Indie Dispatches: Fat Possum Records is trying their best & succeeding; a look at the transformative label
Seattle's Youth Lagoon is among Fat Possums recent roster additions
There is no disguising that one of the most startling transformations in the indie label world over the last few years has been Fat Possum Records. Once a rather nondescript record label, based in Oxford, Mississippi, it started out releasing a selection of blues artists from their home region in the northern area of the southern state. The closest it came to the alterna-indierock axis at the time was with RL Burnside, through his connection with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. But in the last year or two, Fat Possum suddenly has become the ultimate in hipster-havens, with a virtual lock on Pitchfork and their best new music ratings. The roster of the indie now looks like a who’s who of the blog world, from Tennis, Yuck and the Smith Westerns, to Crocodiles and who could forget WAVVES, and for the most part Fat Possum have had more than respectable sales to back their status as a tastemaker. The roster keeps expanding too, with additions such as Band of Horses, whose latest album they released in conjunction with Columbia Records, the Odd Future affiliated Mellowhype, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and the label scored a coup this year by signing critically acclaimed UK band Spiritualized, with the Jason Pierce-led band’s first release for the label due in 2012. It seems like one crucial linkage between the old and the new, could have been their signing of The Black Keys early in the band’s career, providing a bridge between somewhat bluesier sounds and the modern rock world. Fat Possum has also stayed true to some of their traditional singer-songwriter/americana roots with The Felice Brothers and A.A. Bondy, and indeed has not abandoned the releases by a set of their more traditional, older, blue artists. But it seems where they truly excel now is with their skill in finding new artists, Youth Lagoon being the latest example, and tapping into the indie zeitgeist. Whatever the triggering factor (or individual) for the changes, all power to the label and its founder Matthew Johnson, for forging in a new direction, and kudos to them too for still retaining a home base in Mississippi. In some ways Fat Possum could be seen as emulating the fledging Atlantic Records label in the 60’s – spanning the old and the new, the traditional and the progressive, becoming the ‘go to’ place when it came to great new music. And while it may be a while before the indie can truly be mentioned in the same breath as the jewel created by Ahmet Ertegun, there is no argument that Fat Possum are making a good start.
- Cool Hand Luke
07.30.10Place Your Bets: The Shuffling Artist Deck at Majors and Indies
Weezer Going To An Indie For Next Release?
Who’s signing where, and what does it mean? Indie acts going to majors, major label artists aligning with indies, and both systems vying to nab the same unsigned bands… Looking back at recent months there is a veritable mixed bag. There are artists with a history of at least a few successful indie releases under their belts, like Band of Horses and Iron & Wine, who have recently made the jump to major labels, Columbia and Warner Bros. respectively, while other acts like Spoon and Arcade Fire seem to continually be content on indies… Elsewhere new act Surfer Blood appears to have already made the move to a major; just 6-months following the Kanine Records release of the band’s debut album, the group had racked up enough sales and touring numbers to garner serious interest from multiple labels… This while unsigned acts with no real sales or tour history like GroupLove and DOM, are currently being courted by both major labels and indies, seemingly so as to not miss out on what could be… What about the reverse trend? Not counting heritage acts, or the exhaustingly-debated pay-what-you-want path taken by Radiohead and NIN among others, one could point to recent examples in Interpol and Wilco as once major label artists now leaving for an indie (their own new label in the case of Wilco). But will there be more to come (or go, as it is)? Word on the street is that longtime Universal artist, Weezer, who released all seven of their previous studio albums on DGC and Geffen, are making a move to a big indie label for their next album. Hmmm… And finally where do the two now meet? A new project to watch unfold will be The Secret Sisters, who recently finished recording their debut with producers Dave Cobb and T-Bone Burnett. A large buzz is building with the news that the first single from the duo will be released via the Jack White helmed Third Man Records, with the full-length already slated to come out on Universal Republic this fall… Stay Tuned.
| Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Indie Dispatches: Columbia’s Horseplay & Remembering Ian Curtis
Band of Horses Release New Album 'Infinite Arms'
This week marks what will be another interesting case study in the annals of indie-artist-gone-major with the release of Band of Horses third full-length, Infinite Arms, the act’s first album on a major label. After two well-received and bestselling albums for Sub Pop, the former Seattle-based combo’s latest effort is out via Columbia Records. The question for many is whether they can achieve the same level of sales as their prior releases – both of which easily topped the quarter of a million mark on the legendary Northwest indie label. In making the switch, Band of Horses are following a similar path as former labelmate, James Mercer, who transitioned from Sub Pop to Columbia for his Broken Bells release. That album has seen healthy sales so far, but is it poised to out-strip the numbers The Shins sold? The jury is still out, but the history of indie rock is littered with tales of bands making the switch from independent label to the major label world, many times with damaging consequences. So will the new Band of Horses album embolden more indie bands to make the leap to major labels, or will it reinforce the grass isn’t actually greener attitude of acts like Spoon and Arcade Fire?
An altogether different milestone is this week’s 30 year anniversary of the untimely death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who committed suicide on the eve of the band’s US tour in 1980. Joy Division, of course, were a groundbreaking act. Recording for legendary UK indie Factory Records, they were a major influence for a host of maudlin rockers since. Their neo-gothic majesty has been a template for everyone from New York’s Interpol and UK acts like Elbow and The Editors, right up to current day favorites The National - whose new album High Violet just smashed into a #3 chart debut this week. Even three decades later, the argument could be made that the Manchester band’s run of singles from “Atmosphere” to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” remain unsurpassed through today.
And a final notable item for the week… Treats, the debut album from Sleigh Bells that was released last week on Mom & Pop Records, looks to have unexpectedly smashed into the top 40 chart. With no prior records this is quite an achievement for the Brooklyn duo, though maybe most significant is the fact that the sales were 100% digital – a physical release is slated for next month. Welcome to 2010 – it’s a different world out there…
-Cool Hand Luke
| Posted in Indie Dispatches, Uncategorized | No Comments »
In The Bin: What’s New This Week
AWOLNATION Comes Back From Earth
Here’s a quick look at some of the new releases hitting the physical and digital shelves this week… Audra Mae’s debut full-length The Happiest Lamb is out on SideOneDummy Records. The singer-songwriter just returned from a UK tour and is getting ready to start a North American run with Philadelphia’s Good Ole War… Infinite Arms, the highly anticipated third LP from Band of Horses drops today via the interesting label combo of the band’s imprint Brown Records along with the newly paired Fat Possum and Columbia Records… New EMI act Chiddy Bang releases their Opposite of Adults EP exclusively on iTunes this week, with a full-length expected next month. The EP features a sample-laden title track that recently caught fire in the UK – and you were worried there wasn’t going to be a MGMT summer jam this year… Brooklyn son Gordon Voidwell unleashes his Ivy League Circus single on 12″ vinyl, checkout a video promo on Ralph Lauren’s Rugby site, and AWOLNATION is Back From Earth…
| Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
| Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »