Portland’s Faustina Masigat has a background in traditional music, having spent her college years studying and learning in a rigorous training program. It was when she left that behind, though, that the songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist was truly able to find her own voice. After a couple years of writing and reflecting, Masigat is preparing to share that voice with the wider world with her forthcoming self-titled debut album.
Ahead of the album’s release, Masigat has shared a new song, “Stay With Me.” A simply rendered love song, “Stay With Me” showcases Masigat’s delicate vocals, contemplative songwriting, and affection for the intimacy brought forth from a worn-out guitar or an imperfect take. Throughout the song, player Tucker Jackson answers Masigat’s voice with ethereal pedal steel.
“’Stay With Me’ was my attempt at writing a love song, in the very traditional sense,” Masigat says. “It was originally recorded as a duet, but over time it made less and less sense conceptually to have any vocals other than my own on the album. Ben Nugent, who mixed the record, encouraged me to keep the songs self contained in this way, to dig into that intimacy instead of obscuring it.”
For Faustina Masigat, Masigat enlisted Portland’s Ryan Lewis, Ben Nugent, and Timothy Stollenwerk to bring these new tunes to life in the studio. The album is out April 6th via Mama Bird Recording Co.
There is nothing like the sound of siblings singing together. With the release of I’m Alone, No You’re Not, the mesmerizing, hypnotic sound of the trio known as Joseph—made up of sisters Allison, Meegan, and Natalie Closner—joins this elite company.
“It’s just second nature, like a fifth limb that’s already on you,” says first-born Natalie. “There’s an ability to anticipate what’s going to happen and blend with it. When Meegan and Allison sing, they know exactly what I’m going to do and when.”
But the Closners didn’t actually start singing together when they were growing up in Oregon, the children of artistic parents (their dad was a jazz singer and drummer, their mom a theater teacher). Natalie was the performer—“the older sister who stood on the edge of the fireplace and told everyone, ‘Watch me!,’“ she says. Twins Meegan and Allison stayed out of her lane, joining in for their mother’s musical theater productions but otherwise avoiding the spotlight.
When Natalie was in college, she began pursuing music more seriously. The summer before her senior year, she went to Nashville to check out the scene and work on her guitar playing and songwriting. She had recorded an EP and done a few rounds of touring when a friend sat her down one day.
“It was kind of dramatic,” she says, “He took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you really believe in this.’ It stopped me in my tracks.” She thought deeply about the music she was making and had a curious epiphany; she decided to ask her sisters if they would consider singing with her.
Initially, they didn’t really get it. “We thought she was asking us to be background singers, so we didn’t take it that seriously,” says Allison. “It was more commitment than I was expecting—I even tried to leave at one point, but after a while, I was convinced.”
A transformation occurred when the Closners were in the process of recording their first album, Native Dreamer Kin. At the time, they were calling themselves Dearborn, but their producer felt that the name didn’t fit the strength of the music. They went to visit their grandfather Jo, in the eastern Oregon town of Joseph. Allison made a playlist for the trip and called it “Joseph,” which is what influenced the band’s name.
With this new sense of themselves, Meegan and Allison began taking a more active role in the group’s songwriting. Meegan notes that while the process was a “totally new journey” for her, it felt similar to the candor and vulnerability of her long-time journaling—just “pulling out the gold and arranging that into neater lines.”
She and Natalie both point to the song “Honest” as a keystone for the development of I’m Alone, No You’re Not. “We were trying really hard to write a song, but nothing was coming,” recalls Natalie. “One night, Meegan was working on some lyrics and getting frustrated, so she wrote in the margin of the page, ‘I can’t say a true thing. It’s hard to be that honest.’ Immediately after that, her most honest sentence spilled out—‘There’s always two thoughts, one after the other: I’m alone. No, you’re not.’ And she thought, ‘Oh, there’s the song.’ “
Meanwhile, the group was cultivating a devoted fan base in the most traditional ways possible: touring the Western states playing living room shows, backyard parties, and secret house party gigs; reaching an audience directly through such platforms as Noisetrade; selling their self-released CD and building a loyal following step by step. By the time they were approached by ATO Records, Joseph had already built a strong community of fans on its own.
As they moved toward making their second record, the project took an additional turn when the Closners decided to work with some other songwriters in Los Angeles. “We were afraid of it at first because the songs were more pop than we were used to writing,” says Meegan, “but as we internalized them, they started becoming super-important to us.”
They point to “More Alive Than Dead,” co-written with Ethan Gruska, as an example of these contributions. “That song describes an experience with a partner where you have hard things in your combined past,” says Natalie. “You’re haunted by them until you realize that those things are dead, and as long as you dwell on them, you’re missing the real live person in front of you.”
She adds, though, that Gruska was critical in clarifying and sharpening the nuanced emotion of the lyric. “When Ethan sent us back the demo, I lost it, He was able to see the heart of the song and bring it out, cut to the core of what I was trying to say.”
Finally, the women of Joseph recorded the album with acclaimed producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, First Aid Kit) at his studio in Omaha. He was able to open up their expansive, evocative vocal sound with powerful and striking arrangements, adding depth while highlighting their haunting intensity.
“This was our first time doing a recording like this,” says Natalie, “and we learned so much about creativity. Mike is a genius, and he’s just a total maniac as a musician, so he took these bare bones songs and brought them to life with lush, gorgeous textures and sounds.”
The initial reaction to the music on I’m Alone, No You’re Not has been remarkable. Joseph was selected as a #SpotifySpotlight artist, and booked for festivals including Bonnaroo, Pickathon, and Sasquatch even prior to the release of the single “White Flag,” a song inspired by an article predicting a massive earthquake for the Pacific Northwest.
“Reading that created a heaviness that was making us jumpy, scared, and miserable,” says Natalie. “It became clear we had two options: be scared and cowering, backing away from the world into paralysis, or keep moving and live. Defy fear. Wear peace. Find better ways to love the people in our lives instead of huddling together like frightened sheep thinking about earthquakes.”
Most rewarding for the Closner sisters has been feeling the audience response to the new songs, as they tour supporting such artists as James Bay and Amos Lee. “This is really when you learn what’s special about a song, or if it’s special,” says Natalie. “It’s this crazy firecracker thing that happens—‘Am I feeling something? Is anyone? What is this song, what does it do, which parts make the most sense?’
“It really is about connection with people, and we’re so grateful we’ve gotten the chance to do that. This has been a totally wild journey, and we’re constantly blown away with possibility of what could be.”
Friends. We know, we get it, 4 years and 10 days have gone by since we put a record out. 35280 hours. A. Fucking. Eternity. We’ve been growing, getting stronger, claws sharper. We wanted to give you our best. So here it is- WOODSTOCK, our ten finest. From us to you. Thank you for riding along with us. We’re all in this together.
Evil Friends was the last album from Alaska-formed band, Portugal. The Man. Ever since their debut in 2006 – Waiter: “You Vultures!” – they have amassed a loyal fanbase and grown in stature. Evil Friends found the band collaborating with Danger Mouse. Their eight album, Woodstock, shares many ideas and sounds with Evil Friends but is a tighter and tauter thing – boasting one of the best album covers of the year. It does not take long for the magic of the album to take hold: Number One features Richie Havens Son Little and is a song that transports you to a good-time bar in the Deep South. In fact, the kick of the drums and funky bass get the body moving and the head nodding. “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child” becomes a coda and one that creates curiosity. The stomping and funky composition reminds me, a bit, of The Black Keys. The band throws a lot of different sounds into the mix. It is a big and ambitious opening but one that will remain in the head. The need to separate themselves from their previous albums and try something new is evident.
The guys step more into commercial waters but do not lose who they are. Live in the Moment has bellicose drums and a huge chorus. The sheer size and scope of the entire album is stunning. Uplifting and unifying choruses like this get the voice ringing. So much detail goes into the song and it is one that carries you away with it. Feel It Still is the Prince song that never was: a funked-up and sexy number that pouts its lips and shakes it hips. It shows how Portugal. The Man are unwilling to tread old ground and keep things fresh. This mobile and forward-thinking approach does not always work but shows they are keen to create something new.
Some have commented how the band is priming themselves more for the mainstream than the underground. Given the fact they are on their eight album means they do not need to get under the critical lens – they are a popular act and do not need to prove themselves. Rich Friends is, perhaps, a misjudged effort that sounds like it should be blasting from BBC Radio 1. It has some good moments but cannot shake itself past chart ambitions. I have mentioned artists like The Black Keys but it would be them on a bad day. Despite some occasional spells of pleasure; it seems like a track destined to open the next episode of Made in Chelsea. Keep On is a more satisfying song and one that gets things back on a keen footing. Its sweet and effusive harmonies melt with robotic electronic vocal lines and a summery vibe – perfect for the warm weather we are experiencing. Fat Lip lends his talents to Mr. Lonely: one of the most intriguing tracks on the album. Distorted and processed vocals provide creepiness and unsettle. Percussion and bass provide a strong backbone but it is a song that will split the audience. The Portugal. The Man faithful might feel it is an experimentation too far but it will bring new listener in. It departs a little from their past work but retains those distinctive vocals and ambitious songwriting. The chorus has groove and seems like a song ready for the festivals.
Noise Pollution closes things and sees, oddly, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Manville appear – a bold but effective recruitment. Hard-edged and pulsating: one of the highlights and a great way to end the album. There are warm compositional notes that effortlessly sit with the edgier and tenser elements. It shows the contrasts and contradiction that make Woodstock such a pleasure. Noise Pollution is unlike anything on the album but distinctly the work of Portugal. The Man. There is so much going on but it never feels overwhelming. If you want something that follows the path of previous Portugal. The Man albums then you will have to look elsewhere. There are familiar elements but this is the sound of a band trying something new and aiming for new audiences. Some of the songs do not hit the mark – there are some odd and forgettable inclusions – but, for the most part, it is a fascinating and jam-packed album from a band with plenty more left to say.
Band Members: John Baldwin Gourley, Zachary Scott Carothers, Kyle O’Quin, Jason Sechrist
Portland, OR’s Eyelids (current and ex-members of Guided By Voices, The Decemberists, Malkmus/Jicks) have collaborated with Gary Jarman of The Cribs to make two rare and unforgettable record store exclusive tracks! Turning in what might be world’s shortest concept album– the 2 songs were written with a fictitious 17-year old in mind and his submissions to all things of flight. With Gary singing lead vocals on both songs the single conjures up jealous hazes of Wire & Pere Ubu. An amazing collaboration made exclusively for UK Record Store day. Be sure to catch Eyelids on their UK tour with Drive By Truckers in 2017.
RSD 2017 UK exclusive. Features Gary Jarman from The Cribs on vocals. Eyelids includes members of the Decemberists & Guided By Voices. This one time pressing will be on yellow vinyl (download included) and is limited to 500 copies. All tracks exclusive to this release.
SIDE A (Go On) The First Flight / 3:54 SIDE B We Will Not Apologize / 0:56
The Fat Angel Sings 