End Hits, Portland Mercury

New Witch Mountain Track and Album News

Ned Lannamann — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:15:31 -0700

That's the album cover for the new, excellently titled Witch Mountain record, Cauldron of the Wild. (We love Jack London puns more than any other puns.) The cover's by Sam Ford and Jason Lewis, and a preview track from the album turned up over on Pitchfork today. It's called "Aurelia" and it's mighty long, clocking in at 11 minutes. We couldn't magically portal the song over here, but you can stream it over there.

Cauldron of the Wild comes out on June 12 on the esteemed Profound Lore label. It's hot on the heels of the last Witch Mountain album, 2011's South of Salem, which appeared a full decade after the album before that. What gives with Witch Mountain's accelerated pace? Not sure, but we'll take it. Witch Mountain kicks off a US tour at the beginning of June before returning home to Portland for a show at Backspace on Saturday, June 23. In the meantime, a track-by-track look at Cauldron of the Wild is over at the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

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Tonight in Music: Fin de Cinema and Jolie Holland

Lex Chase — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:10:00 -0700

FIN DE CINEMA: GOOD NIGHT BILLYGOAT, WOODEN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND,
BLOOD BEACH
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) I can't believe something as cool as this is going to happen. While the super beautiful, surrealist 1976 Czech new wave film Mala Morska Vila (The Little Mermaid) screens, crazy good local bands Good Night Billygoat, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, and Blood Beach will score the film. SUZETTE SMITH

JOLIE HOLLAND, STEFAN JECUSCO
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Jolie Holland is from Texas, but her kinda bluesy, kinda chanteuse-y songs defy both regionalism and chronology. Her songs are evocative because they are intended to be, but what has always set her apart in my mind is the way she seems to masticate every syllable, rolling it around in her mouth before sending it on its way. But for her passionate superfans, it is her lyrics that matter,Â profoundly describing the experiences of her devotees. On her fifth album, Pint of Blood, she channels '70s folk rock to such an extent that any CSNY fan will find it familiar and enjoyable. It isn't a country album, but its distorted guitars and sad melodies—and emotional earnestness—bring to mind heartbreak in hazy bars like the best of them. REBECCA WILSON

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Video: Ozarks: "Pyramids of Love"

Ned Lannamann — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:27:13 -0700

We've been waiting for the forthcoming Ozarks record for as long as we've known about it; it's a glowing, hazy, goofy pop record with a look backward to the baroque pop of the late '60s and the turtlenecked, smooth sounds of the early '70s. Ozarks will be out soon; Robbie Augsperger (who's responsible for that Wolf Choir thing at the Hollywood, as well as the finest Spirit Mountain Casino ads that Photoshop can buy) recorded the 15-track album with Eric Lee, who also lent his hand to the video above.

"Pyramids of Love" appeared on a split 7-inch last year, and it will also be on Ozarks, which comes out very, very soon—we'll let you know exactly when, but in the meantime, mosey on over to Bandcamp or Soundcloud to hear some more tracks from the record.

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Tonight in Music: White Hills and Carina Round

Lex Chase — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:25:23 -0700

WHITE HILLS, KINSKI
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) The space cadets from New York's White Hills are all about propulsion—they won't shy away from a meandering psychedelic passage or three, either. Over the past few years White Hills have left in their wake a purple haze of CDRs, 7-inches, EPs, and a couple of long-players that are as much druggy fun as staring at a black-light poster while chewing on a bag of mushrooms. (Or so I've heard.) The band's latest, Frying on This Rock (on the otherworldly Thrill Jockey label), captures the band live as the psychedelic squalor gets a bit of a makeover—more controlled chaos, less infinite space jams. White Hills occasionally tread into '60s psych parody with some Velvet-y spoken-word breakdowns. But by then you're already on board. MARK LORE

CARINA ROUND, MYRRH LARSEN
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Forget Puscifer, the whimsical comedy-rock side project of Tool's Maynard James Keenan. The solo career of UK singer Carina Round—best known to stateside audiences as a touring member of that band—is what you should be paying attention to. Round's great new solo album, Tigermending, is dark and daring, with echoes of PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, although Round stands in the shadow of neither. She's in command of her own fierce, lovely, progressive brand of pop with tunes like "Girl and the Ghost" and "The Last Time." NED LANNAMANN

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New Tallest Man Song!

Ned Lannamann — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:24:34 -0700

Over two sparse, acoustic albums, the Tallest Man on Earth—who is not actually the tallest man on Earth—has proven himself to be one of the finest singer/songwriters around. Tallest Man—actually one Kristian Matsson—recorded his new album, There's No Leaving Now, at home in Sweden. He's using overdubs for the first time, but don't worry, purists, this isn't gonna be Pet Sounds. A new track just went up on Rolling Stone, which you can listen to right here:

LISTEN:

The Tallest Man on Earth - "1904"

He's announced a bevy of tour dates for the late summer and fall, and while there's no Portland show announced yet, we have it on good authority that he'll be in town soon. (If you want any more hints, you'll have to wait until May 30.)

I like "1904," and while it doesn't quite grab me the way many of the Tallest Man on Earth's best songs have, I couldn't be more eager for his new record. There's No Leaving Now comes out June 12, and we probably won't shut up about it.

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Stream a New Mean Jeans Song!

Andrew R Tonry — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:14:49 -0700

Andrew R Tonry

The Jeans contributed a new song, "Bad Dreams," to the upcoming The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore, a compilation of poppy punk bands as collated by Livermore, the onetime head of Lookout! Records.

"Bad Dreams" isn't embed-able, so head over here to listen. Good to see the Jeans are staying busy writing after the release of Mean Jeans on Mars. I can only hope they continue to be as prolific with the singles and seven-inch releases as they were after Are You Serious?

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Yob - "Adrift in the Ocean"

Andrew R Tonry — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:10:15 -0700

It may be old, but so what—doesn't make it any less awesome. (Bonus points for taking place at the WOW Hall, the venerable venue in Eugene that launched my love of live music.)

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Rock 'n' Roll Times at the Rose Festival

Ned Lannamann — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:10:42 -0700

With the St. Johns Bizarre and Sunday Parkways this weekend, Portland's outdoor season has officially begun, and under dryer conditions than normal, not that anyone's complaining. The Rose Festival is about to rear its big, rosy head as well. This year they've put together a very respectable concert lineup as part of the festival's "RoZone"—a breathtaking portmanteau of a word—but seriously, there are some good bands playing. Take a look at the highlights:

Sun May 27 - Alabama Shakes (5:30 pm)

Fri June 1 - Lost Lander (5 pm), And And And (6:30 pm), Black Prairie (8 pm), Y La Bamba (9:30 pm)

Fri June 8 - The Minus 5 (6 pm), The Parson Red Heads (7:45)

Sun June 10 - Radiation City (3:30 pm), The Robinsons (5 pm), Corin Tucker Band (6:30 pm), The Thermals (8 pm)

That Alabama Shakes show costs extra to get in, but the others are all part of the Rose Festival's CityFair thingamajig at the Waterfront and you can see 'em by paying the $5 admission. Those are some very solid lineups—the June 1 and June 10 shows, in particular, should be ones to catch. To see the full music schedule (and find out exactly when Floater is playing), go over here and grab the PDF.

Although the main part of the Rose Festival doesn't kick off until Friday, May 25, the half marathon is on this Sunday, May 20. And it's not just any old half marathon—it's a ROCK 'N' ROLL Half Marathon, with 20 bands spread out over the marathon route. Nothing says fitness like the sound of music receding in your ears as you run away from it as quickly as you can. A PDF of Sunday's marathon schedule is on this page.

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Tonight in Music: Great Lake Swimmers

Lex Chase — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:23:57 -0700

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS, COLD SPECKS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The misty, delicate folk music of Great Lake Swimmers has packed on some muscle over the years, but their lush cold-morning beauty is as striking as ever. The just-released New Wild Everywhere is the Canadian band's fifth full-length, and it's one of their finest, earthiest records so far. NED LANNAMANN

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Video: My Body - "New Cat"

Ned Lannamann — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:28:58 -0700

Hopefully you've heard the terrific "New Cat" from My Body—a song that received no small praise earlier on End Hits. Now here's the video, and it's a vector-ific clip from Calvin Waterman that raises plenty of intriguing questions. Like, where is that black car going at 2:15 in the morning? Who's staying in Room 924? And why does this video remind me so much of the Chuck Yeager flight simulator computer program my older brother played on our family's old IBM?

Some questions are better left unanswered, and the song's lush backing track and hypnotic melody grows in resonance as the track goes on. The video's visuals, too, get more involving as it progresses, and the basic colors and shapes begin to resemble something out of real life.

My Body play a free show this Saturday, May 19, at Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi) with Wild Ones and Adventure Galley. Listen to another My Body track here.

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Tonight in Music: The Boxer Rebellion, Iron Butterfly, and Sleepy Sun

Lex Chase — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:00:53 -0700

THE BOXER REBELLION, CANON BLUE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) The Boxer Rebellion has the kind of international Anglophone lineup that gives rise to suspicions of record studio execs with deep pockets and clever marketing strategies—One Direction for the parents of One Direction fans. This couldn't be further from the truth. At one point, nine years ago, the Boxer Rebellion were in fact signed to a record label, Poptones, which promptly went bust. Despite critical acclaim in the UK and a key secondary roll in the atrocious Drew Barrymore vehicle Going the Distance, they've remained unsigned ever since. On The Cold Still, the Boxer Rebellion have written a third album of sweeping, beautiful rock-pop that brings to mind early Radiohead, young Chris Martin, and especially Doves, another band that prizes epic, chiming guitar music over the whims of fashion in either music or hairstyle. REBECCA WILSON

IRON BUTTERFLY, MAGIC CARPET RIDE
(Mt. Tabor Theater, 4811 SE Hawthorne) Iron Butterfly is a band shrouded in mystery. Everyone's heard the urban legend about "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and how it was supposed to be sung "In the garden of Eden," but vocalist Doug Ingle was so drunk he slurred his words. Then there's the strange death of bassist Philip Taylor Kramer; conspiracy theorists claim he had discovered a math formula that the CIA didn't want him to. The most recent mystery: What the hell are they doing playing in Portland on a Sunday night?! The band has gone through more lineup changes than Spinal Tap could even joke about, so who knows what you'll get at this show. The band's most recent inception does have one member from the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" lineup: bassist Lee Dorman. So maybe they'll play it? ARIS WALES

SLEEPY SUN, THE UPSIDEDOWN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) I wouldn't have guessed that the glue holding Sleepy Sun together was the feminine touch. Singer Rachel Fannan—who shared vocal duties with Bret Constantino—left the otherwise all-male band in 2010 under intensely acrimonious circumstances, and at the San Francisco group's last show here in town (opening for the Black Angels at the Wonder last May), it felt decidedly like something was missing. Instead of the enchanting, lysergic, ice-and-fire psychedelia the band brandished with Fannan, Sleepy Sun sounded thuggish. Their shape-shifting sounds felt cumbersome instead of transformative; their mystic, tribal vibe was replaced by disappointingly conventional bro-down rock. Sleepy Sun's third album Spine Hits (their first without Fannan) sounds fine enough—Constantino and the remaining Sleepy crew still have a formidable grasp on dramatics and dynamics—even if there's nothing as mind-reeling as those highlights on the first two records. NED LANNAMANN

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Tonight in Music: St. Johns Bizarre, The Dead Milkmen, Light Asylum and more!!

Lex Chase — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:21:22 -0700

ST. JOHNS BIZARRE: CORIN TUCKER BAND, AU, OLD LIGHT, DUSU MALI BAND,
GRANDPARENTS, & MORE
(N Lombard & Philadelphia) The St. Johns Bizarre and Parade are a Portland rite of spring. Come for the retro kitsch—pirates, classic cars, marching bands, and waving politicians—and stay for food, booze, and music from the likes of the Corin Tucker Band. DENIS C. THERIAULT

THE DEAD MILKMEN, THE WE SHARED MILK, THE EX-GIRLFRIENDS CLUB
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th) Read our article on the Dead Milkmen.

LIGHT ASYLUM, LITANIC MASK, LIGHT HOUSE
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Shannon Funchess' voice is a force of nature. Powerful, chilling, almost elemental in its ferocity—her voice sounds like it could knock down the Walls of Jericho. Obviously, Funchess' singing is the focal point of Light Asylum, the electro-goth (or darkwave, or whatever the hell you want to call it) duo of Funchess and Bruno Coviello. Their debut self-titled full-length is a collection of rigidly mechanized dance tracks with well-worn '80s sonic palettes that sound convincingly post-apocalyptic. It would be all striking enough on its own—hell, Funchess could make anything sound compelling—but there's some solid songwriting under all that corrugated steel and electrical tape. Witness how "Pope Will Roll" evolves from rigid goosestep into soulful floor-bumper via a yearning chorus; most of the tracks on Light Asylum pull off a similar trick. The duo's made good on the promise of their excellent early EPs, becoming an act that's now impossible to ignore. NED LANNAMANN

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Posted Without Comment

Ned Lannamann — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:16:16 -0700

via

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Tonight in Music: Death Cab for Cutie, Cattle Decapitation, You Won't, and a few more!

Lex Chase — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:15:47 -0700

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE WITH THE MAGIK*MAGIK ORCHESTRA, YOUTH LAGOON
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway) Ever wondered what one of the Northwest's biggest bands would sound like with an orchestra? Wonder no more! Death Cab for Cutie has enlisted San Francisco's Magik*Magik Orchestra for this tour, sweetening those songs you know so well with stringy, horny, windy things. Don't miss openers Youth Lagoon, who had to cancel their first Portland show back in January. NED LANNAMANN

ORIGIN, CATTLE DECAPITATION, DECREPIT BIRTH, ABORTED, RINGS OF SATURN, BATTLECROSS, LOCULUS
(Branx, 320 SE 2nd) Read our article on Cattle Decapitation.

ALCOHOLIC FAITH MISSION, YOU WON'T
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) On its face, the lively, literate and springy coffeeshop folk ofÂ Josh Arnoudse, singer of Boston's You Won't, would be worthwhile on its own. Existential musings and anti-consumer messages couple with stirring, unshakeable melodies. But then comes the rub—You Won't mash these lovely strummers with abrupt, cascading syncopation, startling shifts in tempo, and sudden, swirling instrumentation. Think the Tallest Man on Earth doing the verse and Dirty Projectors crashing in for the chorus. Of course, You Won't are a less precise, more shambolic, clattering outfit, but these characteristics underscore the impermanence they sing about. Indeed, there's not much out there like it. And while they may be buried on this particular bill, it's hard to imagine they will be for long. Hot damn, something good came out of Boston. Who knew? ANDREW R TONRY

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Van Halen Is Playing the Rose Garden in August

Ned Lannamann — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:29:22 -0700

HALEN IS COMING! HALEN IS COMING!

Hot on the heels of their show in Tacoma last week, Van Halen has announced a Portland date: Thursday, August 23 at the Rose Garden. Now imagine it spoken aloud in one of those super-deep, octavized radio commercial voices: "Vannn Halennnnnnn... at the Rose Gardennnnnn..... August twenty-thirrrRRRrrrdddddddd...."

Van Halen's Tacoma show also had Kool and the Gang on the bill, which was weird. But this might be even weirder: The opener for the Portland show is Ky-mani Marley (son of Bob). So, um, yeah. That is happening.

This is the part where I'm supposed to say something snarky about the band and how terribly they've aged over the years, but you know what? Fuck it. HALEN IS COMING! (Also, our resident metal expert says Halen's latest record, A Different Kind of Truth, is really, really good. Whatever. I will take his word for it.)

Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 19 at 10 am at Live Nation, the Rose Garden box office, and Safeway.

UPDATE! The awesome Van Halen Voodoo Doughnut that arrived at the Merc office this morning—after the jump!

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This Week's Mercury Music Section

Ned Lannamann — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:22:27 -0700

photo by James Loveday
The Wave Pictures: What a nice looking bunch of chaps.

Another week, another Mercury music section, which contains some pretty great stuff—even if there's nothing as great as Eric Grandy's excellent piece on what is probably the biggest music story of the year: Against Me!'s singer Tom Gabel coming out as transgender. Not to get too stuffy about it, but this is a landmark in rock 'n' roll history. Tom Gabel/Laura Jane Grace (and Grandy, too) deserve our utmost respect.

With that bit of pomp out of the way, let's check out the Wave Pictures! They're one of the smaller rock stories of the year. Which is a shame, because they're a dynamite band. You deserve to treat yourself to their quality.
LISTEN:

The Wave Pictures - "My Head Gets Screwed on Tighter Every Year"

You might think the Dead Milkmen are well past their sell-by date. Not so! Thanks to their razor sharp wit (and Monsieur Louis Pasteur), these guys aren't going anywhere.
LISTEN:

The Dead Milkmen - "Fauxhemia"

There's no one out there making smoother jams than Cattle Decapitation. Their easy, breezy tones are the very definition of subtlety and refinement.
LISTEN:

Cattle Decapitation - "A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat"

To be a little bit more serious, the Weeknd makes some pretty smooth jams. The lyrics, however, are pretty royally fucked up. That Abel Tesfaye is a man of mystery.
LISTEN:

The Weeknd - "Montreal"

Plus a big bouncing bunch of Up & Coming shows.

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Win Tickets to See Beck in Bend!

Ned Lannamann — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:13:34 -0700

[UPDATE: This contest is closed and the winner has been notified.]

Polyglot pop artiste Beck has been seemingly silent lately—it's been close to four years since his last album, Modern Guilt—but Beck has been plenty busy with soundtrack work, collaborations, and lending his production hand to great recent records by Thurston Moore, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Stephen Malkmus.

But it's Beck himself who takes the stage for a few select dates this summer, and one of those dates is at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon! It's a bit of a jaunt from Portland, but thankfully the Beck show lands on Sunday, May 27—smack dab in the middle of Memorial Day weekend.

As luck would have it, we're giving away a pair of tickets! This should be an outstanding show. Possibly new material? Possibly old hits? Which incarnation of Beck are we going to see?

FIND OUT by sending an email to this address with "Beck in Bend" in the subject line. Please include your name in the email; a winner will be selected at random, although flattery never hurt anybody. (Also, hey, Metric is on the bill, too!) These are hard tickets, so you'll need to stop by the Mercury office (115 SW Ash, Suite 600) to pick them up during business hours. If you're not able to do that—and if you're not able to get down to Bend for the show—please don't enter. (Also, if you're even thinking about scalping these tickets, fuck you, you miserable shit.) Show info and tickets here; this contest will close Monday, May 14 at noon. Good luck!

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Tonight in Music: Allo Darlin' + The Wave Pictures, The Weeknd, & More

Lex Chase — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:58:13 -0700

ALLO DARLIN', THE WAVE PICTURES, ADVENTURE GALLEY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) The British quartet Allo Darlin' are poppy but not predictable, clever but not glib, twee but never cloying. Live, frontwoman Elizabeth Morris brings an antic punk-rock energy that transforms her lovelorn songs into something fierce and rare. Their last Portland show was cancelled when the band ran into visa troubles—tonight's show has been a long time coming. ALISON HALLETT Also, read our article on the Wave Pictures.

THE WEEKND
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) Read our article on the Weekend.

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Listen to a Track from the Upcoming Onuinu Album

Ned Lannamann — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:32:15 -0700

Here's the first preview track from the upcoming Onuinu album Mirror Gazer, which comes out August 21 on Bladen County. It's the first full-length release from Onuinu—the alter ego of Dorian Duvall, who recorded the record with Jeremy Sherrer co-producing and playing drums.

Tell us more about Mirror Gazer, press release!

Dorian calls the music Disco-Hop and is easy to cite influences like: Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael Jackson, the Brainfeeder Crew, and Stones Throw Records. The giant chorus of opening track, "Mirror Gazer," the '70s shimmer of "Happy Home," and the roller rink ready "Always Awkward," point to his foundation in the disco, power pop and hip hop worlds.

"I was drawn more to guitar when I was a teenager listening to Hendrix and jazz and then transitioned into more pop music like the Beatles, Kinks, Zombies," Duvall says.

Here's "Happy Home," which shows evidence of that balance between classic Anglo pop and Dorian's later influences, like Madlib, J Dilla, Prince, and Jan Hammer.

LISTEN:

Onuinu - "Happy Home"

Onuinu plays tomorrow night (Fri May 11) at Mississippi Studios. That's a free show. Then he embarks on a national tour with YACHT. Mirror Gazer cover image and tracklist after the jump!

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Tonight in Music: Black Moth Super Rainbow, Order of the Gash, Reva Devito + Roane Namuh, & More

Ned Lannamann — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:16:50 -0700

spraypaint by Black Moth Super Rainbow

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW, LUMERIANS, PICTORIALS
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Garnishing tweaked-out, bloodshot psychedelia with sugar-sweet synth candy, Black Moth Super Rainbow's music is like a stranger in an unmarked van, luring you to certain, irresistible danger. Their newest tracks sound like Air's slick Moon Safari fallen on hard, methy times—in other words: beautiful, ruined, and totally compelling. NED LANNAMANN

ORDER OF THE GASH, DIMESLAND, NASALROD, BRONSON ARM
(Plan B, 1305 SE 8th) Order of the Gash (featuring the Merc's own Aris Wales on the skins) sounds evil... then not so evil, then evil again. Okay, it's evil. And relentless. The trio's new full-length Configuration takes Norwegian black metal and turns it on its ear. Yes, there's the speed and precision, and a vocalist who sounds like Beelzebub, but Order of the Gash also have the punk-rock 'tude that informed many of the NWOBHM bands of the late '70s. Basically, OotG don't follow the familiar metal tropes or take themselves too seriously. In fact, the best song on the record is called "Rigormortis on the Rocks"—it's fast and brutal, but it's more Evil Dead 2 than The Exorcist. MARK LORE

Cloudshine by Roane Namuh & Reva DeVito

REVA DEVITO AND ROANE NAMUH, TxE, DJ KEZ
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Soul and R&B fans in Portland are usually S.O.L. for local live shows. You're 100 times more likely to see us digging through dusty crates and groovin' on our headphone-jams than at a venue (or, we're at a venue dancing to someone else's records). Live music? What's that? Luckily, Portland singer Reva DeVito and DJ/producer Roane Namuh have paired up to create and perform their latest release Cloudshine. Making a departure from DeVito's 2011 debut EP, where her ethereal, loungy vocals floated somewhere above a collection of beats with divergent moods, Cloudshine is an R&B album, reminiscent of Janelle MonÁe or Estelle. There is something to be said for a focused sophomore project—just because you can make music in more than one style doesn't mean you necessarily should. Cloudshine gives the people what they want—slow jams for the honeys! ROCHELLE HUNTER

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Another New Gossip Song: "Move in the Right Direction"

Ned Lannamann — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:17 -0700

Another new Gossip song turned up on Rolling Stone yesterday: Here's "Move in the Right Direction," the second advance track from their new record A Joyful Noise, which comes out May 22 on Columbia. (That's the sorta unsettling album cover up top.)

You're surely wondering: Is this new Gossip tune a glittering, infectious floorbumper? The answer: Does the pope know jack shit about gay rights? (Sorry, that was a bit labored; it's been an up-and-down couple of days, what with the positive news of Against Me!'s Tom Gabel announcing transgender plans and Obama supporting gay marriage offsetting that idiocy in North Carolina. Still, the title "Move in the Right Direction" couldn't feel more fitting.) The answer is a resounding yes, of course, with Beth Ditto capably matching the tune's undeniable discothèque-iness (also labored, sorry) with a measure of introspection.

Move In The Right Direction by Gossip Music

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Tonight in Music: Father John Misty and Amen Dunes

Lex Chase — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:02:22 -0700

FATHER JOHN MISTY, HAR MAR SUPERSTAR
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our article on Father John Misty.

AMEN DUNES, PRESCRIPTION PILLS,
DJ YETI
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) It's hard to identify which element of Brooklyn-based Amen Dune's music is more arresting. There's the plaintive reverberations of electric guitar that veer from pleasing melody to clamoring distortion, achieving an eerily affecting personification; then there's bandleader Damon McMahon's unique vocal yawp, which oscillates through a range of tone and expression, ringing in aching clarity with alternately strangled sweetness and unsettling edge. On recordings such as last year's Through Donkey Jaw (on Sacred Bones Records), the combined elements blur across a spectrum of the manmade and organic, culminating in an alchemy of human sentiment and aural rumination that is both discombobulating and sublime. In live performance, subtle, mallet-led percussion augments the songs and buzzing digital instrumentation, giving body to McMahon's haunting song-skeletons. MARANDA BISH

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Video: Deer or the Doe - "Descriptions"

Ned Lannamann — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:23:19 -0700

Here's "Descriptions," the first single and video from Deer or the Doe's upcoming debut album. Like many great things in life, it's really noisy and far too brief, riding a full-throttle squall for little more than a minute and a half. It's like a quick sprint, and fittingly the video sees members of Deer or the Doe running towards the camera—either trying to catch up, or more likely running away from something behind.

Deer or the Doe's very first full-length (following two EPs and a split live release) is called Tonight We Love You, and it comes out Tuesday, May 29. The band plays a release show on Thursday, May 31 at Mississippi Studios (3939 N Mississippi) with Radiation City and Point Juncture, WA.

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Premiere: Junk Culture - "Oregon"

Ned Lannamann — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:59:45 -0700

"She said that I think it's time to move to Oregon/I know, I know, I know, I know I'm not free," sings Junk Culture's Deepak Mantena. We know the feeling. Actually, Oregon's quite a long way from Oxford, Mississippi, where Mantena's been living—but he's originally from Oregon, and he's planning to move back here, too. "Oregon" is the opening track on the forthcoming Junk Culture debut full-length, Wild Quiet. We've got it here in an exclusive premiere.

LISTEN:

Junk Culture - "Oregon"

It's a clattery, brash pop song with echoing guitar chords, huge drums, and a hook to match. The song makes Mantena's (and our) home state sound like an escape, a distant paradise where things might be a little easier. Go us. But before we Oregonians start getting all back-patty about this "Oregon" song, though, it's worth noting that Wild Quiet—out July 31 on Illegal Art—also has a song called "Washington." (Presumably, that's a super-sad ballad about how Washington isn't as great as Oregon.)

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Now THAT'S What I Call Punk!

Ned Lannamann — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:43:17 -0700

Here's a '90s TV commercial for what has got to be the most PUNK compilation ever made. "It's loaded with our favorite tunes, man!" Everything about this screams authentic PUNK, from the metalhead wigs to the PUNK-AS-FUCK track selection. I don't know if I can handle this much PUNK!

Oh god, this is hilarious.

h/t: Nipper/Line Out

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