On “Idiot,” And And And Call out Portland’s Aging Scenesters

Then a moment of reckoning is due.

And And And, Idiot (Self-Released)

[EASTSIDE BAR ROCK] Just a few tracks into And And And's latest album, Idiot, singer-guitarist Nathan Baumgartner makes his lyrical purview clear: "Wage a war against the sin that makes you what you are/Love yourself and hate yourself/Forget it at the bar," he sings on the record's title track, in an aggravated warble reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull. Images of a depreciating prince of the Buckman bar scene swirl about, and for a second the schadenfreude of an aging socialite getting called out on his bullshit feels kinda good. Then a moment of reckoning is due. In press materials for the record, And And And claims that "despite big tech, [Idiot] is a truly independent record." While the record may lack big-label money, And And And has a wealth of social capital behind them. Reaching their zenith with a Vice-documented mayoral run from drummer Bim Ditson, And And And is at the center of the local music universe these characters orbit. Idiot has its moments, like the seething banger "A Joke" and the introspective loser anthem "Windows for the Blind," and it's enough to make you believe that And And And's gambit of staying true to their cause may pay off handsomely if they find themselves on 94.7 FM sometime soon. But their vehemently "independent" stance may find them at odds with what that world has to offer for a group that's essentially the spirit animal of the eastside's bar-rock scene.

SEE IT: And And And plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., with Tribe Mars and Melt, on Friday, Feb. 16. 9 pm. $10 advance, $13 day of show. 21+. Get tickets here.

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