Last Wedneday marked the close of another Deli Portland ‘Artist of the Month’ poll. The fans cried loud and a new king has been crowned. Congrats Jackson Boone, your experimental folky psych tunes are the current jam! Stream their brand new album, Starlit, and name your own price to own a digital copy of it here! Produced by Reily Geare of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and accompanied on the recording by members of Radiation City, it’s no wonder that this album has been on repeat in my livingroom since it’s release. 

– Travis Leipzig

Is your life lacking in the sonic sensations that can only be provided by a night of frenzied, unfiltered rawk? Mine too, my friends, mine too. Fortunate for us, the guys in Bubble Cats will be performing at Habesha Lounge this Friday night to provide us with an auditory fix. This four-piece act shreds through jagged riffs, heavy rhythms and crisp vocal shouts backed by an energy that embodies a  punk rock spirit. Their three intertwined EPs (Hiss, Purr and Mews) showcase this energy through crisp production, but is no substitute for their live performance. Joining them will be the sludgy, blues-infused tunes created by recent Medford transplans 100 Watt Mind and Djupang. Show starts at 9pm with a 5 dollar cover, be there for a night of rock n’ roll in it’s purest form. Your ringing ears will thank you for the experience.  

– Ben Toledo 

I like shows with an entirely local lineup. Especially when the bands all bring different elements of the scene. The bill at Kelly’s Olympian this Thursday (7.17) is a perfect example of just how much talent Portland has to offer.

Fre$h Hair will kick off the evening with a certain mischief. This duo manages to glorify day to day heartache and experience with charming harmonic frivolity. Whilst their lyrics may seem typical of two young women trying to smoke their way through things, they bring authority in their writing and in doing so, a truly beautiful modern folk sound.

Up next is Ladywolf with their rhythmic jolt of lo fi psychedelic rock. Listening to Ladywolf is like being transported to a place I’ve never been. Mainly New York in the late seventies. I feel like I’m in a dirty nightclub and I’m 21 again. In a glorious way.

The Handles bring a heartache of lap steel country drawl with great, laid back capability. Their choruses play with melodies that will have you singing along even if you only pick up half of the words. "My love is a bottle, and you are the reason". It’s that kind of sadness that makes you feel right at home.

Mufassa will close out the night before hitting the road the following morning to embark on a West Coast tour. If The Beatles, T Rex and Black Sabbath had a baby – spunky and confident, these boys definitely know how to pack a punch with songs like "Johnny," but can also draw you back in with the thoughtful storytelling in tracks like "Women." This evening will be quite the ride.

– Jennie Chapman

Last Tuesday, July 1st, the Red Bull Sound Select concert series took over Mississippi Studios once again for a night of musical brilliance, featuring Blitzen Trapper, Pony Village and Tiburones (Tiburones are one of the bands featured in our current Artist of the Month poll series! Vote for them here.). Where you there? Photos by Katie Summer. 

Check out the rest of the photos from the night here! 

Sunday (6.29) at Rontoms, Talkative played a release show for their latest record, Hot Fruit Barbeque, where they blew minds and tugged on heart strings – especially with their supergroup rendition of "Snow Jobs" sharing the stage with local-legends Grandparents. Were you there? Photos by Todd Walberg.

Check out the rest of the photos from the show here! 

Blue Skies For Black Hearts began as a solo project of Pat Kearns over a decade ago, but has evolved into a Portland mainstay and touring band with five members and six albums. Throughout the band’s career, they have intertwined sounds of 50’s rhythms and jaunty 70’s folk rock, as well as  alternative rock that sprung from the 90’s. It’s been three years since 2011’s  Embracing The Modern Age, and BSFBH hasn’t strayed far from their base of fuzzy, filtered, multi-generational sound on their latest self-titled album.  It’s a seasoned group, and they have footing in a progressive form of easy-going classic rock, however it is more complex with the band’s rounded out line-up.  

To self title the album seems befitting. It’s a sunny blend of guitar play between rhythm and lead ("Gone On Too Long"), and anthems focused on release ("Keep On Keepin On"). But Pat Kearns’s songwriting is beautifully keen and cool, with ever-clear vocal delivery. "Waiting To Run" has harmonics and crashing cymbals to eradicate self-destruction on a  beautiful day.  "Nothing Came In The Mail" delves into vague existence and soldiers charging compounds; like all of the songs it is embellished with a melodic solo, in this case the bands addition of keyboardist Mark Breitenbach. The last three songs play to the romantic ear:  "Don’t Look Back" is sexy funk and choruses, and is followed by "Love Scenes", which sings of longing and inspiration with the sweetest of guitar chords. "Back Home" is about getting back to that special someone with psychedelic undertones. 

Blue Skies For Black Hearts play their album release with Spirit Lake at Doug Fir Lounge on Wednesday night, 7/9. For optimal listening pleasure, make sure to grab a copy of their beautiful new black and blue vinyl. Check out the video for the album’s lead single "It’s Gone On Too Long" below. 

– Brandy Crowe 

Resurrection Records is showcasing three of their forthcoming VIBs at a FREE show this Sunday July 6 at Rontoms. And get this: the first 20 people on the patio get a free Resurrection release.

As if you need more convincing, the actual bands performing will ensure the quality of the night. We got The Verner Pantons, a 60s influenced bubble-gum psych pop outfit whose jangly, candy-sweet guitar hooks will get your feet tapping and heart swelling. They keep their The Byrds influence on their sleeves and aren’t above a G-C-D chord progression, but I’ll be gosh danged if they don’t seamlessly slip into the pocket and add a spunky flair of their own to boot. Lunch are one of the premiere Portland post-punk bands, venturing into darker sounding, hard-edged musical stylings. Their driving Wipers and deathrock influenced brand of punk will get you out of your seat, wired and ready to shake your head around. Jollapin Jasper are another garage-psych band conducive to The Verner Pantons’s sound, but a little heavier on the psych aspect. Where The VPs funnel their creativity into sunshiney melodies, Jollapin Jasper channels their energy into fashioning more spacey hooks akin to Au Dunes or Still Caves.

– Bryce Woodcock

Come out to Holocene Sunday night (7/6) for an evening of local math-rock heroics as Bearcubbin, Yeah Great Fine AND Gallons will play in what is sure to be the highest of energy gatherings.

If there was a common thread weaving throughout the night’s acts, it would certainly be rhythmic density. All three acts bring a degree of complexity to their beats and metrics that dares you to clap and count along. With bands like these, your only hope is to simply throw yourself at the music and let it’s currents and tides direct you as they see fit. From Yeah Great Fine’s bright and joyous popisms to Bearcubbin’s active, instrumental, loop-rock to Gallons’ thick, post-hardcore, dance-punk, each band exudes i ts own distinct vibe to continually snag your attention. Get ready for an earful of abandon. 

– Ted Jamison

Exercise your right to party this Freedom Day at a block-wide festival thrown outside Bunk Bar (SE Taylor and Water ave). Along with all the necessary 4th of July features, i.e. fireworks, beer, barbecuing, flag-waving, and general revelry, there will also be live music from Old Light, XDS, Bearcubbin’!, and Talkative. Yes, there will be services to excite all five senses this Stars and Stripes Day, and chillin out to Old Light’s dreamy psych pop may just inspire a sixth if you know what I mean. They’re headlining the show, and if you haven’t heard these guys yet, get with the program; it’s like having our very own Portland garage infused Wooden Shjips. 

Starting off at 5pm sharp is Talkative, the first indie space punk band to be fully endorsed by Thomas Jefferson himself. Their quintessentially American unapologetic, devil-may-care style is the perfect preamble to a night of nationalistic pride. Up next, test your understanding of music theory with Bearcubbin’s jazzy, arcane, math rock. Then XDS starts the cerebral fireworks show with their kooky brand of world psych pop. With just enough of a hook to grasp onto, their music takes you on a journey through a vortex of texture, syncopation, and effects. Old Light will close out the block party with a punctuational cannon blast, before your inebreated meanderings take your night in a new direction (go to PALS Clubhouse immediately after for a killer secret house show!). 

– Bryce Woodcock 

Click here to check out the rest of the photos from Orquestra Pacifico Tropical‘s release show for Rio Frio at the Doug Fir Lounge 6/25. Photos by Todd Walberg.

There are good and bad ways to start the summer. Just Lions have chosen the good route with the release of their new EP, Great. Okay. which they will celebrate with a free show this Monday night, 6.30, at Mississippi Studios. The three-piece band, known for it’s pop rock energy and jazz tendencies, latest work hits these core characteristics while expanding into a deeper core of their sound. 

The EP begins with the title track and immediately hits you with sweet whistling and a catchy rhythm that makes for easy listening. This song brings a radio friendly presence to the album, which was even aired on 94.7 FM (Clear Channel’s New Rock/Alt radio station) earlier this month. Next, the band drifts into a jazzy atmosphere that is very prevalent during their live performances. Relying on guitar work and jazz scales, “Everything Goes Away” remains a very free flowing song that is slightly reminiscent of something by Jack Johnson (you know, if Jack Johnson was cool and rocked a little harder). The closing track is the heaviest. “On the Road” is much more than a track with the same name as the iconic book by Kerouac. Opening guitar riffs unleash into a fury while the harmonious vocals smooth things over. This song ends with an exploding, bluesy guitar solo that only makes you wonder what this band has in store for the future.

Although this EP is short with only three songs, the release show Monday night will be packed with good music. Jammy psych-heads Bear & Moose open the night, followed by fellow jammy psych-heads Animal Eyes, and Just Lions close out the night, where you will be able to see what Great. Okay. is all about and much more.

– Colin Hudson