Sub Pop Records: 30 Years, 30 Tracks

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Bonus Tracks

We had trouble cutting ourselves off at 30, so here’s a selection of other favorite, under-the-radar Sub Pop tracks.

R-1026493-1320606285.jpegSoundgarden – “Nothing To Say”

from Screaming Life EP (1987)

Released through the Sub Pop imprint before it was officially established as a proper label, Soundgarden’s Screaming Life EP showed an early glimpse of a raw talent that’d end up becoming one of the biggest names in grunge, and for that matter, in rock music as a whole. This track showcases the heaviness and intensity of the band at their proper grungiest, moving slowly and sludgily, more in line with Seattle contemporaries like Melvins than the rock gods they’d become. Which is to say it kicks ass. – Jeff Terich


R-2858427-1461414860-1756.jpegPlexi – “Forest Ranger”

from Cheer Up (1996)

It’s doubtful many readers remember this one—it’s not even on Spotify (listen to it here)—likely due to the fact that Atlantic Records reissued the album after Sub Pop’s initial release and then it went out of print shortly thereafter. But L.A.’s Plexi, only representative of the mid-’90s Los Angeles post-Jane’s Addiction scene in their visual appeal, were a few years too early for the post-punk and shoegaze revival, of which they did both superbly. “Forest Ranger” has all the gloom of The Chameleons and the guitar squeal of Swervedriver, which feels like a missed opportunity in that Turn on the Bright Lights became indie’s biggest thing just a half-decade later. Sure, the lyrics are nonsense (“Just like Che Guevara, I’m a forest ranger”), but damned if this isn’t a glorious piece of mid-’90s noise-goth. – Jeff Terich


1537767Modest Mouse – “Never Ending Math Equation”

(1998)

Originally released as part of Sub Pop’s singles club in 1998, Modest Mouse’s “Never Ending Math Equation” is a should-have-been hit later featured on 1999’s Building Nothing Out of Something compilation. Released in the wake of The Lonesome Crowded West, “Never Ending Math Equation” hints at the existentially-bent speculation found on The Moon & Antarctica, while quintessentially capturing Isaac Brock’s thoughtful rumination on spiraling and isolation. It’s a live staple and stellar deep cut—a trivia piece and hidden gem buried in Sub Pop’s immense singles catalogue. – Patrick Pilch


1317424Rosie Thomas – “Lorraine”

from When We Were Small (2002)

Michigan-born chanteuse Rosie Thomas attracted the attention of Sub Pop in 2002 when she performed with Damien Jurado’s “Parking Lot” in 2000. They may have thought that they were signing a quiet songwriter with a voice as warm and smooth and natural as any you would ever hear, but what they got was so much more. Thomas moonlights as a comedienne, and she spices up her live shows liberally with humor, highlighted by her incongruously squeaky speaking voice. Listening to a song like “Lorraine” from her debut When We Were Small, you would have no idea what else Thomas is capable of. She out-Sarah-McLachlans Sarah McLachlan vocally, spanning different timbres in each Joni-Mitchell-like melody line. As lovely as that song—and any song sung by Thomas—is, it’s the full package that separates Thomas from her peers. – Chad Gorn


4352829Metz – “Wet Blanket”

from Metz (2012)

Canadian noise-rock trio Metz destroy without overcomplicating things. Highly influenced by ’90s-era bands like The Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu and Shellac while employing a hook-laden groove and their own gnarly layers of noise, Metz aren’t fucking around, but their not-fucking-around doesn’t mean they can’t have fun while they’re at it. “Wet Blanket” feels a little off from the get-go, the bassline weirdly bouncy before everything goes to hell. It’s all adrenaline for nearly four minutes, and tension like this never felt so good. – Jeff Terich


sub pop 30 years tracks MogwaiMogwai – “Wizard Motor”

from Les Revenants (2013)

Mogwai have become no strangers to soundtrack work in recent years, but back in 2012 it was relatively new ground for the Scottish post-rock legends. They’d provided a minimalist sonic backdrop to the superb Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and it was hardly a great leap to link the music they were making to film—as with much post-rock it’s always had a cinematic quality to it – but it wasn’t until the producers of Les Revenants came calling that they really cut their teeth. Asked to score the harrowing French drama detailing a town whose dead loved ones return from the grave unaware of their own death, Mogwai created a soundtrack that worked as a character of its own as it captured the eeriness, sorrow and beauty in the town’s struggle to come to terms with the events and their implications. Ultimately released as an album through Sub Pop, Les Revenants stands up as a superb record in and of itself and “Wizard Motor” is its essence in a microcosm. Measured and building organ chords slowly open the track, devastating in their simplicity and haunting throughout as they linger amongst the introduction of steady pounding drums and urgent overdriven guitar lines that envelop each other with power and grace. It’s decidedly restrained for a Mogwai song—the band recognizing their music isn’t center-stage here—but unsettling, sad and utterly beautiful, it’s a perfect reflection of the source material and deeply affecting nonetheless. – William Lewis


Pissed Jeans - HoneysPissed Jeans – “Bathroom Laughter”

from Honeys (2013)

Pissed Jeans, even 25 years into the label’s history and evolution, seemed to speak to the roots of Sub Pop more than most other bands on its current roster. Menacing, sarcastic, loud and obnoxious, the noise-rockers from Philly make the most of one chord on this slice of frazzled misanthropy. Ostensibly a song about a breakdown, Matt Korvette still finds a way to inject ironic humor into a person’s lowest moment: “You’re in the hallway screaming, you’re in the hallway screaming/People are trying to get by, but you’re screaming.” Scream along—it feels good! – Jeff Terich


Downtown Boys Cost of Living review Album of the WeekDowntown Boys – “Lips That Bite”

from Cost of Living (2017)

More than two decades after Six Finger Satellite, another Providence band found its way to Sub Pop’s roster. Yet Downtown Boys reflect a different sort of approach, featuring members from different backgrounds, representing an intersection of Leftist politics with Queer and Latinx experiences. Paired with production from Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, “Lips That Bite” finds the band making a politically-charged noise that converts through massive hooks, saxophone solos and sing-along choruses. It’s the band on Sub Pop’s roster right now that seems to speak loudest of the kinds of challenges that America faces while also reminding us that we can face them together—and with a killer soundtrack at that. – Jeff Terich

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