"Party math" rockers Yeah Great Fine have a released a heady new video for their track "Rise With the Sun". You can find the track on the band's 2011 self-released EP, Circadian. You may remember YGF won our Best of 2011 Open Submission contest earlier this year. This oddball animation, created by Wil Magness, implies things will simply keep getting better and better in 2012.
Walter Mitty and his Makeshift Orchestra is most definitely a punk band, even though they only use acoustic instruments. When you’re at a basement show and the band consists of an acoustic guitarist with a kazoo and a drummer with a set made of a plastic Budweiser keg, a cowbell, and a tambourine, you wouldn’t expect broken windows and sweat drenched floors. But that’s just the kind of reaction Walter Mitty’s rowdy anthems induce. Decibels and distortion is replaced with clarity and catchiness, creating something that sounds like a more intimate version of Gaslight Anthem or the Thermals.
Overwhelmed and Underdressed the third release from this young Portland-via-San Luis Obispo band, and it's the mellowest album yet, but the disc is still swelling the with short track times, simple hooks and sing-a-long potential of any great punk album. The lyricism is so straightforward that it should be sappy, but there is such a clear sincerity to the delivery that it makes each track more like a late night conversation with an old confidant. There’s nothing too abstract about lines like “I’ve been from private school polos to sweet jail of Canada,” or “All my friends say this cartoon’s life expired. Some of them ran off chasing corporate grins, and some of them left me for oxycontin,” but these confessions are balanced out with a sense of humor about the spontaneity and absurdity of youth. The confusion felt by those who fall somewhere in the middle of the yuppie-punk continuum is mirrored in Walter Mitty’s music: a sentiment which often manages to be both melancholic and joyous.
You pick up Overwhelmed and Underdressed (and the previous two releases) over on Bandcamp.
Mean Jeans is looking to take their pot smoking, boozed-up, denim-clad pizza party shenanigans into space with the release of their latest full length effort On Mars. To launch their record into the infinite void that is the internet, the trio put together a video for the single "Anybody Out There" with buddy-director Brett Roberts. Featuring a homemade spacecraft set and accompanying costumes, the video is equal parts Mystery Science Theatre and the kvetchy mid-century cult flicks that very show satirizes. It's entirely the kind of fun-fueled Bill and Ted punk irreverence we've come to expect from these devil-may-care rockers. A sign that bodes well for die-hard fans, but done with enough tongue-in-cheek style that even those with a stiff upper lip are sure to crack a smile. The full album drops April 17th via Dirtnap records, but if you really want to "celebrate" the new record with the band, then we suggest you hold out till the album release show on 4/20 at Eagles Lodge.
March Madness just ended and all of you bracketologists out there are probably pretty sad you'll have to until next year to get your bracketology on, but don't fret! Back for a second year by popular demand, in a move that is sure to establish itself as a Portland institution - it's Rigsketball! If you're late to the game, Rigsketball is halfcourt, 3v3 basketball played on a regulation hoop attached to the back of a van, just about anywhere the cops won't bust the party. However, when played in a bracket-style tournament with 32 of Portland's most ballin' bands and a couple of well-coordinated city permits in the 2012 calendar year: it becomes Rigsketball 2k12! - a summer tradition monstrosity that threatens the safety of every man, woman and child in a 50-foot radius, all the while promoting physical exercise, good attitudes and teamwork! Not to mention connecting 32 seemingly disparate bands and their fans in friendly opposition while providing all parties involved the chance to see each group do something new and exciting outside the studio or venue. If you like sweat, beer, bands, jams, vans, basketball and the possibility of some extremely minor bloodshed - then you'll love Rigsketball 2k12!
Last year's bracket was constituted by Typhoon, Starfucker, And And And, Radiation City, Rock n Roll Soldiers, Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Archers, Aan, SKELETRON, Sean Flinn and the Royal We, TxE, Laura Gibson, Support Force, Animal Eyes, Charts, The Woolen Men, The Blast Majesty, Dirty Mittens, Monarques, My Autumn’s Done Come, Youthbitch, Rocky & The Proms, SUPER MONSTER, The No Tomorrow Boys, Surfs Drugs, Hello Electric, Rabid Wombat, Lee Cory Oswald, Otis Heat, Ugly Flowers, Mannequinhead, and The Taxi Boys.
Rigsketball 2k12 registration will open April 15th (filing taxes optional.) The first 32 eligible bands to register will be a part of this year's tournament and it is sure to fill up quickly after last year's buzz. Actual competition begins July 26th and goes through August 9th. If you're in a band, be sure to save the registration date. If you're an adoring fan, be sure to donate. The Deli will see everybody out on the court. Wherever that is.
Alialujah Choir is a new project from Weinland's Adam Shearer, Alia Farah and M.Ward/Norfolk & Western's Adam Selzer. Alialujah doesn't stray heavily from the successful stylings of its members' other aforementioned projects, but that isn't to say the combination is uninspired. The group's debut record finds the trio deftly pulling together smooth vocal harmonies, lush traditional instrumentation and emotionally driven lyricism into a sound that is accessible, yet evocative. Fans of the Swell Season, Horse Feathers, Ramona Falls, Iron and Wine, etc. will feel pleasantly at home. Fittingly, be sure to watch the outfit's brand new video for "A House, A Home" featuring the Portland Cello Project.
Synth pop favorites Adventures! with Might and local pop outfit Pocketknife embarked on a friendly challenge last fall: to cover each other's favorite songs and release a glorious 7" together. Long time fans knew the results were obviously going to be fun, but this release is downright awesome.
The 7" has been released in a limited quantity of 200 through Marlin Gonda of Pocketknife's vinyl-only label Vinyl Richie Records. The vinyl features one original song from each of the bands and one cover from each of the bands. Track listing is below and check out more info on the vinyl and the label here!
1. Pocketknife - Bats In The Belfry 04:17
2.Adventures! With Might - Teen Machine
3.Pocketknife - You Think Too Much (Adventures! With Might Cover)
4. Adventures! With Might - Should I Kiss The Viper's Fang? (Pocketknife Cover)
While spring is officially upon us, it doesn't mean the rain has stopped or the mercury is rising in Portland. Sun Angle is a much needed shot of Vitamin-D to our collective pineal glands. broadcasting photons of posi-energy and other undetectable waves of vibe-age through psychedelic solar flares of improvisation and cosmic songwriting. The band, consisting of three distinctly PDX experimental rock veterans, is an ever-amorphous kind of rock and roll trio. Like a ray of light, Sun Angle's sound consists of many varying wavelengths, each spectrum a different contribution from the talents of its members. Like all good things, Sun Angle defies genrefication.
Each song on the eponymous debut EP is precisely crafted around Charlie Salas-Humara’s spastic vocal displays, which serve as intergalactic communiques from space to an earth bound listener. Papi Fimbres’ (O Bruxo) drum kit locks into a consistent percussion orbit, anchored in its rotation by Marius Libman’s (Copy) rhythmic bass. Most songs on the record exude a tropical smoothie of self-professed progressive-fusion-cumbia-psychedelia, but tunes such as “Two Triangles Inside of a Circle...” are more akin to the jazz-centric stylings of bands like the Blues Project, made famous on the Monterrey Pop stage in the summer of love. The incorporation of flute on the last two songs of the EP is a telling escalation in Sun Angle’s nuanced, yet simple approach to progressive songwriting. While improvisationally cosmic in nature, Sun Angle's accessible song structure will surely enlighten a larger audience to the power of solar music fusion.
The Guggenheim has a unique history of pairing independent-minded musicians with touring exhibitions. From 2009’s ‘It Came from Brooklyn,’ to Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle freakout, the results have been mixed, but the institution has always embraced visual/aural experimentation as few museums have. But with John Chamberlain’s work taking over the rotunda for the next couple months, the museum is practically begging for musical accompaniment. In his first show since his death late last year, Manhattan artist John Chamberlain will have his colossal structures dominate the museum until May 13 in the expansive collection, John Chamberlain: Choices.
His brand of three-dimensional abstraction re-assembled the detritus of American consumerism into a Frankenstein of metal and chrome. No matter the scale of these pieces, Chamberlain always worked in enormous proportions. And the same can be said of the four musicians chosen to perform among the artist’s assemblage over the next two months.
Beginning with Portland's Grouper and NYC's Julianna Barwick (pictured) playing together on Fri, April 13, the museum is matching soundtrack to exhibition with Divine Ricochet. The vastness of Liz Harris’s soundscapes, coupled with Barwick’s orchestrally looped vocal arrangements, could very well cause these sculptures to float into space if things get too otherworldly. But assuming gravity has it’s way, make sure to also check out Cold Cave’s lush synth pop later next month on April 27, followed by the hypnotic Zola Jesus, when she collaborates with composer JG Thirlwell on May 10.
John Chamberlain’s maxim was always: “It’s all in the fit.” So I’ll be looking forward to seeing (and hearing) what you get when you take a loop machine and wrap its sound around auto parts. - Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
This past September, Youthbitch released their first full-length LP, the tongue-twistingly titled Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch. The poster-style cover art portrays a cartoon teen pissing his pants and crying blood. It's an image that turns out to be a pretty good summation of the music therein: delightfully rude, unashamedly adolescent, super fun punk. The entirety of this debut bursts appropriately with youthful energy from start to finish.
Through the lo-fi production quality and all the noise, there is some pretty excellent contemporary pop songwriting to be found here. Yet more often than not, flourishes of throwback rock and roll sound pay homage to legendary punk forefathers like the Cramps or the MC5. The catchy guitar hooks have surprisingly good sing-along potential, especially on the summery “Cool California.” While the snarling and shouted vocals that often exist more to keep the fun level up, the clean guitar solos provide a melodic anchor that makes this wild punk music accessible to any rock fan who isn't afraid to .
Check out Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch on Bandcamp, or head over to Gnar Tapes to buy it on cassette, which is probably the way oft notalgia- tinged Youthbitch intended you to hear it.
When I heard that someone was going to attempt to cover Paul McCartney’s Ram, I was skeptical, to understate. Ram is one of my favourite non-Beatles albums by a Beatle, in contention alone with All Things Must Pass. To take on such a project, an artist would have to be filled with foolishness or musical zeal – or perhaps a hearty serving of both. In either case, the artist that tried this would have to have a musical background versatile enough to battle just the thought of McCartney’s career.
The gregariously multi-project-bound Dave Depper might be one of Portland’s best bets for such an endeavor. Taking a month to himself and starting with “Heart of The Country”, Dave dove right into The Ram Project. The skill behind Dave’s guitar, piano, drums, and Paulesque vocals were never a question. From the opening tenor-stretch of “Too Many People” to the extended growling end of “Monkberry Moon Delight” and back to the scatting interlude of “Heart of the Country”, Depper is spot on. The biggest question that loomed over listening to this record was the soul behind it. Would Dave, along with the darling Joan Hiller, really be able to transform into Paul & Linda?
As I let The Ram Project play in the background while I went about my days listening to the album, I was (and also, wasn’t) surprised to find that I would get lost in those lulling copies from Ram. I honestly must admit that the echo from another room of Dave’s voice hanging in the air during “Long Haired Lady” sparked such a feeling that made me forget that it wasn’t Paul behind the microphone.
Musical zeal and a lot less foolishness than you’d expect, the well-traveled notes of Ram couple perfectly with Dave’s well carved collection of past projects. It amazes me that it was just a month he took to record every part alone, but after looking at his musical experience it’s not surprising. He just rammed on and did it. And did a damned good job. - Mike Harper (review also featured on Words Cut Open)
