Where there’s smoke

There’s no one element that stands out in “Opaque.” Smoke Season’s most popular single from 2014’s Hot Coals Cold Souls starts unassumingly, with guitarist Jason Rosen’s reverb-drenched Gibson SG carefully plucking out a G chord.

Singer and keyboardist Gabrielle Wortman then moves into the mix, showing off her range with a few octave leaps before launching into the sort of arms-wide-open chorus that U2 built stadium tours around.

Around the two-and-a-half-minute mark, “Opaque” takes a hard left: A glitchy beat breaks in, prompting a darker, minor-key turn in the song’s tone. Wortman introduces a sultry new vocal line, and the “smoke” part of the band’s name starts to make a bit more sense.

After one final build, the track collapses, fading into a wonderfully textured synth-phonic coda. It’s a hell of a journey for four-plus minutes, and an ambitious one for a band that to date has only released nine songs.

But Smoke Season doesn’t give off any sense of a new band working out their sound or approach. Rosen — a founding member of New York pop-rock band Honor Society — and Wortman — a solo artist with several recordings to her name — are both vets with a clear vision of the band’s aural and visual aesthetic (expect a lot of feathers and dreamcatchers at the merch table.)

Smoke Season’s eight other songs don’t stray far from the formula established on “Opaque.” It will be something to watch the band fill the cramped stage of the Axe & Fiddle with all manner of pedals, effects boxes and gear to bring alive its spacey, carefully tailored sound.

Fellow LA-based duo The Peach Kings will open, bringing with them a harder-edged sound drawn from the more whiskey-soaked side of The Dead Weather and early Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The Peach Kings join Smoke Season 8:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 5, at Axe & Fiddle, Cottage Grove; $8.

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!