Tag: portland

Floating Room Shares Freak Show

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Maya Stoner is hitting all the right notes for me with her new set of songs for the Tired and True EP. I thought the choice to kind of have a brief lead-in set the song up perfectly for this single, not to mention that chorus has everything you need for a hit. It has this effortless swagger and cool, almost giving the song an uplifting bounce. As the track goes down Stoner doesn’t shy away from throwing a little heavy jam in there, all before bringing back the intoxicating chorus, this time featuring a little guitar solo. Floating Room will drop the new EP on October 30th.

The Parson Red Heads Announce New LP

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Over many years time, I have grown to love the musical stylings of Portland based geniuses The Parson Red Heads. Somehow the band has continued to evolve from what I considered a fairly straightforward indie rock band into a more alt-country, bright folk sounding ensemble. With a new album on the way, TPRH just dropped this new single called “All I wanted” and I am yet again impressed by the maturation of this group. This song has so many beautiful elements involved and it progresses so nicely that I’ve decided you simply have to listen to it right now. Ok go.

The Parson Red Heads will release this song a new album entitled Lifetime of Comedy due out on November 13th via Fluff and Gravy Records.

Floating Room Share Held Open Door

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At this point, I’ve heard several tunes from the forthcoming Floating Room EP, and damned if its not a wonderful listen; I think the first single should be enough to whet your appetite. At first, it has this bold sort of angular approach, akin to some of the work that Cate Le Bon’s been doing…kind of off-kilter pop. But, what makes it the winner of the day is how quickly it moves into a fuzzy riff-drivern pop rock vibe; it’s almost like Maya Stoner just wanted to create her own space where Le Bon and Alvvays held equal import to the songwriting process…truly a special listen, if you haven’t gone here already. Tried and True is out October 30th.

CHAD Share Isolation in Advance of Good Talk EP

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This Friday, Portland band CHAD will be dropping their sophomore release, Good Talk EP. Before you get a chance to dip your toes in the full EP, we wanted you to sample a little of the sweet sounds crafted for the release. Sarah Lane’s vote is as captivating as ever, almost manipulating the song with her voice; the synth work seems to move around the rise and fall of her notes. There’s a slightly ominous texture entering in the song’s back end, though ultimately you get this thoughtful dreaminess that pervades through the 3 minutes. Look for Good Talk this Friday!

Indie Pop Tune From Blue Canopy

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Some of you may know Portland based musician Alex Schiff, as he’s spent several years as co-writer for the indie band Modern Rivals. Well now Alex is stepping out on his own and releasing a new EP entitled Mild Anxiety which is set to be released in early April (pre-orders here). Under the moniker Blue Canopy, the EP’s first single is called “656” and is quite a lovely bit of indie pop music. It blends equal parts brightness and quieter, hushed elements to create a solid and memorable song in this genre.

Lithics Announce Tower of Age

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Today rules. There’s so many rad tunes, but one you can’t miss is this fresh single from the new Lithics LP. The first two minutes of this track are all about the deliciousness of the rhythm section; the bass line alone is the perfect background for everything that follows. Aubrey Hornor’s vocal delivery has its own sort of bounce, almost like the pulse of the song revolves around her lyrics. It all sets up perfectly to allow the various guitar chords to knife their way in and out of the rhythm, splicing up these little angular sonic notches. It all crashes around the 2 minute mark where the song erupts into this jittery noise. Tower of Age is going to rock your socks; the album is out June 5th via Trouble in Mind.

Lubec Share Had to Look

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It’s funny that Portland trio Lubec have titled their new EP Against Nature; it feels like the perfect fit to the band’s sound at the moment as they take all these forces and work them against each other. Five seconds into the track and the guitars come crashing through the speakers; it has this discordant math-iness to it, which, in a sense, sort of recalls the style of Braid/Hey Mercedes. But, you contrast that sort of brash artiness with the group’s inclination towards pop sensibility, which is present here through Caroline’s vocal work, juxtaposed with the rougher surface. You could flip that too, talk about the heaviness as it would relate to a thunderous Northwest storm, only to find itself in a calming middle moment, moving to a fade out that forces reflection…it’s the precise way in which this very tune unfolds; the perfect amalgam of nature’s forces, all acting at once, against each other, and yet together. Such is the great execution of this song…and EP. Look for it this Friday via Disposable America.

Slow Pop Vibes from Mondegreen

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When I heard this tune, I thought it was a new approach from my old pal Dylan Mondegreen, but I was wrong, as it was Portland act Mondegreen (no relation, oddly). The tune below is this drifting pop song, which immediately reminded me of Beach House in the way it opened up; they play with the same building tension too, though I will admit this track unleashes a little bit of power, ever so carefully towards the song’s latter half. If you’re into discovering bands and such, go check out the group’s most recent LP, Returnity.

Sea Caves Share Dart

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While at work on their third album, Sea Caves have opted to switch directions, albeit just by way of a new vocalist. Their songwriting still sounds similar to what you heard on Bright Forest; it still has this woodsy adventurism working within the elegant confines of expansive indie rock sounds. It’s the sort of music that entrances listeners, carrying them away with the guitar chords echoing into the night. But, with Sydney Rohrs now in the mix on vocals, things have changed up a bit, allowing a soft quiet to sweep over the band; it creates a whole new layer of calm that blankets this single. Give it a try, won’t you?

Pleased to Meet You: Chad

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Okay, so I know a lot of Chad’s but this is Chad, the band! It’s the new project from Sarah Lane and her partner Trevor; Sarah appeared on these pages quite a bit not too long ago. The band have only recently formed, and already there’s an EP on the way; it features the slow dance jam below. For me, this song is all about the sonic landscape the band have set up; it relies upon this precision rhythm moments that steady the entire tune, allowing for the guitar to move in and out and provide accents where needed. The important in all of that is that it rights the ship, so to speak, leaving this playground for Lane to put down her smoky vocals as the song bobs and weaves its way through. Their EP will drop later this Fall.

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