After a certain airplane manufacturer and purveyor of java, Sub Pop Records just may be Seattle's most famous brand. And while they may not have given us the 747 or the Frappuccino, Sub Pop has delivered — and continues to deliver — great music. (Take a tour of the label's offices here.)
In fact, maybe the coolest aspect of the 20-year milestone that the label is marking with a two-day celebration in Redmond, Washington, this weekend is that its 2008 roster is one of its strongest ever. And no Sub Pop newbie has been talked about more in the past couple of months than Fleet Foxes. They are locals with a love of vocals — pastoral melodies and four-part harmonies — backwoods Beach Boys from the Pacific Northwest.
"I grew up in Seattle," explained Fleet Foxes' frontman Robin Pecknold, who was all of 2 years old when the label was born, "and for me growing up and listening to Sub Pop, it was Ugly Casanova and Beachwood Sparks, and the first Shins record. That was when I was, like, 14 or 15. But the earlier stuff, my knowledge of it I inherited through my older siblings, you know. And, I mean, Sub Pop's a total legend."