The Portland Mercury | Music | AAN.org

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

Tags: indie pop, folk pop, Get Down Stay Down, Thao, Thao Nguyen, We Brave Bee Stings and All

A Weather's 'Cove' Release Seems Ill-Timednew

Granted, weather patterns and meteorologists should not be consulted before an album's release, but A Weather thrives in the gloomiest of conditions.

The Portland Mercury | Ezra Ace Caraeff | 04-10-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: indie rock, A Weather, Conor Oberst, Cove, Team Love

Carla Bozulich Shares the Scornnew

Recording under the moniker "Evangelista" (also the title of her last album), Bozulich produces music in the same manner that one of Macbeth's witches might conjure a spell or prophecy.

The Portland Mercury | Kevin Friedman | 04-03-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Evangelista, Hello, Voyager

Not Indie. Not Hiphop. Just Astronautalis.new

The dilemma of Astronautalis rests on the axis of hiphop's evolution.

The Portland Mercury | Ezra Ace Caraeff | 04-03-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Astronautalis

Meshuggah's Made in Swedennew

Meshuggah's one of several Swedish bands who have moved death metal past its butcher-shop chops.

The Portland Mercury | Mike Meyer | 03-27-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Meshuggah, obZen

Jeffrey Lewis Goes His Waynew

At his core, Lewis is an acoustic guitar-toting New York folkie wrapped in punk-rock values. Don't look or sound the part? So what? Indeed, in Lewis' perfect imperfections lie the roots of his charm.

The Portland Mercury | Andrew R. Tonry | 03-27-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: 12 Crass Songs, Jeffrey Lewis

Jim White Has Finally Found What He Searched Fornew

There is a great deal of both liberation and ineffability on Transnormal Skiperoo, which is a welcome rebound from White's uneven 2004 album, Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See.

The Portland Mercury | Chas Bowie | 03-27-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Jim White, Transnormal Skiperoo

Aloha Breaks Throughnew

After 10 years, Aloha's Tony Cavallario wanted to do something different. Not that there was much to complain about with the band's releases up to that point, which carved out a comfortable if not terribly innovative niche in the post-rock realm.

The Portland Mercury | Kevin Friedman | 03-20-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Aloha, Light Works