Orca Team is Seattle’s answer to twee-ish post-punk beach pop, and they prove it with their new HHBTM Records 7-inch single. Title track “Take My Hand” is packed with a 60s-pop bass, a jangly guitar, reverb-soaked vocals, and hefty stomping drums with plenty of cymbal rides. Read More »Orca Team: Take My Hand EP (Album Review)
First hearing “Endless Summer” a few months back, it may have been slightly difficult to understand what Sub Pop saw in their new signee, Still Corners. Granted, the song is very good, but it alone fails to demonstrate the sheer power this band holds. That power is conveyed throughout Still Corners’ debut Sub Pop LP, Creatures of an Hour. Read More »Still Corners: Creatures of an Hour (Album Review)
There’s nothing like the joy felt in realizing an artist sounds just as good live as they do on a… Read More »Figurines: Five Songs Recorded Live At Vega, Copenhagen (Album Review)
Six years is how long it has been since we’ve heard anything from coastal rural California band Built Like Alaska… Read More »Built Like Alaska: In Troubled Times (Album Review)
There are very few certainties in life. With the economy in a downfall, natural disasters coming from all angles, and the earth slowly warming, it is very easy to become weary about any sort of regularity in this world. But, there is are two certainties you can always count on: 1) you are going to get older and 2) Blitzen Trapper is going to release an album that just gets better and better. Both of these have inevitably happened this year. And however you feel about Number 1, you should be very excited about Number 2. Eric Earley and Company have brought us their 4th album, American Goldwing, just in time for us to remember what is actually cool about living in America. Read More »Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing (Album Review)
Eclectic pop music and Portland seem to go together like coffee, cigarettes, and Sartre. The branding itself really seems like a rationalization by critics, press gurus, and bloggers alike who can’t seem to fit an artist into a category. And this is probably where an act like the Portland (and the rest of Oregon) based John Craig & The Weekend come into play. And it is suffice to say that this is truly a wonderful characteristic by nature. Versatility is a virtue that should be exploited more often. Read More »John Craig & The Weekend: Numbers (Album Review)
You might remember a piece about folk artists Shiny and the Spoon we ran in April of last year. With more than a year having passed and a new autumn season upon us I am excited to once again have the opportunity to write about the duo’s latest album Ferris Wheel. Read More »Shiny And The Spoon: Ferris Wheel (Album Review)
Clarity is an odd thing. Subjective and open to interpretation. There is clarity behind the vocals of Denise Nouvion, contrasting… Read More »Memoryhouse: The Years EP (Review)
Bill Callahan’s latest LP, Apocalypse, is a difficult one to grasp. Such is the nature of Bill Callahan, whose music has always (even under Smog) been a bit on the fringe. Rarely do we pull from other reviews, but it must be noted that Pitchfork pointed out the contradictory nature of Callahan’s music — and it’s true. Apocalypse is delicate, but it’s rough around the edges. It’s sweet but brutal. A throwback to the old style of folk, almost Americana, but with a modern experimental folk twist. Introspective but sociological. Minimal but plush with detail. Calming but alarming. Read More »Bill Callahan: Apocalypse (Album Review)
Letters return to that sound I loved so much from their earliest release on their latest album, All The Adventures… Read More »Letters: All The Adventures To See Them I Will (Album Review)
