LADYTRON, GEOGRAPHER, SONOIO
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) The electropop charmers of Ladytron have been releasing stylish, sexy dance records for over a decade—this week, they drop into Portland to promote their fifth studio album, the alluringly titled Gravity the Seducer. ALISON HALLETT

WEEKEND, TALK NORMAL, HAUSU, GHOST ANIMAL
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) San Franners Weekend are starting to seek treatment for their troubled sound, but it hasn't been

easy. Their needle-flicking no-wave punk is laced with Shin-ei fuzz bursts and dipped in dubby, junked-out atmospherics that get your brain firing on all cylinders. Not the kind of habit you kick overnight. Last year's addictive debut, Sports, sounded like Sonic Youth's Bad Moon Rising overdosing on itself: terminally void, with debilitating endorphin surges. Now, the trio's post-punk pastiche certainly took the senses on a heavy trip, but too much of that stuff would have eventually been the death of them. Fortunately, the band has undergone a rehabilitation of sorts on their new EP, Red, for Slumberland Records. They're still prone to noisy relapses here and there, but their songs are now injected with a higher dosage of songwriting and production value. And now that these guys are off the hard stuff, maybe they'll clean up after all. CHRIS CANTINO

Continue reading »

JOLIE HOLLAND
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Since the beautifully timid bedroom assembly of 2003's Catalpa, Jolie Holland has proven herself an exceptional, genre-spanning songwriter with a unique voice, her words often scrawled and fluttering across the tracks in a hard drawl. Holland's latest release, Pint of Blood, provides a measurable assessment of her departure from those creakier low-fidelity days, yet it feels more well worn and earthbound than 2008's tautly produced alt-country foray, The Living and the Dead. The album is littered with candid moments, like in the sweeping classic rock number "Gold and Yellow," where Holland nearly trails off altogether as she closes out the tune, singing, "I come unraveled/you come unfastened/and we take hold." Pint of Blood even features a reimagined, improvisational jazz rendition of "The Littlest Birds" (now titled "Little Birds"), a particularly precious song from Catalpa. If nothing else, it's good to see Holland reemerging in familiar territory. RAQUEL NASSER

TWIN SHADOW, DIAMOND RINGS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The music of Twin Shadow (George Lewis Jr.) resembles Junior Boys' sensitive-guy bedroomtronica, which has roots in Depeche Mode, New Order, and Soft Cell's most introspective material. He's also something of a romantic crooner in the vein of Bryan Ferry and Morrissey, but without those icons' more sweeping dramatic range. With Twin Shadow's 2010 album Forget (produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor), we're in the familiar territory of semi-danceable, '80s synth-pop revivalism, but done with heartfelt sincerity instead of neon-Ray-Ban'd irony. Lewis is obviously a scrupulous songwriter, hyper aware of the sonic signifiers that trigger nostalgic pangs in synthesizer fetishists with a weakness for fey-male-centric tunesmithery and understatedly glittery production techniques. DAVE SEGAL

Continue reading »

BRAIDS, PEPPER RABBIT, PAINTED PALMS
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Montreal pop zealots Braids (lose the "S" and they become the best Midwest emo band of the '90s) headline this stellar lineup of three diverse yet oddly similar acts that are unafraid to let their artistic vision bleed into their music. On Native Speaker, Braids open up a rabbit hole of swirling melodic synth numbers that could liquify a glacier with the wondrously warm vocal delivery of frontwoman Raphaelle Standell-Preston. Pepper Rabbit's adventurous sound is rooted firmly in folk music, sounding like the Shins might have had they not given up a few years back (sorry, but you know it's true). With invigorating, high-energy arrangements, Painted Palms just might be the best of the bunch—which is saying a lot—as their debut EP, Canopy, channels all the good of Passion Pit (addictive candy-coated electro pop) and none of the bad (that damn helium voice). With a lineup this impressive, it'll be worth your while to come early and stay late. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

CESCHI, RICKOLUS, KAIGEN, HIVES INQUIRY SQUAD
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Fake Four Inc., the label helmed by Ceschi Ramos with his brother David, is a genre-bending collective with a lineage that extends from, and expands beyond, the Anticon school of thought. With a hiphop ethos as the jump-off, Fake Four Inc. releases have varied from the folk-electronic Cars & Trains to the morose goth-hop of Dark Time Sunshine. In his current musical incarnation, Ramos plays solo with an acoustic guitar and laptop, emceeing as Ceschi with a commanding delivery that sounds like Everlast on mushrooms jamming with Little Wings. RickoLus is a solo endeavor that eludes genre categorization, although the work of one Richard J. Colado is the most melodic option of the night, and his releases come courtesy of local label Circle into Square. Japanese emcee Kaigen is a kinetic performer with top-tier global connections, while Southeast Portland's own Hives Inquiry Squad bring it all back home again. RYAN FEIGH

BON IVER, OTHER LIVES
(Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale, OR) All hyperbole aside, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is a once-in-a-lifetime singer. Vernon's golden voice and tender songs have resonated with the masses in a way that few artists will ever experience. Tonight's show is way sold out, but you can always sit in the parking lot and bask in the glorious sounds. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

RADIATION CITY, BLOUSE, AAN
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Radiation City.

Continue reading »

JAMES BLAKE, TEENGIRL FANTASY
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) James Blake might be quiet in sound, but his deeply personal and evolved take on restrained dubstep packs a mighty wallop. The Londoner's wounded vocoder-assisted croon draws comparisons to his pal Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, duh), and his deeply focused live show will send your heart aflutter. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

GRAND REOPENING: SONS OF HUNS, THE LORDY LORDS, ADVISORY, THE NO TOMORROW BOYS
(Club 21, 2035 NE Glisan) Beloved local dive bar Club 21 just got a facelift, courtesy of new owners (who also own Gold Dust Meridian). An expanded patio is chief among the Club's new assets, but don't worry—the iconic "Steaks" sign isn't going anywhere. Celebrate the bar's reopening tonight alongside bar regulars and a handful of local bands. ALISON HALLETT

Continue reading »