Now that the flurries have stopped falling and the ice has melted away, it’s time to start planning how we’re going to celebrate the ending of the last immensely shitty 365 days. To help us get in the mood for what will most likely be a heavier than normal night of boozed debauchery, we’ve got some Rio Grands coming out of the speakers in preparation for their blowout bash.

They’ll be taking over Alberta Street Pub on the 31st, playing two sets that are sure to get the party started. Their first one, starting around 9:30pm, will be all original songs. The second goes from 11:30pm through the arrival of the new year, with them honoring our fallen heroes David Bowie and Prince, as well as taking on some songs by the Cars, the Police and other 80’s hit stars. 

Laser beams, helium filled inflatable animals, fog machines and DJ Toggle Beats will all most definitely be in full effect, so stop by. It’s free and will be a lovely addition to your night’s plans.

Atmospheric in every sense of the word, Dr. Something‘s minimalist chamber folk pop takes on strange artistic sensibilities with aural novelty mixed with a slight cat-crazy Tumblr aesthetic. Clarinet, keys and accordian are the gold, silver and bronze winners of her instrumental outfit. Yet it’s the eclectically toned pitch of Miss Dr. Something herself, Alison Dennis, that elevates its sapid qualities.

Since Dennis is well versed in all things musically weird (previously coming from the strange Dr. Something & the Pipin’ Hot Love Engines and Coney Island Cartel), the ways in which Dr. Something satiates this oft empty hole left in the market make sense. Her self described "sad bastard piano pop" could very well inspire some bummer feelings if you’re in the headspace for such, but it’s tracks like the indelilble "Imperfect Skull" off of 2015’s Tomorrow’s Just Fiction, to the hauntingly fun filled "Here Comes Count Dracula" from October of this year, that make it hard to be sad.

Having a sound unlike that of run-of-the-mill folk pop, Dr. Something holds high regard in local odd sounds, making music integral to keeping Portland weird.

Not many modern acts have truly captured the endearing pop sensabilities of doo wop quite like Moon By You. Having transcended the usual bar most acts in the same genre typically operate at, Moon By You have used their time spent as soulfully psychedelic callback to one of the only good parts of that era to essentially run that part of the local scene. It seems MBY might be at its end, but they’ve left us a parting gift to soothe our disbanded sadness.

You Are an Alien is the band at its best, of course, showing the musical heights they’ve reached in such a short time. The album may be coming out on the low, with only limited physical copies to be acquired, but track comparisons to influencers like Temples and Iron Butterfly make it a worthy release to end on.

Tomorrow may be your last time to see Moon By You for the forseeable future, as they’ll be playing Mississippi Studios with Washington stoner rock heavy hitters Weeed and the most delightful local acts in a while Reptaliens. We might be in denial, but let’s see them off in style.

Comparatively speaking in regards to the rest of the west coast, it’s cold as shit outside. Since most of us have been schlepping around our respective abodes in snow day sweatpants attire, it’s time to put on our finest doodads for a night that’s sure to be less dramatic than the ones back in grade school. Say hello to yet another year of Tender Loving Empire’s Winter Formal.

TLE doesn’t disappoint, and this year’s lineup continues in their good holiday faith. Rap Class will be up first, setting a lasting ambiance with his moody yet movement-inducing electronic sounds. With the voice of a soulful angel and enough rhythm to make anyone scream "okurrr!," Maarquii will be giving everyone some much needed life before that cumbia kicks in and gets everyone all sweaty, thanks to Orquestra Pacifico Tropical.

We’re all in need of dancing away this shitty year and TLE’s Winter Formal allows us to do so while still spreading some Christmas spirit. The dance is a toy drive for the Portland Fire & Rescue Toy & Joy Makers, so come out this Saturday with $10 and a toy (or $20 and no toy, as half of that will serve as donation). Come dressed at least mildly to impress, hit up the onsite photobooth and turn up for the season!

When members of two quintessential indie bands join forces, the resulting outfit can be one of immense influence. Having already dominated two of the three Pacific Northwest music hubs, Maggie Vail of Olympia’s Bangs linking up with Kathy Foster and Westin Glass of the Thermals to form Hurry Up quickly became one of the best things to happen during that era of local music. 

That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, really. Hurry Up touched on many styles still popular at the time – indie rock, mild hardcore, and riot girl – in a way that highlighted all of the individual members’ strong suits while still remaining radically neoteric. Remnants of Hurry Up’s deeds have scarce online presence but those with lasting memories of their tracks and performances know they’re a perfect fit to open up for the Pylon Reenactment Society.

Even that name may seem unfamiliar, but this iteration of Pylon stays true to their jangley new wave post-punk without being EXACTLY the same. Singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay wanted to keep Pylon respectfully going after the loss of their guitarist Randall Bewley back in 2009 and the Reenactment Society has been the best way to go with it. They’re still going hard and Hurry Up on this bill, the show is sure to go even harder.

Catch this show tomorrow at 9pm at Misssissippi Studios. Tickets run between $12-$14, which is a small price to pay to see some greats.

 And here we find ourselves again. There’s clearly something about Sinless that either really gets us in the mood, or is somehow just always what we need to hear. We were in the mood for their track "Cool" back in September and now, we’re entirely too much in the mood for the EP that houses "Cool," titled Melodie.

Out just a few days ago, Melodie continues on in that same supernal, dream pop vein Ethereality teased us with last summer. At just four tracks, it’s another tease at frontman Cor Allen’s mastery of 4AD’s discography, as this EP is entirely a bedroom-recorded solo effort.

Rumor has it Sinless will be releasing their first 11 track full length in 2017, but until then enjoy Melodie on this somewhat snowy morning.  

Blaring through Portland with the incredible grunge meets post-rock power that landed them as one of the top Portland bands of last year, White Bear Polar Tundra are back at it again with their sophomore album Filter the Noise and a new music video to go with it, for the album’s first track "Sifter."

"Sifter" starts the album in a very expressive way, letting the force of Zein Hassanein’s vocals ascend off of Nate Stoll’s drumming while guitar riffs and bass lines from Patrick Beaulieu-Hardin and Ethan Bear act as the wings that carry this song to the next level. It’s heavy yet not abrasive; a beauty in a biting package that jolts the listener into paying attention. The video for "Sifter" is just as captivating, allowing colorful effects and desert scenes to add to regency of the song, not detracting any attention from it.

Watch the video for "Sifter" below.

Heavy Handed is a band that describes themselves as not being good, even going so far as to telling potential fans to not even buy their records or give any type of monetary support to their endeavor. That joking, endearing modesty has worked in their fandom favor, because they’ve become a band we want to endlessly support.

With John Palmer on guitar, Jackie McLaughlin on drums and Harvey Buckner on bass, Heavy Handed have already exhibited lasting and infectious talents with their recently released self titled debut, which seamlessly blends garage rock and pop music’s best aspects. From the bluesy "Hesistate" to the slow pop of "Oh, Edna" and the fairly psyched out "Still Life," Heavy Handed has a solid handle on what good music is.

Their next show is set for 12/18 at Blackwater as an entirely "H-bandname" bill, with Helmstron (James Helmsworth of Husky Boys), Hex Vision, Horse Movies and Hard Skulls. It’s supposed to be a benefit for Standing Rock with a $2-$5 donation, but now that it’s successfully been halted (thank goodness!) it’s unsure if it’ll still serve as a benefit show, but either way it’ll be a fun night.

If you fancy yourself one with a penchant for Spanish serenades blanketed by heavy fuzz and laid back riffs, then this new record from Homies is just right for you. The foursome, led by Ralf Rodriguez and Omar Cervantes, also features Jared Molyneux and Eric Shanafelt of the Shivas. Their combined efforts may be a somewhat recent development, but hopefully one that will be around for a long time.

The new self titled EP is made up of two previously released tracks and four new singles sung almost entirely in Spanish, for an end product that molds stylings like the Horrors and Halcyon Digest-era Deerhunter with an easily accessbile reverberated likability. It’s addicting, and definitely a great release to end this year on.

Stream Homies below and head over to their Bandcamp page for a download.

Now that December is just a few hours away, let’s break out the Jesus birthday jams. Now in it’s 9th volume, XO for the Holidays is a compilation put out by Portland and Detroit based PR firm XO Publicity. This year, XO for the Holidays presents the rocking power pop of Blue Skies for Black Hearts doing a Christmas classic.

We all miss David Bowie terribly and Bing Crosby‘s influence is undeniable, so hearing Blue Skies for Black Hearts taking on their 1977 holiday hit "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" brings about a true sense of joy. 

Frontman Pat Kearns’s vocals fittingly encapsulate much of what Bowie and Crosby were serving in their original rendition, but with his own twist of course. His recently released solo record, So Long City, showcases his vocal talents further.

Listen to all of XO for the Holidays here, and give Blue Skies For Black Hearts’ take on "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" below.

It’s refreshing to see that the screamo-emo-hardcore stylings many of us grew up enjoying, though often denied, is again becoming a popular genre. Local trio Dowager have been receiving much and well deserved press as eclipsing purveyors of this musical class, especially with their long awaited and recently released Title Track EP.

Title Track, which came out the day after November’s notorious food fest, is five songs worth of formulaically aggressive screamocore that translates into an addicting experience in headphones and on stage.

Dowager’s all-ages release show for Title Track will be this Saturday at Black Water with the bewitchingly darling Bashface, Seattle’s Curse League and one of the best band names to come out of 2016, Dranky Skelerton (members of Robot Boy and Don Quixote). 

If you haven’t been doing this already, stream Title Track again and again until the weekend.

Rumor has it Portland may be getting hit with some snow coming up soon. Will it be enough to lead us into forced snowpacalype hibernation? Doubt it, but if you’re into that sort of thing anyway, you likely know the importance of having premium tunes to soundtrack your isolation. Enter Sallo and in particular, their track "The Creeping Locust (L)."

Post-rock has made a glorious comeback in the city’s scene and Sallo, a strictly keys and drums endeavor done by Shelly Strunk and Mark Brittenburg, vaunts magic through experimental, haunting classical instrumentation. Their music has been featured on theater stages and in films and their collaborations span from work with string ensembles to comedy troupes. Now, let them serve as a score to your hopefully snowy confinement.

Sallo will be playing this Friday at the High Water Mark with shred-masters Toim and enlivened warrior princess metal from headliners Ice Princess.