Hip-hop and indie-rock labels have a long and sometimes-frustrating relationship. Remember Matador’s ill-fated, overfunded rap adventure (featuring the Arsonists and Large Professor, among others)? Or how about Conor Oberst’s Team Love imprint and Mars Black?
Few of these projects were successful because indie-rock labels, for the most part, don’t know how to market to hip-hop fans. But that might change with the Saturday Knights. Based in Seattle, the happy-go-lucky trio mixes hip-hop and rock styles with panache reminiscent of Gym Class Heroes. (And no, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.) The group is signed to Light in the Attic Records, which heads might remember from its Free Design reissues a few years back, and released a well-received self-titled EP last year. Next up: the full-length.
The Saturday Knights’ Mingle is set to come out June 24. Guests include the Dap-Kings, onetime Soundgarden guru Kim Thayil, and producer Jack Endino (who worked on Nirvana’s Bleach). “Tapping deep into their creative skills and unprecedented personal charm, Mingle is a flawlessly fluid integration of vintage rock, lady-loving soul, and trailer park punk,” reads a press release for the album. If that sounds like your thing, then check out the track listing below.
- 1. “45”
- 2. “Count It Off”
- 3. “Dog Park”
- 4. “Foreign Affair”
- 5. “Mutt”
- 6. “Private School Girl”
- 7. “Motorin'”
- 8. “Patches”
- 9. “Surf Song”
- 10. “Nobody Beats Us”
- 11. “Ass Kicker’s Haircut”
- 12. “I Go”
- 13. “The Gospel”
www.thesaturdayknights.com
www.myspace.com/thesaturdayknights
