sub pop records

There are a lot of people out there who know what punk rock is but have no idea how to explain it to a novice or an outsider. It would seem simple enough to define it as “three-chord teenage rebel music,” but what about all those songs that have four or more chords? Or all […]

Welcome to Alternative Press’ selection of the 1980s’ 11 best punk drummers. One key factor happened that changed it, and the character of its musicianship: hardcore. ‘70s punk posited that Anyone Could Do It. While this was true on paper, some degree of basic musicianship was required to make truly great punk rock. This was […]

1997: All media is declaring the alternative–rock explosion—for which Nirvana lit the fuse—over. This means the commercial pop-punk wave Green Day touched off was over in their eyes, too. That selfsame media could not have been more wrong. Green Day had just issued their fifth album, Nimrod. The Offspring, the band who made the catchphrase […]

Foo Fighters fans—and fans of Dave Grohl in general—know that he’s a big fan of the cover song. Fact is, Nirvana had a thing for covers, too, especially ones that their raucous audience wouldn’t, and couldn’t, see coming from a second stage away, never mind a mile. Hell, once Nirvana even dug deep into the […]

Alternative rock still dominated popular music in 1993. This obviously begged the question of just how “alternative” something was if it was now on a major label and on the radio. Not necessarily a bad thing. After all, we’d never have to hear Whitesnake again. Bottom end and distortion returned to rock record-making in a […]

The ’90s were chock-full of absolute icons, and no, we’re not referring to the Princess Diana Beanie Baby or JNCO jeans when we say that. From Nirvana to *NSYNC, pop and grunge ruled the airwaves. However, it seems like some women-fronted acts don’t get nearly enough credit for all of their contributions to the music […]

The mood of 1992: “We won!” Nirvana’s Nevermind sold by the truckload hourly. All anyone could talk about was alternative rock and grunge. Record biz execs walked around that spring’s SXSW convention in Austin in floppy, artfully unwashed hair, just-purchased flannel shirts and ripped jeans. You’d pass a line of them in the parking lot […]

When Evergreen State College student Bruce Pavitt began his Subterranean Pop fanzine in the early ’80s, covering American independent bands and recordings, he had no idea he would virtually invent an entire rock genre. He was just looking to earn a course credit at the freewheeling Olympia, Washington, higher education outlet. But the ‘zine had […]

While most people associate Nike with basketball and hip-hop culture, they’ve taken inspiration from the extreme aesthetics of punk and metal, too. Sure, the Air Jordan 1 is the most recognizable shoe due to the mass association with rappers, but the company has been linked with metal for a long time. Look at any photo […]

Michael LaVella has been an active participant in America’s underground music scene most of his life. Starting as a member of Pittsburgh’s first hardcore bands (Real Enemy, Half Life), LaVella moved to the Bay Area in the late ’80s to assist with the crucial punk zine Maximum Rocknroll, work for the label Man’s Ruin and […]

Dum Dum Girls Too True Throughout the course of two albums and a slew of EPs, Dum Dum Girls have established themselves as the missing link between retro-minded garage-rockers (e.g., the Raveonettes) and darker, girl-group-oriented acts (e.g., Vivian Girls). However, Too True is a marked departure from the Los Angeles band’s past work: Although produced […]

UK band THUMPERS have signed with Sub Pop Records, after touring across Europe with CHVRCHES. The alternative pop band who have released two polished, instrumentally layered singles will be releasing Galore, their first album with Sub Pop, on February 11. Stream the title track below:

The Obits have announced their third album, Bed & Bugs, will be released September 10, 2013 via Sub Pop Records. The album will be released on CD, LP and will be available digitally.  You can pre-order the album here. The band also released the track listing for their album, artwork, tour dates and a trailer for the record. Check […]

Beach House Bloom Baltimore duo Beach House are the very definition of subtle: Victoria Legrand’s ethereal, breathy wail floats above organ-and-keyboard-embroidered indie pop which burns slowly, not brightly. Their fourth album, Bloom, doesn’t possess as many memorable hooks (or as many well-defined song structures) as their last album, 2010’s Teen Dream. As a result, the […]

No Age has announced a run of spring tour dates in which they'll be road-testing some new material. Check out the itinerary below. The band last released Everything In Between in 2010 via Sub Pop. 03-08 Middletown, CT – TBA, Wesleyan University 03-09 Bennington, VT – Student Center, Bennington College 03-10 Waltham, MA – Chums […]

Fleet Foxes have revealed that their second album, Helplessness Blues, is due out May 3 and will accompany a tour in North America, the UK and Europe. Tour begins April 30 in Vancouver and wraps up in London, England.   Tickets will be available for online purchase beginning February 1 at 9 AM Pacific time.  The […]