This Week in the Mercury

AppleTalk

Film

AppleTalk

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview: In Which Steve Jobs Reveals ALL OF HIS DARK SECRETS


Prophet-Based Rock

Music

Prophet-Based Rock

Ramona Falls' Brent Knopf Goes Rogue



  |  

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tonight! Tonight in Music: Here Comes A Big Black Cloud, White Fang, Soft Tags

Posted by Ethan Jayne on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 9:00 AM

HERE COMES A BIG BLACK CLOUD, DRAGGING AN OX THROUGH WATER, BATMEN (Valentine's, 232 SW Ankeny) Portland trash-garage-punkers Here Comes a Big Black Cloud have been kings of the DIY house-party scene for some time now, and they've made the leap to the next level by starting their own label, Stankhouse Records. A bunch of vinyl releases have already surfaced, but Big Black Cloud's very first full-length, Dark Age, makes its skuzzy way into the world at tonight's record release show. It's a howling, shattering collection of white-knuckle garage-psych, recorded with Alex Yusimov at the Pool in North Portland, that comes with screenprinted cover art and an MP3 download card. Dark Age contains some of the most powerful music Big Black Cloud have done to date, including the throbbingly epic "Allergic to Love," a swaying, combustible journey down a deep dark psychedelic tunnel. You can preview the entirety of Dark Age by going to bigblackcloud.bandcamp.com, and you should, because it's awesome. NL

WHITE FANG, METH TEETH, BESTIES, VIRGIN BLOOD (Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) The 2010 SMMR BMMR Festival is still a month away, but like my old man always said, three-day garage punk festivals with quality bands from all over the country don't grow on trees. Naturally, the BMMR folks are throwing a benefit show to raise some money for the cost of the fest—feel free to insert joke about buying a vowel here. With White Fang's Wham!-on-drugs pop punk—listen to their new song "Grateful to Shred," and tell me it doesn't sound like a thrashy, barfed-up "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"—the overexposed, blown-out riff-folk of Meth Teeth, and Plan B's positively epic patio, this preview of the festivities to come should tide you over until the real deal on August 13. ETHAN JAYNE

SOFT TAGS, THE SECRET HISTORY, FATHER FIGURES (The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) Prolific Portland lo-fi savants Soft Tags have a new recording to unleash. It's called Tape Side A and was recorded on the road with a handheld tape recorder that Tags' frontman Richard Shirk bought at a garage sale for 99 cents. He describes Tape Side A as a "mixture of field recordings and spooky folk," and it will likely go to the stranger depths the Tags have visited over their already substantial catalog of full-lengths and EPs. Also on the bill is New York's the Secret History, whose singer Lisa Ronson is daughter of the late, legendary guitarist Mick Ronson, who collaborated with glam rock's two greatest songwriters, David Bowie and Ian Hunter (for whom Lisa once sang backup). The Secret History is a continuation of bandleader Michael Grace's previous band My Favorite, and the songs are unruffled, classicist pop, equal parts Motown and the Smiths, delivered with museum-piece precision. NL

 

Comments (0)

Add a comment

Tip for End Hits?
Email them here.

Friends of End Hits

Enemies of End Hits

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use