Music Words by Casey Jarman, photos by Inger Klekacz.I'm not usually one to play favorites (is that a funny thing for a critic to say?), but this year's Best New Band showcase had to have been my favorite of all-time. Maybe that's because I went into it not having seen Onuinu or Pure Bathing Culture—both of whom were really, really good—in concert. Or maybe it was because this bill, agai...   More

Album Reviews [FUTURE POP] I don’t think the members of Radiation City are perfectionists, but together they make some perfect pop music. The Portland quintet’s live shows sound like elaborately produced st   More

Music So this was supposed to be a review of much buzzed-over indie-pop artist Youth Lagoon's first-ever Portland show at the Doug Fir...but then the weather happened. Long story short, the dude was forced to cancel. Never fear, though. In a city like this one, it's pretty easy to round up a few awesome local bands -- just stick your head out the window and yell, pretty much -- and make the show go on. ...   More

Music Stories Music Editor Casey Jarman’s top 15 local albums of the year. This was the year Portland came face-to-face with its blossoming, narrowly defined international reputation for “keeping it weir   More

Music Radiation City's recent record release party at Doug Fir was one of the better local rock shows I've seen in a long time. The quartet plays with plenty of loose passion while keeping both the delicate and complex aspects of its songwriting wholly intact. They seem to me to be a band destined for some very big things. I'm not always right about these things, but my track record isn't horrible, eith...   More

Music Stories There are intangibles in Radiation City’s debut record, The Hands That Take You: Ghosts in the machine that cast dark shadows and shoot warm jetstreams across tracks like the skittering, electro-s   More

Music With the end of the year quickly approaching, print publications and blogs are scurrying to finish up their "Best Of" lists. Looking back, it seems each of the past few years have generally been defined by a few common threads, and 2010 is no exception. This year we've seen the rise of several dream-fueled, shadowy pop projects centered on the power of their female vocalists. National names like B...   More