As Jeannine Koewler, one third of So Pitted, admits, the trio have been kicking around the Seattle scene for a long time without an official LP release: "I joined the band, over three years ago, and we are still playing the songs from that time." In those three years though, So Pitted, completed by Nathan Rodriguez and Liam Downey, have been building a cult following that landed them a full-length record deal with the legendary Sub Pop, a secret that they "didn’t tell anyone for a long time.." Well… sort of….

“It like leaked a little bit,” Jeannine awkwardly reveals, although apparently the news was implausible for some of the band’s fans. “Most people were like ”So Pitted, Sub Pop?! No” and then a year later they were like “Oh, Okay”.” Jeannine herself speaks about the early days of the band where they would joke that they would put out an album with their native city’s most famous independent label. However, now with their debut record officially released she describes the whole situation as “so surreal.”

It’s this official release that So Pitted have been longing for some time. “It’s nice to finally have something official. This is the first legit thing that is coming out.” Jeannine herself is excited for one thing in particular: “I’ve never been able to play any of our music on my phone because it won’t sync because I don’t have a computer but now it is exciting to finally be able play my music on Spotify so that my friends can listen to it.”

This ability to share music freely with others is something that Jeannine is passionate about, which I find out later when the conversation turns to touring: “I love free shows and I wished that all shows were free and that everyone just bought merch instead. There are some free shows on this Europe tour which is awesome.” This takes me by surprise, as I thought that the band would be looking to make a name for themselves with bigger shows rather than free ones. However, this lack of conformity is something that Koeweler reminds me is central to the band: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously. That’s something that bums me out about music that you have to follow this formula to be successful but we just like to do what we want and it seems like people liked it and it helps that we like each other.”

Just be listening to the way Koeweler describes her band-mates suggests that they are a really tight unit: “The other two are just both so weird and super freaky, I love hearing what they gotta say and I think the three of us freak people out.” The freakishness she is referring to becomes increasingly noticeable in both the band’s audio output, aesthetic appearance and question responses with nearly every piece of information more unpredictable than the last.

When asked about musical taste and influence upon her sound, Koewler blurts out: “I am into everything, I really love Justin Bieber, it’s not even his new music, I have always loved Justin Bieber,” before going on to defend the presence of pop music in her listening habits. “I guess there’s a weird stigma that if you like cool music you can’t like pop music, which is bullshit. Just ‘cos everyone likes it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

Personally, when I listened to ‘neo’, I found it hard not to compare some tracks, such as ‘feed me’ to old school Nine Inch Nails, an observation which excites Jeannine. “We love Nine Inch Nails. We`d love to open for Nine Inch Nails. I created an Instagram account for my Nine Inch Nails bag but I deleted it, I used to just take pictures of my bag.” It’s this honesty and optimism that adds yet another level of mystery to the ever-strange So Pitted. Despite the aggressive and warped sound, Jeannine is happy to be herself and talk about what she is interested in, including astrology.

“I’m a Pisces, Liam is a Gemini and Nathan’s a Leo and I don’t really know how the three of those go together.” She goes on to explain that it was a huge chance that the band members even ended up meeting. “I think it’s like divine intervention like the big decisions we made, there were so many opportunities for us not to meet but we did. I met Nathan at my first job in Seattle and I could have chosen anywhere else.”

It’s here that I manage to get something off my chest which I have been wanting to ask for the whole interview. I mention the surfer meme where the band name comes from and I can almost hear Jeannine’s eyes roll through the phone. “I get sent the video all the time, and everyone is like ‘So Pitted’ and I’m like, do they think that I don’t know?!”

Koewler is clearly happy with the band’s name situation and comments, “it’s good that people can attach a happy feeling to our band.” May the happiness continue.

So Pitted’s excellent debut LP, ‘neo’, is out now on Sub Pop. The group will headline several shows throughout the UK this week before returning to Europe.

MARCH
08 LEEDS Brudenell Games Room
09 BRIGHTON The Green Door Store
10 LILLE, FRANCE La Peniche
11 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Homepluged
12 BERLIN, GERMANY West Germany
15 – 20 AUSTIN, TX SXSW Festival