memorable cameos: soul maverick Van Hunt, Mark McGuire (Emeralds), Usher’s musical director Johnny “Natural” Najera, Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys), Clay Tarver (Bullet LaVolta, Chavez), Dave Catching (QOTSA, Eagles of Death Metal), Patrick Keeler (Raconteurs, Greenhornes), Ben Daughtrey (Squirrel Bait), Joseph Arthur, and a host of others. For Dulli, these outside collaborators add crucial dimension. “Someone like Alain is a great texturalist,” Dulli says. “He and Mark McGuire create these, womblike tapestries and nuances. And Johnny Natural blew our minds when we played with him and Usher at South By Southwest. They were all instructed to play guitar not as guitar, but to create a supernatural sound – and each one of them ran with that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLikewise, “It Kills” contrasts its lush Gamble and Huff-style orchestration with Van Hunt unleashing a passionate virtuoso howl – transforming the song in the process. “We’d brought Van Hunt on tour with the Whigs, and began duetting on his song ‘Mean Sleep’ together every night.,” Dulli notes. “He’d do this scream live that he didn't do on the recording; and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, he sounds like Bobby Womack!’ When I wrote ‘It Kills,’ I wanted another voice on it, like a Greek chorus, so I called Van. I said, “Do whatever you like, just try not to use actual words – and if you can do that Bobby Womack thing, do that, too!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed, \u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast \u003c\/i\u003etakes The Afghan Whigs to previously uncharted zones. That’s clear from the Lennonesque primal screaming announcing album opener “Parked Outside” – one of the hardest-rocking Whigs songs ever, propelled by a pile-driving riff that would make Malcolm Young envious. First single “Algiers,” meanwhile, hotwires a pounding “Be My Baby” drumbeat with spaghetti-western atmospherics.\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eElsewhere, “Matamoros” – named after a town in Mexico cursed by a series of Satanic murders – finds Dulli at his most psychosexually sinister: over its relentless, Zeppelin-meets-disco groove, he coolly threatens to expose “every little crime that you hide.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch themes of duality, viscera, and love destroyed echo throughout tracks that dynamically flow in and out of each other – from ambitious revenge fantasy “These Sticks” to album centerpiece “Lost in the Woods.” Here, Dulli imagines himself on his deathbed in an especially haunting lyric, set to a swinging melody evoking Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. “That song resonates the most with me,” he says. “It reminds me of my childhood; sitting in the back of my parents’ Bonneville hearing ‘You’re My Best Friend’ by Queen on AM radio. I played a distorted Wurlitzer at the end to capture that feeling; I did a lot of little personal homages like that throughout this record.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat there’s even a new Afghan Whigs release at all comes as something of a surprise, even to its members. After the band initially split in 2001, Dulli went on to considerable notoriety with his bands The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins (the latter an ongoing collaboration with close friend Mark Lanegan). While Whigs songs would pop up occasionally in his sets, Dulli didn’t fully engage that material again until a solo acoustic tour in 2010, which Curley joined for a few dates. The Afghan Whigs subsequently reunited for a successful 2012 tour that found them headlining major festivals like Lollapalooza, curating their own All Tomorrow’s Parties gathering, and selling out prestigious venues throughout the U.S., Europe, and Southern Hemisphere. But once the tour was over, so, apparently, were the Whigs. “We played a final New Year’s Eve show in Cincinnati,” Dulli recalls. “And I assumed we were done. We’d completed the cycle.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat wasn’t actually the case, however. The Afghan Whigs were unexpectedly brought back into the ring by \u003ci\u003eThe Fader, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich had arranged for them to play a surprise collaborative set with R\u0026amp;B superstar Usher at 2013’s SXSW conference. “That moment crystallized the possibility that we’d record together again,” Curley says. “Soon after, Greg began compiling the ideas he’d kept in his pocket that he felt were distinctly Whigs songs.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReunited anew, The Afghan Whigs will tour worldwide in support of \u003ci\u003eDo to the Beast\u003c\/i\u003e – kicking off an extensive jaunt with a performance at Coachella 2014 in April. “It feels like a celebration, and the start of something new,” Curley says. “Something that’s exhilarating and scary at the same time.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Afghan Whigs","offers":[{"title":"Color 2xLP","offer_id":43110648184928,"sku":"710613","price":53.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2xLP","offer_id":31826193776736,"sku":"710611","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":31826193809504,"sku":"710612","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32556517687392,"sku":"710616","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/AfghanWhigs_DoToTheBeast_Mockup_2xLP_US_2000x1417_5ad2f7e6-17aa-47ad-98f0-b51450c3c70c.jpg?v=1788155900"},{"product_id":"goat_commune","title":"Commune","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTen years ago the mysterious Swedish collective GOAT unleashed the modern psych opus Commune, a heavy dose of acidic grooves, hypnotic incantations, serpentine guitar lines, and blistering proto-metal fuzz. “GOAT is mainly a symbol of sacrifice. To sacrifice the individual for the collective good. To become one with the rest of humanity and universe,” said an unnamed GOAT conspirator. Commune perfectly encapsulates that philosophy, and it remains a tripped-out joy to experience.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommune\u003c\/i\u003e is the 2nd full-length and debut Sub Pop album by Swedish band Goat.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goat","offers":[{"title":"Color LP","offer_id":42998867689568,"sku":"710955","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Loser LP","offer_id":40957084696672,"sku":"710953","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":31826251415648,"sku":"710951","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":31826251448416,"sku":"710952","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32556518309984,"sku":"710956","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/Goat_Commune_LP_JadeBlue_2000x1417_405de0f8-076f-4e91-a4ff-833f65134d8d.jpg?v=1785125085"},{"product_id":"the-afghan-whigs_in-spades","title":"In Spades","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Divination\/Cleromancy\/Comes the card that I refused to see”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e– The Afghan Whigs, “Oriole”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Cleromancy” isn’t a word one normally finds in rock lyrics. Then again, \u003ci\u003eIn Spades\u003c\/i\u003e – the forthcoming album by The Afghan Whigs, from which the new song “Oriole” hails – is defined only by its own mystical inner logic. The term means to divine, in a supernatural manner, a prediction of destiny from the random casting of lots: the throwing of dice, picking a card from a deck. From its evocative cover art to the troubled spirits haunting its halls, In Spades casts a spell that challenges the listener to unpack its dark metaphors and spectral imagery. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the one hand, \u003ci\u003eIn Spades\u003c\/i\u003e is as quintessentially Afghan Whigs as anything the group has ever done – fulfilling its original mandate to explore the missing link between howling Midwestern punk like Die Kreuzen and Hüsker Dü, The Temptations’ psychedelic soul symphonies, and the expansive hard-rock tapestries of Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd. At the same time, this new record continues to push beyond anything in the Whigs’ previous repertoire – another trademark, along with the explosive group dynamic captured on the recording. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed, the chemistry of the lineup – Dulli, guitarists Dave Rosser and Jon Skibic, drummer Patrick Keeler, multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson, and Whigs co-founder\/bassist John Curley – set the tone for \u003ci\u003eIn Spades\u003c\/i\u003e’ creation. When it came to follow up the band’s triumphant return to recording – \u003ci\u003e\u003ca title=\"Link: https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_afghan_whigs\/do_to_the_beast\" href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_afghan_whigs\/do_to_the_beast\"\u003eDo To the Beast\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e (2014), which was the band’s first ever Top 40 album, – the die was cast. “This is the first time since \u003ci\u003eBlack Love\u003c\/i\u003e [the Whigs’ 1996 noir masterpiece] that we’ve done a full-blown band album,” Dulli says. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe joys, sorrows, and upheavals of innocence and experience echo throughout \u003ci\u003eIn Spades\u003c\/i\u003e: it powerfully documents where The Afghan Whigs have been, and where they might go next. For Dulli and Curley, it’s a journey that, since their origins as one of the first Sub Pop acts to be signed from outside the label’s Pacific Northwest base, has spanned decades. Dulli notes they were barely in their twenties when they first started the band, and yet here they are, fulfilling dreams long held and frequently realized. “Having a break from the Whigs helped me remember what made it so rewarding,” Curley says. “Over the course of a lifetime, there are constants, and there’s also change. You see who’s dropped off the vine – who’s going in reverse, and who’s still by your side. It’s interesting to see where life takes you, and where it doesn’t. That’s the journey and it hasn’t stopped.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Spades\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded at Rick Nelson’s studio Marigny Sound in New Orleans, LA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_afghan_whigs\/congregation\"\u003eCongregation\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca title=\"Link: https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_afghan_whigs\/up_in_it\" href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/releases\/the_afghan_whigs\/up_in_it\"\u003eUp In It\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e are also being released on cassette the same day and will be shipped out when they are available. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Afghan Whigs","offers":[{"title":"Color LP","offer_id":43110648512608,"sku":"717603","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":31826463883360,"sku":"711501","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":31826463916128,"sku":"711502","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":31826463948896,"sku":"711504","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32556510347360,"sku":"711506","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/AfghanWhigs_InSpades_Mockup_LP_EU_US_2000x1417_004bb5bb-4bc0-4c92-9a34-f1968af9dfad.jpg?v=1788156037"},{"product_id":"the-album-leaf_into-the-blue-again","title":"Into the Blue Again","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe're repressing \u003cem\u003eInto the Blue Again\u003c\/em\u003e on a special ltd edition orange LP for its 20th anniversary this year (which is 2026). That will be out Nov 13, 2026, and you can (and SHOULD!) preorder it now!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere's the orig description of this album from 2006...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the wake of a solid 18 months spent touring in support of 2004’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn a Safe Place\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, The Album Leaf’s Jimmy LaValle sequestered himself for six months in his San Diego house solely to write for his next record. For LaValle—whose wildly varied experience includes stints with instrumental artisans Tristeza, post-hardcore spastics the Locust, contorted punk-funk ritualists GoGoGo Airheart, shadowy conjurers The Black Heart Procession and Iceland’s celestial menagerie Sigur Ros—such a surfeit of time was an unprecedented luxury. The upshot of this well-earned downtime is his fourth full-length, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Blue Again\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Recorded in December 2005 at Bear Creek Studio, a converted turn-of-the-century barn outside of Seattle, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Blue Again\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e sees a return to The Album Leaf’s conception with LaValle handling the bulk of the vocal and instrumental duties. After tracking at Bear Creek, LaValle then took the concentric billows of feathered keyboards, filmy strings and chiseled drums to Iceland for three weeks of mixing to tape to maintain Brian Eno-informed translucence. Having shared so much time and space with others on the road, LaValle proves with the personally charged \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Blue Again\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e that The Album Leaf resonates most profoundly when he goes it alone.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Album Leaf","offers":[{"title":"Color LP","offer_id":43149134200928,"sku":"707083","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":32614992904288,"sku":"707082","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":32614992937056,"sku":"707086","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/AlbumLeaf_IntoTheBlueAgain_Mockup_LP_US_2000x2000_05afd1b5-a03f-4b5a-a360-84d9281452a9.jpg?v=1789357919"},{"product_id":"shabazz-palaces_its-a-style-sport-black-t-shirt","title":"It's A Style Sport Black T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003ePrinted on a \"Next Level\" brand black t-shirt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shabazz Palaces","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":43016337686624,"sku":"20900892","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43016337719392,"sku":"20900893","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43016337752160,"sku":"20900894","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43016337784928,"sku":"20900895","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43016337817696,"sku":"20900896","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/ShabazzPalaces_Shirt_BlockType_edit_0be03bdd-8011-4af7-976c-3941223426f9.jpg?v=1787596636"},{"product_id":"shabazz-palaces_its-a-style-sport","title":"It's a Style Sport","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith bravado, precision, and mesmerizing authenticity, ever-evolving musician, producer, and rapper Ishmael Butler returns as Shabazz Palaces with It’s a Style Sport, out on Oct 23 via Sub Pop Records. Following 2024’s Exotic Birds of Prey, It’s a Style Sport stays true to Shabazz Palaces' form in its daring show of experimental, avant-hip-hop and free-form poetry, but also reveals a more reflective and upfront side of the Seattle-based musician than we’ve seen before. It’s a Style Sport finds Butler compiling what he’s learned from his storied, dense career into a playful, shimmering portal, again proving himself an artist of chameleonic ambition, fueled by curiosity, courage, and a limitless imagination. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eButler’s work has long been situated in the canon of Afrofuturist trailblazers like Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, and Pharoah Saunders, and for good reason – his work resides along the edges of the surreal, crafted with soundscapes and stories that are speculative, unapologetically Black, and ooze wonder of a different realm. Yet here, we see the rapper engaging in what could be considered an “Afro-fractal” poetic, what the artist Char Jeré describes as “a way of defiling a linear, colonial, capitalist temporality. It makes the future less of a destination and more of an ongoing rehearsal or ritual. The future and the past are happening constantly and simultaneously.” On It’s a Style Sport, a visage of Butler’s past lives as a rapper and performer is flung up against his contemporary persona, taunting and illuminating. At its core, It’s a Style Sport is an ode to the rap game of years past, when the playfully competitive ambition drove the genre to always outdo, outrun, and out-finesse your peers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn contrast to the social-media-centered strategy of today’s music business, with artists and labels hyper-focused on “brands” and “identity”, here, Butler gives homage to the oft-forgotten honor of exceptional showmanship. “Taking it back to what rap is really all about,” he explains. “Or at least what it says it was about. This kind of tough, friendly competition to see who could out-style the next person with surface stuff, but also substance as well.” It’s true Butler isn’t afraid of being opaque, esoteric, or illegible – each Shabazz Palaces release boasts a complete reinvention and upending of the form, uninterested in comparison and challenging understanding. But It’s a Style Sport dons an open self-awareness, with the spotlight pointed back at himself. A desire for realness trumpets throughout the album as we follow the artist as he looks at his past, the choices he’s made, and the world he envisions for every future yet to come, all packaged in inventive, complex production and deliciously hypnotic rhyme flow. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo record, Butler gathered together his closest collaborators and friends for eight days at Seattle’s Hall of Justice Studios. With blueprints of each song in hand, he allowed his friends to play, explore, and experiment until the songs took shape. Contributions include Evan Flory-Barnes on upright and electric bass; Thaddeus Turner on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Kassa Overall on drums; Gerald Turner on bass and vocals; Marquetta Miller on vocals; and Carlos Overall on saxophone. Butler’s longtime friend and collaborator Erik Blood also provided instrumentation, production, and mixing. It was important to Butler that the recording process feel collaborative and communal, an effort made even easier by the fact that every musician has been in the touring bands for Shabazz Palaces and Digable Planets for five to ten years. The longevity and closeness of their relationships made for a convivial and familiar energy, and underscores Butler’s goal to craft an album that confidently flexes the unique and pristine prowess contained in the Shabazz universe. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album opens with the thumping meditation “Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet)”, with Butler taking on the role of an all-knowing narrator, telling the story of his own life and rise to excellence from a fantasy-fueled third-person perspective, and ending with a list of rules – directives for a successful life. What’s made clear here, and what pumps through the heart of the rest of the album, is that his parameter of success is tied to the value of one’s character – how good can you be? How noble? How honest? Butler deals out flair while staying grounded in what matters most: his own honor. “Show Me Missouri in Mink” pivots to a melodic R\u0026amp;B flow, chronicling passages of his life and, again, speaking from the vantage point of someone who’s accrued a wealth of wisdom from decades of living and mistake-making, daring the listener to move with righteousness. “Every heart’s for sale, it seems”, he sings. “Everybody selling dreams\/You could tell me anything\/You’ve got to show me what you mean.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s not just careful, cautionary tales Butler extolls, though. Playful production and cheeky storytelling abounds, especially on “Tongue In Chic”, a whimsical pop number where Butler chronicles perilous dating attempts over punchy drums, Prince-like guitar licks, and 80s Italo disco synth melodies. “New girlfriend, that’s what I need,” he repeats again and again with a charming, teenage earnestness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlbum closer “From One Future To Another” is one of the most captivating moments on the collection, opening with sparse upright bass and cymbal brushes before blossoming into a fuzzed-out, swirling, live-band kaleidoscope that brings to mind Slowdive, Yo La Tengo, and Stereolab all at once. In a honeyed falsetto, Butler sings of “Ghost torn lingering memories” and gaining back “the time that’s gone”. It’s an appropriate conclusion to the saga Butler’s penned – It’s a Style Sport is less about Butler looking back with nostalgia, and instead letting each iteration of time – past and future – return to him and touch him, before drifting away again. In this realm, where time is a multi-shaped fractal, everything is futurity: unpredictable, otherworldly, and unequivocally ours for the taking, ours for the making. Butler is neither attempting to repeat what he’s done before, nor outdo himself. But even in this galaxy, where time exists in a kind of recursive spiral, refracted slivers of bouncing light, Butler holds tight to his principled conviction, refuting vague, empty performativity in pursuit of something deeper, grander, truer, and altogether more impressive: “The surface belies the depth within\/Must we be beautiful to win\/Praise success reward and gains\/No matter what our dreams remain.” \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shabazz Palaces","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":43027747307616,"sku":"717150","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":43027747340384,"sku":"717152","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":43027747373152,"sku":"717156","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/ShabazzPalaces_ItsAStyleSport_Mockup_LP_US_2000x1417_370ac5cc-69bd-4f9f-b33c-b8d3de31d7d6.jpg?v=1786383408"},{"product_id":"clipping_splendor-and-misery-anniversary-x","title":"Splendor \u0026 Misery (Anniversary X)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSplendor \u0026amp; Misery (Anniversary X) is the tenth-anniversary edition of experimental rap trio Clipping’s Hugo Award-nominated sci-fi opus. This deluxe edition features revised art, the original album, plus eight previously unreleased songs and alternate takes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSplendor \u0026amp; Misery is an Afrofuturist, dystopian concept album that follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar cargo ship, and the onboard computer that falls in love with him. Thinking he is alone and lost in space, the character discovers music in the ship’s shuddering hull and chirping instrument panels. Clipping’s music draws an imaginary sonic map of the ship’s decks, hallways, and quarters, while Daveed Diggs’ lyrics ride the rhythms produced by its engines and machinery. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSplendor \u0026amp; Misery is one of Clipping’s most beloved releases. It made multiple year-end lists and earned praise from The New York Times, Bandcamp Daily, CLASH, The Line Of Best Fit, The Needle Drop, Uproxx, The Observer, and Stereogum. In 2019, Pitchfork ranked Splendor \u0026amp; Misery as one of the 33 best industrial albums of all time. Clipping celebrated the album in August, 2026 with the Splendor \u0026amp; Misery Fest at NYC’s Knockdown Center with opening acts SPELLLING, Shabazz Palaces, ELUCID, Fatboi Sharif, evicshen, and Maria Chavez.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"clipping.","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) 2xLP","offer_id":43034328203360,"sku":"717520","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":43034328236128,"sku":"717526","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/Clipping_SplendorAndMisery_AnniversaryX_Mockup_LP_US_2000x1417_9daa03c4-981f-4cc5-94ac-e70e0d425835.jpg?v=1786477363"},{"product_id":"twisted-teens_the-holy-cross-tigers-chili-red-t-shirt","title":"The Holy Cross Tigers Chili Red T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eDouble sided, printed on a comfort colors t-shirt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShirt sizing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/Screenshot_2026-05-20_at_10.34.09_AM.png?v=1779298523\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted Teens","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":43092847919200,"sku":"21755992","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43092847951968,"sku":"21755993","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43092847984736,"sku":"21755994","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43092848017504,"sku":"21755995","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43092848050272,"sku":"21755996","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/TwistedTeens_ShirtMock_RockinRoll_Front.jpg?v=1787617180"},{"product_id":"lex-walton_ultimate-love-forever","title":"ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER","description":"\u003cp\u003eLex Walton (née Alex) is an American songwriter, actress, prose poet, and filmmaker whose work is unflinchingly confessional, and whose live performances are filled with ecstatic masochism and flailing. She has released a number of solo home recordings, collaborations with Devi McCallion (Black Dresses, Girls Rituals), Geese, and Ezra Furman, written the pop music manifesto The Sound Rocker's Prayer, and starred in Louise Weard's epic film Castration Movie Anthology II: The Best Of Both Worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER is Lex’s unwavering, iconoclastic Sub Pop debut. We’ll let the already excited music press do the talking! PASTE: “Walton’s wiggly, anxious power pop wades through pages of dead links and forum threads to get to its incendiary hooks... with its lo-fi hissing and tongue-twisting one-liners.” The Quietus: \"For fans of early Jonathan Richman, NYC gutter punks Dollhouse, or staring at the fluorescent lights of the Walgreens ceiling on your third day withdrawing from psych meds, barely able to parse the words ‘Medicaid coverage has lapsed’ as a pharmacist misgenders you.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER was written by Lex Walton, produced by Lex and Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ben Greenberg (Uniform, The Men) at Thump and Circular Ruin. ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER features appearances from Boeckner, Greenberg, Emerson Borakove, Alice Cohen, Brendan Dunphy, Emily Green (Geese), Scotty Malcolm, Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire), and Sam Revaz (Geese).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP ONLY features exclusive B-Side remix, \"USA = FAG NATION (Clipping Great Leap Forward Remixxx) featuring Devi McCallion\" by fellow Sub Pop artist clipping.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lex Walton","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":43102043996256,"sku":"717570","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":43102044029024,"sku":"717572","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":43102044061792,"sku":"717576","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/LexWalton_UltimateLoveForever_Mockup_LP_US_2000x1417_15670201-580f-4774-a97a-bb813213a141.jpg?v=1787686192"},{"product_id":"piss_you-made-me-skin-on-linen-black-t-shirt","title":"you made me \/ skin on linen Black T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003ePrinted on a black t-shirt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PISS","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":43103736561760,"sku":"21753992","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43103736594528,"sku":"21753993","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43103736627296,"sku":"21753994","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43103736660064,"sku":"21753995","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43103736692832,"sku":"21753996","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/Piss_CoverShirt_front.jpg?v=1787791230"},{"product_id":"piss_you-made-me-skin-on-linen","title":"you made me \/ skin on linen","description":"\u003cp\u003ePISS is a noisy, genre-bending four-piece band from Vancouver, B.C. Combining punk, poetry, sound collage, performance art, and visual art, the band creates a multidisciplinary body of work that blurs the line between personal and political.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePowered by thoughtful musicianship, energetic live performances, and a crystal-clear artistic mission, PISS writes punk music that aims to transcend the limitations of a well-established genre. Their work draws inspiration from a range of unexpected influences: literary giants, philosophers, filmmakers, painters, psychoanalysts, activists, children, members of a German anarcho-feminist militant group, and conversations with audience members. These voices represent varying ideological beliefs about gender-based violence and enable PISS to create art that depicts challenging and controversial issues such as sexual violence and enculturated gender norms without reduction, romanticization, polemics, or dogmatism. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir debut LP, you made me \/ skin on linen, depicts a childhood shaped by structural, systemic, and intimate violence. Throughout the record, art-making motifs serve as metaphors for the myriad ways we carry the effects of this violence: each experience leaves an impression, gradually creating or deforming the self, much like a piece of clay molded by every mark it receives. The record resists simple conclusions; rather than offering a single perspective, it examines violence as a ubiquitous facet of our culture. It asks questions—how does violence impact our development? Are our wounds inextricable parts of us? And if not, then where do our wounds end and we begin?—and allows the listener to devise their own answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album's first singles introduce listeners to different corners of that world, each exploring a different facet of the narrative that unfolds across the full record. \"time loop at hot slit\" is a frenetic noise-punk examination of girlhood in a culture of sexualization, pairing a danceable chorus with witty, poetic lyrics “wailed in anguish and uncanny eroticism”. \"blocking a scene you can't remember\" slows everything to a near standstill as the album’s slowcore song, unfolding as a fragmented rehearsal for a confrontation that is repeatedly interrupted by trauma. “Rote Zora. “Resistance is Possible.” Emma, no. 6. June, 1984, pp. 39-41.” transforms a transcript from an archival interview with the German feminist militant group Rote Zora into lyrics for a cacophonous exploration of resistance, agency, and collective action. Finally, the sludgy noise-rock single \"i wanted to be a singer\" strips away metaphor, foregoing literary devices and narrative techniques, to open the record with a direct address that asks listeners to approach the album not as entertainment, but as lived experience. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile you made me \/ skin on linen exists as a recorded work, PISS was meant to be experienced live. Every performance presents the album’s narrative, preserving its emotional arc from beginning to end, while allowing the work to exist as an evolving experience. With each show, the band aims to transform venues into spaces where confrontation, catharsis, reflection, and mutual care can coexist. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePISS made their live debut at Vancouver’s DIY venue Red Gate in April 2024 with little expectation beyond performing locally. Instead, the 30-minute performance left the audience transfixed by a set that moved through crushing noise, intimate subtleties, spoken-word samples, and moments of overwhelming emotional release. Taylor Zantingh’s visceral physicality challenges onlookers to move beyond passive media consumption. On the record, she describes how violence from her past affects her present; in a live show, audiences become active participants, witnessing her depict the enduring impacts of trauma in real time. The band’s first show sparked word-of-mouth momentum that has since spread from Vancouver’s local underground scene to audiences, journalists, and musicians around the world. In just two years, PISS has sold out headline shows across eight countries, appeared at leading festivals throughout North America and Europe, and signed to Sub Pop Records—all before a formal release.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePISS is Taylor Zantingh (vocals), Tyler Paterson (guitar), Gavin Moya (bass), and Garreth Roberts (drums). The band recorded their debut album, you made me \/ skin on linen, in January 2025 with Colin Stewart at Hive Creative Labs. The album is forthcoming on October 30, 2026 via Paper Bag Records (Canada) and Sub Pop Records (worldwide).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PISS","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":43113233547360,"sku":"717530","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":43113233580128,"sku":"717532","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":43113233645664,"sku":"717534","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":43113233612896,"sku":"717536","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Donate A Copy","offer_id":43113233678432,"sku":"717643","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/PISS_YouMadeMeSkinOnLinen_Mockup_LP_US_2000x1417_cb5acddd-0834-40a6-ae1e-3fa182557d72.jpg?v=1788287493"},{"product_id":"twisted-teens_peek-a-boo-logo-ivory-t-shirt","title":"Peek-A-Boo Logo Ivory T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eOur classic Sub Pop logo with a Twisted Teens twist! Printed on an ivory Comfort Colors t-shirt.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShirt Sizing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/Screenshot_2026-05-20_at_10.34.09_AM.png?v=1779298523\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted Teens","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":43113518039136,"sku":"21755982","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43113518071904,"sku":"21755983","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43113518104672,"sku":"21755984","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43113518137440,"sku":"21755985","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43113518170208,"sku":"21755986","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/USPeek-A-BooT-Shirt.png?v=1788459789"},{"product_id":"lex-walton_ultimate-love-forever-white-t-shirt","title":"ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER White T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwo sided design printed on a white t-shirt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lex Walton","offers":[{"title":"XS","offer_id":43122020384864,"sku":"21757991","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"S","offer_id":43122020417632,"sku":"21757992","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43122020450400,"sku":"21757993","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43122020483168,"sku":"21757994","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43122020515936,"sku":"21757995","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43122020548704,"sku":"21757996","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/LEX_shirt-1.jpg?v=1788544928"},{"product_id":"twisted-teens_the-holy-cross-tigers","title":"The Holy Cross Tigers","description":"\u003cp\u003eEverything you are about to learn about Twisted Teens—and, specifically, their third magnetic and perfectly ragged album of 2026, a saga of heartbreak and hidden triumph called Holy Cross Tigers that also marks their Sub Pop debut—is the truth. Or at least that’s what Caspian and RJ “The Razor” Santos, who have somehow already collected several nicknames each in the two-year lifespan of this band, say right now. They also admit it could all be a lie, a myth they could be making up because it seems more fun than marketing themselves like trinkets in a discount store. Looks like you’ll have to decide for yourself, just like Caspian and RJ did when they decided Twisted Teens could be their band, their crew, their life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwisted Teens didn’t really exist before it made its debut, an initially obscure classic that will almost certainly come to be called The Orange Album. The pair were, instead, neighbors in New Orleans’ Holy Cross neighborhood, where their confederation of complicated misfits pays little attention to the magnolia-loving, beignet-popping tourist board version of their city because it means they get to make art under the radar, off the books, in their own way. RJ was playing steel in a half-dozen country and Cajun bands, maybe doing four gigs a night and practicing or painting when he wasn’t on one of those; he was and is itinerant, hopping trains and these days planes to paint signs near the Arctic Circle when someone has work. Caspian, meanwhile, had played in wild-child anarcho acts on the folk fringes, forgoing electricity and technology for much of his 20s to live in an illegal shack on a state park.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you were already living on said fringes, the pandemic could be a boon, government subsidies showing up from an administration that took pleasure in taking a machete to the social safety net. Through a confluence of circumstances, Caspian suddenly had money, so he bought a little recording setup—a podcast mic, a condenser mic, a computer, a real top-of-the-line rig—and started making records in his Holy Cross spot. One day, he was fooling with a song he would eventually call “Rando” when the sound hit like an epiphany. The drums and drum machine and the guitar felt like fantastic shit, a small but mighty, bright but sad sound that made you want to stick your head against the speaker, to leave it there. It was to him like Lee Perry unlocking dub, the dudes in the Helvete basement fumbling into black metal, the Ramones figuring out you could make rock by blowing out and speeding up songs they might have heard at sockhops. Caspian rushed next door and told RJ to come over, to riff on whatever this was he had discovered. Mardi Gras 2024 had just ended, and The Orange Album—we’re calling it that now—was out in April.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe they’re sorry for the absence in 2025, the way that first one might have seemed like the last one. Consider 2026 an apology. In February, they released Blame the Clown, or maybe The Green Album, a record that met instant accolades, with Pitchfork and Paste essentially cosigning it with the caps-lock on. Much the same happened five months later, when Twisted Teens surprise-released Florida Water Blues (OK, The Blue Album), an absurdist take on their various wanderings around the world, from the icy havens up north to the fetid swamps far below. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy did people suddenly latch onto Twisted Teens, two guys who had been so far outside of the punk and indie rock industries for so long they come now with very strong opinions about said things? Well, there was that sound, sticky and warm, even when they were bunching up the blues inside of it, the way that Caspian’s life-pocked voice slipped against RJ’s surrealist steel shapes like lotion against an old scab. What’s more, though these songs sounded simple in the same way that early rock ’n’ roll or real American folk music did, they offered relatable stories in a language all their own, much like early rock ’n’ roll or real American folk music did. Elizabeth Cotten was a poet, Chuck Berry and Professor Longhair, too. Caspian’s songs were more real than precious, in the way of those predecessors. Sound met song without meeting much bullshit along the way, apart from the stories Caspian and RJ sometimes chose to share about themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo this brings us, at long last, to the main event, to Twisted Teens’ moment of selling out to the big, bad indie rock machine, to their Sub Pop debut, Holy Cross Tigers, or The Burgundy Album. Sorry to disappoint the skeptics, but these 13 songs were written and recorded in much the same way as their predecessors. RJ lives behind Caspian’s house now, but Caspian is the early riser. He’ll get out of bed, play the guitar until he finds a riff that feels good, put down a drum machine line, and play guitar and bass over it until the tune starts to lock into place. When RJ has finally found his first cup of coffee, and if he’s not off near the Arctic, he sits down and responds with his steel. The condenser mic goes above the kit, the podcast mic in the kick—real big-money stuff these days, going down in Holy Cross.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut something was different this time for Twisted Teens. The week RJ and Caspian made their first album was the very same week Caspian started dating someone he really liked. If you bounce around the world long enough, you’ll be in and out of a lot of relationships, but this one felt unique. They broke up last summer in a little beach town in Albania, then came back to New Orleans, still living together while she finished a school program. It was hell for Caspian. He wallowed, drinking too much and breaking his foot before he had another epiphany: “If I go make a record right now, this fucking lame breakup will pay for the rest of your life.” So he started writing and recording, RJ eventually spending three days talking back to the songs with his steel. It was like Blood on the Tracks, had it been made in a Motel 6.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe whole saga is within these songs. It starts with “Stalks,” the opener that toggles between flirty and frustrated, as if Caspian is trying to make it all last just a little longer while knowing he will fail. Devilish and moaning, RJ’s steel walks the same twisting line. Caspian howls out happier memories and current moans during “When We First Met,” a shout-out-loud joiner about the way couples go everywhere and come together in the blissful and lusty early days, a high water mark that they’ll never sustain. It’s a song about being drunk and sad and lonely because you remember the past, RJ weeping there alongside him through the steel—you have felt this way, too, right? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Be an Angel” is Twisted Teens’ way of saying don’t think twice, because it’s all right, a bleary-eyed dismissal that hinges on one damning question: If it was going to end this way, why did I know you so long, anyway? (Here’s an official hat tip for The Stanley Brothers lyrical homage, by the way.) “I Spend My Time Crying” is “There’s a Tear in My Beer” for a world where men are less coy with their emotions. Caspian saddles up to the bar and tells the bartender to keep it coming, because he wants to forget rather than have fun. This isn’t entertainment; this is real life. He squeezes four stages of grief into these three minutes, trying his best to find his way to the fifth one but failing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaspian’s disappointment isn’t confined to the lost relationship, either. “Lock and Key” is a classic tale of a so-called friend who found it easier to cooperate with the cops than share his slice of the consequences. It’s an anti-snitch anthem, a blown-out slab of righteousness that would have fit on some Yazoo compilation about outlaws and street justice. All of this disappointment funnels down into “Darker the Night the Brighter I See,” the brilliant and broken closer that will frighten you about life’s dark prospects in the same way Blind Willie Johnson did 99 years ago. “More that you see, the darker it goes,” Caspian sings, some friends howling and taunting like a Greek chorus of ghosts behind him. “It’s darker now than it used to be\/That’s the brighter I see.” It is abyssal, a slippery slope leading permanently to the opposite of acceptance. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite all these woes, Holy Cross Tigers weirdly has this cumulative sense of radiance, a feeling of reflected light that pushes against the sadness of these subjects. This feels, instead, like the kind of folk Alan Lomax might have documented or Harry Smith might have collected—a few friends sharing the burdens of life with one another, the results inherently strange and even ecstatic because they are operating by their own rules, rules they have discovered and implemented only for themselves. Holy Cross Tigers is the fourth Twisted Teens album but the first that feels immediately and entirely relatable. It is a blown-out transmission from the lip of heartbreak, a place where even the lucky have been and from which they have hopefully returned. That is, it sounds an awful lot like the truth. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted Teens","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":43142557925472,"sku":"717550","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":43142557958240,"sku":"717552","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":43142557991008,"sku":"717554","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":43142557892704,"sku":"717556","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/TwistedTeens_HolyCrossTigers_Mockup_LP_2000x1417_9eac82f9-a432-4781-b71d-dd533d652455.jpg?v=1788998153"}],"url":"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/collections\/pre-orders\/the-album-leaf.oembed","provider":"Sub Pop Mega Mart","version":"1.0","type":"link"}