Music Portland-based rock/Americana outfit Blue Giant—founded by Viva Voce's Kevin and Anita Robinson—has a new disc coming out on July 13 on Vanguard Records. I haven't listened to it enough yet to get you a verdict, save for to say that it sounds really, really good from a technical standpoint. We'll get into that later, though. Right now I just want to give the band a digital high-five. When ...   More

Music One of my favorite young Portland bands, And And And, just made me like them even more by sending a couple of leaks from their forthcoming record, A Fresh Summer With And And And. This particular recording is a great combination of low fidelity and smart orchestration. The horn lines almost drown everything else out of the mix, with a ghostly sing-along chorus echoing somewhere in the distance. The ...   More