Kevin Bronson on February 7th, 2013

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The Portland Cello Project, the six-year-old string ensemble that has covered the likes of Radiohead, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Rihanna and even Pantera, has expanded its palette to tackle the latest music from Beck. The 42-year-old songwriter, of course, released his latest effort, “Beck Hansen’s Song Reader,” as a book of sheet music. And the string-wielding group enlisted the help of vocalists such as Jolie Holland, Chanticleer and Patti King (of Radiation City) to cover Beck’s 20-song excursion, which has been released digitially. The bleak weather the group endured for the video shoot at Whitaker Ponds in Portland only adds to the song’s mournful quality.

||| Live: Portland Cello Project opens for the Petra Haden Choir on Saturday night at the Church Sessions at the First Unitarian Church (2936 W. 8th St., L.A.).