Newcomers Archie Powell & The Exports have just released their debut full-length album, Skip Work, and are making grit-covered guitar pop that is accompanied by charming lyrics and formidable songwriting. The Chicago band is still new, but their sound is a fresh mix of influences like Elvis Costello and Weezer that has us bopping our
Picked By: Cervante Pope Who: Blonde Redhead Where: Webster Hall in New York, NY When: Wednesday, November 3 at 7 p.m. Cost: $30 Age Restrictions: 18+
Anyone who was charmed by the sweet twee-pop and British accents of The Pipettes debut album We Are The Pipettes will be sorely disappointed by the band’s sophomore (sort of…I will get to that in a minute) release, Earth vs. The Pipettes. Gone are the cutesy polka dot dresses of the three girls from Brighton
Picked By: Cervante Pope Who: Sufjan Stevens Where: Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Ca When: Tuesday, October 26th at 8 p.m. Cost: $35 Age Restrictions: All Ages
San Francisco four-piece The Morning Benders played with Cults and Twin Sister at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge on Tuesday night in support of their recent breakthrough release, Big Echo. The two openers played lively sets that seemed to intrigue the crowd, although Twin Sister had repeated technical problems that pushed the start of The Morning
With a name like The Moondoggies, you can probably make a pretty accurate prediction of what these guys sound like. They join a long list of Pacific Northwest folk-rock bands with animal-related names and while they make some solid Americana-influenced music, Tidelands fails to catapult the band into new territory and instead falls back on
Picked By: Monica Christoffels Who: M.I.A. featuring Rye Rye Where: Roseland Theater in Portland, OR When: Monday, October 18th at 9 p.m. Cost: $25 – purchase tickets here Age Restrictions: All Ages
The Moondoggies – It’s a Shame, It’s a Pity Here’s a standout song from the Seattle quartet’s second full-length album, out now on Hardly Art. The song builds up to a climactic stomping beat, complete with what sounds like a room full of voices backing Kevin Murphy’s folk/rock frontman vocals.
Fall and the changing of the colors always makes me want to keep my headphones on all day just so I can have a quiet soundtrack to the beautiful weather. If I could do that all fall, this would be the playlist that would be on my iPod. There’s something about quiet, introspective folk songs
San Francisco band A B & The Sea played an energetic short set at Portland’s Mississippi Studios Monday night. The band hopped on the small stage just a few minutes after 9 pm, calling keyboardist David Hunt, who was lagging, to join them. The crowd, which grew a bit after the first couple songs, was