Agent Red

Google the name “Russian Red” and you’ll come up with numerous links directing you to cosmetic shops. That’s because Russian Red is the stage handle of Lourdes Hernández, a Spanish woman who took the name from her preferred lipstick color.

Hernández is from Madrid but writes and sings in accented English. Her songs resemble neither flamenco nor rumba catalane; perhaps a more fitting moniker would be a Spanish Feist, due to her music’s resemblance to the indie-pop singer-songwriter. Many images of Hernández present her as a modern pinup with pale skin, rouge lips and a wash of color on her jacket. The cover of her new album, Agent Cooper, released in February, has her sitting on a pink box, holding an automatic weapon and looking drop-dead gorgeous in a gold dress. (I’m writing this on the day that David Lynch publicly announced a new season of Twin Peaks. Coincidence?)

All this is to say that Hernández is different, and she’s been carefully developing her peppy yet nostalgic pop persona. There’s less spare acoustic music and a lot more instrumentation and electronic influence on Agent Cooper than on her past two albums. Perhaps this is because she’s been inching toward radio friendliness, which she’s seemingly tried to achieve by choosing producer Tony Doogan (Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, David Byrne) for her second album and Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, The Strokes, U2, The Shins) for this one.

Any song on Agent Cooper is polished enough to be radio-ready. And when radio finally does start playing Russian Red, it will be because she deserves it, not because she’s beautiful and holding a gun.

Russian Red plays with Los Angeles’ Babes and Eugene’s The Great Hiatum 9 pm Saturday, Oct. 18, at WOW Hall; $10 adv., $12 door.

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!