Music Stories Admit it: You love lists. C’mon, you know you’re reading every single “Best of 2012” piece, either nodding with the satisfaction of having your own opinions validated or boiling with anger   More

Album Reviews [VOX HUMANA] I don’t envy any new artist trying to get themselves noticed these days. Unless they’re packing some major-label heat, the only way to crack the full-to-bursting head and hard-dri   More

Music Stories Laura Gibson seemed an unlikely candidate to show a beastly side when she competed in And And And’s basketball tournament last year. The slender, soft-spoken singer-songwriter is known for swa   More

Music Acclaimed Portland singer-songwriter Laura Gibson's last album, 2009's Beasts of Seasons, was a somber, dew-soft meditation on death. By comparison, "La Grande," the title song that opens her forthcoming fifth record, is a party track. With its galloping rhythm, purposely devised to evoke the sound of horses pounding across a dusty plain -- the album is grounded thematically in the American West and ...   More

Music Just four videos today, none of which feature any special effects. Laura Gibson, "Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed"I thought I had tired of all those "playing a song out in public" videos that La Blogothèque wrought years ago, but this one from Mason Jar Music—a creative take on what may be my favorite track from Laura Gibson's forthcoming record, La Grande—is shockingly beautiful. It feels pretty standard ...   More

Music Stories A track-by-track breakdown of Nick Jaina's new album, The Beanstalks that Brought Us Here Are Gone.   More

Music A little late, we know, but it deserves the publicity regardless. The lineup for this year's edition of Make It Pop, PDX Pop Now's annual fundraising concert, was announced earlier today, and keeping in the tradition of past editions--which have featured performances by Colin Meloy, Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper and the Shins' James Mercer--it's a doozy. Behold: Laura VeirsEric Earley (of ...   More

Music Image: Jones (left) with Pellet Gun's Eric Jensen in NYC, 2008. Taken by Scott Garred. To mark the release of Jealous Butcher Records' new Led Zeppelin compilation, From the Land of the Ice and Snow, we conducted an interview with label founder Rob Jones. Jones has been an instrumental player in the Portland music scene, releasing material from artists like M. Ward, Kind of Like Spitting, Hutch and ...   More