Spirit Lake: Friday, Oct. 19

Taking the Oregon Trail to blues-rock nirvana.

Music Stories [PSYCHEDELIC BLUES ROCK] Uncle Walker’s Amber Restorative, the debut LP from Portland quartet Spirit Lake, has a history far grander than that suggested by the group’s slight résumé. The band    More

 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Album Review: The Harvey Girls

Sidereal Time (Circle Into Square)

Album Reviews [PSYCH FOLK] At its best, Sidereal Time, the fourth album from Portland duo the Harvey Girls, recalls Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in its disheveled folk experimentalism. “Picher, Nowata” and    More

 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Primer: Animal Collective

Music Stories Formed: In 1999 in Baltimore. Sounds like: A surrealist Beach Boys with 21st-century editing software. For fans of: The Flaming Lips, Dan Deacon, Vashti Bunyan. Latest release: After pushing the ma   More

 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Halo Refuser: Wednesday, Sept. 12

You may not have heard of Asher Fulero, but odds are you’ve heard him play.

Music Stories [ELECTRONIC] If Asher Fulero has managed to avoid fame while simultaneously building an illustrious musical career, it can be attributed to the fact his energies are spread too thin to accommodate   More

 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Still Breaking Out

The Hives have more energy than everyone else in the world. Combined.

Music Stories There’s a track entitled “I Want More” midway through Lex Hives, the fifth LP from Swedish rock quintet the Hives, on which vocalist/hyper-kinetic human explosion Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist la   More

 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Album Review: Onuinu

Mirror Gazer (Bladen County Records)

Album Reviews [DISCO-HOP] While similarities between Onuinu (aka Dorian Duvall) and such electro-pop luminaries as Youth Lagoon, oOoOO and Washed Out can be easily established, Mirror Gazer, Onuinu’s debut    More

 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Primer: Desaparecidos

Music Stories Formed: In Omaha, Neb., in 2001.  Sounds like: Adbusters, as set to music by Deer Tick.  For fans of: Bright Eyes (duh), Against Me!, the Thermals, Deer Tick.  Latest release: For a    More

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Album Review: Wax Fingers

Tender (Self-Released)

Album Reviews [MATH POP] Tender, the four-song sophomore release from Portland trio Wax Fingers, finds the group growing further accustomed to life within its oddly colored shell. A group of psychedelic day   More

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Album Review: Pegasus Dream

In Absentia (Sohitek)

Album Reviews [SPACE DISCO] Even more so on In Absentia than on its previous releases, Pegasus Dream achieves a sunny, seamless concatenation of melodies similar to that perfected by Starfucker and attempted    More

 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

The Digital Divide: Dave Allen's Take on Emily White and the Future of Free Music on the Internet

Music Last month, Emily White, an intern for NPR’s “All Songs Considered,” wrote a blog post entitled “I Never Owned Any Music To Begin With,” in which she illustrated how swapping CDs and ripping promo albums onto her laptop had allowed her to purchase only a negligible p...   More

 

Monday, July 2, 2012 by SHANE DANAHER