Your thom thom will freeze...

Radiohead -15 step (live)

The June Umbrella

My sisters like this band, so do Joel and Chris Klein. We can trust these people. Natalie even wrote a killer poem that mentions the band.
Straight out of Eugene, these guys (and gal), play mellow indie-rock that's easy on the ears. The vocals are Gibbardesque and the guitars are clean and clear.

The June Umbrella-Van Gogh
The June Umbrella-Cold Snow
The June Umbrella-Harvest

Live at the Crystal

I saw Andrew Bird at the Crystal Ballroom on May 4th. Very impressive. He played reworked but recognizable interpretations of his songs using looped violin to fill out the sound and drive the rhythm. Here is a video from the concert of Bird performing "Why?" The crowd attempts to clap along to the lilting rhythm and it just doesn't work. He gets it the second time around. Notice the spinning double gramophone thing in the background. Very cool.

8 dollars well spent

Last Friday night, I went to see two excellent Portland bands, Horse Feathers and Musée Mécanique, play the Doug Fir. Musée Mécanique has been described as "music-box folk," and after hearing them I think that is an accurate description, particularly since they take their name from a museum in San Francisco that features hundreds of mechanical and coin-operated instruments. They have yet to release their debut album, but you can check out their myspace. Well-played guitars, great percussion, and lots of sweet vintage synths. I'm going to see them play again tonight. Holocene, 9 PM. It's free. Be there.

Horse Feathers is made up of Justin Ringle, playing steady, finger-picked acoustic guitar , Peter Broderick on violin, banjo, mandolin, and musical saw, and Heather Broderick playing cello and celeste. The vocals rise and fall dramatically and the string arrangements bring a general melancholy to many of the songs. I like it, enough said.

Horse Feathers-Dustbowl
Horse Feathers-Falling Through the Roof

Life in the Gulag

I spent a good portion of the long drive home from Klamath Falls yesterday listening to Beirut's album "Gulag Orkestar." I'm about a year late in jumping on the Beirut bandwagon, and learning that the main man behind the group, Zach Condon, is a 20 year-old kid from New Mexico who dropped out of high school and cruised around Europe basking in the Baltic melodies, has reaffirmed that my life is boring. Here's the recipe: accordion, ukulele, and lots of trumpets. Repeat. The lyrics are often barely discernable but the melodies are interesting enough to compensate. Since "Gulag Orkestar," he has released an EP and a new album is schedule for release sometime in the fall.

Beirut - Mount Wroclai(Idle Days)
Beirut - Postcards From Italy

Bishop Allen

The Brooklyn group set out last year to release an EP for every month in 2006. They came through, an impressive accomplishment in its own right, and the year's worth of songs are actually good. I was reading about them on another blog and their music was described this way, “...like an aural equivalent to a Wes Anderson movie.” Here are a few samples, maybe they'll conjure up images of Anthony, Dignan, and Bob proving that "crime does pay."

Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
Bishop Allen - Like Castanets
Bishop Allen - Butterfly Nets
Bishop Allen - Flight 180

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Sweden

Loney, Dear - Carrying A Stone
Loney, Dear - I Am John
Loney, Dear - Sinister In A State Of Hope

Petechiae, Purpura, Echymosis...

I'm trying to study for my oral pathology exam tomorrow, listening to Ratatat, and watching the Blazers lose in overtime. A mediocre night at best. In stark contrast to the great night last week when I went to see A Weather perform. I hadn't heard of them and was pleasantly suprised, particularly by the vocal harmonies and subtle dynamics. Six people on stage and they still mangaged to sound sparse (in a good way), and in my opinion did an excellent job of not overplaying or stepping on each other. Here are a few samples I hope you'll like.

A Weather - Oh My Stars
A Weather - One More Night Stand
A Weather - Feather Test

Pie with Laura

Went to see Laura Gibson play at Holocene last night. Sleepy, happy folk music at its finest. Accompanied by Cory Gray (Norfolk and Western), playing piano, trumpet, and xylophone, she seemed to be having a genuinely good time and wasn't taking herself too seriously. Their previous show was in her hometown of Coquille, and culminated in a pie social, featuring pies made by the kind ladies of the town. Apparently they had an abundance of pie, so much in fact, they brought the extra pies to Holocene and everyone was welcome to sample the offerings after the show.



Laura Gibson - Certainty
Laura Gibson - Wintering

Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha

Andrew Bird's new album, "Armchair Apocrypha," is scheduled for release March 20th. Here is a sample from the new album and a favorite from his last release, "The Mysterious Production of Eggs." Bird writes smart lyrics, plays the violin, and whistles like a champ.

Andrew Bird - Heretics
Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left

Good Intentions

I have decided to spice up my all too predictable life. My solution...a personal blog. I know what you're thinking, "get a life, loser", and I want to thank you for that encouragement. My plan is to write mainly about music and give my humble opinions and recommendations. I'll start with "Insistor" a song from the Minneapolis group Tapes 'n Tapes. It's a fast-paced ride that should perk up your day. I encourage you to contemplate the phrase in the chorus, "I'll be your badger." Very deep.

Tapes 'n Tapes - Insistor