Andy Ferguson with Peter Valois are finally releasing their self-titled debut as Scrimshander. With big beats and echoing vocals they bring to mind Lord Huron, but with fatter rock strides and shuffling tambourines One of the stand-out qualities of Scrimshander is their ability to combine folk, pop, and electronic elements using looping and a tapping drum machine. It makes for futuristic, lonely cowboy music, such as the dirty, foreboding guitar followed by banjo, fiddle, and content vocals in "Head Hang Low". "Don’t Be Afraid of Me" ends in dreamy synths like dust settling after being awarded an epiphany at the end of a desert vision quest. The songwriting and deep sounds provide solace before bright, clashing breakouts into oblivion. Ferguson’s day job is as a children’s storyteller/song leader, and both he and Valois show a love of puppetry. Tonight, along with their album, they release their first music video for "Forest Fire", made with local marionette and stop motion extraordinaires Belly & Bones. – Brandy Crowe
Someday Lounge with Desert Days(formerly Pigeons), and Fanno Creek
Scrimshander: Forest Fire from bellyandbones on Vimeo.