Sick Sad World

Olympia-born Seattle resident Jake Jones started Sick Sad World after leaving Christmas and Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat dan Singa. Instead of continuing to make heavier, more challenging music, Jones decided to make more stripped-down pop songs, armed with a drum machine, guitar, and four-track recorder. He assembled a performing lineup of Sick Sad World in 2012, and the group began gigging around Seattle, opening for Parquet Courts, Naomi Punk, and others. Jones recorded the debut Sick Sad World album, Fear and Lies, at Dub Narcotic Studio, recording hours of music by himself with the help of engineer Ben Hargett, then honing each song into a nugget of grimy, surfy noise pop. Help Yourself Records released the album in April of 2015. ~ Paul Simpson