Oh February is the latest by Portland multi-lingual folk band Y La Bamba; it’s a six-song EP filled with harmonic female-fronted, male-backed vocals. Intricate as usual, Oh February has high influence from front-woman Luz Elena Mendoza’s Latin heritage paired with she and her bandmates’ indie-folk background. Read More »Y La Bamba: Oh February (Album Review)
Portland’s Y La Bamba returns Februar 28 with a new record called Court The Storm on Tender Loving Empire. The… Read More »Y La Bamba: Squawk
The merry men (and woman) are back! Jared Mees & The Grown Children somehow found time between touring the nation at an astonishing pace to record their fantastic new album, Only Good Thoughts Can Stay. It’s been almost three years since Jared and the gang shook the world with their acclaimed release Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money and they seem to have calmed a bit since. Their personalized brand of frenzied folk music has been shifted down a few RPM’s to create a less hectic sound. But, somehow, nothing is lost; a feat that should come as no surprise to the loyal fans who would follow Jared to Jonestown should he ask! Read More »Jared Mees & The Grown Children: Only Good Thoughts Can Stay (Album Review)
Early in May, the girlfriend and I drove out to the Pullman/Moscow area in Eastern Washington and Western Idaho. I love this drive, as you see so many distinct types of land, and the weather was near perfect. The reason for this tirade is that we must have listened to “The Honest Truth” by Typhoon about 30 times over that weekend trip. Read More »Typhoon: Summer Home MP3
Typhoon is an eleven piece ensemble band from Portland, OR. With their album Hunger and Thirst (produced with Portland’s incredible label Tender Loving Empire), they’ve garnered quite a bit of positive attention, none of it undeserved. Named for a Nietzsche thought, Typhoon create songs highly emotive and visceral in both structure and theme. Their music is an intelligently crafted exploration of what we feel and why we feel it. From beginning to end the album satisfies. Read More »Typhoon [Feature]
The music of Portland based band Y La Bamba is that of beautiful, intoxicating contrasts. Both parts calming and alarming, meditative and flippant, their songs weave the delicate web of a line between the joy and sorrow of being alive. I was fortunate enough to see them play in Pullman (alongside Buffalo Death Beam and Horse Feathers) this past week and could not have asked for a cozier winter night. Though the entire evening was satiating, the familial nature of Y La Bamba’s performance is really what struck me; how through the tone and composition of their songs we as an audience were asked not only to receive but also to give. Read More »An Interview with Y La Bamba’s Luz Mendoza
“Juniper”, off Y La Bamba‘s forthcoming record, Lupon, is a mystical and haunting display of beauty. Produced by Chris Funk… Read More »Y La Bamba: Juniper [mp3]
