Banquet Years is the third EP in a digital-only series of releases by Seattle-by-way-of-Austin’s Jon Rooney, the Virgin Of The Birds mastermind and proprietor of Abandoned Love Records. The album, containing five songs, finds Rooney further expanding his capabilities and musicianship. Opening track “Let Me Be Your Bride” demonstrates his folk-versatility, from the 60s-era bass guitar bop to the borderline experimental tinkering on the keys. Not to mention, the wicked guitar-work radiating in emotive psychedelic hypnosis.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Jordan Michelman, who was a primary songwriter and the superb bassist in the now (and sadly) defunct Patience Please. A few years rest and he’s back with The Mill Kids. Michelman recently released the band’s debut album on Subtle Slope Records. The Mill Kids are uniquely original in that they possess the ingenuity of Elliott Smith, blend in the mopey vocal styling of artists like Conor Oberst and Owen, and top it off with the simple lo-fi genius of …

As one of the few individuals to own a copy of Ugly But Honest, You Should Be At Home Here and Songs About Leaving by Carissa’s Wierd (sic), let alone ALL THREE, including their super-duper rare tour album, Scrap Book, it’s only with a hint of sadness that I relay to you the news that Hardly Art will reissue all three of the band’s proper albums. But the probable decline in value of rarities is far below the excitement I have for all the world who has yet to …

Has it really been two years since I was last at SXSW? Time sure does fly! The festival is back and likely crazier and more sponsored than ever. And I’m only slightly jealous of all the fun thousands of people will have as they descend upon Austin. I had some good times at SXSW ‘07 and ‘08, from working with the folks at The Current from Minneapolis to witnessing the joint Hootenanny production at Lovejoy’s sponsored by Three Imaginary Girls and Magic Marker Records (above photo …

Music based solely around acoustic guitars is so often slapped with the “simple” label, that one tends to associate the term with all artists that base their music solely around that particular instrument. Acoustic folk-pop artist Thousands prove that’s a fallacy. His melodies are as intricate and complex as the vocal patterns the band mixes in on The Sound Of Everything. Thousands is Seattle duo Kristian Garrard and Luke Bergman, and together they make some of the best acoustic music you’ll hear west of the Rockies. …

With an album title like They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them, Seattle’s Post Harbor is, in a way, exactly what you’d expect. Blending a modern post rock sound – that ever-loved epic fight between soft and loud – with the sensibilities of indie rock circa the mid- to late-90s, the album opens with instrumental “Ponaturi” before sneaking into a similar sound with “Cities Of The Interior”. It’s a surprise when, roughly two-minutes into the song, vocals chime in melodic and nonthreatening; you don’t expect …

In music, ambiance is often associated with minimalism and drone; elongated monotonous notes, thundering across the vast atmosphere, or hiding in the dark murky oceanic depths. Vinca Minor encompasses this space. And contrary to many artists that fit the description, this band mixes in quiet echoing vocals. Isolation begins with the picturesque “From Here, Eternity” and, after a solid 16 minutes, fades into drone-heavy “Ignition”, masked in a melodramatic darkness, yet with the occasional ray of major-chord hope.

So last year I wrote a little post to introduce y’all to some sweet bands playing in the Cumulus Festival. As the second installment of the fest begins tomorrow, I figured I should do it again. After all, FensePost loves supporting local PNW bands and Cumulus Festival does a good job billing them to play.

At the precise moment Feral Children launches into “On A Frozen Beach”, the fifth track off their sophomore release Brand New Blood, the ferocious percussion kicks into gear. There’s a key element here: the percussion is lent by front-man and standing percussionist Jeff Keenan as well as a second drummer on the trap set. First hearing the song, I noted that it sounded as though the wild, feral side of the band had been contained to a degree. And that concept is fully realized in Brand New …

When I say that some of my favorite bands start with the letter V, I am not kidding. On FensePost, there are many reviews of Voxtrot—a near comprehensive collection of their recorded works. One band, however, that I list among my favorites (pre-Voxtrot) and that you have likely not seen or heard until now is Seattle’s very own Vells.