“Relevancy” may not be the first word to spring to mind when listening to The Builders and the Butchers’ latest, Dead Reckoning. That is, unless you’re a weathered seaman, a 1920’s industrial worker, or a filthy orphan abandoned in a desolate mining town. It’s desperate and despairing, but it utilizes the grit and gristle of dark old America to reframe more modern woes, and its exaltation of a steady hand in unsteady times is not only relevant, but timeless.

The tunes are damn good, to boot. Ryan Sollee wails like an apocalyptic, alcoholic prosthelytizer beset with woman troubles—stylistically and thematically—and the more sparse accompaniments of the album sets him off nicely. The subject matter may be macabre, but blood, drugs and death make fine fodder for knee-slappin’ bone-rattlin’ ditties like “Lullaby,” the funereal laments of “All Away,” and the sly, sinner’s appeal, “Family Tree.” Obviously, it’s fine drinking music, so slop some fresh corn whisky into your cleanest mug and feel all your troubles gain the weighty significance of historical parallels. Or dance around like a boneless lunatic, which has been my go-to each and every listen. – Jenn Fritschy

Speaking of awesome things to do tonight for free. Radiation City‘s full length release is coming out for your analogue pleasure tonight! at Mississippi Studios. The Hands That Take You is ready for the grabbing, and the show is free at one of North Portland’s finest venues. Come one, come all, tell your mother. I think she might actually like these guys. 

Come dance with us!

Radiation City w/ Woolen Men and Support Force

Mississippi Studios

9pm, 21+ 

FREE!

If you’re looking for something to do to end your hopefully lazy overcast Sunday, head down to The Woods for a night with The Red River. The Long Beach, California band who once called Portland their home changes form every time I see them live, and each time it’s that much better. Anywhere from just Bills Roberts sincerely singing to a rag-tag orchestra of horns, strings, and a choir of friends, The Red River could fill the halls of the largest amiptheatre with the sounds of their simple, yet powerfully gigantic sound. Catch them tonight at 9 with Wild Ones and Ocean age. It is definitely not one to be missed. -Mike Harper

The Strangled Darlings is an incredibly insinuative name for what this multi-talented duo musically stands for –– something beautiful and sweet sharpened by an overwhelming reality. Here, we have vocalist George Veech, with his recordings of mandolin, guitar and tenor banjo, and then we have cellist Jessica Anderly, who unconventionally utilizes a five string cello as bass. Then, these two collaborate with percussionist Jolie Clausen and violinist Sharron Cannon for recording of The Devil in Outer Space. The result? The cabaret folklore and musical diversity of Beirut, meddled with the explicit straightforwardness of the Pixies, or, say, a classic Modest Mouse.

Granted, that’s a strange mix, but let’s take their feverish lyrical content into consideration. In "Blue Sailor" there’s a priest with a shovel, an eclipsed moon in a lagoon, men with "sand in their hats" during "jellyfish season," all of which is haunted by a wavering saw and Veech’s gauntly voice. The whole thing is very Big Fish meets the Nightmare Before Christmas.

Meanwhile, more instrumentally-full songs like "The Devil in Outer Space" allow Anderly’s profound understanding of rhythm really shine through, proving their captivating and truly authentic understanding of what folk music should be.

The Devil in Outer Space will be released this upcoming Tuesday, March 1, and don’t miss their release party happening at Alberta Street Public House on March 5; it’ll run ya a mere $5. – April Ehrlich

An album of memory-soaked lo-fi that peels out of the speaker like a ray of sunshine, Dan Lurie‘s first solo release The Spirit of ’98 speaks a vast volume for being just 10 tracks. Based on his college life (which includes the staples of our own collegiate experience — "girls, and cheap beer, and cheaper vodka, meeting friends, losing friends, remembering some, forgetting others, and discovering who you are"), it’s been eleven years coming, amidst the fruit of his seemingly neverending musical cornucopia (Solyoni, The Thrifty, The Grapefruit League, etc.). Between a $25 guitar, a miniature grand piano, an 8-track cassette recorder and a handful of other toys, Lurie’s laid down 10 tunes that swing from nostalgic romps to sonnets singing the real thing. At times it reminds me of early/live Elliott Smith, at times Bradford Cox, at times it reminds me of nothing (in the most melodic way possible). Why he’s been hiding The Spirit of ’98 away since then is beyond me, but I’m glad it’s out. Thanks for bringing me back to college, Dan, and this time without the endless hangover. –Mike Harper

Download the album for free! (Cheaper than college, and better!)

It’s been a hot minute since our CD of the Month hasn’t it? This time around, it’s not quite a CD. At all. It’s the freshest release from Apes Tapes, analogue and all. 

I am happy to report that the fine folks of Radiation City are not only comely as hell—surprise, they’re talented, too! Radiation City’s first full length, The Hands That Take You, is a gem; subtle and beautiful and strange, and classy enough to make me feel underdressed for the occasion of listening (admittedly, I was eating cold beans out of a can, in my underwear).

What’s most wonderfully surreal about The Hands That Take You is the future-nostalgia it evokes. A remembrance of things not yet passed, you could say. The album sounds washed-out and faraway all the way through, but never dated or irrelevant; more like found audio ephemera from a space cantina.

Radiation City manages an impressive breadth within such a steady aesthetic. The album opens with “Babies,” a snappy, spacey slide into another world. The tracks slip from haunting (“Summer Is Not An Act I”) to playful (“Salsaness”) with more grace than I have ever managed slipping from any thing to any other thing, ever. Lizzy Ellison’s voice lends itself perfectly to the atmosphere Radiation City creates—it’s bittersweet and delicate, but strong, and Cameron Spies’ saucy crooning plays well against it, especially when given a more prominent role—“Park” opens with an adorable lyrical bob and weave that sets off the wild crash of sound to come like a tickle before a rump-slap. Except, you know, classier. –Jenn Fritschy

What a great way to get ourselves through these last stretches of dreary winter-gloom – Alameda has just announced that their debut full-length Seasons / Spectres is ready for listening, and you can join the celebration March 5 at the Someday Lounge for their record performance, along with performances by Porches and OK Bird.

Alameda is not just another three-piece folk-pop Portland band – it’s vocalist/guitarist Stirling Myles, classically-trained cellist Jessie Dettwiler, and classical clarinetist, Jennifer Woodall, along with visitations by members of the Horse Feathers, AgesandAges and various musicians from regional symphonies. Altogether, the result is a collaboration of orchestral comprehensions, a full symphonic accord that finds balance between folk modesty and effervescent chamber pop; a balance that will doubtlessly put up a great show. 

So come out to the Someday Lounge and pick up your copy of the heavy-hearted yet seamlessly orchestral Seasons / Spectres this March; it’s diverse moodiness is exactly what you need during this bipolar winter season. –April Ehrlich

Also, here is a little sneak-peek of what to expect: New Leaf – Alameda

The first words that came to my mind amidst the introductory track of Grandparents‘ Don’t Move Time were: the 70s and Led Zeppelin. Having my fill of this in early high school made me hesitant to listen on, but keep listening. It gets so, so good.

Take "Ethereal Light," for instance, my favorite track. At first slow-moving and oceanic, you get a feminine background specter catching onto the lead’s faraway croons. The whole thing is distanced and lulling, but sudden drum clashes kick the listener back in, carrying an ebb and flow through some distal dream.

Grandparents’ call themselves psychedelic shoegaze, which seems fitting. Signed with Gnar Tapes and Shit, you can name your price for their new album via bandcamp. –April Ehrlich

You can’t quite put your finger on Pigeons. That just sounds funny. But really, this nearly punk, mostly folk, Americana, noisesque trio seems to befit so many off-kilter adjectives that click just-so with their latest release The Talking Wire (which you can download for free at their Bandcamp). Violin peppers a wall of guitar and gleefully strained vocals that walk the fence between yelling what for what it’s worth and just plain sincerity across the album, giving in only for moments of plucked strings and sneaking piano notes, which makes you want to scream along with the best of ’em. Catch these birds the next time you see  them flyin’ about town.

Quiet Life will be getting rowdy this Saturday (tonight!) at the Doug Fir. The boys will be celebrating the release of their latest album, Big Green. Their latest release swings between what you’d want to call rootin’ tootin’, but it steers clear of the cheesiness of Americana that might get it stuck in that affected mire of adjectives. Big Green seems the perfect mix of Pacific Northwestern indie with good old fashioned dancing tunes. Yet another band that makes me miss summertime and it’s neverending bouts of daytime drinking and good-time-having.
Listen: Jim’s Wedding Band

Quiet Life – Jim’s Wedding Band from Ben Fee on Vimeo.

Sweaty palms, spiked punch, and losing your virginity can only mean one overwhelmingly pubescent thing. No, it’s not your wedding day. It’s time for prom. So grab your sweetheart and ready to get dancin’. It’s free and the night before Valentine’s Day, so you can get your best lines warmed up with the help of Portland’s newest old band (and second runner up in The Deli’s Year End Poll), Monarques, Dirty Mittens, and Rocky and (the aptly named) Proms. Joining MONARQUES on stage will be Y La Bamba and Loch Lomond multi-instrumentalist, Scott Magee, YOURS frontman Matthan Minster, Loch Lomond’s Dave Depper and Oh Captain, My Captain’s Jesse Bettis, as well as many more surprise guests. The “Tunnel of Love” Rock N Roll Prom goes down for free this Sunday at Rontoms, starting at 9pm!

Monarques – Cold Cold Heart