Portland music

TDoL Presents: Nucular Aminals, Koko and the Sweetmeats, and Still Caves at The Know

Monday, January 9th, 2012 | musiX, pdX | No Comments


On Wednesday, Jan. 11, The Days of Lore Presents a night at The Know in Portland with our noisy friends Nucular Aminals, Koko and the Sweetmeats and Still Caves.

Not only is the show a doozy that’s sure to get out of hand (in a very polite, indie-rock sort of way), it also marks the third in a series of shows this week celebrating The Know’s seventh anniversary. Seattle trio Koko and the Sweetmeats killed me (softly) in 2011 with their latest album SACRIFICE and their otherworldly skronky blues, easily landing the top spot in TDoL’s year-end list of albums in 2011. And Nucular Aminals (K Records) and newcomers Still Caves will surely melt you with their off-kilter psychedelic rawk.

Tix are a measly five bucks, so you really have no excuse not to come down to The Know for a Hump Day buzz and some rock and roll, eh?

“Day & Day” - Nucular Aminals

“My Brain Came From a Factory” - Koko and the Sweetmeats

“Dutch” - Still Caves

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Electric Company

Friday, November 11th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

LIVE: Wild Flag and Drew Grow & the Pastor’s Wives at Doug Fir, 11.9.11

Supergroups are never super. Therefore, Wild Flag can’t be considered a supergroup. The former Sleater-Kinney/Minders/Helium members have formed a great American rock band—incredibly fun songs, endless energy—I almost forgot what it’s like to experience a real rock show. Rock ‘n’ roll mythology seems to be what fuels Wild Flag. They unabashedly celebrate it in their songs. They act it out onstage. And I love them all the more for it. So did the sold-out crowd at the Doug Fir, which on this night might as well have been Budokon … save for the fact audience members stood rather than sit and clap politely.

Drew Grow & the Pasture’s Wives led things off with an eclectic, slightly overwrought set of strummy rock jams. The energy was there, but the songs weren’t all that memorable. Then again, I need to be beaten over the head … which is where Wild Flag comes in.

I’ve always thought the best bands were the ones in which you could pick out the individual personalities. And Wild Flag has plenty of it. Former Helium axetress Mary Timony’s controlled guitar lines and (comparatively) prim stage presence were met with Carrie Brownstein’s Joey Ramone hiccup and Jimmy Page-meets-Pete Townshend flash (complete with lots of leg kicks and windmills). Basher Janet Weiss and keyboardist Rebecca Cole make up the concrete-slab rhythm section, and occasionally exchanged wide smiles while providing the bulk of the grrrl-group harmonies.

Musically Wild Flag is somewhere in the neighborhood of Cheap Trick meets Sonic Youth meets The Supremes—gloriously tight and sloppy all at once, compact power-pop songs occasionally giving way to extended noise freakouts (most notably on the terrific “Glass Tambourine”). Wild Flag ran through the entire record, hitting on eternally endearing songs like “Boom” and “Electric Band.” These old-hands tap into the primal innocence and reckless abandon of teen punks with more conviction than any of this week’s hot blog’s yesterday’s news. Probably because this is no act.

It remained that way right on through the encore, which led off seamlessly with The Ramones’ “Judy Is a Punk.” The only lapse of the evening was when Brownstein slipped into Portlandia mode. It seems the ladies of Wild Flag had received coupons for free acupuncture. Brownstein explained how she thought she would have to cancel because of prior plans, only to realize that those prior plans included an acupuncture appointment. “Only in Portland,” she said. I feared Fred Armisen might appear onstage in a dress at any moment. That surely would have been no rock ‘n’ roll fun.

Photo by Mark Lore

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Black Friday, White Knuckles, Red Fang

Friday, April 29th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

How do you categorize Portland’s Red Fang? Four 30-somethings who wield mammoth rock riffs like young’ns and apparently have little regard for metal’s conventions. They’ve been called metal, stoner rock, neo-grunge—all of which is just music critic-speak for “I don’t know what the fuck to call them” …

… Well, I don’t know what the fuck to call them, either. They’re not exactly metal (though that probably would be the most accurate descriptor). They’re not just a rock band (or are they?). They’re not stoner (musically speaking). And neo-grunge is just a slap in the fangs. The band’s second release Murder the Mountains (Relapse) is a monster. And it’s all over the place—heavy as a two-ton slab of concrete, intricate when needed and, dare I say it, accessible. “Wires” offers the best of all worlds—multiple parts, moodiness, power, aggression—which sounds a lot like metal, but it’s not. The record is also produced by the Decemberists’ Chris Funk, who cleans up these guys’ act while at the same time pushing them to volumes usually associated with jet engines (and Motörhead).

While 2009’s self-titled release—and more specifically the video for “Prehistoric Dog”—got them some notice outside Portland, Murder the Mountains has them positioned for world takeover. Beginning with a First Listen from the folky folks over at NPR, and now with U.S. tours, Euro tours and a slot on the Mayhem Festival with … Disturbed? OK, it is now Red Fang’s duty to completely crush Disturbed fans’ skulls (figuratively speaking, of course). I think they’ve got it in ‘em.

“Wires” - Red Fang

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Interview: Alela Diane’s family affair

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | No Comments

Alela Diane knows her way around a pop song. And on her new album—which introduces Diane’s new band Wild Divine—the Portland singer-songwriter balances the dark folk found on 2009’s excellent To Be Still with sunnier pop melodies and sleeker production courtesy of Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana).

Calling the album “a battle between darkness and light,” Diane manages to keep these friendlier songs from becoming radio friendly with a little help from her band (which includes her longtime collaborating father Tom Menig and her husband Tom Bevitori). Giving the songs their weight are Diane’s distinct falsetto and all of those stark thoughts that have been building up in those notebooks of hers. There are a few unexpected twists and turns (take lead single “To Begin”) that hint toward what’s to come from the songwriter. I like it.

Alela Diane & Wild Divine is out today on Rough Trade. Diane took some time to talk to TDoL about life, death and love. Sounds like the making of a good song.

TDoL: It seems like a lot of folk singers eventually start playing with a band. Why did you decide to go that route this time around?
Alela Diane: It was time for a change, and playing with a band is something I’d been wanting to do for quite some time. The songs on this record were written with a fuller sound in mind, and I wanted to focus more on my vocals, and less on the guitar. It turns out that having a band could make all of that possible. It is enabling me to make the transition from girl with a guitar to frontwoman in a band. I think it’s important to move down different roads when the time feels right, and that is just what I’ve set out to do.

Your dad played on your first two albums, and he plays on the new record along with your husband … how was that?
It’s great working alongside the two Toms. We call dad “Big T” and husband “Little T.” It’s really nice to be on the road surrounded by family, and it definitely helps the homesickness thing. I don’t know what it would be like to have it any other way, because both of them have been by my side throughout my musical career. It works for us, and so I keep them around.

Some of the songs are less folky, a little more poppy. Was that the result of playing with a band, or were you already writing songs that were going in a different direction?
I spent a lot more time on my songwriting for this record, knowing that I’d be recording with a band. It’s also the first time I’ve co-written, and this definitely gives those tunes a different feel. Making a folk record would have been easy. I had to set the bar in a different place, and I had to try for something else.

When did you write most of the new material?
I wrote much of the lyrical content while on the road for To Be Still. There was rarely a moment to actually write the music part while traveling, so when we came home to Portland in late 2009, I had quite a supply of words that needed melodies and music. We had pretty much all of 2010 off from touring, during which time I’d sit around the house all day to work on songs. Many of them went through very different versions of themselves; there was a lot of working and reworking both words and music before they became what you hear on the record.

Lyrically it’s still pretty heavy at times …
I tend to write about what comes up in my life, and there were definitely some heavy things happening. Death is something that kept creeping in on the outskirts, and so I’d write about it. The record does contain a certain element of despair, but there is also the goodness, hope, and light that’s needed to balance those demons. The record is a battle between darkness and light.

What did Scott Litt bring to the recording process?
Scott Litt was our director. He was very helpful in getting parts out of us musicians that we never would have come to on our own. He worked a lot with our rhythm section, Jonas [Haskins] and Jason [Merculief], to develop the feel of each song. It was really great to have someone else telling everyone what to do, and it really took the pressure off of me.

Did you nerd out over the fact that he’s worked with R.E.M. and Nirvana? Do those bands hold any significance to you?
I’d had a couple of R.E.M. tapes I’d listen to in my car when I was 16, but I’m really not very hip with what’s going on now in music, or what went on in the past. When we were considering working with Scott, I downloaded some R.E.M. again and settled into the old songs, and listened to them in a way I never had. I decided that he definitely knew how to produce records, and that he had a great set of ears. That was good enough for me.

Do you prefer recording or playing live?
They are completely different birds. There is something amazing about the fleeting and flowing energy of a good live show, and I do love that. Recording is really exciting though, because you have the ability to create something you can both hear, and hold in your hands. I’m on the fence with this one, because I love and hate things about both.

You recently got married and bought a new house. Does that make it tougher to go out on the road?
We haven’t actually toured since we’ve fallen into domestic bliss! But I will say, that as much as I love home, I’m starting to get a bit restless. It’s been over a year since I’ve really hit the road. I think it will be nice to get back out there, and to know that we have a wonderful home to return to. I think our cat is really what makes it the hardest to leave … I miss that tiny animal when we’re gone, but I’m very thankful that the husband comes along.

Are you bringing the band over to Europe as well?
We will be touring as a band all over the place! It’s the first time I’ve recorded and am touring with the same group of musicians. It feels like the right thing to do, and I am really looking forward to settling into the songs on the road.

“To Begin” - Alela Diane & Wild Divine

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Still Life With Hornet Leg

Thursday, February 10th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

It’s taken me weeks to finally get around to writing something about Hornet Leg, which is fitting considering it took months before I finally got around to giving the band’s latest LP a spin. Now, you get to read about and listen to them in just a matter of minutes. It’s like magic.

The Portland trio/duo/solo-act released their newest full-length Still Life (Stankhouse) in October criminally under the radar. Led by Chris Sutton—who’s guitarred in Calvin Johnson’s Dub Narcotic Sound System, C.O.C.O and my favorite short-lived monster Nudity—Hornet Leg has shifted their sound as often as they’ve shifted members. Not a bad thing. On 2009’s K Records release Ribbon of Fear the band settled down, content in keeping garage and R&B alive with 14 taut, mid-fi (that’s not quite lo-fi, definitely not hi-fi) strummers. Still Life sounds a little tidier and digs even deeper into the rock ‘n’ roll quarry giving equal play to early alternative, especially on “Ghost House,” in which Sutton does his best Gordon Gano over (much) louder Femmes-ish guitars. I can’t get enough of album openers “Those Kids” and “Sound,” both crammed with loads of unexpected riffs and turns in their short running-times.

That said, we’ve run out of time. Listen. Enjoy.

Hornet Leg performs Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Valentine’s.

“Sound” - Hornet Leg

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Old Light, new record

Thursday, November 18th, 2010 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

I didn’t know what to think when I first heard Old Light’s debut LP The Dirty Future. It’s got hefty four-part harmonies throughout. Pop hooks. The occasional stoner riff. Autoharp (36 strings = six guitars). It’s hard to pin down … it’s just good. As Thee Oh Sees madman John Dwyer succinctly puts it: “It’s like Crosby, Stills & Nash if they didn’t suck!”

The Dirty Future has been kicking around these parts since the band sold out their record-release show in early October. The album is now available to you, the non-Portlander (on Portland label Arena Rock Recording Co.). Though it was born in the Pacific Northwest, the record maintains a sunny California feel through most of its 35-minute running time (even when these gents are singing about death in perfect harmony).

But don’t let those pretty harmonies and autoharp scare you into believing these guys are a bunch of fun-loving neo-hippies (or as Head Light Garth Steel Klippert fun-lovingly refers to them, “hacky sack assholes.”). Klippert is an unabashed Sabbath fan, and Old Light’s music keeps it weird and dark in all the right places.

“The Dirty Future” - Old Light

Video for “Disappear”

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Oh, Hosannas

Friday, October 1st, 2010 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Hosannas is only half the band it used to be. No, literally. Back in June Christof Hendrickson and Lane Barrington amicably left the group, leaving the Brothers’ Laws (that’s Brandon and Richard) to keep the good ship Church Hosannas afloat. It seems to be going swimmingly. The now two-piece is set to release their new record Together in Portland on Sunday, Oct. 3 at Mississippi Studios (Nov. 9 elsewhere). And it’s a good one, loaded with noisy pop songs that will stick with you for daze. See/listen to the first single “When We Were Young” and see/listen for yourself. Ah, ah, ah! I see you about to click the play button … don’t you dare listen to it on your computer’s cheap, tinny speakers—this is made for headphones.

“When We Were Young” - Hosannas

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