When Wolf ParadeaE™s sophomore release, At Mount Zoomer, arrived in the mail a couple of months ago, I was so afraid of how it would hold up to 2005aE™s utterly brilliant Apologies to the Queen Mary that I couldnaE™t even listen to it right away. Thankfully, I got over that and dove into what is easily one of my favorite records of the year. Wolf Parade plays SP20, 8:20 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA My Father’s Son.

Kinski is a wet dream for space-rock and psych-garage aficionados. Intense, explosive, and menacing when the rough-and-tumble guitar tempests strike, the band is equally capable of creating absolutely ethereal, restrained beauty. Occasionally, both elements are featured in the same song. Kinski plays SP20, 2:40 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA Punching Goodbye Out Front.

Helio Sequence has been with Sub Pop for four years despite a history that goes back nearly a decade (or longer). ItaE™s nearly impossible to categorize their sound, between the electronic tinges, pedal effects and eerie acoustic songs. ItaE™s a unique, fluid sound thataE™s surgically rhythmic. However itaE™s depicted, one thingaE™s certain–itaE™s well thought out, hard worked-for, and all their own. Helio Sequence plays SP20, 3:20 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

When you’re going to make the deep and atmospheric kind of music English sweeties Foals do, it’s good to have a sense of humor about yourselves. These self-described aEœsnotty art school drop outs hungry for the dollaraE greet you on their Myspace page with the stoner phrase aEœwake and bake,aE which serves as clue they aren’t going to be as gloomy as some of their art rock, post-punk brethren. Foals play SP20, 3:20 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA Balloons.

Back in them early aE™90s, a lot of rock critics tagged Seaweed as grunge, simply because they recorded for Sub Pop. No doubt the Tacoma outfit grooved with an unrefined force native to the Pacific Northwest. Yet Seaweed should be worshipped by every Hot Topic dork out there for pioneering a fusion of pop punk, hardcore and emo that all their platinum-clad heroes shamelessly mimic nowadays. Seaweed plays SP20, 2:40 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA One Out of Four.

LOW (L-R: Matt Livingston, Mimi Parker & Alan Sparhawk)photographed in Brooklyn, NY on December 6th, 2006MUST CREDIT: Tim Soter

I didnaE™t aEœgetaE No Age at first. But all it took was one day of gleaming sunshine here in our drippy Northwest corner and the band clicked with me. ItaE™s no wonder I didnaE™t get them at first: No Age is very much an L.A. band interested in sounding like where they are from. And in these times, when itaE™s normal for a Seattle band to sound like a bunch of Northern Californians, No AgeaE™s uber-localism is a welcome trait. No Age plays SP20, 4:40 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA Eraser.

Shortly after the release of 2006aE™s Avatar, Comets on Fire went on aEœindefinite hiatus.aE But these divergent paths were what kept the Comet flame burning all along, and the fact that theyaE™ve spent time away from each other should translate into them being even more fired up. Add that to the celebratory nature of the weekend and their set should be like one great blast of hallucinogenic spray across the sky. Comets on Fire play SP20, 6 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA The Antlers of the Midnight Sun.

Runs in my mind that Red Red Meat was the only band signed to Sub Pop on the strength of an unsolicited demo. I could be wrong, but as I was just going back and listening to their 1993 debut for the label, Jimmywine Majestic, I was reminded of what a powerhouse combo they were. For those of us who dig CalifoneaE™s avant blues rags, seeing Red Red Meat will be like seeing that concept in its infancy. Red Red Meat plays SP20, 5:20 p.m., Sun., July 13.

If Sub Pop can lay claim to anything from the early aE˜90s heyday, it was that they successfully shoved aEœuglyaE into the international spotlight. Though the label has continued to sign bands largely made up of hairy brutes, no band embodies that early spirit of knuckle-dragging-unwashed-working-class-dudecore better than Pissed Jeans. Pissed Jeans play SP20, 4 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA I’ve Still Got You (Ice Cream).

One of Sub PopaE™s newest recruits, Fleet Foxes has thus far lived up to the labelaE™s legendary status in the greater Seattle area. With extensive ties to the Emerald City, the band encompasses the Northwest experience with Zen ideals and a close connection to nature that is evident throughout their music. Fleet Foxes play SP20, 4:40 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA White Winter Hymnal.

In the mid-’90s, there were pockets of teenagers around the country who ordered 7s by Sub Pop bands just because their names looked cool in the catalogue aE” and in those packages, there would undoubtedly also be a slab by Eric’s Trip. Who wouldn’t drop a few bucks on something by a band named for a Sonic Youth song? Clearly, it was going to rock. EricaE™s Trip plays SP20, 2 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA Eyes Shut.

The Vaselines, the short-lived late aE˜80s Glasgow band, built around Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, may not have been well-known to the world in the brief time they were creating joyously disaffected and rebellious pop songs together. But thankfully there was Kurt Cobain, who later turned millions onto The Vaselines through Incesticide and Nirvana Unplugged. The Vaselines play SP20, 7:40 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA Dying For It.

Though theyaE™ve only been signed to Sub Pop for a little over a year, Grand Archives have been making a lot of noise. Good noise. Though the Emerald City is generally accepted to be a gloomy place most of the time, youaE™d never know that from hearing the band’s music. Luckily, things are looking a little brighter these days — in politics and the skies — so their music just feels right. Grand Archives play SP20, 1 p.m., Sun., July 13. Listen to the band’sA Torn Blue Foam Couch.

It seemed like the world would be so sweet and pure if only musicians had a sense of humor. And then the world blessed us with Flight of the Conchords. Flight of the Conchords plays SP20, 9:20 p.m., Sat., July 12. Listen to the band’sA Business Time.