

That's the album cover up there, and here's the album's first single, "Curse Over Me," a bouncing, midtempo dazzler that meshes the band's many elements: synth-laden electro-pop, laidback R&B, forceful post-punk via a growling bass, and a tweeish sweater-pop element as well. The result is a tropically tinged track that's a great introduction to the new album. (You can check out the previously posted video for Keep It Safe's opening track, "Golden Twin," over here.)
Here's a bit more about the album, from Party Damage's press release:
Dream-pop outfit Wild Ones, one of the most talked-about acts in their native Portland, OR, have completed their debut album Keep It Safe after over a year of intense recording and mixing sessions. The band, which faced lineup changes, hospital visits and financial drama en route to finishing its debut, took a deeply collaborative approach to crafting the record. Keep It Safe was largely self-recorded and produced, and each sonic puzzle piece has been carefully selected by the band. (Even the album artwork was created by the band’s Thomas Himes.) The resulting record is staggering: A swirling, deep concoction of electronic and analog elements that features both huge pop hooks and obsessive attention to detail. Keep It Safe is a Rubik’s Cube of a record that will appeal to fans of everything from Can to Beach House to Brian Eno.The new album can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp, and Wild Ones play a record release show on July 5 at Mississippi Studios. They're also playing the "Cancer Sucks!" benefit with Typhoon on Saturday, June 1, also at Mississippi Studios, which I am certain is gonna hella sell out.

The week kicks off excitingly with news about Pure Bathing Culture's forthcoming album, Moon Tides. It's their first full-length, following up their splendid 2012 self-titled EP, and it's due on August 20 on Partisan Records (in the UK, August 19 on Memphis Industries).
There's also a new track to listen to—"Pendulum" just premiered this morning on Gorilla vs. Bear, but you can listen to it here. The track graced many of PBC's hometown live shows last year, so it should sound pretty familiar. With Dan Hindman's immaculately clean electric guitar and Sarah Versprille's airy but distinct vocals, the track will also open the new album, which—like the self-titled EP—was recorded with Richard Swift at his Cottage Grove, Oregon, studio.
Here's the tracklisting for Moon Tides; amazingly, it will not duplicate any of the incredible tracks from the EP:
1. Pendulum
2. Dream the Dare
3. Evergreener
4. Twins
5. Only Lonely Lovers
6. Scotty
7. Seven 2 One
8. Golden Girl
9. Temples of the Moon
Pure Bathing Culture plays the Wonder Ballroom this Saturday, May 25, opening for Father John Misty—AKA Josh Tillman, whose brother Zach plays bass in Pure Bathing Culture.
When does their first full-length album come out?
July 9, 2013 in the year of our dark lord.
What is it called?
Summon the Faithless.
What does the cover look like?
Cast your eyes upward to the top of this post.
What are the titles of the eight tracks contained within?
1) In a Frightened State of Gnawed Dismemberment
2) Summoning the Faithless
3) Greed Is Your Horse
4) Descend Into External
5) Dreams of Mercy
6) Perverse Osmosis
7) Water Under a Burning Bridge
8) What Is Not... Is
What formats will the album take?
Long-playing vinyl record, compact disc, and digital download.
Is there a very short album trailer I can watch?
Yes.
Where can I pre-order the album?
From Relapse's site, or on Lord Dying's Bandcamp.
Will this album destroy us all?
Undoubtedly.

XRAY.FM, named after the influential X-Ray Cafe venue from Portland's past, has been a long work in progress for the folks at the Cascade Educational Broadcast Service (CEBS). The station is hoping to offer true, listenable free-form radio, much in the manner of the influential New York-area WFMU station. The self-proclaimed mission is "to advance a new radio outlet focusing on the exposure of innovative recording artists, presented by music anoraks heavy-into collecting vinyl." So yeah, you'll be wanting to free up one of those preset buttons on your car stereo.
In the meantime, XRAY Fest has a lot to offer, including DJ sets from Mudhoney's Steve Turner, Voodoo Doughnuts' Tres Shannon, and former mayor Sam Adams, plus live shows from the Bats, Kelli Schaefer, and lots more—plus some cool film screenings as well. Check out all the goings-on after the jump, and hop over to XRAY Fest's site for more info.

The 10 tracks on Ride Out the Dark also include favorites like "Francis" and "Bee Keeper," and while it doesn't include any 20-minute freakout jams, contains plenty of band fireworks from the ensemble of local all-stars: Katie Bernstein, John Gnorski, Courtney Sheedy, Mike Yun, and Graeme Gibson.
Houndstooth plays June 7 at the Doug Fir with Eyelids and Denim Wedding.
Which is why it's only fair to post this wonderful video of Beth Ditto, offering advice via the website Rookie, an online publication for teen girls. This is part of their "Ask a Grown Woman" advice series, kind of like Amy Poehler's "Ask Amy" video series, in which grownup ladies answer questions from the site's young readers.
In this lengthy and thoughtful video (sorry, I don't know how to adjust the aspect ratio fixed!), Ditto answers questions like "Why do people ruin good things?"—in particular, a young girl's questions about coming out to her parents. What Ditto has to say is beautiful, and well worth a listen.
Typhoon singer Kyle Morton has a little bit to say about the new song, "Dreams of Cannibalism," over on WSJ, and the album, which was recorded at Pendarvis Farm (site of Pickathon) and other locations with longtime Typhoon collaborator Paul Laxer has a full track listing posted on Typhoon's site. (Interestingly, one of the 13 tracks is named "Hunger and Thirst," which was the title of Typhoon's 2010 full-length—shades of "Houses of the Holy.")
August 20 cannot get here soon enough, but in the meantime, take a listen to "Dreams of Cannibalism" above, and download it on Soundcloud.

From NME:
Acclaimed jazz trumpeter and Artistic Director of the programme Thara Memory said: "The promoter [of Prince’s Portland gigs] is a longtime friend of mine and he told Prince about the programme. Prince was looking for something to give some money to anyway, and that’s how it came about."Tickets for the two Portland shows were $175 for floor seats—substantially cheaper than tickets for Prince's shows in other markets like Seattle and San Francisco. Assigned balcony seating were $300. I believe there were several day-of-show tickets that went on sale for $100, and those may have been the tickets that, at least in part, went to fund the AMP's Pacific Jazz Orchestra's trip.

SoHiTek Fourth Anniversary with Fanno Creek, Pegasus Dream, DoublePlusGood, Pocketknife; tonight at the Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $5.
By all accounts—and judging by the new material played at those very intimate shows she staged last year at Oaks Pioneer Church—About Farewell will contain among Diane's most personal material yet. From the press release:
"It serves as an eloquent goodbye to lovers from years past, coupled with some poignant last walks down memory lane. While the lyrics deal most directly with her recent divorce, the album explores her entire last decade of relationships with tremendous honesty and nuanced insight. To call the experience "cathartic" would almost be an understatement - for Alela, this was a record which direly needed to be made. In the writing process, she was able to lucidly articulate her emotions about her marriage, a process which led her to realize the necessity of ending one chapter of her life in order to begin a new one."
Let's hear that great new song "The Way We Fall" again. In the meantime, Diane will be performing at another local church—this time at a church-turned-150-seat-theater, Portland Playhouse (602 NE Prescott), on Sunday, May 19. It's part of the "No PA" series, back after nearly two years. Yes, this will be a quiet acoustic show, and Diane will share the bill with two artists from the local Mama Bird Recording Co. label, Vikesh Kapoor and Barna Howard. Tickets for that show are available here.
We've been eagerly awaiting Sun Angle's first full-length album Diamond Junk, and hooray, there's a stream of the full album that you can listen to right now. The album, produced by Menonema's Danny Seim, comes out next week on New Moss Records, and captures the trio in all their explosive, brain-liquifying, orgiastic splendor. There's also a new Into the Woods video for album track "Time Snakes," which you can check out above. It involves a house party, animal masks, and a lot of weed. (Are you surprised?)
OUR STORY SO FAR: Michelle Shocked had a concert scheduled for last night, April 25, at the Alberta Rose Theatre. Then she had some sort of meltdown/rant at a show in San Francisco on March 17, during which the formerly gay/currently born-again singer said some really unpleasant anti-gay remarks. She claims she was misconstrued, but the Alberta Rose show—along with several others on her current tour—were promptly cancelled. In its place, the Alberta Rose scheduled a fundraiser for Basic Rights Oregon called BROmance. Then on March 28, Shocked turned up in Santa Cruz outside one of her own cancelled shows, staging a bizarre protest for free speech, wearing a white jumpsuit and with her mouth taped shut. In this week's "My, What a Busy Week!" we sorta joked about her showing up to the cancelled Portland show and protesting here, too.
Well, that's exactly what happened last night. First, a weird tweet that suggested she was on her way to the Rose City:
God loves baguettes @ipadgoober Gnat in the Hat, is there anything else you like to add to that as we arrive at the city limits of Portland?
— Michelle Shocked (@MShocked) April 25, 2013
At KBOO with Daniel and Brino Send us the HARD questions, citizen journalists who rely on their facts from Reality Media bootlegs Til 7P NOW
— Michelle Shocked (@MShocked) April 26, 2013

Shocked was around the corner in white overalls, sparkly Converse shoes, and sitting on a drum, pounding along. In her mouth, attached to a gold beaded necklace, a gold noise maker... Behind her, a handwritten sign said, "A Poet Assumes Silence Speaks Volumes." She had a cameraman with her recording her and her interactions, though most people didn't seem to have any idea what was going on.White's done a great job with the story, so be sure to check out his full account. It's just a weird and sad story—even weirder and sadder than it seems on the surface. Hollywood Reporter did a lengthy, thoughtful piece about Shocked's recent events, suggesting that mental illness might be playing a role. Meanwhile, Shocked is on her way to Seattle right now, and has been composing impenetrable haikus on her Twitter feed."So what's your deal?" one woman asked.
Shocked responded by blowing her noisemaker.
The new issue features a cover story on Marnie Stern (who's playing at Mississippi Studios on Friday, April 26—she'll be in next week's Mercury as well). There are also pieces on Mary Timony (Helium/Wild Flag), nine-year-old wunderkind Zoe Thomson, Erin Smith (Bratmobile), and an article on female basses, including Kathy Foster of the Thermals, plus gear reviews and tablature. The new cover also showcases the new She Shreds logo, designed by Natalie Baker.
As for this Friday's release show, there will be live performances by Key Losers, Marisa Anderson, and the Ghost Ease, plus the premiere of a short film that documents LKN (Lauren K. Newman) and Lisa Schonberg performing together for the first time inside a local print shop (I watched it; it rips). There's also a raffle, with prizes including a Corin Tucker tote bag full of Kill Rock Stars goodies, and a guitar with two hours of rehearsal-space time from Guitar Center. Also, free Sizzle Pie from 8-9. All this sounds awesome, and now you know.
Troubadour Studio, 1020 SE Market, Fri April 19, 8 pm-midnight, $5, all ages
File this one under: weird but good.
Here's the NFL Network's commercial for the 2013 NFL Draft, which will take place later this month (April 25-27), and it focuses on the emotions of the players and their families. But what's that eerie, evocative, uplifting music playing underneath? That's "Dry Up Those Tears," the 1972 single from blind Oregon guitarist/songwriter Bob Desper.
That single, and Desper's '74 album New Sounds, were reissued in recent years, bringing Desper back into public view after years of only making music for himself and his church. I wrote a review for New Sounds here, and did an interview with Desper here, and also, here's a few words about the amazing, truly amazing show he did at the Woods in June 2010, with Dolorean's Al James and Jon Neufeld backing him up.
While Desper's profile has certainly been raised in recent years, seeing him soundtrack a commercial is pretty unusual, but maybe not all that surprising: Al James works at Mutt Industries, which created the ad for the NFL Network. You can here all of "Dry Up Those Tears" (really a great song) by going here.
Thanks to Paul Montone for the tip.
Will Johnson, frontman of Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, is playing two shows in Portland this week, only I can't tell you where they are. Johnson is in the midst of his Western States Living Room tour, which takes him to a variety of house shows throughout the Western United States. The tour kicked off in Tucson last week, and Johnson plays Eugene tomorrow night, followed by two Portland shows (in two different houses) on Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18. To buy tickets—and to find out where these shows are—check out the Undertow Tickets page (Facebook events here). Tickets are $15 and each show can only hold around 35-50 people. I'd wager that Johnson will perform a song or two from his 2009 collaborative album with the recently passed Jason Molina, and will probably share a story or two about the man. The chance to see Johnson perform in a club is not an opportunity to pass lightly; the chance to see him in a Portland living room is downright unmissable. Just don't spill any red wine on the carpet.
More info about these shows here. You can also hear Johnson's latest solo album, Scorpion, on Soundcloud. Also, after the jump is the video for Centro-matic's "Only in My Double Mind" from their last album Candidate Waltz, simply because that song is awesome.