On Tuesday night Check Yo Ponytail 2 hosted a dance party, and even though headliners Anamanaguchi weren’t slated to play until midnight, the room was full by 9:45 pm with fans anticipating a rare performance by Chrome Sparks. Though currently on tour with the 8-bit power punkers, gigs by the (pretty much) instrumental electronic outfit tend to be few and far between, making this night even more memorable. Led by the project’s founder, Jeremy Malvin, the trio stepped onstage and…

It was a dark and tropical stormy night…when Portland dream pop mystics Pure Bathing Culture and Brooklyn tropical psych rockers Monogold brought some warm soundscapes to Mercury Lounge. Pure Bathing Culture is the project of Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille, who are Vetiver alumni, and interestingly enough, who I do remember seeing all play together at this very venue about two years ago. It couldn’t have been long after that when the duo, originally New Yorkers, moved westward to hone…

Of Monsters and Men have made significant strides. In a short three years, the Icelandic masterminds released debut album My Head Is An Animal to critical acclaim conquering the charts in the U.S., UK, Canada, Ireland, Iceland and nearly every other European country. This year the team took home European Border Breakers Awards top honor and just made their first SNL appearance where we say, “welcome to American royalty Of Monsters and Men.” This is why, among the fact that…

The last time I was at Neumos was for a night of British avant-garde spoken word and industrial post-rock. It was dark and felt like a theater. On June 8, I returned to Neumos for an evening of local music and almost didn’t recognize the club from the music; the doors were open to the Capitol Hill street scene and a stilly observing crowd was replaced by groups of milling pals ready to sing along, making the venue feel more like…