Rock music should be fun, so why is so much of it not? Bad Sports know this and they’re out to teach bad bands a lesson. “Teenage Girls” rubs it in those bands’ faces a bit, and Bad Sports know this. It may, in fact, be a reason they selected this particular moniker. Their style of pop-influenced garage-based punk is most welcome. Read More »Bad Sports: Teenage Girls (MP3)
The Glasses‘ Story Problems was a favorite of mine from a few years back, so it’s with great anticipation and excitement we receive Love Is Queer. Their latest LP is filled with just as many lovable pop hooks as the last album, both vocal and instrumental. This is twee-ish indie pop at its greatest; plenty of jangle-guitar, packed with male/female vocals, and filled with lyrics that simply make you happy. Read More »The Glasses (Feature)
Night Falls Over Kortedala was one of my favorite releases of 2007, topped only by Fishboy’s release that year. It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since that album, and that it’s taken so long for Lekman to follow it with new material. Wait no longer; Lekman is back with a new EP dubbed An Argument With Myself and we have been given the title track to enjoy as a little taste of what’s to come. Read More »Jens Lekman: An Argument With Myself (MP3)
I am a huge Carissa’s Wierd fan. If you are too, you know exactly what I’m talking about — the die-hard fan gets a little extra out of the music, hears a little bit more, and has a deeper, seemingly one-on-one experience with it. New music, for a band that parted ways several years past, is enough to bring tears to your eyes. “Tucson” b/w “Meredith & Iris” is such material and Hardly Art has made the latter from the single available for stream. Read More »Carissa’s Wierd Release First New Song in over Seven Years!
During my first spin through The Devil Whale‘s new album, Teeth, I did a little research on the band and pulled up a few press pieces. Each had their own spin, calling the band psychedelic pop, dubbing some of their work chamber pop, and even dropping a lighter side of 70s classic rock. At first, I wasn’t sure any of them fit. Read More »The Devil Whale: Golden (MP3)
Book Club is a folk-pop group out of Atlanta that boats a range of stripped-down and minimal songs to those… Read More »Book Club: Meal Of Dreams (MP3)
Look back over the past few Fruit Bats releases and you’ll find a solid handful of greats. “Born In The 70s” and “Earthquake of ’73” off Spelled In Bones. “Seaweed” off Mouthfuls. These were truly great tracks. “Tangie And Ray” off Fruit Bats’ latest LP, Tripper, fits right in. It’s catchy, filled with a folk-pop bounce, and wonderfully crafted. Yet there’s something else… Read More »Fruit Bats: Tangie And Ray (MP3)
Girls have come to be one of my favorite artists since their early release, Album, in September of 2009. Their music is simply astonishing, from upbeat pop gems like “Lust For Life” and “Alright” to more surreal explorations of pop psychedelia, like “Helhole Ratrace” and “Carolina”. Read More »Girls: Vomit (MP3)
Death Songs is a band out of Portland, featuring members of that city’s folk-pop outfit The Shaky Hands. “Wounds” is vaguely reminiscent of acts like The Shaky Hands and Quiet Life. It’s full on southern-influenced folk that flirts dually with pop and rock, but keeps its roots close. Their song “Wounds”, which I’ve included below, can be found on the latest PDX Pop Now! compilation, which is now available in mp3 format. Read More »Death Songs: Wounds (MP3)
If you noticed an absence of new material on Monday and Tuesday, there’s a reason for that. I took a little bike ride; something called the STP (otherwise known as the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride). It’s a two-day ride spanning a little over 200 miles. I’m now hooked and plan to do two more large rides before summer ends. So seeing the song title “Let’s Go Ride Bikes” by All The Apparatus was all I needed to check out the band. Read More »All The Apparatus (Feature)
