With the high siren cries of Matt Jenkins’ guitar, Dogheart’s new album What Burns The Best (released today), splashes onto the scene before settling with the ripples into a catchy, surf rock-ish groove. The simple guitar licks and soothing bass lines are bound to be on your lips for the rest of the day, and Jenkins’ Interpol-esque vocals transmit with it the smell of sandy beaches that can’t be far around the corner by the time this short album is over. (The album is only 10 tracks and around 30 minutes long.)

A certain sonic nostalgia washed over me listening to this album. Though the album at times soars on poppy riffs, it manages to fray enough at the ends to feel spontaneous and heartfelt. The jangly anthems can almost be felt way down in the marrow, slowly churning up and out. The beat is persistent enough to ask why you aren’t moving yet. By the end of the album you can hear the boys of Dogheart playing passionately enough to send their instruments slightly out of tune. If nothing else, What Burns The Best promises the potential for a great show full of relentless rock tunes you can move to. 

While the album itself may not provide any new ideas of garage rock or surf rock, it certainly feels familiar enough to enjoy on a relaxing day. They owe a lot to influences like Guided By Voices, though props must be given to Jenkins for his flowing—but not overly busy—guitar riffs, which strike a good balance with the simple vocal melodies that are bound to get listeners singing along. And you’ll get a chance to do that at the band’s offician launch show for What Burns he Best on March 14 at Bunk Bar.

-Eric Tegethoff

Divers stand out. It’s irrelevant to define their sound by one or two genres. Harrison Rapp, Seth Rapp, James Deegan and Colby Hulsey have already claimed a description: “sweaty dynamic”. The four-piece release their debut LP, Hello Hello, via Party Damage and Rumbletowne Records on February 17th. 

The quartet take calculated rises and falls through their sound, effectively bringing you up through energetic songs and mellowing you out with songs like “Great Escape”. The balance is something to remember. This Sunday, 2.15, Divers will perform at the High Water Mark Lounge for their hometown release show, which will also serve as a benefit fundraiser for harm reduction in Portland. Pageripper (also releasing an album), Marriage and Cancer, and Thin Coat are supporting. 8pm, $5.

Stream the album in it’s entirety now in advance.

– Colette Pomerleau

Last month, Portland local and friend of the music community, Nic Gordon, fell victim to a random act of violence that left him with head and brain injuries, and is currently going through physical therapy to regain speech.

The music community is responding by throwing a benefit show on Wednesday, Feb 11th at Rontoms (where Nic worked) to raise funds towards Nic’s medical expenses. And it’s a helluva stacked bill, featuring Laura Palmer’s Death Parade, Us Lights, Talkative, The Shivas and headliners Hustle & Drone. Music starts at 8pm and cover is a suggested donation of $5-10. All door proceeds and ten-percent of bar sales go towards the cause. There will also be a raffle held for band merchandise from Wampire, Blouse, Hustle & Drone, as well as live concert photo prints by Todd Walberg of each band on the bill. In addition, there will be 20 limited-run posters designed by Showdeer and hand-printed by Misplaced AK Screen Printing that will go to the first 20 folks to donate $20 or more at the door.

You shouldn’t need a good reason to see any of these bands by themselves, but all on a bill together and for a cause like this, it might be foolish not to be at Rontoms Wednesday night. 

– Travis Leipzig

In a city shrouded by indie rock cred, having been home to artists such as the late Elliott Smith, Decemberists, The Shins, Modest Mouse, and Portugal. The Man to name a few in just the last couple decades, musical genres that fall outside of that category can easily go un-noticed. Not to say that hip hop, funk/soul, country, hardcore, or various other genres don’t exist in Portland. They most definitely do, and in fact they’re thriving, but only in their own niche underground scenes and rarely catching the ear of press. To help fight that trend, today we celebrate Portland hardcore. In particular, Year of the Coyote.

Representing the local hardcore music scene with a vengeance, YOTC boasts a stacked lineup of well-seasoned musicians that have been active in the scene for well over a decade. Featuring Matt Hagen (previously of Brutal Fight, Rapid Fire Process, Two Hands) on guitar/vocals, Travis Wisner (Born Losers, Burning Room, Two Hands) on drums, and Matt Thornton on bass/vocals (Inked in Blood, Rapid Fire Process, Burning Room, TADA, Two Hands), these guys play a brutally sludgy blend of death and doom metal.

Back in December, YOTC released their first demo recordings, and it’s the perfect soundtrack to all my mass-apocalyptic-war dreams. From start to finish the demo showcases impeccable instrumentation. Explosive percussion, heavily fuzzed-out low-register and dissonant chord progressions juxtaposed by frenetic high-register fretwork, all bear the weight of guttural and morbid vocal growls. Blast this in your headphones and the next thing you know you’ll be the only one left in the room standing. But at barely eleven minutes in length, the three tracks leave you needing more fuel for your fire of hatred.

Word on the street is that Year of the Coyote recently lost Matt Thornton who just moved up to Alaska, and while AK is perhaps the most metal place in all of the US of A, here’s to hoping that YOTC will be able to carry on and grace us with a longer follow-up recording before too long. Because Satan knows, Portland needs more bands like this one to help fight the overwhelming current of mainstream indie pop that is constantly being spoon fed to us. 

– Travis Leipzig

PDX garage pop outfit, Mr. Bones, release their self-titled cassette via Good Cheer Records. 

The debut full-length opens up with “Lurch,” a track that runs just under a minute. The minimalistic intro starts with just vocals and guitar, then adds a lo-fi sample pad beat. It almost sounds like it could be a track from fellow PDX songsters The Morals.

As the album moves forward, things get louder and gnarlier, sonically and lyrically. Tracks like “Glaring at U” and the single, “You Don’t Have a Skull of Your Own” blast through your speakers, and straight into your heart. Straight until the end, Mr. Bones pair noise with catchy melodies, straddling the line between destruction and summer-pop.

Many of the lyrics, like the songs themselves, are stream-of-thought, and span subject matter such as looking at strangers on the internet (“Another Fucking Summer”), generic people, love, and loneliness.

The album feels like they recorded everything live in someone’s basement, which suits the rawness and excitement of the band. This grungy, DIY vibe gives each song an added sense of urgency and earnesty — a rare change of pace from the often-overproduced pop (etc) album. Seems like a perfect touch to release it on a cassette tape. They even have hand-written lyrics on the inside of the liner!

Guitarist and singer Leland Brehl comes from the punk side of the Portland music scene, which might help explain the emphasis on energy, over clarity. Expect driving guitars and crashing drums, with vocals JUST outside of the focal point throughout the album.  

Overall it’s a pretty smash-and-grab album, with short, hard-hitting songs (and a few mellow ones interspersed) — the longest track on the album is just over three minutes, so things move quickly throughout, often ending abruptly and moving immediately to the next song/feeling. So if grunge-pop via punk is your jam, Mr Bones’ self-titled tape is definitely worth checking out. Also, an entire listen only takes about twenty five minutes — I bet you have that kind of time if you’re reading this.

Good Cheer Records is a new label from Blake Hickman (of KPSU) and Morgan Troper, and so far hosts only Mr. Bones and Teenspot in their lineup.  

From the label: “The cassette is being released on February 10th, The band is playing an in store at Music Millenium at 6 PM that evening to celebrate the release. More info about our label can be found at www.goodcheerrecords.com”

Written by Chandler Strutz

Photo of Mr. Bones by Yousef Hatlani

Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs! Props to Portland’s own Coma Serfs for providing this lazy hack of a writer with a perfect introductory sentence to his article announcing the release of their all new EP, Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs.

And the utility of this EP’s title doesn’t end there; it also serves as a warning for those who are unprepared to hit the deck lest they receive one of these hot, fresh psychedelic chart-busters to the eye. That’s not where you want a song like “Lords Of Paradise” to get you, trust me. The spiraling, manic build at the beginning of the song may as well be Donkey Kong winding up for one of his patented Giant Punches–and anyone who’s ever played Smash Bros knows you better be ready when that shit drops. The song transitions into a wash of dizzying effects and chaotic intensity like a strung out surfer’s fever dream. Recurring accented hits punctuate the song and assault your ears like the beating in your temples of a gnarly hangover.

Preparing yourself for the Coma Serfs, however, isn’t always about being ready to defend yourself physically. For example, the song “Set Me Straight” beseeches more of a cerebral preparation in order to appreciate it to its full potential. The song’s chipper, upbeat energy captures that same carefree, kicking-a-pebble-down-the-sidewalk vitality of The Warlocks on their album Phoenix.

Come see them show off these shiny new songs plus more at Bunk Bar (1028 Southeast Water Avenue) 1/31 with Still Caves and Jackson Boone.

– Bryce Woodcock

Like most textbook romances, garage pop duo Kool Stuff Katie formed when Shane Blem and Saren Oliver met over Craigslist. The rest is history. Well, history in the making for now I suppose. The duo’s debut self-titled album released this past October doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel per se, but they create an infectious blend of pop infused primitive rockers, reminiscent to the White Stripes. 

Today, we’re proud to present the world with Kool Stuff Katie’s brand new music video for the track "Cars." Get a load of the car they’re noodling around in! It’s a Ford / Lotus collaboration that was 1 of 200 ever sold in the US. The specific car in the video was was actually purchased and restored on the tv show Fast N Loud and then sold for $115,000 – how KSK lined up borrowing the rig for this shoot is completely beyond me, but totally awesome. At any rate, enjoy their tune and the cool footage of the duo driving around various landmarks of Portland and the surrounding areas. 

Written by Travis Leipzig

Photo by Jon Currier

If you still haven’t had a chance yet to swing by the Know’s massive, ten-day, ten-year anniversary party, you might want to make it a priority to attend Saturday night for some of the best rock and roll our fair city (and country) has to offer. Starting off the night is Psychomagic, whose psychedelic jams juxtapose against a surf-punk energy that’s sure to drive the room into a frenzy. Their recent release, Bad Ideas, captures this energy as best as any record can, yet to fully experience the garage-rock soul behind these songs you need to hear them live.

San Antonio’s Rich Hands are up next, and if their irresistible brand of power-pop is half as explosive in person as it is on their last release, Out of my Head, everyone will be in for a hell of a time. After the dust has cleared following Rich Hands’ set, Mean Jeans will keep the party going with their uncontrollable punk rock spirit, which I can only describe as a most cheerful riot. If at this point, the first three bands haven’t completely destroyed the Know’s tired building, then the legendary Paul Collins Beat will take the stage and show you exactly what 40+ years of experience crafting pure rock and roll music can produce. Help The Know ring in 10-years of slinging cheap beer and curating raw underground talent, by making this show your Saturday night experience, you won’t regret it.  

Written by Ben Toledo

Photo by Todd Walberg

Mufassa is not dead!! At least for tonight, Portland’s soulful garage rock band is alive once more. However we can’t undo the wildebeest stampede from The Lion King, as much as we might like to.

Don’t miss out on this delightfully unexpected Mufassa reunion show at Kelly’s Olympian. If you’ve seen them before you know this is going to be a monster of a set. If you haven’t…well, it’s going to be a monster of a set! Think classic rock meets psych, done in a dirty basement by total beefed out dudes. Reminiscent to the smooth sounds of King Kahn, these boys croon. Check out the song “Tyrone” from their 2014 debut album Pride, then listen to the next track, “Down,” for a totally different side of their musical spectrum. Mufassa had been making quite a name for themselves over the past couple years before taking an indefinite hiatus after their lightning-fingered bassist Stephen Moore ran off to architecture school in San Francisco. Moore heads back to sunny California tomorrow, so don’t hold your breath for more opportunities to catch this band again anytime soon.

Also playing tonight are stoney psych-shredders Cambrian Explosion and new guys, Lightning Rules. All brought to you by Jeremiah from Eyez Front booking.

– Chandler Strutz

Photo by Todd Walberg

Over the last half decade tat Portland’s And And And has been bumping and grinding, they have become the epicenter of a bubbling scene of melodramatic dark-rock bands that make their home in the city’s inner east side.  However, due to family troubles and self-admitted depression bogging down frontman Nathan Baumgartner, the band only managed to release two EPs and a few singles over the last five years. Though they still managed to earn themselves the title of Best New Band in 2011 by the Willamette Week, and are some of the most diversely active and friendly menbers of the local music community as a whole. 

Alas, these Portland staples are finally ready to unveil their long awaited debut full lenth. Out on Party Damage Records, And And And will celebrate release of The Failure on January 15 at Doug Fir with the support of Hosannas and Ah God.  But for now, wet your whistle on their brand new, silly ass hobo-fest of a video for the album’s first single, "A Real Case of the Blues." 

– Travis Leipzig 

Along with the New Year comes the inevitible wave of new releases to music listeners ears. One of the first through 2015’s freshly opened door is Portland’s psychedelically sludgy stoner pop outfit with perhaps the must crude band name in all the land, Black Pussy, who are set to release a sophomore album, Magic Mustache, on February 17 through China Records. Though their new album isn’t available in full for another month and a half, they’ve recently released two singles off of Magic Mustache, one including a brain burner of a music video, for you to wet your whistle on in the meantime. Judging from these new tracks alone, Black Pussy’s upcoming album may just blow their now three-year-old debut, On Blond, out of the water. I’m stoked to hear more. 

– Travis Leipzig

One of the Deli Portland’s current Artists of the Month (we have two bands sharing the AOTM title resulting from a tie in the polls), Seance School who is more or less a brand new band to the city, is hitting the ground running fast as hell. The man behind the curtain of sound, Robin Washburn, creates a unique blend of ambient shoe-gazey indie pop with dark melancholic melodies and vocals reminiscent to Elliott Smith. With two full-length albums released in late october, the self-titled Seance School and Skeletal Noise: More Songs From the Static, there’s no doubt in my mind that Seance School will be gracing ears with a whole new plethora of recordings in 2015. 

It is our pleasure to present the exclusive premier of Seance School’s brand new, trippy ass light party of a music video for the track "Carcajou" off of the self titled album. 

– Travis Leipzig