Mire Kay: So You Learned (Video)
I’ve always found the cello to be a haunting instrument, filled with sadness and mystery. You hear that in Mire… Read More »Mire Kay: So You Learned (Video)
Built Like Alaska: In Troubled Times (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)
Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing (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)
Solander: Flight (Video)
Solander is a Swedish folk-pop trio that creates mystically beautiful songs. Their latest is called “Flight” and it is just as pleasant and sad as the band’s prior work (you can hear tracks dating back to 2009’s “Looking For Gold”, which we raved about, on bandcamp). Solander handed “Flight” over to Iris Piers for a video and the result is ethereal and dream-like with amazing color and fantastic footage. Read More »Solander: Flight (Video)
Savaging Spires: Bending The Rules Of Time MP3
There is a tribal element to the music of Savaging Spires. Tribal not in the sense of native music, but one more along the lines of tUnE-YarDs or Norwegian Arms. “Bending The Rules Of Time” is an audible vision quest, packed with peyote-inspired chant-like harmonies, an array of non-traditional instruments performed in what could be an impromptu campfire session held by the musically insane. Read More »Savaging Spires: Bending The Rules Of Time MP3
PAPA: I Am The Lion King MP3
PAPA is the side project of Girls’ drummer Darren Weiss and their music fits well with the chill California sound of Weiss’ other band. “I Am The Lion King” is a track off the band’s new EP, A Good Woman Is Hard To Find. You can hear the track below; it has an edge to it, but it’s laid back. Laid back like you’d expect from a late August/early September anthem. It hints of the beach and summer. And, after listening to the entirety of the new album, I find it pretty easy to say that — albeit very good — it’s definitely not the best track on the EP! Read More »PAPA: I Am The Lion King MP3
A New Plan
Summer is a time for fun, basking the sun, and enjoying good company. It’s winter, when things get quiet, that reflecting on the past and what’s to come is supposed to take place. Yet for the past few months Andi and I have been reflecting on society, life, and what it truly means to be happy. And we have decided to downsize tremendously to achieve our goals of a less burdened life; less burdened by things, stuff, and debt. Read More »A New Plan
Letting Up Despite Great Faults: Teenage Tide (Video)
For me, Letting Up Despite Great Faults has always evoked a sense of youthful bliss, carefree and unburdened by the trials of life, and elevated by the prospect of new love. These feelings are, frankly, what could only be described as beautiful. The band has returned with a new video for the song “Teenage Tide” and, like that of “Our Younger Noise”, it has a young playfulness about it. It is very present; in the moment.
Read More »Letting Up Despite Great Faults: Teenage Tide (Video)John Craig & The Weekend: Numbers (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)
Shiny And The Spoon: Ferris Wheel (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)
