Portland has been known to be a good place for indie rock. With a wealth of bands that fulfill those sonic requirements there are certain ones that stand out from the rest. Melville is one of those bands.

The quartet just release their debut full length The New Zero, which is conceptually based around how the apex of past events in life lead to new beginnings. For one of the first tracks shared from The New Zero, titled "Televised," Melville also released a music video to go with it.

It follows a Madonna-in-the-80s dressed character on somewhat of a quest of trying to figure out what’s going on, it seems. Superimposed into some of the scenes are shots of Melville performing. At about three and a half minutes long, "Televised" is definitely an entertaining watch. 

Check it out below and stream The New Zero over at Melville’s Bandcamp page.

 Industrialgaze trio We Are Parasols are just like the rest of us – they see what’s happening in the world, who the main propagator of all that nonsense is, and have been wracking their brains as to how to cope with it all. Like many creative types, We Are Parasols took to their expressive outlet as a form of release, but it wasn’t what they originally had planned.

Today, they’re premiering a video for their newest track "dim" off their upcoming album Inertia. The song itself keeps on with their shoegazey electronic, but the video notes on a serious movements currently happening. We Are Parasols guitarist Jeremy Wilkins had this to say on the concept behind the video:

       This isn’t the video we intended to make but it’s the video we felt we had to make. The track, “dim,” is the first single from our new album, Inertia. It’s a concept album which follows an android sex worker through a dystopian future. We sought to make a video that explored the same themes of the record; anti-authoritarianism, oppression, violence, and human nature. Much as the themes and sound of our record were drastically effected and shaped by the election of Donald Trump, the events of the past few weeks took a toll on our ability to make the video we wanted. 

      After several attempts at creating something nuanced, subtle and thoughtful we realized we were hitting a wall. Due to the nature of our album’s story it’s hard to portray our protagonist’s journey without images of fascism. Unfortunately, our real world is currently filled with disgusting images of fascism inside our own country and others. Without the artistic space for nuance or the willingness to risk appearing at all sympathetic to fascists we realized, as all good people have to do at some point, that we needed to change course. 

     So, we made an anti-fascist protest video. We realize this is a performative protest. It is not a substitute for concrete action. We do not intend for it to be. We have been in the streets and we will continue to engage. We encourage you to get involved also. #RESIST. 

And there you have it. Watch the video for "dim" below. See We Are Parasols’ next show on 9.6 with Sex Park and Vacant Stares at White Owl Social Club. As always, #resist and #fucktrump.