Though the members of San Cisco claim that the band’s name means nothing – it is not a real place and has no definition, it just kind of came to be – the Australian-based quartet seems to transport its listeners to a far off land with its dark indie pop covered in a sugary sweet
Up in the Pacific Northwest, clouds and rain make up the majority of the weather, and though it can be dreary, it can also make for some inspired songwriting. That mood and feeling the rain produces in some is an excellent tool, not to mention the excuse to stay inside the studio and write/record while
I had never seen La Sera live, but walking into Mississippi Studios last Thursday evening, this is what I did know: Katy Goodman—bassist of lo-fi dream-pop outfit Vivian Girls—was currently touring with her side project La Sera in support of her recent (and quite good) sophomore effort, Sees the Light. The show was part of
It’s easy for a band or artist to find inspiration from a certain style of music, but how about creating an entirely new genre? That’s what Dorian Duvall did. Under the moniker Onuinu (pronounced on-you-in-you), the Portland-based multi-instrumentalist refers to his music as “disco-hop,” and it’s an accurate description of his sound. Duvall admits that
It’s not that the sun hates Portland, OR. It’s just… a little negligent. Even after the summer solstice, when the rest of the country bakes in warmer climes, it’s not uncommon to find us still cursing overcast skies (see: this). So if we ever needed some irreverent stoner rock to boost our spirits and fuel
As a currency, nostalgia seems to be more valuable than ever. Thanks to the Internet, the neatly packaged annals of human history are available everywhere, at any time. People are now archivists of this information, with rediscovered art currents blooming in a scattered, but collective renaissance. I’ll admit this topic is well-trod ground, especially from
They weren’t exactly unknowns, but after being introduced to AU via their excellent—and critically recognized—2008 release Verbs, mention of the Portland experimental pop outfit to local music fans had been met with a disconcerting number of shrugged shoulders and furrowed brows. Still, four years later, the duo had little problem selling-out the Doug Fir for
The Portland based pop-heavy electro project Starfucker used to get more attention from their name than their music. Finally, they are resolving this issue after failed name changes (Pyramiddd and PYRAMID) with a nearly sold out tour last spring, monster crowd at Outside Lands and likely the same story this time around. It was no
The Cave Singers could not have chosen a better venue to host its backwoods-inspired folk than the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood. Astounding history aside, the Los Angeles club’s atmosphere is small and intimate, which is perfect for a band that engages its audience as much as the Seattle-based swamp rockers. Saturday night was not
There’s a feeling that I get when I listen to the new Blitzen Trapper, an inexplicable sense of warmth and home. American Goldwing is a quintessential rock album. It is all things to all people. At one point it feels like Bob Dylan as is the case with “Stranger in a Strange Land,” but then