Races began as Wade Ryff’s attempt at putting his solo material out there, but as the group added members, changed band names (from Black Jesus) and picked up steam – leading to their signing with Frenchkiss Records – it’s hard to imagine their music was originally planned for a one-man band. Ryff, Garth Herberg, Oliver […]
Making one’s debut in Los Angeles can be an iffy proposition, especially if a band is saddled with a midnight set – on a Sunday night. However, Portland’s dream-pop darlings Blouse didn’t seem to have much to worry about when a massive crowd crammed itself into the Echo for a sold-out show. ||| Photos by […]
“Feel Me” may be the most concise title Evan Voytas has come up with lately considering songs such as “Tomorrow Night We’ll Go Anywhere,” “Can’t Let Anybody Know Who You Are,” and the most recent single “You Don’t Even Know Where It’s At.” However, along with that mouthful is always a rich earful. Initially garnering […]
Nostalgia never gets old, despite its definition, and Portland trio Blouse have a steady hold on romanticizing the act of reminiscing with their sultry ’80s-leaning sound. Although they may fall in to the chillwave genre, sweeping song arches in tandem with Charlie Hilton’s melancholic vocals not only save them but redirect them toward dream-pop, thus […]
There’s something funny about Matthew McConaughey singing the lyrics to Butch Walker & the Black Widows‘ “Synthesizers.” Perhaps it’s because the lip-synching involves his reprisal of the “Dazed and Confused” character David Wooderson, who has, indeed, stayed the same age. Still wearing those ’70s duds and burning one down, he’s got the young girls following […]
Sarah McIntosh could easily be lumped in with female-fronted electro-pop bands such as La Roux and Ladyhawke, but the sophisticated gothic sheen on pop melodies she offers with her band the Good Natured sets her apart. Slinking between Scandinavian-like bubblegum choruses to sensually dark undertones that echo Ladytron, McIntosh (along with her brother Hamish and […]
“Because we are all here, we are the best people,” Kyle MacLachlan assured the audience at the Echoplex on Monday night. Of course, he wasn’t saying it as himself but rather as the mayor on the popular sketch comedy TV show, “Portlandia.” And his elitist tone dripped with comic irony, the kind that has made […]
Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells are back at slamming R&B, pop, punk and electronica in to one another as they prepare for the release of “Reign of Terror” (out Feb. 21 via Mom + Pop), and we’re glad to hear the follow-up to 2010’s “Treats” does not abandon high decibels. If the album title doesn’t give […]
Sugar & the Hi Lows may be from Nashville but it’s quite easy to assume their record collection consists of a handful of Motown artists. Rock and R&B easily roll in to one another more often and easier than many think and the duo, which consists of Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup, knows how to […]
Your massive Monday menu for MLK Jr. Day: ‣ Sisters Allison Pierce and Catherine Pierce, aka The Pierces, headline It’s A School Night at Bardot. [That’s their video for “Kissing You Goodbye” above from last year’s record “You and I.”] NO and Zane Carney (of Carney) open. Jennifer Teft from Super Soul Sundays also DJs. […]
