I recall the first time I heard Stephen Steinbrink. I caught the final few songs of his set at one of What The Heck Fest’s final years. The song was “Breath of Fire” off his 2009 LP Ugly Unknowns. Such a pleasant, poppy sound: I thought this a little strange coming from someone who so fit in with the lo-fi weirdness of the Anacortes crowd. Read More »Out Now: Stephen Steinbrink’s “Arranged Waves”
FensePost is excited to premiere a few new tracks from the latest compilation by Portland, OR and Olympia, WA lo-fi label Antiquated Future. The release, Well, I Don’t See Why Not: Volume 4 (Preorder here) is out tomorrow and will feature tracks from mostly unknown, under-appreciated artists. Read More »FensePost Premiere: Antiquated Future Releases “Well, I Don’t See Why Not: Volume 4” Tomorrow
I must admit, I was quite sad to hear that What The Heck Fest, an über indie music festival in Anacortes, WA, was coming to an end after ten years. While I had only attended a few, I caught a many great acts at the event, including The Hive Dwellers and Stephen Steinbrink. Good news: The Anacortes Unknown Music Series is gearing up to take its place. Read More »Coming Soon: The Anacortes Unknown Music Series #2
Deep synth lines open “Make It Known”, contradicting lightly with a 70s rock percussion, guitar and bass. Then the vocals hit with a hint of soul. This is not your standard indie rock group; their influences span wide and far, making Foxygen one of the more unique and interesting new artists to surface of late.
Read More »Foxygen: Make It Known 
Olympia bands Letters (who we’ve covered several times before) and Poppet have released a new split cassette tape, and they sent me a copy to enjoy. Being that I don’t get too many cassettes, I figured it was time again for a Cover Art piece. Read More »Letters / Poppet Split Cassette Tape
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)
Olympia band Lake returns this year with a new album called Giving And Receiving. If you like what you heard from their past few releases, including the phenomenal Let’s Build A Roof from 2009, you’ll dig this one. It has a pleasant mix of upbeat pop songs and chill mellow ones. “Within/Without” finds somewhat of a middle ground, with a slightly funky beat and their nice signature male/female harmony vocals. Read More »Lake: Within/Without [Video]
I instantly fell in love with Lake upon first hearing them open for Microphones and Karl Blau at the final show of Anacortes’s cherished Department Of Safety. That I hadn’t heard them before was the shocking item, being they share a hometown with K Records and also release their albums on the label. Lake’s dreamy psychedelic pop flirts with subtle breezes and forested hills. The harmonies put on display by Eli Moore and Ashley Eriksson mold perfection beyond its previous benchmark. Read More »Lake: You Are Alone b/w Higher Than Merry [Single Review]
Throw Calvin Johnson into the mix, and, no matter what situation presents itself, it’ll always be a little awkward. That might come out wrong, but it shouldn’t. He is, in all aspects of the word, cool. When I saw him front The Hive Dwellers at the Anacortes What The Heck? Fest (the above photo was taken there by yours truly), I was again thoroughly impressed with just how cool Johnson could be. So seemingly uncool that it’s gone full circle; there’s no one cooler.
Read More »The Hive Dwellers: Get In [mp3] 
A full two years ago, I raved about a little band from Olympia called Letters. Their music featured simple melodies played by complex and unique instruments. Vocals, too, focused on patters that caught the ear and pulled a listener in. It was this combination of elements that made them so intriguing. And intriguing they were, are and will likely continue to be as we speed forward into the future. Their latest effort is simply titled “A Free Sampler” and, true to their nature, it includes plenty of grit and catch, an abundance of lo-fi and pomp, and just enough spacer interludes to make the listener question. Read More »Letters [Feature]
