Planning for Burial at The Boreal tonight!

If the Beach Boys live in eternal summer, then Thom Wasluck of the one-man band Planning For Burial lives in eternal bummer. With heavily distorted guitar loops and a voice that rarely elevates beyond a medicated murmur, Wasluck creates torrential sheets of pain, walls of sad that are often volcanically loud and other times whisper quiet — sometimes not so much traditional music but more like sonic sweat lodges, pushing you to your limit in order to gain elevation to some higher plain of miserable.

But that’s not to say Planning For Burial is all experiment with no melodic heart. This year’s release Desideratum on Flenser Records begins with the beautiful 8-minute track “Where You Rest Your Head At Night.” In it, layers and layers of distorted guitars build hypnotically (almost John Cage-like at times) as drums pound like a heartbeat. Lulling your eyes to droop, Wasluck’s voice is in the mix somewhere — submerged and tortured. And it isn’t until the denouement of the song, when percussion and a simple but stunning piano melody comes to the foreground, do the disparate elements of the music coalesce into something truly painful, but a gift to endure.

While the rest of the record never does much more than put a black silky bow on the sentiment that “life sucks,” making The Cure, Joy Division and Bauhaus seem relatively chipper, Wasluck is a deft conjurer of noise, a talented conduit of post-millenial malaise that deserves to be listened to.

Exiled in Eugene presents Planning for Burial with Willowbrook, Troubled by Insects and Sophos! 8:30 pm Friday, June 2o, at The Boreal; $5.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!