Album Review: The Helio Sequence

The Helio Sequence (Sub Pop)

By MARK STOCK

[INTERNET ROCK] Like a proud father, Portland has watched the Helio Sequence grow over the years, from Beaverton startups playing the 24-hour Starbucks to Sub Pop darlings. Throughout, the duo of Benjamin Weikel and Brandon Summers has amassed one of strongest discographies in the Northwest. For its sixth album, the duo wrote 26 songs in a month, the best of which—as voted by friends and family—ended up on the record. Expectedly, Weikel's unerring drum work and Summers' dreamlike vocals and guitar effects are in full bloom. More surprisingly, the record demonstrates a coolness and composure you wouldn't expect from an album that came together so quickly. Standout tracks include the heaving, psych-tinged "Upward Mobility" and "Inconsequential Ties," which fuses Revolver-era Beatles with pristine garage rock. Tracks such as the hazy, majestic "Seven Hours" pull the heartstrings, while the concluding "Never Going Back" showcases Summers' folky leanings with a song that sounds like atmospheric Dylan. It blows the candle out on another fine effort from Portland's most reliable duo. 

SEE IT: The Helio Sequence plays Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., on Wednesday, May 20. 7 pm. Free. All ages.

WWeek 2015

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