AltWeeklies Wire
Cutting the Excess: Scout Niblett Raises the Temperaturenew
Scout Niblett recorded 100 different versions of The Calcination of Scout Niblett, the title track of her new album on Drag City. Not because she was looking for the perfect take—very near the opposite, in fact.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-25-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Califone's Multimedia Funeralnew
There's always been something cinematic about Califone, but not in the traditional Hollywood widescreen sense.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Girls is the Sound of a Rock Redemption of a Cult Upbringingnew
Thanks to the money he raised by playing songs he'd secretly learned off the radio, Christopher Owens was able to escape the insular Christian religious cult Children of God.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
11-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Globe-Straddling Music of South Africa's BLK JKS Transcends Racenew
When a quartet of black South Africans reclaims that whitest of white genres -- progressive rock, long the bastion of pimply tech-heads and doughy shut-ins -- the predominately Caucasian world of indie rock sits up and takes notice.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
10-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: After Robots, BLK JKS
Langhorne Slim Comes to Portland and Makes an Excellent Recordnew
Be Set Free is an intoxicating listen, one that frames Langhorne Slim in a brand-new light and plainly makes the case for Scolnick as one of the best American songwriters currently active.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
09-18-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Be Set Free, Langhorne Slim
Legendary Brazilian Psychedelic Group Os Mutantes Return With a New Albumnew
Haih or Amortecedor, the band's first new album in 35 years, is willfully weird, and one wouldn't expect anything less from Os Mutantes. But the youthful, wide-eyed psychedelia of the group's classic work has given way to a wiser -- if not older -- outlook.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
08-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Haih or Amortecedor, Os Mutantes
Pissed Jeans Sound Hardcore but Have a Gooey Centernew
It's the sound of '80s hardcore punk all grown up, with a halfway decent job and maybe a kid or two; the anger is gone, but Pissed Jeans are still in love with hardcore's sound and energy, so instead of concocting rage for its own sake, the band sings about regular life without turning down any of the volume.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
08-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: King of Jeans, Pissed Jeans
Japandroids Escape Vancouver and Invade Americanew
It's easy to pin their heavy style as garage rock, but despite the abbreviated guitar-and-drums lineup, Japandroids' sound is anything but minimalist.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-24-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Japandroids, Post-Nothing
Jessica Lea Mayfield Has a Lifetime of Experiencenew
Jessica Lea Mayfield can sound as old as the earth, bearing the wisdom of generations in her placid voice. But like the very best pop music, Mayfield's songs are motored by the hopes and desperation of adolescence, which stands to reason: She's only 19.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Blitzen Trapper Refines its Sound and Garners National Attentionnew
Furr is the most straightforward release yet from the Portland band that marries spindly Appalachian folk, blitzkrieg synth explosions, and riff-tastic Southern rock.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-04-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Blitzen Trapper, Furr
Ray Davies is a Big Deal, Peoplenew
There's plenty of good pop music out there (too much, perhaps), but there's a very small amount of perfect pop songs--and Raymond Douglas Davies is responsible for about 40 of them.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Mae Shi's Communal Testimonynew
"There's an ongoing saying in the band that if someone doesn't lay an idea out, someone else will end up forcing it out of them," says the Mae Shi's Jacob Cooper.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
04-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Thao's Enjoyable Folk-Popnew
She's mastered the time-tested songwriting trope of pairing a melancholy lyric with an upbeat tune, but it's rarely a deliberate trick.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
04-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Caretakers of the Heartnew
Shearer's songwriting voice has got one foot in the self-affirming whisper of Elliott Smith, and the other in the mud puddle of Gold Rush-era Neil Young.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: La Lamentor, Weinland
