Portland
Album Review: José Medeles – Railroad Cadences & Melancholic Anthems : a stunning ‘tribute’ to John Fahey’s musical spirit.
So what do you make of tribute albums? Are they places to be seen, a rag bag of cover versions by a bunch of people who have nothing in common except convenient admiration? Well ‘Railroad Cadences & Melancholic Anthems’ by José Medeles may pay homage to John Fahey but there’s a gulf between this album …
PREMIERE: Tatum Gale takes a swipe at music industry cutthroats with ‘New Look, Same Great Flavor’
If the single artwork, above, seems gaudy, then that’s entirely the point: the New Orleans-via-Portland producer and songwriter Tatum Gale is asking you not to judge the book (or in this case, the song) by its cover. About two years since his Both EP, he returned last month with ‘Botanical Babe’, and is quickly following …
SEE: RON – ‘What Can The Feeling’: ambient grace from the Pacific Northwest
SAM WENC and Carl Laukkanen, while resident in that cultural hub in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, got together and, sharing an interest in the textures and spaces of slow-moving ambient electronica, got together and laid down three albums’ worth of exploration of sonics as RON. Together they developed a language of sound at the interstice …
Say Psych: Video Premiere: Mother Mariposa – Words Write Hear
‘Words Write Hear’ is the first single from the forthcoming LP from Mother Mariposa, and BSM brings you the video premiere. To be released later this year on Little Cloud Records, Mother Mariposa is the newest project of Thomas Mudrick and Jsun Atoms (The Upsidedown, Daydream Machine, PIA). Two years in the making and joining forces with New Zealand’s Dan …
Say Psych: Album Review – Wooden Shjips – V.
Wooden Shjips, long-time leaders of the contemporary psychedelic movement, expand their sound with V. which is released on Thrill Jockey Records this Friday. The quartet of Omar Ahsanuddin, Dusty Jermier, Nash Whalen and Ripley Johnson augment their already rich sound with laid back, classic summer songs. The songs were written during the summer of 2017 …
News: Chromatics announce new album & video for ‘Black Walls’
Portland-based four piece Chromatics this week confirmed that they will have a new album out in the Autumn on Italians Do It Better. The four piece made up of Ruth Radelet, Johnny Jewel, Adam Miller & Nat Walker have shared a new track and video, ‘Black Walls’, taken from the forthcoming album which will be their fifth …
Say Psych: News: Wooden Shjips announce new album and UK Tour
Legendary Portlanders Wooden Shjips are set to release a new album on 25th May, their first in five years. The release of V. will be accompanied by a full UK tour, bringing their peaceful resistance to cities around the country, with mainland Europe dates to be added. V. is long awaited and is anticipated to be a …
Say Psych: Album Review: Vive la Void – Vive la Void
Vive la Void is the solo project of Sanae Yamada, co-founder and keyboard player of Moon Duo. Yamada wrote and recorded the self-titled debut LP over a two-year period, during windows of downtime in Moon Duo’s substantial touring and recording schedule. The album will be released on Sacred Bones Records on 4th May. The seven …
See: Candace – Mendocino
One of our favourite dream pop outfits, Candace have just released a video for the song ‘Menocino’ off their brilliant album ‘New Ruins’ which Backseat Mafia reviewed recently, saying it combined ‘angelic harmonies with shimmering instrumentation throughout…drawing from elements of shoegaze and dream pop in a dreamy languorous mix, eschewing bombast and bravado for subtlety …
Album Review: Candace – New Ruins
Today sees the release of the quite frankly gorgeous album ‘New Ruins’ by Portland, Oregon band Candace. I reviewed the single ‘Rewind’ off the album recently, noting the song’s ‘sun-bleached layered harmonies over crisply produced crystalline shards of guitar, Alpine-proportioned melodies and a bass line that manages to serve the song yet create its own …