AltWeeklies Wire
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
Grouper Dials Down the Dronenew
And then I realized that Dragging a Dead Deer was reminding me not of another album, but of an experience; waking up in my own bedroom in the middle of the night and not knowing where I am for a brief, disturbing instant.
The Portland Mercury |
Cary Clarke |
07-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Travel Portland Tries to Woo Tourists with Indie Rocknew
The "private nonprofit destination marketing organization" is running an "Indie Music Hotel Package," which courts the would-be indie tourist with hip package deals for lodging and a free sampler of local music.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
07-03-2008 |
Music
The Constantines Get Older, and Betternew
Kensington Heights, their new album, is still rigidly post-punk and sharp as a shimmering blade, but the pace of the record is deliberately restrained and the band's gnashed-teeth anger is more focused, and less wild, than ever before.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
No One Does It Better Than Spinderellanew
She's uncharacteristically humble in light of her membership in the iconic rap group Salt-n-Pepa, whose relevance has possibly been overshadowed by Cheryl "Salt" Wray and Sandra "Pepa" Denton's recent reality TV appearances.
The Portland Mercury |
Jalylah Burrell |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Islands' Sophomore Album Sounds Like Unificationnew
Arm's Way is Islands' first album as a real, tour-hardened band rather than a loosely organized studio project, and the solidified sextet sounds more comfortable and confident than ever.
The Portland Mercury |
Eric Grandy |
06-13-2008 |
Reviews
Animal Farm Won't Be Unknown For Longnew
Diverse beats and easy mic-sharing make for a solid debut on Animal Farm's The Unknown.
The Portland Mercury |
Graham Barey |
06-05-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Chaucer Barnes Creates Big Expectationsnew
As he describes himself while fronting the live hip-hop band Copacrescent, on their new release So Selective, "Chaucer Barnes is the new truth."
The Portland Mercury |
Graham Barey |
05-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Return of Swervedrivernew
The seminal shoegazer band was coated with 10 years of dust when they took the stage at Coachella last month.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
05-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Sasquatch Ho!new
A user's guide to the furriest, funnest music fest in the Northwest. Now with a third day!
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
05-23-2008 |
Concerts
The Open-Mouthed Adulthood of Kate Nashnew
Nash's sudden leap from a teenager with a guitar and a MySpace account to a 20-year-old with a number-one album has cocked a few skeptical eyebrows.
The Portland Mercury |
Theon Weber |
05-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Great Big Sound of the Little Onesnew
The Little Ones set out to pen the most pristine pop songs imaginable.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
05-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Ellen Allien Embodies the Sound of Her Citynew
Allien was born in Berlin. She lived in London for a year, but returned to Berlin with enthusiasm for acid house at a time when there was exactly one club catering to the new style of electronic music.
The Portland Mercury |
Ava Hegedus |
05-01-2008 |
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
Cut Copy's Balearic Pop Revivalnew
From an ocean away, it's tempting to imagine something similar to Manchester's Factory Records/Hacienda/New Order scene going down right now in Melbourne, Australia -- only with better beaches and less post-industrial gloom.
The Portland Mercury |
Eric Grandy |
04-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
