In 2016 we celebrate our 20th anniversary with an incredible year of music! New albums from The Coathangers, Michael Nau, and Audacity, are out now and, the other day, Pitchfork announced the reissue of a lost, classic 7″ from Elliott Smith / Pete Krebs “Shytown b/w No Confidence Man.” We also announced reissues from Pedro the Lion, King Tuff, Modest Mouse / 764-Hero, Minus the Bear and These Arms Are Snakes. And there’s much more to come! A debut album from VHS, more reissues of long out of print classics, a Suicide Squeeze IPA courtesy of Fort George Brewery, two anniversary shows in Seattle and more!
Elliott Smith / Pete Krebs “Shytown b/w No Confidence Man” 7″
In 1994, Portland’s idiosyncratic punk pop group Hazel and hushed indie band Heatmiser were providing a less aggravated alternative to the big riffs and howling frontmen of their grunge peers in Seattle. Both bands had strong albums that helped highlight the diversity of Northwest’s rock scene, and both bands had guitarists that were dabbling in solo material. Heatmiser’s Elliott Smith had just released his critically acclaimed album Roman Candle, and Hazel’s Pete Krebs was preparing his debut for Cavity Search Records. It’s no surprise that the tiny burgeoning indie label Slo-Mo Records pounced on the opportunity to release a split 7” by these developing talents. Smith’s “No Confidence Man” is a classic example of his early, stripped-down heartbroken ballads while Krebs’ “Shytown” is a gorgeous acoustic number that deftly navigates between somber passages and the buoyant melodies he was known for in his work with Hazel. Long out of print, it’s Suicide Squeeze Records’ proud honor to repress the 7” as part of their 20-year anniversary celebratory series. “No Confidence Man” b/w “Shytown” is limited to 500 copies on opaque blue vinyl and 500 copies on opaque yellow. Additionally, the 7” features all new artwork by Grammy nominated designer Jesse LeDoux and includes a download coupon. Remixed by Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording Studio, Portland, OR. Tape transfers by Mr. Toad’s, SF, CA. Mastered by Roger Seibel atSAE Mastering, Phoenix, AZ.
All profits from the record will be donated to Outside/In, a Portland non-profit that provides services for homeless youth.
Modest Mouse / 764-Hero “Whenever You See Fit” 12″
The mid-‘90s were an interesting time in Seattle. The city had just experienced its brief period in the rock n roll limelight, but it was still a lonely outpost in a largely ignored corner of the United States. Touring bands were reluctant to make the trek up from San Francisco, or across the mountains from Denver, or from across the Great Plains from Minneapolis. There were barely any all-ages venues to play in town. Bands like Modest Mouse and 764-Hero helped fill the rainy void with a relentless schedule of writing and playing out. That creative thirst and no-one’s-watching mentality prompted a lot of artistic exploration and experimentation, a phenomenon best captured on the collaborative single “Whenever You See Fit”. Marrying Modest Mouse’s jagged blowouts with 764-Hero’s pensive songwriting, the track slowly came together over the course of a tour together, with the bands taking the stage together nightly and dueling over a few fleshed out chords. The resulting 15-minute marriage of sparse pop and guitar sturm-and-drang perfectly captured the wistful artistry and punk turbulence of Northwest indie rock at the close of the century. As part of their 20th anniversary celebratory series, Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer a vinyl repress of “Whenever You See Fit” with updated artwork by esteemed designer Jesse LeDoux. The 12” single—also featuring remixes by DJ Dynamite D and Scientific American on side B—is limited to 1000 copies on half blue and half yellow wax, includes a download coupon, and will be the first time the record has been available on colored vinyl.
Pedro the Lion “Progress” 2×7″
Pedro the Lion’s first full-length It’s Hard to Find a Friend and subsequent EP The Only Reason I Feel Secure cultivated a dedicated fanbase for songwriter David Bazan’s bittersweet melodies, somnambulist instrumentation, sparse arrangements, and introspective lyrics. When Pedro the Lion issued their second album Winners Never Quit, fans were challenged with a concept record with a heightened pulse, bolder guitars, and a long-form narrative that replaced Bazan’s trademark truncated parables. Any concerns that Pedro the Lion were heading into more turbulent waters were quelled by the Progress EP released by Suicide Squeeze Records three months later. “June 18, 1976”, a humble minor-key ballad that follows an unwed mother’s postpartum tragedy, harkens back to somber simplicity of earlier tracks like “Secret of the Easy Yoke”. Companion track “April 6, 2039” is a lush marriage of Pedro the Lion’s singer-songwriter predilections with newfound electronic components. The song would later turn up as “Progress” on the Control album. The CD version of the EP contained acoustic renditions of classics “Of Up and Coming Monarchs” and “Letter From a Concerned Follower”. As part of their 20th anniversary celebratory series, Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer a limited expanded vinyl repress of Progress containing all four songs from the CD version of the EP. The Progress 7” has also been given brand new gatefold packaging from esteemed designer Jesse LeDoux. The EP is limited to 1000 copies on pink-and-blue swirl vinyl and includes a download card.
Minus the Bear “Interpretaciones del Oso” LP
Minus the Bear’s sophomore album Menos El Oso was a significant departure from their debut full-length Highly Refined Pirates. The playful guitar-tapping, fluid production, and nostalgia-bating melodies were largely excised for air-tight drums, glitchy guitar samples, and an overall air that was more of a futurist interpretation of sepia-toned noir than their predecessor’s contemporary Polaroid romanticism. It was an album that already sounded like a dark, stuttering remix of their previous efforts. But Minus the Bear was still—in both spirit and instrumentation—a rock band, and those staccato riffs and dance beats practically begged to be re-examined from behind the producer’s console. So the band enlisted a team of underground remix artists to reinvent each of Menos El Oso’s eleven tracks. The resulting Interpretaciones Del Oso is a wild and imaginative ride through a dizzying array of sonic reconstructions. P.O.S. makes “Drilling” a club banger; FOG turns “Memphis & 53rd” into the kind of murky gloom churned out by reclusive black metalhead Xasthur; Dälek producer Oktopus transforms “The Game Needed Me” into a dreamy druggy daze; Battles’ Tyondai Braxton deconstructs “Fulfill The Dream” into a send-up of classic Warp Records IDM. As part of their 20th anniversary celebratory series, Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer a limited vinyl repress of Interpretaciones Del Oso on 1000 copies of Taos-colored vinyl with updated artwork, printed inner sleeves, and a download card.
These Arms Are Snakes “Tail Swallower & Dove” LP
Seattle’s art-core outfit These Arms Are Snakes never really fit in anywhere. Over the course of their 2003 debut EP they vacillated between epileptic fits of ‘90s DIY post-hardcore, woozy narcotic jam-outs, fortified classic rock riffage, and slow-churning cataclysmic dirges. The band continued on a path made even more confusing but undeniably invigorating by the jarring synth hooks and four-on-the-floor pulse of their first album Oxeneers and the prog-rock forays of their sophomore full-length Easter. When it came time to record their final album Tail Swallower & Dove, the band was less interested in charting out new territories and more focused on turning their myriad of approaches into one cohesive sound. From the chugging thrust and Heldon-esque breakdown of dueling synth and guitars on “Woolen Heirs”, to the jagged noise rock of “Red Line Season”, to the 8-bit sludge of “Lucifer”, to the climactic twang-and-crunch of side closers “Ethric Double” and “Briggs”, These Arms Are Snakes managed to retain their broad palette of sound while reigning it all in to a cohesive style that continues to defy categorization. As part of their 20th anniversary celebratory series, Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer a limited vinyl repress of Tail Swallower & Dove on 1000 copies of Renal Failure-colored vinyl with expanded gatefold artwork and a download card.
King Tuff “Wild Desire” 7″
Kyle Thomas’s work under the name King Tuff is a far cry from his primary gigs belting out stoner rock wails with Witch and conjuring lilting freak-folk with Feathers. With King Tuff, Thomas delivers no-nonsense, über-posi, guitar-driven pop. His 2008 album Was Dead was a hit among fans of jubilant, fuzzed out rock n’ roll, including the bigwigs at Sub Pop Records, who promptly snatched up King Tuff and Thomas’s related project Happy Birthday. While the world waits for King Tuff to whip out another full-length dose of righteous tunes, they can find temporary satiation with the two-song Wild Desire 7” on Suicide Squeeze. Both the title track and B-side “Hole In My Head” revel in the sound of guitar jangle and unmitigated stokedness cranked into the red. As part of their 20th anniversary celebratory series, Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer a limited repress of the Wild Desire 7″ on 500 copies of white vinyl with a download coupon.
This is not the same session IPA from 2014 – Fort George Brewery has remastered the recipe in a big, big way with a solid 7.2% ABV. Artfully cut like a 7” vinyl, *Special Edition pops with Mosaic, Amarillo, and Citra hops. Front loaded with organic 2-row barley and layered with deep cuts of specialty malt, Suicide Squeeze IPA presents the craft audience a balanced, full sensory experience.
On Friday, April 29th, Porchlight Coffee & Records in Seattle hosts the Suicide Squeeze IPA release party. Musician Michael Nau will be performing songs from his new LP, Mowing, for the first time in Seattle. Doors open at 7pm with music starting at 7:30pm. And join the after-party, with more Suicide Squeeze IPA *Special Edition on tap, at The Pine Box around 10pm.
Look for Suicide Squeeze IPA *Special Edition in 16-ounce four-pack cans and draft starting April 13th. Fort George Brewery is distributed exclusively in the Pacific Northwest.
