Seeing as how Record Store Day is today, Sound figured the time was right to take a look at some of the swag up for grabs. Sub Pop has certainly done its part, releasing a live album from Iron & Wine as well as four limited-edition seven-inch singles from Blitzen Trapper, Vetiver, Obits, and Flight of the Conchords. Read on for more details on the releases.
Blitzen Trapper: “War Is Placebo” / “Booksmart Baby”
Portland boys Blitzen Trapper have made a couple of old songs new with this release. Says Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper on the band’s forum:
Yo, the 7″ is a couple of older recordings, both rad songs: War is Placebo b/w Booksmart Baby. The A side was part of the abortive Waking Bullets record, B side was recorded as part of something Earley ended up calling “Wooden Dress and Dresser Set”, the same source as Going Down and Shoulder Full of You off the tour EP.
Along with the singles from Vetiver and Obits, only 1,500 copies of this single will be released. Blitzen Trapper won’t be back to the Northwest until April 22, when it plays the McDonald Theater in Eugene, then hits both Sasquatch and Pickathon in May.
Vetiver: “Wishing Well” / “Pay No Mind”
If you haven’t heard this San Francisco band’s February release Tight Knit , this seven-inch could be a great introduction. “Wishing Well” has the same sort of smooth-rolling vibe as many a great CCR jam. Anchored by a bouncy guitar riff and a feel-good attitude, this could be a perfect soundtrack to some of the lazy, first-taste-of-summer days we’ve been having in Seattle lately: mellow fare you can relax to on porch, grass, or stoop. B-side “Pay No Mind” adds some harmonica and piano to the mix. A little looser than “Wishing Well,” this gently-rollicking number drifts off into some charming instrumental sections that end up stealing the show.
Obits: “I Can’t Lose” / “Military Madness”
One of Sub Pop’s most recent signees, Brooklyn-based Obits plays rock in the vein of the Wipers - or so said Sound correspondent Chris Coyle in his review of Obits’ warehouse show in the ID in February. The band is fronted by Rick Froberg, formerly of Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes.
Flight of the Conchords: “Pencils In The Wind” / “Albi The Racist Dragon”
Fans of the bumbling New Zealand duo can now get their hands on a couple tracks from the HBO series that didn’t make it on Flight of the Conchords debut release. In “Pencils in the Wind,” Jermaine and Bret wax melodramatic, crooning about how “Love is like a roll of tape / It’s real good for making two things one” before hitting the chorus hard: “Brown paper / White paper / Stick it together with the tape / The tape of love.” On the B-side, “Albi The Racist Dragon” tells a cautionary fairy tale of sorts. The lesson? Racist dragon tears turn into rainbow-colored, racism-curing jellybeans. There will be only 3,000 of this limited release.
Iron and Wine: 2005 Woman King Tour 18-track live album
There’s no track listing for this one, but the title is pretty self-explanatory. Unlike the other offerings, this one will be on a CD (though with “extra cute packaging to make it look like a tiny 45,” says Sub Pop).
You can get your hands on these at all Sonic Boom, Easy Street, and Silver Platter locations, as well as at
a ton of other participating record stores throughout Washington.