Posts Tagged ‘Portland’

SPENCER ALBEE – ” So Long “

Posted: March 6, 2015 in MUSIC
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Spencer Albee is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer. An American musician, singer and songwriter from Portland, Maine. Albee has been a major figure in the Portland music scene for over two decades and is locally renowned for his songwriting and musical abilities.His efforts with Rustic Overtones, As Fast As, and as a solo artist have seen him through four record contracts and two publishing deals. He has worked alongside industry legends such as David Bowie, producers Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex), David Leonard (Prince, Paul McCartney), and Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5). All in all, Spencer is a man of many hats and an all-around good guy to know. His new body of work is an impressive departure from his past and he’s very much looking forward to the upcoming release of his EP in November and LP on New Year’s Eve.

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The FIREWORKS – ” Switch Me On “

Posted: February 19, 2015 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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We know it’s only February but there will be no better Indie Pop album in 2015 Than The Fireworks . The album continues where the two sold out singles left off with an intoxicating head-bobbing indie pop noise with Emma and Matthew’s vocals surrounded by layers of chainsaw fuzz and feedback. However, each cut has a pop hook that’s instant that will take you to Indie pop heaven. The album is made up of thirteen A sides that you will fall in love with forever. Fireworks uphold the values from those special records from 1984-86, when bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Shop Assistants, The Flatmates, My Bloody Valentine, and Razorcuts changed our lives. Seriously do not miss out on this wonderful album.

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SPENCER ALBEE – ” One 2 Three “

Posted: February 16, 2015 in MUSIC
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There’s no shame in being a Fab Four disciple — Electric Light Orchestra, Oasis and Squeeze made careers of it — and Spencer Albee is a 21st century master in the lost art of Beatlesesque hooks. Albee, the king of Portland, Maine’s secretly vibrant music scene (who puts on an annual Beatles tribute show every Thanksgiving), channeled a rough personal period (a breakup, an eviction) into an emotional set of stacked, wall-of-sound harmonies and contagious, confessional hooks. Spencer Albee played all of the instruments himself, constructing keyboard-heavy soundscapes on songs like “One 2 Three” and the bouncy “I Don’t Know,” which sounds like psychedelic doo-wop. He often utilizes chimes and bells for a sound akin to Phil Spector’s sound, but the lyrics — bitter, tortured, accusatory — are anything but joyous.

AGES and AGES – ” Divisionary “

Posted: January 25, 2015 in MUSIC
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Ages and Ages are an American rock band from Portland, Oregon which has been receiving positive critical attention because of their upbeat raw choral pop” sound Every member of the band sings accompanied by handclaps, shakers and noise-makers. They are a secular band with a big tent revival sound. The group was voted as a top Portland band by the local Willamette Week. In 2011, they signed a record deal with Partisan Records and have since undertaken several national US tours. In 2013 the band changed their name from AgesandAges to Ages and Ages. The rechristened band played their first European dates in the winter of 2014.

GROUPER – ” Lighthouse “

Posted: January 25, 2015 in MUSIC
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No other album in 2014 sounded quite like Grouper’s “Ruins”. Liz Harris, from Portland, Oregon. is the musician behind Grouper’s murky world of sound, recorded the album with a four-track tape deck and a single microphone at a house in Portugal, where she was doing an artists’ residency. Each day she walked through the ruins of several old estates, sifting through a lot of what she calls “emotional garbage” and anger. “Ruins” captures this period of soul searching — a delicately woven mix of Harris’ wispy voice, a lone piano and a menagerie of incidental sounds that sneak into the recordings: Distant bullfrogs, crickets, the wind, the creak of a wood floor. It’s a profoundly moving collection of songs that feel almost cavernous, like the dark and empty hole that must reside somewhere in Grouper’s heart.

BALTO – ” Saints and Crows “

Posted: January 22, 2015 in MUSIC
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A few years back, songwriter Dan Sheron found himself in the most precarious of situations: working as a telemarketer in Russia. As you may imagine, Sheron quickly became in dire need of an escape and relocated to — of all places — Siberia in order to write and record music as Balto. On his own, he’s released two LPs, 2011’s October’s Road and 2012’s Monuments, before moving to Portland, Oregon to recruit a full band. The next adventure for Sheron and Balto comes with the release of a new 7-inch called Call It By Its Name, due out this spring.

“Saints & Crows”, which serves as single’s A-side, marks a lively sonic transformation for Balto. The pensiveness of Sheron’s early songwriting is replaced with feisty guitars and ecstatic yelps. Western twang permeates the spots between Sheron’s sneering vocal delivery and the tasteful honky-tonk piano.

SUMMER CANNIBALS – ” Something Enough “

Posted: January 17, 2015 in MUSIC
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Portland garage rockers Summer Cannibals are loud, distorted and sound like someone told Haim to fuck off and the Hives to ditch the suits and get sloppy.  “Something New” is the first single from Summer Cannibals 2nd full length album “Show Us Your Mind” which is out March 3rd via New Moss Records A song perfectly situated for that moment when your ex just threw all your shit out of a second-story window, “Something New,” from the band’s forthcoming Larry Crane-produced sophomore album “Show Us Your Mind”, does well to prove that its name is a lie: Summer Cannibals songs eat people in the winter, too. Patti Smith is the guiding light for Summer Cannibals, in both name and spirit. The Portland quartet debuted with “No Makeup“ in 2013, carving out garage-punk territory in a region that’s known for some pretty gnarly bands. But for the new album Show Us Your Mind, Summer Cannibals make a big leap. Like Smith, the band understands the power of a good hook smuggled inside the snarl. The songs swagger now as frontwoman Jessica Boudreaux takes more of the spotlight. “I’ve been looking for something new / To keep my hands busy while I get over you,” she sneers on “Something New,” sounding equally menacing and inviting.

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – ” SB 02 ” and ” SB 01 “

Posted: January 8, 2015 in MUSIC
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We don’t know when, exactly, but the quirked-out New Zealand-via-Portland psych-pop trio Unknown Mortal Orchestra will have a new album for us soon. On Facebook, the band recently updated the world on their progress: “The new album is being mastered right now!” The band’s last album, 2013′s II, won a lot of people over, and they seem poised to make the jump to something bigger. In the meantime, they’ve recorded a follow-up “SB-01,” the 22-minute ambient instrumental track that they shared just after Christmas 2013. The new one is called “SB-02,” and it clocks in at a relatively minimal 17 minutes.

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WHIRR/ ANNE – ” Twist/ Between Awake and Asleep – Pet Names/Occasional Lovers

Posted: December 22, 2014 in MUSIC
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Whirr, and Portland’s Anne, have similar influences, Whirr is more of a traditional shoegaze band—in the sense of lowly mixed vocals, echoy and reverby guitars—while Anne fall into a category that I suppose I would call dream pop—shimmery guitars, heavy synths.

Both acts have one full-length release to their name, as well as various singles and EPs, and most recently, they collaborated on a split, double 7” single. a split single involves one artist taking the A side, while the other takes the B. In this situation, there are two separate 7” singles—Whirr take the A and B side of the first one, while Anne takes up the first side of the second, and the lyrics to their songs are stamped onto the flip side.

In September it was announced that Run For Cover Records, would be putting out said split 2×7”, with a release date set in October. October came and went, and still no singles. There was some kind of issue with the stamping of the lyrics into the backside of the Anne single, and the production delay lasted until mid-December.

GREYLAG – ” Yours To Shake “

Posted: November 6, 2014 in MUSIC
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Greylag are a folk Rock band that sounds like they were a metal band at one time. In my twisted world, Greylag were a rocking metal band from Portland that were coerced into doing an unplugged show for some local Wilamette charity. Upon the completion, they decided to give this folk thing a go full time. Being that Greylag claim everything from Zeppelin to Elliot Smith to xxx, there were surely lines to be blurred.

Greylag, named after a wild goose, is comprised of Andrew Stonestreet (lead vocal, acoustic guitar), Daniel Dixon (lead guitar & other stringed things, keyboards) and Brady Swan (drums). For their full-length debut, they employed Phil Ek at the knobs. Ek best known for his work with other NW acts such as Built To Spill, Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses to name a few heard something he liked when
“Yours To Shake” and “Arms Unknown”, the second and third tracks on the album bring out my inner Butt-Head. Watch the video for Yours To Shake below and tell me you’re screaming Rock!!! Rock!!! about a minute in. The tune about a fiery relationship builds slowly before kicking in, with some Zeppelin-esque guitars. The lyrics throughout, as well as the album cover, give off this 70s feel when Zeppelin ruled the world.

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